idk

Sometimes, in fandom, we just want to write id-tastic fic that rolls around in tropes that might be viewed as problematic. But we don’t want to address the problematic side of things in this particular fanwork; we just want to roll around and wallow.

It is considered courteous to give readers a heads-up via use of AO3 tags. I propose a tag that signals that a given fanwork is for rolling around, not giving a measured evaluation of anything. The MCU has carved out a space for this sort of fic with the “HYDRA Trash Party” tag, for which I commend them. Trash Party is a bit too specific to cover all of the ground I’m thinking of here, though; I propose “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.”

For those of you not familiar with Arrested Development, Michael Bluth finds a paper bag in the freezer labeled “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat.” He opens the bag, finds a dead dove, and reacts as follows:

[gif of a white man saying “I don’t know what I expected” in a deadpan manner]

The “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat” tag would essentially be a “what it says on the tin” metatag, indicating “you see the tropes and concepts tagged here? they are going to appear in this fic. exactly as said. there will not necessarily be any subversion, authorial commentary condemning problematic aspects, or meditation on potential harm. this fic contains dead dove. if you proceed, you should expect to encounter it.”

It's the wikipedia image??? How big could it be

What

a few examples:

what this really is (allegedly) is a signal of not being liable should you die. connection, community, etc. for suicidal people doesn’t matter because suicide is a no-no word for corporations. so instead of being able to talk about your experiences as someone who lives with suicidality, you’re either forced to use advertiser-friendly toddlerspeak (e.g. “sewer slide”) costing you your dignity, or you get hotlines shoveled your way - hotlines that can call the police on you if you are too candid about your suicidal experience.

Because AO3 is that site. Because AO3 was that site long before you decided AO3 was better than the sites you bullied us off of before, and I can promise you if someone somehow comes up with a fanfic site you like better specifically for the 'gross stuff' you'll try to bully us off that too so you can benefit from it.

AO3's specific core purpose is to preserve fanfiction, yes, but it was also instigated as a host site for the fanfiction that kept getting yeeted off other platforms like Wattpad. Its designed to preserve all fanfiction, not just the fanfiction you, personally, think is 'allowed' to be written.

AO3 is the site for all the gross stuff the freaks make. We've been there just as long as you. We've been funding it just as long as you have. AO3 has specifically said you have a place here. The timeline was literally:

Wattpad/FF.net/LiveJournal purge fanfics > AO3 is born > The people who's fics got purged moved over to AO3 > AO3 gains popularity as the best functioning site > The people who pushed for the fics to be purged off Wattpad move to AO3 > The same people try to push for AO3 to purge fics.

It was built around "we need to own the servers" so we wouldn't have to deal with anyone else's judgment calls about what was acceptable in fanfic: Not corporate sponsors, not evangelical religious groups, not "save the children" activists... and not other fans who think that The Gross Stuff should be banned from public view, only shared via private email after you've sent in a request heavily laden with special keywords.

Some of the founders remembered when slash fanfic was kept under the table at the dealer's room, distributed with brown paper wrappers only to people who knew to ask for it specifically.

And they said: Fuck that. Our art is not a crime and we're not going to be ashamed of it. If you are ashamed to have your art next to it - there's a whole wide internet that's ready to host your G-rated genfic.

Leaving comments like this takes a moment of celebration and turns it to a moment of spite.

This is especially annoying when it's online. Most online spaces are algorithmically based and since algorithms like to share posts that will spread controversy, comments like that are only going to attract more people to it.

Bringing generative AI into a conversation that was started when someone wanted to share their art is just going to attract a generative AI dick rider to "erm actually..." the conversation. Bringing transphobia into a conversation that's supposed to be support of trans people will cause transphobes to enter the conversation and remind said trans person about transphobia. And so on and so forth.

with specifically the highlights and colors being hues that compliment each other, don’t distract from the scene, and make it more interesting/visually appealing

cohesive but still contrasting

This kind of talks about color and composition

This is a bit about landscape specifically

Values & composition

Contrast in composition

Balance in colors & values

This one's more for palette building but I think it's useful and can be applied to the other ones

Cohesion within compositions/lighting

"Chromatic fringe" - I also see people using this with shading, they bring in a transition color that is a different hue than the base color or shadow, it makes it so that less vibrancy is lost and it doesn't get muddy!

This one specifically has a lot of process behind the style of painting you're looking for!

Also one of my favorite artists who makes bright and colorful art like this is Not Sorry Art on TikTok & YouTube, her website is here and it's<3 my fav. She has some videos where you can see her process

If you're wondering about Mr. Gurney's chops:

You cannot practice ethical kink while being a conservative. You cannot practice ethical kink while being a racist. You cannot practice ethical kink while being a sexist. A homophobe. A transphobe. An islamaphobe. You cannot be anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, or anti-asylum seeker while practicing ethical kink. You cannot practice ethical kink while being a theocrat, whether it be Christian, Hindu, or Islamic nationalism or zionism. You cannot practice ethical kink while being a fascist. Holding any ideology which dehumanizes others, or allows for their dehumanization removes ones ability to practice ethical kink.

Regardless of if it's "trans inclusive" or not, radfem ideology is bad and will always harm trans people.

TERFs believe that gender is decided by your sex/biology/what genitals you were born with and therefore trans women are men and they're the enemy while trans men are either "scared girls brainwashed by the trans agenda to make them think becoming men will keep them from experiencing sexism" OR "traitors who betrayed their biology to become dangerous scary faux-men who are actually MORE misogynistic than cis men"

TIRFs believe that trans people are the gender they say they are and therefore trans women are women (unless you don't pass or you don't want bottom surgery or you're a poc or you disagree with them or you're a lesbian or you're GNC or-) and trans men are dangerous men that are exactly like cis men but actually WORSE because they CHOSE to be men and are therefore traitors who betrayed the feminist movement and should never be trusted and-

Do you... see the issue? Radical feminism will never benefit trans people as a whole and the marginal amount of inclusion they may offer is situational and comes with exceptions and conditions.

The entirety of radfem ideology is, essentially, "woman and femininity good, man and masculinity bad" with little to no nuance (there never is, let's be honest here) and it will always fuck over trans people, regardless of what their gender is, because all of us are inherently both feminine and masculine in the eyes of cis society and therefore there will always be something to hate in us in the context of radical feminism.

If you are trans and you believe in radical feminism then you're fucking over the rest of your community, and for what? So that transfems will have to over perform femininity to such a degree that the majority of transfems will never be truly accepted? So that transmascs have no option other than detransitioning if they want community, support, medical care for their specific biology, and a voice in matters that concern them?