@icaruscreates / icaruscreates.tumblr.com
Just a casual reminder that I probably won’t be using this account for much longer and won’t be posting new stuff to it. Keeping at least this around as an archive I suppose since I deleted the twt and have no intentions on ever going back to that hellsite.
@floretofoblivion the blog might be a bit tricky to find because haven’t posted anything yet. Been too busy with fall market prep and crocheting stuffies lol
Huevember day 5: Bright Lights
Back to my roots with the Copper King ✨ I just think the new copper bulbs and copper grates would feel so at home in Pixandria!!
Your personal triggers and squicks do not get to determine what kind of art other people make.
People make shit. It's what we do. We make shit to explore, to inspire, to explain, to understand, but also to cope, to process, to educate, to warn, to go, "hey, wouldn't that be fucked up? Wild, right?"
Yes, sure, there are things that should be handled with care if they are used at all. But plenty more things are subjective. Some things are just not going to be to your tastes. So go find something that is to your tastes and stop worrying so much about what other people are doing and trying to dictate universal moral precepts about art based on your personal triggers and squicks.
I find possession stories super fucking triggering if I encounter them without warning, especially if they function as a sexual abuse metaphor. I'm not over here campaigning for every horror artist to stop writing possession stories because they make me feel shaky and dissociated. I just check Does The Dog Die before watching certain genres, and I have my husband or roommate preview anything I think might upset me so they can give me more detail. And if I genuinely don't think I can't handle it, I don't watch it. It's that simple.
#this excludes writing pedo or incest.
If you look at the tags on my original post, this post was originally about hospital horror, and how it's allowed to exist even if an individual has medical trauma and doesn't like the genre. But since someone wanted to go and put some shit on my post that I disagree with:
Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita was not a real little girl who really got brutalized. She was a fictional character. No real child was harmed. People are not reading Lolita and going out thinking, "oh, this told me to abuse children, and clearly it's morally okay now." The existence of Lolita is not responsible for the existence of CSA.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare was pretty meta, but Freddy Krueger was still never real and never hurt any real kids, either. He's a story. None of those kids ever died, none of them ever got abused, and Fred Krueger never got burned to death, because they're all fake and never existed. Murder and CSA in the real world aren't Freddy Krueger's fault.
Jaime and Cersei Lannister are not real people. They are fake. They are words on paper, and actors on a screen. Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are not siblings, and did not ever have real sex in the show. It was fake, simulated, not real sex. No siblings actually fucked. Nobody is watching/reading Game of Thrones and thinking, "oh, I can totally go fuck my sibling with no repercussions now!" The existence of Game of Thrones is not responsible for real-world incest.
Guillermo del Toro's film Crimson Peak didn't kick off an epidemic of everyone deciding it's okay to fuck their sister and kill their wife. William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" isn't making people kill men and sleep with their corpses, and Emily never really killed Homer because neither of them actually exist in the first place.
John Wick isn't making people run out and become hitmen. The very cute doggy that infamously dies in the first movie was not actually a real dog death--the dogs in John Wick were treated very well, according to a ScreenRant article I found!
Ghostface was played by a combination of stuntmen and a very talented voice actor, and all his murder victims were actors who were filming a pretend story. It was all choreographed and nobody really died. The benind-the-scenes stuff for the Scream series is actually really cool if you're into that sort of thing like I am.
Arcane didn't put grenade launchers in people's hands and turn them into vigilante fighters juiced up on Super Drugs--and you know what, neither did any of the things the Batman franchise has churned out. The Joker and Scarecrow and Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn aren't out there terrorizing New York City, because they're fantasy supervillains who aren't real and can't hurt you.
The endless waves of bandits in Skyrim are pixels on a screen, and I'm not killing real men when I cut them down. No real people got hurt when my Sims 4 house caught fire. Playing Super Smash Brothers hasn't gotten me into underground fighting rings, and neither did watching Fight Club.
It's all fiction.
None of it is real.
The characters are fake and do not exist.
Curate your own media experience and get your head out of your ass.
[ID: a comment left by tumblr user msexcelfractal, which reads "Cool post OP, now do Birth of a Nation. End ID.]
You really want to try and go there as if that's some kind of gotcha on the subject of dark fiction? Fine. Let's go there. I've got sources and free time.
Birth of a Nation is a horrific hate crime of a film. It is flagrantly racist and was connected to a surge in KKK membership. Nobody should watch that film for enjoyment. It's horrific. Nobody should be forced to watch it, either. You don't have to watch the film, and I don't recommend you do, unless you're actively involved in studying it for whatever reason. It's a bad, hateful movie.
I have not watched it in its entirety and I don't really ever intend to. There are Black scholars who have already broken it down and discussed it at length, and I don't feel I'm going to get anything out of the film that they haven't already covered. If I need to study Birth of a Nation in more depth for whatever reason, I'm going to defer to Black scholarship on the subject.
But if you tried to ban the film altogether? If you tried to erase it from existence? I would ask what the fuck is wrong with you. Banning Birth of a Nation does absolutely nothing to combat the racism that created it. It wouldn't stop racists from making racist art. It wouldn't erase the damage done by the film. It wouldn't go back in time and make it retroactively never made.
You know what banning it would do, though? It would strip film scholars of the ability to discuss it. It would prohibit people from talking about exactly why it was bad. It would inhibit honest conversations about what the film was and who it affected.
You know what you do with horrific bigoted art like Birth of a Nation? You have content warnings, like the one I put at the beginning of this reply. You don't spring it on people who don't want to discuss it. You don't put it on for people to watch without warning. You don't tell everyone you know to go and watch it and give it money.
You do things like what Warner Brothers did with their Tom and Jerry disclaimer:
“These animated shorts are products of their time. Some of them may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. While the following does not represent the Warner Bros. view of today’s society, these animated shorts are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”
You damn sure don't erase it from history and pretend that ignoring it will solve bigotry. Censorship is not the answer, because censorship is always enforced harder on marginalized artists. You ban racism in film, you ban films by Black artists who are exploring the topic from their own perspective.
When the Hays Code banned "offense to other nations," you know what happened? It didn't stop racism in film, that's for damn sure. It instead gave bigoted censors a perfectly legal and easy way to shut down art by marginalized people, which they did gladly.
The rise of the Nazi Party in Germany resulted in the Reichsfilmkammer demanding the removal of all Jewish workers from Hollywood's European locations. American films began receiving heavy censorship and bans in Germany, and so American studios complied with the Reichsfilmkammer's demands in order to avoid legal trouble in Germany.
Despite the Nazi party's outright hostility toward Hollywood, the MPPDA office discouraged any negative depiction of Germany or the Nazi party. Germany had been such a huge market for American cinema that the Reichsfilmkammer's censorship codes for German films began impacting American-made cinema. Jewish representation in cinema all but disappeared overnight. Joseph Breen, the head of the censor board, was an open antisemite, going on open tirades against Jewish people. His censorship policies were flagrantly bigoted and only served to reinforce that bigotry on a systemic level.
In 1933, Herman J. Mankiewicz and Sam Jaffe tried and failed to make an anti-Hitler film titled "The Mad Dog of Europe." The Hays Code was used to deny the film's production. On July 17, 1933, Will Hays himself ordered the filmmakers to cease and desist, all in the name of "not offending Germany."
Said Joseph Breen, "It is to be remembered that there is strong pro-German and anti-Semitic feeling in this country, and, while those who are likely to approve of an anti-Hitler picture may think well of such an enterprise, they should keep in mind that millions of Americans might think otherwise.”
Variety said about the subject, “American attitude on the matter is that American companies cannot afford to lose the German market no matter what the inconvenience of personnel shifts."
Anna May Wong, a Chinese-American actress, lost out on a leading role in the film "The Good Earth," due to the Code's explicit ban on interracial relationships. The leading man had already been cast with a white man wearing yellowface, meaning that Wong was unable to be cast as the leading lady and love interest, even though the characters were supposed to both be Chinese. The role instead went to a German-American actress wearing yellowface, who went on to win an Oscar for the role.
Censorship doesn't help anyone. Censorship does not protect anyone. Censorship does not prevent bigotry, and in fact only serves to reinforce it.
Anyone who read this far and learned something: being an independent media censorship researcher doesn't exactly pay the bills, so check out my Ko-Fi or Patreon if you learned something and feel generous.
My main sources for this post are:
And since you made me talk about Birth of a fucking Nation, here are some additional resources for people who are actually interested in Black media history:
wait you said you did an animatic on your main blog! is that for traffic series’s, is it posted here?
Oh right yes I was meaning to mention this here!! Thank you ahaha
Okay so YES! I did do an animatic, it’s for Empires SMP! No it’s not posted here yet because I am kind of unsure about what do with it… Let me explain.
Over the summer I had to do a big project for school, and it was entirely self-directed with no supervision. That meant it had to be about something I’m Really Passionate About to make sure that it would actually get done. So naturally I chose Empires! I got in touch with Pixlriffs and got his permission to use his audio for a school project (he said yes, thank you Pix <3) and then, audio in hand, went nuts and roughly storyboarded out 8min of an animatic in a single night.
When getting the project approved I told the professor, “hi I am going to do an 8 minute full colour animatic in two months while taking a full course load of classes” and he said
So the plan became to begrudgingly take a 2-3 minute excerpt of the audio and just do that for the class. And I did! And it slapped!! Full colour, rendered paintings you know and love from floweroflaurelin, except they’re moving a little bit. And Pixlriffs is there talking.
I figured at the time that once the semester was over I would paint the other 6 minutes of the animatic on my own time!! How hard could that be, right?? Except Things Kept Happening With School, and once it was over I was moving to a new place and getting sick and Tango’s desk mat took priority, and suddenly it’s over a month later with Do Those Other Six Minutes still on my to-do list.
The real kicker was that one of the Things That Happened With School resulted in me not getting feedback on the project—the teacher wasn’t able to really look at it. I got a grade, but a series of ridiculous circumstances meant that all that work was only briefly glanced at and a grade hastily entered, which was frustrating and resulted in me resenting the project a bit, since I worked hard on something I loved and it got no appreciation at all.
I’d love to share it with people who would appreciate it, which is to say, other fans!! But the thing is—as much as I want it to be Done the way I intended when I storyboarded it out initially, I won’t have the time to paint those six minutes any time soon: Huevember is in a couple weeks, and that’s a big commitment! But in my mind it’s not a complete project unless it’s a Complete Project. So I’ll put the question to you:
So yeah let me know! I’m still pretty busy but either way I want to revisit the animatic, either to paint more frames or to get it prepped for posting (something I’m not sure how to do yet).
(Also good news about Things Happening With School: I graduated yesterday!! Bachelors degree with honours, baby! Maybe now that school is behind me I can turn a new page where that project gets shared 😆)
Gortash but I fixed him /lhj
While it's important to approach writing with creativity and imagination, it's crucial to prioritize responsible and ethical storytelling. That being said, if you're looking for information on poisons for the purpose of writing fiction, it's essential to handle the subject matter with care and accuracy. Here is a list of some common poisons that you can use in your stories:
When incorporating poisons into your writing, it is essential to research and accurately portray the effects and symptoms associated with them. Additionally, be mindful of the potential impact your writing may have on readers and the importance of providing appropriate context and warnings if necessary.
One should always have at least 2 craft projects going. That way, when one of them is messed up and misbehaving, you can switch to another, and let the first one sit there and think about what it's done.
Sometimes (oftentimes), when a creative project is "misbehaving," it's because it is tired, and overstimulated, and just needs a time out to rest -- like toddlers often need.
And sometimes, you should give your creative projects time to talk to each other, as well as to you.
taking your own advice is so hard. it’s “make bad art” this and “kill your perfectionism” that until i sit down with an idea i like. the i have to execute it perfectly Or Else
To anyone who uses the unkindness of others as fuel for them to strive to try harder to be kind, as you hope to become someone you wished you had by your side when you were struggling, I hope you know you are a positive force in this world, and that this shines in so many ways. Please do something kind for you today too, for the younger version of you who would be so proud of who they become, because you persevered and rose above the indifference of others.
The Codfather assembles his allies
Am I going overboard with these? Yes oops
IM SHAKING WHAT WAS PEARLS WISH PLEASE SOMEONE HELP
This joke I swear. My head is empty, just riffless fort on me mind
also i am in love with tiny tim
The copper king, the archaeologist, the reporter
It’s been a few months since Empires s2 came to an end and I wanted to make a piece reflecting on the time we spent with these characters 🥰✨ When season 1 ended I did a series of paintings set to the End Poem, and so I decided to revisit the concept once again, making sure to switch up which line corresponded to which person. This series means a lot to me—in fact, this is one of two big Empires s2 projects I’ve been working on! There’s another one still in the works :D
me as a writer: Oh no I can’t write that, somebody else already has
me as a reader: hell yes give me all the fics about this one scenario. The more the merrier
This one is so hard to accept. Reblogging to knock that into my brain.
Me as a writer: I feel like I’m repeating myself, I’ve already used that theme, I’ve already written that kink, that other character uses that speech pattern so this one in another fandom can’t, I feel like I’m writing predictable things, is this different enough from that other thing I wrote, are people filling out bingo cards by my work? :sobbing:
Me as a reader: oh hell yeah this hit the spot exactly, I hope this writer has written 20 more just like it
As one friend said when I felt I was reusing a theme too much, nobody ever says, Did Agatha Christie write about murder again?
I actually laughed out loud at the last one. A very good point.
“I love this, I hope there isn’t anything else out there like it!” Said no one ever
Sometimes you just really need other people to point out the obvious to you! Thanks, guys.
Scenarios
Dialogue
i keep seeing misinformation about this, so: queerplatonic relationships do not have a set definition. the name comes from the idea that it's "queering" the platonic relationship, tailoring it to the individual relationships' own desires. it isn't necessarily romance lite, but it also isn't necessarily whatever definition you want to impose on it. the point of queering the platonic relationship is to break away from strict allonormative views on friendship, romance, and sex, not to make a new categorical box to fit in.
the answer to "what is a qpr?" is "whatever you want it to be." sometimes that is romance lite. sometimes it's a deeply committed friendship. sometimes it's friends who have a sexual relationship. sometimes it's based on an entirely different mode of attraction. sometimes it's fluid and impossible to put into words. it's whatever you want it to be. it's queer.
