*this is especially important: these days on Tumblr there’s a wonderful atmosphere of being able to talk openly about your mental illness or your struggle. And that’s great! But there’s a difference between sharing in order to help yourself and other people and sharing just because you have no other coping mechanisms. As much as you’re able, try to work on developing a different outlet. People aren’t qualified to be your therapist because they’re nice to you a couple of times. Please remember that they have lives too, and their job is not to make you feel better or pity you, no matter how difficult your life is.
And last but not least:
But…
I really don’t have a way to better this.
Your interests are your own. I can’t advise anyone to change their interests to fit in with a certain group of people – that’s stupid, and actually quite damaging to your sense of self.
Instead, I would recommend that, maybe if you feel like your topics of conversation are falling flat with this group of people, you move on to other, greener pastures. There are bound to be places where your ideas mesh better with an audience.
And of course – try to be considerate about what you say and how you say it.
Sometimes, what might seem like a harmless comment to you might be a very discomforting thought to another person. I recently had a conversation on a forum with a guy who was telling me that his headcanon was that Pearl (from SU) would soon get a male love interest who loved mechanics and weapons next, and that would be her best arc, because she would finally get a ‘healthy’ love interest.
His intentions were good, but he was entirely unaware of how cringey this kind of thing was to a bunch of (probably queer) people, who have spent their entire lives being told that the only ‘good’ character development for them would be to get a ‘male love interest’. No one wanted to be the jerk to say “fuck off, we don’t want that to happen” but everyone was answering him in a flat way, trying to discourage the discussion further. Instead of picking up on the hint, he bulldozed on, thinking he was having a ‘lively conversation’ which was, in fact, in its late stages of death.
I know I’ll probably get a few messages to this saying: What about people on the Autistic Spectrum? Sometimes, people can’t pick up social cues or ‘hints’. And if that’s the case, it’s incredibly difficult to understand why you’re not having any luck communicating despite your best efforts.
I feel that on a person level, please believe me. I made this infograph for THAT VERY REASON. Because I WAS that awkward kid who didn’t pick up on hints well. In fact, I still have trouble talking to people. If any of you have had the misfortune of being my conversational partner, you’ll know that I tend to be overly blunt and come off as very unfriendly. It’s something that I, myself, am working on currently in order to grow into a better person. It’s a struggle in progress, but I am aiming towards the progress side, and I just wanted to help out others while I was at it.
Hey, we all know to avoid Tapas (the webcomic platform, not the delicious finger foods) by now, right?
They’re going after young creators again with a new “incubator program”, so just as an FYI, let’s examine some information from their call for submissions.
First off, they’re looking for 600+ panel full color comics to be completed in 6-9 months. Script to final art. That’s about a 120+ page graphic novel, for comparison. (Also, the fact that they use the word “season” is a red flag — they’re looking for tv series, not comics.)
Mobile-Optimized Vertical Format Your project must fit our preferred format: full-color, mobile-friendly (also known as “vertical scroll” or “infinite canvas”), and be long-form narratives. A single season will consist of 20-25 episodes, with each episode being roughly 30 panels.
Time Frame Most projects will start in July and take approximately 6 – 9 months to complete one season of an original story. While we will try to work out a schedule that is most comfortable for you, the ideal start date for projects will be in July or August.
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Wanna know how much money we’re offering? You gotta send us your idea first, sorry. But don’t worry, we promise it’ll take up a ton of your time and not give you any benefits!
How much will I be paid? Can you give an estimate? Because everyone’s situation is different (length of story, production time, etc.), we are unable to provide an estimate of compensation. Details about compensation are worked out after we give you an offer. You are under no obligation to accept the offer.
How much of my time will be required for this program? This project will take a significant amount of your time to complete so we ask that you carefully consider your schedule before submitting.
Do I get benefits (like health insurance or parking expenses)?
No. Being selected for this program doesn’t mean you will be considered an employee of Tapas Media, which means you are ineligible for benefits.
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THIS is the real boogeyman of the agreement, though. In practice, “joint ownership” means “really, they own it” — you won’t be able to do anything with your own stories without their permission and involvement. This is NOT a normal or fair publishing practice.
The copyright will be shared between the creator and Tapas Media.
Why is this a joint ownership?
As we are investing a significant amount of money, effort, and time into your project, we feel that asking for co-ownership is fair. If the idea of joint ownership isn’t comfortable with you, please don’t feel obligated to apply.
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If you remember that whole Tokyopop debacle, a lot of cartoonists lost their work altogether from signing one of these “joint ownership” contracts. This is a giant red flag.
Last one, and they tried to bury this information: they’re gonna give you no time to negotiate this contract. They want you to start working the same month you get accepted. This isn’t time to hire a lawyer/agent to read over it and help you fight for better terms.
Important Dates Submissions Open: June 1, 2018 12:00 AM PDT Submissions Close: July 1, 2018 11:59 PM PDT Responses will begin rolling out after submissions close.
Time Frame Most projects will start in July and take approximately 6 – 9 months to complete one season of an original story. While we will try to work out a schedule that is most comfortable for you, the ideal start date for projects will be in July or August.
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Anyway, they close their own dang FAQ saying basically “if you don’t like it then fuck off”, and to be honest, it’s in your best interests to do exactly that.
Start that awesome webcomic on your own, keep your copyright intact, avoid these people like the plague
We understand that this program might not be a good fit for everyone. If there is an aspect of the program that doesn’t sit well with you, you don’t have to apply.
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Oh, and if this helped, you can check out Mel’s work melaniegillman.com, where they do stuff with colored pencils that makes me weep.
some people on insta said i should post my workout routine since i mentioned how im so happy with the results, so here’s my little workout guide for my fellow trans folk! I focused on getting a more masculine body because obviously that’s what I want. I’m so happy with the results, this workout is saving my fucking life!!!! I can’t get on T soon so this has really been keeping my dysphoria in check. I barely get body dysphoria, i love how my clothes looks on me, i love feeling confident for once in my life!!! HOWEVER Don’t go overboard with working out my friends. Do not work out in a binder, you MUST take days off to let your muscles heal, and you CAN’T starve yourself! Fitness is all about health and diet! Take care of yourself. This is also MY workout routine, you may not get the same results as I have! Every body is different.
EDIT: ahh I really didn’t expect this thing to blow up….A few people have brought it to my attention that some of the nutrition here could be wrong/not work for everyone. I apologize if I caused any harm. I think I stressed enough that you shouldn’t starve yourself to lose weight. That’s very dangerous, and if you’re prone to such habits I suggest don’t count calories, etc, and just make sure your diet is very nutritious. I just provided a way to lose weight that my doctor told me about. You don’t need to lose weight if you don’t want to. Obviously if you’re already thin there’s no need to make a goal to lose weight; that’s dangerous. Also, some of this may or may not be helpful depending on your body type. I was underweight before working out so I have no idea how it would affect someone overweight! Please don’t hold this post to such a high standard; this was just my own routine and things I do to stay in shape, I obviously can’t cater to everyone. I literally didn’t expect this post to blow up like it did, this was literally just for a few people. Sorry for any harm it caused!
Help Me Improve My Art 