…that Yahoo threatens the existence of porn on Tumblr is when I leave. Seriously. I will exit stage left and find another platform that doesn’t piss all over my particular genre of choice.

The question is, where do we go?

All my original stories are out of KDP Select now! Free porn for all!

The last two I was waiting on were Kathy’s World and Devil Masque. Go get ‘em :)

writingcyan:

slever-stukid:

skoothsmin:

I think people are reacting to this being a community update by invitation only, somewhat of an oxymoron. The WAR! update had an open art contest; this update was kept hush-hush to everyone but the handful of people involved. I understand being disappointed that you didn’t even get the chance to prove yourself—I think it is safe to say everyone in the fandom is feeling a touch of petty envy right now. And that is okay; as I was reminded by a good friend yesterday, we are only human.

That said, lay off the contributors! They have all done amazing work for the update and for the TF2 community at large. They deserve the recognition! And don’t pretend you wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to participate if you had been asked; we are all hypocrites in that regard.

For my own part, the update was a painful memento mori. Several artists were invited to participate, but out of all the contributors the only writer was Cat Bountry; once again, my chosen medium was ignored by Valve and the community at large. It is a harsh reminder that if I ever want to make something of my creative abilities, I’ll have to leave the fandom and strike out on my own. Not today and not tomorrow, but some day. While I am proud of my community for creating an entire update and happy that so many of my artist friends have been honoured by Valve, the update is also a knell recalling the future death of my fandom identity. I apologise if this makes me appear less than ecstatic about the whole thing.

—

Edit: Just to clarify my post above, I’m not upset because Cat Bountry was picked to write for the update; Cat is a good author and a major influence in the fandom, and if any one writer had to be picked from the community, she would be the natural choice. I’m upset because Cat Bountry was the only person picked to write for the update. Fanfiction authors are always being overlooked by the fandom, especially on tumblr, and I feel we could contribute to an update with worthwhile material too if only we were given the chance. :/

I get where you’re coming from, Cyan. But it’s okay, it’s not all doom and gloom.

Look, guys, you have to ask yourself: why are we doing this? It sure as hell ain’t for the fame or the money, because the chances of either of those things happening within the fandom are kinda slim, if we’re being honest. And if one of us wins the fucking lottery and gets a nod from the progenitors of the fandom, our response shouldn’t be jealousy - it should be gratitude, because we as a group got noticed. Because Cat’s a fantastic writer, and Valve picked her because we, the fandom, love her stories.

All the writing, the art, the videos, the discussions - we do it for ourselves. We do it it for each other. That Cat was asked is a great honor, and a little bit of that belongs to all of us.

So… yeah. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this fandom, neurotic as it gets sometimes, should be proud. Someday, like Cyan says, individual members will leave, and that’s okay. You never forget that you were a part of an awesome fandom, and you were there when Valve made us a part of the game.

Good gods, I’m tired.

I have been incognito, my friends, due to a somewhat necessary pilgrimage to a place far away. See, I’m not actually from around here - ‘here’ being my mystery location somewhere on the west coast - so I had to take a trip, and said trip took me eastwards.

It’s a pretty weird experience, walking around the places where you grew up, seeing how they changed, and knowing that you might have had a life here, if the circumstances were different and you chose to stay instead. It’s odd to mourn the life you might have had, and marvel at the life you have now.

I don’t think I’d have fallen in with you guys if I had stayed, for what it’s worth. I don’t regret leaving. But you don’t forget where you came from, you know? You can’t grow up in a place and not have it mark you forever, whether you like it or not. You’ll wear it on the outside, in your accent or your speech or how you dress, or you’ll keep it in the inside to blend in with the locals, but it never really goes away.

Anyway.

Travel is tiring. The only upside is that it gives me a chance to think, and to mull over new ideas. So, the kinda interesting thing to come out of this is that I may have a sequel in the works to Watcher. Yes, I said it wasn’t very likely, but the idea is there, and after some prodding I may have another part for you guys to read.

No rest for the wicked… did I miss much while I was away?

Hugs ‘n’ kisses

ZD