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** ART COMMISSIONS OPEN! See info here: fav.me/dae4a04 **
Would you join a fun Rolamaton contest for its fans and my friends?
You see, Italian law makes it impossible for me to run contests, but I CAN run events (like contests, only without winners)!
You're still in time to join the Rolamaton Spring Event 2017 - there are plenty of special gifts (instead of 'prizes') for all who enter and join the event activities/games
Nobody joined since I opened the Event on May 14, so I'd love to see you there!
Just follow the rules in the journal entry linked above.
Remember you can also help support my fiction via Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/robocityworld For every $10 I receive, I will donate $2 to my local library, which is Rolamaton in real life Thanks!
It's an 8-year old myself there in the sketch, hugging Aquila Skies from Rolamaton.
This is one of the illustrations for the Foundation Tales of Rolamaton, set in 1993.
This is one of the illustrations for the Foundation Tales of Rolamaton, set in 1993.
Those of you who followed my work over the past 12 years know how I always refused to consider my self-insertion into the Berter Family (previously 'Prime Family'), Rolamaton The Robocity (previous 'Robocity World') and Planet Electronia (previously a sort of 'edited' Transformers universe) worlds as a Mary Sue.
There is nothing perfect about myself. There is nothing perfect about the fantasy/imaginary version of myself either!
The Luana you read about in the Berter Family, Rolamaton and Planet Electronia is still me, only with more opportunities in life, more mental energy and a major inner strength. Because these are things I continually seek to create and achieve in real life, too.
There is nothing wrong with wish fulfilling. Dreaming of living a better life is what makes the world go round. We have imagination to inspire real life, so why not?
Wikipedia states:
Author surrogacy is a frequently observed phenomenon in hobbyist and amateur writing, so much so that fan fiction critics have evolved the term Mary Sue to refer to an idealized author surrogate. The term 'Mary Sue' is thought to evoke the cliché of the adolescent author who uses writing as a vehicle for the indulgence of self-idealization rather than entertaining others. For male author surrogates, similar names such as 'Marty Stu' or 'Gary Stu' are occasionally used.
This is about fanfiction, but original fiction is the same. Who ever said the author surrogate must be a cliché? Who ever said self-idealization is wrong and our work only has to serve others?
Fiction has to serve both: author and readers. If the author is suffering and isn't finding relief in their writing - or writes just for the money - something's missing: heart.
That doesn't mean you need a self-insertion for a work to have heart, of course, but if the author is present in the form of a character, whether that character carries the same name and appearance of the author in real life, or not, it doesn't mean the work is going to suffer from that presence.
Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy: one of the biggest Gary Stus of all times?
Think about it: Dante Alighieri's main work - the Divine Comedy - is built around himself (his own self-insertion) journeying from Hell through Purgatory to Heaven, a wonderful discovery journey that also contains much of his wish fulfilling (meeting his beloved Beatrice in Heaven)
Sure, there's a religious allegory underlying the whole work (the journey of a soul toward God), but we really can't ignore the personal side of it, and the author's dreams and feelings incorporated in the work.
And hey, Dante had the Roman poet Virgil be his guide in the first two books!
Imagine if one of us had Stephen King be their guide through a fictional journey in a novel, and have a (platonic or romantic) relationship with the person or character they love - what would people say? Oh, I know they'd be accused to be a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. I just know it.
So, is Dante Alighieri the biggest Gary Stu in the history of literature?
Let's see:
- He self-inserted into his work
- He is the protagonist of his work, and has a prominent role through it all
- He has other authors and characters as his guides/friends/people he interacts with in the work, and they all benefit him somehow
- He fulfills his impossible dream to be (at least platonically, in a faith-based context) with the woman he loves
Yet, he's not only accepted as an author and his work almost venerated worldwide, people find nothing wrong with all the above!
But oh, heaven forbid that one of us common mortals does the same! Then our work is junk. :/
And then you wonder why I'm so upset about these matters...
Self-insertions in original work and fanfiction all deserve respect
I (very) strongly disagree with this Fanfiction.net author here when they say self-insertions should be kept in sketchbooks and notebooks because people want to read about their favorite characters in different contexts/AUs and not people's personal fantasies.
I know for sure I want to read people's hearts in fanfiction as much as I do in original fiction, because that's what makes them authentic, credible, alive - and unique.
Canon-based fanfiction is awesome, just as original fiction without self-insertions, but I honestly feel fandoms would lose so much if people stopped sharing their dreams.
People are not machines - they have feelings, and those feelings can fuel wonderful worlds that may lead them far away from the canon universe of a given book, movie, cartoon... but to what beauty!
As long as the work is credible and portrays human situations without clichés (unless they make sense in the context), self-insertions are just as wonderful as any other character.
To sum it up...
Please, respect self-insertions in original and fan work.
Please. It won't cost you a dime to be kind.
If the self-insertion is handled poorly, by all means tell the author - dream fulfilling doesn't equal sloppy work, and both the author and readers deserve something of high quality that's worth bookmarking and being proud of, not something to forget quickly!
Then, if you really can't stomach self-insertions... go read something else. That work is clearly not for you.
(So no, I will not remove myself from my own works - if they're not your thing, I strongly encourage you to search for other works out there - not every work has self-insertions. I definitely won't change my work for you.)
Thanks for reading.
P.S. Keep it civil in comments - I have
Transformers, feelings and all that jazz...
**NO SPOILERS** Since I began to hide online years ago, I also grew more and more distant from one of the fandoms I've loved the most my whole life: The Transformers. The need to hide everything, from drawings to my personal stories where these awesome robots are my family, and the "selling" of the rights of Robocity/Rolamaton The Robocity to @liadospetti , led me to hide things to myself, too. But I still dream, I still fantasize, I still love... so that couldn't last forever. I watched Transformers: Rise of the Beasts with my fiance last Sunday. There on screen, I found again my love for a father-in-law, a deceased (but maybe not for long?) husband, and a newly adopted son. Also, kudos to the writers and producers for staying loyal to most of the G1 lore and designs. I appreciated that. My only major complaint: when are finally seeing Elita-One on screen? Finally, my fiance officially accepts me for being still in love with Primal after all these years, and ultimately, me being
Art Commissions 2024 - Please READ
** 2024 UPDATE: currently pending commissions have *priority* over newest ones. I'm about to get a new laptop with 32 GB of RAM, so I'll be able to use my X-PEN tablet again! ** Dear friends & watchers 🦋 As my wrist health improves a little with pain medicines (I was found to have a synovial cyst that has the same effects of a carpal tunnel), I'm trying to return to sketching for myself -- and my commissions, of course. Only sketches, for my body is currently unable to tolerate long sessions of work, be that drawing or writing. Commissions Details Style: Digital & Pencil Sketch (see here) Price per Sketch: €10 Landscape Sketch: €15 Accepted Payments: PayPal, Amazon Gift Cards - you pay after delivery How to order: email luana@luanaspinetti.com with the details of the commission you want me to sketch Estimated Delivery: about 30 days (you will be notified if it's going to take longer for any reason) Examples: 2 pencil sketches and 1 colored digital sketch 💛 Lu
Can you help me pay June doctor visits?
Dear friends & watchers, would you be able to help me pay for a physiatrist visit (€104) and a sexologist + neuropsychologist/psychotherapy sessions (tot. €113) in June? If everything goes well and INPS approves welfare benefits (ISCRO) I will be able to close the fundraiser by June 20th. Feel free to request an artwork (sketches ONLY for now, sorry) in exchange for your donation. :heart: My GoFundMe page for donations ☟☟☟ God bless, Lu
10 EUR Pencil Sketch Commissions (open all 2022)
I feel like drawing again (thanks, God! :heart: ) but I can't do more than pencil sketches because of arm, wrist and hand pain (nerve compression syndrome, early osteoarthrosis and probably carpal tunnel, too). I'm learning how to draw by using my shoulder instead of my wrist to control the pencil. It's interesting and probably the only way I can do art for the (who knows how long) time being. #disabledlife So, to get back into the rhythm and to help pay medical bills and online courses, I'm offering pencil sketch art commissions for €10 each. Deadlines: I can do these in 24-48 hours on the good days, so you won't have to wait long to get your artwork emailed to you. If it's a bad day, give me 3-4 days. What are sketches good for? To have a starting point so you can progress on an artwork idea more quickly To get a base you can use to create your own character (insert your own reason here) :) Examples: Payments: in advance to my PayPal account. You will get a PDF copy of the
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