#but in recent years where my naruto experience has been kept more to myself

[jostenneil]

I think something so fundamental to Naruto as a story is the fact that Naruto and Sasuke’s individual journeys in relation to Konoha—as a system and as a collective of people—are always going to send them in opposite directions. Like I realize that a lot of fans (including me, at times) wanted anything but angst for them as a conclusion, after all that they went through, but in doing so I think people ignore something undeniable about the story itself. As the story progresses, Konoha becomes a home to Naruto, and a source of exile to Sasuke. More under the cut!

The problems I have with Naruto’s post-canon—Chapter 700 and onward—lie mostly in the idea that Sasuke is willing to bend and cater to this system that: 

manipulated his brother into massacring his whole family,

isolated him as a result of that massacre, fixing his hatred on a singular point with no thought to how that situation could easily spiral, which it did, 

provided him with no knowledge as to why that massacre actually occurred,

and when he did find out the reason, lead him to realize that Konoha was a village that had never wanted him to begin with, that he had been spared solely because his brother loved him that much (but even then, that love wasn’t without consequence, and it was manipulated by the background intentions of Konoha’s elite), 

and, regardless of all these facts, continued to alienate and criminalize him rather than help or address his trauma and his very valid reasons for rage aimed at the village. 

Do I agree that there were better ways for Sasuke to go about his intentions once he recognized Konoha’s elite for the scum of the earth that they were? Sure. But I also think it’s important to recognize that he was incredibly destabilized as a child, and it’s amazing, because for some people this is a very hard thing to understand? I think fandom doesn’t realize the difference in the words ‘justified’ and ‘explained’. Were all of Sasuke’s actions in canon justified? Maybe not (although a lot were). Were all of his actions well explained by his trauma? Honestly, yeah. 

So to circle back to the point that I am trying to make—it’s true that during Part I, he grew very close to Team 7, and for a brief moment in time, these relationships were like a lifeline for him. But think about it—is a connection that you hold to three people enough to keep you in a village where you hardly feel connected to the rest? This is only a mild issue for Sasuke at the end of Part I; he doesn’t feel very connected to most people in Konoha, but at best, they’re just annoying background noise, trivial obstacles in the face of his goal to hunt down and murder Itachi. 

By the end of Part II, however, it’s overwhelmingly integral to his situation. Over the course of his journey, he’s come to learn that Konoha as a system always viewed him—his family—as a potential threat. His life was spared by his brother, but even that came with consequences and orders orchestrated by Danzo and co.; add onto that the chaos that he wrecked once he was free of Orochimaru’s tutelage, and you have a person who didn’t just alienate himself from his village, but who was alienated by that village in turn. 

It just makes so much sense to me that he leaves at the end of Chapter 699, because while he obviously cares deeply for Naruto and Sakura, is it really realistic to imagine him staying there just for them? What would he do, and what purpose would staying there serve him? This village rendered his entire life a lie, trivialized his existence, and traumatized him as a result. Aside from his connection to Naruto, by the end of the manga, Sasuke is purposeless. For someone whose entire arc is propelled by hate and sadness that stems from a very specific purpose, he ends up in this strange, sort of in-limbo space. . .

. . . which is why I actually like the idea that he decided to go on a journey for himself. It’s why I like the Blank Period notion of him being this forever traveler who drops in on occasion to help when circumstances are dire. It’s a good balance for him. In the fast-forwarded post-canon, however, we see that he’s essentially become a more child-friendly Itachi equivalent—he’s signed his life away to forever protect Konoha from behind the scenes, despite the fact that it comes at the cost of him neglecting his own family, and for the sake of a populace that for the most part does not care for him. It just feels like such a cruel way for his story to come full circle, after everything that he went through, because as much as he loves Naruto, Sasuke admitting to loss is more an acceptance to let love in, in full, and to let it guide him over the hatred he’d harbored in his heart for so long. That doesn’t have to be equivalent to submitting himself to Konoha—it just means that he should allow himself to prioritize his own needs and desires, rather than let anyone else’s evil or trauma guide him, as it has for the whole story.

And actually, that notion, to me, is what made Naruto’s character progression and ending make a lot of sense in comparison. He is someone who constantly strove for heartfelt connection to others, despite the pain and rejection that it could very often inflict on himself. In many ways, it was a dangerous way to think, and he often came off as naive(, which Naruto as a story is plenty criticized for, because it easily runs counter-intuitive to any sort of worthy political commentary on the series), but it also made him a very hopeful and independent person. He didn’t allow what others thought of him or inflicted upon him to guide his thinking, and he was very much someone who prioritized his own heart over the malice of others. 

So naturally, Naruto always ran in a direction opposed to Sasuke as a result of this thinking—and we know this. Befriending and changing the people around him for the better was what propelled Naruto more than anything, and it’s why Konoha ended up as a home for him despite everything it and its people did to discourage and put him down. He had to go to ridiculous lengths to prove himself, and in many ways it was cruel to realize, but he also formed so many valuable relationships along the way. Like, his relationship with Sasuke obviously takes precedence, because it is the foundation and catalyst for everything, but I don’t really agree with people who view Naruto’s dream of becoming Hokage as an obstacle to that bond. I actually feel like those were goals that ran in parallel for him. And I mean, he even says it, doesn’t he? How is he supposed to become Hokage if he can’t even bring back this one friend from darkness. It just resonates so much to me that by the end of the story, Naruto is someone actually prepared to take on the mantle of Hokage—because he understands other people’s pain, and he runs with it, and he is insistent upon making the people around him love themselves because he knows how miserable he was as a child hardly able to love himself. 

In that sense, Chapter 699 is, to me, a really great chapter. I think it captures that forever diverging dichotomy between him and Sasuke perfectly. Naruto is a story equally about Naruto making a home for himself in Konoha as it is about Sasuke freeing himself from the same village’s shackles. True, there is this intense, deeply rooted love that they are always going to have for each other, but that love is something that runs alongside their own personal feelings and ambitions, rather than against it. I think people get caught up in the idea that a happy ending for them has to mean that they’re together together, but to me there’s a certain poetry in them going their own separate ways. Konoha is no longer a home for Sasuke (if it ever was, even a little), but that relationship to Naruto and Team 7 will forever be important to him and influence him wherever he goes; and Konoha has become a home for Naruto, but it’s also with the peace of knowing that Sasuke won’t ever succumb to the darkness of others again, and will love himself first. 

So, tldr; I think the notion of Naruto ending with Naruto and Sasuke going their separate ways is kind of ingenious, because it ties deeply into what Konoha means to each of them by the end of it. This isn’t me saying that I think they’re never going to see each other again—I just don’t think the conclusion to their individual arcs has to be in opposition to what their relationship means to them. They can continue to be intensely important to each other, while prioritizing their own hopes and dreams. That’s the beauty and tragedy of their relationship to me. (Chapter 700, who?)

[hilli98215]

I am confused. I am hurt. I don’t know what to think. This is a long post. A very long post that is personal but I’ve had it in my head for a while to write. You don’t have to read this. This post has no real meaning. It’s more of a rant of how I feel in the world of fandom, my experiences, and why this posts exists. 

Again, you do not have to read this. 

You have been warned.

DO NOT REBLOG THIS POST!!!! 

When I became an English major in college, I did so knowing several things. One of those is the fact I love literature and I love discovering why authors, creators, and artists wrote what became their most well known work.

Where am I going?

My first fandom was when I was in Junior High (about 13-14 years old) that I was a part of, meaning I read fan fiction and discovered fan art of, was either Naruto or Pokémon. To me these works were escapes of my real confusing life. Especially when I moved states and schools. I had no one. Through this, I discovered what I liked and didn’t like in the world of fiction and was introduced to fandom words/slang such as shipping, fan fiction, lemons (which I don’t think is used as often now), different types of writing, yaoi, yuri, and a few more I can’t remember. This also included the all important phrase Don’t like don’t read. This was when I was in my early teens. 

But I was in a phase where I could find what I found interesting and that was that. 

When I got to high school, I was still this awkward quiet kid with no friends. But I did have marching band so that was something. 

At this point was was interested in Ouran Highschool Host Club, Death Note, a series called Beauty Pop, Fullmetal Alchemist, and a few others. This was also around the time where I began writing fanfiction for OHSC and even began buying manga. Anyway, this was my introduction to fandom as a teenager. And this is before Tumblr.

All I had were my friends, videos on YouTube, and my own interests. No one really understood why I loved all these things. 

Then came the very first fandom I became fully obsessed in my sophomore year: a small series called Hetalia Axis Powers. I was completely invested in this fandom. So much so I wrote fan fiction, bought merch, and read a lot of fan fiction myself. I think it was because, at the time I thought it was because the art style was cute, the voice acting wasn’t half bad and it had to do with history. But this is where things got interesting for me and learning about fandom as a whole. 

As a teen, I hadn’t known about AUs and this series had a lot of them. From the usual school AUs to odd ones. I usually stayed in my bubble and kept up the mantra Don’t like Don’t read. 

But why talk about it?

Well, let’s just say a lot of the content later on became weird and new. I learned a lot about new terms like de-aging and ABO. But this leads to interest which once again let me know what genres of fan fiction I like. 

I continued on with this fandom for about 3 years. And what broke it was the drama and how people were finding a sudden moral compass for personified countries. I mean there are other problems with that show that I recognize now as an adult and didn't see as a kid but that’s for another time. But I quietly left because I was beginning to understand that the drama wasn’t worth a tv show.

I would say the next fandom I was invested in and loved and I think had the least amount of drama was Fairy Tail. Now I fell in love with this series because of the story, characters, and the welcoming fandom. Overall there was rarely any drama because I think we all knew that we had to be civil with each other and respect our ships. While I’m not part of that fandom anymore a lot of people on Tumblr and FFN were very welcoming. The main series kinda fizzled out but that was one of the few positive fandom experiences I had.

I was at that point in my life where I was in college, created my Tumblr and posted regularly to escape life. 

Coming off that fandom, I was part of the Yuri on Ice! fandom from beginning to the end. I mean it’s a sports anime that’s about men's figure skating and how it can affect athletes just to get a gist of it.

That’s when my experience with fandom became interesting because these characters were being paired in a way that made me feel like they can’t be paired with anyone else. Like, there was a pairing we were all cheering for to happen by the end. 

This is the first series I was highly interested in as an adult where the ages of the characters were defined. There were a few in their teens, some in their early to mid 20s, and a couple in their 30s. Now this was a historic anime for several reasons. The main being there being a gay relationship being shown in a positive light and mental illness being shown in a way that wasn’t patronizing and negative. I loved this show for those reasons. But I also quickly learned how people would take these characters (especially those with huge age differences) and pair them up. That was my first introduction to criticism of how ‘gross’ it would be for a 15 year old to be paired up with an 18 year old. But I saw a problem that made me second guess my thinking. When I was in high school, I knew someone who was a sophomore at 15 and dated someone who was 18. Why was there a problem? 

I knew if I voiced this that I would be shamed and told that I was disgusting. Eventually I had enough and left shortly after the series ended.

Then came the Voltron: Legendary Defender series. Oh boy.

Now that series came out while I was in college and I often viewed it in a critical perspective similar to one would a piece of literature because my major was in English and that was what I was taught. Like YOI I was part of this fandom day 1 because it was so different from the original Voltron series from the 80s. I loved how the fandom dissected everything in every episode. There were watch parties, analysis videos, and even skits at conventions. It was a fandom I knew I wanted to be a part of. But then there was fanfiction that I found odd and knew that I never wanted to read that. People were writing about topics that made me uncomfortable and I didn’t know how to deal with it. After a while, I questioned why I was forcing myself to read them in the first place. So, I stopped reading them. This was also around the time where I discovered AO3 and their amazing tagging system. Because if the tagging system was not there, I probably would have stopped reading fanfiction all together.

But then there was drama, shipping wars, morality wars, and I had enough. I was there until it ended and left quietly. Which is sad considering I loved the experience but it was ruined by what people thought was right for fictional characters. 

Now you may be asking “What was the point of this post?”

To answer your question, I don’t know.

I have loved reading since I was a kid. And when I got to high school, I had this AP teacher who told us something that has stayed with me to this day.

‘As a reader we are detectives. We want to know why the author wrote this book. We want to know what influenced them.’

I took that saying to heart and approach everything through a critical lens. Which is difficult in a fandom. It’s hard to have a critical approach to a series that everyone takes for a grain of salt.

I have been exposed to a lot of books and pieces of literature that have been considered controversial because of their content. When I left high school, I began to realize what genres of books I like in the YA genre and in literature. 

I experimented.

And when you think about it, that’s what you do with fan fiction and fandom. We are always experimenting. We are always finding what we like and don’t like. 

But recently I’ve noticed a new fandom term that makes me wonder where I fall in all of this craziness we call fandom. 

Pro-Fiction/Pro-Shipper

It wasn’t until last year I saw this word thrown around in a new fandom I am in. I tried to do some research but I couldn't find anything. Nothing. And then I learned it’s a new term in itself.

I won’t go into detail but it reminds of the ‘video games are violent so that makes so-and-so violent’ argument parents made when Mortal Kombat came out. 

Well you still didn’t answer the question.

And you’d be right. I saw a post from a follower that saddened me and honestly freaked me out. Why announce that you hate a specific group? It felt like a call out post without saying any names. A warning that states: Block me or out yourself. Or rather: Block me or else.

Do I identify as this? To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I think critically and see things differently. In fact everyone does. 

We are always going to be influenced by the media whether it be a movie, television, a book, or a video game. We will always love these storylines and characters. We will always take the messages to heart. We will always cheer for the hero and maybe the villain too. 

I do want you guys to remember this, make your own fandom experience. Block those who make you feel uncomfortable and make you feel like you don’t matter. You do.

You are your own person. No one can tell you otherwise. If you feel uncomfortable, then maybe you need to leave the fandom. Or find a space in the fandom that you can be yourself. Or don’t care what people think and do what you always do.

It’s all up to you.

[dayseternal-blog]

Dude.

Over 10,000 Hits 🎉

I am alarmed, I have been alarmed from the start.

This is still a celebration post, but unlike my unashamed Nightdreams celebration post, this one is an unashamed reflection celebration post 🌱.  On something I’ve spent quite a bit of effort and time on, whether I actually finish this story or not (lol I will), it’s a story to be proud of.  And it’s something I’d like to articulate my feelings on before I end it for good 🎀.

Below the cut is a very long trash love letter 💌 to myself and anyone who’d like a peek at my narcissism.  I am a slut for self-reflection.

Ahead of that, thank you for enjoying my stuffs everyone 💝. 

I often think to write for myself and for fun, that no one else will love my fic more than me or have more fun than me...  That’s idealistic.  That’s a mindset to keep.  Especially as a new fic writer when no one recognized my username, it was a way to keep myself from losing motivation.  May agitosgirl always be my inspiration and role model🙏🏼.

But I wonder how can I return to that mindset in its purest form?  When I wrote It’s No Secret, I was ecstatic to hit 500 views.  I had about 5 readers who motivated me with their comments, and it was all very precious.  And It’s No Secret continues to be my favorite fic even though it’s far from my tightest writing.  (Isn’t it because I actually wrote that one just for myself?  Comments and kudos were all just bonus points.)

White Lilies is probably one of my least favorite stories.  If I were to rank my fics in order of preference, it would be near the bottom.  If I were to rank my fics in order of “fics I’d like NarutoDays (DAYS8) to be remembered for,” White Lilies would not be at the top, either.  I almost dislike that White Lilies is the story that caught people’s attention.

The best entertainment to me is inconsequential shows like HGTV, Say Yes to the Dress, and sparkly shoujo manga.  How is it that people don’t feel the same way??? lol jk

But to persevere in a story, that is a part of growth as a fic writer, too.  And to write for others’ enjoyment more than my own, that’s not a bad thing, even though I felt more stress...

OH but those White Lilies arts are certainly my faves.  Gorgeous and very good.  Yes.  Amazing on all accounts.  I wonder if I would have kept writing without them.    No?  Probably no, right?  Yeah, I would have stopped.  Since I started the story to just scratch the itch “Medicine” gave me.  Once that mosquito bite faded around chapter 3, I was ready to move on.  But now, very tangibly, other people I admire very much in the fandom spent actual time and effort in creating lovely pieces for the story.  I was blessed and that’s not something to ignore.  I mean, I could have.  At the most, that would just be disappointing.  At the least, White Lilies would be another hiatus fic in my list.  

Jeez, but it would be even more hypocritical to not acknowledge that the attention was very nice.  I can go so far as to say that I expected someone to keep giving me the affirmation that this junk was good since I wasn’t giving myself any kick of enjoyment.  Is that still dishonest.  I think I told a reader of White Lilies that I don’t ask people for comments or kudos.  That’s true, I don’t ask.  But I’ve expected it for White Lilies for the past few chapters.  Ew.  That’s gross Days, I hate that.  What if I closed comments on the last chapter of White Lilies.  That might be good.  Well I don’t have a good enough reason to do that.

I wonder if that’s why I dislike White Lilies.  Not for its angst.  Not for its difficult feelings and its difficult romance...well, actually, no, I dislike White Lilies for those reasons.  But on top of those things, the story has altogether gone against my foundation and motivation in fic writing.  Did I have fun.  ?  The comment section at the beginning was very stressful.  OMG no I shall never forget that one reader who got way too emotional about the story and made my comment section such a mess!  Why didn’t that reader put their little comments into one big comment.  For real.  Plus, it was an anon reader.  Don’t anonymous readers need to put their email address in every time they comment?  How humbug is that?  My goodness.

Oh ho ho nooooo that one reader who freaking told me to fix my writing using Grammarly.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  AHHHHHHHHHH.  AHHHHHHHHHH

...

So after that when I moderated the comments, I actually started to enjoy reading comments again.  Huh.  SO ACTUALLY when did I finally not feel anxiety anymore about the comment section.  Not until Chapter 5?  But that was the chapter I wasn’t happy with and ended up revising the ending after I published it.

I mean to tell myself that it’s only this most recent Chapter 6 that I felt good and normal and 安心 and ホッとしている to update.  I’m not kidding myself, what I terrible thing to realize now.  No wonder I dislike White Lilies.  The overall experience has not been that great.

Well “great” is too general a way to describe writing this story.  There’s been many wonderful things.  The new attention and recognition and compliments and gratitude were amazing.  The art.  The playlist.  The funny reader impatience in the asks 👏🏼.

OOOOOOOh the Bookmark summaries!!!!  

Hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂.  I love these too much.  These summaries give me life.  White Lilies in a nutshell.

Ahh yeah.  So funny.  Those are so good.  gogohai been making me laugh since August.

Remember at the start, I was so confused by the hit count on chapter 1 🤔.  I thought it was a bunch of antis accidentally clicking in, or SasuNaru fans or something, so I made those notes at the top that clearly stated how I’m not anti-NH.  It turns out everyone’s masochists for angst lol.

Anyway, I know I’ll finish this story.  What a strange feeling.  I think it must be because I worked so hard through the slumps already between Chapter 3 & 4, and Chapter 4 & 5, and Chapter 5 & 6, I know Chapter 7 will certainly happen, too.  How nice.

You know, White Lilies, it is what it is.  I have desensitized from mean comments.  Like, I think comments can’t hurt me anymore.  I’ll just be like 🤷🏻‍♀️ in response.  The attention on this story boosted my ego so much that I now know without a doubt that my writing is good enough and anyone who tells me otherwise can go ahead bumbai get bachi.

That’s really good.  For how unenjoyable it has been at many times, I have definitely sacrificed “fun” for “the sense of accomplishment,” and it’s not wrong or less valuable to spend my free time seeking accomplishment and completion in something so inconsequential as fanfiction.

However this story flipped my sense of purpose in writing, where accomplishment became tied to reader feedback.  Accomplishment usually ties to my sense of fun and enjoyment.  Instead I’ve been seeking that sense of fun in the readers, whether through their own personal enjoyment or through the number of comments/kudos/likes/reblogs.  How boring is that?  Ah!  Very boring.  It’s not wrong to seek validation through the readers.  Many writers and artists want their work to be seen and enjoyed by many because the act of sharing is in itself joyful.  Fine.  Haven’t I just found this a very tiring way to go about posting my stuff.  

I am nostalgic for my mentality of two years ago.

It’ll be good to finish White Lilies.  The excitement will be done and over with certainly, and this same amount of attention will never happen again.  As one of the nerdiest nerds in one of the nerdiest corners of nerdy fandom called Fanfiction, it’s a privilege to have my imagination on so many other people’s browser, to transport so many people away from their real life problems to fake problems instead lol, and to participate in an exchange of ideas with other writers and artists in the Naruto fandom.  What a great thing!

It’ll be even better to focus completely on stuff that I actually like, though, won’t it 💖.

[professorpalmarosa]

3, 14, & 34.

What current rp trenddo you hate?

“Aesthetic” text.I don’t care if you’re the best writer in the world or the friendliest mun onearth. If you write your posts in a microscopic font and/or space your words inweird places just for the sake of making things pretty, I’m going to pass on interacting.

Replies should be legible and online-reader friendly. This also holds true for the Great Wall of Text.

Please, formy sake as well as the sake of others, split up your paragraphs each time:

Someone new is talking.

A new action or object of focus is taking place.

You already have 5+ lines in this paragraph.

Do you think rp hashad a positive or negative affect on your life or you as a person?

It’s done both. Allof my longest lasting friendships have been with former or current RP partners.Some of us have kept in touch and still interact even 13+ years later!

Everycommunity I join, I find one or two wonderful people like this. Sometimes wefollow each other into other fandoms, but sometimes we don’t. And the bestfriends are those that even when you cross over to different fandoms; you stillencourage each other and respect one another as people, not just muns.

For instance, I’ve known @the-schwayest-batman-around since2006 and our old Fullmetal Alchemist days. I met @m-dawg63 and @yunhuntress around this time, too. I’ve also known @girlnumber11 for nearly 7 years at thispoint. We still do stuff outside of Batman Beyond.

If you want more recentexamples, like my Naruto days, I’m still chatting on the regular with@uchihacollector, @nikkxb, @mita-rashi, @seiauton, and @tropical-gothic.

But for every good story I have, I also have horror stories:

In one fandom, there was one very emotionally fragile munwho gravitated toward me and ended up falling pretty hard for my muse. They wantedto build an entire AU where the two hooked up and went on bittersweetadventures together. Their preferences were more for the fluffy stuff, while I’mkind of a “doom and gloom” writer and gravitate more toward the heavy stuff.I can also get bored super quick when all we do is domestic stuff. When I found another mun who played the same muse this person did and theirwriting preferences more closely matched my own, I got accused of “playingfavorites” and “kicking _____ out of the sandbox” when I did no such thing. Theydid that on their own with their needy, clingy behavior. I never said an illword about them.

In another fandom, I got treated like a writing machine withno feelings. I cranked out quality content like clockwork literally every weekend, only to watch in despair when those pieces struggled to get 1-2 likesor reblogs…and then an ask meme response I posted in 20 minutes got nearly 40by the end of the day. What a way to make a gal feel appreciated, Tumblr.

In yet another fandom, somebody else created a bad OC anddemanded I interact and acknowledge them as part of my character’s family. WhenI said I wasn’t interested, I got a TON of “Hello?” and “Did you read my rulesyet?” IMs from this clueless, persistent person.

The worst experience was when I made friends with someoneand we started to ship our characters together. OOC, there was no chemistry. Wewere just a pair of bros having fun watching our muses go at it. Then bro’s waifu joined the community,created an alternate character for bro’s character to ship with, and startedsending me anon hate in an attempt to make me go away. LATER, waifu decided she wanted to be my friend, drew me fan art, and even wanted to ship with one of my muses? Like...what? You gaslight the shit out of someone and then decide you like them? That ain’t how it works, honey. I saw you on StatCounter.

Have you ever criedwhile writing a reply?

Yes. It alsosometimes happens when I’m working on my fan-fiction.

Chapter 53 (which comes out later this year) was soupsetting to write that it took me over a week to complete it. It might notseem like too much on the surface, but I conjured up a lot of my inner demonsand past traumas in that one, all for the sake of “art.”

It also happened a fewother times in the story, especially once a very important character deathhappens and it’s not an immediate passing. It lingers, the hospital was based off a realhospital, and…I won’t get into it. Let’s just say you can sometimes tell when apost or chapter is a “heart dump” because there’s this heavier than usual aurato it.

I’m not going to count what I’ve done on IM, though I’ve hada slew of cases where this has happened recently. Let’s talk about actual examplesthat always choke me up:

The Zombie AU between @mita-rashi and myself was filled withall kinds of moments along these lines. It’s honestly hard to pick a specificmoment!

And with @the-schwayest-batman-around, one of the most upsettingstories we did was during the Arkham is the New Blackgate saga. Zhora (mycharacter: Rebel One from the Batman Beyond comics) broke out of Arkham whenshe found out her mother was in the hospital and not expected to make it. Terrywas notified of her breakout by the warden, as well as given the name of thehospital where Zhora was expected to appear. Terry put on the batsuit, met herover there, and…actually waited for her to say goodbye to her mom beforeescorting her back. It’s one of the first times he actually lived up to whatBatman used to be in the original animated series, and that whole plotline wasa gut punch from start to finish.

[mysurveys]

Random Qs

Survey #29 on the Countdown to 2018!

When was the last time you used a regular telephone?

Are you trying to ask about our landline? Because I wouldn't call a smartphone "irregular" these days...

The last time I used our landline was yesterday, but I don't own a cell phone. I hate talking on the phone and I have no interest in texting.

How many times have your comments been top comments on YouTube?

Would you ever wear a wig?

Probably only for Halloween.

What did you learn today?

I learned that I love Dreamwidth's cross-posting function. I finally found out about that yesterday since I didn't start using DW as my LJ backup until recently although I made the account last December.

It was obvious where things were going on LJ concerning Russia so I made sure I got "eyeofthetigress86" back then. Some dead DWJ had that without the numbers!

What're you most afraid of?

I don't have a greatest one since my fears are purely situational. I won't allow irrational fear to control me.

It's only rational when it arises based on the situation, and even then it's only a warning sign and not something that paralyzes me. My faith in God assures that I don't have to be as scared of life as nonbelievers.

Are you watching TV as you fill out this survey?

I'm not, but I never do that.

Have you ever tried to make a movie?

I've only ever made AMVs and GMVs, but that was years ago.

When’s the last time you turned something upside-down?

I'm not sure.

Do you read books just for fun?

Occasionally. I don't need to read them for any other reason.

Do you like the moon or sun more?

I'm a night owl and sometimes the sun just irritates me.

Do you have any posters in your room?

Yes, two small ones and two large ones. I've got two Animal Crossing posters, one large one for City Folk and a small one for Wild World.

Then I've got a large poster for The X-Files and a small one for Naruto. I only liked the latter because it was free and it had Hatake Kakashi on it. He's pretty much the only reason I kept watching that anime.

Do you burn a CD every day?

Definitely not.

Do you smile more than you frown?

My face is usually neutral, but I do smile more often than I frown.

Do you know anyone named Spencer?

I don't think so.

When’s the last time you used an envelope?

I have no idea.

Do you sing in the shower?

Only when the radio is on.

What’s your worst subject?

It's always been math due to dyscalculia.

Do you ever go to the mall on weekdays?

Sure. I prefer to go when a lot of people are in school or at work.

How often do you wash your pants?

I wash everything I own as needed.

Would you rather have a million dollars or be able to fly?

Math, if I had that much money then I'd just buy myself a packable parachute bag.

Do you like Friday or Saturday nights more?

Either.

Have you ever been ice skating?

I haven't.

Do you hate it when guys treat girls like crap?

If it's just things that random adults are saying to one another then it's none of my concern. The only way it would bother me is if someone's verbally abusing a child because they're defenseless.

Concerning adults, aggressive words and actual violence are two very different things. If you don't like what someone has to say then you don't have to listen to them if you really can't handle it.

Sadly, Millennial cupcakes don't qualify as adults. They love to leave people angry comments on social media sites before running away in terror. That disqualifies you from adulthood.

Do you like turkey or ham more?

I prefer ham.

When did you realize that Canadian bacon was just ham?

It's an American term for fully cooked back bacon. Canada's term for "bacon" is the one that strictly refers to the streaky breakfast food.

Have you ever slapped someone’s butt?

I really don't think so.

Do you ever have sleepless nights?

I have Bipolar insomnia sometimes.

Would you rather be treated fairly or equally?

"They both are the same." ← Fairness is often accounting for the capabilities and incapabilities of others which make us all different. And if we were all truly equal by cupcake standards then we could all do everything exactly the same.

Well, I'm not like Joe Schmo so don't treat me as though I'm equal to him in every way. That's not fair!

Equality is when a man and a woman are paid equally after doing the same work with the same efficiency. It's not expecting them to both be fully capable of lifting the same physical weight at work, is it?

It is in fact our diversity of differences that make us all the same; everyone isn't exactly alike and we all have that one trait entirely in common.

The idea that people and countries will ever be financially, economically or socially equal to everyone else is just absurd and entirely useless.

I would much prefer to be treated fairly based upon my personal needs unless it concerns moral concepts that everyone should adhere to, but I'm not interested in the idealistic PC beliefs of today's Millennial cupcakes.

That disgraceful notion of "equality" that they espouse is yet another on a laundry list of childish nonsense, just like those who believe that the social construct of human "gender" is on a spectrum or those who think white men can't experience prejudice based upon their sex and race.

I'd much rather be logical and rational, thank you. :)

What’s something that always comes and goes?

The tide of the ocean.

How many pillows do you sleep with?

I use two.

Do you want to help save the rainforest?

If I wanted to help with that then I'd try to do something about it, but that's not one of the things I'm called to do.

Do you think dimples are ugly?

They can go either way.

If you could restart your life, would you?

I'm only interested in living, not replaying moments or regretting things or getting a do-over. Life's not a game.

Who's better, Shia Labeouf or Ryan Gosling?

I don't care about either.

What’s your favorite food?

It's currently uncut futomaki.

Did it snow today where you live?

It hasn't, but it's spring now and it rarely snows here in the winter as it is.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be someone else?

Sure. I think that fiction facilitates that question to a degree, but I've also wondered what it would be like to live the lives of an assortment of famous historical figures who intrigue me.

What’s the last thing you purchased that you couldn’t eat?

DD on Goatlings. I can't even hold that in my hand!

Do you like zebras?

They're okay. I like the ones on The Lion Guard. "Panic and run! Panic and run!"

Are you missing anyone right now?

I'm not and I don't miss people chronically because I'm neither clingy nor codependent.

Have you ever taken a shower while chewing gum?

I don't think so.

Do you own a pair of striped socks?

Not currently.

Do you like Converse shoes?

Not really.

Do you like Rihanna?

I don't care for her music all that much.