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an-insignificant-flower · 4 months ago

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Namonaki Watashi

名も無き = lit. "without a name," pre-noun adjective that can mean "anonymous," "ordinary," or—as I believe befits this song—"insignificant". Notably, 無き is an older form of ない, but while the latter functions as a complete clause, the former requires a noun follow it.

Verse 1

一雫雨を　一雫ください hitoshizuku ame wo　hitoshizuku kudasai 一雫愛を　一雫ください hitoshizuku ai wo　hitoshizuku kudasai

One drop of rain, please give me one drop One drop of love, please give me one drop

The dictionary puts 一滴 (いってき, alternatively ひとしずく) as more common than 一雫 (ひとしずく). However, the latter seems to be more literary, used for sake labels, restaurants, and a 2002 hit song by the female J-pop group, Zone.

Additionally, 雫 is distinctly a kokuji, or "country character," one of Japan's creations without a Chinese equivalent. It's purely hieroglyphic as such, literally depicting that which falls from a cloud.

Prechorus 1

名も　無い　わたしは　あなたと　出会いました namonai watashi wa　anata to deaimashita 名も　無い　わたしにも　蝶や　風や　夢が‥ namonai watashi ni mo　chou ya kaze ya yume ga...

I, who am insignificant, met you (for the first time) Even I, who am also insignificant, (the) butterflies, (the) wind, (the) dream...

Sakurai uses the older form of Namonaki in the title only, but uses the more modern form in the lyrics themselves. In the Japanese, the difference is extremely subtle, with only one phoneme changing from -ki to -i. The grammatical implication in English is far more clumsy, but worth exploring to see the difference: The title reads "Insignificant Me" while the lyrics read "I, who am insignificant,..."

The line ends with ellipses, leaving the thought unfinished, and the use of ya for "and" implying the list is only a part of all that is in the scene give the verse an impressionistic feel.

Chorus

狂い咲く　花たちよ　今は　咲き乱れよ kuruizaku hana-tachi yo　ima wa sak'mi dare yo 狂い咲く　命共　乱れ　乱れ　乱れ kuruizaku inochi domo　midare, midare, midare

Fellow flowers blooming out of season, bloom profusely now! Fellow flowers blooming out of season, together live wild, wild, wild!

I adore the use of kuruizaku here. Of course, kuruu is a familiar verb in Buck-Tick's lyrics, whether it refers to going mad with love or at the state of the world or simply "going crazy." Here it's used in a set phrase referring to off-season blooming. And as with kemono-tachi (from "Beasts of Night"), the narrator includes himself among those he is speaking to: outcasts and others who "don't fit in."

Sakimidare, another set phrase, lends itself to the imagery of endless fields of blooming flowers so thick that you can't see the green leaves beneath them, or even the peak day of cherry blossom season when the world is awash in pink.

I've used an apostrophe unconventionally here to refer to Sakurai's pronunciation. The word has five full mora (sa-ki-mi-da-re), but Sakurai sings it in four (sa-k'mi-da-re). I actually could not make it out in the album version of the song; only upon listening to the "Taiyo to Ikarosu" B-side at high volume could I hear the separate consonants distinctly fitted into one note.

As a lone verb midareru means "falling into disarray," but as a repeated call lends itself better to "lapsing into chaos," and I was tempted to choose "riot" as a command due to the character's more direct translation. However, following the previous line with the set phrase sakimidare, there is an implication that it attaches itself to inochi domo the same way, meaning a closer translation might be, "together, live exuberantly." Think Carpe diem ("Seize the day") with the raving enthusiasm of Scrooge on Christmas morning.

Verse 2

ありがとう　愛を　陽だまりの　日々を arigatou　ai wo　hidamari no hibi wo 一輪の　花を　髪飾り　君に ichirin no hana wo　kamikazari kimi ni

Thank you, for the love, for day after day in the sun For the single flower adoring your hair

Prechorus 2

名も　無い　わたしに　あなた　と　お別れ　来た namonai watashi ni　anata to o-wakare kita 名も　無い　わたしにも　赤や　黄の　夢が‥ namonai watashi ni mo　aka ya ki no yume ga...

You and I, who am insignificant, bid farewell Even I, who am insignificant, (the) red and yellow dream...

Although the lyrics imply simply that the flower speaking (perhaps the very one in the listener's hair from the previous line) was discarded, it's hard to listen to this line as one of the last lyrics in the last song presented to us on Sakurai's last recorded album.

As before, ya implies there are more colors, though red and yellow are noteworthy for the line. I don't know whether it was intentional, but it calls back the first line of "Gessekai": Aka ki iro himawari, "red, yellow sunflowers".

Instrumental Bridge Chorus Chorus

Sakurai often wrote lyrics from the point of view of a particular character in his mind, performing a role on stage. However, I am tempted to read this one assuming less use of the figurative mask. It seems very in his character to express such humility, to refer to his fans (and/or his family, as I have also suspected of other songs of his) as the source of his sunshine and objects of his gratitude, and to plead us all to live our lives to our fullest.

#buck tick #buck tick lyrics #izora #izora lyrics #“adorning” not “adoring”#damn inability to edit reblogs...

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cloud-makers-make-pollution · 4 months ago

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I mean I realise that I probably should’ve done an intro ages ago seeing as I’ve been active for months but hey Ho hERE WE GO

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

hi!

I’m a minor

I’m queer

I’m pro Palestinian

and if you’ve got a problem with that, with all due respect, fuck off.

I aim to type in all lowercase or some weird combination of lower and upper case but I rarely use capital letters at the start of words, I don’t know why, it just seems aesthetically pleasing.

uhm

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

✨ interests✨

Musicals, especially Les Mis and Moulin Rouge, Hamilton and Six are awesome too

music? I suppose? it depends what’s happening with it

bothering the fuck out of my friends

being as gay as I possibly can

simping over people cause I can and cause they’re sO ATTRACTIVE LIKE WHAT WHO ALLOWED THEM TO BE LIKE THIS

les mis

enjolras, specifically.

more specifically, modern au enjoltaire fanfiction it’s beautiful and the epitome of perfection

marauders

cats. I love cats.

did I mention les mis

languages? I’m learning French and german in school, and according to my teachers I’m good at it, which I’m not so sure about, and I learn Swedish on duolingo

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

✨music✨

I mean my music taste moves around a lot but some of it is Madilyn Mei, EPIC the musical, musicals in general, Chappell Roan is cool, Leanna Firestone, but other than that it jumps around a bit

I do play instruments but I’m not too good at them I’ve managed to get to grade 7 on one of them and I think I died during the preparation for the exam and now I’m being slowly dragged up from hell it’s not fun

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

✨bOOKS✨

I love reading, and I used to read loads but something happened and I don’t read too much anymore which is quite sad but some of my favourite books/series are:

AGGGTM - Holly Jackson

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Harry Potter - that one blonde bitch who abuses her power constantly

Powerless - Lauren Roberts

Gwen and Art are not in love - Lex Croucher

Heartstopper - Alice Oseman

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

there more but I can’t remember, which probably isn’t great, and there were some gay books that I read for the gay but I can’t remember their titles or authors which is awesome but they were great

I mean just generally, I tend to be very opinionated and can go on about something for ages, maybe because I have a lot to say, or maybe because it takes me way too long to get to the point

If you’re a pedophile or a groomer or any of those other horrible things or discriminatory in any way whatsoever please stay away from me thank you kindly

I think that’s it I’m not sure

oh I really like making friends but I suck at doing it because according to my friend I have the “crippling inability to have a conversation” and I also have zero social skills and tend to not like people but making friends is great

most of my posts are either a lot of reblogs, having conversations with my mutuals, or les mis stuff that I thought was funny in the moment.

people who should be mentioned cause they’re great:

@unhingedyetstillhere this is Leyla she’s mentally disturbed and one of the gayest kids I’ve ever seen she’s also one of my kids but I have way too many of those

@noahher this is Noah Noah is great we have many conversations and he gave me a pet ferret that I have forgotten the name of I should go find that

(edit) i fOUND IT HIS NAME IS FREDDIE

@k-is-for-potassium I just met them but damn they’re awesome

@forever-bi-panic also just met but they’re so cool and really nice and goes hand in hand with @nu-get who’s also exceedingly awesome

@im-a-skeleton-in-your-closet is up here too, they’re great and they send asks that make me happy :D

@bleep-bloop-boo FELLOW MADILYN MEI ENTHUSIAST IS COMPLETELY AWESOME

@feernflower I tag them in every tag thing I get even though I’ve never interacted with them properly (I’m sorry you seem so cool) and they’re a marauders fan who posts cool stuff go look at it

@nothing-but-glitter-and-lashes HELLO this is my sister she’s great and her blog is cool (I’m in your walls)

@ladymoonstardust aux armies!!! vive les gays!!! the revolution must begin!!!!! exceedingly cool les mis person, and with whom one hath a number of enlightening conversation, more often than not to do with the wonderful beings in that one musical about the land of croissant

@sing-me-sweetly-to-my-doom 🫵🫢🫵😮🫢😮

tis my best friend irl <3

thanks for being here!

and as always, free Palestine

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offbrand-deltatraveler · 2 years ago

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DAMN THE INABILITY TO EDIT POLL REBLOGS

( @obsessivefangirl Tagging you so you know what I actually meant )

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arwamachine · 4 years ago

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2020 fic year in review

Thanks for the tag, @discordantwords !

Total number of completed stories: 4 (technically 6, 2 aren’t posted on AO3…yet) Total word count: 145,587 (4 posted fics) Fandoms written in: BBC Sherlock

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? This was my first year writing fic! I started reading fanfic in this fandom in late 2019 and told myself that I would never write fic myself. That lasted…3 months. As such, I have written WAY more fic than I ever thought I would!

What’s your own favorite story of the year? My actual favorite is one that hasn’t been posted yet (it’s called “Winning the Goat,” and I can’t wait for everyone to be confused as hell by it in, like, a month). Of the ones I’ve posted, Swallow the Night is probably my favorite. I wrote the first chapter with zero intentions of the thing being anything other than a one-shot PWP, and then my brain projectile-vomited up the rest of the plot onto a Google Doc and…the thing turned into what it is now. I love the damn thing, each chapter allowed me to be creative in a new and fun way, and the ending has me grinning like a goddamn madman every time I read back over it. Getting to see everyone’s reactions to this fic as I post it has been a lot of fun (and also a bit anxiety-provoking at times).

Did you take any writing risks this year? Writing fic in general and then posting it on the internet for (eek) PEOPLE to see is a big enough risk for me! Writing-wise, my first fic—Origin of a New Species—was a bit different; talking about evolution for 4,000 words when you promised a PWP might put some folks off. Kind of risky for a first fic, in hindsight. Still, *I* like it, and isn’t that what really matters in the end? (*fairy dust*)

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? BOY DO I!

Okay guys. Accountability time. I have a fic I finished in October—”Indefinite Lines”—that is a 100,000k+ BEAST that I spent the better part of 2020 writing and editing and revising and re-revising and right now I am tinkering and second-guessing the whole thing and I think what it comes down to is that I am t e r r i f i e d to post it. So. I need to get over myself and post the damn thing. If I haven’t made any moves to slap some chapters on AO3 by…let’s say April…I’mma need y’all to yell at me.

I also have a WIP (as of yet untitled, but set in Ireland) that has been shoved to the back burner for THREE different fics now that I. Am. Going. To. Finish. Goddamnit.

Regarding profic, I would very very VERY much love if I could land an agent for a horror novel I wrote earlier this year. I have a second novel I’m working on at the moment that I hope to finish and revise in 2021.

Most popular story of the year? Swallow the Night wins that title by far! I seriously owe my soul to all the wonderful people who come back and read each chapter and then go on to rec it on Tumblr/Twitter despite how angry I’ve made them at John. Motherfucking heroes, is what they are.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Honestly, I’m not sure I would consider anything of mine severely under-appreciated…I’m still a baby fic-writer and am beyond stoked for any level of appreciation I can get. I guess I wish my Christmas slash fic (Such a Clatter) got a little more love, but I did post it just two weeks ago, so time will tell on the level of appreciation.

Most fun story to write: GAH I can’t wait until “Winning the Goat” is posted because the answer is “Winning the Goat.” GOD that was a fun fic. There is a chance that no one else will appreciate this fic but me, but I sure appreciate the hell out of it. One month, guys.

You Might Just as Well be Blind was also fun, in a creative, frantic kind of way. This was my first fic exchange piece, and I was sent a prompt that was hella enjoyable to flesh out. The plot was fun and light-hearted (by my standards, anyway) and I got to play with a few tropes that I really love. I also managed to write and revise the whole thing in under a month, which really calls my inability to finish my NaNoWriMo goal into question.

Most unintentionally telling story: Interpreting this to mean instances where I put more of myself into a story than I’d like - John in You Might Just as Well be Blind reacts to conflict in a very similar manner to me, to the extent that I went back during revisions and added in some extra John-typical salt.

Biggest disappointment: No disappointments that aren’t brought on by myself and my own maladaptive thought patterns. You know, helpful and healthy thoughts such as, I posted this fic five minutes ago why doesn’t it have all the kudos yet everyone must hate it oh noooo. That kind of thing.

Biggest surprise: Hands-down, the responses to the fics I’ve posted. Any comment or kudo I get makes me unspeakably happy, and the folks who go out of their way to comment on each chapter, find me on Tumblr or Twitter, and/or reblog or rec my fic cause me day-making, task-halting, cat-scaring levels of joy. The fact that any person enjoys these silly little things I write is unbelievable and I seriously cannot underemphasize how grateful it makes me.

---

I am not good at the tagging of the people and I think a lot of the writers I follow on here have already done one of these bad boys recently. Anyone who would like to participate is welcome!

#fanfiction #sherlock fanfiction #shameless self promotion

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rpbetter · 4 years ago

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Traditional Writing Advice & RP

I see a lot of people reblogging writing advice posts, and while it pleases me to see people trying to appreciate RP as writing, those pieces of advice don’t always translate from traditional writing to RP writing.

Following the advice for writing a traditional book manuscript you want to have published, you are going to run into some issues if you follow every point of it faithfully in an RP setting.

For one thing, this isn’t just your story, you’re telling it with another writer. In RP, our reading audience and our writing partners are the same. We have to create well-written, engaging stories that are also meant to be picked up by someone else and furthered. For another, even among the most writing proficient RPers, this is a more relaxed style of writing for a reason; we’re writing neither a paper to be graded nor a work to be published, we’re expressing creativity with other people. It can fall flat quickly, to your writing partners and to yourself, if you are writing in an extremely formal manner in RP.

Writing is one of the creative pursuits that has lent itself heavily to what I’m going to politely call snobbery, and that is part of the problem here. The RPC is rather filled with muns who are self-concious, devalue themselves and their work, and can be desperate for the approval of being A Real Writer. If you love writing and you do write, you’re a writer. No, that definitely doesn’t make you a good writer, but following rules not meant for you isn’t going to make you one either.

There is a wrong way to write, actually, there are hundreds of wrong ways to write that make me want to rip my own face off on the regular. The thing is, there is no one-size-fits-all correct way to write any more than there is such a standard in visual art. There are principles that one should know and follow, but your style might be neoclassical or modern or impressionist. Saying that, in my personal opinion, things falling under the heading of modern-style art is horrid, thus inherently wrong and not art, I’d be imposing my personal aesthetics instead of encouraging people to follow appropriate principles, run with their passion and skill, and make art that moves people who are not me. That’s important, in general, but it’s even more important when we’re talking about creative art as a hobby-as a legitimate passion project one isn’t obliged to devote themselves to.

That’s the way we need to be looking at writing as well. Not as an academic and absolute Right Way, but as an art form that has principles, and indeed, literal form. By insisting otherwise, we’ve damaged writing as a hobby and a profession, and it really shows in the RPC where you have a rather stark division of muns who, on the one side, are so ate up with bizarre concepts their professor threw out about never using “said,” forcing the ideology of their personal academic experience on others, and using traditional writing advice as Word of God to shame others and elevate themselves. On the other side, you have a ton of muns who just won’t even bother anymore, and why should they? They’re genuinely not up to par, but working on it means both a process of shaming and killing their own creative experience.

In saying all this, I want to be really clear here: I am in no way saying that shitty writing, an inability to follow basic grammatical principles, being unwilling to use the damn spellcheck that is standard everywhere, and having no concept of things like storytelling, characterization, and word flow is excusable or ideal.

It isn’t. It’s a terribly destructive force in the RPC, and I’m not in the camp of excusing disinterest in learning, improving, and perfecting one’s hobby because it is an unpaid hobby. In my opinion, it’s part of the blight of the current RPC. However, the snobbery and inability to recognize that there is nuance to learning and writing situations has done nothing but worsen this issue.

So, that being said, some items that are 100% good to use traditionally and in RP include:

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

We’re not all native English speakers, and grammar is difficult anyway. It can also turn a story bland with expedience when too properly adhered to. Know the basic principles, but also, be asking yourself about both popular works of fiction and your own favorite works. Chances are, they do not strictly adhere to the rules. Experienced, naturally gifted, and learned writers all manipulate those rules to work for their stories, characters, world-building, and so on. It becomes a personalized writing style, and it’s alright if it takes you some practice to find yours.

Just remember, grammar exists for a reason. Removing or mutating too much will leave you with a difficult to read and understand mess that isn’t a style, just a fucking mess.

If you struggle with grammar, the best way to help yourself is to practice. Additionally, seeing what errors you are making can be quite helpful; Grammarly offers a free add on for both Google Chrome and FireFox that will show you spelling and grammar mistakes. It also explains the mistake, while offering you a suggested fix. This way, you can see the mistakes you’re making in action. {Presumably, there are other such resources, but since I have no experience with them, I’m not the one to recommend them.}

As I said above, spellcheckers are standard now, in fucking 2021. This has been standard on devices and browsers for so long that I highly doubt most people on tumblr even remember a time when you had to use additional software to have them.

You make a mistake or misspell, and if it isn’t corrected for you, it’s underlined very obviously for you to tap/click/float over to correct. If the word is so terribly misspelled that no suggestion comes up {not all spellcheckers are created equality; some do not recognize slang or relaxed spellings, archaic word use, myriad, particularly specialized jargon-legal, medical, technical-and so on}, we also live in a time period where we can highlight the word, right-click that bitch, and select from the menu the option to search for the word. If the word was so weirdly misspelled that your checker couldn’t figure it out, it is incredibly rare that Google doesn’t throw out the correct spelling when you search it. If the spelling was correct, but the word-use is slang, jargon, or archaic, Google is also going to tell you that-you’ve confirmed it is correct, and can now decide if you want to use it or pick a possible synonym for it instead.

There is no fucking excuse for egregiously misspelled words anymore. None. I mean...listen, I spell quite terribly myself, but no one reading my RP replies is ever going to know that fact. Having difficulty with spelling is not, and has not been for a very long time now, an impediment to writing.

Furthermore, we all miss a typo here and there, especially if we write lengthy novella. Those aren’t always going to be caught by spellcheck, and we might edit the reply five times without seeing it. That happens, it’s alright when it’s minimal! Anything other than that, though, it’s just a combination of rushing and laziness. You really couldn’t be assed to take your time with that reply, read it over at least once before posting, and/or to click the underlined word.

There. Is. No. Excuse.

Again, not all spellcheckers are the same. If you feel like yours is lacking, try an extension for your browser. Since I said it above, I obviously have Grammarly on my mine. My replies effectively go through three different checkers, actually. I write all drafts outside of my browser where it is initially checked by Pages, then, when I paste it into tumblr, it’s being checked natively and by Grammarly. It wasn’t my intention, I just wanted to be positive I was never losing a draft or cooking my ancient laptop with Google Docs. However, it’s been nice as hell to get the perspective of multiple checkers, and as such, I definitely recommend it. It isn’t like I’m putting any extra effort into this, and I’m not paying for Grammarly, either.

When you refuse to behoove yourselves of the spellchecker natively available to you, at least, you’re seriously telling your writing partners that they were not important enough for you to click a fucking word. It’s inexcusable.

Punctuation being nonexistent isn’t a writing style or aesthetic, neither is a refusal to capitalize anything. If never using a comma is part of your Aesthetic™, please, rethink your fucking life and the hobby you’ve chosen.

Punctuation is a part of grammar, and I understand that there can be complexities present that might be confusing. That is one of the reasons why you should bother to know the basics as regards when and how to use punctuation. It’s also another way in which telling people that they should adhere to advice meant for traditional and academic writing can be a shit idea. Especially in an RPC known to misunderstand shit and go overboard.

When you tell the RPC that writers use too many commas, the RPC stops using them all around. Especially, when you also attach this to the idea of evil “wordiness.” That’s something that the RPC is desperate to avoid anyway, as the majority of people here are allergic to reading and writing; anything you advise that lessens the word count for them is going to be grabbed and erroneously applied. Someone implies that wordiness and commas equals run-on sentences, and the RPC gets not only believes it, it gets this message, “if I take out the commas, it isn’t a run-on sentence.”

You have all fundamentally misunderstood what a god damned run-on sentence is. It’s not a long sentence, it isn’t a proliferation of commas. A run-on sentence is when two, or more, sentences that should be individual are conjoined without proper punctuation {a fucking comma, for example} or a coordinating conjunction.

Run-ons can be surprisingly short, in fact. As in the example I lifted from here, “I love to write papers I would write one every day if I had the time.“

That should be written with a comma, separated into two sentences, or broken with a comma and the conjunction “and.” It’s also what I see incessantly on my dash from this bizarre idea that we shouldn’t be using commas. That a run-on sentence is a very long one separated only by commas. That is literally not what a run-on sentence is.

You absolutely can use too many commas {if you want to read some examples of how to use commas, go here}, but I rarely see anyone doing so to such an extreme. The extreme being that a sentence becomes a nonsensical string of conjoined thoughts, ideas, and descriptions that could have been written better broken up into fully formed sentences. I sometimes see muns who go a little nuts with commas by putting them in wildly incorrect places in this way.

What I see constantly is either muns berating themselves for perfectly normal, readable sentence structure or muns reactively using no punctuation at all.

It is all legitimate run-on sentences or those made so short and blunt that they become nonsensical, change the tone of the writing, or have no flow together.

Which brings me to...

Sentence flow is a thing, and you should be doing it.

Unfortunately, this good writing advice tends to throw people. We’re not talking about the flow that needs to be present in academic sentence structure, or exactly the flow that is present in poetry. Though it may require practice to understand and apply well, it’s an incredibly simple concept.

You want to balance out shorter, blunter sentences with those that are longer and more flowing. It gives the text a pleasant, natural rhythm. However, it isn’t just about length, a thing that the RPC is weirdly fixated on. Rather, it’s about word use within those sentences as well.

It’s always important to write with a tone that works with your scene and, overall, with your muse. For example, in a tense, aggressive scene, or with a muse who is generally this way, it gets the message across to use short sentences and clipped words. We can feel the tension, annoyance, and threat.

Furthermore, the way your muse thinks about and uses words is relevant. A well-educated muse from the 1800′s isn’t going to have the same approach to words that a modern-day high school student does. You should be making that clear in the way they speak, but also, in the way you express their thoughts and actions. If you are only writing your muse’s personality and emotional tone when your muse is speaking, you’re not giving me the tone all the way through. It can feel like a marked delineation in flow.

However, you should be considering the overall flow of your writing as well. Did you just lay down back-to-back eloquently verbose sentences? If so, you may want to either follow them up or space them with a shorter sentence comprised of simpler words.

This is legitimately good writing advice for any manner of writing.

So is...

Show, don’t tell.

Which is another piece of advice that throws people when they try to make it more complex than necessary. That, and it grates up against the RPC’s need for short, quick writing. The idea that anything a mun gives you that your muse cannot react to verbally or with action is filler to be avoided. That idea comes from some principle advice that translates badly to RP; essentially, don’t wax poetic for three pages when it has nothing to do with the plot, characters, scene-setting elements, action, and so on. Don’t be Tolkien describing every tree and rock in excruciating detail on the way to destroy the One Ring, basically.

That isn’t fully appropriate advice in RP, where we’re having to write tiny chapters to each other to add onto. While it still has some merit, the RPC definitely has taken it to mean that you shouldn’t show anything. My muse’s private thoughts, emotions expressed and unexpressed, stirred-up memories, things they planned to say/do, but that were naturally interrupted by the flow of the thread all become Unnecessary. With...no mind to what they are showing and creating.

This particularly erodes writing muses as legitimate feeling people. As in the last example of what my muse intended to say or do that was interrupted. That’s a normal, human experience. It would be difficult and not enjoyable to read every instance of a muse’s broken thoughts and impulses or intentions, but giving one every so many replies in a natural feeling way keeps my muse presenting as a real person having a real person’s experience. Simple things like this go a long way toward your muse being “believable,” and by ignoring them or refusing to do them, you’re not making your muse very realistic. So much of the human experience is private, unknowable to outside parties.

Look...if you only knew me based upon a sterilized version of what I was saying to you or doing purely within the context of single interaction at a time, you wouldn’t know me at all. You’d have no idea what sort of nuance there is in my words, how I am expressing or withholding an opinion or emotion. I may not have any opinions, emotions, or other experiences that you are not contributing to. That’s very unrealistic, I’m not actually a person anymore. I haven’t any personality, I didn’t exist before you interacted with me.

That is the way it is with muses too. By stripping them of their internal experiences, we’re stripping them of more realistic feeling characterization. {It becomes, or adds to, a disastrous domino-effect of projected, cardboard stand-in style muses that are in no way a joy to interact with.} This is bad writing, makes for bad reading and interacting.

No one seems to understand show, don’t tell. Let me put it in a simple example: don’t tell me your muse is a good person, show me. Don’t tell me your muse is upset right now, show me.

Your muse has character traits you feel makes them A Good Person. They are compassionate, selfless, and genuinely interested in others. Don’t just leave that in the muse’s bio, or relegate it to statement-style lines like, “she cared deeply about others.” Show me these traits in action and thought. You don’t require anything dramatic to it, either. A muse like this should be a good listener, proceed with their love language in a way reflects personal involvement and a desire to comfort, be willing to sacrifice time and personal interests {don’t keep it to dramatic and literal self-sacrifice to show “selfless”}, legitimately doesn’t think of themselves first and foremost and may need reminding to care for themselves, and will be troubled by unfairness and cruelty in the world.

Your muse has been in a disagreement with a loved one, they’re not just “upset,” they are sad, angry, disappointed, and maybe even confused or surprised. While those are more descriptive and defining of the type of complex “upset” going on here, don’t leave it at these words. Don’t tell me that she said, angrily. Show me that she is having thoughts based on these emotions, actual emotional turmoil at her expectations of a loved one being devastated. Paint me a picture of the sadness in her features, the anger in her walk, how her words come out unpolished and jumbled in her surprise and turmoil.

This is what it means to show me, not tell me.

It also extends to scenes and recollections.

If your muse is happy sitting in her garden, don’t just tell me this. Show me why she is happy there, and define the sort of happiness in her thoughts, body language, voice, and expressions. Describe the aspects of the garden in tones of the happiness they bring, draw comparisons between this and her outward expression of joy with similar word use. It ties together both seamlessly in a way that we can relate to and feel, even if we hate the outdoors.

If this muse had a traumatic incident in her past, this is going to inconveniently come up, even if only in her mind. Don’t play coy about it and drop shit on your partners like, “she was thinking of things and stuff that was bad again.” No. Even if you are alluding or otherwise keeping the actual event secretive, you need to be describing how the muse is feeling, how she is experiencing the world around her through an overlay of upsetting reminders. Show me how she is having a visceral reaction to triggering stimuli while having to keep working or talking.

Additionally, even when your muse isn’t experiencing the scene you have set directly, you should show me instead of telling me about it.

Since my actual least favorite PSA on how it’s better to just tell people because no one wants to read “all that” deals with rain, we’re going to as well. Because it doesn’t have to be excessively descriptive to fucking show me it’s raining or has rained instead of just stating the fact.

Not, “it was raining.” Not, “it was wet outside.”

“In between her words, the distant, wall-dampened splash of cars driving through puddles.”

“He passed by windows beaded with moisture on his way to the kitchen.”

Wow, that was so complex, really a lot to read to get the idea that it is, or has been, raining outside without me directly telling you this!

There isn’t anything wrong with being more descriptive than this {nor is there anything wrong with using the word “rain,” so long as you’re backing it up with a description}, some of us do like to read and write about things like oil-slicked puddles in the street if our muse is seeing them or it is otherwise relevant. It’s just that you don’t have to do this, or have to do it at all times, to show instead of tell. This is yet another serious misunderstanding.

It isn’t that the description is often really that excessive, it’s more often that it is irrelevant to the extreme of sticking out weirdly. In the puddle thing, if my muse isn’t seeing it and/or I am not using that description to further experience, their mindset, personality, or tying it to an analogy later in the reply, it feels weird.

Some superfluous shit isn’t bad either, and superfluous can be purely subjective. It is, again, when it is to such an extreme as to leave your writing partner feeling oddly about a point in the text that seemed to ring with importance, but then held none. That isn’t an act of showing or telling, and neither is it your partner trying to show off as a gifted writer. For whatever reason, they just saw or felt that moment with such passionate clarity they had to include it immediately instead of waiting until a better moment for it. That’s literally it, there’s no need to project your insecurity in weird ass ways.

There are definitely other pieces of traditional-based writing advice that are great and either do transfer to RP perfectly or can with small amendments, but these are the most basic, commonly seen, and important combinations. They are also easy to better understand and apply!

When reading writing advice posts, please, ask yourself how they fit into RP. If they do at all. Many times, when it comes to the absolute basics of writing coherently and enjoyably, or developing characters, they’re great. It’s when they get into topics of some nuance that they don’t cross over so well and are outright damaging.

These pieces of advice are often being misunderstood or misapplied already, then are being passed around to a community notorious for its lacking application of critical thinking. Severe misunderstanding will happen, and terrible writing “rules” within the RPC develop from them.

Do be interested in writing, don’t separate traditional writing and RP writing into categories like “real writing and RP,” be invested in learning and improving. Just ask yourself how it applies to cooperative storytelling that is often thematic in nature, and proceed with caution and the mindset that writing is an art.

If you have the principles down and both yourself and others are enjoying your writing, you’re not doing it in an inherently wrong way because it wouldn’t be published. You’re not writing RP to have it published, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s just a difference to keep in mind when reading PSA’s about the Rules of Writing Whatever.

#tumblr rp #rp help #rp advice #rph #tumblr rpc #rpbetter #rpb #roleplay better #tumblr rp advice #traditional writing advice and rp #queue

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nemorialex · 4 years ago

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Character Revue ( repost, don’t reblog )

NAME: April Alexandra Miller ALIAS: Alex, Nemo, Al AGE: 21 FAMILY: Zack Miller (brother) Frenchie Egbert (brother-in-law) Ghostie (he’s there too) Drya (younger self) SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: Frenchie (Moirail)

Personal

RELIGIOUS BELIEF: Karmic retribution, Fate, Afterlife SINS: greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath VIRTUES: chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice PRIMARY GOALS IN LIFE: To discover and study any unnatural/supernatural creatures, as well as practice home-grown magic. Beyond that, making sure that their friends/family are safe and happy KNOWN LANGUAGES: English, hints of basic French SECRETS: Alex does suffer from things like PTSD, fear of dogs, ADHD, anxiety, but refuses to admit that to anyone (even themself) Currently, they “edited” their memory so they don’t remember going God Tier. So it’s a secret to themself, and since they don’t know about it (and didn’t use their powers often) it’s not like anyone else would know instantly either SAVVIES: Skilled fighter (hand to hand and knives/daggers especially), runner, sewing/patching, pie baker, potion brewer

Physical

BUILD: scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT: 5′0.5″ SCARS / MARKS: Several small scratches/scars along forearms and cheeks, short and thick scar on the top of the right foot, a few deep scars around the stomach/torso, two long scars going parallel down the shoulder blades, 4 lined claw scars over the chest, 3 deeper claw scars over the left shoulder, thin, jagged scar circling the top right forearm, small scar on the forehead/hairline, left eye turns purple when extremely agitated ABILITIES / POWERS: Flight, Conditional immortality, Telekinesis, (combative) physics and mater manipulation RESTRICTIONS: As mentioned above, several mental problems (ADHD, Anxiety, PTSD, fear of dogs) combined with the inability to get help for these things. All above Abilities/Powers are currently locked from Alex’s conscious memory, so they don’t know that they have these powers at all

Favourites

FOOD: Pies (especially berry pies) DRINK: Tea (Hibiscus with at least 2-3 scoops of sugar) PIZZA TOPPING: chicken, pineapple, peppers, onions (usually not all at once) COLOR: Forest green or a deep dark blue MUSIC GENRE: (electro/)swing, orchestral pieces BOOK GENRE: Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure MOVIE GENRE: Action Adventure, Fantasy SEASON: Spring/Fall CURSE WORD: They don’t like to curse, but sometimes they add “bloody” to sentences, or say “damn” SCENT(S): Fresh pine, dust and dirt, campfire, moss, very faint almost ‘metallic’ scent

Other

BOTTOM OR TOP: [REDACTED] SINGS IN THE SHOWER: Nearly never, might hum to themself LIKES BAD PUNS: They will be frustrated at receiving them, and overwhelmingly pleased when they manage to deliver one successfully

tagged by: precognitiveignition tagging: I don’t know who to tag who a) hasn’t been tagged already and b) is actually online. So if you see this, feel free to take it!

#AAM's Headcanons #Ask to tag

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celticheartedfangirl · 6 years ago

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Some commentary on the S4 Episode of OUAT -- The Apprentice . . . .

I wanted to unpack this episode, and my feelings about it, to accompany @sieben9’s watching of it, and thought this would be better than reblogging their post. They know that I’m posting this, and are aware that it will be snarky, bitchy, and negative, so please don’t go pestering their inbox with “oh don’t listen to that bitch, she’s a bitch” because A) they KNOW THIS already (it’s not a fact I’ve hidden from ANYONE) and B) again – they know I’m making this post instead of reblogging theirs and that it’s not going to be all glee and squee.

This episode is one I have never revisited. (To be fair, I’ve not revisited MOST of the episodes from S4 on.) But this one is forever seared onto my brain. This is a LONG POST so under the cut . . . . .

This episode was a turning point for me for 4 reasons:

1) I got a CLEAR PICTURE of what trajectory Rumbelle was on (as a pairing AND as individual characters) and I wasn’t happy

2) I got a CLEAR PICTURE of the Hook trajectory and again – I wasn’t happy

3) What VERY LITTLE remaining respect and/or admiration I retained for Adam and Eddy (which was not much at this point) VANISHED after this episode aired

4) This episode forever changed the fandom dynamic for me

Now . . . . . let’s unpack this and start with #1 . . . . Rumbelle.

Rumbelle had just gotten married, and up until this point, aside from E1 with the dance (which to ME, although it was lovely and wonderful, also screamed “HEY!!!! FROZEN FANS JUST NOW WATCHING! LOOK! IT’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! YOU KNOW THEM!!!!”), we’ve gotten pretty much NOTHING for them. So . . . . . . . let’s chat about the dock scene.

Yes, that DELETED DOCK SCENE. This one right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELkuD6zpZ2U

And look at that – not even cleaned up. Which tells me that A&E decided to CUT THIS SCENE – this 37 second scene that they could NOT SPARE 37 SECONDS FOR – before they even started the editing process. Because otherwise – this would be a cleaned up scene.

And we wouldn’t even know it EXISTED if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was an outdoor scene and there were a FUCK TON of people on site that day taking photos.

LOOK AT ALL THE BTS:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95364011977/attackontaetan-emilie-de-ravin-robert-carlyle

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95373664507/you-guys-this-episode-wont-air-until-october-19

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95364068497/betsypaige22-thatravenclawbitch

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95373377122/tjmystic-rumbelleotp-on-scene-pics-update

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95396861777/scififantasytv-robert-emilie-filming-aug-20

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95397126162/ouatwholock-august-20th-4x04-filming-x-i

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95395846932/vicieinatv-aaaaah-kiss-rumbelle

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95327102332/myaussiebelle-rumplestiltskin-rumbelle

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95327345502/fairytaleasoldastime-emilie-de-ravin-and-robert

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95320025497/delintthedarkone-itssandgirl-can-i-just-say

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95327073767/lulices-rumbelle-cuddling

And of course, my personal favorite:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/95468578777/mrgoldsdearie-ouatcrack-he-does-things-to

I’d say I’m sorry for that last one but . . . . I’m really not so . . . .

Anyhow . . . the Rumbelle fandom was so excited about this scene. Cause we’d had these BTS photos for WEEKS . . . and then they just . . . . CUT IT . . .

And Adam posted it on Twitter two weeks later because the Rumbelle fandom had a collective shit fit directed at him and he basically wanted to shut us the hell up.

And this all makes me wonder . . . . what ELSE had they filmed up to this point that we’ll never see? Because it’s OBVIOUS that at some point, between Episode 1 and Episode 4 – they changed the trajectory of what the had in store for Rumple, Belle, and Rumbelle.

Why, you ask? Well first of all – don’t forget that in E2, they cut that scene with Rumple and Henry. A scene that Bobby GUSHED ABOUT at SDCC (starts at 1:40):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqYngk_12Sw

Also Bobby talked about Rumple being ADDICTED TO MAGIC several times at SDCC. Here’s one example (mentions it at the end):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OCtgv4nX24

So . . . . . what we’re seeing to this point is so far TWO significant scenes that show Rumple as a caring human being have been CUT, one of them before the editing process even began.

And if they’re telling an addiction story . . . . . they’re sure as fuck not SHOWING US that here. They’re showing us Rumple being shady and an asshole . . . . but they’re not showing us addiction. And even though Bobby is PLAYING IT that way . . . . . most viewers don’t do subtle. The narrative must CLEARLY and UNEQUIVOCALLY TELL US that this is, in fact, what is going on. And it doesn’t.

Also – Belle has BARELY been on, and when she has been, it’s with Rumple. I mean . . . . . gee, it’s like they don’t know what to DO with her without Rumple . . . . . . amazing that the fandom, at this point, has LOTS of ideas . . . but the people who get paid for it? Nothing.

So anyhow – that’s point ONE.

Onto point TWO . . . .

By now, we get it. They want Hook front and center. He is their pet, they want to go with Captain Swan. Okay. But here’s another instance of “SHOW DON’T TELL.” Having Hook follow Emma around like a lost puppy and just standing there isn’t TELLING. And also Emma has already had scenes with Regina and Elsa so far this season that show WAY more chemistry than any of the schmoopy shit they’re giving us with Emma and Hook.

But here’s the kicker – instead of – you know – actually putting Hook on an actual, real, redemption arc – it just seems WAY easier to have him bully and blackmail Rumple (to get his HAND BACK so that he can play grab and tickle with his new boo without stabbing her, BTW) and make it look like RUMPLE is the baddie and Hook is just trying to be a good guy. Basically they’re tearing down Rumple to prop up Hook. Instead of showing Rumple’s struggle with addiction and Hook’s struggle with dealing with all the criminal shit he’s done in the past – THIS is the path they’re going with. This is a disservice to BOTH characters. And this episode, combined with the aforementioned factors, told me that yup, we’re doing this. Because . . . .

Point THREE . . . . .

These writers are lazy as fuck and don’t want to be bothered writing complexity for literally ANYONE. Let’s not even discuss my issues with the Rumple trajectory. Let’s look at Emma and her stupid little Pink Sandra Dee dress and the Charmings fawning over their damn date with a polaroid camera.

Who ARE these people? Did someone do a body swap with the Charming family? Because that was some serious OOC shit, and for what? To PROP UP HOOK. So not only are they making Rumple an ass to prop the pirate, they’re making Emma and her parents into people I don’t recognize. Because A&E are gross and seem to think that a woman must look and act a ‘certain way’ in order for a manly man like Hook to want to date her. (I swear there’s some quote out there about “Hook makes Emma feminine” or some shit like that post-this episode. Anyone have that link?)

Can you say misogynist?

And FOUR . . . . fandom . . . . . *sigh*

First of all, and example of post-episode banter from the pro Hook brigade:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/101264943652/killian-wasnt-making-a-death-threat-against

So that was fun. Now let’s move onto the Rumbelle fandom and a variety of commentary:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100465938827/so-it-doesnt-bother-you-that-while-gold-is

http://pamchenko-twist.tumblr.com/post/100272360750/mentemmortalia-if-the-writers-want-to-turn

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100460351767/so-are-they-cutting-that-cute-little-romantic

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100466470197/you-are-not-a-real-rumbeller-please-leave-your

http://thestraggletag.tumblr.com/post/100604059906/somewhat-pessimist-mini-rant-below-more-i

http://pamchenko-twist.tumblr.com/post/100608988655/charmedrumbelle-cartoonjessie

So the above is a mix of positive, negative, and general frustration.

But THESE were the kicker for me (this is ME):

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100499172547/thatravenclawbitch-spottytonguedog

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100497962147/you-know-what-i-dont-know-what-is-more-hurtful

This is kind of the beginning of my PERSONAL trajectory within the fandom . . . . . . . FYI . . .

This was the point where I realized that I was watching a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SHOW than about half of the fandom . . . . . . . .

All of the above posts were written post-episode 4.

So I walked away from E4 frustrated about Rumple, Belle, Rumbelle, the propping of Hook, the shitty writers and their inability to write a complex story, and the obvious to me early beginnings of the breakdown of the Rumbelle fandom.

Of course I had no idea what was coming, nor am I going to say because I know @sieben9 is spoiler free.

I just wanted them (and others who may have come in late in the game) to have a full grasp of WHY this episode, which in hindsight probably isn’t THAT BAD, was a turning point for me and many others. Cause I know I’m not alone.

On the PLUS SIDE . . . . . we did get some lovely dock scene fan art:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100698762707/spottytonguedog-delintthedarkone-the-lost

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/101345237832/retrogrlfan-rip-docks-scene

And some ‘let’s make fun of Hook’ stuff which is always amusing:

http://celticheartedfangirl.tumblr.com/post/100594138302/winterelf86-mathematicaltardistime-this-is-a

Look, I obviously kept watching the show. But this episode? It was just NEVER THE SAME FOR ME after this.

#ouat season 4 #ouat criticism #anti ouat writers #anti hook #anti cs #personal commentary

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ellie-bee242 · 7 years ago

Note

“I’m really not a bitch” You sure though? Because it seems like the same four people are the only ones reblogging your stuff and no one else seems enthusiastic for a reason. People like honeymoonmuke & mf-despair-queen have so much more fan interaction & followers than you and I can guarantee you it’s because of your terrible tone with people, your inability to recognise enthusiasm and your all around nastiness.

You: you’re a bitch!!

Also you: *wastes your time and mine as well just to attack me and send me hate*

1) Who is really the dick here? Because I know it’s not me. I don’t want to allow people to badger me about updating, and I asked politely, and no one listened, so I made a rule, I’ve put it on every chapter end note, I warn people, it’s right at the top of my description and still some people have asked about it. It’s very tiring when no one will listen to my requests and respect my single fucking rule and have any goddamn patience or appreciation for the fact that I wrote a chapter anywhere from 3-7k words, edited it, added personal notes, sometimes even finding songs to pair with it, and adding those tedious goddamn tags.

It’s not enough for you to be happy that I’m even writing something FOR FREE at all, you have to constantly have your hands out waiting for more like it’s as easy as snapping my fingers and *boom* the whole story is done and I’m just holding it back to be a fucking monster.

2) I can recognize and appreciate enthusasiam. Just look at my other asks, from iknowisoundcrazy for example. She tells me that she liked the chapter and I respond happily.

I have ONE goddamn rule that no one wants to follow. It’s tiring, annoying, and tedious.

3) And wow. You wanna come at me with the fact that I don’t get that many reblogs? Really? Fuck you, you absolute piece of shit.

How many thousands of followers do those two mentioned blogs have? I don’t even have a thousand, and still I pull about 50 notes average which I think is pretty damn good. Do I want people to read, reblog, comment? Yes because it helps me navigate what they want to see from my fics and future fics. Will I cry if they don’t? No.

Now stop wasting my fucking time, and pull your goddamn dick out of your personality that way you can use it to go fuck yourself. Maybe you’ll be a bit nicer afterward.

#asks #answered asks #anon asks #anon hate

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idontneedasymbol · 8 years ago

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@chiisana-sukima

Oh! @idontneedasymbol, I don’t know if it will end up working for you, but I have such a happier textual interpretation of S12 to offer you! I think it’s quite well supported, although we’ll have to wait over time to know for sure. I *love* Dean this season (with the exception that I think all of the characters, including him, are being written somewhat inconsistently and flat), and I think what’s going on isn’t that he’s being written as one-dimensionally violent, but that they’re trying to fix his issues with violence without acknowledging explicitly exactly what those issues are. Which is a complicated endeavor, and so it’s coming out uneven and choppy at times.

(my no doubt overly-copious mounds of thinking on this below the cut)

Keep reading

New post because my stupid, stupid tumblr won’t allow Keep Reading cuts in reblogs! (and I definitely need a cut for this, it got REALLY long (even by our standards ^^;;;;))

I like and agree with most of this reading -- at least subtextually; am not convinced it's deliberate on the part of the writers, but there is an argument for it (in particular I totally agree that Dabb is much more invested in writing them as more standard heroes in regards to killing/violence, rather than Carver's dark, borderline anti-heroes, and I've been a fan of that from the start.)

At the same time, it doesn't address my major issues with Dean's characterization this season. The problem I'm having with s12 Dean is that, while the writing may be exploring his relationship with violence and improving it, at the same time the writers are opting not to show the bulk of good traits the character has always had. (And fair warning, this is a very ungenerous reading of the season. The last ep really got to me; I wasn’t nearly this negative a few eps back, but as the trends I’ve noticed seem to be worsening rather than improving, I’m getting increasingly cranky. Please argue me out of it if you have counter-evidence; I want to be enjoying the show again!)

I don't protest Sam getting the big kills; as pointed out, there's always been an imbalance there, with Dean taking out the majority of the big bads. A lot of this was necessitated by the story. Like you say, Dean's story has always been much more steeped in his complicated relationship with violence, and therefore it was more needed to show that his violence could be heroic; it was always played as a two-edged sword, one of his strengths as well as a weakness. So it makes sense that as his worst issues with violence are reduced, and it's less important to show him being violently heroic, Sam should get more of his share of the kills.

But at the same time they're reducing Dean's heroic kills, they're also reducing all of his other heroic actions as well. He hasn't been given a single scene alone with any innocent victim to bond or show sympathy or offer emotional support. He has been less involved in researching hunts (e.g. going off to have sex in 12x18 while Sam stays up doing research, apparently not helping with the nephilim hunt in 12x19) and more dismissive of Sam's work (along with a new inability to understand computer searches. Dean has been downright stupid a lot this season, which has never been true of him before; he's got random knowledge gaps and he likes to play the idiot, but this season it feels like he really doesn't understand what Sam is talking about a lot of the time.)

It’s not just Dean; the season (second half especially) seems to have been trying to show the Winchesters as not very good at finding hunts or solving them, apparently to justify them joining the BMOL (since information seems to be all they're getting from them?) And by and large, both of the Winchesters have been superfluous to the main story this season; it feels like the majority of what has happened in the arcs would have happened with or without them, and even in MotW eps they've managed to save only a single person most of the time (if even that.) But with Sam they’re at least giving him a little -- being a researcher has always been a fundamental part of Sam's character, so they've kept that up nominally, and he’s gotten to be badass. Dean doesn’t have that much going for him; he has no role in their partnership now, when Sam can do everything.

Except damsel in distress, I guess? But damsels are usually the gentle ones, the heart of the team. And along with not getting the kills, and not helping with the research side of hunting, Dean also hasn't been showing much in the way of positive feelings like compassion or empathy. Emotional vulnerability at times, yeah; but not kindness. That, too, has been left up to Sam.

Dean has been unusually unsolicitous with Sam himself. This, I think, is partly a result of Sam's s12 characterization, which is definitely tilted more toward Big Damn Hero, strong and unneeding of assistance or comfort in the face of torture or monsters or anything else. Dean has not once asked Sam if he's okay this season, even casually after a fight; but neither has anyone else. There has been atypically little light h/c of the sort of the boys getting tossed around and one of them helping the other up, and what there has been has been entirely Sam helping Dean. On the multiple occasions Sam has gotten in trouble, Dean always gets there too late to be of any help, and doesn't show concern when he does arrive. This was at its worst in 12x02, that travesty in which Dean fails to exhibit any concern for Sam whatsoever, even when witnessing him tied up and bleeding (despite vowing to take Toni apart if Sam is hurt in just the previous episode.) At the time I blamed it on Bucklemming, but given later episodes (12x04, 12x14, 12x15) it seems to be the trend, that Dean is not given to showing caring for his brother anymore, either by threatening those who hurt him or worrying over his condition.

(I admit, Dean caring for Sam is my favorite thing in the whole damn show. So the near total lack of it this season, even in minor moments, has stood out to me.) (Meanwhile Sam repeatedly expresses concern for Dean's physical and emotional states. Which I love, don’t get me wrong; but I like it going in both directions? I miss eps like “Mystery Spot”...)

Even with other characters, while Dean can express worry for family/friends (always initially expressed as anger, then walked back to a grudging apology; the Dean who would express worry through humor or supportive gestures or asking to talk is nowhere to be found) his caring is always matched and usually overshadowed by Sam's (except arguably for a couple times with Cas, for the sake of Destiel). And Dean is the one who doesn't understand what Mary's going through, Dean is the one who is mean and petty to Cas, Dean is the one who overreacts to Claire’s decision. Dean's role is to be Goofus to Sam's Gallant, showing, over and over, what not to do.

And yes, they've always had a measure that Dean is the more volatile and emotional one while Sam is calmer and more rational. But it's more extreme now, to the point that Dean can't be calm and rational EVER -- while Sam only gets emotional for brief moments and then calms, without it ever clouding his judgment or decisions.

That Dean has had no time with the innocents this season really bothers me too, because it’s always been one place the show has been quite even -- Sam & Dean have different ways of dealing with the victims of monsters, but they're both effective.

Reading over your analysis of Dean and violence, I wonder if this is all related -- that because the show is softening him in terms of violence, it sees less need to show his caring side otherwise, which has always existed in contrast to his capacity for cruelty. Or even that to preserve his nominal 'tough guy' appearance, when he's not as violent, he has to be harder in other areas.

I really hope that's not the case. I really hope the kind Dean, the Dean who tried to comfort Michelle at the end of "Red Meat" and told Sam he wasn't leaving him in “Don’t Call Me Shurley”, who managed to save the universe by empathizing with Amara, isn't gone for good.

(Even in "Regarding Dean," Dean is sweet and cute, but he's not especially kind. And while I do love that ep, it's probably my favorite of the season, I hated how at the end, once Dean's back to 'himself,' he teases Sam, and there's no sense that he realizes that Sam was genuinely hurting. That's mostly in the editing, they could've easily played it as teasing but also sympathetic. But they don't; he's just a smug jackass. Likewise in "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" Dean's fussing over Baby would've been fine if there had been any hint that he was actually concerned about Sam or the innocent and blustering over it with his worry about the car -- like way back in the pilot, asking if Sam was okay, then covering his concern by saying that he'd kill him for damaging the car.)

It's touches like that I'm missing. And as you say, the characterization has been flat this season, and these are some of the details that are getting flattened out. I am hoping that’s all it is, and not that they’ve just decided Dean’s not like that anymore.

And I do hope you're right about the season's general arc. The decrease in violence, especially from the boys and between the boys, was one of the things I most enjoyed about s11, and one of the things I am glad about s12. (I admit I was a little concerned about that -- Dabb wrote one of the worst moments of domestic violence in the show, in that it was played as no big deal, in Dean punching Sam in "Girl Next Door" -- but that hasn't come up; Dean’s being written as a jerk, but at least not an abusive one.) If that is a deliberate choice, it’s one thing to celebrate!

#spn meta #season 12 #meta #dean #my meta #my post #wank for ts #so much wank #i have been stewing on this for a while #now it's all coming out everywhere!#sigh

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