#i hope to finish the full writeup and share it with you all in the not too distant future but enjoy this for now!

[pochapal]

happy october 5, 1986 (+37)!

i do not have a full writeup done yet because i have been busy with starting my phd and contracting diseases and surviving horrors and rotating abstract concepts in my mind etc etc etc but what i do have is a hot off the press raw and rough preview of the chapter 14 writeup to share with you all in order to celebrate umineko day in some form regardless.

so, on this day of slaughter i am sharing with you a small slice of my writeup: the 3rd and 4th twilights that could have been had chapter 14 decided not to go crazy go stupid with it. i hope this is a tasty appetizer to satiate everybody as i continue to work on bringing the full writeup to completion.

happy umineko day and thanks to everyone for supporting the liveblog so far! <3

[...] This leads you to an immediate conclusion: Kanon dying in the basement boiler room was not part of the plan. Or, not part of the Witch Narrative at least. His death marks a point where this scheme has totally gone off the rails, and Genji’s script has been rendered worthless. The presentation of the death is obfuscated, but the truth beneath it is that something went deeply wrong that shouldn’t have.

This is a bold claim I’m making, but I also think I have enough proof in the story to substantiate it. I think, going by everything, the next incident following the deaths of Eva and Hideyoshi was to involve the basement in one form or another. I also think that this was being prepared in parallel with the Second Twilight – Genji and Nanjo leave the kitchen at the same time as Kanon and Kumasawa, but the two men don’t reach the scene until after Kanon has already unlocked the room and Eva and Hideyoshi have been found dead with the stakes in their skulls. Enough time to, say, take a trip down to the basement and set some dominoes in motion.

As to what I think was part of the Witch Narrative, I think everything was on track right up until the moment Kanon set foot in the basement. The foul smell filling the hallway was almost certainly set in motion by Genji and/or Nanjo (perhaps by turning on the boiler while Eva and Hideyoshi were being found in order to time it to make the smell the strongest at the perfect time – this may also have precluded moving Kinzo’s body there depending on where he was before now). Kanon acting bizarrely freaked out was part of the plan. As was Kumasawa screaming about hearing a noise, and the two of them breaking off from the group to rush ahead to investigate. Everything falls apart when Kanon sets foot in the basement and Beatrice shows up and he dies.

So what was the intended plan in the basement involving Kinzo? I think, if I were to hazard a guess based off pre-existing patterns, the boiler room in the basement was going to be used as another locked room, this time featuring Kinzo. I think this would have been a play in two acts. The first act would have Kanon and Kumasawa chase the noise to the basement and “find” the head’s ring on the ground. The family would search the boiler room and find the back door exit locked up, and no sign of Kinzo anywhere in sight (there would be efforts taken to keep anyone from investigating the boiler). The ring alone on the ground in an empty room would stand in for the Third Twilight – Kinzo is without his headship and authority, so it must therefore fall to everyone to praise Beatrice’s noble name in his stead. Dissatisfied and creeped out, everyone leaves the basement – the back door is locked from the inside, and the front door locked with a key placed in Natsuhi’s possession.

From here, this would likely have led to another discussion chapter about how the ring got there. The setup of the scene would be enough that Battler would question whether or not a nineteenth person placed the ring there, or if Kinzo himself actually dropped it there as part of some other ploy. The servants would be questioned and swear up and down there was nobody else in the basement when they entered. The sound would be discussed, as would the impossibility that anybody known to be alive could make that noise. The conversation would then turn to Kinzo as the likely suspect and Natsuhi, who’s been complicit in covering up Kinzo’s death for some time already, would start sweating as this truth grows closer to being uncovered. It’s up in the air as to whether or not the servants would help or hinder Natsuhi here, but I think it’s likely Battler would have started to think on Eva’s words from earlier. More fuel on the Natsuhi culprit fire that she can’t fight because she can’t admit to knowing what he knows. Maria would then laugh and go witchmode and say to everyone that this is obviously Beatrice manipulating things with her magic, and boom, scene.

Something would then happen in the next chapter to turn attention back to the boiler room. Perhaps the smell grows stronger. Perhaps the conversation about Kinzo grows to a fever pitch. Perhaps a servant fakes hearing another noise from the basement. Whatever the case, we would return to the boiler room a second time. There would be a point made of showing Natsuhi pulling out the only key to the boiler room and everyone stepping inside to find Kinzo’s body on the floor, burned up with an icepick stake in his forehead. The inner lock for the back door would still be set. Genji and Nanjo would confirm the body’s identity via the polydactyly. Somehow, Kinzo’s dead body appeared in the middle of a perfectly locked room.

Likely there would then be discussions of who could have killed Kinzo, given that at the time of his “death” everyone was yet again together (minus Kanon/Genji slipping in and out of the parlor to get food and drinks). The assumption would be that Kinzo was alive in there all along, and then killed himself for some reason – contradicted by the fact that if he launched himself into the boiler, how did he drag himself back out into the middle of the floor? The mystery would stump Battler, because the only major solution would be to assume a nineteenth person was also already hiding in the locked basement, and killed Kinzo and displayed the corpse, but Battler would chessboard himself out of leaning on that option. Out of options and stumped, we would stay at another stalemate where there’s no proof that Beatrice exists, but no way that the surviving humans could have set up this scene (there are of course ways, such as a back door that wasn’t really locked or a second key/master key with which to return to the boiler room and set things up, but nobody will think of them). The horrors would escalate. The Witch Narrative would persist. And so on. And so on.

This scenario, believable as it is, never came to happen. Instead we got what we got, and we need to figure out why. Why did Kinzo show up like this? Why did Kanon die, despite all known logic and reasoning stating that the contrary would be ideal? Why are things speeding up at such an exponential rate? What on earth is actually going on?

[queerdraws]

⚔️👒 Zolu Playlist 👒⚔️

28 songs Full tracklist, selected lyrics, n writeup below cut

(Contains: The Happy Fits, PUFFY, Illuminati Hotties, Paramore, The Shins, The Orion Experience, Best Coast, Utada Hikaru, etc) (+a couple songs absorbed from ao's zolu playlist)

1. The Shins - Simple Song Mixed POV, Zoro being recruited by Luffy. ... You sure must be strong And you feel like an ocean being warmed by the Sun // My life in an upturned boat Marooned on a cliff You brought me a great big flood And you gave me a lift // I know that things can really get rough When you go it alone Don't go thinking you gotta be tough To bleed like a stone Could be there's nothing else in our lives so critical As this little hole?

2. Slow Pulp - Cramps Zoro POV, vibing with being a pirate, actually. realizing he's a lot like Luffy / they have a lot in common. Wants to protect his crew. Part of a family now. But also specifically drawn to Luffy, drawn along with Luffy. Has a nice confident, grungy, fighty vibe. ... Be a better lover, I know that I'm a runner Oh no, I think I've become her There's nothing better than being the protector Out of a routine, the only one I've ever seen I wanna be a foolproof machine There's nothing better, wanna be like Heather I'll take anything That you wanna give But I want everything Everything

3. PUFFY - Friends Forever Mixed POV, perfectly in sync. friends forever. big adventuring vibe. facing the world together. slight nod to whiskey peak. sidenote: it's really annoying to find this song on youtube without scooby doo noises playing over it (official music videos my beloathed...) the "pokemon and their trainers" (...gijinkas) video is the best one for my region at least. ... Just when I thought I had to make it alone You were right there by my side Making a stand holding my hand the way you do There to remind me of a "me and you" When I'm with you all my fear disappears Like if I reach, I touch the sky You've got my back, pick up my slack when I can't see But nothing picks me up like knowing we'll be Friends forever Face whatever Friends forever Yay! we're never gonna be apart You and me, we are so oddly the same The way we think, the way we play Right from the start, so off the charts, about this thing But we didn't know at first that we were making Friends forever Bound together Friends forever Yeah! We'll always be there Oh yes, there also can be times that get rough And all that can be said is "sorry" That we were wrong and said some meaningless stuff And we'll go on together, through any nasty weather Yeah

4. Illuminati Hotties - Sandwich Sharer Luffy POV - flippant & happy vibe. but also visceral, grungy, fighty. kissing. sharing food. "you thought i was bleeding but that's just my spit!!". ... Restarted kissing You said "I'm dreaming" I couldn't stop from laughing Cause it's the realest thing I ever did Taking our clothes off Painting on rooftops Sit back on shingles in the shade, I bare my teeth at future fake outs we had coming Drooling tomato sauce, to make it look legit You thought i was bleeding but that's just my spit Sandwich sharer Unprepared for What comes after this Take the big half I will bite back What you won't finish Until we're finished

5. The Happy Fits - Sailing Zoro POV oops catching feelings for a friend ... My body's achin' My ship's left the shore Your eyes are waiting My knees on the floor And it's been so long Since I had a friend And it's been so long Why can't we just pretend? And I feel your laughter Your warm, open stare And I'm chasing after Somethin' that isn't there

6. The Pillow Queens - Favourite idk just vibes "tell me i'm your favorite" + "i'm being so normal" ... i’ve got no reason to be feeling like you’re mine for the next four seasons let it die, let it die i can’t help hoping that you think i’m really nice want some brief hand holding on the sly, on the sly hey you can say it, i’m your favourite hey you can say it, i’m your favourite

7. The Beths - Warm Blood Luffy POV - Zoro is warm and good feelings. Not "you make me feel protected", but "you are a raincoat". Feels very Luffy. "you really get me" ... Nothing makes me feel like this Nothing makes me feel like this Nothing but you Nothing but you My head is hanging from the roof I'm floating all about the room Because of you Because of you I wanna bask in the rays of the way I feel right now (Ooh oooh) I wanna bask in the rays of the way I feel right now (Ooh warming up my blood) You are a raincoat, you are a zeppelin flight You are a bonfire burning a three dog night You are an isle of calm on a stormy sea You really get, you really get You really get me I wanna be here when you call Pick up the phone and I would fall in love with you In love with you

8. MONKEY MAJIK - Around the World Mixed POV. During timeskip. Counting down the days until we can see eachother again. We'll change the world, make it better, we're training to make that happen. sidenote: the mixed eng/jpn version of this song is my favorite and the one i'm referring to here ... Every night I look to the skies And wonder what we did Always a naive point of view that breaks us in the end If I could find the meaning of it all I’d take the chance Maybe in time We’ll walk the mile and change it if we can It’s now and always (How did we get this far,did we get this far now) Always (We’re making a brand new start, just a brand new start now) Always (Nothing will hold me down, never hold me down now) Always (Wave goodbye to me!) Around the world 新しいことに(with the power to) Around the world 踏み出す力で(step forward to something new) Around the world 世界は変わる(I'll change the world) But don’t run away ’cause if it’s not OK! I’ll change that world Into something better honey!

9. Natalie Holmes - Hideout Zoro POV, Luffy brings light to all those around him, reawakens ppls dreams and leads his crew in to a beautiful inspiring new life :') ... Under the stars, out in the elements If there's no room, there are no elephants When you speak the waves are radiant You've got a face that softens every muscle in my body I’ve never needed all these things to feel whole Something familiar in the love that you provide (And now) I’ve got an empty hideout cause I don't need to hide now The wind can blow out the candle, cause I'm certain I can't fall You've got a face that softens All of the glass I’ve trodden Now I’ve got an empty hideout I don’t need to hide now I don’t need to Something in your love makes everything light up We don’t say a word although we want to Your heart was on the line now suddenly it’s mine There’s something in your love Something in your love Something in your love, in you love

10. Daft Punk - Digital Love just vibes. dreaming. dancing together. having fun. ... Last night I had a dream about you In this dream I'm dancing right beside you And it looked like everyone was having fun The kind of feeling I've waited so long Don't stop, come a little closer As we jam the rhythm gets stronger There's nothing wrong with just a little little fun We were dancing all night long The time is right to put my arms around you You're feeling right, you wrap your arms around too But suddenly I feel the shining sun Before I knew it this dream was all gone Ooh, I don't know what to do About this dream and you I wish this dream comes true Ooh, I don't know what to do About this dream and you We'll make this dream come true Why don't you play the game? Why don't you play the game?

11. Mitski - Stay Soft Mostly just like the bridge "open up your heart like the gates of helllll". But feels more like Zoro POV (thirsty). And touches a little the communication issues these two have ... Fury, pure and silver You grip it tight inside Like a knife, it glints in your eye It's why I've arrived, your sex god Here to take you where You need to go, to where the dark remembers you Open up your heart Like the gates of Hell // I am facedown on my bed Still not quite awake yet Thinking of you, I tuck my hand under my weight Just tell me what you want to do Tell me what you want to burn away 'Cause I could be your stoker

12. Air Traffic Controller - You Know Me Mixed POV. You know me! Perfectly in tune. ... You know me You know everything about me now My heart is in your hands, and you know you could break it But wouldn't you rather make me sing like this? You know me I try to find some good in everything Since you came along, somehow this got easy 'Cause all you wanna do is please me, my love This could be a roller coaster But we're gonna make the most of it Whether on top, or we're going down, you know me You know me (I know you) And how I get when I'm uncomfortable If I'm too hot, or cold Tired, bored, or hungry I'm fine when you're around me, boy And you know me I've never been on time for anything I do apologize, I know it's such a bother I promise to try harder for you, girl, oh I will

13. The Orion Experience - Honeysuckle Kisses Luffy POV. Desires filed away in a very Luffy way "All I want is all my wishes, and I've love to have your honeysuckle kisses". Romance as an afterthought to the great big adventure. ... They say we're crazy, completely insane I don't give a damn, I think we're fascinating We keep it moving and riding this train They can stop and stare But I don't care Oh, they just can't see who we are You and I, yeah We belong to the stars No matter how they try They won't tear us apart All I want is all my wishes And I'd love to have your honeysuckle kisses All I need to fulfill my bliss is Is your honeysuckle, honeysuckle kisses That's what I want

14. The Happy Fits - Around and Around Zoro POV, Pre-relationship, unsure about what's happening due to poor communication. Things are coming to a boiling point. And also "I could see the world with you" - be by your side forever, go on adventures. Do you want that? Do I? Will you have me? ... I don't know what I'm seeing, when the world keeps spinning around my eyes I think I lost my meaning Just another day to survive And I can't keep thinking about it, keep thinking about it Can't be still anymore No, there's nothing so simple about it, nothing simple about it Can't be still anymore I can't be still anymore I can't be still anymore I'll go 'round and around Go 'round and around with you No, don't slow me down No, don't slow me down, will you? And I could see the world with you And I could see the world with you

15. Paramore - Proof Mixed POV, during timeskip. They're apart. Missing eachother. Believe in you, ride or die. So strong! They'll meet up again, even stronger than before. ... It's really hard I can't cry in your arms 'cause you're not here It's not your fault, and if it was, I wouldn't care My heart is bigger than the distance in between us I know it 'cause I feel it beating So strong, it'll knock you down So strong, so strong Over here I can count the miles away from where I wanna be I bet your skin is warm and that you're smiling Yeah, that's what I always loved the most about you So strong, come and knock me down Hey! Baby, if I'm half the man I say I am If I'm a woman with no fear just like I claim I am Then I'll believe in what you say There's nothing left for you to do The only proof that I need is you

16. Utada Hikaru - Chikai (aka zolu "wedding" song. Primarily Zoro POV, making oaths, matching rings, liking someone so much it makes you feel uncool, waaaaaaauughhhhghgh😭) ... I don’t know about fate But this time I have to accept that it exists // Today is a day without lies It's a perfect day for making an eternal vow Don't need pretty flowers or witnesses Let’s wear rings of the same color // What I say now isn't borrowed words It’s not a promise, it’s an oath I can’t go back to being a liar Let’s wear rings the color of the morning sun Let’s dance with our hearts pounding Let’s celebrate being alive in this moment // Kiss me once, kiss me twice Give yourself to me Let’s listen to sound of the sun rising, side by side Let’s swear to live our lives together

17. Best Coast - When I'm with You Mixed POV ... The world is lazy But you and me We're just crazy So, when I'm with you, I have fun Yeah, when I'm with you, I have fun // I hate sleeping alone

18. Gerard Way - No Shows Pre-relationship. Not wanting to be tied down, but also being drawn in to it anyway, idk. ... Been weeks I been living And your smiles are giving me All types of treble Weak knees I been given And those nights are making me Star-struck and metal Stay free, don't go 'Cause we don't need no Try to be living as your vice And can you be my type? 'Cause we need to be given a good life And can I be your type of metal? Stay free, don't go 'Cause we don't need no shows

19. VUKOVI - Colour Me In Mixed POV - Follow you anywhere, die for you, we're one together (you're mine you're mine you're mine!) ... All I am And even more I'll give it to you Couldn't count All the ways That I'd die for you We are one We are whole And I'll go with you Breathing out, breathing in And I loved you again // Where you go, oh, I'll follow Through our bodies in the dark We want it and it's perfect With you in my arms Where you go, oh, I'll follow Through our bodies in the dark You're mine You're mine You're mine Mine

20. Opus Orange - It's What I Do Mixed POV - just vibes. I feel like it describes them but can't explain it ... every time you look for me you know i think i might disappear every time i look for you i know the bright lights interfere ‘cause i’m not the kind that’s so easy to find when you’re looking for me you’re not the kind with the salt water eyes at the bottom of the sea so take my hand we are the blind leading the blind no i don’t have a plan so let’s go where the sea meets the sky now we're gonna float away everything i want to say to you gets washed away downstream everything i want to give to you is a shade of blue or green i’m not the kind to draw straight lines in the desert sand you’re not the kind with peace of mind and a gun in your hand

21. Illuminati Hotties - Toasting Primarily Luffy POV. Just vibes. Short and sweet, flippant and reckless. They cause descruction and just laugh it off, and move on. ... Toasting a Pop-Tart And thinking of you There's a lot I'd rather do Instead I'm biting my lip And I'm biting yours too 'Til the blood tastes like chocolate goo Our bodies Are twirling The kitchen is burning When we both choke down the ashes You mention you're bored I guess I could've toasted more

22. The Happy Fits - Sweet Things Mixed POV after the end of their journey, pirate king and worlds greatests swordsman continue sailing together forever ... So tell me three things, three words that you know about me I'll say, I'll say "won't you come with me, baby?" Nothing lasts forever It's only now or never Tell me sweet things, sweet things that you know about me I'll say, I'll say "won't you bury me, baby? Underneath our loving forever" Don't you take me, take me all the way and then erase me I could be the one if you stay here Underneath our loving forever So take me home Well you say that nothing matters Well you said that nothing mattered except when I'm here with you Does it feel right? (Does it feel right?)

23. The Black Keys - Go Narrator POV - The two boys growing old sailing together ... There comes a time, two hearts of gold Leave together, run forever on the open road They gotta go oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh They gotta go oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh In the winter time, when the day is long You're halfway there, the field is bare And the fire is gone Are you all alone? Are you feeling cold? Find your flame, call her name, and hit the road

24. PUFFY - Love so Pure Mixed POV - love so sure. two people perfectly suited for eachother from the start. mutual trust. soulmates. :) ... I was his from the momentthe we first met From our solo to duet, it took no time Call it fate Or just two hearts magnetized But I never felt so high Since he's been all mine We've got a love so pure, yes a love so sure The kind of love you hold so tight We've got a love so pure, yes a Love so sure The kind of love that lasts a girl for life! With a kiss I can't resist on turn away All I want is him to stay, it's paradise With out a word Nothing heard me say so much With a look or silent touch I know we'll bе all right

25. Tegan and Sara - BWU Mixed POV - don't need to follow conventions to prove their love. ... I love you I don't need a ring to Prove that you're worthy You're under my skin It's easy I don't need a lock to Prove that you trust me I walk the walk To be with you Just to be with you Oh, to be with you Just to be with you Save your first and last dance for me I don't need a white wedding Save your first and last born for me We don't need a white wedding All the girls I loved before Told me they signed up for more Save your first and last chance for me 'Cause I don't want a white wedding

26. IRONTOM - Partners Just what it says on the tin. They're partners. lol ... Partners, we're partners We're partners, we're partners

27. Ashley Eriksson - Arguably Mixed POV - idk, vibes ... Sometimes I wish I was talkin' to you 'Cause you know everybody that I do You would hear my story, and you would agree We are always right on, you and me And you can always count on my company On and on and on, endlessly We're all loving creatures of the same decree But we've got one up on them don't we? Don't we? Arguably, don't we?

28. Animal Collective - The Purple Bottle Luffy POV. Frantic. Explosive big feelings. Can't stop talking --about Zoro to other people, and to Zoro about anything (sometimes i'm talkitive and you're not talkitive, I know...). And idk, the vibes. "purple" as a metaphor for sensuality, feels playful and lovely. But the end of this song really drags on so it's at the end of the playlist lol. ... I've gotta big big big heart beat, yeah! I think you are the sweetest thing I wear a coat of feelings and they are loud I've been having good days Think we are the right age to start our own peculiar ways? With good friendly homes // Sometimes you're quiet and sometimes I'm quiet, (Hallelujah!) Sometimes I'm talkative and sometimes you're not talkative, I know // And my dear dear dear Khalana I talk too much about you Their ears are getting tired of me singing all the night through Lets just talk together You and me and me and you And if there's nothing much to say Well, silence is a bore. // Can I tell you that you are the purple in me? Can I call you just to hear you would you care? When I saw you put your purple finger on me There's a feeling in your bottle Found your bottle, found your heart Gives a feeling from your bottled little part

------

Aaaand that's all of it! Thanks for reading :)

[yuniemaki]

A peek into my workflow for canon fics!

Got quite a few questions lately about how I plot longer fanfics, so here's a proper writeup on my current workflow.

One thing to note is that canon is always easier to work with because the worldbuilding has been done for you, and you really only need to focus on setup and payoff as well as the narrative themes. With an AU, you need to build the world and supporting characters as well in order to deliver a similar impact. An AU is closer to plotting an original story, except you don't need to work so hard on the character dynamics.

As such, my plotting differs slightly from canon to AU fics. Since I haven't finished an AU fic yet I'll share my process for canon fics for now (using Trust in the stars - mind the spoilers!).

Hope this helps other fanfic writers out there :) And remember, all these "rules" exist to be broken, as long as you find a way that works for you.

Fics based in the canon universe have no need for worldbuilding aside from your own headcanons, so I typically focus on driving impact through the narrative itself.

First off, I note down the characters that will show up in this fic and try to summarise the main theme in a one-liner (the one liner can be done after you finish everything, that's why I highlighted it in yellow - I only wrote this after I finished a first plot. This one-sentence summary will guide your main theme and ensure your story ends on the right note).

This is how Trust in the stars began:

No details at all at this stage. After this, I used the three act structure to nail down the key moments of the fic. These are usually scenes I've been brainrotting on in full detail; they are usually drabbles or rambles for epic/emotional scenes I envision.

Using the structure, I slot them into the right places and then figure out how to build up to it. Because, as we all know, there is no impact without setup and payoff. And for setup and payoff to work, we need to step back and see the entire story from an organised perspective.

I'm not a fan of breaking down stories into percentages - I prefer to just look at all the acts and its key points, and see if they make sense and build up to each other. Act 2 can be the shortest act for all I care as long as it successfully sets up for the "crisis" that leads into the climax.

(If you have other key scenes that you were brainrotting on, write them down on a separate doc first or at the bottom of the plot doc, but keep the plot by itself for now.)

You'll notice that there are quite a few differences in the final fanfic from this plot, and that's normal. This simple structure just helps you to see the main climatic moments in each act and how it builds up to the final climax.

Again, no details - don't know what kind of poison, don't know what kind of sus activity, no idea what trap Ningguang sends Beidou to.

This is basically my "first draft".

From this draft, I can already tell that there may be issues with "prototype modified ruin guards" in act 2 because:

The climax, where Liyue is defended from a ruin guard army, doesn't seem linked to Ning & Pantalone negotiating

It also doesn't satisfy the aftermath of Ning & Pantalone accepting each other as equals,

Nor does it fully tie back to the one-sentence summary ("rekindles passions for Beidou").

That means I'm missing the central theme I want the story to have - ultimately Trust in the stars is a story of Ningguang and Beidou daring to trust each other, to fall in love.

So just looking at this, I know I need to:

a) rework the climax and potentially make it less epic (so that it becomes personal)

b) after reworking the climax, adjust act 2 to build up to it

After I'm happy with the key moments, I stay on this doc and start fleshing out main story beats for each section of the act. This is an example of how the beats for Act 1 go for the first 2-3 chapters:

These beats help to iron out the smaller questions - for example, what are the characters doing and thinking? What's their motives for each arc of the story?

I never believed in "giving" your characters obstacles to overcome; they will meet and become obstacles simply because of their motivations and beliefs, that are shaped by the circumstances they experience, just as we are shaped by our experiences in life.

That's how they will drive your story towards its ending. Things happen, but all things happen because someone willed it to happen.

Ruin guard army? Dottore was building it because he loves his little experiments. The law is his obstacle; he's doing it in secret. To build experiments, he needs funding, too, and that's why he has an interest in working with Pantalone.

Pantalone beefing with Ningguang? He must want something that she has. Wealth, power - whatever floats your boat. Ningguang is his obstacle because she's gonna say no.

Beidou running errands for Ningguang? It's part of their contract that's been ongoing for years, never mind her interest in Ningguang. The contract itself is an obstacle to the story's goal: falling in love. Business partners to... lovers?

Ningguang ordering Beidou to collect intel? It's part of her vested interest in knowing what's going on in other nations, because she needs to protect Liyue from political threats. The potential danger Beidou faces becomes an obstacle for Ningguang, as she struggles between needing to send Beidou out and fearing she doesn't return.

Ningguang baiting the Fatui? The intel her network delivers has alerted her to suspicious ongoings and she wants to remove this obstacle asap.

Yelan investigating the Fatui? Ningguang ordered it, and Yelan is working for her (plus she likes her job and danger). What Yelan finds also becomes an obstacle for Ningguang as they try to figure out what's going on.

Ningguang ordering Yelan to do that? She must suspect the Fatui are making moves. And she's trying to clear the obstacle of "lack of knowledge" so that she can make her move.

Why does Ningguang suspect the Fatui is making their move? Because Pantalone wants something from Ningguang and has made it clear through sending Dottore to take the bait. Obviously she won't want to give him anything. She becomes his obstacle.

Dottore getting involved? Pantalone got Dottore to work with him with the promise of gaining knowledge or making experiments, which is Dottore's passion anyway.

Not the most flawless example, but see how each character's motivations is based off what they know from another character's goal, and how their reactions drive the plot forward?

I digressed. Anyway...

After I've finished the beats for the whole fic, I build out the points into actual chapters. Having the beats fleshed out for the full story helps immensely with weaving forewarning into early chapters, because I already know what's going to happen in xx chapter and I have all the turning points in mind.

I find that if I start writing without finishing the plot, I find it hard to continue because I simply don't know what the ending is going to be. It's like driving a car on a road without a destination.

I made this mistake once, and that fic is gonna stay at 1/? for a very long time, I assure you...

Anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk. Let me know if this was useful ily 😭

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

How to Ask Steven stuff.

Because apparently we need a tutorial.

Okay guys. I know I encourage you to send me asks and then somehow don’t reply to any of your lovingly-crafted little gifts of joy and 280 characters. I ask for questions for Steven and then never touch them when they arrive. 

And so it stands to reason that we may need to explain WHY and HOW I choose the asks I answer. 

It turns out I DON’T just answer every question willy nilly, and I DON’T just answer the ones who yell the loudest, beg the most, and send me the most asks. In fact, all those things just make it more likely to delete your message! (Sorry guys, but if you wrote ‘plz reply!!!!’ into any message you sent me, there’s a 99% chance I deleted it immediately.)

Anyway, to remedy this breakdown in communication, I’ve decided to do a quick writeup of how I select asks - and which asks I delete on sight and why. 

Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list. 

Let’s get right into it:

[Text: Reason #1: Future Vision. Ask reads: “Steven!! Listen to me! You’re not a full gem! You’re White Diamond’s don! Pearl killed Pink! Rose Quartz isn’t who she says she is!!!” - REJECTED.]

Guilty of - trying to be a sapphire and using future vision to spoil plot points FOR THE CHARACTERS. 

I will not reply to these asks. Full stop. The ONLY time I did was back in season 1 where someone told Steven he’s magical.

Reason: It takes away Steven’s ability to discover things on his own, and makes even less sense in the meta. WHY would a person sending him asks know more about it than he, himself does?

[Text: Reason #2: Choose Your Own Adventure Gaming. Ask reads: “Steven, you should go up to the lighthouse on top of the temple. Then knock on the door. Then talk to Ronaldo. Then ask him about Sneeple. Then...” - REJECTED]

Guilty of - trying to control Steven like a character in a videogame or an RPG.

These asks get a delete 90% of the time because 90% of the time they don’t move the story forward. They’re just the asker trying to grab control of the story to move it in the direction THEY personally want it to go. The solution here is to make your own story. 

Even asks that have one thing are on thin ice. If you sent me a message that starts with ‘Steven, you should ___’ then there’s a 50% chance it will not be answered.

Reason: It says ‘ASK’, not  ‘TELL’ and not ‘ORDER’. 

[Text: Reason #3: Sex/Violence. Ask is censored with a mosaic. REJECTED. ]

Guilty of: Not reading the room.

We get it. You’re edgy. You Grew Up. You know about Big Adult Stuff. It’s Exciting for you because it’s new and makes you realize for the first time that you’re a bag of meat. You’re trying to wipe the feeling off by inflicting it on other people and hope it makes them feel the same way because you can’t handle thoughts going through it alone. The idea of thinking something and NOT immediately sharing it is alien to you. You have no self control. 

Reason: There’s a time and place for everything. This is not that time, and not that place. 

[Text: Reason #4: Too Soon. Ask: “Hey Steven, I just wanted to ask about how Earl feels about Rose now that she knows Rose shattered Pink Diamond!” ON HOLD.]

Guilty of: Jumping the gun and asking about a plot turn that has not yet taken place in the comic. 

These asks are actually fine! :)

But I am unlikely to answer them anytime soon. The most likely outcome is that I save them to my Big Ol’ Pile of Asks and answer them... someday. When they finally become applicable. 

[Text: Reason #5: Misc. Ask 1: “Hey can you draw me my OC he has spiky hair and anime eyes and big boots and his...” Ask 2: “can steven skateboard? also i love your work :)” Ask 3: “When is the next comic coming oooout? Last week you posted 36 panels and this week you ONLY posted 34!!! >:( Why are you so lazy?!”]

I think most of these are a little self-explanitory.

I will generally delete asks that:

- beg for artwork, especially for free

- ignore the FAQ

- ask ME questions instead of asking Steven, or combine them (sorry guys... I wanna answer, but if I can’t tell which one of us you’re talking to, I can’t use the ask!)

- Demand that I work MORE or that I’m somehow not satisfying your intense need for free-to-read content at the desired pace, because the world is your oyster and you NEED. THAT. PONY!!!! 

... I want to mention one LAST reason that I may be ‘ignoring’ your ask. 

And that is to say, I’m not ignoring you at aLL and instead I’m just holding the ask quietly and sobbing because you’ve absolutely made my day with your kind words and I can’t find it in me to release the ask into the wild. 

(I love you all, I promise I read your ask!! I’m just very bad at answering! I’m so sorry!!!!)

And just to finish off, to put your minds to rest I will also say this:

I WILL NEVER DELETE ASKS FOR ONLY THIS REASON: 

- Your English isn’t “good enough”

I am an immigrant. I also had to learn English. Trust me, a few mistakes here and there are FINE! Don’t worry about spelling or grammar! If I understand you, we’re good. 

Thank you for reading! I hope this was somewhat helpful.

Okay but seriously, PLEASE read the FAQ.

[heliosphoenix]

State of the Planet: 2020 Edition.

I know what you're thinking.

"How can you even think of doing one of these for this year? After everything that happened? You can't possibly be trying to do your little feel-good writeup!" 

Well...you're right. I can't. That's right, State of the Planet is cancelled.

I don't really have to explain why, do I? I have no words to describe this year and I know you don't want to hear them anyway. I understand your anger, your frustration, your sadness, everything you're feeling, I get it.

This wasn't the year you imagined and almost certainly not the one you wanted. Thanks for being there the entire way, and I'll see you next year.

Okay, I'm just kidding. I couldn't do that to you folks, I just wanted to get some more mileage out of a dead meme.

I first started this missive several years ago when I noticed that people were developing a tendency to condense the previous lap around the ol Sun into a series of terrible, horrible, no good very bad events at the expense of anything good that may have happened. I don't know why this was done, maybe as a ways to ensure that the coming year would have to be better by default.

Well...we all saw how that worked out for this year, didn't we?

As you all know I prefer to do things differently. I prefer to go out on a high note and remember all the good things that happened in the past year. If nothing else, I think it helps remind us that as much as we want to bemoan and be pessimistic about the state of our culture, society, civilization and even species, there's plenty of evidence to suggest we're not doing so bad after all.

And even thought it feels like this past year the world went out of its way to teach us some rather harsh lessons, I'm still determined to find something good that happened. So let's take a look back at some of the good things that happened in 2020:

A circumbinary planet was discovered at the TOI 1338 system.

Luxembourg became the first country to make it's public transportation free.

The Bhadla Solar Park became the largest solar park in the world.

The BepiColumbo space probe departed for Venus, en route to an arrival at Mercury in 2025.

A fast radio burst was detected from a Magnetar in the Milky Way, the first time such an event has been detected in the Galaxy.

A team of British and Kenyan scientists discovered a microbe that can block mosquitos from transmitting malaria.

A black hole was discovered in the QV Telescopii system, at 1120 light years away it is the closest known black hole to Earth.

A 425 million year old fossil of a millipede was discovered in Scotland, one of the oldest fossils ever found.

SpaceX launched their Dragon 2 spacecraft on its first crewed missions, the first astronauts to launch from US soil since 2011.

The Perseverance rover was launched to Mars and is expected to touch down in February.

The Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE became the first operational nuclear power plant in the Arab states.

Wild polio was eradicated from the continent of Africa.

Skeletons of 31 prehistoric animals, including 200 mammoths, were found at a construction site in Mexico City, it was the largest finding of mammoth bones ever.

The 5.37 mile La Linea highway tunnel was opened in Colombia, it's the largest road tunnel in South America.

Kosovo, Serbia, Sudan and Bahrain all decided to normalize their relations with Israel.

Phosphine, a strong predictor of microbiological life, was discovered in the atmosphere of Venus.

Preserved remains of a cave bear were discovered in Siberia.

A 1634 edition of Shakespeare's final play, The Two Noble Kingsman, was discovered at the Royal Scots College's library in Spain.

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft landed on the asteroid Bennu and collected samples for return to Earth in 2023.

The Falkland Islands were declared free of land mines.

Molecular water was detected near Clavius crater on the Moon. 

An AI algorithm called AlphaFold was able to figure out the process of Protein Folding. 

The UN commission on Narcotic Drugs removed cannabis from its list of dangerous drugs.

The EU committed themselves to reducing greenhouse emissions by 55% over the next decade.

A Great Conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn occurred, the closest one seen in the night sky since 1226.

Comet NEOWISE passed by the Earth and was the brightest comet in the night sky since Hale-Bopp in 1997.

Among Us became one of the most popular games in the world.

Half Life: Alyx was released, the first Half Life game in 13 years (FINALLY).

Joe Biden was elected as the 46th President of the United States.

Remember all that? Good. Because that's where I'm at.

You, dear reader, are in the future. Perhaps you're reading this in the final hours of 2020, or the first hours of 2021. Or maybe so much time has passed that both those years are now confined to the history books.

Perhaps everything I listed above is not enough to overcome all the bad things that happened this year, and that's a fair assessment. Maybe at the end of the day there's nothing that can overshadow the fact that someone in China who ate the wrong bat resulted in the entire world coming to a stop. If that's your feeling, then I understand completely.

But let the record show that those things did happen. In a year full of chaos and uncertainty and anxiety and dread, there were still moments where we could objectively punch our fists in the air and say "yes!" Even if only for a moment.

So now comes the part where I have to take all the things that we just went through and sum it up in a single word. Usually I don't think about this until the day of, but this time I've actually known for months what I was going to say:

The word is...Goodbye.

It sounds both strange and appropriate at the same time, doesn't it? As we close out this year, as well as this decade (reminder that 2021 is the real start of the next decade) we can look back and realize we've had many experiences. Both positive and negative. Hopefully they were mostly positive, even during this year.

But there is at least one experience we've all shared together, especially in times like these: saying goodbye.

I will confess to you all that I have a hard time saying goodbye. Hell, I don't even like the word. Whenever I end a conversation, I always use some variant of "see you later", since, to me at least, "goodbye" just sounds so final. Though with that said, I will also admit there's some people in this world that I had no problem saying goodbye to, and I don't mean "till we meet again", I mean "get lost." And I'd be lying if I said there weren't some people who felt the same about me, but I digress.

In the last episode of his show, Red Green delivered a monologue about saying goodbye. A monologue that I am now shamelessly ripping off for your reading pleasure. Not just because it's a way to get this done quickly, but because I think what he said is very true.

Red says that when it comes to your good friends and your family, you never really have to say goodbye. Why? Because they're always in your mind. And whenever you think about them, you're together again. I can tell you from experience that works rather well, even when it involves people that I don't want to think about. But even in that instance, where our last interaction was a negative one, I can't help but think back to all the good times we had together, and for a moment I reminisce. It's nice when it happens.

We've all heard the phrase "nothing lasts forever" and we tend to dismiss it as a cliché. But we're still constantly confronted with that reality, even if we never realize it. As Al Pacino said in Any Given Sunday; "When you get old in life, things get taken from you. That's a part of life."  

We've all lost things in our lives, and I just don't mean toys that have been sold or people that we love who are no longer on this mortal coil. I'm referring to the moments in our lives where we're forced to accept that our circumstances have permanently changed, and that the way things were can no longer be the way things are. This is why you shouldn't be having kids when you're in your 70's, and no one over the age of 50 should be naked in public.

On a more personal note, this year I got that feeling once again. It's not just because I'm most likely leaving one job behind for another job, but there were things in my personal life that shifted so dramatically that I knew things could never be the same again. And seeing as how, for the most part, I liked how things were, I'd be lying if I said that this change didn't cause me some distress.

But that's all a part of growing up, isn't it? As much as I may cringe about reaching 30 years of life on this Earth, I accept it all the same. Because, if nothing else, it's a reminder that I need to keep moving forward. Is it sad that the good ol days are now just memories and dreams? You're damn right it is. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, because even if they're not what's happening now, they still did happen. And who knows? Perhaps the days to come will be just as good, if not better. In my opinion, that's something to look forward to.

And the same is true for all of us: if we want to live a happy fulfilling life, we have to keep moving forward. We can reminisce about all the fun we've had in days gone by, but it's just as important to be ready for the days yet to come.

I think that's why New Year's is such a poignant holiday for all of us. It's a tacit acknowledgement that we have to say goodbye to the old, so we can say hello to the new.

And at the risk of making this entry so long that by the time you're finished it will be 2022, I'd like to do that now.

To all the people that have been with me since my early days, thanks so much for all that you've done. I appreciate you sticking it out with me this far and I hope you'll continue to do so for many years to come.

To all the people that I've met recently and have decided to join me on this ride, welcome aboard. We're glad you could make it and we hope you'll stay a while as well.

And finally, to all the people that are no longer here, whether they've merely left my social circle or left this mortal coil altogether, all I can say is that we've had a great run. Whatever our reasons for parting are irrelevant now and I wish you nothing but good fortune in whatever it is you decide to do. Perhaps, God willing, our paths will cross again some day. But even if they don't, I hope that every so often we'll think about each other and smile a bit.

And now I'd like to close with something different. Usually I ask you to comment below with something good that happened to you this year. You're more than welcome to do that. But if you're looking for a change of pace, may I suggest that you close out your 2020 (or open your 2021) by listening to this song from the great Ashleigh Ball and Michelle Creber (yes I know many of you are hoping to leave the Miniature Equines in the past, but I'm hoping you'll permit them one last indulgence).

https://youtu.be/XjkPH6sZM_o 

This is the song that inspired me to write this missive (along with the aforementioned Red Green) and as you're listening, I want you to think about all of those you said goodbye to this past decade. Think about all the fond memories you had together and give yourself a smile as the clock strikes midnight. Even if they're not with us today, we still have all the memories of them that no one can take from us, no matter what happens to the world.

And now the time has come for me to end this missive. Let the record show that this was my final word on 2020 as well as my expressed hope for charity, kindness and goodwill to flourish throughout the world in the years to come.

So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends

.And 2021 shall restore amends.

[froghaus]

On the Redundancy of Management

Tonight was a slow night at the Starbucks where I work so I had time to lean against the counter and think. I recently finished reading Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber (which I highly recommend to anyone especially if they might be classified as a millennial or younger), and so I tried to follow the train of thought involved in the book to try and which parts of my work were useless to everyone involved.

I settled upon training modules, which no one truly pays full attention to and which are only tested by multiple choice tests which cannot possibly be failed. They waste the Baristas time, the manager’s time in scheduling for them, the district manager’s in making sure everyone has taken them, and all the way up to the people who wasted time making modules that no one will pay attention to as they look at them once and then never again. Even the manager responsible for telling these people to create the modules, in effect, has wasted time. This creates an overwhelming loss of time and creativity on a grand scale.

I decided to bounce this idea off of my equally bored coworkers to see what they thought about the matter. There was unanimous agreement that there was a tremendous waste of time occurring here, and that it affected every level, but there was one small disagreement that I had not anticipated. My shift leader told me. “It doesn’t waste Manager’s time. Manager doesn’t make the schedule. I do.”

This caught me off guard, so I questioned further. I had known that the schedule was created by a program which allocates total hours for a store and splits these hours accordingly based on the availability and desired weekly hours of all who work there. From there, minor swaps and changes can be made based on minute details, which is what I assumed my manager spent so much time doing. Why else would Manager nervously ask “is the schedule okay?” every time Manager noticed me looking it over? It turns out, they actually worry and obsesses over the schedule because the Manager is expected to have open availability, but my Manager has decided that they should never work Sundays or Wednesdays. In effect, my manager is, and had been, spending working hours to manually alter the schedule in ways which frequently caused scheduling issues and created inconsistency in hours.

This in itself is an issue, but it pointed to a more pressing issue which I had not considered. Sure, my manager is a joke. That much is common knowledge and a source of nearly all moaning and gossip among the store baristas and shift leaders alike, but now I was faced with the realization that my Manager’s shortcomings were beyond just incompetence.

I realized that I did not know what my manager actually does.

So, following this rabbit hole a little deeper, I decided to check out the official copy for the Starbucks Manager job description. The official copy is a little vague, presumably to allow regional and store-to-store variation, but it essentially boils down the position to that of leadership, money handling, communication, and accountability.

I asked my barista and shift-leader coworkers if they could tell me about what they knew of our managers task list and, more importantly, if they had noticed our manager actually doing these tasks. What I invariably found, and was shown time and time again, was that my manager’s work had been allocated to my shift leaders, and their work in turn allocated to the baristas.

Let us investigate this case study one part at a time.

Leadership

This can be argued to be the most nebulous of the responsibilities of a manager, but ultimately it can be divided into coordinating efforts and providing morale. It is very difficult for me to imagine that my manager does either of these things, as (1), her presence inspires dread in my coworkers as she is associated with being unable to correctly mark cups or stick to one position as denoted in the Starbucks Playbook and, (2), she spends the rest of her time in her office in the basement where she communicates not at all.

The fact that my manager is associated directly with disorganization and active sabotaging of coordination is something which bodes poorly for the argument that my manger is living up to the expectations of their job description. The part of coordinating shift leaders has been delegated to the shift leaders themselves, and in turn, the positioning of the baristas on the floor has been delegated to the baristas to discuss and decide for themselves.

Money Handling

Little can be said about money handling except for that this has never been entirely the manager’s jurisdiction. Money is collected by a contractor and the safe is counted by the store employees. While my manager has fulfilled such a role in the past, her role has never exceeded the same role when played by a shift manager.

Functionally, this part of the job description can and should be filed under the Lending a Hand section of the job description instead. It is a vestigial part of the role of a shift leader which is duplicated in the manager’s work for the sake of redundancy.

Communication

This, if any part, can be considered the actual job of the manager. This is frequently the only metric on which any manager is judged as it is the only part of their job where they are held accountable to a superior member of the Starbucks hierarchy. If corporate or the district manager does not receive a communication, then there can only be one person to blame.

In the case of my store’s manager, even this work has been partially outsourced to my shift leaders. One among them has been chronically overburdened with the overflow of work: expected to work through breaks, stay late off the clock, and complete a variety of tasks which are not her responsibility for fear of backlash from the manager. One of these tasks is drafting progress and performance reports to our district manager who is suspicious of our store manager. The shift leader takes some small pleasure in sending these emails to our store manager with our district manager CC’d in the recipients.

Accountability

And here is where the unofficial job truly takes place. Accountability, in this sense, is essentially a means of owning the success or failure of the shop. This entails taking responsibility for failure to communicate, properly handle money, or fail to manage/hire competent staff.

In a perfect system, this would make a good carrot and stick for the manager, but that is not the case. If anything, it is a pain for the district manager to try and find a new store manager on short notice while also expecting continued accountability from the lame duck store manager, so rather than bite that bullet, the district manager uses accountability as a whip. This is done through many feudal and often sadistic means, such as humiliation or embarrassment among other store managers.

Because the threat of failing is simultaneously high but non-fatal to a managerial career, our store manager delegates this to the shift leaders indirectly by threatening retribution in the form or writeups or reshuffling planned vacation time. In essence, the work which would regularly be held accountable to the store manager, is now pressed onto the shift leaders who will share in the trauma of the store manager should the tasks not be completed. These tasks will often include mailing or correcting mistakes in the shift leader’s time off work. The extended effect of this is that the baristas must work together to self organize while the shift leaders scramble to complete tasks.

So what does this tell us? What information can be extrapolated from such a tangled mess of transferred roles and accountability?

To be frank, I was not sure of this myself when I first wrote it all out initially. So far I had only learned things which I had privately already suspected, and as such my outlook had not changed much. I knew, and still know, that my manager is not going to be replaced so easily considering the sluggishness of corporate’s power and the burden of finding a replacement.

So I sat there and stewed, trying to figure out why this all bothered me, and then I remembered the systems suggested in Bullshit Jobs. That was when I had my second realization: This all bothered me because if the system only worked because of the levels of heirarchy, it should not work without the concerted effort of the store manager. Ostensibly my manager is being paid $60,000 a year to pretend to work and push back at those who try to do what she will not. Yet my store is still working and profiting consistently.

This suggests that is not just my store manager that is useless, but that the position of Store Manager is a useless and redundant job position because it can easily be achieved by the shift managers and baristas hired beneath them.

This opens up another topic entirely. How is it that managerial positions came to be paid so much higher than worker positions? I intend to explore this concept another time, as well as to explore how this position could be more formally shuffled into a better distributed store structure, but that will require more math and more time to research my store and its structure.

In the meantime, I encourage others to look at their stores and ask the following questions:

What does my manager actually do?

What is the economic value of my manager’s work?

Is leadership and accountability inherently worth more than other roles?

Do leadership and accountability require an imbalance of power and/or money?

I hope to hear from others who might have come to similar realizations and, of course, thank you for reading.

[flauntpage]

Let’s Remember Bill Buckner For His Accomplishments, Not the Error

Bill Buckner died on Memorial Day at the age of 69 after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

Of course, most of the headlines and tweets regarding his death mentioned the error he committed in the 1986 World Series, a play that unfortunately defined his baseball career, one single play from a 22-year run that included 2,517 regular season and 23 postseason games. It was a play that didn’t truly make or break Boston’s title chances in that series, but turned him into a scapegoat for long suffering Red Sox fans anyway.

As I went through social media and various sports websites Monday night and this morning, it was interesting to see how his career was presented.

On one side of the spectrum, I found this to be a strange tweet:

Bill Buckner’s death comes with unexpected guilt. The guilt of 8-year-old me, who thanks in part to his error (it’s Calvin Schiraldi & Bob Stanley too) got his only major sports championship (Mets, Jets, Nets, Islanders). Rest In Peace, Bill. I’m sorry my joy came with your pain. pic.twitter.com/P5wbRUAy0u

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 27, 2019

Rovell took a lot of flak for that, and later doubled down by posting this, after the jump:

The very least we could have done to honor Bill Buckner was to be true to ourselves about how we felt about him. We failed. We edited our past emotions, which means that history will repeat itself https://t.co/rm5fAu4yOg

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 28, 2019

Yeah, I dunno, but I get what he’s saying. It’s one thing to share honest memories from your youth without trying to whitewash how people felt about Buckner at the time. But on the other hand, here’s a guy who was 69 years old, he literally just died, and the first thing you think of is to talk about how his error helped win the New York Mets a World Series ring?

I noticed a lot of headlines mentioned the error, headlines like this one in The Washington Post:

Bill Buckner, whose long MLB career was overshadowed by World Series gaffe, dies at 69

And this was the opening sentence in the Associated Press writeup, which was carried by numerous outlets:

Bill Buckner, a star hitter who became known for making one of the most infamous plays in major league history, died Monday. He was 69.

Paragraphs four and five in the AP story:

But it was a little groundball in the 1986 World Series that forever changed his legacy.

Trying for their first crown since 1918, the Boston Red Sox led the New York Mets 5-3 going into the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 6 at Shea Stadium. The Mets tied it with two outs., then Mookie Wilson hit a trickler up the first base line that rolled through Buckner’s legs, an error that let Ray Knight rush home from second base with the winning run.

That’s what the AP does – present basic facts, tell us what happened, and remind us why the guy is famous. Articles are copied verbatim by subscribers and posted to their sites or in their newspapers, which is how wire services are used.

I think some of these other outlets, though, might have been wrong to include the gaffe in the headline.

Why?

First, I think the vast majority of sports fans know who Bill Buckner is. They’re familiar with the error he committed. I don’t think the headline requires a qualifier explaining what he was known for. Isn’t it somewhat disrespectful to headline somebody’s obituary with the one thing they did wrong over the course of a long and successful career? Regardless of whether it defined who he was (it certainly did), can’t we have some more… tact, maybe? Discretion? Prudence? Imagine you’re one of Buckner’s family members and every third obit headline brings up a single mistake that took place more than 30 years ago.

I’ll be honest with you; I didn’t know too much about Buckner’s career, since I’m not much of a baseball guy, not like Kyle and Phil and Bob and other dudes who write for this site. As such, I was fascinated to read tweets like these, posts that shed light on the positive things he did in his career:

On Sunday, the last full day of Bill Buckner's life, 16 major leaguers struck out at least three times. Buckner played 22 seasons and never did it once.

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 27, 2019

That’s insane, really. Bill Buckner finished his career with 9,397 at bats and struck out 453 times. Bryce Harper already has 907 career strike outs, for comparison.

Here’s another way to contextualize that:

Career games with three or more strikeouts:

Adam Dunn – 173* Ichiro Suzuki – 22 Fernando Tatis Jr. – 2 Tony Gwynn – 1 Bill Buckner – 0

*all-time leader

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) May 27, 2019

Buckner was a 1981 All-Star with the Cubs and won the 1980 National League batting title. He finished with 2,715 career hits, 450 walks, 174 home runs, 1,208 RBI, and 498 doubles.

Another good stat:

What a shame that Bill Buckner is only remembered for his worst moment as a baseball player. What he really was, was a pure hitter.

The only 5 players with a .300+ AVG from 1972-82 (5500+ AB):

Rod Carew .340 Al Oliver .312 Pete Rose .308 Steve Garvey .304 Bill Buckner .300

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) May 27, 2019

That’s pretty elite company.

And maybe the one thing people forget about the error is that it happened in game six. The Red Sox went on to blow a three-run lead in game seven and the rest, as they say, is history. Certainly one play does not define an entire series, similar to how Kawhi Leonard beat the Sixers on a buzzer-beater. You could point to the missed shots in game four, the stalled offensive sets in game seven, and the no-show in game five. Series are very rarely lost in one game or on one play, and that’s the case with the ’86 World Series. I think most people would agree with that, but somebody has to be the scapegoat, and unfortunately Buckner became that guy.

Later in life, he was able to turn the corner on the error. He famously threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park in 2008 to a standing ovation that lasted for two minutes. He even did a cameo on Curb Your Enthusiasm, poking a bit of fun at himself in what must have a therapeutic experience:

Anyway, this is one of those moments where “we the media” might be best served to take a step back and think things through. The 1986 World Series error certainly has to be included in any Bill Buckner story, since it did, unfortunately, define who he was as a player. But you’d hope that sequence would be relegated to one paragraph, or a short lede, with the positive things I mentioned above filling out the rest of his obituary.

It feels wrong to write an obit that highlights a mistake, rather than all of the good things somebody did during their life and/or sporting career. That’s my take.

RIP Bill Buckner.

The post Let’s Remember Bill Buckner For His Accomplishments, Not the Error appeared first on Crossing Broad.

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[flauntpage]

Let’s Remember Bill Buckner For His Accomplishments, Not the Error

Bill Buckner died on Memorial Day at the age of 69 after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

Of course, most of the headlines and tweets regarding his death mentioned the error he committed in the 1986 World Series, a play that unfortunately defined his baseball career, one single play from a 22-year run that included 2,517 regular season and 23 postseason games. It was a play that didn’t truly make or break Boston’s title chances in that series, but turned him into a scapegoat for long suffering Red Sox fans anyway.

As I went through social media and various sports websites Monday night and this morning, it was interesting to see how his career was presented.

On one side of the spectrum, I found this to be a strange tweet:

Bill Buckner’s death comes with unexpected guilt. The guilt of 8-year-old me, who thanks in part to his error (it’s Calvin Schiraldi & Bob Stanley too) got his only major sports championship (Mets, Jets, Nets, Islanders). Rest In Peace, Bill. I’m sorry my joy came with your pain. pic.twitter.com/P5wbRUAy0u

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 27, 2019

Rovell took a lot of flak for that, and later doubled down by posting this, after the jump:

The very least we could have done to honor Bill Buckner was to be true to ourselves about how we felt about him. We failed. We edited our past emotions, which means that history will repeat itself https://t.co/rm5fAu4yOg

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 28, 2019

Yeah, I dunno, but I get what he’s saying. It’s one thing to share honest memories from your youth without trying to whitewash how people felt about Buckner at the time. But on the other hand, here’s a guy who was 69 years old, he literally just died, and the first thing you think of is to talk about how his error helped win the New York Mets a World Series ring?

I noticed a lot of headlines mentioned the error, headlines like this one in The Washington Post:

Bill Buckner, whose long MLB career was overshadowed by World Series gaffe, dies at 69

And this was the opening sentence in the Associated Press writeup, which was carried by numerous outlets:

Bill Buckner, a star hitter who became known for making one of the most infamous plays in major league history, died Monday. He was 69.

Paragraphs four and five in the AP story:

But it was a little groundball in the 1986 World Series that forever changed his legacy.

Trying for their first crown since 1918, the Boston Red Sox led the New York Mets 5-3 going into the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 6 at Shea Stadium. The Mets tied it with two outs., then Mookie Wilson hit a trickler up the first base line that rolled through Buckner’s legs, an error that let Ray Knight rush home from second base with the winning run.

That’s what the AP does – present basic facts, tell us what happened, and remind us why the guy is famous. Articles are copied verbatim by subscribers and posted to their sites or in their newspapers, which is how wire services are used.

I think some of these other outlets, though, might have been wrong to include the gaffe in the headline.

Why?

First, I think the vast majority of sports fans know who Bill Buckner is. They’re familiar with the error he committed. I don’t think the headline requires a qualifier explaining what he was known for. Isn’t it somewhat disrespectful to headline somebody’s obituary with the one thing they did wrong over the course of a long and successful career? Regardless of whether it defined who he was (it certainly did), can’t we have some more… tact, maybe? Discretion? Prudence? Imagine you’re one of Buckner’s family members and every third obit headline brings up a single mistake that took place more than 30 years ago.

I’ll be honest with you; I didn’t know too much about Buckner’s career, since I’m not much of a baseball guy, not like Kyle and Phil and Bob and other dudes who write for this site. As such, I was fascinated to read tweets like these, posts that shed light on the positive things he did in his career:

On Sunday, the last full day of Bill Buckner's life, 16 major leaguers struck out at least three times. Buckner played 22 seasons and never did it once.

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 27, 2019

That’s insane, really. Bill Buckner finished his career with 9,397 at bats and struck out 453 times. Bryce Harper already has 907 career strike outs, for comparison.

Here’s another way to contextualize that:

Career games with three or more strikeouts:

Adam Dunn – 173* Ichiro Suzuki – 22 Fernando Tatis Jr. – 2 Tony Gwynn – 1 Bill Buckner – 0

*all-time leader

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) May 27, 2019

Buckner was a 1981 All-Star with the Cubs and won the 1980 National League batting title. He finished with 2,715 career hits, 450 walks, 174 home runs, 1,208 RBI, and 498 doubles.

Another good stat:

What a shame that Bill Buckner is only remembered for his worst moment as a baseball player. What he really was, was a pure hitter.

The only 5 players with a .300+ AVG from 1972-82 (5500+ AB):

Rod Carew .340 Al Oliver .312 Pete Rose .308 Steve Garvey .304 Bill Buckner .300

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) May 27, 2019

That’s pretty elite company.

And maybe the one thing people forget about the error is that it happened in game six. The Red Sox went on to blow a three-run lead in game seven and the rest, as they say, is history. Certainly one play does not define an entire series, similar to how Kawhi Leonard beat the Sixers on a buzzer-beater. You could point to the missed shots in game four, the stalled offensive sets in game seven, and the no-show in game five. Series are very rarely lost in one game or on one play, and that’s the case with the ’86 World Series. I think most people would agree with that, but somebody has to be the scapegoat, and unfortunately Buckner became that guy.

Later in life, he was able to turn the corner on the error. He famously threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park in 2008 to a standing ovation that lasted for two minutes. He even did a cameo on Curb Your Enthusiasm, poking a bit of fun at himself in what must have a therapeutic experience:

Anyway, this is one of those moments where “we the media” might be best served to take a step back and think things through. The 1986 World Series error certainly has to be included in any Bill Buckner story, since it did, unfortunately, define who he was as a player. But you’d hope that sequence would be relegated to one paragraph, or a short lede, with the positive things I mentioned above filling out the rest of his obituary.

It feels wrong to write an obit that highlights a mistake, rather than all of the good things somebody did during their life and/or sporting career. That’s my take.

RIP Bill Buckner.

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