#i'm not saying there's NO value in audience feedback

[lazzarella]

Oh, I started a very similar post recently but couldn't be bothered posting it. (Read: was too chicken)

“it’s important to be critical of the media we consume” doesn’t mean I have to do so in a public forum

This! This is exactly why I often have a kneejerk "NO!" response when I see 'we have to be critical of the media we consume' because SO many people I've seen express that sentiment mean we have to do it in the public eye (and not an insignificant number of them want you to be critical in the same way they are, and if you're not then it doesn't seem to count) and preface any praise of media with a long disclaimer on its flaws. And it's not everyone, but it's enough people that I'm leery of posts like that now. I just have zero interest in always having to list every single flaw before I can dig into what I like!

Anyway, I personally try to meet media on its own terms, these days, as in I prefer to look at what it's trying to do, instead of what I think it *should* do, and I'm able to enjoy a lot more things that way! Sometimes I don't think it's successful, and sometimes I end up realising it's just not for me. And I'm also trying to keep in mind that a LOT of media critique comes down to subjective preference. Pls, I could very easily tear even some things I love to shreds, and while it can be fun while I’m yelling at my television, I personally find it more gratifying and challenging to dig into what’s working and why, I guess?

It's certainly interesting to read other people's thoughts on different shows and movies and books, but yeah, I follow people on Letterboxd and Goodreads and see people in the tags here who never seem to enjoy anything! I'm sure they do, but their reviews are always heavily skewed toward negative criticism and it must be exhausting. It seems exhausting to me, anyway!

There are so many ways to engage with art and media and focussing on the positives does not display a lack of intellectual curiosity imho

(Sorry, I don’t usually add anything to posts, but this has been on my mind a lot lately)

The thing is, I do have negative thoughts and criticisms of the things that I watch or read, but I don’t often feel compelled to share them, and I don’t think this makes me intellectually inferior or vapid.

I think it’s quite easy, in fact, to recognize the flaws in a piece of media. And I don’t owe it to the public or to strangers to make sure that they know that I know that something that happened in a show was poorly executed or that an actor had weak delivery.

If I really feel like talking about something I disliked, then I will, but “it’s important to be critical of the media we consume” doesn’t mean I have to do so in a public forum, and I don’t get why some people act like doing so makes them smarter than the rest of fandom. Frankly, I think what bothers me more than the negativity is the pretentiousness around it.

[figmentof]

now that we got confirmation that ofmd is free to be picked up, i think it's time we also direct our emailing/calling/social media efforts towards other streamers that would pick the show up instead of hbo since it seems they're not going to move forward with renewal (but don't stop bugging them. do this as well if you can!)

i'm heavily leaning towards apple tv for these two reasons:

they care about good shows with good stories and are willing to provide budget for them. their audience numbers are not always the most impressive or record breaking yet they still allow shows to tell their stories-- Foundation, Severance, For All Mankind to name a few

it's a service that is accessible both in the US and internationally. one of the biggest issues with hbo max was that a lot of international fans couldn't watch s2 of ofmd and had to wait for the show to stream on a local service and for some places ofmd never gets picked up

so here's what you can do to contact apple tv

i had to talk to three separate support reps before i got transferred over to apple tv's technical service and this is what he told me-- use the feedback link for best results as they definitely will review them and take them into consideration: https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-tv-app/

right now it seems this is the best way for them to document what we want, i did ask for a phone number but the rep said that they'll offer numbers within the feedback form once the feedback has been submitted, so you have the option to call them to elaborate if you want!

here's a script you can use if you don't know what to say:

Hi! I'm planning on getting Apple TV because from the lineup of the shows on the service. I’ve noticed Apple TV values good, original storytelling and allow shows to finish their story without cancelling them, even ones that might be underperforming in terms of viewership. One of the biggest incentives that would make me subscribe immediately is if Apple TV picks up the show Our Flag Means Death, a critically acclaimed queer romantic comedy with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for their second season and incredible audience numbers. The show was unfortunately recently cancelled by HBO. I know Ted Lasso, a flagship show for Apple, recently ended, and I think the service would hugely benefit from another feel good, found family sort of comedy. Plus I would gladly subscribe to as would thousands of the Our Flag Means Death fanbase if we got the show on your service!

now let's get our show back!!! please reblog this post so more people can know about it 🥰

[anneapocalypse]

Tired of the false dichotomy between "you should create for yourself without desiring any form of connection" and "feedback is everything and without it there's no reason to create." Neither of these things are wholly true, and it's frustrating to me that people have taken "create for yourself" to mean "you shouldn't want feedback or enjoy it, you should create in a vacuum with no hope of human connection" and are lashing back against what they think it's saying rather than what it's actually saying. I love comments and feedback and connecting with my readers as much as anyone and would never discount the value of that experience and I try to be the kind of engaged reader I would want to have because I know how much it means. I especially know how much it means to a niche creator because I've been that creator myself and I so treasure the readers who took a chance, gave my stuff a try, and stopped to say something supportive about it.

But that's also exactly the thing: the things I want to write are often things that do not in any way guarantee me an audience, but they're what I enjoy, and creating for myself is what gets me through those long first drafts where I know there is no guarantee of an audience because the reality is I'm choosing to write this thing and nobody owes me a readership. Internal motivation matters because there are parts of the creative process where internal motivation is all you have. I've seen people give up or nearly give up on projects that probably would have found an audience, if a niche one, because they convinced themselves that nobody would care and then couldn't motivate themselves to care. Or they decided that a small audience wasn't good enough; they need their work to be Popular or it was worth nothing.

And if someone doesn't want to invest themselves in creating something that might have a small audience, well, that's their choice. But creativity is inherently an act of risk, and a lot of amazing art would never be made if the creator wasn't willing to risk silence, rejection, loneliness. Yeah, those things suck. I'm not saying they don't, that's why it's a risk. But art isn't always about safety. Sometimes it's about creating because you simply have to get this thing out of your head, and you hope someone will connect with it, but you don't know until you try. So everything can't be external motivation. It just can't be. It's too limiting, it's too stifling. I can't live that way, personally.

[krowlovesinazuma]

Alright I ask for headcanons yet again Except this time for once I'm not insane How would Chiori react to the reader preferring their own clothes over Teyvat's? (Judging from the overall complexity of Genshin Impact's outfits, I can deduce that our modern-day clothing probably feels a lot more comfy)

Read this prologue for context!

Scenario: Reaction to Reader's casual dress style

Characters: Chiori

For starters, Chiori is an incredibly forward person on purpose, no matter who she's dealing with, no matter how powerful or all mighty they might be, and even though you may be special in a different way, it's no difference to her.

When she sees your clothes for the first time, her mind takes a moment to properly process it. She hadn't actually imagined what you looked like before, but an otherworldly fashion style wasn't in her mind! She'll definitely rope you into checking out your outfit sooner than later.

With this check though, she's quick to realize that your outfit, made of a simple t-shirt and jacket, is made with comfortability and casual vibes in mind. Just to make sure, she'll ask plenty of questions! Mostly out of curiosity.

As soon as she confirms this theory, she'll get started on measuring you up, and making a new outfit of her own! She understands now that you prefer comfortability over style, but that doesn't mean she'll let you walk away without something of hers on.

She'll probably make a few prototype sets to understand what you find comfortable in clothes, as she was very much specialized in fancier, high status clothing making! It's a challenge she very much welcomes, no matter how much you may protest her attempts.

In the end though, she is primarily doing this for you, to help you feel more at home in this weird place. She knows the effects that clothing can have not only in onlookers, but one's sense of self, and she's here to help out with that.

Once you sound satisfied, and select which of her prototypes you liked best, she'll make a set only for you, making sure to stop progress on her other orders until this one is finished. It'll be a secret endeavor, as she knows the value in keeping your name hidden.

That'll be far from it, however. Don't be surprised if you get gifts from her every now and then with more sets of comfortable, yet fashionable clothing! Making sure to put in an Inazuman flare for you to fit in best, every piece was original and unique.

Whenever you feel the urge to thank her, she simply cuts it short and continues on. In fact, since this is her way of thanking you, she can't help but take it as something endearing, how you failed to see how much you've already done for her.

She hasn't forgotten the kindness and happiness that you showed her when you still controlled the game world from outside, and this is just her returning a due favor. You definitely notice the difference when interacting with the others, as they feel more at ease with your more familiar clothes. Perhaps she was right about your previous clothes being a problem...

"How would you say that set is compared to the last? Yes, these are important questions. This has been quite the enjoyable riddle, but I can only improve with feedback, and you're my only target audience. Don't worry about rushing it, just think deeply and answer me in detail, for the sake of a better set next time."

[goodluckclove]

Hey so like I get I might be unqualified to say this, but if you're an artist frustrated by the lack of feedback on your work and considering reacting by publicly berating/threatening/guilt tripping your audience - probably don't? Probably don't do that?

Like I get it, art is vulnerable and it can be tough not to get feedback from the dopamine machine that is social media. At the same time, I have literally never seen someone execute that strategy in a way that was remotely successful.

When a standup working my old open mic said "I have better jokes but I'll save them for a better audience", he found an efficient way to look like an asshole and not get a laugh in the process! Likewise, when an artist online says they're quitting their dreams of animation because we're assholes that won't fund a very loose premise for a comical amount of money - it's not a good look!

Maybe this applies less to fanfiction. I don't know about fanfiction. And I don't necessarily believe that everyone has to solely write for themselves - though I am pretty confident that should be the main driving force in a successful work ethic. I have, however, published and produced my writing enough to know that you do have to get comfortable with a lukewarm, or even silent reception.

I've published short stories to online literary journals I'm not convinced that anyone reads. I wrote a column for a culture website for like three years - solely because the editor kept asking for me to keep writing. I never got any feedback on anything I wrote. I later found some of my old articles republished on other weird websites, which was odd, but since my editor silently deleted all my old articles without saying anything I was just glad they still existed somewhere.

I think my only experience I have with instant mass validation in art was through theater, and those were only in cases when an audience knew ahead of time that I was the playwright.

Is this a cool situation? I don't know. I go back and forth on it. I mean I want to be appreciated as much as anyone, I want to know my art is being valued the way I value it - but I'm also weird about compliments sometimes. That's beside the point. What I mean to say is that when I get in the headspace of wanting more feedback, my impulse is not to complain about my audience on the same platform where I'm trying to establish and cultivate a relationship with them. This account is under my actual pen name. I don't censor myself really, but I am cognizant about what I say in terms of - you know - an online paper trail.

But yeah when I really want to complain I talk to my friends. You can be petty as shit to your friends, online and in real life. No one gets hurt, and if you decide later that you overreacted you don't have to meekly crawl back and retcon a bunch of Hard Takes.

This isn't really a moral lesson because it's not a flaw to want praise, or even just acknowledgement. It's more, like, professional? For people with career or career-adjacent aspirations? There are definitely a lot of professional artists who act pretty wildly, and unless they've already proven they're capable of quality work it doesn't really turn out great for them. So it doesn't hurt to be at least surface-level chill in more visible spaces.

[wetcatspellcaster]

1, 2, 8, 12, and 16!

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multichaptered fics?

I mean, my ao3 speaks for myself :') I guess my history of multichap is less of a preference, and more of a complete inability to keep anything fucking brief

even the gale/durge fic was supposed to be a one-shot. smh.

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

It's a mixture of both. My last three fics have followed this pattern -

Write the first few chapters just chilling, seeing where things go. Hit the first point that feels like a 'turning point' (in pieces this was infamous chapter 7). then I outline and plan, once I know the fic is going to happen for real.

Typically, I plan what happens in a chapter, but not necessarily every step in the process. It depends how writing the chapter is going - outlines get more detailed, the more I'm struggling. atm, I'm stuck on the modern AU, so I am writing bullet points whenever i have energy so I have something to help me. sometimes I'll work off a one sentence notice, and the action will be vivid enough in my mind for that to work.

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

depends on how reliant the story is on romance. if it's a romance-heavy fic, the middle for certain, bc the tension between two people getting together is my favourite part, and established relationships are comforting to read but they're sometimes difficult to progress as a writer.

i also like endings though! often because the ending of a thing will have become more and more vivid to me in time, so it's nice to finally put that final set of images down on paper. particularly if I stick the landing :'))

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

aghhhh, a dangerous question

I'm a very pessimistic (and currently very depressed) person. I require a hell of a lot of positive reinforcement, for a dumb bitch who's chosen to be in academia. I'm not sure I would still be writing, if people hadn't commented and read my early fics, in my dragon age era. I'm not sure I'd value the work I put into the world, if people hadn't shouted at me and told me it was valued.

this kind of changed with pieces 'blowing up' (i don't like that phrase). receiving that amount of feedback was amazing, but it was also overwhelming. it felt weird, to become 'known' - this is my introvert hobby, i like not being perceived. Now that it's passed, I also firmly believe no fic I write will ever be that popular, ever again. which isn't that no fic will be as good or better, but pieces was a perfect storm of a fandom i'd already written for, tropes people liked, and the height of bg3's popularity. my writing wasn't magically better in pieces, than in other fics. I will never get that amount of attention again, unless I start deliberately chasing trends or popular fandoms, which I don't want to do.

...and that's totally ok. Since pieces, I've consciously tried to just write ideas for myself, and not for feedback. feedback is the nice added bonus. but it also proved to me how much fandom/fic popularity is not about quality, and more about timing. your audience is determining a lot more than your writing necessarily is :')

so, to answer your question, to receive feedback or not to receive feedback impacts me a lot. receiving it will always make me feel like a better writer, because I'm very harsh on myself and I see none of the good things in my work that other people see. Someone saying 'oh this was good' has me replying 'oh fuck, really?' not shouting into a void is always fabulous.

but not receiving feedback is also an utter relief. I loved writing so much of the modern AU just for myself and one other person. it's nice to have a fun, medium sized audience of people I recognise, and people I'm writing for. bc i'd rather have just my own enjoyment, or a smaller group of core people who i know like my writing, than have a flash in the pan of like "WOW THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER" who never stick around

woof. long answer.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

All of my fic ideas are published or publishing! :)

but I'm fighting off a dragon age rook concept (an orlesian mage who fled from the circles after the college system was introduced and then became a prodigious 'assassin', killing people with magic) with my bare fucking hands.

get to know your writer

[qqueenofhades]

hiii ❣ it's a bit random but do you have any advice for a beginner writer?

i want to write web series and while i'm going to write for my pleasure, i still would love my work to be good enough to have readers.

but while i read stuff and write fics, i don't think it's enough to help me write an original several episode work. + i want to write in english but i'm not a native english speaker.

do you have a textbook or any resource in mind that you'd reccomend to a beginner writer?

Unfortunately, I don't have one single one-size-fits-all resource or silver-bullet magical writing improvement tool that I can recommend, as everyone learns/practices in different ways and some people swear by things that don't work for other people. I can't speak to the value of Grammarly or any other online tool that promises to make you a better writer, as they can often be used to feed your work into AI, make bizarre and/or flatly incorrect suggestions, or otherwise be confusing and unhelpful for a newbie writer, especially someone whose first language isn't English. If you work better within an interactive framework or just want to see if it does seem useful, then by all means do check it out, but don't feel like you HAVE to use it (or anything else) if it doesn't offer much to your process.

As ever, and unhelpfully, my advice for becoming a better writer is to write a lot and read a lot, in all kinds of genres. There's really no get-good-at-writing-quick hack to suddenly get you where you want to be overnight, but you CAN get there by dint of steady and sustained progress. You say that you already read things and write fics -- which is great! You clearly already have some practice with the overall concept, and you are not starting from total scratch. While a lot of writers have a goal of something they really want to do (i.e. in your case, write a web series) and feel like the first one they write has to be The Real and Good One that they only launch into after appropriate years of practice, that's not the case. You can start writing the series now, if you want to. You'll have to also share it with people who you trust to give you helpful and honest feedback (the mortifying ordeal of being known, etc) while also respecting the skill level that you're currently at and not tearing it down for being up to professional standards or something else that doesn't accurately reflect where you are and what you need feedback on. But yes, you will have to write steadily, share your writing with others, and challenge yourself to read and write in different kinds of texts -- i.e. not just fic or amateur fan content, but literature, nonfiction, genre fiction, academia, special interest subjects, and so forth. Writing by professionally published authors is not necessarily always better, but it does give you a sense as to what is deemed marketable, what the general skill level and standard is, and what you might like to emulate or try to do with your own projects.

Also, as a side note, I think that plenty of amateur or fan-written content on the internet is not necessarily outstandingly good, technically speaking. This doesn't mean it's bad -- plenty of people read and enjoy it anyway, and aren't coming in expecting it to be an award-winning piece of fine literature. Standards for what is good, enjoyable, or well-written vary dramatically by genre, medium, what your audience is expecting and/or paying for, and so forth. Some people also have high and/or picky standards for what they will read or what they find enjoyable to read, while others will just go along with the story and don't care as much about the format or technical prowess or so forth. So it is very much a subjective measurement, and if you get to a place where you enjoy reading your own stuff and find it engaging -- regardless of what arbitrary skill level you feel yourself to be on -- chances are that other people will too.

[deadgirlwalking91]

ur adam feels entire different show adam. I don't like show adam, i cant get over how he called charlie "liliths little hottie" like that just makes me super uncomfortable and i dont think i want to see anymore of the character in the show if thats how his personality is

Hey Anon,

I'm not sure how to take this ask, to be honest.

So, first and foremost I do want to preface this by saying that characterisation—especially with a character like Adam who we don't see a lot of, and who we mostly see in a purely antagonistic setting—is super subjective and there's still a lot that can be left up to interpretation.

That being said, I am still a little saddened to hear that you feel like my take on Adam is completely different to the Adam we see in the show. One thing I have tried to do is keep the tone of the character the same while exploring what he could be like in different scenarios—even the parts of him that kinda suck, like the crassness. But, even if I don't like it, I still do value the feedback. Circling back to Adam's character—ultimately, from what we've seen of him (again, in an antagonistic role) is that he is an asshole that says gross things. And you can take that one of two ways: he's being deliberately crass and obnoxious in front of an audience to seek attention and he's a different person in private, or that is just how he is.

Really, we don't know just yet which of the two he is—and sadly, we may never know. But I guess that's the beauty of fanfiction, you can always find something out there that suits your own personal headcanons!

[unwellpodcast]

From the ask meme you posted, would love to know

3. your fav dialogue

and

17. inspirations you had during the creating process

I'm trying to get back into reading (an embarrassing thing to type) and would especially love to know if you had recommendations of horror literature similar to unwell!

FIRST OFF: there is nothing embarrassing about getting back into reading. Activities, even ones we love, come and go through our lives. That's a value-neutral thing~

Gonna give you a few things that inspired Unwell- many of them books you should check out!

Media that inspired/informed/shaped/Reminds us of Unwell

Books/Comics: House of Leaves Wisconsin Death Trip The Gone Away World Sandman Locke and Key Digger

Music: The Mountain Goats (Also, John's books are definitely playing in some similar spaces to Unwell) The New Pornographers Rilo Kiley Defiance, OH Gillian Welch Leonard Cohen Warren Zevon

TV: Gravity Falls Twin Peaks The Haunting of Hill House (Flannagan) Midnight Mass

(also, if others want to send us asks- post link here)

I'm going to hide the answer to #3 below a cut, to avoid spoilers (this is from the end of Season 1)

These are two bits of S1/Ep11 by Jess Buha- I think they really emphasize her incredible range, and also set a really great bar for how weird we could make the show. It also illustrates a way I LOVE to have writers work with me as a sound designer (though I didn't design this episode)- giving me what the audience should FEEL, and evoking something big- rather than telling me exactly what sounds I should use.

=====

LILY: Thanks (to WES) You might be overheated. The sun's setting--it'll get cooler. Here, drink this.

WES: Okay.

WES DRINKS. HE SPITS IT OUT WITH A SOUND LIKE A HISSING CAT AND A TOASTER IN THE BATHTUB.

LILY: Wes, it's okay.

WES KEEPS MAKING THE HORRIBLE NOISE. IT BUILDS IN INTENSITY, SOUNDING LIKE A COMBINATION OF FEEDBACK AND A RABBIT SCREAMING. SOMETHING VIOLENT AND VAGUELY OTHER-WORLDLY.

What that alcohol?

MARISOL: No, just water.

THE SOUNDS OF THE FAIR FALTER. THE WARBLERS SKIP NOTES. FAIRGOERS STOP LAUGHING, AND BEGIN TO MUTTER. SOUR SOUND AS THE BANJEAURINE IS KICKED TO THE SIDE. DIRT RUSTLES AS WES STARTS TO SEIZURE.

RUDY: I don't know. I've never / heard anything--[about it.]

====

And then at the end of the episode, we have this beautiful moment:

====

ABBIE: What did she smell like, when you were a little kid?

SILENCE. LIVING ROOM SOUNDS. HOUSE SOUNDS.

LILY: Like cigarettes.

Like smoke. Like a campfire. Like the ocean. Big and salty--she sweated a lot--I don't know--she was always moving. Always planting a thing or pulling up a thing or painting a thing or hauling a thing. She used to take me on hikes through the forest at night, and she'd turn the flashlight off, and we'd stand there in the darkness, and she'd hold my hand, and we'd listen to the-- you know--the whatevers. The crickets. The owls. Night sounds. It was just us, then. Unlike every other millisecond of the day. I felt jealous cause I guess I wanted her only project to be me, but she was like the ocean, and she had all this other stuff going on. I was always so small in her world--like this small, tiny piece. I just didn't ever want to be forgotten.

ABBIE: I won't forget you.

RUDY: You have a certain je ne sais quoi that sticks in the mind.

And I can't forget good people. Celery liquor?

LILY: Thanks. Lemme grab a glass.

RUDY: Just drink it from the bottle.

LILY: Okay.

LILY TAKES A SWIG.

Whew! Spicy.

ABBIE: Celery-cool.

LILY: Hey, did you win that thing?

ABBIE: Yeah.

LILY: Awesome! Awesome.

END.

====

[cinamun]

How much do you make story decisions based on reader feedback? It seems like you let readers have a lot of input into the course of your story, which gives me hives as someone who is a total control freak about my own story haha

I am very much control freak! I do think that audience participation is important though, and with TFA, there is a LOT of engagement and discussion because the subject matter gets so real at times. I listen, absorb and respond to how folks are feeling and I think that's a good idea for writers to do.

I'll give you an example: I put up a poll to confirm what I already wanted to do, which was kill Bishop at the hands of Mercy, turned out my readers wanted the same thing to happen (knife lessons). Also I don't think there is a CC wood chipper out there so that wouldn't have worked.

Right now, Dira is on vacay with Tre having a wonderful time, but most readers have already fallen for Charlie (and rightfully so). So I wouldn't say there's "a lot" of input, but I value what people who read TFA think or want to see! So I try to incorporate feedback sometimes. I don't have a defined ending for this story, I'm just going with whatever wild idea I come up with. Sometimes its fun to have y'all help though!

97% of story decisions are ultimately mine.

[thebestofoneshots]

I’m not trying to be rude because it really isn’t just you (which is sad) but normalize saying “white-coded” reader please, it’s very tiring to read a fic then seeing something like “you blushed” “your cheeks turned pink”, if your intended is white people then clarify that please.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. I appreciate your honesty and the opportunity to reflect on how my writing may unintentionally exclude certain readers.

Your point about "white-coded" language in fiction is valid, and it's something I've been reflecting on recently. While I may not have initially considered the implications of phrases like "your cheeks turned pink," I did read a post about it a few weeks past and now I think twice about the way I write things since they can inadvertently reinforce a narrow representation of beauty and emotion.

Lately, I've tried to move into things like "blood rushed to your cheeks" and, "you felt the skin of your face warm", and while in the past I might have written, "your cheeks turned pink" I have actively tried to avoid it now.

Having said that, the example that you provide, "you blushed" did jump at me a little since I have never considered blushing as an exclusively white reaction. I am not white, and I blush, so I decided to do a bit of research, since, perhaps, my idea of blushing has been wrong all along.

According to Felix I D Konotey-Ahulu (a consultant physician in General Medicine & Tropical Medicine at Cromwell Hospital in London) "blushing is far more than a mere cutaneous phenomenon" (Ahulu, 2004). He states that "not being able to ‘see’ the rush of blood does not mean it has not happened" (ibidem).

Now he does speak of a "white definition of blushing", that being that your cheeks turn pink and/or red, but blushing, really blushing, is not inherently related to the colour changes of your skin, but rather to the feeling it evokes: the embarrassment, the shame, etc. At least that's how I've always seen it.

If white-centricness has turned it into something that it isn't, the rest us shouldn't be feeling as though we cannot blush because our skin isn't pale enough to let it be evident, because then, in any case, we're just letting the white appropriation to topple over the meaning behind words.

Blushing is not exclusive to white people, and it never has been.

Implying that it is, is just falling into the same idea of otherness that whiteness has imposed over years of colonization, but we ARE all humans and WE ALL feel fundamentally the same emotions. Blushing is a reflection of emotion more than a physical (discernable or not) reaction.

I'm not saying I have never written "your cheeks turn pink," I have, and I think it's more to do with the media that I've consumed than with me wanting to exclude any skin tone from my texts, as you mentioned, I am not the only one to write like this, and it's because we are all reading the same books and unfortunately, those actually ARE very white-centric. Now it is not an excuse and I certainly should and WILL be more careful with the way I word things, but I'm STILL learning how to write.

I apologize if my writing has made you feel excluded or overlooked. That was never my intention, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to rethink my approach to things.

Moving forward, I will be even more mindful of the language I use and strive to create a more inclusive experience for all readers. Your feedback is invaluable in helping me grow as a writer, and I thank you for bringing this important issue to my attention, even if I found the manner in which you sent the comment a little confronting (and slightly upsetting), as it felt like you were making assumptions about me and my intended audience.

However, I respect your right to express your feelings and opinions, and I value the ability to have an open discussion and move forward together, even after this initial confrontation.

I'm committed to making positive changes based on your insights.

Bibliography:

Konotey Ahulu, F. (2004). Blushing in black skin. Blackwell Publishing Ltd , Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. Retrieved in: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1473-2130.2004.00040.x

[markrosewater]

Based on the talk I've seen in my Vorthos circles, and my own opinion, WotC's approach with the Phyrexian arc doesn't make me feel like WotC actually cares about the characters. It's all about just shocking the audience for the sake of it, rather than actually developing along character arcs. And based on the numbers here versus WAR (7 compleated vs 3 dead), it seems like WotC heard the feedback and decided to do the exact opposite of what the engaged audience wanted

I can say there are character arcs, and things aren't being done just for shock value.

I'm curious what you feel "the engaged audience wanted".

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Please Stop...

//Okay, so I'm sorry to bring some heavy stuff so suddenly, but I need to make an honest request of some of you guys.

//Now, you know that I love and cherish you all. I appreciate you as a fanbase, and I will always be here to make content for you all. You know full well that my relationship with you guys as my followers is important to me, and I will always take your opinions into account with my writing.

//However, lately, I have been getting many asks and messages along the same lines, and I'm so sick and tired of it that I need to address it. I'm really sorry it got to this point, and to make matters worse, it's over something really dumb as well. But regardless, the only way I can get it to stop is by addressing it.

//Now, I'll admit, it's not a frequent problem, and it's only some of you, but it's still enough that I need to bring it up. And it's in regards to Junko's characterization in the last part of Phase 2, and the rest of Phase 3.

//Now, to provide a bit of context, when Junko first made her debut on the blog, AI and ghost notwithstanding, it was around the same time that the Naegibowl started to become canon.

//Now, in relation to that, when it comes to the relationships on the blog, specifically the romantic ones, most of them I decide on my own and hint to, but there are a few, with Hinazumi, Togahina, and the Naegibowl being the biggest examples, that were sort of prompted by the askers.

//And the blog has been better because of it. I get to play around with relationships that I didn't really understand before, and now I do, and I'm all for it. I like to listen to my audiences feedback, and I learn and adapt from it. Normally, I trust you guys' judgement.

//With all that being said, please...

//Stop. Asking me. To pair JUNKO with MAKOTO.

//Even as a joke, no matter what you say, I'm not planning on adding anyone else to the Naegi harem. While I definitely ship Makoto with a few people outside of Kyoko, Sayaka, and Mukuro, those three are his biggest and best ships, and I think it's fine as it is. I am most assuredly NOT going to be adding Junko to that.

//A lot of this stems from quite a few asks I had where people asked Junko if she would join the Naegibowl, even if just to fuck with Makoto. And at the time, I had Junko reply with "no."

//And for some reason this upset a lot of you?

//Let me be clear on one thing. For those who are saying that Junko WOULD do something like this; i.e. flirt around and come onto Makoto purely for the sake of bothering the other girls...

//I agree.

//And I plan on having her do that quite a bit in Phase 3.

//The reason why I had Junko say no at the time is because Junko coming onto Makoto would have severely taken away from the tense moments that were happening at that point. As a reminder, Junko showed up right before she was about to set off a nuclear bomb right underneath the Future Foundation's feet.

//I'm personally very proud of how Junko's introduction turned out, and I feel adding that touch would have ruined it.

//Junko definitely feels like the Joker in how she could get a bit fruity and flirtatious with her arch-enemy, something that I've always loved when Joker does; acting like he and Batman are ex-lovers or something, because it's fucking hilarious. However, the comedy side of that comes from how Batman has so much hatred for the Clown Prince of Crime, that that's exactly what it is. He's the joker. It's a joke.

//But with how many of you guys have been bashing on about the idea of Junko joining Makoto's cuddle puddle, I'm starting to think that you SERIOUSLY want her in it; and I genuinely cannot believe I have to explain this to you.

//Being on the same coin still means that Junko and Makoto are on two different sides. Their fundamental values are opposed, as much respect the two have shown each other as adversaries. And the thing about Junko's character is that she can't be in any sort of genuine relationship because it's LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE for her to CARE about anyone.

//And I know what some of you might say to this. "What about Monaca and Nagisa? Monaca utterly traumatized him and the other Warriors, so why are you vouching for them to get together?"

//Because Monaca reformed! Or at least she's trying to.

//Monaca Towa is still a slimy shit, and let me make it clear that Nagisa will never forgive her for what she did to him and his friends. But he, as a mature young man, understands that Monaca has her own issues. She's sick and tired of being dragged around in a game of Hope Vs Despair that doesn't concern her, and she basically went off to space to rehabilitate herself.

//The reason why Monaca's personality is the same is because she's still a pretty fucked up kid. But she's NOT Junko. And she doesn't want to BE Junko anymore, as much as she still probably loves the Ultimate Despair. She wants to be a different person, regardless of whether she's despised or not, but either way, she wants to leave her crimes and atrocities behind. But Junko hasn't, and probably never will.

//I also should point out that, yes, Makoto can be brave, move on, live the rest of his life with Hope, and whatnot, but even if it's easy to forget with how smart-headed and strong-hearted he is, what Junko has done to him has utterly TRAUMATIZED him.

//Even if they have a sort of mutual respect as adversaries and rivals, it doesn't change the fact that they absolutely hate each other. Junko ruined Makoto's life, and the lives of everyone he cherished, and what's more, she's NOT done yet.

//If I had them be something more, and even if it made a little bit of sense, once you see what Junko is going to do to the Lucky Student in the latter half of Phase 3, you're going to regret it.

//So please, I'm asking this genuinely, for both the lovers and the haters. Regardless of where you stand on this, I will do my utmost to bring you the sort of content you want, but here, I have to put my foot down.

-Mod

[monstroso]

still thinking about Daria

in some ways I'm glad I never watched Daria as a teenager. I don't know that at 16 I would have been able to take away from it the things about it that I like so much now as an adult. that said, in some ways I do feel like it would have done me some good.

a little over a week ago I had expressed to @djangodurango that I often feel uncomfortable giving feedback on art/writing to people I don't know well and who haven't explicitly asked for anything aside from an acknowledgement that I've seen it. This is because, I said, people often take my feedback to heart. Even an offhand (and not even necessarily negative) remark in the past has been enough to discourage people from continuing on their work and, I said, I was tired of wielding that kind of responsibility. So unless I have a glowing endorsement to dispense, I usually don't say anything at all.

Of course, bringing it up with her only made me think more about why that might be. Why *do* people take what I say so seriously? Why should the opinion of one person have so much weight? Why my opinion specifically? "I'm just saying stuff," I believe were my exact words. "There's no reason for people to feel like they need to cater to me. I'm just Some Guy!"

After ruminating on it for a while, the only conclusion I could come to was that my opinion must hold more weight than I'd initially thought. I came back to DJ with the results of my findings. "People must think highly of what I have to say. They must respect my opinion." It doesn't make any sense, but there it is. I can't control what people think of me, only my own actions. I decided I was right to have been careful with my feedback these past few years, even if I didn't understand people's reasoning.

And then we watched the last Daria movie, Is It College Yet?. It's really good, a nearly perfect ending to a show that concretely had something to say to its audience. I'm so glad I watched it. But the thing that really caught my attention was a scene right at the end.

For context, Daria's been trying to get Jane to apply to an art college, something Jane has written off because she got rejected from the lower-end state schools she applied to first. Daria's spent the entire movie trying to push Jane through her doubts, telling her over and over again that her work is *good* and fear of rejection shouldn't stop her from trying, even as Daria herself is struggling with the same problem in her own college application process as well as her conflicted feelings about her impending breakup with her boyfriend, Tom.

When the breakup inevitably happens, Tom asks if Daria ever had any warm feelings towards him at all. Daria, a little shocked, says that of course she did! That she liked being with him and that the experience was good and worth having, that Tom is smart and funny and kind and she thinks he's a great guy. The breakup is happening because they're not at a place in their lives where them dating makes sense anymore, not because she doesn't like Tom as a person. Tom, reassured, says that he's always respected Daria's opinion, to which Daria seems surprised. When she tells Jane this later, with a kind of 'can you believe it? He values *my* opinion?' attitude, Jane agrees. She says she respects Daria's opinion so much that she went ahead and applied to the art school even in the face of her own doubts and the cold shoulder from her older brother. And she got accepted!

And it was at this point that I went "Heeeey, wait a minute-" and DJ started laughing at me.

"Why is Daria learning this lesson I only just learned myself a few days ago, DJ?" I asked. "You're in this show, and you don't like it," she teased me back, using my own joke against me.

Anyway, I dont have anything else to add here really, just still thinking about it. Daria's good.

[indigosfindings]

can you elaborate more on the joyful/optimistic art vs cynical/sad art thing?

(re: this post)

sure, sorry in advance if this is messy.

the gist is that there's a slew of micro-discourses whose common thread is the inherent or automatic superiority of art and stories that are optimistic and centre 'joy', 'love', and other positive emotions over those that don't.

it manifests a million different ways: "x series is bad because it's pessimistic/cynical/dark", "x story is bad because it depicts SA/incest/abuse*", "horror is really about love/family", "love is a unilaterally healing and moral force", "dark/negative art is universally less authentic/earnest", "sad/disturbing art is easy to make while positive art is difficult," etc. (also seems to correlate w the internet's general attitude toward criticism--that even mild negative feedback toward any art is in essence insulting its author & audience)

one of the factors imo is that a lot of people are unwilling to interrogate their reactions to something. like the process is "i see disturbing art -> i feel disturbed -> 'disturbed' is a negative emotion -> this art has done something negative to me -> this art is bad" and then never question it further

as for why i feel frustrated: hmm where to start. it's an extremely flat heuristic that diminishes alll art with any aims other than to please or to be Fun. it denies that "to disturb", "to frighten", "to disquiet", "to sadden", "to critique", etc are worthwhile endeavours in art. it also just betrays a narrow view of what has the capacity to be Fun for someone! i'm especially frustrated because horror always gets the brunt of it. there's a sort of longstanding anxiety about the "value" of horror, about horror needing to "prove its worth", and i think a lot of people's answer to that is to say "it's not actually about Scary, it's about Happy :)"

one of the really popular takes that i still see today is "if you're writing a fantasy story where anything can happen, why incorporate homophobia, misogyny, etc?" and, i mean, it's a pretty straightforward answer--because those things exist in real life, and by incorporating them into a story you can reflect, comment on, and explore real issues that are pertinent to the audience! likewise re "love is virtuous and healing," it's just a simple fact that love is morally neutral. people do HORRIBLE things for love all the time. i used to be more idealistic about this, but now i honestly cant stand the idea that a saccharine, childlike stance on love is by default a better one

(there's a huge comparison to be made here with the reactionary pushback against modern art btw)

it also ties into a broader schema--"toxic positivity" is a popular line, but we can aim higher: there's a sort of cultural mandate toward positivity, where saying "x is bad" is worse than x being bad. think right and send thoughts and prayers. capitalism loves the idea of each person fending for themselves--you have the whole concept of "wellness" and "mindfulness", ie Positive Thinking as a vector for mental health (the corollary being that a person who is unwell is a person who is Not Trying Hard Enough To Be Positive), whereby to read a situation cynically (or pragmatically!) is the worst thing you can do. and well, by the same token, when we have a whole cavalcade of employers who LOVE seminars and videos about How To Manage Your Stress (and zero interest in inspecting what it is that makes employees excessively stressed to begin with!), im sure you can imagine why someone could get exhausted of positivity.

as i said in the previous post, the most insane part is the particular framing of this atittude as somehow counterculture, controversial, or against the grain. y'know, when we're discussing chipper upbeat art about how everything is good vs art that's grim, violent, negative, pessimistic--which of these is most likely, historically and today, to be censored, to be banned, or to arouse controversy?

*(obviously there are depictions of SA and other sensitive subjects that are callous, sexist, etc! but there are also plenty that are trenchant, edifying, powerful, evocative, etc!)

[toburnup]

Is there any specific thing someone says/does that makes you doubt writing? If so how do you pick yourself back up?

There’s a trend on Twitter lately where people have been saying what they dislike in fics, what will stop them from reading a Steddie fic and it’s really made me pause on writing. To see people so passionate about hating certain phrases used or certain descriptions of characters/scenes has sort of made me feel like people are just laughing at my writing even if I haven’t done hat they dislike. Now I’m struggling to get back into writing, I have so many ideas but I’m afraid I’ll be laughed at!

first of all, thank you for sending this. sharing writing is vulnerable so what you're feeling is very very normal

as for the twitter trend, you can try to ignore it, but that's not always possible. we're human, it's hard to look away from that kind of thing. so, some thoughts!

it's very easy to Share An Opinion online, but not all opinions are created equal lol. this kind of trend comes around every few months and i think it's important to think about where those opinions are coming from. are they from people whose opinions you value?

if possible, find/reach out to people whose opinions you do trust and ask for feedback (or even just share stuff on a smaller scale with friends). it's much easier to share with a larger audience after you've run it by others. this could also be through discord groups

sometimes people hate things because they hate it, and sometimes they hate phrases/words because they're overused. but i'm in the opinion that overuse can be for a reason (i remember seeing people be upset about the phrase "toeing off shoes" and it's like damn how's everyone else taking off their shoes??)

overused fanfic phrases have been around forever. i remember when "tongues battled for dominance" was the star. fandoms develop their own language as well. if you're really worried about it, you can keep an eye out for them as you go and as you edit, think about if it's really the best way to phrase it or if it's just familiar because you've read it a lot. or ask a friend to read through it for cliches. or say fuck it and leave them in!!

most of the time, these things that people complain about are not enough to turn them entirely off a fic. we all have our preferences and i sometimes roll my eyes at a phrase but i can't think of anything that would ruin a fic for me. twitter has a limited word count so it lends itself to hyperbole.

so. yes. plenty of things make me doubt my writing, but it's become a lot easier now that i've carved out my own space. i know there's like.. a core group of people who will give it a shot even if they're not into it at face value.

cliches in fics can feel a bit tiring after a while, but i find when i reach that point, it means i need to take a break from reading fics for a bit. it's much faster to read something than it is to write it, so it only makes sense that we'll run into familiar phrases across fics.

i can't do a full beta, but you're always welcome to send me a snippet if you want a second set of eyes on it. i'm happy to help!