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tathrin · 1 year ago

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Writing Year Wrapped (2023)

Ooh, thank you for the tag @sallysavestheday!

3 Favorite Fics You've Written This Year:

Of course we have to go with my current obsession, And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, an as-canon-compliant-as-possible Fellowship-AU that asks, what would happen if Celebrimbor got himself re-embodied and came back to Middle-earth to try and make up for his mistakes by helping to destroy the One Ring (and brought all his unhealed trauma with him)? Plus a slow-burn romance for Legolas and Gimli, a whole lot of delicious world-building for Mirkwood, and a more active role for Arwen too!

Five Times Gimli Died (and One Time He Didn't) is, I think, despite the simplistic and trope-y title, one of the most elegant things I've ever written, and I am very much in love with it. It's the story of Gimli and Legolas's romance, from beginning to end (well...not really end, because the joy of them is that they're a story that doesn't end—Gimli Immortality Agenda, you can't stop me!—but the story ends with the beginning of their happily-ever-after, which is a sort of end, no?), told in a series of scenes that takes place from Moria to the Undying Lands, and could almost slip right in between the pages of canon if you squint enough to overlook a little bit of meddling from Mahal on behalf of his new favorite dwarf (don't tell Durin).

To Live In Undying Lands is a series of snippets set in Aman after Legolas and Gimli cross the Sea, focused on both their new life there and that of our beloved Hobbits who went over before. And I went back and forth several times deciding whether to swap the placement of this one and Last Temptation... below, but I ultimately think that was a bit more of a stretch than this one, despite the fact that I Never Write Hobbits and am writing quite a lot of Hobbits for this one, and also I Never Write Snippets Without An Overarching Plot—and because I'm such a sucker for Gimleaf that if I have to pick a favorite between any two comparable stories, it's always going to be the one with them in it! (Also: Gimli Immortality Agenda, always!)

3 Fics That Stretched You the Most:

Dead Faces In The Water; Dead Faces Everywhere - I don't write present tense, I don't write modern AUs, and I don't write zombie stories...but here I am, writing all three at once! (Thanks, @katajainen! This story is 1/3 your fault, 1/3 @roselightfairy and @deheerkonijn's fault, and 1/3 Mira Grant's lol. And you were the inciting incident, so you get first blame!) And somehow having a great time doing it! (So much world building! I'm in paradise!)

The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm - probably one of the most overtly ambitious stories I've ever done. It's likewise in present-tense, although that's considerably less daunting now after almost forty chapters of zombies; but there were a lot of other balls to juggle on this story, including my first time properly writing both of the main characters as well as anything set in Ost-in-Edhil; and of skirting right up against the line of how close it came to all ending differently and making that (hopefully) feel almost like it could have gone differently and avoided all that tragedy in a way that, hopefully, both satisfies and distresses the reader.

And (I suppose this is a bit of a give-away, but it's not like I tried very hard to hide anyway; the anonymity is mainly designed to make people feel more comfortable offering con-crit, which I have no idea if it actually helped or not but I did get some lovely and helpful feedback on it, so I'm going to say the tactic has been a success) definitely Cliffside Revelations, which has the honor of being my very first explicit smut fic...even if most of the smut is an excuse for world building, which I'm sure shocks all of you lmao!

(And sneaking in an honorable mention of On The Far Side of the Sundering Sea, because my name isn't on the previous one so it probably doesn't technically count...which means I can slip in an extra story as a technicality, right? Right. Shhh, it's fine!)

3 Favorite Lines You've Written (loosely interpreting "lines" as sallysavestheday has cleverly demonstrated):

Oh this is difficult. Most of my best lines are only their best because of the context around them; and it's hard to remember them as distinct lines after their sections have been finished and posted. But this does at least save favorite and not best, so that helps; let's give it a try, then.

First, from Five Times Gimli Died (and One He Didn't) we have a moment of a revelation on Gimli's part, as he discovers that his heart might not be as alien to his Maker as he feared it was:

He stood in silence, staring at the unseen form of he who had made all Dwarves; of the Maker of stone and rock and mighty mountain. Mahal, who had made the Dwarves…Mahal, who loved the green.

This is one that definitely needs the context to make it work, so we're including the whole preceding paragraph from Blows Uncounted, a little AU-take on Helm's Deep where either the uruks are stronger or Gandalf is slower, and the battle has a darker ending.

For Legolas was not simply any elf: he was an elf of Mirkwood. Taur-ne-Fuin, the forest under nightshade; Taur-e-Ndaedelos, the forest of great fear. These orcs and uruks of Isengard, used to preying on earnest horse-lords and forthright farmers, had never met an elf of his sort before. Their northern kin could have told them stories of what befell orcs beneath the black boughs of Mirkwood…but orcs did not often come alive from those dark woods, not at least without Nazgûl to guard their travels.

And there were no Nazgûl here.

And taking a complete one-eighty in tone from the previous, I am quite inexcusably delighted with this one from Honeysuckle and Cider, and still giggle to myself whenever I re-read it:

"Uh," says Aragorn, son of Arathorn, King of Gondor, first of the House Telcontar.

(The line after it definitely qualifies as a runner-up, but I do think this one beats it out. Sorry, Faramir!)

Actually there's one other line I really wanted to put in here, even more than the one about the Nazgûl, but I'm not going to, because it's the very last line of the story it appears in, and reading it before you read that story would suck all the wind out of its sails, I think; so if you want to know what that is, you'll have to go read The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm for yourself.

3 Characters You Enjoyed Writing (that surprised you):

Anntar (Sauron), actually! I got to play with him as more than just a Menacing Presence in The Last Temptation of Narvi of Khazad-dûm and oh, he was so much fun! This was Sauron in full-on seducing-the-Gwaith-i-Mírdain mode, with maybe just a hint of how he actually wanted to be stopped, so that he could let the schemes for world-domination go and just be happy here with his smith-lovers...or maybe that was all wishful thinking on Narvi's part. Regardless, it was great fun to play with both failed and successful manipulations here, as well as to actually write something with my new favorite OT3.

Boromir may have come as even more of a shock to me, actually. I very quickly went from "distant fondness but very little interest" in Boromir to taking great delight in him, thanks in largest part to Dead Faces in the Water, Dead Faces Everywhere (and a little bit to Two Fell Into Shadow, although most of that was written or at least sketched-out earlier; but I'm counting it, because I don't think I realized how much fun he was fifteen years ago or so when I was writing it initially). Also, of course, his part in And In The Darkness To Unmake Them, although I haven't gotten to the point of posting any of his Grey Company chapters yet (shhh). He's such a wonderful sort of "I did not sign up for any of this; I have no idea what's happening; but I Am Participating Anyway!" sort of character, dragged out of his element commanding Minas Tirith's armies (where he's an extremely competent and confident fellow) and tossed into this baffling world of weirdness full of elves and magic and nonsense, for which he is so ill-equipped and ill-prepared. And yet he gamely goes along with it, because it needs doing! Whatever the fuck it is! He has no idea!

And last but certainly not least: Gimli, although this one may be less of a surprise; but it was a surprise to me how often I ended up writing from his perspective. I did not expect that, because I'm much more interested in elves (especially Mirkwood elves) than I am dwarves in general, and I've done a lot less world-building (a lot less) for Erebor than I have Mirkwood; but it's so much fun using Gimli as "the sensible perspective" (as well as an excuse to get really flowery with my wording sometimes, shhh!), not to mention an extremely astute and observant one, that he makes for a very addictive viewpoint character. I actually ended up having to make a conscious effort to switch to Legolas's pov sometimes, in fact, because it was so easy and charming to fall into Gimli's head and stay there! That was definitely a surprise to me.

3 Unexpected Inspirations:

This fucking dream! I still don't know what the hell happened to me that night, but it sure was unique and extremely unexpected!

And quite startling was the time where seeing the Legolas-always-looks-back-for-Gimli gif-post from the LotR movies cross my tumblr dash right to an Orpheus-and-Eurydice poll basically popped this whole-ass story fully formed into my head in one big rush of inspiration. Although the same thing happened with this post and And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow, so maybe I should stop thinking "random post on tumblr" is unexpected inspiration...

And uhhh....this XD

3 WIPs You're Excited About in the Upcoming Year:

And His Hands Ran With Gold and Shadow which I swear I will get back into working-on as soon as I get some of my other ongoing stuff finished, because I absolutely adore it! and I definitely want to write more on it! very much so! but the vibes required for writing it are so different from the other stuff that it's hard to switch back-and-forth between it and them (same goes for the zombie-fic).

An As-Yet-Untitled story set many, many, many years after the end of the War of the Ring in the Undying Lands, where our three beloved Hobbits (and one Dwarf) living on those timeless shores discuss their mortal lives, and decide when and whether to let them end.

The sequel to The Dark Reborn, because I am at some point going to drag my brain back into the galaxy far, far away enough to start reading and writing Star Wars fic again, and I fucking will finish this fucking awesome sequel trilogy fic I started, kriff it!!!

3 People Tagged to Share Theirs:

Tagging with zero pressure: @babybat98 @bifuriouswaterbender @katajainen

#if you've already done this and i just tagged you again forgive and ignore me #i haven't had a chance to look at my dash yet today (i was at work and then reading the new murderbot ahhhhhhhhhh so good!!!!)#or! if you'd like to take the opportunity to talk about even MORE stories! feel free to make a second post with the runner-up fics lol #writing year wrapped #my writing #my stuff #ask meme #lotr fanfiction #gigolas #gimleaf #silvergifting #legolas #gimli #celebrimbor x narvi #silverdoorsgifting #that's right i'm MAKING UP MY OWN SHIP NAME for this ot3 and NOBODY CAN STOP ME

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ribboncare · 9 months ago

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hello! my name is ribbon, i am an adult & i use they/star pronouns :3

welcome to what is (yes, yet another) sparklecare criticism blog. while i say "criticism", because i do plan on providing constructive words, this is also very much a complaining blog. anything i feel like yapping about in terms of media made by kittycorn and their surrounding fandoms can be found here, but expect a majority of it to be surrounding the main sparklecare comic and it's aus

at the end of the day though, i am still a fan! i am not here to mindlessly spread or curate hate that has no purpose

here are the rules and outlines of the blog!

do not harass anyone!! this includes anyone who sends asks, any other crit blogs and especially not the clowns. in that same vein do not namedrop anyone

feel free to send in your own opinions! i will try to add my thoughts on whatever you send ^_^ i will not post anything that is just hate to be hate, so don't bother trying. if you'd like to remain anonymous but retain some form of identification, simply ask & you will receive! i will tag you as (x) anon. both names and emojis accepted

if you think you know my main, no you don't X3

i will refer to kittycorn as kc mostly

activity is mostly dependent on my ability to word anything i have to say concretely, which is not always a thing. i do keep up with the comics though. i have a lot of posts drafted :P

these are all subject to change at a moments notice. the most recent update was made 8/4/24

heres my tagging system!

main

#ribtalks - talking tag

#ribblogs - reblogs

#ribanswer - answer tag

#sparklecare criticism / #sparklecriticism - what it says on the tin, buddy!

#(character) tag - a way to keep posts sorted by character without directly tagging them as to prevent from cluttering the tags

anon tags

none atm!

#intro #sparklecare #sparklecare criticism #sparklecriticism #this will be my only main tagged post for visability's sake! i do not plan on clogging the tags #that being said feel free to block me if you so wish. i hope you have a good day!

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cupcraft · 2 years ago

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to add to the conversation about meta and critical analysis and stuff i just want to say that critical analysis isnt bad in general. Hear me out though keep scrolling if you dont want to read a long discoursey kinda post but its not neg for reference /srs.

NOT A VAGUEPOST! I am commenting solely on trends of things in the fandom since my experience being here since 2020 writing meta since january 2021.

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many people (like me for example) enjoy writing analysis that is through a critical lens even though we enjoy the narrative and character. Some people enjoy writing through that lens and they dont like that character or narrative. some people dont like the narrative or character at all and it would be critical. i think at least in all my experiences in fandoms is a really normal part of fandom analysis and enjoying a story and is fine! if you maintag you for sure should tag your crit and stuff but in general i think this on the whole isnt bad. Gen really weird cc neg is bad, and theres some other nuance of course but thats not the main pt of my post, but i dont think thats the majority of critical analysis in any fandom including this one we are in here. I just want to stress that people engage in this fandom in various different ways as they do in all fandoms.

I think what is really stressful is the vagueing that goes on. and for the record i am not vagueing anyone specifically by saying that and none of my mutual or people i follow or anyone at all, once again i am commenting on trends ive seen /srs! Like meta has become really difficult in my experience in fear of the neg that comes along with it or the thought that people "hate the dream smp/the content" or "hate cc's" etc because of it or even "cc's dont do lore because of posts like this". And i think that's something that needs to be addressed and talked about because it's something that we're all aware of existing and its definitely been a source of contention i think...

I think reblogging someones meta directly to discuss or add your own points (i always include a pls add on personally!) and or sending that person an ask if theyre willing to is also fine. I also think being inspired by meta to write your own points is quite fine too, those are all really enjoyable parts of fandom analysis.

and to use a personal example i know a lot of people who dont like c!ranboo or his narratives and after the ghostboo caimsey stream i remember there being a lot of discourse. I personally dont block crit analysis or anything bc i usually like to read it regardless, but i remember having a vastly different view of that stream and the narratives! So what i did was make meta about the lore from my perspective without vagueing anyone or have ties to what i read. I just was like "i really liked xyz and heres why" kinda posts. Its also crit analysis and all sorts of meta in general that have helped me change my views of characters or explore new narratives because of the different views i see about it.

What i'm trying to say is that like i think we can exist in a world where fandom crit and meta and noncrit meta and silly hcs and etc. can be enjoyable and cohesive together though i do realize there is some nuance to what i'm saying and this doesn't really handle all circumstances within this discussion.

And maybe youre a person who crit analysis stresses them out and it ruins your fandom experience. I think this is very valid but i think in fandom spaces we need to find ways to curate our own experiences. i'll admit some lore discourse has stressed me out too but i generally dont engage with it or i start ask games or hc games or i write unrelated meta or things just to avoid it. I dont have a lot of solutions for this other than: tag discourse and crit in maintagged posts, ask people you are mutuals with or follow if they can tag something (though there is no guarantee someone will and thats a okay!! you may need to block this person or their personalized blog tags for lore analysis), and or do what i do and write meta about how you did love a stream and why and start new discussions. Though i'm not sure of any other solutions off the top of my head, so i'm happy to hear more solutions.

The reason i'm writing this post is because of the crit analysis = you hate a cc and you just hate the narratives and you dont love the dsmp at all and you hold them at too high a standard etc etc etc kinda mindset i've seen since like late 2021. Because i don't hate cc's or the narratives. if i did i wouldn't be in this fandom, i woudn't write meta or engage with the content at all. and the vagueposting that i've seen is very discouraging to see at the very least especially as i've noticed how things have evolved since 2020 fandom.

I'm not sure if this is a good post, or if it adds to the discussion well. Tbh im afraid this will start discourse in itself which isnt really the point (though i tagged it that way for blacklisting...). This post is intended to help our fandom space be more cohesive to allow people the space to take narratives where they want (with nuance of course!) and for people to curate their fandom experience how they want too.

So as i always do with meta please add on, please send me asks about this. Reply. correct me even!! though i have turned off rbs because im kinda nervous for such a large discoursey style post being rb-ed around. All i ask is just dont vague me or sc this...like my anons are on i'm happy to discuss this and vagueing stresses me out which should be obvious from me writing this whole post.

because i want us to have a healthy fandom experience if we can and I see how stressed out its made me and many people on dsmp.blr during lore discourse days/analysis moments/etc.

let me know your thoughts <3!

#discourse #fandom discourse #cup.dsmpblr #not crit or neg just kinda opening up the discussion #not a vaguepost #long post

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godeyed · 2 years ago

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a novel based , independent , highly private and mutuals only portrayal of

𝖆𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖞𝖊𝖓 : kinslayer , aemond one - eye.

second son of king viserys the i and alicent hightower. based on george rr martin's fire and blood.

triggering themes will be tagged / include : anger and violence, murder, death, particularly child death and the celebration of it ( especially when it comes to lucerys velaryon , rest in peace king ) misogyny, mentions of incest ( but never explicitly written. ) 20+ only.

interest tracker . . . prompts

please read my rules before following : i will not follow first as i want writers to read my rules and decide for themselves if they want to follow <3

my boundaries include:

since incest unfortunately is a huge part of the ' a song of ice and fire ' universe, it can't be avoided, and so it will be mentioned ( and tagged ! ) however, it will never be explicitly written.

do not follow me if you write lucerys x aemond / lucerys x aegon.

anti - daemyra. and i just generally will not be cool w ppl writing incest in anyway which includes aemond and helaena and aemond/aegon .. pls no thank u ! i firmly rebuke all of the canon / fandom ships for aemond sorry fjdjf. this includes aemond x alys , who i don't ship for my own reasons. ( i am uncomfortable with age gaps mostly but am willing to write them in a non - romantic way ! ) i also ask if you do ship them in a romantic way and decide to follow me, to please tag it so that i can block the tag.

there will most likely be criticism of house of the dragon found here. it will be tagged as : hotd crit / with that said i do not mind writing with hotd based muses at all, this is just a personal thing when it comes to the way they decided to depict aemond / it goes directly against my portrayal.

i assume if you follow me, you have an interest in the greens in some capacity ( as do i ! ) however : if you are anti - team black , anti - rhaenyra , anti - alicent , anti - targaryen women , please don't follow me. criticism of all of the above are welcome , but i tend to avoid people who proudly claim they hate any of the those characters / especially targaryen women. if you can't acknowledge the fact that a lot of them ( especially dany and rhaenyra ) are the heroes / victims of the story , who have flaws along with any other character , then maybe i am not the person to follow.

this blog is an attempt at writing aemond in a very novel - based way. he's cruel , a loser , narcissist , definitely a misogynist etc. he kills his poor nephew because he wants to kill him, it wasn't an accident. despite this, i'm interested in writing a very nuanced character who does bad things bc he feels entitled to it , as well as stepping away from the way media always needs a reason for a character to do bad things. sometimes there is no rhyme or reason. if you don't like that, then this blog may not be for you. <3

with all that said, i do think aemond serves cunt. he has a lot of qualities that i like and want to portray / really love the idea of his position within his families dynamics. i'm going to try talking about all his cool and cunty qualities a lot here without erasing the bad.

writing , shipping , general etiquette:

multi - verse, multi - ship, i do and will practice mains and exclusives. duplicate, crossover, and oc friendly. ( for ocs please have a bio or at least some stats ! )

very important note : do not approach me immediately for shipping purposes. i hate feeling like someone doesn't care about my character beyond a ship that they can offer.

with that said, shipping is so fun, and i'm not gonna pretend that i don't want to do it ... but it's just not a priority for me. if you'd like to, we can discuss it only after we have already established some sort of foundation whether that is through a thread or through plotting. keep in mind that he's not a particularly fun guy so ... just you know, please remember that when you approach me.

please do not god - mod! please also keep in mind that my activity is very low. you can remind me about a thread you might think i missed, but please leave it at one reminder and do not pester me. i have a full time job and writing is just a hobby. if i do not reply to a meme you sent me, or if i don't continue a thread, it doesn't mean i'm uninterested.

if you want to unfollow, please hard block so that i don't forget and try to refollow you. i'll do the same.

i don't care to see vagues or ooc drama, we're all adults and if you ever have a problem with me, i'd love it if you communicated that or simply just block me!

this really doesn't need to be said but i'll say it : if i see racism, transphobia, homophobia, white washing, etc. i will simply hard block.

thank you for taking the time to read this. i know it's a lot but i just want to make sure that i'm comfortable in this space, and set clear boundaries so that there is no confusion in the future. i am super excited to explore aemond's character in a way that feels right to me and to the depiction that we received of him in fire and blood!

#pinned.#dni.#mun info : im lucia! 27. she / they. based in north america.

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memryse · 4 years ago

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noticed a couple refugees did follow me, so here are some things i've learned since i joined dsmpblr a month or so ago! i'm not an mcyttwt refugee exactly because i never engage with mcyt stan accounts, but my main platform was/is twt, so we are siblings of sorts i suppose!

nuance is both allowed and encouraged here, whether it's character analysis or actual cc discourse. you don't have to take a blanket stance on anything. you don't have to take any stance on anything if you don't want to. enjoy your time here!

so much character analysis goes on here. if you're into that stuff oh my goodness you will feel right at home here. be prepared to learn more about your favourite character in your first week on here than you ever did on twitter. having long posts makes it soooo much easier.

it's okay to block people. you should never feel guilty for that on any platform, but tumblr at least makes it easier because it doesn't have such a glaringly obvious "___ blocked you" screen.

opinions on dsmp characters are pretty different here; you'll find a lot less c!dream apologists, for example. significantly less death threats over these opinions too. in general this website loves to focus on the characters and not the ccs, so we try and be more balanced about them.

opinions on ccs are also pretty different, most of us don't believe in cancelling ccs. however, don't conflate this with us excusing/not caring about bad stuff that they do. there are plenty of people who don't support various ccs for whatever reason, myself included. we just keep to ourselves about it; we're here to uplift what we do like, not what we don't!

the tagging system is complex, but you'll pick it up pretty quickly! i think the only key things to remember are that you don't need to main-tag every post mentioning a cc - you can tag every single thought you have about tommy with #tommyinnit, but it does get a bit spammy. it's better to only tag the posts you actually want to circulate.

^ doesn't apply to reblogs - tags in reblogs won't show in the search bar. so go wild with your tags on reblogs. honestly it's fine to just lurk and stick to reblogging for a little bit until you get a sense for when to main-tag and when not to. even if you don't get the hang of it, you'll be fine as long as you're not posting mass amounts of spam.

"crit tagging" is also really important. this is pretty much the same as /neg on twitter. if you're posting outright hate for a character or cc, tag it with something like #c!/cc!___ neg (i can never remember the exact tag for hate because i never post hate lol i think it's like that though). if you're criticising them, tag it with #c/cc!___ critical. it's just a nice way of helping people filter their dashes.

please reblog art that you like - just liking it doesn't help it in the algorithm at all. imagine the twitter algorithm but worse.

dsmpblr is not a perfect safe haven free of all issues, as much as we'd like it to be. there's still anon hate, we still get into discourse, but ultimately people are more sane here. and that's what really matters. it's okay to be passionate about things, as long as you stay rational.

wishing you all the best! remember, your online experience is what you make it.

#inniters follow me #bench fans in general but. inniters i am pspspspspsing you #long post #twitter refugees

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quicksandblock · 4 years ago

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Hello my name is Quicksandblock! You can call me any variation of that, or I also go by Vuatson or Vu online :) My active main blog is @prosocialbehavior, and I ask/follow/reply from @kingdom-noise. Welcome!

This blog is the home of the semi-annual mildly scuffed MCYTblr Demographic Survey! Find the results of the first survey here, the second one here!

About the blog:

I like the Dream SMP, Hermitcraft, 3rd Life/Last Life, and various assorted other CCs and series :)

I post and reblog a lot of meta/analysis, and I have a fondness for tragic and self-destructive characters, villainous or otherwise. Dream, Wilbur, Quackity, Tubbo, Technoblade, and Phil have all held the position of favorite character at some point. Check out #my meta tag if you like!

I don’t do apologist discourse, I’m not an apologist for any character, I hate the term apologist (and related terms like enthusiast, etc.) and try to avoid using it whenever I can. I think it’s a waste of time to try to judge, accuse, or justify the actions of fictional characters. If I’m a fan of a character, it’s not because I think they’re in the right (or the wrong) morally speaking, it’s because I Think They’re Neat.

Housekeeping:

I’m an adult over 25, so only follow me if you’re comfortable with that

I take a long time to answer asks because ADHD. Please feel free to send them! I love getting asks!! But also if I don’t answer yours for like a week please don’t take it personally :P

I can’t guarantee that I’ll tag anything, including character crit. I try my best to tag common squicks and CWs but, again, ADHD brain. If you absolutely need something specific tagged all the time this may not be the blog for you!

Unless stated otherwise, assume I’m talking about the characters and not the CCs. I mean, it should be pretty obvious from context clues since irl Wilbur isn’t going around blowing up city-states or whatever :P But if it isn’t clear feel free to ask me to clarify.

I don’t have a DNI because DNIs are useless. Anyone is welcome to interact with me, just don’t be a dick!

All CCs are welcome to interact, but by doing so they forfeit the right to complain about anything they find here. This is my house I get to pick the wallpaper lmao

#talk #about #pinned

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mariaiscrafting · 4 years ago

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i saw you talk about “blocking etiquette” in one of your posts and i was wondering if you could briefly explain that? my blog is a baby (i joined in march) so i really don’t know any of the unspoken social rules haha. i feel i should know this before i say anything ever thats dream critical lmao

also saw you have a ton of asks so feel free to answer or not there’s no obligation ! take care of urself it seems like a lot to handle rn

I'd like to preface this by disclaiming that I've been on Tumblr since 2014, so I think I have a good sense of blocking etiquette as it's evolved with Tumblr culture, but I might still be presumptuous/wrong about some things.

Anyways. So, on Tumblr, there's generally always been a "block first, ask questions later" mentality. No matter the fandom, people kinda just unfollow or block people at will because Tumblr's algorithm is so shit at recommending things for people that unfollowing/blocking are really the primary ways to tailor what you don't want to see. So, if you frequent a search term/tag search, like "dream smp," you'd likely block someone who posts things frequently to that tag, but whose content you dislike. Blocking is, obviously, still used as a means to stop interacting with just plain assholes, as it is on every social media site. But more times than not, Tumblr users block blogs for neutral reasons related to how they want to tailor their social media experience, rather than a personal vendetta against someone.

Frankly, from my perspective, this was the main use of block lists back in the day. They weren't so much ways to truly hate on anyone's blog since anyone deemed a true asshole would likely spur a reporting campaign against them, rather than an addition to a blocklist. No, Tumblr blocklists were almost always so people who frequented certain tags simply... didn't have to put up with some people. If there was a wave of problematic shippers inundating a fandom/character tag, of TERFs inundating trans/feminism tags, or something similar, they would likely be put on a blocklist simply because Tumblr users wanted a comprehensive list of people they might come across, but didn't want to have to see posts from. Along a similar vein, a lot of mcytblr blogs advocate simply blocking people who post imagines in the main mcyt/dream smp tags, rather than harrassing each and every one of them into fixing their tag habits. Like, they're just annoying, really, and this social media site is so big that just blocking the ones who frequent the tag is so much easier than anything else.

One notable difference about Tumblr blocking as compared to Twitter blocking is the malintent behind Twitter blocking. Twitter fandom subtwts will advocate for blocking someone particularly if they're being cancelled/a Twitter user simply dislikes them enough. In addition, I've seen more than one Twitter user unironically say that they block people who unfollow them, as if following/unfollowing them were a personal affront, and blocking people were some component of this social game that reeks of cliqueness and high school levels of maturity.

That isn't to say that Tumblr blocking etiquette doesn't have pitfalls, because it has many. The main one I've noticed is that, especially in smaller fandom spaces, someone who's considered problematic might be enmassed blocked by lots of users in that fandom, and effectively be shut out of that fandom. If they're put onto a blocklist, a problematic post is circulated enough, or they're blocked by enough "big blogs" in the fandom, these users can be kept from reblogging, liking, or sending asks to a large part of the fandom they participate in. Vague posting doesn't really get you anywhere on Tumblr because of how insular each blog is, as opposed to Twitter, where screenshotting someone's profile who's blocked you and/or complaining very obviously about someone blocking you without naming them is commonplace and can be easily spread throughout a subtwt. This means Tumblr blogs who were mass blocked end up reaching much less members of their fandom, cannot really stand up for themselves in the face of mass blocking unless they're infamous enough for people to recognize their name, or participate in the discourse that promoted their blocking in the first place. While I haven't really experienced this, all of this is taken from what I've observed mutuals and recognizable blogs going through over the years.

Another note is that this website is kinda fucked, coding-wise. We all know this. This means that there are a million holes in the blocking system that make it even more annoying to navigate when people have blocked you, and that ends up getting more people blocked than maybe should be.

First of all, those imagine blogs aren't just posting in the main tags for shits and giggles, or to be cumbersome and clutter the main tags. They're doing it because Tumblr is dying, and even in a fandom as big as mcytblr, it's almost impossible to boost/promote your original content. The Tumblr algorithm sucks at spreading awareness about popular posts, more and more Twitter refugees means less and less people who fucking reblog > liking posts, and basically the only way posts can blow up anymore is by being found through a tag that is trending or frequently browsed through the "most recent" setting. This includes dream smp and many smp character names, so obviously imagine blogs are going to take advantage of this and maintag. It's the reason mcytblr constantly tags "m*necraft" despite being told off, time and time again, for doing so by mineblr. And it's the reason I've likely been blocked by many people- because I had to make the decision between spreading awareness of a post that took a lot of effort and that I thought was important enough to main tag despite being critical/negative, or keeping mcytblr happy by not cluttering their bias's tag with a crit post. Sure, some of mcytblr likely blocked me because they thought I was annoying/disagree with me, and that's fine. But I'm sure many blocked me for the same reason I block imagine blogs and mineblr blocks dream smp stans- because they wanted to peruse their fave's tags, and they simply blocked a random blog that posted something they didn't like, without really thinking much of it.

Second of all, side blogs kinda fuck up how blocking works. It's annoying as hell to see a post you really like in the main tag/search, only to find that the person blocked you upon trying to reblog. Because of sideblogs, people will oftentimes block a sideblog because it's that user's fandom blog, without blocking their main, so the user is left kinda seeing their stuff time and time again, without being able to interact with it.

Speaking of how fucky the code is because of the blogging system, reblogs make it even worse. Most social media sites simply make it so a blocked user cannot see another user's profile, posts and all. But Tumblr not only allows this, it kinda fucks up the search function by sometimes allowing people you've blocked/who've blocked you to show up in main tag searches, it didn't take into account the fact that you can still see an OP's post when someone else reblogs it, and Tumblr didn't think to just fucking fix all these holes and just wholly omit someone's posts if they've blocked you, or you've blocked them. So, despite blocking people, you can still be logged in and see all their shit, and they can see yours. It's kind of annoying as fuck.

#a nyways this was so fucking long why did i do this #im so bored im gonna play minecraft bc fuck my life and responsibility or whatever #asks #tumblr meta #mcyt #dream smp #tumblr #blocking #also i didnt proofread this i apologize if its relatively incoherent

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captlok · 4 years ago

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Pacifism Isn’t A Character Trait

Or: MLK Day is Upon Us so Let Me Do You a Learn

Or: As An Aang Stan I Got a Bit Over-Zealous But Lemme Explain Why For A Hot Minute

Plus some History and Tumblr commentary that even non-ATLA fans can chew on

And by ‘hot minute’ I do mean this is going to be a long meta, so strap in. For those of you who just might be tuning into this debacle, I, a person who has not used Tumblr, much at all, except for the last half year, ran into some trouble.

If you wanna skip the whole TLDNR interpersonal stuffs and get straight to Why Aang is the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread, I will embolden the relevant parts, and italicize the crit of Korra, if you want that alongside.

I was excited that ATLA was seeing a resurgence due to the Netflix remake. I wasn’t even trying to apply any steep expectations for it. (learned not to do that the hard way with the last live action adaption, and to a much lesser extent, ATLOK, since it had good . . . elements, *ba dum tsshh*)

So, these are a couple aspects of the issue: (1) Even on the internet, I am extremely introverted and until recently mostly came for content, not socializing. My main online interactions thus far have been in forums and artist-to-artist on DA. Tumblr is still very strange to me because it splits up its ‘threads’ so you can’t see all the replies if a certain pattern of users responds in their own space. I’m not even 100% sure it’s in chronological order, and replies are not nested next to each other so you can look in the comments and someone will be replying to something you can’t see in that window. And also since it is a bizarre hybrid of a blogging system, posts are somehow considered ‘owned by’ or an ‘extension of’ OP in a way forum threads are not. (2) ATLOK was good in a cinematic and musical way, to be sure. It also had some good concepts. I can go into it just appreciating it for the worldbuilding and be somewhat satisfied. But the execution was terrible. I was on AvatarSpirit.Net for years, and If I had maintained my presence on ASN to current day and had gotten around to downloading their archive now that the forum is dead, I would include some links to other peoples’ detailed analyses on just how flawed both the plotting and Korra’s frustratingly flat learning curve was especially in the first two seasons. But, that is a task for another day, and only if people are interested.

No, what I’m addressing today, on the issue of Korra as a writing exercise, is how Mike and Bryan said specifically they wanted to make her ‘as opposite to Aang as possible’ and in so doing, muddied the central theme of the original ATLA series.

Now, again, I was mainly an art consumer for my first major round of ATLA fandom. Tumblr is an alien beast to me. But, after I write my first major Aang meta, talking about how amazing it is that he has the attitude he does, and how being content in the face of this overwhelming pain and suffering is an ONGOING PROCESS and an INTENTIONAL DECISION and not a simple PERSONALITY TRAIT, I start hearing that Aang gets a lot of hate from the fandom. Now this would be bad enough if it were merely people not liking his crowning moment of pacifism because they don’t understand the potential utility (I’ll elaborate on that in another post) or the ethics involved.

Aang is easily the most adult member of the Gaang. But he apparently gets hate for his few moments where he actually acts his age, a preteen, and maybe kisses a girl in a historical timeframe in which ‘consent’ discussions were probably nonexistent. Even in the present day, we are still practically drowned in movies that reinforce this kissing without asking trope. And even some female bodied people complain that asking kills the mood! But somehow he is responsible and reprehensible for this, even though the first time she kissed him back. I’m only going to get into the pacifism discussion today, but that was just another layer of annoyance bouncing around in the back of my head. Other peoples’ crit of Korra that was stewing in my subconscious, plus this Aang bashing, which thankfully I had not directly read much of, made up the backdrop of gasoline for the match that set it off. Even that seems a pretty melodramatic way to phrase what I actually said, which was: Aang, on the other hand, lost dozens of father figures and was being steamrolled by Ozai who was gloating about genocide TO HIS FACE, yet he still reigned in all that quote, ‘unbelievable rage and pain’ (The Southern Raiders). We Stan Aang, the Superior Avatar. No I did not f**king stutter. #AangSupremacy In another meta, someone complained that I was too defensive of Aang as a character and didn’t apply literary analysis enough, which I quickly rectified.

What set this off? Someone was kind of indirectly praising the line from Korra, “When I get out of here, none of you will survive” To them it was emotionally resonant or whatever, and I have to point out that no, it was a martial artist not having control of their state of mind, as is the bedrock of the practice. It was never addressed by the narrative, which is a severe oversight. I had a conversation with someone in the chats, making this distinction between Korra’s character traits and life philosophy. If she were to kill people while enraged and she was fine with that, that’s one thing. But if she regretted it, that’s a whole other kettle of fish. People argue that she comes from a warrior culture, unlike Aang.

Never mind that warrior monks are a thing. That’s what Shaolin monks are. You can be a pacifist and skilled at fighting. Those things are not mutually exclusive, which is the whole point of Bagua, Aang’s style. And also, Katara’s style.

That’s one reason I like Kataang so much- their congruent styles. Both of their real world martial arts are dedicated to pacifism, even though ATLA specifically doesn’t spell that out for Katara and her learning arc.

There was a meta where someone briefly tried to argue that knowing “martial arts” is against pacifism. No. Quite the opposite. I’d argue that you are not a true pacifist unless you know exactly how to handle yourself if someone attacks you. If you are not in a position to make conscious decisions about how much force to use, rather than merely operating on survival instincts, that is not pacifism. Or at least, not any energy or effort towards pacifism as a practical everyday tool. I’ve made a few attempts to learn some tai chi and aikido, and it’s improved my physical and mental health, but some other things have gotten in the way. #lifegoals

I’m not going to tag the unfortunate soul whom I was replying to, because they’re probably tired of all this, but I’ll be sending them a PM to say that I’ve made this into a different post, because as I mentioned before, threads are somehow considered “owned” by OP, so it’s been pointed out to me that I should separate it. I also said, I have basically ZERO respect for Korra uttering violent threats when the writers already minted a far more emotionally devastated and yet still resilient and centered character earlier in their franchise. People always try to excuse away people who genuinely like Aang more. As if it’s just nostalgia or whatever. For me, no, it’s absolutely not. It is respect for a character who stands toe to toe with real people who are kind in the face of overwhelming injustice. (I have another meta on that).

Both OP and people in the chats try to make excuses that she wasn’t raised as a pacifist, and that would be fine if they had addressed it with Tenzin and she had stated outright that she was rejecting pacifism and mind training. As it is, we are left with this nebulous affair where the lines between ideology and personality traits are blurred.

We are told she “has trouble with spirituality” but what does that even mean? Does she have trouble with focus? Does she have trouble relating to the canonically real spirits? And pacifism specifically nor inner peace that it flows from is never even talked about as an extension of spirituality, which is canonically tied to airbending.

“Aang didn't have to deal once with the loss of his autonomy in atla” OP claims.

This was after I had noted that Aang was getting kicked around by Ozai and was most likely going to die. Similarly, someone in the chat rejected the idea that a 12 year old trapped in a stone sphere that is heating up under a cyclone-sized blowtorch feels powerless.

Sorry but that’s flat out ridiculous.

No one wants to admit that both of these people were faced with similar situations, and when push came to shove, one showed his LIFE PHILOSOPHY through conscious effort, and the other was abandoning the basis of martial arts, which is, no matter what the situation, keep thinking. Hold the panic at bay. Non-attachment would have served her well in this situation. Tenzin should have told her this. Before, or afterwards. It should have been addressed in the writing.

People see this as “bashing” Korra, and oh well, can’t help that. If I think the writers didn’t follow through on their themes, that is my concern. OP said I was “offended.” No, not really.

I wasn’t offended by the post itself, or its commentary. Thought I made that pretty clear.

This is not dramatics. Let me be blunt.

As a ideological pacifist, and an actual practitioner of meditation, based on Buddhism, NOT just the fan of some show, I am for calling out writers who write one way from the survivor of genocide, and then stray from that ‘thoughtless aggression is immoral no matter HOW hurt I am’ to ‘let’s not address this character’s aggression in the narrative whatsoever.’ OP attempted to derail by accusing me of being racist or sexist against Korra. Also ridiculous. It honestly should have set me off more, but it didn’t.

Meditation is about reigning in your emotions. Managing your anger when it gets out of hand, and digging down to the roots of it. Being responsible for your own behavoir. Acknowledging ownership of your own actions. Not blaming anything YOU DO on anyone else or any circumstances in your life. Like an adult, or should I say, an enlightened adult.

Or at the very least, that is the ideal ypu strive towards while being imperfect in the present.

. . .

Now.

I’m going to quote a passage in a Google Doc of mine, even though I’d really prefer if you asked to read the whole thing, with context.

“What do humans do when it is necessary to, or greed makes a nation want to recruit?

They go to the army to get trained, right?

Granted, having someone scream and get spittle on your face is, in the grand scheme of things, poor preparation for having bullets whiz past your chest and grenades shatter your ears. And, what do you do to prepare you for the pain of getting your leg blown off? Hopefully, nothing. Like taking a test where you only got half the study guide. But, it’s about the most ethical way to go about it, right?

Not everyone even sees action. So any more more extensive mental preparation for physical pain than that, and you’d have people definitely protesting.

Well, as it turns out, pacifistic protestors themselves, if they were in the right time and place, also very intentionally do this type of mind training. Except, when they did it, they actually did sit still and took turns roughly grabbing each other and throwing each other down and in some cases, even kicking and bruising each other.

Turns out, those pacifists are, in some ways, more hardcore than the army.

Why is this?

Because a pacifist’s aim, unlike a unit, who wants to gain the upper hand in a situation, is to grit their teeth and grind their way through all those survival instincts, and totally submit.

In this, they aim to get the sympathy of the public, who clearly sees they are not aggressive, or a danger, no matter how much the footage is manipulated or suppressed.

In this, they hope to appeal to their attacker’s better nature.

Make them stop and think, wait a second, are these people a threat like we’re told they are? I’m attacking someone who’s letting me beat them up. Or a bunch of people. All forming a line, and letting us peel them off. Or sitting, and bowing their heads. If I’m on the ‘right’ side of things, the law, why am I doing this?

It’s not like a bully, who’s just a kid.” They’re more self-aware.

And might I add the situation influences a pacifist’s actions too. There’s no reason to let a single or a few random attackers beat you up if you can evade or disable without permanent damage.

Pacifism is a dynamic set of responsive actions informed by values. Not a proscribed set or a checklist.

But in terms of organizing against state power, and recording wrongdoing, which unlike during the Civil Rights can happen from all angles from smart phones nowadays, these are the motivations.

“So, the pacifist knows this, and that’s why they go through all that trouble of training themselves to, not only submit, but not turn tail and run, either.”

See, a character trait is something like being a morning person, or ways of handing information, or a given set of emotions a character feels. Once you cross over into actions, you must make the distinction of whether an impulsive character agrees with their own uncontrolled actions, or is embarrassed or remorseful. Those are life philosophy. Now sure, one type of person or character may be more likely to subscribe to pacifism, but there is no gatekeeping on what you have to feel or how you look at things. You can be easygoing, or feel all the rage in the world, but as long as you at least attempt to have a handle on those desires and feelings to where they do not cross into actions, you are still doing the work of metacognition, which is what martial arts and its accompanying mind training are for.

It’s what we see Aang do.

He’s informed us, during the Southern Raiders, on how much rage and pain he feels.

Pain points, TRIGGERS, that were directly struck at when Ozai gloated over him.

He joins with all the past Avatars for several moments, and just like every other time he is in the Avatar State, he is enraged. He wants to exact revenge on the unrepentant grandson of a baby murderer.

We see it when he turns his head away, face still screwed up in anger.

For another example, I could cite my difficulties in being aware and reining in my tongue sometimes. I know the roots of these issues and I seek to let them go.

It’s just that process takes way longer than Guru Pathik would have us assume.

In fact, I would even say that Aang’s portrayal throughout the three seasons is not strictly a realistic representation of at least the sad side of grief. I addressed that a little when I talked about real life figures. But what it IS, is a metaphor that cuts very deep to the heart of pacifism. As I showed in that Doc . . . There is no limit of suffering a pacifist is willing to go through, internal or external, for the preservation of peace.

This was demonstrated during the Civil Rights, and with Gandhi and all his followers beforehand, inspiring them. The pacifists’ method of swaying hearts is probably the reason BLM exists in such numbers as it does today. Will the types of narratives that correspond with their full stories of the way they collectively planned and trained for and approached conflict make it into fantasy media? I’d say, probably not. For a host of reasons.

It could be hoped for, I guess.

But we DO have Aang.

As for myself, whether speaking sharply is an “action,” per se is up for debate- certainly it doesn’t seem to violate the non-aggression principle put forth by the vision of a “stateless society.”

For another example, let’s take my explanation at the beginning. I am examining how circumstances affected my actions, and now am attempting to fix it, if indeed it needs to be fixed.

At least one person said that it not so much what I said, but how and when I said it. I don’t actually think I’ve said anything “wrong” per se. So I have to figure it out.

[I’m considering splitting up this next part into a second post, as it only slightly relates to pacifism itself and is just kinda some more commentary on Tumblr itself- Tumblr discourse, as it were]

[I’ll put more brackets when I’m done in case you want to skip this part as well]

An interesting social difference between Tumblr and other places is this command you often get, “don’t chat/reblog/message me back.”

This is interesting for several reasons. For chats and reblogs, other people may be following the “conversation,” so it’s actually pretty rude and presumptuous to tell a person not to respond to whatever you said, because other people watching still may be interested in your take.

In a forum setting, if someone involved in a conversation doesn’t have anything left to say, usually they just don’t respond.

This method would work perfectly fine for Tumblr, but for some reason, maybe its super odd format, probably due to the “ownership”/“extension of self” I mentioned at the beginning of the essay, people don’t tend to do this.

Now, in comment sections, sometimes you’ll run across an amusing sort of “mutually assured destruction” where two people both say this to each other. You’d better stop responding. Omg just give up. Why are you still arguing. Etc.

But see, no matter where this behavoir pops up, and no matter who starts in on it, those who do this usually want to have the last say on the matter.

Instead of merely not replying, they want to assert verbal control over the conversation.

Tumblr, in its weirdness, is also sort of like a mutant comments section. You can post comment section threads as your own post.

Which is one reason why I’m puzzled when people say ‘don’t read the comment sections’ when Tumblr is so popular.

I’m an oddball in that I browse comment sections for fun.

Probably due to alexithymia, I didn’t really comprehend the emotional toll it takes on many people, so the warnings to “stay out of comment sections” read to me like “hey don’t eat that dessert.” After I’m done with the ‘meal’ of an article or art, I like to see what lots of different people have to say about it. The fluff. Anything vitriolic I either blip over, or extract anything useful, or if I judge the person is reasonable enough, I might engage.

Sometimes I mis-judge on how reasonable someone is, and I shrug and move on after being cussed out or whatever.

In this, I suppose I succeed much of the time in being a verbal pacifist.

[But let’s get back to the more serious stuff.]

We’re talking about what is done in life or death situations, here.

For myself, I may in the near future be working more with dangerously mentally ill people. I’ve had a little exposure to it through various means. Nurses are obligated not to retaliate against patients, and those who have, have been fired in some situations. Again oddly, this is not primarily what triggers my anxiety. Unfortunately enough, this requirement has also resulted in nurses getting seriously injured and violated. I hope to influence whether “no harm” techniques such as tai chi and aikido and arm locks may be allowed. The voluntary philosophy I was luckily already on board with is enforced by bureauacracy, directly relevant to my potential profession.

Were someone to get involved in a dangerous profession, such as a police officer, their moral duty would also be to own up to any spur of the moment anger or fear they acted on.

It’s just that their bureaucracy acts differently, in excusing their actions.

Ideally, they would be taking steps far in advance, to avoid this often-cited fear of death reaction. As training pacifists like Aang do.

And yes, army people are trained differently than police officers because the army, often, even when threatened, is supposed to avoid engagement or deploy deterrents that are non-lethal almost all costs, unless ordered otherwise. Whereas American police are given pretty much complete discretion and often not taught de-escalation techniques. Even police from other nations are better trained in that regard.

Enter the ironically named @avatarfandompolice whose account description should really speak for itself. Combative, dismissive, and their attention-hungry bread and butter is to find people they think it’s acceptable to ridicule. They basically tried to say trauma was a valid excuse to take out your anger on other people, and in this situation, potentially kill.

Now, does this hold up in the real world? Yeah, sometimes. Especially if some law breaker or law keeper has not been given the anger management tools, they perhaps could be excused, or better yet, rehabilitated.

But especially if anyone finds themselves in dangerous situations, or intends to put themselves in such, it falls to them to do this preparation.

As an aphant, I am at a bit of a disadvantage, compared to an average martial artist, being unable to visualize an attacker. But I still attempt it.

As the main “police officer” of the world- the coincidentally blue clad figurehead that is supposed to keep order, it is apparently fine for Korra to not do the work Aang did to keep level. To blow it off as too much trouble: clearing the First Chakra of fear. For herself or others. And its resultant anger. Had she had access to the Avatar State, the authority figure pretty much would have killed people. This is what the “fandom police” and a certain chat goer ultimately support. Maybe they didn’t understand it that way, and since the second had blocked me, they will also never see this explanation. Unless I were to share it in Google Doc form I suppose.

So, I responded. “Remember kids, you are not responsible for your own behavior if you have the excuse that someone else did something bad to you.” A frighteningly common sentiment on this site.

When it’s low stakes like CAPSLOCKING or internet fights, that’s not such a big deal. But what happens if this attitude leaks into the real world? This isn’t even about Korra or Aang anymore, it’s about toxic mindsets. I didn’t know fans taking pro-Korra posts as anti-Aang was a common in the fandom. I’ll say again I’ve only just gotten really active on Tumblr like the past few months. This is about pacifism itself. MLK and his hardworking, training followers (yes some of them sixteen and POC and not super-powered like Korra) facing down firehoses and staging sit-ins long trained for would shake their heads at this defense of reactionism.

Pacifism is not a Personality Trait.

It is deliberate actions and preparation taken over a period of time.

Then the “fandom police” tried more of this, and these two conversations ensued, the comments with another user resulting in the title and main thesis of this essay:

https://captlok.tumblr.com/post/638777472806273024/avatarfandompolice-response-to-my-independent

https://captlok.tumblr.com/post/638806142933467136/the-plight-was-not-what-i-was-getting-at-it-was

#atla #lok #atlok #atla meta #pacifism #martin luther king #civil rights era #history #blm #mlk #mlkday2021

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bardic-inspo · 4 years ago

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Fic Writer Interview

Thank you for the tag @deacons-wig!! :)

Tagging in turn: @pchberrytea, @diredigression, @gingerbreton, @tanaleth, @valkyriejack if you’d like! No pressure if you don’t! Name: Megh

Fandoms: I really only write for Fallout, but casually partake in other fandoms (like Crit Role, Mass Effect, DA).

Where you post: AO3, which you can find right here. I don’t post full fics on Tumblr, but do include links to them on AO3. Any WIP memes like WIP Wednesday or similar deals are posted on my Tumblr.

Most Popular One-shot: No Rest For the Wicked - a sort of pining thing about Deacon showing up to MacCready and Natasha’s place after the fall of the Institute and some sleepy encounters putting Deacon in close proximity with the pair he’s maybe sort of secretly in like with. Overtures of future polyamory and all that. Your gateway drug into my favorite OT3.

Most Popular Multichap: Bring the Gasoline - my multichapter, in-progress slow-burn MacCready x Sole Survivor fic. Here’s a summary for you:

“Six months, huh? How much fast talking did you do to get here?” “Enough to keep me alive.”

“Really? Cause you don’t act like that’s your goal half the time. Hell, you throw yourself at everything like you’re jumping off a cliff.”

Sole survivor Natasha Sokolova is burning through friends faster than she can make them. Robert Joseph MacCready needs all the caps he can get. Problem is, the smooth-talking woman with a pistol and a job offer turns out to be more trouble than he’s counting on. They’re a match made in hell, but their little partnership might be the only thing that can see them through it.

Favorite story you’ve written so far: Bring the Gasoline is my baby, but so far I think I’ve had the most fun writing No Rest for the Wicked. It was the first thing I posted, nobody really knew I was working on it, and there were zero expectations about it. It was something I wrote purely because I wanted to and no other reason. It was also a huge sigh of relief for me to even hint at what the endgame of Bring the Gasoline is like because I’d been hermit drafting for a year while keeping my trap shut about most of what happens.

Fic you were nervous to post: All of them, every single one. I was a bit nervous about In the Name of Love because it’s sort of an awkward situation. My goal was to balance the awkwardness with tenderness and show a sort of realistic moment where the OT3 have a little hiccup getting used to each other, but they’re helping each other through it. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but I do like how it turned out.

I was also super nervous about We Never Go Anywhere Nice because I’ve never done a gift fic before, and I was kind of trying to do a lot within one oneshot. Naturally, it turned out to be far longer than I initially envisioned, but I’m happy I tried my hand at it.

How do you choose your titles: Whatever strikes me. I try to do something thematic. For my BtG chapter titles, I try to play to themes or something a character says that sort of embodies the idea of that chapter. For my one shots, I’m okay going a little cheesier.

Do you outline: Yes, I do, but I’m sort of ass backwards about it. I have three different outlines going on within each other like some sort of 3D chess operation. I have a pre-outline, which is the outline before I draft the chapter, usually broad or tentative plans with some specifics but not a ton. Then I have my working copy, which is literally in brackets within the document I’m typing the chapter in, and then I delete it out as I progress pass those plot points. And then, when I’m doing revisions, I bullet point every single little detail into a document called “Actual Outline”. I do this specifically in between drafts as a way for me to find plot holes and fill gaps, or see where things maybe need to be changed. Sounds a little backwards, I know, but it has really, really helped my editing process. There’s color-coding for who’s POV it is, and a scene-by-scene breakdown.

Complete: I have two complete one shots, and a third completed three-chapter “one shot”. But, the series those are nested in is ongoing and has no definitive end. It’s just sort of as I feel like it right now.

In progress: Bring the Gasoline is the only major fic I have in progress. I do one shots as they sprout in my brain, but I don’t have any in progress right now. My main focus is getting edited ahead one chapter on BtG so posting comes a little easier in the future.

Coming soon/not yet started: BtG chapter five is about halfway through a new draft, though I’ll want a new draft of chapter six before posting it. I’m making steady headway there. I have a very smutty WIP in mind for the OT3 with a special focus on Nat/Deacon. The prompt is that the two of them are spending a weekend away together, but MacCready has left some specific instructions as to how he wants them to spend some of that time. Like I said, it’s smutty, but I also want it to be sort of emotionally smutty. I wanted to write the OT3s first time together before writing any other smutty one shots for them, but realistically, I need to finish BtG before that could really happen, because spoilers, so it’s this domino effect waiting game. Which...makes me want to just go ahead and write the smutty one shot anyway. So, maybe. We’ll see. 👀 I also have another idea (also smutty) that might be a one-shot or a scene in a future fic. Basically, Nat and Mac and trying to have some intimacy but Deacon is staying with them which makes things tricky. So they seize the opportunity when he’s stepped out for a sec...but, maybe he’s not gone so long as they were thinking.

Prompts?: I sometimes use prompts as a springboard of inspiration, but I’ve found I’m no good with requests. I have a hard time writing something that I’m not personally excited about.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: I am really excited about the Gunners plotline for Bring the Gasoline. It’s my first real foray into canon divergence, and the arc I finished for NaNoWriMo last year, so it’s sort of near and dear to me. And it’s right around the corner - not so far as readers might think! 👀

This is so, so far away, but I also have tentative plans that are starting to have some framework for a multi-chapter fic on how the OT3 get together after Bring the Gasoline. I have a secret wish that this could be my NaNo project next year, but that would involve getting a lot done with BtG, so we’ll see.

#megh fights the page #writing #writeblr #bring the gasoline #my writing #reclamations #fanfic

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tinkiisms · 5 years ago

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK (it depends bc generally ppl will definitely sexualize her--esp the 1953 version--but in the DF fanbase itself I feel like mostly ppl fawn over other characters rather than Tink herself)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Are they underrated? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL

How strictly do you follow canon?

I try to keep pretty true to canon when it comes to Tinker Bell’s characterization, though I’m also a big fan of AUs and exploring lots of different plots that might be unlikely for the original character, so I guess I don’t “strictly” follow canon.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

Tink is a 5 inch tall fairy who can use pixie dust to make magic happen--including flight! If people don’t believe in her, she’ll die. She’s extremely emotionally volatile, but she’s a very loyal girl so if she likes someone she’ll absolutely sacrifice herself for their sake. (But if she doesn’t, she’ll be the one organizing their death.) Her name is Tinker Bell because she works with metal, repairing pots and pans, but also she just invents a bunch o’ crap like a tiny MacGyver. If there is ever a rule in her way, she will go out of her way to break it like stepping on dead leaves on the sidewalk.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).

She’s a basic bitch? IDC how 2D the fanbase thinks she is based on which one of the canon portrayals they’ve seen of her. With all the adaptations I’ve consumed and can combine inspiration from to form a fully fleshed out character, I like my interpretation.

What inspired you to rp your muse?

Well...TBH I started out in this fanbase with an indie blog for Prilla, and then Terence. I first started playing Tink as just one of the possible takers of questions (among the rest of all fairies in the kingdom) on an ask blog for the Disney Fairies, 6 years ago.

I think I might have started writing her there just enough, or got deep enough in my reading/viewing Peter Pan media at some point, to take some interest in having a separate blog just for role-playing her, which I made. The original one I actually deleted after a couple months as far as I remember, but then I ended up remaking and have been on this same account for the past 5 years!

So, for the fact that this is my longest-lasting role-play (and writing in general) experience I’ve had, the strength of my inspiration for this one character and every little detail about her life and every possibility for her in alternate universes and in various situations with random characters...she was really the one who snuck up on me!

She wasn’t my favorite character BEFORE I started writing her, but she grew and grew in my heart until she’s all I think about.

What keeps your inspiration going?

I love Tinker Bell. Even if I become less active when life flares up for periods of time, then I’ll just remember that I love Tinker Bell and I want to come back and write about her. If I loved her any less she’d end up like the rest of my abandoned blogs/characters I’ve once played. But she sticks!

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO (I feel like people aren’t really interested unless it’s something that comes up in a thread)

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO (Again, I feel like who cares unless I’m writing for their thread specifically?)

Do you think a lot about your muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO (I would like to be better than I am)

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

I don’t think I’ve ever really received criticism about my portrayal, and I don’t mean that like “everybody thinks I’m perfect” but just that I’ve never reblogged a meme asking for anonymous crit, and nobody has ever just given me criticism unprompted either, so I don’t know how well I’d receive it!

I can say how I’d probably feel. Honestly, depending on the criticism, I would try to to understand it from an objective point of view and see whether it’s something I want to change/adapt, but if it’s something I disagree with (because we’re talking about portrayal which I take to mean “my personal interpretation of Tinker Bell’s characterization” which is the one thing I’m content with here) I would point out why I feel like my portrayal is justifiable.

If it’s criticism on my actual writing, I’ll definitely be open to learning and developing more--it’s just portrayal of the muse is so personal and subjective anyway that if someone really has a problem with my Tink....I don’t really care? Just find a different one, then. My Tink is going to be my Tink regardless of whether others appreciate my vision of her or not.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?

Sure! I almost never get character-building asks (even when I reblog memes for them) but I definitely welcome them and would love to have more!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

Might as well. We can definitely discuss WHY we each have a different interpretation, but in the end I’m going to have my own headcanons and they can have theirs. If I change my mind, then I have a new perspective, but if not then nothing is lost either!

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

I’m not gonna take it personally. If they prefer a different interpretation, it’s totally fine to not follow mine and look for another one! I’m just here to have fun with a few people I really like writing with, not to be the “best” or most popular version of my character out there.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

Roll my eyes and move on. I understand why some people don’t like the character, so it’s not like I’m gonna waste any effort defending her from hate--it’s their prerogative. I’ll just ignore it and love her extra.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

Yeah, if there’s anything I’m consistently doing wrong, please feel free to point it out! Some things are just typos and don’t get caught before being posted, but if there’s something you’ve noticed me doing multiple times so it’s obviously an error of my understanding rather than a mistype, I would love to be able to fix it and become a better writer.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?

More or less! I don’t bug anybody about replies, you can definitely take your time or drop things with me. I’m pretty chill to talk to OOC as well, if I do say so myself. I’m actually probably the one ppl need to be “easy going” with because I never reply to threads or texts soon enough, I’m horrible at keeping conversations going...But that’s what people have to put up with if they like writing with me, the saints <3

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

➸ Tagger: @wendyfulmother

➸ Tagging: anybody who wants to, you’re tagged. (if you don’t want to, you are not tagged)

#long post #⊹*⋅✧ | ᵒᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵏᵉᵗᵗᶫᵉˢ (ooc)#thank you for tagging me sweet!!

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lattetimes · 6 years ago

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Full Thoughts on: Steven!

i’m gonna try to keep this as short as i can.

DISCLAIMER: yes, this post is going to include SU Critical things in it- this is a crit blog so that’s to be expected from me. these are just my opinions, and if you disagree with them then that’s okay!!

also, if this post winds up in the main tag, please let me know ASAP. i’m trying to keep it from popping up in the main tag and keep it in the SU Crit tag instead.

1. my first thoughts on Steven

from the start of the show, i had mostly good things to say about Steven himself. he’s a very positive and happy kid that is unashamedly emotional and openly expresses how much he loves the people around him. and i personally loved the fact that he was open about his emotions and wasn’t afraid to cry or to show others compassion, even if they seem to be someone that was undeserving of kindness since they were kind of a bully (Lars specifically). his powers are directly linked to his own emotions, and i’m a huge fucking sucker for that kind of stuff i won’t lie.

he’s raised by 3 nonbinary women that are each his hero since they’re all strong and caring in their own unique ways (Amethyst is the “cool mom” and encourages Steven’s more playful/adventurous side ; Pearl is the “responsible doting mother” that wants to keep Steven safe and teach him about Homeworld ; Garnet- and by extension Ruby & Sapphire- is the “passionate and wise mom” that provides Steven with insight and even gives him confidence in his decisions) that provide unconditional love to him. he’s taught to be compassionate from these 3 mother figures and his father (who is constantly working and trying to provide him a good life), and is told stories of how his mother loves humans and loved the planet and also loved him. even though he has a very unique familial situation, he loves all four of them equally and respects all of them as individuals.

he’s a fat boy that’s not ashamed to be fat, and he’s an emotional boy that’s not afraid to cry or to admit that he’s scared, doesn’t understand what’s going on, and he’s not ashamed to talk about his feelings. he’s willing to give others a chance, and he wants to heal those that were hurt. he wants to right any wrongs he’s committed, and he wants the Crystal Gems to understand that he’s still a part of their team and family, even though he’s still young and trying to understand himself.

2. Steven now is... kinda irritating.

as of right now, i have to say that my opinions on Steven have changed drastically. i’m really not a fan of the direction Steven is going in, and a lot of it revolves around the “Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond” reveal. he thinks that he can try to “fix the broken family” that is the Diamond Authority (even though they are literally all space tyrants, like he said in the show in the latest season). and that’s something that made me very uncomfortable.

having Steven criticize and then randomly idolize Rose was very confusing- having Steven and Pearl confront Sapphire and tell her that Rose wasn’t in the wrong for lying to all of them was very messed up, and it made me so upset with those two characters and the show in general. Rose literally led so many Gems to their deaths on both sides of the war, and that was not okay at all. she lied to everyone. she could’ve gone as just herself and started the Gem revolution and gain even more support from rebelling Gems!

and Steven feels like he’s now responsible for all of his mother’s fuck-ups and should be in charge of “fixing” the Diamonds, and that’s disturbing. and he’s so nonchalant about these things and still wants to forgive the Diamonds after they locked him in a fucking torture box and he discovers that White Diamond’s Pearl was actually Pink Pearl but fucking tortured (or “fixed”). i understand him wanting to negotiate with the Diamonds at first, but why in the hell does he believe that they’re “secretly good people, they’re just misunderstood!” when they literally kill planets as a career. their murals literally show the amount of planets they’ve conquered and destroyed just for their own sake. like dude, what the fu-

3. How I’d change Steven

personally, i think Steven shouldn’t be so adamant on wanting to redeem the Diamonds (which is something a LOT of SU Crit blogs agree with in general).

what’d i’d change immediately is how he views Rose and the Diamonds in general. i don’t think he’d be okay with them at all after seeing how the corrupted gems were suffering and seeing the Cluster itself. seeing Garnet tremble from the thought of Blue Diamond, seeing Peridot terrified after standing up to Yellow Diamond, seeing how Pearl felt like she was completely worthless as an individual, and then Amethyst constantly being called “wrong” for being outside of the mold of a regular Amethyst are all reason enough for him to be completely against the idea of redeeming the Diamonds.

they’re dictators. they’re tyrants. they hurt his friends. one of them kidnapped his father, had a fucking human zoo and called Connie a fucking pet (i’m STILL not over that, and it’s STILL disgusting)! he should be conflicted in wanting to even talk to them. like jesus, man!

i’m gonna go back and add more to this post as i keep thinking more about it, but overall Steven’s character has lost his charm for me completely. he’s irritating and tells everyone to “accept their abusers because they’re sad and it’s making them sad” like no. fuck that. i’m sorry, but no.

#spilled latte #long post #su criticism #su critical

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intergalactix · 7 years ago

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Writer’s Quiz

Tagged by my sis @teknon - thank you! <3

Below a cut for length~

1. When you start a story, do you usually have a general plot overview or do you make it up as you go?

For novelly stuff, I’m making it a habit to outline before getting too deep into it so that I don’t write myself into a corner. Even so, pretty much all of my stories start with a random scene (or multiple) that I build a plot around after.

2. What’s your preferred POV to write from?

Deep POV. I like being able to blend my own narrative voice with those of my main characters. I want to get in their heads as much as possible while still being the one narrating the story. Plus, I generally prefer reading third person perspective without any head hopping. Makes it a lot easier to follow as both a writer and a reader.

3. Do you write fan or original fiction?

Both. Eventually, I’ll transition to mostly original fiction with the occasional indulgent fanfic, but right now I just write whatever I have the ideas for lol

4. Which one do you prefer?

I enjoy writing from the perspectives of my own characters, which is something I do in both fic and original work presently. I don’t think I prefer one over the other. They both have their pluses and minuses.

5. For fan fiction writers, do you like using AUs or canon settings better and why?

Canon settings, but I don’t hold canon up on a pedestal by any means.

6. What’s your favorite platform to post your work to?

AO3.

7. How do you feel about unsolicited criticism?

Concrit was the standard practice in the writing communities I grew up in, as well as in school when I studied writing. It’s pretty much ingrained in me that anything I share with the public is subject to criticism by default, and that includes criticism from people I don’t know. Whether you want it or not, criticism is a necessary component in becoming a better writer. If that is your ultimate goal, you shouldn’t shut down an opportunity to learn something new and grow as a creator.

While I prefer to get criticism from sources I trust (by that I mean from people who I know will be honest with me, who have good intentions, and who know what they’re talking about), I’ve also received valuable crit from strangers who didn’t ask permission beforehand. In my opinion, learning how too write also means learning how to differentiate between good crit and bad crit. That can come from anyone, unsolicited or not. There is also a difference between criticism and being flamed.

I ask people first if they’re open to receiving concrit if I’m not sure where they stand, because I think that’s polite, but yeah. At least as far as I’m concerned, receiving unsolicited criticism is something I’m used to and not necessarily opposed to.

8. Again, for fic writers, what’s your favorite fandom to write for?

Any fandom that gives me the freedom to create my own characters and tell their stories, so usually an RPG fandom of some sort. Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Star Wars, etc.

9. What is it about a certain character/relationship/fandom that inspires you to write about them?

There are certain tropes that are basically themes in my work. I’m a big fan of the concept of found family and often incorporate that into my stories, because those are very fun character dynamics to explore, and are basically written like a wish-fulfillment fantasy. I’m a big fan of scifi and fantasy as well, and stories told in those settings often inspire me to write fic or will inspire my original pieces.

10. Do you do much research before starting a piece?

If the work calls for it, then yep. I like to be as accurate as possible. Sometimes that means having 6+ fandom wiki pages open in tabs to make sure you’ve got your setting nailed down. Sometimes it means researching how people die from different kinds of fatal injuries.

Writing is only dull if you let it be that way lol

#tag meme thing

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everyurlithinkofistoolong · 3 years ago

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Also the whole "transphobic, racist, homophobia" trifecta accusations was pretty hollow since we all know the rwby fndm has its fair share of asshole dudebros on both "sides" (even if you want to call it that).

This just seems to be the same situation with the whole "stop posting negativity on the RWBY tag" Tumblr fndm discourse. While it's good manners to refrain from posting an obnoxious amount of negativity about a piece of media in it's tags, it's not *banned* to do so. Many people view tagging #rwby on all their rwby-related posts, positive or negative, as common sense. Then you get anons cursing you out for posting something they don't like in the rwby tag as if they own the place. Often people will be considerate co-tag #rwde or #rwbycrit to make it easier for people to blacklist, but at its core its not a problem with someone posting negativity in the main tag- otherwise they could just blacklist/block and move on. Those people usually have a problem with the fact that you're posting it at all (it's a small minority but I've seen people in the fndm receive harassment for this).

It's similar to this situation. No where in r/RWBY rules does it say negativity or crit is not allowed. Whether it's an asshole move is another question, and that's up to personal preferences because it's subjective (personally I think it is an asshole move, but that's just my opinion). r/RWBY is a general subreddit for the show to have discussions, post fanart, episodic reviews, etc. The generality *includes* negativity and positivity. No one is stopping a r/RWBYpositivity subreddit that banned negitivity and criticism from being made. Hell, political subs do it all the time! But the RWBY fndm tends to run on the assumption that to be a "true fan" you need to be 100% positive and unquestioning 100% of the time. It's that's just... Not feasible. For any piece of media.

(Which is like, first of all, kinda cringe if I'm going to be honest. But also, it's a web series, it really isn't that deep.)

And if you don't abide by that, then you're not really a fan, you're just part of the ""HTDM"". Yes, are there people who are just negative to be negative and don't really care? Yes. But fans will just throw that label around like it's candy. But I digress.

But transphobia, racism, and homophobia is banned, so if they can't ban criticism, they'll accuse r/rwbycriticism of that and move on. Which is freaking insane. And genuinely hard to take seriously when a huge faction of the fndm takes disliking bm/blb as a sign that someone hates gays with a passion, or some shit (completely side stepping the fact that you can be LGBT and dislike a ship lol why do I even need to say that).

Yes, are there people who are subbed to r/rwbycriticism who are bigots? Absolutely, there are probably quite a few as with all groups above 200 people. But those people are also probably subbed to and active in r/RWBY. But yet their bigotry is defined by them being in one sub and not the other? By that logic, the mods of r/rwbycritics could blanket ban everyone from r/rwby for bigotry by just saying that they all happen to be subbed to r/RWBY as well. Or r/fnki. Or any rwby-related sub. It wouldn't be any different, because *all* of these subs have rules against bigotry, and none of them explicitly provide a safe haven for it.

(also the accusation of that there was some sort of mass comment brigade is insane- r/RWBY has 10x more active users than r/rwbycritics (which is in the few thousands). If by comment brigade they meant theyve seen more people being negative, then perhaps that's a sign of the times not some smaller sub somehow terrorizing you)

And btw I have seen some absolute shit takes on r/rwbycritics, so I'm not some sort of ardent defender of it's sanctity. Hell, I remember a post where someone accused RWBY of ripping off Soul Eater, just because both ruby and the main character from the other show uses a scythe as a weapon. They also accused it of ripping off ATLA because somehow they thought that silver eyed warriors and the avatar abilities are somehow similar in the fact that it's "passed down", when that's not even the case.

There are annoying nitpicks, baseless accusations, and all the same bs you will find in any fndm space if you dig deep enough. But for the most part there are some good conversations, and you can tell that at least most the people who interact with you actually enjoy the show to an extent and want to discuss it on a deeper level. A lot for them spent quite a lot of time writing fanfiction for the show, which is something not even most ardent fans will do. But I'm not going to lie and say that the sub doesn't tilt to negativity, but it's also not this cesspool of evil thought crimes that the fndm seems to think it is.

I’m not even IN the rwbycriticism subreddit, but this is E M B A R R A S S I N G

Imagine banning anyone who frequents an entirely different subreddit because you just can’t stand any criticism of your show THAT MUCH

#rwde #discourse #rwby #this is all just so childish.... yall are all adults ACT like it

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itsbenedict · 7 years ago

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No Driver’s License: Session 7

[adventure log- from the beginning]

[session 6]

[omakes 6.1 and 6.2]

Last time on No Driver’s License, the team recuperated from a long day spent fighting monsters and witches and evil girls who summon giant ghost sharks. They sat around the fire and shared tragic backstories, growing closer as a team and earning a few points of Hope.

Also, Tama-chan showed up and gave them the main quest! Specifically, she told them what the main quest was (stopping some very strong badguys), and then informed them that she’d given up on it and that it was a stupid idea to try and give them the quest in the first place, and apologized for trying to get them involved. Predictably, the team’s response was “fuck you, we’re going to do the main quest anyway!”, which I will personally take credit for as a brilliant stroke of GMing prowess, thank you, thank you.

less brilliant was how they ended up totally alienating their helpful guide and driving her off entirely, such that i was left without a mouthpiece character, but HEY THAT’S DRAMA

This time, the party ends up having to contend with...

Bain à la Grenouillère by Claude Monet. Uh... okay??? Sure???

So, first off, after everyone went home, they all took some action based on what they wanted to accomplish.

Sakura started doing some internet research, on top of her primary objective of “read a lot of magical girl manga for helpful tips”. Her search for magic phenomena turned up a couple things- one, a well-documented sighting of an inexplicable Gundam above Tokyo that’s been causing a stir amongst conspiracy theorists; and two, a rash of unexplained mass narcolepsy incidents across the world, probably linked to the appearance of witch barriers.

Makoto just wanted to figure out how to live in the real world- and so she’s been enrolled in school. She’s been placed in remedial classes, and- her player, koholitl, was unable to participate in the session this week due to medical problems, so Makoto’s just going to spend her time in those classes- with her good roll, she’s earned an extra point of Real from her lessons.

Seina also rolled Keep Up With Life, like Makoto- but she got a very very bad roll, and so unfortunately for her, she’s facing the consequences of “suddenly disappearing one night while staying over at Reiko’s, and not telling her parents where she was”. She’s... super grounded! Except for school, but her dad is a teacher at school, so she’s under near-constant supervision now. Whoops!

Ibara, meanwhile, decided to hit the streets looking for info. Specifically, she tracked down her delinquent buddies from school- Nails and Shibu. She asked them if they knew Yamauchi Yoshe, and... turns out they do! Yoshe’s an upperclassman at their high school, and they super duper hate her. Not because they know she’s an evil magic cannibal- it’s just she won a beauty pageant at the school festival and they’re super bitter about it because fuck the popular kids.

Yukari was tagging along with Ibara, but got distracted on the way to the school- she finally found Nishi-chan, and broke off to go chase her. Nishi-chan, though, was apparently headed for the same place- when she finally corners Nishi-chan at the school, it’s in view of Ibara and her delinquent friends.

So that’s where we begin the session!

Yukari doesn’t beat around the bush, and takes Nishi-chan to the rooftop where they can talk without being overheard. She... does this by straight-up jumping up to the roof in plain view of Nails and Shibu, which causes them to freak out and forces Ibara to have to confess that she’s involved in some Weird Magic Shit™.

Nishi-chan says that she came to the school to try and defuse a crisis- someone in the school is on the verge of witching out, according to her vague senses about this sort of thing. She asks if anyone in the party is in bad shape emotionally, but as far as Yukari knows, everyone’s fine- and Reiko just witched out like yesterday, so it probably wouldn’t be her.

So, Nishi-chan concludes, it must be one of the at-least-five other magical girls in the school.

WHAT? Yukari asks, and Nishi-chan begins spilling the beans. A lot of magical girls go to this school, apparently! She indicates that three of the girls at this school are the big bads Tama-chan mentioned, confirming that they include Yamauchi Yoshe and Katou Kimiko. She also mentions- without stating their affiliations exactly- Otsuki Orino, an upperclassman in the art club, and Akagi Anzu, a freshman. She’s about to name a third, but...

There’s an earthquake. A very short earthquake. A massive dust cloud rises from the baseball diamond on the school grounds, visible to the entire party save Makoto. Sakura and Seina are in the same chemistry class, and manage to slip away as the classroom empties in a blind panic. Yukari’s on the roof, and has a clear view. Ibara and her friends can also see it- and she instructs them to run like hell.

Yukari rolls for Prophecy and only gets one for this session- and decides to save it rather than check whether they should intervene. Of course they should intervene, and she wants to be able to ask a more useful question once they know what they’re intervening in.

Ibara is the first to arrive on the scene, stepping through the barrier and bucking tradition by succeeding on a Real roll.

The witch- Ｐａｉｎ à ｌａＧｒｅｎｏｕｉｌｌèｒｅ, which yes I realize technically would be read as Bread a la Grenouillere instead of a badass thing, but shut up- is the tree island thing in the center of the painting. It’s way scribblier than in the painting, though, with unintelligible love letters instead of leaves. The people in the painting are all stick figures wearing better-rendered clothing, and they turn into stick mermaids in the water that attack people- the witch’s familiars. (This witch is a Hive Mother youma, in Magical Burst’s parlance).

It’s not alone, though- apparently someone is already fighting the witch!

The mysterious girl seems to be begging the witch to stop attacking, trying to appeal to it with reason. This, of course, has little effect. On noticing Ibara, she waves, and tries to explain what’s going on.

Seina and Sakura follow into the barrier, with Yukari staying outside to keep watch for any evil megucas who might try to ambush the team while they’re inside. They both roll Real.

They manage to fend off the familiars and climb into a boat- and from there, we roll for our first Skirmish!

Ibara and Seina roll Go on the Offensive! Ibara scores a crit, getting two hits on the witch. Seina... fails her roll, so familiars sneak up and yank her off the boat and underwater. Sakura, then, rolls Protect Someone to ensure Seina doesn’t take a Personal Consequence from the fight- and nails the roll, saving her. (Which... I mean, a valid Personal Consequence is taking Trauma, and Seina has yet to acquire any totally harmless experience points of that sort, so was that really a heroic move???)

With the mystery girl’s additional Hit, the Skirmish ends with Spread+1 (only 2 Spread), and the witch is vanquished handily.

Ibara immediately rolls against the stranger to try and claim the Grief Seed.

Mystery girl gets the seed! She gets it real good! And she...

Whoever she is, she apparently knows about the cannibalism situation, and was worried that Ibara had dark intentions.

The group tries to convince her that they’re on the same side- that they’re really just there to help, and didn’t want to eat... the girl’s referring to the former witch as “Ori-san”. ??? isn’t totally convinced- partially because the team showed up without an Incubator to revive her.

Wait, without an incubator? Yukari turns around to check where Nishi-chan should be, and... oh, shit.

At the same time, ??? is noticing that her Incubator- “Fumi-chan”- is also not showing up. This gets her a little bit panicked, especially once Yukari reports that Nishi-chan is temporarily dead for like the third fucking time, jesus christ. Everyone’s seriously on edge, ??? thinks they’re cannibals, and suddenly...

What everyone except Seina didn’t notice (good job Seina! +1 Hope for smartness!) is that telepathy was still working, meaning that an Incubator had to still be alive, probably.

This is confirmed when the source of the laughter turns out to be an incubator, who jumps out of the dugout laughing her goddamn head off.

??? is about to hand the seed over to Fumi-chan, but Ibara interrupts, asking why Fumi-chan has two eyes instead of three. ???, though, doesn’t seem to find this strange- Fumi-chan’s always had two eyes. No reason to be suspicious.

Fumi-chan then spits out the soul gem, and- rather than any sort of horrible trap happening- it regenerates into a girl.

According to ???, this is pretty normal for Ori-san.

Yukari makes a guess.

The team decides to warn Emiko about the cannibal girls who go to this school. She seems shocked by this information- but hints that maybe Orino, who was being bullied, was being bullied by those cannibal girls specifically so they could make her witch out and eat her.

Then the team asks Emiko to follow them somewhere where they can talk without potentially being ambushed by the cannibals- since it’s pretty suspicious that they haven’t shown up yet, what with the loud explosion sounds and whatnot. Emiko doesn’t immediately trust this- she still has no reason to think the party aren’t cannibals, and following them to a secluded area sounds to her like a bad bad idea.

Yukari comes up with an idea, then. She spends a prophecy on a certain action she’s about to take, and finds that the outcome-goodness stays pretty much neutral if she does it, save for a few significant but unlikely dips. She goes ahead with it.

This is a pretty cool idea, and Emiko is about to trust them! But...

Yeah, this piece of shit doesn’t want them to trust each other, for some reason. Yukari... attempts to bypass Fumi-chan’s objection.

Yukari’s extremely practical and effective idea to which there can be no objections is, unfortunately, sabotaged by Fumi-chan again.

(Behind the curtain for a second here- I typed out “Her body could be concealing traps” as just like, an obvious immediate generic objection to the search plan, and only after typing it realized the horrible offensive double-entendre. And then... kept it in, because Fumi-chan really is just a gigantic piece of shit who would absolutely make a godawful joke like that specifically to make Sakura feel bad. What a fucker!)

Sakura takes a point of Trauma on Fear of Female Failure, and Ibara tries to get things back on track.

This doesn’t entirely work, since Sakura has fled the scene in tears, pursued by Seina, but Yukari and Ibara fill Emiko in on the known identities of the cannibals- including Yamauchi Yoshe.

KOTONO YUKARI, MASTER OF TACT

Emiko is in denial about Yoshe, and starts getting really defensive. Yoshe can’t be a cannibal! She’s- she’s too nice! That’s impossible!!!

fuckin... shut your telepathic mouth, Fumi-chan.

Anyway, Emiko is eager to change the subject, and starts talking about taking care of Orino. They agree to let Emiko take the unconscious Orino to the nurse’s office. “Why’s she asleep, anyway?” someone asks.

They exchange contact information- and Emiko tells them what class she’s in.

So they head off, and Yukari and Ibara try to track down Sakura- who’s shut herself up in a bathroom to try and stave off a mental breakdown.

Seina gets there first.

Sakura’s about to confess something to Seina, but then Yukari, MASTER OF TACT, barges in with Ibara. They try to understand why Sakura is upset, but- since they don’t know Sakura’s trans, they don’t understand what Fumi-chan said to hurt her.

Eventually, Sakura decides to confess to the entire group.

To the group’s credit, nobody is particularly upset by the revelation. There’s no “WHAT, you’re REALLY a BOY?!?” shit- but also, there’s not a lot in the way of emotional support for Sakura. Yukari’s attitude is essentially “What? Why would that bother you? Who cares? Fighting evil is more important!”, and it takes a while for anyone to interrupt her rant about how Sakura’s emotions don’t matter and she needs to suck it up. Sakura boils over and throws a candy axe at the wall, shattering a mirror.

This finally gets Ibara and Seina to speak up and object to what Yukari’s saying. They get Yukari to back off, and try to reassure Sakura while also clearing up what turned out to be a miscommunication. Yukari, who is about as capable of reading the mood as a cat would be of reading a “do not claw at” sign, had assumed that Sakura was literally scheming to assassinate an incubator rather than asking for emotional support- and changes her tune to “...well, duh, we’ll support you, that’s what friends do, you should have known that”. Which is kind of a really transparent attempt to deflect blame for hurting Sakura’s feelings, but apparently that’s good enough. Hugs for everyone!

They then spend something like fifteen minutes attempting to repair the broken mirror. Sakura’s magic, when used to repair objects, has an irritating tendency to leave them with a cartoon watermark of her face going ;P, completely without her intending to do so. (It’d be fine if she ever rolled an 11-14, but APPARENTLY THAT’S JUST IMPOSSIBLE). Ibara smashes and Sakura repairs the mirror over and over again, to no avail. The last attempt results in...

Screw the mirror! It probably just broke in the earthquake or something! Whatever!!!!

Seina, at this point, goes back to class- but the rest have one last loose end to tie up.

They head back up to the roof, where Nishi-chan’s corpse is still sitting. It is time for CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: MAGIC VICTIMS UNIT (ft. guest star Maurice Mousse, Sakura’s magic familiar.)

Yukari takes some photos, and she and Sakura inspect the scene, passing Real rolls to investigate.

Yukari investigates the air conditioners, but doesn’t find anything. Maurice Mousse, Ace Pet Mouse Detective, manages to turn up a few clues.

Unfortunately, they don’t find enough information to determine the culprit. With magic involved, there’s any number of potential causes of death- they’ll just need to ask Nishi-chan next time she respawns.

The real mystery, though... why kill Nishi-chan, but not Yukari, who was right there when Nishi-chan was silently killed? Was she deliberately left alive? Why?

For now, the team’s gone back to what they were doing. Tune in next time, when... well, I won’t say what happens next time.

#no driver's license #magical burst #transphobia cw and slurs cw in this one #fuckin god damn fumi-chan

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