#sorry to the 5 people who follow me who are getting inundated with reblogs right now

[arom-antix]

Link to the other thread about this topic for anyone who hasn't read that version of the post. It explores stuff about Japanese spelling, unfounded expert bias, accepting mistakes, accepting other people, the whole acephobia discourse, etc. including responses from @rikeijo. Massive thanks to them for their take on the situation.

Anyway, I've been thinking about this reblog for a bit, and it's also not 4am now, so I'd like to add some context to this whole "off-putting attitude" discussion for those who aren't in the trenches. First, here's a link to the anon ask and answer mentioned by prev in case anyone hasn't seen that. If Samurai is reading this and is rushing to delete or alter that post, too late, I have it all as a screenshot. If anyone wants that screenshot, feel free to DM me. Feel free to DM me about anything regarding this or anything else tbh, whether it's to get a deeper explanation, to share your own screenshots without wanting to become part of the drama publically, or to rip my head off and call me a bigot. Use your free speech. Chop chop, Filip and give this debunker boy a treat to read (if you get that reference, I love you).

As has been established, Samurai cares a lot about engagement and has publically posted about this many times, specifically lamenting their inability to retain readership and whining about people not being eternally loyal to their fics. See below screenshots from their BlueSky to get an idea of what I mean:

(Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

Break for those who want a usable dash.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm going so hard on this. Everyone wants engagement online, why is this bad? And you're right, it's not bad if that's the whole story. The issue I have with this is the eternal whining about people not paying enough attention but then also not actually acknowledging when people give you genuine criticism about why your way of posting is off-putting. And like prev said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using your social medias however you please, but you also have to be aware that the readers you're trying to retain read these posts too. They see all of them just like they see the story updates and funny posts. That sucks, yeah, but that's the nature of posting everything on the same socials. If you want to separate your personal posts from your writing posts, you have to actually physically do that by having different accounts. Then the people who only want the writing updates can just not follow the personal update account.

And you have to realise that if a reader continuously gets updates from you that whine and moan about how you can't retain readership and how maybe you're just boring or how your fics are flops, they're going to feel accused. I don't care that you don't intend to do that. That's how it comes across. If a loyal reader is inundated with posts about how the support currently being given isn't enough and that that's making the author sad, then that reader is going to feel ignored and like their support is being belittled. I'm sorry, that's just how it is. You cannot both insist that you're an ignored underdog (see Fig. 16) that no one likes and hope to retain a large fanbase. That's not how humans work.

(Also the (I'm not fishing for compliments) addition under a post that's about AO3 bookmarks being treated like the end of the world is quite rich to me. You're allowed to be upset, of course you are, but removing a bookmark isn't necessarily a personal attack. People's tastes change. They clean up. Maybe they just don't like you anymore. With how many posts and statements you have about blocking people you don't like, I'd expect you to not take offence to others doing the same)

I'm also going to put these posts here. They just amuse me a lot considering who's posting/reposting them.

(Fig. 10, 11, 12, 13)

For anyone wondering about the post being referenced in Fig. 10, this is the one. I've already talked about the ace stuff in this post so I'm not going to repeat myself here. I just thought y'all should have the full context.

(Fig. 14)

And then there's this repost which is RICH coming from someone who routinely insults and belittles other members of the fanbase for simply having different takes. Yeah, Samurai. Stop being so critical. It's boring.

(Fig. 15)

Am I being petty? Probably. Do I care? Not really considering real people have been really hurt by this person's actions. They belittle the fandom they claim to be a part of, they criticise people for simply not approaching fandom like a master's degree, they claim to be so mature and yet is far more immature themselves to the point where I thought they were a teenager due to their seeming inability to take accountability and understand that their word is not law. I don't care that you like academic approaches. I don't care that you're sad you missed the "top-tier analyses" (Fig. 16) made in the past. This does not give you the right to demean an entire community simply because you're so high up on your horse that you can't just let people be and enjoy fandom however they please. You champion your own right to approach fandom how you like. Stop belittling other people's right to do the same.

If anyone is questioning their attitude towards the current YOI fandom and their percieved place in it:

(Fig. 16, 17, 18)

(Side note: Fig. 18 is such an underhanded dig at the fandom, I'm slightly flabberghasted that someone would actually type this with such a post history and general attitude. This is honestly embarrassing and kind of hurts to read. Don't even get me started on Fig. 17.)

And then this is the end of their pinned post on their blog:

(Fig. 19)

I'm sorry, but you can't whine and hide behind "I'm insecure" when people get mad at you for treating them like rubbish. If they have to be kind, so do you. The rules apply to you just as much as they do to other people. I unfortunately don't have a screenshot, but on BlueSky (iirc roughly a month or so ago?) you at one point posted about having anxiety and depression, and that's too bad, but I really do not care. Having a mental illness is not an excuse to treat others poorly (have diagnosed and highly medicated anxiety myself and don't look down on others for not doing what I want. Funny how that works). It might explain poor behaviour, but you're still responsible for your actions and rectifying any bad behaviour you display. You have to say sorry even if you did something on accident or while in a bad headspace. Just to make it extremely clear to you:

YOU DO NOT GET TO PICK AND CHOOSE WHEN THE RULES APPLY TO YOU.

They either apply to everyone equally, or they don't apply at all. And don't come in here going "But what about this very specific case?" That's called whataboutism, and I frankly do not have the patience for your whining attempts to derail the discussion. I don't know whether you're even reading this, Samurai, and I don't actually care that much. I don't believe you have enough ability to introspect to understand what I'm trying to tell you, and this post is a lot more for the people who you've used and manipulated than it's for you. I don't believe I can get through to you. But I do believe I can get through to your mutuals and followers and anyone else who might be reading this, because they don't deserve to be dragged into whatever this shitshow that is your online presence is.

It's frankly embarrasing for you that you're in your 40's. If you were a teenager, I'd just have ignored you, because you'd probably have learned how to not be utterly insufferable with time. However, you might be a parent to people the age that you act like, and while I doubt this thread will make any real impact on your behaviour, I'm hoping someone else can take this information and use it to make sure they don't fall for your tricks or anyone else who might be more dangerous. You're not a dangerous person. You're frankly just an immature embarrassment, and I cringe at the though that any children you might have have to deal with having a parent as childish as you. Do better. You owe the world at least that much. And if you can't change, then don't come whining to the fandom you belittle when you get what's coming to you.

In case anyone isn't familiar with Samurai's type and how they present themselves, here's an introduction Samurai wrote in a Tumblr comment section (that I unfortunately don't have a link to but you get the idea):

(Fig. 20)

Don't fall for this. Regardless of whether Samurai believes they're actually like this, it's not how they actually act. "[...] try to dispel the myths that have been circulating in the fandom for ages." is code for "I don't respect other people's opinions and interpretations of canon." Samurai likely disagrees but I'm sorry, Samurai, that's what this is. That's what this means in terms of your behaviour. The same applies to "You won't find any weird takes on my blog." This is a classic example of someone having absolutely no selfawareness of the fact that their opinion of "weird" is not universal. It's an absolutist statement of an opinion as if it were fact, and as I mentioned in my original reply to Blonndiec's ask, that's not a new thing for Samurai to do. It's very much a pattern. Don't fall for it. If ANYONE (including me or people you trust) says stuff like their blog being free of "weird takes", do not listen, and do not believe them. That is an opinion. It is not a fact. Don't take it as one.

And just to add some more fuel to the fire, here Samurai is accusing someone of plagiarism:

(Fig. 21, 22)

(Link to Vic's analysis btw)

What's so bad about that, you may ask? Plagiarism is bad and should be called out and yes, that I agree with. The issue is that the plagiarism being alleged is, and let me make this very clear, an analysis of a canon event that is just about the most analysed even in a 12 episode show. I'm not saying plagiarism isn't real just because a scene is popular or a show is short, but this scene is literally about a minute long and is, again, a very talked about scene. Coming to the same conclusions about the same one minute of runtime is basically guaranteed to happen every once in a while, especially when you have eight years of fans doing this. These two analyses being posted close to one another in time is just as likely as it being intentional plagiarism. Calm down. You're not important enough for people to bother plagiarising you.

And considering Samurai believes their interpretations are the most correct according to canon and that anyone who doesn't share those views is illiterate (I can't find that screenshot rn, you're free to doubt my claim), shouldn't it be good that Vic came to the same conclusions? Doesn't that mean that Samurai's analysis is being backed up and that Vic is not illiterate? But Vic's analysis gained more traction and that's apparently enough to accuse the fandom of being a waste of time and energy (Fig. 22).

I'm sorry, Samurai, but as someone who claims to not be new to all of this, I thought you'd know that sometimes traction is random and doesn't have anything to do with quality or correctness. Sometimes you're just unlucky, and that's no one's fault. Or maybe the world is actually out to get you, and you're a victim of the universe and everyone in it. I can't prove or disprove that. But I will say that I don't blame anyone for not wanting to interact with your posts. I haven't seen your version of this analysis so I can't comment on how you phrased yourself or whether Vic was directly lifting your words into their own analysis, that could very well be, I have no proof for or against that. If anyone has a link to Samurai's meta (I didn't happen upon it in my scrolling for whatever reason), I'd love to read it and compare it to Vic's. But regardless of Vic's behaviour, I would not be surprised if the reason people aren't interacting with your post is because they find your tone and general demeanour off-putting. And, to be very clear: you do not have a right to people's engagement. People can choose to engage or not for literally any reason and they don't have to explain that reason to you. It is not a crime to simply not interact with people you don't like.

You talk about blocking the haters and yet when the haters block you, you get your nickers in a twist. Why do you care? Don't you hate them? Why do you want them to interact with you? In Fig. 8 you hypothesised that the person who took you off their "super-duper fic rec list" was a "dick" so why are you upset about no longer being in the recommendations of someone you personally dislike? I wouldn't want to be recommended by someone I dislike for the same reason I don't want to be associated with bigots. I don't want my name in any way tied to them or their awful behaviour. It feels like you're crying about nothing and making it everyone else's problem. But feel free to explain yourself if you want (assuming I'm not already a blocked hater which would only prove my point that you absolutely understand just removing things/people you don't like from your life. But apparently that's only okay when you do it. Funny how that works).

Oh and just as one last thing before I end this giant reblog for now, and because I'm petty. They've repeatedly talked about how you don't need an account to view their Tumblr posts (Fig. 22) but this is what pops up when you access it without an account now. Not so confident people won't see you for what you are anymore, are we?

(Fig. 23, 24)

Oh wait, right, you have less confidence than Katuski Yuuri (Fig. 18). I wonder what could be the reason for hiding your blog then if it isn't your confidence rapidly crumbling. You're just a little anxious fella who likes academia afterall (yes, I am being exceedingly petty, thank you for noticing, I hope you enjoy).

Hey, just wanted to reach out to say that I found you pointing out and calling this person was really great and you shouldn't have apologized. It was incredibly true what you said, and to be honest it seems out of touch with the reality of a great deal of the japanese fandom, the nuances and their culture. Also, it was as you pointed out, extreme and may I say rude. I want to mention too that the way it was written, as if entitled of the knowledge and the 'explanation' made it all worse in context of the 'fucked up'. The original poster always gets away by using the 'well-written academic'' statement of their 'metas' as an excuse to do or say and make everyone else agree and if not, uses victim narrative and discourses exactly selecting wording for people to agree on it or feel bad.

I don't know if they tagging you in the way they did made you reblog and apologizing/backing up, but no one thought bad about you pointing it out. On the contrary, a lot of people had been bullied and discriminated by this person when they called them out/disagreed going onto lenghts of sending their friends to harass people, and the other persons can't even defend themselves because they are effectively blocked. To quite a few people in the fandom has been done, even accusing them as 'acephobes' (when they're not) or even Nazis by spreading lies. So yeah, I just wanted to say that. I think you were right to call them out publicly.

Thank you very much for this ask. To be completely honest I agree with everything you said here and don't actually feel bad about pointing anything out. I mainly apologised because I didn't want any potentially poor phrasing from my side to cause unnecessary hostility and because I myself have gripes with this person's behaviour but didn't want to cause a scene.

My honest opinion is that they have a serious issue with taking accountability for their own mistakes and highly overestimate their own intellect. If you're reading this, @thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai, sorry if I seem harsh, but it's true. I saw your post lamenting how you're the only academic meta writer / fan in the fandom and I didn't interact then because I honestly do not care enough to start that drama but with the information Blonndiec has just given me, I think it's necessary that someone calls you out.

You're not an academic. You're not beyond the mental capabilities of other fans. You're actually incredibly childish in your metas and analyses and I am not kidding when I say that I was halfheartedly writing essays more academic than every analysis I've seen from you when I was barely a teenager. I don't know how old you are and I frankly don't care. You're not as clever as you think you are.

Also, don't think I didn't notice that you didn't reblog my correction (link here to my correction and here to their "response" for those who didn't see that exchange) of your post so that you could control what your followers saw of the exchange. You're the opposite of an academic. You control information to tailor the narrative, you don't cite your sources properly if at all, you don't format your posts in anything close to how an academic analysis would be, you make unbased claims, you reference posts and canon material without in any way indicating where that information is from, you reference your own (equally unacademic) metas and your conclusions from them without indicating what post it's from or that it's your own theory this new one is based on and instead present it as a common fact, and I could go on and on and on. Your posts are also riddled with logical fallacies and you talk in absolutes and opinions when there's no canon basis to claim such things. I'm sorry, but that's not academic in the slightest.

To be clear, you don't have to be an academic to post on the Internet. You don't have to be anything at all. You could up front be a genuine idiot with no remorse and that's fine. But when you claim to be an academic and also put down the rest of the fandom for not being on your level, you have to be able to back that up. It'd still make you sound like a prick but at least your arrogance would have a basis. It currently does not.

I haven't personally seen the discussions that Blonndiec is referencing and I'm not going to claim anything definitive (because that would be unacademic of me, take notes) but if what they're saying is true and did happen as described, which I have empirical, if anecdotal, evidence to believe could very well be (a friend of mine has personally been blocked by you after they criticised you without actually mentioning your name which I of course can't prove is the reason for the block but the timing is awfully convenient), you should know that you should be ashamed of yourself.

If there's context missing, feel free to enlighten me and call out any incorrect accusations. You have every right to defend yourself. However, I encourage you to cite your sources since you're such an academic. If you don't, then it's just your word against Blonndiec and anyone else who might comment's word and that doesn't prove anything. Don't misunderstand, acephobia and nazi rhetoric should absolutely be called out but only if it's actually happening. False accusations can ruin lives. I hope you know that.

I'm not a fan of calling people out publicly and, again, thank you for this ask, Blonndiec. But considering many of the issues I've personally seen and those I've been informed of by second hand sources were posted publically, I don't really feel bad about calling this out. I could do a full breakdown of just the insulting "academic" comments alone and how there's no academia to be found in said academic metas and, Samurai, if you give me reason to, I will show exactly what I mean point by point (and academically just to give you an example of even low level academia).

If you respond to this, do it in a reblog. That's what a real academic would do. If I'm wrong and you can prove it, you'd have no reason to not show my post in your rebuttal. If I'm right, you'd have every reason to be upfront about your mistakes and how you intend to rectify them. There's nothing wrong with being wrong but there's a lot wrong with refusing to admit to it in a way that lets others peer review you (academic thing, look it up) and come to their own conclusions about the situation. That's what you did when you just @'ed me instead of reblogging my response. A true academic wouldn't hide a peer review. You'd know that if you were one.

I swing in many academic spaces and yet that doesn't make me any kind of expert and I don't claim to be one because I'm not. But since you want to be one so badly, reblog this with a response and show us all how smart you are. I'm dying to know what your academic take on this is.

[theliteraryvampire]

Take Your Heart In Your Teeth (5/?)

Warnings: Blood, sort of? Non-con biting. That’s it, I’m pretty sure!

Fandom: BBC Dracula (Dracula x Reader)

Author’s Note: There’s actually barely any reader in this chapter, but a new character comes into the mix! Also, male bonding, woo! Plus, some of my own lore comes into play a bit. Comments, reblogs, feedback, etc. are always welcome!

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Something was happening to me. I was being inundated with images that made no sense. I kept swimming in and out of focus, but one thing was clear: Dracula had a hold of me, his lips were on my neck, and he was drinking my blood. An image flashed in my brain, of Dracula sitting back and talking but, no, that...that wasn’t real. He had me trapped, I felt him keeping me still, and as much as I twisted, I couldn’t break free. Another flash and, Dracula was laughing at something I had just said but...no! That wasn’t real either. I hadn’t said anything.

After what felt like hours of fighting, he finally let me go. He sat back for real this time, and suddenly, everything came back into focus. I blearily looked at him and went to reach for my neck, but he grabbed my arm before I could. 

“Are you alright, (Y/N)? You look a little...drained.” Dracula was staring intently at me, pupils blown.

“I...think I drank too much?” I hazarded a guess, but I couldn’t say for sure. I felt like I was waking up from a nightmare. “I should leave. Uh, sorry, for this.” I gestured to my glass.

I went as fast as I could to the closet and threw my coat on, ignoring Dracula who had followed me out. 

“(Y/N), please—”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, before slamming the door behind me. I didn’t wait for a ride home. In fact, I wanted to walk, hoping the cold January air would clear my head. My mind was so dazed and I was walking so fast, wanting to get away as quickly as possible, that I didn’t even realize it when I walked right into another person, until he grabbed my shoulders to steady me.

“Are you alright?” the stranger asked, English accent clear.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” I didn’t bother looking at him. Instead, I tore myself away from his grip and ran down the stairs.

~~~

Dracula was confused, and greatly concerned. He had gotten no information from (Y/N)’s blood, and that worried him. Never in his long life had this occurred to him. He couldn’t have done it wrong. He’d been eating people for five centuries. Yes, finally tasting (Y/N)‘s blood had been euphoric, pleasure inducing, even, but he still had searched for information and...nothing. Not a name, not a thought, not a feeling. Just, pleasure. Waves and waves of his own blissful pleasure, until he had pulled away, when he saw the look of sheer terror on (Y/N)’s face. She had left so quickly...

A knock came from Dracula’s door, tearing him away from his thoughts. He wanted to ignore whoever was on the opposite side but the knocking became insistent, so begrudgingly, Dracula made his way over and opened the door before his visitor woke up all his neighbors.

“Oh! Mr. Seward.” Dracula was a bit taken aback. He knew he should've left the door closed. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Why did you turn me?” Jack asked, trying, but failing, to sound intimidating.  “And why did you leave? I woke up in the middle of the road, confused...and completely alone!”

“Oh, um, I wanted to see how you’d turn out, I suppose,” Dracula answered, getting ready to shut the door. Before he could do so, Jack stormed his way into the foyer, which amused Dracula. His misplaced sense of courage was almost...endearing.

“And I suppose the girl that just left, looking scared out of her mind, I might add,” Jack turned on his heel, “is just next on the list? Are you going to kill her as an experiment as well?” he accused.

In the blink of an eye, Dracula had seized Jack around the neck and was now holding him against the wall, fully intent on killing him for a second time. “Do not dare anger me, boy,” Dracula warned, before letting Jack fall on the hardwood floor. He didn’t stay down for long. Jack got right back to his feet and turned once more on Dracula, obviously intent on settling the score. Dracula smiled to himself, almost respecting Jack for this ludicrous courage. Almost.

Dracula spoke before Jack could make his next move. “Before I rip you to shreds, and I will rip you to shreds, you can’t blame me for killing you. You must have killed, oh, four people now, at the very least? What’s that old saying...something about a pot calling the kettle black?”

Jack lunged at Dracula again, an animal-like growl ripping from his throat, but he easily caught the material of Jack’s shirt and threw him down on the floor once more, this time pinning him there. Leaning over him, using his height to his advantage, Dracula got close to Jack’s face. “Listen to me, carefully. (Y/N), that girl you saw moments ago, is not like the others. If any harm should come to her, I won’t think twice about tearing my way through this entire city.”

“Then why’d you feed from her?” Jack asked, full of malice. “I could smell it the moment I stepped foot on this floor.” 

Dracula closed his fist, still full of Jack’s shirt, even tighter. “Need I remind you that you are in no position to question me. Now, be a good boy and scamper home.” 

“I’m just trying to find answers,” Jack admitted quietly, and there again was that meek little boy Dracula remembered, that fragile little thing who was so easy to kill.

Perhaps it was against his better judgement, but Dracula found himself lifting Jack back up, standing him on his feet.

“Ironically, that is what I’m trying to do as well,” he heard himself saying, surprised at how willing he was to open up to Jack, a man he didn’t even particularly like that much. But something about his naivety, and his willingness to adapt to his new life reminded Dracula of himself, or at least himself in the very beginning of his transition, too. Not that he would ever admit that, of course, but he felt himself softening towards Jack, if only a little bit. 

He led Jack to his dining room and, questioning himself for a second, Dracula finally pulled out a chair for him. Grabbing two glasses on his way to the fridge, Dracula reached all the way into the back to grab a blood bag, hidden by needless mortal food, and poured the contents into the cups.

“I prefer mine at 98.2, but this does well in a pinch,” Dracula said when he returned, handing Jack a glass.

“I never thought you’d stoop to blood bags,” Jack tried joking, but he couldn’t force himself to laugh. There was a long silence before either man spoke again.

“I’ve only killed one person. I didn’t want to, but...I still did it,” Jack admitted, eyes cast down on his glass.

“I know,” and for an instant, Dracula remembered what that had been like, the guilt of his first kill.

“And, uh…” Jack looked over his shoulder, back into the foyer. “Sorry, for barging in like that. After I...woke up...I tracked you. I’ve been in the city for a month, actually, but I didn’t know how to confront you about...everything.” He swirled the blood around in his glass. “And then I met someone, and well, we haven’t been on a proper date yet, I’m hoping she’ll agree to one tomorrow, but I figured it wasn’t fair to her to keep a secret like this, so I came here to get closure, but then that girl that left, and she ran into me looking terrified, and I thought you were doing the same thing you did in London and—”

“I assure you, it’s nothing like London. (Y/N) is…” but Dracula trailed off, not knowing exactly how to describe (Y/N). “She’s very knowledgeable on the topic of so-called myths,” he finally decided on.

“You’re using her for information about you...about...us, you mean.”

Dracula hated the pit in his stomach that Jack’s accusation caused, but he hated the feeling most of all because he knew that it was partly true.

“I was,” he finally admitted. “At first.”

“You care for her.” It was a statement. Jack wasn’t questioning him this time.

“Yes.”

Jack wrung his hands together. This wasn’t how he thought the night would go at all. This was a new side to Dracula that he hadn’t seen in London, and it was almost comforting knowing that Dracula could also feel something, other than the need to kill.

“When you, um...killed me...I didn’t feel anything after the transition. Except confusion. It was like everything reset. I remembered what I felt, but I didn’t feel those emotions anymore. Even...Lucy. I remember loving her, but I don’t...I’m not in love with her anymore. So, I don’t know how, or why, it happened, but I walked into that gallery on Grand Street one day, um, Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, and...the girl I talked about...she was working there, and I took one look at her and, it was like everything came flooding back. Like all of a sudden, I felt human again.” Jack laughed. “I guess that seems pretty cliche.”

Dracula smiled to himself. He knew that feeling well.

“Are you laughing at me?” Jack asked, smiling.

“No. It’s just nice to be understood,” and, to his great surprise, Dracula found himself smiling back.