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#and then people feel the need to make callout posts about those characters
kurous · 2 months
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i think my issue with the way a lot of the discourse is handled on this app is that everything has to be handled in a large callout post and everyone must adhere to the same community-wide agreement on said discourse. vigilantism is not helpful and rallying other people to "cancel" those whose opinions (particularly when it comes to what they're writing about or what they should be writing about) is sort of fucked up.
if you're pro or anti dark content that is entirely your business, but constantly making 200 note posts about particular people that don't support it or do is not helping anyone. in fact, i would argue that a lot of the attitudes people on this app have towards, not only dark content but writing in general, are weird and semi-cultish.
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bugflies00 · 22 days
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do i have a presentation due at 8am that i have barely started even though its midnight? yes. however i was thinking again about the category 5 ctommy event last night and all the things i talked or saw people post about and it got me thinking
i was especially thinking about how ctommy is too often, in fan interpretations, forced into the role of the perfect, quiet, palatable victim — which, i mean, we've all made various posts on the subject, i don't need to get into the how again — but i was trying to think about why.
because on one hand, a good part of it, its true, circles back to what society has deemed the "acceptable" victim, which many of us have internalised and unknowingly refer back to, hence why many automatically try to sand ctommy down to be more "pitiful" (not saying people do this intentionally btw . we all have biases like that and they show up in different ways . i just like Talking about this stuff this is Not a callout or god forbid telling people to harass fic writers they disagree with. Ok.)
but i also think, in ctommy's case, a lot of it can come from. projection? well this might be the case with many other characters obviously but im focusing on ctommy here because like. i think he's a character who's very relatable for so many people, who are also loud and not subtle or discreet and who feel annoying most of the time, and a lot of whom are kids and teenagers. and something that's always struck me when reading comments etc about him is theres this sentiment of- when this fictional character is annoying it's seen as loveable and endearing, so why isn't it the case for me, as a person, in real life? a lot of those fans have also been hurt or perhaps even abused and found a way to relate through ctommy's own abuse
and so i think sometimes this tendency to "sand ctommy down" is less out of a desire to actually reduce his character but rather because, through him, they want their hurt and pain to be recognised. and as we all know, when ctommy is quiet, that is so unusual that in fics, it often immediately strikes a reaction of "oh, what happened to you, who hurt you". it's the idea that him being annoying and loud is missed, but people only realise that when he's gone quiet. so the more "quiet" and "docile" he is shown as, the more striking that reaction from other characters will be, and the more support he receives. im not in any way saying this is something you should apply to real people or anything, im saying that this is a trend not just in ctommy fics but in general media — if you're someone who is loud and brash, it's often portrayed like the only way people will acknowledge that you have feelings at all is if you lose that "spark", and suddenly people miss you being annoying.
and suddenly, it makes a lot of sense why so many fic authors write ctommy as so oddly ooc and quiet and pliable and docile — because they've been taught that's what a victim should be, but they're not like that! and you can live vicariously through a fictional character who's able to undergo a much more drastic outward transformation than you and be showered in love for it, and theres a desire for that to happen to them in real life, to have their hurt actually acknowledged. is this word vomit does anyone understand what im trying to say here
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findroleplay · 10 months
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Rules: do’s & don’ts
There is almost no rule for what is or isn't allowed on this blog, we are accepting of basically all and any content. When something is not allowed there is a good reason for it, so please try not to break the rules.
What you can not post
Anything too explicit. Detailed NSFW starters, graphic GIFs or pictures used as decoration and the like. If you really want to share a detailed vision of the scene that will be acted out in the roleplay, send a link to google docs, carrd, another post, etc that people can check out. This is primarily about smut but it applies to gore as well. To be super clear, smut and gore are not��banned from the blog, you can request any kink/situation you like, but you will need to discuss the details with your partners. For example, asking for a BDSM roleplay is fine, writing out details of the smut scene in your request is not. This is to avoid possible reports based on the NSFW ban.
Wait 24 hours before submitting again from the moment the ask is posted. You can post ads requesting different RPs, just not the same ask. This is to avoid cluttering.
It goes without saying, this is RP only. You can't send requests for dating or similar.
You can only send ads through asks or submissions. If you need help with those I'll be happy to lend a hand, but don't send your requests via DMs. If the inbox is closed it means it's full/I'm not active, please be patient and, again, don't try to get your ad in through DMs. I won't be able to post your ad from DMs.
That's it, pretty easy, right?
What you can post
Generally, anything not mentioned above is allowed. However, since some things get asked often, I will make a general list of things that are allowed for your convenience.
RPF is allowed. 
Discord servers and other groups are allowed. 
Things related to RPing, even if not strictly roleplay-seeking, are allowed. Other roleplay finders, RP resources, and even questions about roleplaying are all allowed. 
Minors are allowed. 
Dead dove content is allowed.
What you should/shouldn't do
Your ask will be published even if you don't abide by these rules. However, keeping this in mind will make for a better experience for everyone involved.
Be as clear as possible about the fandom and other relevant information. I can't tag it if you don't tell me where these blorbos come from. If the fandom has alternate names/acronyms include everything!
If you're going to include more than 20 fandoms in your search, split the post into two separate requests. There's a maximum of 30 tags allowed on a post, out of which only the first 20 will show up in searches. If you include more, the rest will go untagged/will not show up in searches.
Don't censor triggers. It just interferes with people that have these words blocked. Don't write inc*st, write incest.
Miscellaneous other stuff
I am not the police, your parents, or HR. If you have a disagreement with your RP buddy I can't intervene to solve it for you, nor can I put them in time out. Unpleasant things happen online, learn to block and move on. Please don't message me - or worse, send anon asks - with callouts for certain users and ask them to block/warn others.
If you feel stuck and the blank page is daunting, you can use this form as a base. Feel free to fill out everything, just some of it, add items I didn't include, or just send your own personal ad.
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Character(s):
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mbslost · 21 days
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hi. yes i came back for another yapping session, ironic.
i would like to express some of my feelings towards... some interesting things.
1. The Strade nazi drawing
i talked about his before, i am aware, but later (while reading other opinions as well) i got reminded about EP (Electricpuke for those who dont know him). did we all forgot HOW MANY nazi drawings he made? dont you believe that's an influence as well? if i remember correctly, Gato cut ties with him because of his abusive behaviour (there arent many people talking about this but some user are aware about his actions. sadly i wasnt in the community when that happened)
literally there are people calling Gato a nazi when she doesn't support the ideology. why did no one act the same with EP? different standards? the fact he left (probably) for good? still its not an excuse to call Gato a nazi. also she apologised multiple times. again MULTIPLE TIMES. even in the callout post in twt you can see the fact she IS sorry for drawing that. that she REGRETS it
edit: kay found a ss on tt from the user @/gorturic where Gato said this as well
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again, she doesn't support any nazi shit :/
2. The way others silence opinions that they dont like
im not saying you should be forced to agree with it, but when you make a callout account, normally, you let multiple people say their opinions over that thing. you can even show proof when you see someone is wrong. thats how argument work, crazy ik.
i start to see that if you defend Gato or just leave the community because the fandom its on thin ice, you'll be harassed and bullied for your choices. first of all, HOW ABOUT WE LEAVE PEOPLE THAT DONT WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH BTD/TPOF ANYMORE ALONE. good? literally saw multiple users being harassed by this. its THEIR decision, suck it up. also can we stop SENDING DEATH THREATS???
or the fact that if you do have a point, they'll immediately cancel it with the "oh but its not important". it can be if you have some proofs for their misinformation (just like i proved the variety of poc characters Gato CREATED. didnt talk about Ren since he's another story)
3. Lack of proof for the side allegations.
if people noticed mods harassing people sm, why didnt they talk? why arent there ss of their conversations? we dont even know (most of us) what they even commented about (aside of Pussyspieler drawing). or the twt user that was wronged. that situation was like.. kind of a "im more autistic so you should shut up" (i have to add that i asked people on the spectrum about this and that was their point of view) of course the mod shouldn't have said it like that but.. its more of a misunderstanding really.. that doesnt mean you cant be upset. you absolutely can. everyone can react differently so dont harass them for feeling down or for being frustrated.
also the spanish (or mexican idk) users that just copied and translated @/renhanasgf posts with little to no new information. just the same thing. (although they said something of Gato not sending merch to latin America. probably because of the laws back then or the fact that the transport fee would be high af. im still searching for the reason tho so ill need some time for that one).
4. This fandom is messed up
people when fans of horror porn games are problematic 🤯. i agree that some people are being like extreme with their reactions, but no one is perfect here. just like i approached the situation completely wrong, they did the same. of course, now if you go around and be a racist piece of shit, you shoudl just stay off the internet for a while. luckily more approach the "like the art not the artist" thing.
look. you can always block users that you dont like (just like i do to those who are either into csam,thanks for telling me ab this term anon!, or incest). i know. shocking that people can block others.
after all these fandoms are not for the weak. there may be some safe spaces in it as well but... lets be real... its still going to be problematic. if you cant handle the community or how others act around here, then id suggest for you to not have a close interaction with others. like uhm, just, appreciate the content, not every person around here. just be aware of the users, stau safe okay?
5. Will i stop yapping?
not until i will see an agreement in the fandom. Gato is a human, of course she will do mistakes. especially if she's anxious or tired. having hundreds of people around you its hard and i can imagine it. having supoortive people only to wake up with people hating you. i hope she's safe and that she wont have to go to the hospital again. i pray for her well being, and to others that got spammed with those disgusting comments.
im not saying we should forget about this like.. her poor management and emotional way of responding to things, but is it truly worth it? to force a person to apologise just because they tried to fix things?
i also dont think ill stop because i just feel like im the only one that does talk here (trying to even prove wrong on some things). if others do it as well, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAG ME I WANNA SEE THEM😭 also because most people are still so confused about EVERYTHING. for some reason this drama its only getting more popular on tt for some reason.. which is a big no no since there are a lot of YOUNG people. i believe this should be talked here, and on twitter. (idk what to say about telegram)
ill stop here since my sickness got me. i will edit it later to add or correct myself but *sighs*
please stay safe and try to view more opinions over this. DONT SPAM OR HARASS ANYONE WHO ONLY WANTED TO EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS. we'll see on Sunday how things will turn out.
(if i missed something out or said something wrong please correct me)
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tavyliasin · 1 month
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Fandom Essay - Body Positivity and Validation
Good timezone darlings~ Lia is back at it again with some examination of BG3 Fandom and some more of the wonderful things we can find within it. This time we are talking about representation of different physical features. If you feel this might be a little much for you, either in regards to your relationship to your body or any potential dysphoria, please feel free to skip it. Second disclaimer that I will be mentioning trans and nonbinary people here from the perspective of a Cis person - this is absolutely not my right to speak for or over anyone so I thoroughly welcome the voices of those with lived experiences to join in the comments with their input, but I also did not want to leave the topic out of the discussion and you may just see why as we get into it~ So on with today's long title:
How FanWorks Can Be Important To Self Acceptance And Body Positivity - The Next "Callout Essay" from TavyliaSin (Who is calling herself out with these too) ((there are reasons it feels targeted I know where to aim)) (((but honestly it's fine it's all positive I promise)))
Today we will be discussing: body types, disability representation (only a little though, this one may need a full post of its own), body size, gender (and gender euphoria), scars and "imperfections", visible ageing. This will be through the lens of both the canon inclusion and everything we see in mods, edits, and fan creations of all kinds. As usual I will use sub headers and encourage anyone to skip what makes them uncomfortable, as well as to join the discussion~ so let's begin, shall we?
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What Does Body Positivity Mean?
Let's start off with the simple one. Body positivity doesn't mean promoting any one body type as the ideal or as better than any others, it is about being positive about the mortal flesh vessels we inhabit and all of their features. A lot of people can find this difficult, to love oneself or even just accept oneself, especially in a highly critical society. But that is where representation and even fan creations can step in - by being vocal and loud about appreciating features that people may feel negative about in themselves, we can help build up confidence and self worth, as well as reminding all of us that we do not have to look a certain way to be desirable and desired~
How Does This Relate To Baldur's Gate 3?
On the surface, we do have a lot of characters with more conventionally accepted body types in the main cast and romance characters, though it is worth noting that the base models were updated to be less "Hollywood muscles" on a couple of characters, which made more sense to the character stats and backstories (unless Gale was working out every day in his tower, he's not that much like a bodybuilder physique).
But aside from this, when you look closer, there's also an awful lot to appreciate in the standard character designs. A lot of these are things which fans pick up on and adore, despite how they may be features that people are actively bullied for or that are seen as undesirable by beauty standards. Those "beauty standards" can get in the trash too, but I'll use it here to point out the things we are shining a positive light on in the face of those societal values~ Karlach - Our tall queen, strong and muscular and not particularly feminine with her tattoos, piercings, and hairstyle. But she is adored for all of those things, even her broken horn is an important feature, alongside the glowing heart and fire that have some in the game view her as monstrous until they look closer and know her. Astarion - His laugh lines. Gods don't we love those? The wrinkles in his face are experience, and of course he has those signs of exhaustion in his eyes that make him so much more relatable to many of us. Lae'zel - This might feel like cheating as she's not human, and is less human-like than most of the other characters, but in a way that is also an important one. She's still desirable and treated as such in the romances, as well as very much adored by the fans. Gale - The little signs of ageing and stress mark Gale's face, and even the hints of greying in his hair are picked up on and chewed on by those who love him most. Wyll - More on him later but honestly is he not the poster boy for physical acceptance? Not only do we have his initial appearance with the stone eye but with one choice his entire body is completely changed and part of his story is arguably learning to live with this and how his new look is likely going to be seen as everything he ever feared. Halsin - Are we cheating with BIG TALL MUSCLE MOUNTAIN because many people find this attractive to start with? Maybe, but again he has clear signs of ageing, as well as very obvious facial scarring. His look might easily be described as fearsome, and yet his personality couldn't be further from it. Raphael - Hello there lovers of older men, who look at each one of those wrinkles and his brow lines and start sweating a bit more. I'm with you, he's gorgeous because of those signs of aging, not despite them. Abdirak - Our real poster boy for scars and visible wounds. Features which have long been given only to villainous characters in fiction (particularly that aimed at younger audiences) and yes he is one of the most violent characters, but he is also immediately deeply sympathetic to the player. So we are no longer equating scars/visual difference with pure evil. In general we have a lot of features that are not overly smoothed out or homogenised to fit certain standards. We have different nose shapes, visible pores, scars, acne marks, wrinkles, greying hair, moles, freckles, body hair, and a lot of variety across face shapes and features. It makes the characters feel more real, more relatable, and seeing features closer to our own can be comforting and validating in a lot of ways. Of course there are more examples, and far more we could say about each one of these and all the things that make them unique that we love about them, but we would be here all day and there are other topics to cover!
What About The Player Characters?
So we do have a range of fantasy races, many of which arguably don't represent real humans at all, and we do also lack variation in body types in the standard game. But we also have player characters with shorter statures with the dwarves, halflings and gnomes. Beyond just being part of the lore and story, there is some representation here for similar body types in real life. I can't say a lot on this as I neither have personal experience nor do I personally know anyone who could speak on how they feel about these races in comparison to lived experiences, but it would be equally unfair to leave the point out of the conversation - please do add something in the comments if you have the knowledge and emotional bandwidth to spare, I would love to hear about your experiences and opinions! Aside from this we have a wide range of skin tones (though my own is too close to plain paper to be able to tell you if this is anywhere near adequate so please feel free to weigh in with lived experience here) as well as scars and other features in the character creation. There's also vitiligo pigmentation, which is not only representing the condition but also normalising it to those who aren't familiar and making some rather beautiful options for our characters in my opinion. Even in the hair styles there are a couple of options featuring thinner hair or baldness patterns. There are less options for textured hairstyles and the facial features are equally limited, but there are some truly gorgeous mods out there which I'll mention later.
Player Characters And Gender
Another caveat to please weigh in with your lived experiences, but this one is one that I've seen friends enjoy and it was really wonderful to see that delight. Being able to select pronouns, genitals, body type, and voice all independently of each other is something which is so vastly meaningful to a lot of players. To some it might just be "oh cool I get to choose what my character looks like naked", but to a nonbinary friend of mine... Well, they were sending me happy, joyful, and what can only be described as "delightfully shouty" messages when they were in character creation. To paraphrase, and to tone it down just a little, it went something like this:
"Wait you mean I can have a character look and exist the way I want to be? I can actually have myself represented on screen, and nobody will misgender me, and nobody will decline a romance based on any of this?!"
Maybe it seems silly but I got tearful to see them just absolutely losing it over having these options. They've been stuck with binary options in most fantasy RPGs for so long... Of course there's still things that could be improved, there always will be, but that joy? Priceless. It meant something in that moment and I hope it will continue to mean something to a lot more people in many moments to come. Of course there are still flaws - the faces and bodies are still gender matched, and it isn't possible for people to refine the size and shape of player character chests. In some ways really what we have is the bare minimum, a start that needs to go further, but seeing as there have been precious few games in the genre to even reach this low bar it is good to recognise it, to say "this brought people joy and is worth the effort to make it happen", and to say "please go further because there is genuine interest."
What About Mods?
This is where we can see a lot more of that positivity flourishing. There are countless options, from having more hairstyles and hair types, to face shapes and features, all the way to body types and adding in top surgery scars. Giving the game the ability to be modded, and potentially even encouraging and supporting it, means we can see so much more of that body positivity and representation. Having a hero who shares your features, seeing romances play out where the characters are valued in every way just as they are. Being able to mod softer and wider body types to the Origin characters too, taking the form away from the bodybuilder/model physique and far closer to more average - and undeniably still devastatingly attractive - body types. Seeing the trans-Origin character headcanons portrayed too, that's just so utterly divine~ (There is a lot to be said about parallels to LGBTQIA+ experiences in the Origin storylines, too, so feel free to comment on those at the end if you would like to) To all of you out there making mods, and sharing the characters you've created using other peoples' mods - thank you! I adore seeing all of these, as well as people's happiness in sharing and using them too~
I don't even use mods, honestly darlings I'm not the best with tech at times and as I'm spending vastly more hours writing than playing it's likely not as worth it for me - especially when people share the modded content for us all to enjoy in videos and screenshots. But I love how many there are, that they exist, and all the ways they give people joy and euphoria to see their own body types and/or body types they find to be desirable~
But Wasn't This Post About Fandom and Fan Creations?
It was - and is! Because after all of the content you can get in the base game and in the modded version, what comes after is where the fans go with it from there.
That's truly where we get the most body positivity and joy. Headcanons leave the head and pour onto the page. We see characters reimagined a hundred times, each with their own twist, their own enthusiasm both from the creator and from fans just eating up every piece that comes out. There's so much variety there seems to be almost anything you could wish for with almost any character, and I can guarantee you that if there's something you'd like to see and aren't seeing out there, there will be an artist willing to work on the idea (most likely on commission basis, we do prefer to ensure our artists can eat after all, but there may be some willing to just adopt ideas to draw as their own too). This even extends to cosplay, with gender-swapped characters, as well as the one thing I will always be vocal about in cosplay - everyone should be allowed to wear the character costumes they love regardless of body types or how well their body/face matches the original character. Though this does come with the caveat that skin should never be darkened to match a character's look (if that character has a natural type skin tone, obviously green etc is not an issue) - just be your own version of the character if you adore them enough to put the costume together.
And your work?...
Thank you for asking Lia, let me answer that one for you. Of course, take it away, Lia! Ahem silliness aside, there is something you might or might not have noticed in my writing. I don't do a lot of body-type description. You can imagine whatever you like as you read - Gale with a soft tummy to snuggle? Yes please! Or you can imagine him with sculped abs, or a more slender frame - whatever brings you the most joy to read. This is especially true for anything I do with gender neutral character fics (usually "character x Reader"/2nd person pieces) - I try to stay away from any specific gendered features and focus on actions and sensations which can be common to any body.
How Does This All Add Up To Body Positivity?
Simple, love - by sharing and making all of these works we are saying "these features are beautiful, we love them, we want to see more of them as we fall head over heels time and time again". It might not seem like a lot, but the mind is both powerful and very easily open to suggestion. If a person keeps seeing negative things about a feature they have (eg, as a mild example body hair on women/feminine people) they will internalise that and wish to change themselves (eg, waxing/shaving/etc). In the case of a bit of body hair that might not seem drastic, but it still changes how someone feels about themselves. At the end of the day, the more we love ourselves the easier it is to look after ourselves and be happy in the mortal flesh vessels we pilot around this terribly strange universe~ For my part, I have seen my body shape which I had struggled with shown time and time again as "wow look at this character who looks this way, they are amazing! I love this feature, and that feature, and the way the artist made sure to include this particular thing-" Every time I see that, every time I see parts of myself I struggle with being applauded and appreciated, I feel a little brighter. A little more comfortable. A little more like I am allowed to dress it up nicely and spend time and care to feel good about it. I also feel less shame for old scars, for every part of myself that has made me look at the mirror with unkind eyes. Confidence is not a single brick, it's many that need to be built carefully with the right cement. If it is chipped away at too many times, even by little self-deprecating "jokes", it will erode. It will crack. It will wear away piece by piece instead of building up. And before anyone decides to try equating weight and health, darling this is not the place. If you truly care about someone's wellbeing, leave their health to the private discussions they have with their doctors, and remember that looking after oneself is far easier from a place of loving oneself. If you care about a thing, you want to look after it. If you see a thing as already broken, you're less likely to be cautious in how you handle it.
Where does this essay end?
Well, I believe that would be here. With the endless gratitude for every creator out there bringing us mods, images, fiction, art, cosplay, content of all of these wonderful characters in every incredible variation that we can think of. I encourage those of you who are feeling lower in confidence about yourselves to really look at the fan responses to these creations - the excitement and desire for every body type, every feature, everything that we might see of ourselves and dislike there are so many people out there seeing those exact same features we have and feeling nothing but attraction, desire, love, adoration, and praise~ We are often our own worst critics, but not one of those characters would ever reject us, neither are we rejecting any of our favourites when we see them on the screen. I certainly hope to see more games bringing us this variety, and going further too. There is power in fiction and fan-works, and it is helpful to recognise it too.
Apologies if this one felt too long, rambling, or like I lost my point - it was done over 3 days and I'm rather tired~ I have other essays coming in the next few weeks too, and I really would love to hear your opinions on any of them~
As a final note - please do add your own views and experiences on the topic! I can only offer my own as a disabled white cisgender asexual/bisexual/panromantic woman with too much time on her hands~ I neither wish to ignore experiences outside of my own nor speak over them. All I can offer is what I see, what I hear, and of course my endless love to all of you~ That, my very dear darlings, is never in doubt. I love you just the way you are, because of who you are, and will see the beauty in everything that makes up the sum of your wonderful selves~
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mistmarauder · 3 days
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Hey! I saw your post about pururing's account, and that your post has been reblogged by lots of people who I pretty much always agree with (including you). So I went to the account's posts and scrolled down, expecting to roll my eyes, shake my head, etc.
But as I read the artist's and others' most recent responses, I started thinking about art forms like Kathakali (I'm South Indian) where face paint of different colours is used as narrative devices and to represent characteristics. If I were to represent a 9-1-1 scene in Kathakali style, I'd need to depict faces of certain characters with colours like white, yellow, black, red, etc depending on the character and their role in a particular arc. So an actor who is portraying someone of Asian descent might be shown with yellow paint on their face to depict not their race, but their gender.
The Western-gaze would see this as "yellowface" and offensive. But shifting perspectives and taking into account the background of the artform and the artist would clarify that this is a difference in context.
I don't know if there is a right or wrong here. If a show began in a Western context and depicts the Western context, does that mean Western audiences can demand that it never be depicted in contexts they're unfamiliar with? Do artists have to stay true to the context of the artform, or do they stay true to the context of the subject being portrayed? Even if this question doesn't have a binary answer, what's the difference between acceptable and unacceptable practices, and who gets to have a say in deciding that?
I just think that these are the more pertinent questions that need to be asked and discussed in this situation. By narrowing things down just to whether that artist was right or wrong without considering such nuances, I feel like we're all risking being smugly superior without realising that we're actually in a bit of an echo chamber.
Hi, anon! I want to thank you for this message. Truly. I do think we sometimes find ourselves in an echo chamber. It’s for that reason that I try to be careful when I make posts like that. I rarely reblog callout posts, and I rarely make them. This is the third one I think I’ve ever made, and I can’t think of any I’ve reblogged off the top of my head.
Callout posts to me only become necessary when you’ve exhausted all other options. And in this case, I only made it myself because it seemed as though those speaking out were being ignored – including people of color. I know that a lot of that has to do with how heavily some of those blogs block and how much they’ve been blocked in the past. So, I chose to make a post under my own name because I knew more people would see it. From what I understand, while a few people do have me blocked, I’m not widely blocked in this fandom. All that being said though, posts like this can still be incendiary and dangerous, and I don’t make them lightly. It’s why I tried to keep my explanation and language as mild as possible while explaining the issue at hand.
That being said, because I approached it in that manner, there’s a lot that the general public isn’t privy to just by scrolling that person’s account.
I’ll start with what you are privy to and how I think it’s different from the Kathakali style you refer to in your message. The defenses this person gave to their coloring choices have little to do with culture and more to do with style and perception. They pulled stills from the show in an attempt to explain the color palette they used, but as an example, in this picture here, Jee is clearly lighter than Maddie, her white mother. And you can see in real reference photos using these actors that this is not the case. That is just a fact.
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They didn’t explain away this issue with cultural artistic differences. They explained this issue using pictures and color picking and defending their perception with some alarming messages in DM.
That brings me to some information you were not privy to. This is an example of one of the messages I was shown in private by someone who was trying to talk to this person one on one about everything going on here.
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They state that they drew Jee that way because she’s lighter than her parents, which is just a bizarre and untrue statement to make - particularly in reference to Maddie. But then they went on to say she’s going to get lighter as she grows older. Even if that is true (which I don’t see why it would be because what?), it has nothing to do with her skin color now.
A lot of this artist’s work is limited to black and white sketches. But if they’re going to choose to add color to their work, it should accurately represent the people of color they're choosing to portray regardless of the artist’s own skin color.
I understand this is a different style of art than the art we normally see, but I don’t see how that would change the fact that twins that play Jee should not be portrayed as whiter than Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt who are both white actors. It’s kind of a manga style from what I gather, but from everything I know about that, it shouldn’t have an effect on coloring choices.
And again, the artist themselves says they colored Jee lighter because they perceive her to be lighter and think she will become lighter. That is… problematic to say the least.
It is still complicated though because I think you’re right about Western vs. Eastern art forms and gazes. I really do. I’m a white woman from the West, and that skews my perceptions immensely. I try to understand things as best I can, but I’m not perfect, and I know I’ll make mistakes. But I do not see how the art form here makes the work immune to criticism.
What I know and what I knew before making that post was that there were enough people who were upset by it that it deserved being looked into. And then so many of those voices were being lost in the void that I wanted to do what I could to help. That may not have been my place. What I knew was that my voice would have a greater impact though, and so I used it.
I personally believe this artist to be in the wrong, especially after being shown some of the messages they sent in DM, but the question of what’s acceptable and unacceptable and who gets to have a say in deciding that is a complicated one. I normally wouldn’t feel I personally should have shared an opinion here at all because I’m white and from America, but when other voices are getting lost, what do you do? Do you stay quiet? Maybe I should have, but that’s not the choice I chose to make.
I do encourage everyone to look into the situation for themselves and make determinations for themselves, even if I put a bit of a spotlight on that person’s blog and voiced my own personal opinion. But everyone should definitely realize that what you’re seeing on the public blog isn’t all there is. Not by a long shot.
I really hope I answered some of your questions and that this made some amount of sense.
Please feel free to message me again on or off anon if you want to discuss it further or if you think I've made a mistake. That goes for anyone. My DMs are open.
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ardentservice · 1 month
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ok cool . canyou talk about editblr and also the increased usage of gifted names
do you want me to fucking die
gifted names are dumb on principle namely because
i’ve never actually seen a person of color talk about gifting a name—only a white person (or person outside of the culture of the name or whatever) talking about having been gifted the name
if you feel the need to get permission to use a name, you probably shouldn’t use it.
as an aside, have you noticed that all of the “gifted” names are names of characters (madoka, xiangling, etc?) and not names in their own right? and while those names may have been gifted (of which i am suspicious) i sincerely doubt that your local chinese friend (hi. me) is handing out genshin names.
it’s straight up weird. again, never ever have i actually seen someone talking about gifting a name, except when the claim is that the names have been “exchanged” which… okay. i don’t think a non chinese person should use a chinese name okay. it’s like a white woman naming her child naruto. it’s fucking weird okay stop that
on editblr. deep sigh. my god i fucking hate all of you people. petty discord drama doesn’t need an entire tumblr callout post. “stealing” irls or f/os isn’t a fucking thing. for the love of god learn how to block people instead of sending anon hate. and don’t get pissed at accusations of copying when you are, blatantly fucking copying people. (also, stop using luvrevue as a bludgeon with which to beat people. enough. leave him buried alright.) the rentryblr and editblr communities walk around with their feelings out on sticks, waiting eagerly for the slightest chance to make a mountain out of a mole hill. we share an f/o so you just be stealing. you’re using a mandarin name so you must be racist (even if you’re FUCKING CHINESE.) stop blowing up your house at the mildest annoyance. i know we’re all crazy teenagers (slash twenty ish year olds) with seventeen diagnoses each, but holy fucking shit learn how to block people. shit talk them in private don’t harass them
don’t even get me started on the whitewashing problem we’ll be here all day
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luckystarchild · 8 months
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Sometimes I get a little... frustrated... by the reactions to Lucky Child.
(No one is doing anything wrong. This isn't a callout post.)
Fiction that is serialized one chapter/installment at a time over a long period of time suffers from "No Instant Answers Disease." In a book, if you have a question about something that occurs midway through the narrative, you can read to the end and (most of the time) get your answer unless the author forgets the plot thread or something. But with serial fiction that is incomplete, you can't keep reading. You just have to sit with whatever the plot point is, wondering.
Sometimes LC (and most ongoing work probably) gets comments that express frustration over something that I, the author, know will get resolved eventually. But on a few specific topics, folk consistently will write comments that accidentally imply I'm like... writing about pointless stuff?? And I KNOW they don't mean to imply that, and that they're just giving an emotional response to the drama I MYSELF CREATED, which means it's impacting them emotionally and that means my writing of the subject was successful, BUT it's still a little frustrating on my part when people seem to imply that I'm wasting time/words/story on something "useless" or "pointless" or something that "doesn't matter." FRUSTRATING that they think I'm just wasting words!
But it's not frustrating in a "they're wrong" kind of way, mind you. It's frustrating in a "I can't give them any assurances without dropping massive spoilers and now I'm caught between a rock and a spoilery place" kind of way!
Big LC spoilers if you haven't read past chapter 110 or so. Click to keep reading.
Specifically I'm talking about the "None of this is real" plotline. For those who need a refresher, Hiruko implied that the world/people around NQK may not be "Real" by some obscure definition, and NQK spends a lot of time agonizing over what that means in both a practical and philosophical sense, and if it means anything at all.
In chapter 109, NQKagome reacts super emotionally to this whole idea, insisting that the people around her MUST be real. She loves them, and she feels they love her, so the idea that they're "philosophical zombies" that are basically just really good fake people makes her have an anxiety attack. And a lot of readers SWIFTLY sided with NQKagome, and/or they argued "It doesn't actually matter if they're real or not."
It's that last argument I find really frustrating. The implication that "this topic they're spending time on doesn't matter and they shouldn't even worry about it" is, unintentionally, kind of implying that the time we're spending talking about the concept itself doesn't matter, which is in turn an implication that it has no bearing on the plot/story/characters, which is kind of a sideways comment about my writing/storycraft itself. It's implying I'm spinning my wheels on useless crap.
And I know that's not what's intended by those comments, which are instead likely just emotional reactions to a heavy concept, but like... "Hey author, this thing you've devoted thousands of words to doesn't actually matter or have a point, I think it's useless for the characters to care about it" is a frustrating thing to hear.
Because it does matter.
I wouldn't be writing about it at such length and in such detail if it didn't matter.
But I can't like... explain why it matters, or even the DEGREE to which it does or doesn't matters, because even hinting at how big (or small) of a deal it may be could be SUPER spoilery if you're even a LITTLE good at deducing metanarrative. So I just have to sit here nervously laughing to myself going, "Heheh, yeah, uh, it toooootally doesn't matter at all, noooo... (*nervous fidgeting*)" and feeling frustrated that the reader doesn't trust me to write about things that "matter."
Oh god, this is a trust issue. I just figured that out now while writing this.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that if LC were complete, you could just read to the end and figure out why/how it matters instead of implying it's a useless waste of time, but LC isn't complete, so...you can't. BUT I also know that the impassioned responses to the "Is this Real?" question show just how deeply the topic gets under people's skin, and that's great for me as a writer, because it shows me where I can focus to get people emotionally invested. Even the most hostile "this sucks and this topic shouldn't matter" responses show me I've struck a nerve, which is a GOOD thing in the end. I should take those comments as compliments.
But all in all, I GUESS those frustrating responses and my reactions to them indicate how much I need to finish the damn story, so maybe this frustration is a good thing in the end... but please, for the love of fanfic, please TRY and trust that if I spend a long time talking about something in the story, it's probably because I'm laying the groundwork for plot later. Don't fall prey to "No Instant Answers Disease."
"Just trust the process and let me cook." That's the moral (antidote?) here.
And that's my rant. Thanks for reading.
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vigilskeep · 7 months
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the negative comments about a character in posts about a character are sooooo fucking annoying especially if it's already a disliked/controversial character whose tag you can't enter without being bombarded with negative takes anyway. like listen i get being a hater i do it all the time but idk do it in private. i personally censor the names so it doesn't show in tag but i'm not asking people to do that but can y'all maybe not comment "yeah i dumped them for [the main fandom guy] lmao" under a character romance gifset. litcherally who asked. all this does is makes me dislike the main fandom guy bc somehow it's always their fans acting like dickheads. and the guy himself is like fine i don't hate him he's pretty neat but he's covered in the fucking Ooze™ bc the people who like him are toddlers who don't know how to behave. not to mention doing all that on a post of an artist [as in person who makes any kind of art and not necessarily drawing] who spent their fucking time and effort on something clearly dear to them and you just go "yeah i think they suck" the only one who sucks is you dear commenter. i swear i try to be a nice person but if this goes on i'll lose my shit and start being such a cunt to those people i'll end up with a bajillion callout posts about how i'm soooo negative and ruin the fandom and get in the way of people having fun. WELL THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN IF Y'ALL WEREN'T GETTING IN EVERYONE ELSE'S WAY OF HAVING FUN. idk what this is and why only fans of characters like g*rrus or ast*rion do it and everyone else has the braincells to have some decency and be a normal human who doesn't comment their very important (no) negative opinion on people's work. MAKE YOUR OWN FUCKING POST TELL A FRIEND HOW MUCH THAT OTHER BLORBO SUCKS COMPARED TO YOURS IDK TOUCH GRASS
you're probably gonna look at this and go "anon what the fuck" and yeah i don't blame you i'm just. very tired. feel free to ignore or respond with that mcdonalds cashier meme idk i just needed to say this
i’m patting you on the head consolingly. yeah
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ryuichirou · 21 days
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Replies
A couple replies related to the anti question from yesterday, but then yay, a couple of replies about Idia! <3
mysaldate asked:
Related to the anti question: The localization is also to blame for so many younger people and antis swarming the twst circles. The JP game is marketted as joseimuke and the target group are specifically adult women. The localization, after dumbing everything down and making characters speak like the cringiest side of Tiktok, decided 3+ is a good enough age rating and then changed it to 13+ or wherever it is right now after getting mocked relentlessly for thinking 3+ was a good idea. 13+ is still far too young and it sadly leads to a lot of younger and more immature people being in the fandom.
Oh my god, fucking 3+… And 13+ isn’t much better. The entire rating system is kind of weird when you think about it: simply because there isn’t any nudity or sexual themes or gore, it doesn’t mean that the game is perfectly fit for 13 year olds. But this is its own whole can of worms that I’m not touching with a 5 feet pole…
But yeah, unfortunately immaturity really is a big issue :(
Anonymous asked:
I remember seeing a callout post that mentioned grooming and I was like, “oh no!” Until I read that the person in question never groomed  anyone, rather, the poster was claiming that a drawing of theirs had grooming. Wow, thanks for wasting my time calling this out, Jerk. Yeah, I’m still salty about this.
THIS IS SUCH A BIG ISSUE AAAH because they always use those words to grab your attention, but then out of 10 callout posts about groomers you’ll have 5 posts about someone drawing a problematic ship, 3 posts about someone just talking to someone once, 1 post that is just a straight-up lie and maybe 1 post about an actual predator that people should either block or report. Not only it clogs the report system with irrelevant stuff and distracts from real and very serious cases, it completely desensitises people to the point when their first thought when they see a callout post is “I’m not even going to waste my time reading this, I’m 95% sure this is bs”.
I am very tired of it, so I understand, Anon.
Alright, now let’s have a complete tonal shift and about our favourite hikki boy.
Anonymous asked:
What does Idia find attractive in a person? Like, what qualities, whether appearance or personality-wise would draw him to them? What would be the ultimate dealbreaker or what would be something that would lead to a big “NOPE” from him?
Good question, Anon~
Thank god Idia gives us food to think about these things with his crush on his online buddy lol I’m going to base my thoughts on their interactions.
First and foremost, for someone who isn’t very social, Idia really loves it when he can share his interests with someone. I say it every time, but quality time is one of the most important things for Idia, so if a person listened to a song he’d sent or if he is fun to play with, it’s going to win a lot of points for Idia. And Idia probably senses fakeness in this type of stuff, so he needs someone who is going to be genuinely invested in a game; just like Lilia, Azul or Ortho are.
He also loves determined, strong-willed people who take things into their own hands. Idia is kind of passive and hates being someone who initiates things, so his perfect partner would have to do the heavy lifting when it comes to this side of their relationship. He would have to “feel Idia’s vibes” and know when to push and when to leave him alone. Idia is (probably unintentionally) drawn to people who push him a liiiitlle bit out of his comfort zone, but he gets super defensive when someone oversteps his boundaries. He even complimented Crimson Muscle for always keeping a perfect distance and yet being very involved and friendly with him. In short, his perfect partner would have to make things easy for him emotionally lol
I don’t know about appearance, but I feel like Idia is kind of drawn to tall and mature men that are on the bigger side, he is kind of into this whole fantasy of Crimson Muscle being older than him, which is super ironic considering that at least 3 of his potential lovers are significantly smaller than him (Ortho, Lilia, Azul), and two of them are also younger than him. Not sure of Idia has a thing for this type, it’s probably just a funny coincidence, but it could be a bone in Idia’s body that gets pleasantly tickled because of the fact that he’s being topped by someone as tiny and adorable as they are. Well, not sure if he considers Azul tiny or adorable, but he certainly thinks that he has a pretty face.
Body-wise, the Tweels are probably the closest to what Idia would envision if he was cringe enough to fantasize about having sex with someone which he absolutely doesn’t do because that would be too pathetic and typical for a shut-in otaku loser like him ha ha ha ha ha. Seriously though, he probably doesn’t think about these things, also because he’s never thought that he would be a bottom in a sexual scenario, but if we forced Idia to pick the most attractive body out of all of these people, there is a chance that he would have picked the Tweels.
As for the big NOPEs…. The majority of people are big NOPEs for Idia lol
Ironically, the Tweels are a HUUUGE NOPE because they’re scary. Idia actively avoids them because he knows they are up to no good, and he would never consider any type of relationship with them.
He always complains about extraverts, but they would balance him out surprisingly well. But still, in theory this is a big no-no, in particular because they always have a lot of friends and the thought itself makes Idia feels a bit jealous and lonely. Plus, he considers them obnoxious lol Even though Ortho is an extravert.
He also doesn’t like nosy people who criticise him and don’t understand his hobbies and life philosophies. Azul nags on him, but he is surprisingly good at giving him his space, maybe because he knows that this is just how Idia operates and there is nothing he can do about it.
Idia also hates sporty people, active people, reckless people, people with a stick up their butts… He has a lot of opinions about every single NRC student and why they would be horrible to date lol
Anonymous asked:
Does Idia have to have a connection with someone to sleep with them? Is he open to one-night-stands, granted he wouldn’t be the one to instigate them I’m guessing. Does he like foreplay? What’s a sure way to get him in the mood? Sorry for all the questions! 😓
No worries, Anon, I like talking about Idia a lot as you might’ve noticed lol
It’s probably ironic considering just how many people we ship him with, but I feel like Idia doesn’t even consider having sex as something that might at some point happen to him. His mindset is “I’m a lonely otaku shut-in and I don’t want to be around people, but it’s okay if I stay a virgin because sex is overrated”. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to have sex, he just doesn’t think that it’s an option and he is okay with it… One-night-stand just sounds isn’t as stressful as building a relationship with someone, but it’s still stressful af and very cringy, so he wouldn’t do it “unless he’s 50 and desperate”. But who knows, maybe his circumstances change…
To answer your first question, yes, on paper, he has to be very close to a person to even think about these things. But that’s on paper, in actuality (and this is the scenario for our art and posts a lot of times) sex could just happen to him suddenly because the tension got too strong and; and then Idia would suddenly feel himself overflowing with his suppressed urges. “I have to have a super strong connection with someone to sleep with them” and “I will probably never have sex” are irrelevant when Idia is being touched and feels every single sensation and feeling at once. Out of all of the guys we ship him with, I feel like the only one he would think about having sex with prior to that happening is Lilia (his online self of course), but even then this thought is just cringy delusional cope in Idia’s own opinion.
With foreplay, it’s kinda tricky. I think Idia is someone who would prefer to get it over with, to have sex already, to hurry his lover up, because foreplay feels too overwhelming and embarrassing. But his body craves much more attention that Idia is ready to let anyone give to it, so he would probably enjoy being petted, kissed, even edged, and his own embarrassment always dances on a fine line between ruining Idia’s mood because of the anxiety of it all and making him much hornier because embarrassment is arousing.
As for getting him in the mood, he is way too sensitive and his body is way too responsive, so a lot of times just grabbing and touching him works wonderfully… except when he is very busy gaming, because nothing can stand between him and his game. He’ll push anyone away if he’s busy with his online tournament… well okay, anyone other than Ortho or Lilia lol
Idia also responds to hentai tropes because he is always shocked when he experiences them irl, and ironically Ortho, Lilia, Azul, the Tweels – all of them would trigger that reaction intentionally or not. Especially Azul with his tentacles…
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rian-yagi-vibes · 10 months
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Okay I just really want to get something off my chest
(besides the useless lumps of flesh)
It's okay if a group of people makes you uncomfortable. Legitimately. Full stop. You cannot immediately control discomfort. It's an automatic response your brain has and you can't always just tell your brain to shut the fuck up. You're human and that's okay...
Because what matters is how you act on discomfort.
If someone is genuinely harassing you? like literally threatening you? if someone is actively working to harm or upset you? that shit ain't right and you should be allowed to do something about it.
BUT! Someone existing in the same room as you isn't doing any of that. Someone sitting near you on the bus looking at their phone isn't hurting you. Someone Reblogging from you on Tumblr isn't hurting you. Someone using the free public restroom at the same time as you isn't hurting you. Someone tagging something isn't hurting you. Someone laughing loudly or eating food or walking down the street or wearing certain clothes or having a certain gender or skin color or religious affiliation or sexuality isn't fucking hurting you. People existing at the same time as you isn't an overt threat.
You can feel uncomfortable. But you cannot fucking attack people just because you personally don't like them.
Case in point: I have very very rough trauma. I'm a survivor of a handful of things that I personally am not a fan of talking about. There are certain groups that make me incredibly uncomfortable and downright sick to my stomach to deal with. People of a certain sexuality make my skin crawl due to those past awful experiences. Another group that brings me vast discomfort is just. Literally mothers. There's no nuance there, people who are mothers make me incredibly uncomfortable because of things I dealt with growing up that I am still unpacking as a 28 year old.
But never once on here have I attacked anyone or even alluded to some of the groups giving me discomfort. I don't make posts talking about how those people should die. I don't call those people evil. I don't do callouts for people who I suddenly find out are parents or have a certain attraction. I have friends and acquaintances in those groups and I refuse to treat them any differently just because of that trait, because that trait has nothing to do with who they are as people.
Anyway my point is that some of y'all need to grow up, because someone correctly tagging a fandom post isn't fucking hurting you. A person shipping with characters you dislike isn't fucking hurting you. Grow up and block people, because you guys acting legitimately triggered while adamantly refusing to avoid said triggers is embarrassing as hell and really fucking irritating for those of us with PTSD.
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alfrodulls · 3 months
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if you haven't seen my hiatus post, please read that one first then come back to this one. it's a bit of a rant, a tad negative, bit of a status update if you will. don't take anything personally, i'm just getting my thoughts out now that i feel like i separated myself from the emotional side of things.
i want to announce that i might cook up a new, low activity oc separate from finn + keep it extra selective for people i trust. because as i've said i've seen an influx in the characters with similar personalities as finn and considering i personalized him based on my own interests & characteristics i like in characters (pagan religion, fashion, witchcraft, music, occult, sacrificial, morally grey character who leans into a villainous side while remaining a hero, proudly orientation and identity-focused, sardonic, two-faced, tragedies and how he heals from them in his backstory, etc.) it feels very icky to see the ideas re-used. fyi i wouldn't necessarily say it's plagiarism from me, realistically no character is fully original anyway. but more or less & intentionally or subconsciously, i'm seeing like characters who match up to finn about 70% to 90% at this point whenever i happen to lurk around and it's upsetting. that's like a high match and with how many concepts i'm loading onto finn you'd think it wouldn't be possible but it is somehow. but that could be because i'm simply skimming through content rather than taking my time analyzing them so i don't think it deserves to turn into a confrontation or a callout unless it becomes obvious that finn was being ripped concepts from.
it's also impossible to make interactions happen without giving away some of finn's personality because how some people act in the rpc with their own muses for the past few months. i feel like no amount of revamping finn could fix that. like, yes, i would become more proud of how i'm developing him for sure but that would literally be it. it would make roleplaying even harder than before. not impossible, but harder because no one wants to find a middle-ground where you keep both of your characters' personalities without being offended or be honest upfront with how things are taking a turn in dynamics or threads it feels like.
i've also come to realize that unless i have some crazy assignments or exams coming up, i have so much free time left from uni so technically i should have enough time to indulge in my roleplaying hobbies but really? i don't really want to, not with finn at least save for people i have special connections with and i'm not even afraid to name those muses. one of them is zarina, renata is very active so admittedly before my hiatus i did overstay beyond the point i enjoyed myself in the rpc. one of them is daji, yue is taking an indefinite hiatus so i don't need to be on tumblr for developing those two. one of them is nadya, but vivi quit tumblr rp so i definitely don't need to be on tumblr to write finn with. i also enjoyed rosa.ria from jaina but he hasn't written her in a long time and i cannot force someone's muse because i like their dynamic with my muse, that's just not how things work.
i hope other people that became my writing partners on this blog don't take it personally, but i genuinely felt like it was performative than genuine character-building & writing together. like, yes, part of roleplaying IS performative but whatever i've written did not feel authentic. like whatever was being performed was to keep faces and not for the dramatics of it, you know? there are muns and muses i adore regardless of their view of me or finn, and i hope they know themselves since i've followed them through so many accounts like from naoki to vladimir, to kuras, to my multi, to here, etc. but i'm not gonna mention them in the previous list because it would be a lie to say i enjoyed myself writing with them through finn. considering finn was supposed to be a mix of my ideal type + beige flags that annoy me but i also think are funny enough to look over + tragic hero up to my understanding, i've come to realize he is very self-indulgent to be written up with other people in the first place. i will continue to develop him off-rpc but idk if i'll ever bring him back.
idk when i would be pleased to bring the said oc in development to the roleplaying scene, but stay tuned. (i already have the bare bones of the dude and i may or may not reuse naoki's faceclaims considering she developed into a transfem chara and it doesn't feel right for me to use masc muses despite her androgyny and i haven't written her in tumblr in almost 2 years by now so why waste sexy ass faceclaims amirite? if you did not know how she looked like, she had white long hair with reddish eyes) and may that new oc bring me back my enjoyment of the rpc because it's hard to hold onto the rpc without a canon chara and i hate having single muse blogs for canon charas i'm ngl to u
anyway adios
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veliseraptor · 11 months
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17 and 18 for the "choose violence" asks?
there should be more of this type of fic/art: okay, there's all kinds of things where I'm like "I desperately want more of this, why isn't there more of this" but I kind of feel like for most of those it's not that there's none of it so much as I just want more. so I'm just going to say that I think fandom needs more fucked up femslash.
like. look. Liu Mingyan/Sha Hualing is great and what I want from it is something really digging into the messiness of that relationship - not even fucked up per se but just the fact that it's righteous cultivator/demon, or to put it even more bluntly madonna/whore, and like...poking at that, and their relationships with sexuality, and the potential humor but also potential complications...but I feel like what I've found for them, with a couple exceptions, is mostly either (a) just smut or (b) nice lesbians having a good time.
or Lucille Sharpe/Edith from Crimson Peak! admittedly I have found more of this one but there could still be so much more and it is such a relationship and there is so much potential for fucked up smut here and this is one where lately I've honestly been like "maybe I just have to write it myself" because I feel like I could.
you know what I need to go look for? Qiyan Agula/Nangong Jingnu fic. but I bet there's not enough of it.
and I know I could be contributing to this and I'm not, #part of the problem, but also I am one writer and I just think...idk, I feel like people have ended up with this idea that femslash is the nice and sweet pairing zone and I would like more deranged f/f relationship dynamics, please and thank you.
(callout post for Kushiel's Legacy which has a mere 31/328 fics that are tagged for Phedre/Melisandre, it's right there. baby's first fucked up femslash ship and I stand by it)
it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...: well, I feel like some of the above could also go here, but in the interests of answering something else...I feel like there is so much potential in Mu Qing's relationship with honestly most characters other than Feng Xin (not that that relationship isn't great!), particularly Xie Lian, and I don't think it gets poked at nearly enough.
as far as CQL goes I personally could use a lot more fic about Xue Yang's fast times at Jinlintai, particularly fic that doesn't make Jin Guangyao the bad guy in one way or another. the potential for Jin Ling babysitting fic alone, I wrote one but there could be more.
also just personally there's not nearly enough whump in the vegaspete part of kinnporsche fandom and if I write any more of it myself I'm going to feel silly. which won't stop me but think of how silly I'll feel
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jitterbugjive · 10 months
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Oh-- God, that's wild. And a lot more complicated than I thought. D: I do remember her publicly calling you out years ago, I can't remember what for (maybe it was vaguing, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't about any of this.) Felt more like a personal spat where she was offended/her feelings were hurt. ): I do hope she gets the help she needs, and you still come out of this okay. None of that relates to who you are now as a content creator.
It was about a few things, like the Derpy Blog incident, and claiming that I taught her to act like a sociopath because a long time ago she came to me asking about her lack of emotional empathy and need to manipulate others and in my naivete I suggested perhaps sociopathy could explain it. Because even I myself at the time was dealing with similar feelings and thought I might have been a sociopath because of it. This was before therapy and dealing with my trauma and realizing it wasn't sociopathy, but in fact dissociation. And when I did suggest it, I tried my best to give her tools to practice empathy and kindness, but she blames me for all the wrong and harm she's done to people because to her, my suggesting she had sociopathy was permission for her to act like a sociopath.
I struggled with the guilt of this for a while but my therapist told me no one can 'teach' someone to become a sociopath, that's not how that works. She chose to act that way on her own because she took something I said and ran with it, and I didn't give her enough tools to counter those thoughts but that's not my fault because I didn't intend for things to happen the way they did. I really tried to provide advice that would help her function more like a proper, kind person, but she ignored that advice. I'm not blaming her either by the way, she was a kid, kids are dumb, they tend to latch on to dumb things and take them way out of context. She was at that age where kids like to be edgy so I'm sure the idea of being a sociopath was cool to her.
She also called me out on something I told her when I was in a psychotic state, which was me saying I based Slate off of her. That wasn't true either, and I tried to explain it to her that in that state I believed everyone's characters HAD to be based on someone real, no exception, and I felt the need to tell her Slate was based on her because he had just a couple of things in common with her and therefor "they were connected" and I "subconciously" used Slate as an experiment to better understand her.
Again, I explained this to her, I told her that I was not in my right mind, and I told her the three characters Slate was actually based on from the anime Monster. But she apparently chose to believe I was lying and that I HAD to have based slate on her because of how similar they were.
I have a screencap of a convo here where she admits that she had a habit of taking anything wrong she did and blaming it on me, and the last convo I had with her was about a friend she manipulated and targetted because she thought he was too nice and naive and needed to learn a lesson about life.
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I never meant to make her feel like she was a bad person, I just wanted to know why she did it, why she hurt someone that badly and pitted people against him.
She ghosted me after this convo, and a few months later deleted my Bedeviled Derpy blog with a long post of accusations against me.
THEN after that did a callout twitter with one of her buddies.
It's just
I have been too scared to defend myself because I don't want to look like one of THOSE people, but I'm so tired of people looking at just one side of the story and not understanding all the stuff that's being left out or twisted to sound worse than it actually is.
I want the best for her, I do, but I don't think I deserved this much backlash. If she'd just talked to me we could have come to an understanding, I feel. But that's not how she does things. She'd sooner ghost then lash out than actually discuss things. She'd rather tear people apart to get back at them than come to an understanding. Maybe she's different now, but I doubt she'll ever let go of the fact that I'm her scapegoat for everything that was ever wrong with her.
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chainofclovers · 2 years
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I don’t think the OP of this lovely post (pictured here)…
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…has seen s2 of the show yet so I didn’t want to reblog with a bunch of words about something they haven’t watched but this post made me feel so much nostalgia for the PERFECT feeling of having consumed Ted Lasso s1 and Ted Lasso s1 only. My least favorite parts of the fandom experience (ship wars, Twitter, toxic positivity aka Missing the Entire Point) were not on my radar at all. I was just living in this sweet little deceptively complicated and absolutely beautiful world of dreamy characters!
BUT!
I loved s2 too, and this perfect s1 post actually reminds me of something I specifically love about it, which is that…in s2, a lot of that showing up and courage and loving callout stuff that happens in s1 falters. Not because those things aren’t important, but because the writing on this show has something really important to say about how the big, scary, painful stuff in life can actually trap us in a place where we can’t just rely on our own gestures to get out of it. There are moments that transcend the sadness and isolation, like when Rebecca pulls Ted out of his flat on Christmas, or when Beard does show up with the coffee the day after the Man City match, or when the season finale hits and people finally seem ready to start talking to each other about real things again.
S1 defines the culture of the show—be good for other people. But s2 reminds us that you can’t be good for other people if you’re not good for yourself, and if you can’t be good for yourself because you’re being haunted by things too big and too painful to navigate on your own, you have to figure out how to ask for help. People don’t ask for help very much in s1; they perceive needs in each other and respond. S2 gets more painful, and the only way out is to consciously say I want to make an appointment or Stay, Ted or (this one is paraphrased) Your mustache is going to pop off your face if you don’t talk. Ted wouldn’t have been able to keep going without therapy, because his normal coping mechanisms were no longer enough.
So many fans seemed to feel like s2 eroded the culture of s1, but I don’t think it did at all. Rather, it was a reminder that without external structures in place (like therapy, like friendships that include a commitment to being honest, like a workplace environment that makes it explicitly safe to provide feedback and talk about the things that happen to you) that make it possible to care for self and others during painful times, you can risk losing what the happier version of you would never let go of.
(And I also think about the social commentary of 2x3 with Sam’s decision to lead the protest, and the soulmate-y parallels of 2x10, and how even when certain individuals aren’t able to feel the warmth they deserve, it doesn’t ever stop existing.)
I have not watched a single episode of Ted Lasso in 2022 because something in me wanted to take a little break, but I’m planning to rewatch both seasons this week. I have NEVER watched this entire show straight through, not since s1, when I watched those episodes straight through many times. My memories of s1 are of this very warm world with flickers of pain, and my memories of s2 are of this very painful world with flickers (big flickers) of warmth, and I’m finally genuinely excited to experience that straight through.
I’ll always be so grateful to have spent that time with s1 and s1 only, just feeling wrapped in that already-complicated universe that they somehow made feel so simple, but I’m also grateful for the ways it got more harshly complicated in s2, because it was necessary, and something about heartmotifs’s post makes me extra excited for s3, too.
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tavyliasin · 2 months
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The Highs and Lows of Fandom Creation
Hello darlings~ It has been a little while and this one has been on my list to get to for a while, and with the Baldur's Date Valentine's Fanworks event soon to draw to a close it seems appropriate to start preparing ourselves for the cycle of what happens when we release our works into the wild. So without further ado, our latest essay~
The RollerCoaster of Emotion That Comes With Being A Creative In Fan Spaces (FanArt, FanFiction, Cosplay, Photography, Music, and So Much More) ((Another CallOut Essay Prepare To Be SEEN)) (((Also I Have Some Coping Techniques Here Too!)))
As usual with my essay pieces I will be making plenty of use of the headers to divide topics, and I fully welcome any thoughts and feelings in the comments. Whilst I am really only in the FanFic side, and a focus on Baldur's Gate 3, I do intend to make this essay inclusive of the trials and tribulations that we all tend to face in making and sharing fanworks of all kinds and through all fandoms. The more people I speak to, the more it seems to be a universal experience, so hold on to your hats it's a bumpy ride! The first part will talk about the Rollercoaster itself, the how and why behind it all, and the second will be around how to cope with it. For readers and appreciators of fan content, I urge you to have a little look too, and at the end I will add in some ways you can help support your favourites too~
Creatives Are Emotional Beings
Starting off with the obvious callout - most of us are. We feel things deeply, and that emotion can often be an incredible driving force behind our works. Whether we're creating around things we've experience, being inspired and influenced by our current emotions, or drawing on our well of imagination to work out what characters might feel (and often more importantly how/why they feel that way), emotion is a strong part of the process.
This can be an incredible strength! Tapping in to the deeper parts of ourselves, our experiences, and the emotions at our cores, can bring out the very best in our works across all creative formats. It also tends to help our audiences engage too, as they recognise their own emotions mirrored in the works.
The Downside to Strong Emotion - The Rollercoaster Effect
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This chart was initially drawn up based on writing, but truly after speaking with a few beloved Discord friends it was quick to see that this easily applies to art as well, so I'm going to go over this slightly differently to the initial plan.
The Start Of Every Ride
We begin usually around a neutral baseline, or maybe a little below if we haven't created in a while, perhaps we might start higher than baseline with the rush of an exciting new idea. Either way, the first part of the project tends to go up in mood very quickly when we share those early unfinished parts.
For writers this might be a beta reader or sharing a sample of the work as they're still writing as a teaser, artists might see this as their initial sketch or linework stage if they're sharing progress and teasers too. Cosplayers could be the first part of a build, musicians sharing a few bars of the melody - whatever it is, that first little positive boost that says Keep Going is a powerful one.
But what happens next? Well, you still have more work to do! That initial boost and confidence can drop down to a slump, especially if it's taking longer to complete than you thought it would, and double that if something goes wrong that needs to be changed or fixed.
You may, hopefully, find it begins to rise as things start to come together again and that finish line in sight, but then...
I Finished Making The Thing, Now What?
Well, first you're going to feel that massive surge of satisfaction from completing the thing. Sometimes a dopamine rush in the brain, and all that excitement of "Finally I get to share the thing I worked so hard on! It's done!" So, off you go, you post it. You share the links, maybe drop them in some Discord servers, other social media...and then, often very quickly, it hits you.
Post Publishing Drop
Those of you in the convention and event scene might also know this feeling as "Con Drop", which can take a little longer to manifest. Post Publishing Drop hits quite quickly. Sometimes it might take a few hours, but other times it starts almost within minutes of posting as all that rush of energy finishing and publishing is just...gone.
If you're lucky, you might get some quick and early feedback, especially if you're a well known or popular creator, but I imagine even those of you who tend to get very high engagement can feel a lot of this too so I don't mean to exclude any of you in any way at all~ So what is it? What's happening? WHY?!
Well darlings all that adrenaline is wearing off and realistically you're not likely to get that creative feedback and validation instantly. So that wonderfully powerful emotional heart of yours is going to crack a little. It won't last, it won't stay this low, but good gods that lack of engagement and positive reinforcement can be devastating.
The first engagements you get - kudos, likes, reaction emotes on a Discord post - they may be enough to boost you right back up to your baseline or even a little above, until the worry creeps back in again. And I know that it does, clawing and slithering in the back of your beautifully creative mind whispering those horrible lies:
Why isn't this getting the reaction I hoped for yet? Is this work not as good as before? Have people stopped liking me? Is the website/platform hiding my work? Have I upset people somehow in ways I can't even see?
Then Back Up We Go, And What Goes Up...
Hopefully those voices don't get a chance to be too loud for too long before you see more of that engagement. Maybe it's a heartfelt comment from someone, or a share from someone you respect, or just a little surge of interaction in general. You're back on top, darling, your creative heart is soaring, finally your work is being seen in a way that reminds you why you put in all that time in the first place!
And each time, the high wears off again, with a drop, though the extremities of each is likely less and less as time goes on. Unless, of course, we make one little mistake and the gradual confidence build comes crashing back down...
The Perils Of Comparing
Sometimes this might be looking at someone else's work, seeing a similar style or similar topic get far more engagement than your own. It can be really hard not to feel discouraged by this, and falling into that trap of questioning where you're "going wrong" can lead to absolute agony - I urge you to do your best to move away from this as soon as you notice the feeling. I'll cover some proper techniques later though, I promise!
The other trap with comparison can be looking at your own past works, and over-analysing why some pieces never got the same love and appreciation as others. Picking it apart to find what you can do better is not as wise a plan as it seems for one simple reason:
Over half of this is down to pure chance!
It might be the time of day it was posted, or just one or two people seeing it and deciding to share it on that gives a work a massive boost to interaction and engagement. Maybe a work was lucky enough to get shared in a prominent community by one of the members, or even had someone with a huge following give it a boost.
At the end of the day, there seem to be very few ways to predict this. Of course there are some characters, topics, art styles, writing tropes, etc that will have a tendency to get more love from their respective fanbases - that's how popularity works - but there is no guarantee that, for example, two portraits of the same character in similar styles by different artists will have the same levels of engagement and "success". The main person you should be aiming to please with your own work is yourself~ After all, when working on it you will be the one going over it again and again, knowing every detail in and out, if you don't love the subject of those details your less likely to even reach that finish line~
And It All Begins Again
At the end of the cycle there's often one last spike up. Maybe it's a comment or interaction from someone who truly felt the depth of meaning in your work as you hoped it would, or you realise that it has done better overall in the numbers, or most often you get that creative surge of a shiny new idea that calls to you with that familiar siren song, promising the high of satisfaction and sweeping the memory of that Post Publishing Drop under the rug all over again so you won't see it coming when you trip on it.
How Do We Get Off This Ride? Where's The Safety Bar?
Darlings, be honest, you didn't want to stop. You still don't. That's why you're still right here, reading this with me. Your cycle might take a day, a week, a month, or you may go through the whole thing in a matter of hours.
Riding The Waves
The first way to begin coping is to prepare. Know yourself and how you're likely to feel, and plan ahead for it. If you know the drop is coming, you can try to avoid it, or deploy distress tolerance when it feels too much.
On a very simple level, this can be reminding yourself that the lows do not last, and those highs will still be there. You might even be tempted to try to regulate the highs as much as the lows, to bring everything a little closer in to the baseline throughout the cycle.
Distress Tolerance techniques can be important to practice when you're feeling close to your baseline and calm so that they're easier to turn to when you're feeling that low hit. There are lots of things that work for different people, so it might be trial and error - largely you're looking at relaxation techniques, distraction from the source of the distress, and/or community support.
You Can Rely On The Community!
It is ok to ask for help! You can ask people for reassurance, directly ask for feedback, or even just talk over how you feel with other creators and find out how they're handling things. Sometimes just knowing you're not alone and that your feelings are real, valid, and matter can be a real boon - that's why I'm here, spending a couple of hours putting all of this into words as best as I can for you all. I've felt this cycle too many times, but the more I talk about it with other fic writers the more I feel we are connected and that I'm not just losing my marbles over nothing~
We are human, we have emotions - strong ones, remember? - and there's nothing wrong with that at all!
There is nothing wrong with having emotions and experiencing them!
Knowing When To Step Away
If you know you're more likely to have a swift drop from lack of quick feedback, it's a great idea to plan to step away from socials as soon as you're done. Have an activity planned, or do it all write before bed so you can switch off and go to sleep. Turn off those notifications so you aren't fussing over each one of them as they come in and don't go back for a while.
Allow a realistic amount of time to pass for people to see and engage with your work before you worry it is invisible!
The Next Shiny Idea
Conversely, if you're feeling too much of a creative itch, then as soon as you're done sharing move right on to starting the next project. Let the initial surge of energy from completing and sharing something be the driving force to kickstart the next great adventure! That way you're thinking more about the new work, the sparkling allure of a fresh idea, rather than fixating on the success of the last.
Cashing in on that adrenaline rush to make a good head-start can boost you right to that early feedback stage too, then if you're really lucky when you hit the first drop-off you'll have the positive engagement from the last work to boost you back up, so in some ways you're overlaying your graphs to balance them out with each other.
Naturally this only works if you have the time and energy to do so. It's also important to know when to take breaks to avoid burning out.
General Mood Boosting Ideas
These might not work for everyone, but here are some things to try when you're in one of those lows. A lot of this may be trial and error and knowing yourself best, so treat this as a few things that may or may not be effective rather than Lia's Super Snake Oil Cure For Everything (you have to buy that from me separately, it's super expensive but it is delightfully cherry and cinnamon flavoured~)
Check in on your basic needs. Drink, food, meds (if applicable), sleep/nap, caffeine (if you usually have it), shower/bath/hygiene needs (even if just a quick freshen up it's better than nothing), fresh air/outside time (if possible), exercise/physical movement (if you're able to), social needs (can be in person or online, any social interaction/support)
Music can be a powerful mood tool. Sometimes it's cathartic to listen to music that matches your current mood, but other times it is better to listen to music with the mood you want to feel.
Media from the fandom, like the book/film/game/etc that you're making fanworks for - return to the thing that inspired you to create and remember all the things that you loved about it in the first place.
Look at other fanworks but be very cautious! Do this for inspiration, to look at things you do and don't like in other pieces, but do not do this if it will be likely to cause a mood drop for you.
Do something different and change up your routine. Something entirely new or something you haven't done for a while.
Try something small, not connected to a large piece. A few sketches, doodles, make a meme, write a few short lines of dialogue or a brief scene. Share something with far lower stakes for a little boost.
Talk to others in the creative community and have a bit of fun, maybe try some games together, whatever you like!
I'm Not A Creative, How Can I Help?
This also counts for creatives who want to support each other, too! Of course I will put the caveat that I do understand that not everyone is comfortable visibly interacting with spice and that's fine~
Drop a like or kudos if you enjoyed the piece, it takes a second and means the world~
Leaving a comment, even a couple of silly words of "I loved it" is great!
Leaving a longer comment, picking out your favourite parts? That is the kind of boost that lasts weeks darlings it really does.
Sharing the work is also a big boost, whether publicly or privately to friend/fan groups, but especially when sharing art/images please share the link with it not just the image or a screenshot~ let people find and appreciate the artist.
Follow or Subscribe or Turn on notifications if you really want to see more of their work, then you can interact sooner and give that much needed boost~
Try to be patient, especially with longer or higher effort works. Expressing excitement is a boost, but just be careful you're not putting too much pressure on the creator. We do have things going on behind the screen that can delay our plans at times.
Consider dropping an interaction on something else, or check in on how they're doing in general - a little kindness outside of just the works being produced can be a boost too!
The Grand Finale of the Rollercoaster
Thank you for staying with me to the end darlings, I know this was likely a bit of an emotional ride, but please do drop in some comments or reblogs with the other things you experience and how you handle the emotional whirlwind of being a fan creator. Always remember, you are valued for more than just what you can produce, your works are adored but the person behind them is worth so much more and always will be. Look after yourselves, I love you dearly~
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