strawandstream

[strawandstream]

my top tip for surviving any roleplaying community is to understand the golden rules "in character =/= out of character" and "RP boundaries can and should be negotiated ahead of playtime, and can always be renegotiated" and stick to them. which means that "a character's behaviour, and the ways they interact with other characters, do not mean that the player harbours any of those sentiments unless expressed otherwise out of character" but also "all players have a right to express discomfort or dissatisfaction with the ways we're interacting through the medium of our characters, and you should not react defensively or dismiss anyone else's concerns just because it 'isn't real'".

#words tag #Garfield voice: you are not immune to ic-ooc bleed #We all put little parts of ourselves in our characters: it's just a good writing practice #BUT it is important to remember you are not your character and your character is not you #And if anyone starts acting that way then run

[strawandstream]

i've said it before and i'll say it a thousand times but the basic problem with batfam (and most comic fandoms really) is that the vast majority of general consensus on what these characters should be or where their stories should go is based on the fact that a lot of fans do not like these characters nor these comics but they like the made up versions of them and the built in community that surrounds it. but they also actively disparage the source material and it's narrative goals when it does not comply to these made up expectations. and for some reason the current marketing strategy is to cater to these people. who do not like these characters. or comic books

#It's not gatekeeping to ask people to read the material they're claiming to love. #I'm a new fan and I stay hard in the rogues gallery and even then... #Fanonization is a beast in most fandoms but I've rarely seen it get this bad tbh #Except in Marvel which I dare not recall due to The Horrors.

[strawandstream]

Once again here to remind you that everything you write has value regardless of how many comments you get.

I know it can be discouraging and you deserve recognition but lack of it does not diminish your worth as a writer nor does it define your skills as one.

#words tag

[strawandstream]

Sexual harassment doesn't magically become funny or cute because your character is a woman and the victim is a man.

[strawandstream]

The things people write anon to Vincent will never not astound me. It's never normal anon hate, you know, the typical you suck, die, you're terrible ect.

No, this is a different class of weirdo. Genuinely, anon, if you can reach this post in your compound in the woods: Reflect on your delusional thinking. Occam's razor, and all that. Is it easier to believe that two different people are colluding against you specifically rather than... a person you clearly dislike being a good enough writer to write multiple characters distinctly?

#I promise I'll say more normal things on this blog but I can't not talk about the weirdos.

[strawandstream]

I work with children that do the same thing when they're angry, say that something completely inoffensive (like my saying thank you) is rude and blatantly lie when control is taken away from them after acting out. They're six year olds though, literal first graders who's brains aren't fully cooked. If you're a grown adult doing the same, you might want to do some self reflection?

Or not. The two straight years of seething is really, really funny.

[strawandstream]

hey you're like. really passionate about small dogs so. why are Chihuahuas always so angry??? it's just confusing. why are they so mad?

i fucking love chihuahuas, man. i think there are a few factors involved, but i think the problem first and foremost is how chihuahuas are treated by humans.

chihuahuas are rarely allowed to be real dogs. they are treated like decorations and accessories and stuffed animals and cute little novelties

so not only are they rarely trained or thoughtfully socialized and taught to be comfortable with different things, but their autonomy and sense of personal safety is very often disregarded or intentionally threatened by the people around them

people pick them up with little consideration for the dog’s feelings, manhandle them at will and physically force them to comply with human desires. sometimes people intentionally antagonize them because they think it’s funny – for a while there was a very popular Tik Tok by some twenty-somethings dedicated to harassing and frightening an elderly, disabled chihuahua because he made funny noises when he was upset and uncomfortable.

it only stopped because the dog died.

the people responsible claimed to “love” the dog.

chihuahuas’ attempts to communicate discomfort are almost always ignored. dogs usually start out with relatively subtle body language that most people don’t ever learn to read. they might have the whites of their eyes showing, or yawn and lick their lips, or look away, or pin their ears down, or get tense. and when chihuahuas do this, it is almost always disregarded.

so they learn that polite and subtle communication of their discomfort gets ignored, and they start to escalate in an effort to be understood. they might start to growl or snap or bite. they might learn that the best defense is a good offense, that people who approach them are rude and frightening and the only way to get them to back off is to try and be intimidating.

and a lot of the time even that doesn’t work. because hey, look, the chihuahua is growling. isn’t that funny and cute and nonthreatening

there’s more involved but fundamentally at the end of the day, the issue is that chihuahuas are often profoundly mistreated for their entire little lives, psychologically and physically, with no way to communicate or be understood or have their boundaries and needs respected.

and as much as people have made ~aggressive chihuahuas~ into a funney meme, i think that’s fucking tragic.

i’d want to bite people too.

[strawandstream]

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@cobblepotindustries - An Independent Oswald Cobblepot with a focus on his burgeoning, scrappy years.