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shikai-the-storyteller · 1 year

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Who is Vegetta?

Had to wait until my hands stopped shaking for this one, I love Vegetta so much. He was recently — miraculously — announced for the QSMP, so here's a rundown for English fans of both who he is and his lore.

Vegetta777 is a Spanish Youtuber who is one of, if not THE biggest pillar of the Spanish community. He's been doing content for over 15 years now.

He's the creator of the Karmaland series, which he started when he was around Quackity's age.

I cannot emphasize enough: Vegetta doesn't do series or events or tournaments EVER, so him accepting the invitation is a huge deal. This was his exact commentary on it:

Vegetta: Quackity me invitó hace tiempo y le dije que no suelo entrar a series que yo puedo controlar, pero le he dado ese voto de confianza, además le pregunté como sería la serie porque no quería nada competitivo y quackity me dijo que no me preocupara por nada. [...] Si yo confíe en quackity y él confío en mi para Karmaland pues yo le doy ese voto de confianza para esta serie que está haciendo y además se le veía emocionado al chaval, si te soy sincero, Quackity el hijo de Rubius de cierto modo Translation: Quackity invited me a while ago and I told him that I don't usually enter series that I can't control, but I have given him that vote of confidence, I also asked him how the series would be because I didn't want anything competitive, and Quackity told me not to worry about anything (does this confirm QSMP is an RP server? 🤔) [...] If I trust Quackity and he trusts me for Karmaland, well, I give him that vote of confidence for this series he's doing. And also the boy looked excited, if I'm honest, Quackity's the son of Rubius in a certain way. (🥺💕)

Vegetta is very fond of Quackity after interacting with him in Karmaland 5, and he's spoken multiple times about how much Quackity's impressed him. He also said Quackity will be bigger than him someday :') He's very supportive of the new generation, and he spoke highly of Spreen today too.

Vegetta is one of the most talented Minecraft builders out there, and he's fast

While most of the other Karmaland boys were still living in basic houses, Vegetta built a CASTLE within a super short time

Vegetta loves cats. In Karmaland he had an entire cat rescue with 50+ cats (and yes, he’s named every single one of them). IRL, he shares lots of adorable cat photos and videos.

His skin, like his name, is based on the Dragon Ball character Vegeta. Vegetta777 is basically the yassified version of Vegeta (just like Phil is the yassified version of Uruhara).

In Karmaland 5, Vegetta was a bit of a wizard, and he had a flock of crows / ravens (remind you of anyone?)

Vegetta is sometimes called "the father of Minecraft", so many people (myself included) are ESPECIALLY excited to see him and Phil interact because they have a lot of similarities.

Vegetta is one of the heroes of Karmaland and the unofficial leader of their group. In terms of lore, he's essentially a demigod / minor god, though it's not as direct as Sapo Peta's contact with them.

Vegetta is typically a staunch rule-follower, however, since he's not in control of the series, he said: "I feel like Rubius: 'Let's see what I can do to destroy everything, let's look for all the legal loopholes,' get ready Quackity, I'm the new Rubius!" (LMAO)

Vegetta’s the king of “stay in your own lane” he never gets into drama or gets involved in controversies, he just watches the dumpster fires from the sidelines like the rest of us

He almost never wears a shirt in the series (and honestly? Good for him)

His character is also, canonically, absolutely shredded

It's impossible to talk about Vegetta's lore without also talking about Rubius, so buckle in because this one's a doozy. I can't cover everything without this post becoming longer than it already is, but I'll do my best to summarize what I can:

Starting with Karmaland 4 and continuing into Karmaland 5 and beyond, Rubius and Vegetta have created the world's most torturous slow-burn telenovela-esque love story.

Rubegetta (Rubius x Vegetta) is the most popular Karmaland ship that, to some extent, has become an inside joke between the boys and the community. I'll elaborate on this more in Rubius' post.

To simplify years and years of lore and drama, Rubius and Vegetta love each other, but they are incapable of being in an actual relationship. I've talked about it in depth before, but Vegetta said it best in this metaphor-filled exchange with Sapo Peta and Willy: Sapo Peta: I wanted to ask you about your relationship with that Rubius guy. Vegetta: Oh, yes well Rubius likes to be with me a lot, but at the same time he likes to snack everywhere, and he never finishes eating the morcilla (blood sausage). Sapo Peta: So he rejects you? Vegetta: It's not that he rejects me, it's that it doesn't finish clearing up, you know? We could say that our relationship is like a hamburger. WiIIy: You prepare it and he doesn't eat it. Vegetta: Exactly, he doesn't finish you know?

Or, as another person phrased it:

The fault doesn't just lie with Rubius however; Vegetta himself can be pretty oblivious.

In Karmaland 4, despite the fact Rubius and Vegetta had a kid together and got married, it still didn't resolve anything. As soon as the vows were said and they were married, Rubius revealed it was all just a ploy to get Vegetta's diamonds and immediately asked for a divorce.

You can watch a translated animation of the entire wedding here.

In Karmaland 5, after deciding he'd had enough of Rubius' BS, Vegetta decided to marry someone else (Lolito), but Rubius burst in at the last moment to stop the wedding. We all thought he'd finally confess his love and stop being so emotionally constipated, but instead he proposed to Lolito solely so Vegetta would remain single. (They're a mess, what can I say)

To quote a meme shared by another Spanish fan, Vegetta's reaction to that was basically: “You don’t want me to be with you, and you don’t want me to be with someone else. How miserable do I have to be for you to be happy?”

I do want to emphasize that even though Rubius and Vegetta sometimes have relationship issues / communication issues, it doesn’t diminish their friendship in the slightest. Even after both wedding disasters, they were back to speaking to each other the next week, being flirty and laughing together. Yes, they have issues, but their love for each other remains – despite everything.

(I should also note here that, even while engaged to Lolito, Vegetta was still flirty with Rubius).

Vegetta is very close friends with Luzu, who supported him during the fallout from both failed marriages.

In Karmaland 4, Rubius and Vegetta had a son named Brayan Dobluque (a mix of both their names).

There's too much Rubegetta lore for me to cover everything, but Glay has a massive thread of translated Rubegetta clips I highly recommend watching if you'd like more context.

One clip I recommend is the Meteor date, which is one of the few instances where Rubius is honest vis-à-vis his emotions with Vegetta.

As a whole, their friendship / relationship is a romcom novela for sure, but sometimes they'll catch you off-guard with some romantic BS that'll make your heart ache. They really do love each other; they just don't know how to commit.

Vegetta is bi! (Both real life Vegetta and character Vegetta). Pretty much every single character in Karmaland is on the ‘ol rainbow spectrum somewhere.

Lore aside, I feel like Vegetta, and pretty much all the Karmaland boys in general, have the least machismo (toxic masculinity) I've ever seen. They're all genuinely sweet guys who aren't afraid to be flirty and play gay characters in their queer little telenovela Minecraft series. (With the exception of Willy, who we like to joke is the "token straight friend"). Vegetta's a cool guy, and he's a great addition to the QSMP. I'm excited for you all to meet him!

Other info posts:

Who is Sapo Peta? | Who is Luzu? | Who is Spreen?

#Karmaland #Vegetta #Vegetta777 #QSMP #Quackity #IM SO EXCITED FOR VEGETTA AND PHIL TO MEET AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #I actually don't think Vegetta knows English but I don't even care. Phil barely knows spanish but I still want them to interact #even if they silently build something together That Will Be Enough #also I know I've been real heavy on the text posts lately I don't normally make this many text posts #it feels nice to talk about stuff though it's been a long long time since I've felt this motivated #and happy #QSMP info

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ghostflowerdreams · 6 months

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Audio Drama Recommendations, Pt. III

Click here for part one and here for part two. Recently, I've been drawing a lot, which gives me plenty of time to listen to audio dramas and podcasts. These are the ones I liked the most and found entertaining enough to recommend to others. This is not in any particular order, either.

The Green Horizon – is a sci-fi comedy drama created and written by Paul Walsh. It is sponsored by Faustian Nonsense, an indie entertainment network. It currently has three seasons, with each episode being about 20 - 30 minutes long, but later on it increases to 30 - 40 minutes. A fourth season is said to be coming out soon as well.

It is set in the year 2261, and it focuses on a ne'er-do-well Irish space captain and his rag-tag crew, as they traverse a war-torn Galaxy in search of fame and fortune. [ONGOING]

It was a little chaotic and rough at the beginning, but it does smooth out and become more polished. I can definitely tell that they up their game with the improved sound effects and production quality. The voice actors and the writing for the audio drama does an excellent job at bringing their characters to life, which made it very fun to follow along.

If you like Firefly, Red Dwarf, Orville, Cowboy Bepop, and so on then I think you may enjoy this too.

DERELICT – is a sci-fi narrative audio drama from award-winning science fiction author J. Barton Mitchell, and produced by Night Rocket Productions. It currently has one season titled FATHOM, which consist of 10 episodes with each one ranging from 40 mins to an hour, mostly the latter.

Something has been found at the bottom of Earth's ocean. An ancient artifact that can only be described as a giant door, inset into the sea floor. It becomes known as the Vault. A gigantic enigma, buried and forgotten...nineteen thousand feet down.

To study the artifact, the galaxy's most powerful corporation, Maas-Dorian, has built a massive, self-contained, secret laboratory base surrounding it, named FATHOM. It's objective: unlock the secrets of the artifact and discover what it holds. But some mysteries should remain buried. And some doors should never be opened... [ONGOING]

DERELICT started as the first project set up as a kickstarter. They produced one episode to entice backers, but then the pandemic happened, and they didn’t raise enough money for the rest of it. Instead, they worked on a prequel season called FATHOM. It's where the story really starts, and I highly suggest you listen to it before listening to "DERELICT E1 - Through the Gate."

I hope they redo the DERELICT's first episode because there's a bit of disconnection from it and FATHOM. For example, Sarah and Agent Blayne already know each other. She mentions it to the others, but the conversation they have with each other doesn’t make it seem that way.

Never mind. I apparently confused this Sarah with the Sarah in FATHOM. Can't blame me for thinking that when I heard the name Sarah and that she was already familiar with Agent Blayne.

Deviser – is a sci-fi horror audio drama created, directed, acted and produced by Harlan Guthrie. The same creator of Malevolent. It's a 7-part limited series, with each episode being about 20 mins long.

Son wakes up aboard a spaceship bound for earth in an effort to recolonize. What he discovers, however, will change everything he knows about his world and himself. [COMPLETED]

It's not for everyone, so please do not ignore the content warnings because there's graphic description of violence, self harm, body horror, gore, animal death/being hurt, and what not.

Victoriocity – is a detective comedy audio drama written by Chris and Jen Sugden, directed by Nathan Peter Grassi and produced by Dominic Hargreaves. It is an entirely independent production. It has two seasons, containing 13 episodes in total, and each one is about 30 to 45 minutes long. There's also a feature-length special and a up-coming third season with the help of a kickstarter.

It is 1887 in Even Greater London, an alternate steampunk Victorian London, where Queen Victoria reigns even after being assassinated eleven times, thanks to the wonders of modern science.

In this vast metropolis, Inspector Archibald Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle investigate a murder, only to find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of impossible proportions. [ONGOING]

It's put together so well, and I see why people say it gives off strong Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett vibes to it. So if you like their works, then I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you like this too.

Impact Winter – is an apocalyptic vampire audio drama created and written by Travis Beacham (Carnival Row, Pacific Rim). It has two seasons containing 22 episodes in total and each one is about 17 to 30 minutes long.

“They came after the impact and the firestorms. When the sun went dark. Like they’d been there all along. Just waiting.”

In the British countryside, a band of survivors forms a resistance in the fallout shelter of a medieval castle. Darcy is a battle-tested vampire hunter who is at the front line, leading the charge to save humanity. Meanwhile, her younger sister Hope wants life to return to normal so she can go above ground and know what it’s like to live again. And she just might be willing to risk it all. [ONGOING]

It has a stacked cast led by Holliday Grainger (Cinderella, Great Expectations), Esme Creed-Miles (Hanna, The Legend of Vox Machina), Liam Cunningham (Games of Thrones, Hunger), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven, Tenet), David Gyasi (Interstellar, Carnival Row), Caroline Ford (Carnival Row, Nekrotronic), Chloe Pirrie (Emma, Carnival Row), and Bella Ramsey (Games of Thrones, The Last of Us).

This reminded me a lot of the film 30 Days of Nights (2007) with a little bit of Reign of Fire (2002), which were both fun films to watch. I think if you like those two, especially the former, you'll enjoy this or at least be entertained by it.

A Voice From Darkness – is a scripted paranormal horror audio drama. It is written and produced by Jac Rhys. It currently has two seasons, containing 20 episodes in total and each one is about 20 to 30 minutes long. It also has 7 bonus voicemail episodes and 15 Patreon exclusive episodes which are longer than the main episodes. A third season in the works as well.

Join parapsychologist and radio broadcaster Dr. Malcolm Ryder as he helps those who suffer the supernatural, paranormal or otherworldly problems on his call-in radio show. It is also interspersed with segments, one of which is called 'Today In Odd America' that delves into the origins of a holiday, local traditions, and history. [ONGOING]

If you like Welcome To Night Vale then I think you'll like this too. A Voice From Darkness is a bit more serious and not as long-drawn as Night Vale was, with a perfect mix of storytelling and lore. It also reminds me a bit of The Magnus Archive too.

How i Died – is a mystery audio drama that brings a "new twist on the true crime genre." It is an Audiohm Media original production, co-starring Vince Dajani as Jon Spacer and Shaina Waring as Sheriff Fran Crowley. It currently has three seasons with 39 episodes in total, not including bonus episodes. Each episode is usually about 20 mins, give or take a few minutes.

Bodies are piling up in the strange town of Springfield, and forensic pathologist Jonathan Spacer intends to find out why. But, Jon isn’t without his own secrets… He can talk to the dead, for starters. [ONGOING]

Ooo, a character that can speak to the dead? It's always so interesting to see what they'll do with their ability and where the creators take them. This has been entertaining, but at times I do think they can do better in developing their characters a bit more. For example, I can count on one hand the number of times Crowley doesn't get angry. Though to be fair, Jon isn't an immediately likable character, but that does change the further you go...sorta.

The Amelia Project – is a comedy fiction audio drama created, written, directed, produced and edited by Philip Thorne and Øystein Ulsberg Brager for Imploding Fictions and The Fable and Folly Network. It currently has four seasons, with a fifth one on the way. There's about 72 episodes, not including prologue, special, and BTS episodes which would up the total to 122. Each episode also varies in length from 20 to 45 minutes long.

The Amelia Project is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand-new identity. A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa. The series starts as a succession of interviews with clients who want to fake their deaths, then slowly a larger narrative begins to emerge... Each episode tells its own story, but we recommend starting with Season 1. [ONGOING]

It was fun to listen to while I was drawing or washing the dishes. I could also follow along without becoming too distracted by it, either. I was worried it would be one of those that take a while to get to the main overall story, but thankfully it did not. It will definitely keep you entertained and interested to know what will happen next.

Community Cat News – is a neighborhood news show done from the perspective of cats. There's currently 13 episodes so far and each one varies from 5 to 12 minutes long.

Local News: The human is opening the fridge! Will we get a taste?

Foreign Affairs: What are those squirrels up to now?

Traffic: WHY is the bathroom door shut again?

Every episode is sponsored by Meow Meow Puffytail, Feline Rights Attorney, who is ready to sue your human for even the slightest inconvenience. [ONGONG]

It's cute, light-hearted, and funny. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It even uplifted my mood.

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cordeliawhohung · 5 days

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I saw a reblog of the anonymous ask someone sent you about using character ai, and someone responded saying something about how it’s disgusting to even ask that, which is a liiiitle harsh, but I digress.

The issue here, is that there are more people who don’t understand what AI is doing than people who do understand.

ChatGPT, Open AI, Character AI, Gemini, etc ALL steal from published works on the internet. It cannot be prevented, no one can stop it from happening.

I’m not an artist & I don’t publish my writing, but I do genuinely care about the artists and writers who are having their work stolen and receiving absolutely zero credit.

Please, please, please, do not put someone’s work into AI.

If you want to create a character, or a storyline & use character ai, by all means, go for it. But PLEASE, don’t disrespect or disregard these artists by feeding their work into an AI. It completely diminishes all of the hard work they put into their art.

oh boy, nothing like having a post you made in fucking january suddenly gain a fuck ton of attention lmao.

while i understand where you're coming from, i think you completely missed the main point of my response to that anon.

1: i literally explained that ai steals work to that anon. i said it's a pale imitation of what a real human would write. that it takes works that people put so much effort into and regurgitates it out. i told them not to put stuff into ai. i informed them, and i wasn't rude about it either. emotional, maybe, but i wasn't being rude.

2: the main issue i had with that anon, besides the ai grossness, was the insinuation that i'm not "creating enough content" for them. "the readers can interact more with the characters" comment from them really grinds my gears. even if ai didn't steal from creators, and it wasn't a godawful abomination, them wanting me to put my ideas and works into something that they can interact with that isn't through me completely disregards the entire purpose of me having this blog in the first place. which i ALSO explained to them. why would i want to put my work into a 3rd party source and not interact with my followers when that's literally my favorite part of creating? bonding and talking about the shit i put effort into? i had every right to be upset about that, and so does every other writer.

3: i have no control how people reblog my posts. so idk why you're coming in my inbox about what someone else reblogged, really, just to tell me everything that i've already explained to that anon. i know who you're talking about too, because they're a mutual of mine, and honestly, i agree with them. it's disgusting to suggest someone should put something into a third party source so they don't have to wait for me to "churn out works" or whatever. i know people aren't well informed. which is why i informed them on that post and left it at that. i also explained why it's frustrating to receive asks like that, to hopefully prevent them from doing that again.

also, while i have whoever is reading this, i'd also like to mention that the anon who sent that ai ask sent a response back (that i didn't bother to respond to because i wasn't trying to make this a thing) somewhat apologizing and said they asked me that because other blogs on tumblr were doing it too. don't do that. don't assume that just because some people are doing x thing, that means you can suggest it to someone else. it's rude, and comparing blogs is just frustrating in itself.

anyway. i will not be making this a thing. do not come into my inbox debating the ethics of ai or whatever, as i will simply not entertain it. (:

#core responds #fuck ai everything #fuck holding writers and artists to impossible standards #people have every right to be mad about it #and if they're a little rude about it i #really don't care

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armoralor · 9 months

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Queer Coding Pt 1 | "Stop making everyone gay!!!" | Important Note: The LGBTQIA+ community is not a monolith; opinions on labels, language, and interpretations are always evolving. Queerness can take many shapes, and no one can truly quantify what it means to be authentically yourself besides you. You do not have to look or act a certain way to be queer enough. While "Queer Coding" can border on "Queerbating," and the stereotypes both draw on can be harmful, many queer folks have reclaimed and embraced the tropes that were historically weaponized against them. Additional resources and sources below. T*RFs fuck off.

Transcript: 1. HISTORY: The Motion Picture Production Code (enforced in Hollywood for decades) prohibited “perverse” subjects such as homosexuality. This led to the portrayal of "queer coded" characters that were never allowed to be explicitly queer. The subtextual way identities were previously forced to be portrayed has bled into modern interpretations of queer characters.

2. DESCRIPTION: What exactly is "queer coding" and what does it look like? "Coding" refers to the choices made when creating a character's unique set of mannerisms, traits, and external qualities. Non-Exhaustive list of characteristics that can be "queer coded:" clothing, style, family, hair, jewellery, speech patterns, behaviour, media consumption, profession, and interpersonal relationships.

3. EXAMPLES: While none of the characteristics historically associated with queerness are exclusive to the LGBTQIA+ community, when compounded and given context, they can act as recognizable markers for queer creators and audiences to find themselves represented in media. It's important to note that many of these characteristics were originally portrayed and seen as negative. Villains were commonly "queer coded" to let audiences know said characters were evil. a) Bright hair cut at untraditional lengths or styled in uncommon ways. b) Strong found family, fresh starts with a new identity, and/or choosing your own name. c) Behavioral traits like extreme empathy or aggressive assertiveness, when displayed in opposition to idealized Western gender roles, and paired with characters being othered by their surroundings, is another common "queer coded" allegory.

Sources: Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer (2019); Everything but Named: Queer-Coded Characters in 19th-Century Literature by Marie Harra (2023); Queers in American Popular Culture by Jo Johnson (2010); Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Content on Television: A Quantitative Analysis Across Two Seasons by Deborah A. Fisher PhD et all (2007); Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1980); Unrequited: The Queer History of Hollywood by James Somerton (2023); Lesbians Being Anti-Trans Is a Lesbophobic Trope by Amy Ashenden (2023); Stop Using Lesbians Like Me To Justify Your Transphobia by Sadhbh O'Sullivan (2022); Trans Day of Visibility by Just Like Us (2023); Why Queerbaiting in Marketing and Media Is Harmful and How You Can Help Stop It by Colleen Murphy (2023)

#star wars #the mandalorian #rebels #ahsoka #the book of boba fett #ahsoka tano #luke skywalker #bo katan kryze #din djarin #obi wan kenobi #sabine wren #ezra bridger #finn #vi moradi #fennec shand #queer coding

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peninkwrites · 2 months

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(putting my very long, very personal ramble under a readmore so folks can avoid it) (this won't include any of my plans for going forward or for my writing but I'm not going anywhere so don't worry about that. love to you all.)

A little disclaimer: If you have zero context for what I'm talking about, apologies for not explaining in depth, but this post won't be relevant to you otherwise. All you really need to know is that it seems that Wilbur Soot is an abuser, and Shubble came forward and talked about it recently. He was not named, but from what she shared, I believe that was who she was talking about. I don't say this to speculate, and if you disagree, I'm not here to argue over it, but it's enough for me personally to not to want to support him indefinitely, save for Shubble explicitly saying she wasn't talking about him.

Additionally, these thoughts are some incredibly personal and self-centered rambling. It does not reflect where my priorities lie, with supporting Shelby for coming forward above all else, but other people have said that much better than I have, and this post is really just a place for me to vent some of my feelings.

I prided myself on not falling prey to “parasocial relationships.” I didn’t get invested in the personal lives of content creators, only in their creative works. I thought this protected me somehow. I knew next to nothing about Wilbur Soot’s personal life, but I admired him deeply as a writer and empathized with him as an artist. I projected so heavily onto his character and did so for over three years. When I waited for his final dsmp stream, I felt panicked. Like my survival hinged on how he ended this story, and then he ended it in a way I could live with, and I thought I could go on loving this story and these characters for what they had been, no matter how messy the rest of the endings to follow were. His character was mine in so many ways. He had some of my problems and I gave him some of my own. I used him to process quite a bit. And now that part of myself is irrevocably tainted.

When the stuff came out about Dream, I was upset, but not betrayed. I never followed the creator and he existed only as a character to me. All I grieved then was the community his actions destroyed and most importantly the people he hurt. I planned to continue writing for the DSMP, even as I refused to follow any content involving him. It felt like a pause, not a full stop, while I ensured what I was doing did not show him any support. I also gave that character no pity and therefore the man behind him no pity, I had no personal investment in his character.

Now my response is visceral and bitter and I don’t know how to go on writing, because this character meant the world to me. I don’t know how to write about a character I truly love and see myself in, knowing the person who also loved and saw himself in that character, who created that character, has done horrible things. I don’t know how to write any of these other characters I have loved and cared for for over 3 years because he has poisoned them. All of it turns my stomach now and I feel so betrayed. The thought of his character is tainted because it’s connected to his voice and his face. I cannot separate the art from the artist both because it was the inclusion of the authorship within the story which affected me so strongly, and because there are things within the text that I look back on now and can only see that this person was always this way. I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking of c!Wilbur’s line when he found out about exile, “he didn’t actually hit you though“ and his horror when c!Tommy responded that he had, that for some reason that was the turning point. The implication that it was only crossing that line, that particular type of violence, which made something wrong. Fucking disgusting.

I’ve tried to find another story before now. For the last few years, honestly, I’ve looked for something to latch onto the way I have with this one, but nothing feels the way this did. I know I’ve been clinging to something gone or at least mostly gone, both the community and the story, but I haven’t known how to let go when nothing makes me feel the same way, even when the feeling has faded and changed so much with time. This was never supposed to go on this long. Honestly, the reason I started posting mcyt stuff to my sideblog instead of my main was because I assumed I would get over it in a few weeks, delete the posts, and move on. Three years. 40 works. Over a million words. Just. Fuck.

I loved these characters so much and I’ve wrapped up my writing in them for so long it’s hard to separate the two. At this point, it feels like these characters are what allow me to write, separate from the main story, but a place where I could work things out for myself as a person and try new things as a writer. And I’ve tried so hard to feel the same way about the QSMP, but maybe it’s because we’re out of lockdown so I don't have time to watch much, or I’ve just changed more than I’ve thought, but I haven't gotten attached the way I did even when I look at the stories being built there and can see the heart in them, the storytelling, the care, just as much as the DSMP if not more. There’s no good reason for it, it just hasn’t locked into place the way this story had, having been the perfect storm of circumstances. The DSMP came to me during one of the worst years of my life, and I have loved it so much I miss that time even with all the bad it carried too.

And now this thing I have been holding onto can only make me angry, hit me with grief and disgust. Fuck, the only plan I’ve had for an original novel in years is a loose adaptation of TDDD. My senior thesis was largely a novella about two siblings with a complicated relationship, the older fatalistic, the younger brave to the point of ignorance. So even that original project has poison in it now. All of it, all of my fucking work, all of my growth as a writer, all of my writing for over three fucking years has poison in it.

I’ve felt lost as a writer for a long time and the only thing keeping me anchored was these characters. And I don’t know how to cut them away from myself and I don’t know how to cut him away from what’s left when his writing, his character, undeniably gave me so much of a spark. When I’m happy, I write. When I’m sad, I write. There's so much bad in the world right now, but I could always fall back on writing. And now my main means of escape is the grief. Far more than ever before. I know this too shall pass and all that, and this hasn’t actually stolen my ability to write, but right now it all feels so ruined. I don’t know how long it will take for me to be able to look back on what I’ve made and not feel like this. I'd maybe moved on in some ways, but not all. There was so much left I wanted to do.

If you’ve somehow read this far, know that I love this community with my whole heart. I never quite made friends with any of you, even as I wanted to, and it's felt too late for a long time now. My beloved mutuals (and followers that are mutuals in all but name) I have found so much joy with you, in what all of you have created. I wish I could hold onto that above all else, even if I’m not quite sure how. I’m not going anywhere, to be clear. I won’t delete my blog and fall off the face of the earth or anything. I still love what all of you create and care about, even if things have changed and our interests don’t always align anymore. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to detach this story from the creator, to love any of it the way I did or even love what I myself created again. I don’t really know why I’m writing this or if I’ll even post it except for the fact that you all are the only people who could understand.

Again, this was a deeply personal rant, not a statement about the situation as a whole, nor do I think this situation's impact on me takes an ounce of precedent over the person actually involved. The most important takeaway from this is what Shelby has shared, the importance of believing victims, to do what we can to protect ourselves from abuse that doesn’t seem obvious, and to look out for each other. Take care of yourselves, everyone.

#spilled penink #fuck i don't know what to tag this.#wilbur situation #abuse tw #ask to tag #I don't know about my current fics or what I plan to do going forward so don't read this looking for answers on that.#honestly i just had nowhere else to put this. this is something I would have ideally shared just with close friends #but they'd have no idea what I was talking about so here we are. desperate times.#sorry for the doom and gloom. i know there's been a lot of it as of late. please feel free to keep scrolling.#idc if people reblog. this is just. not the important thing right now yknow.#supporting shubble is all that really matters.

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alliepretends · 27 days

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been thinking about your post on aromanticism and fandom with riz, and before i say anything else, i want you to know that I 100% agree with you. my primary interaction with fandom is through ao3 and fanfiction, and the heavy focus on shipping and romance has shaped what fandoms i choose to actively read fanfiction for: because I do not want to read romance heavy stories, I'll interact with fandoms/fanfic on a much higher level for fandoms that contain a large amount of gen works, regardless of how much i enjoy the source content in comparison.

within d20 fanfic, out of the 1167 fics with the Riz Gukgak character tag, only 89 of those fics have the aromantic asexual Riz Gukgak tag, and within the 95 fics total that have the aroace Riz tag (apparently there are fics with the aroace riz tag without tagging him as a character?), 18 of those 95 fics are tagged with Riz/Fabian, but only 12 are tagged Riz Gukgak-centric. In d20 fic overall, Riz/Fabian currently comes in as the most written relationship, with 365 fics. The highest written platonic relationship is Adaine & Aelwyn, who are sisters. As someone who personally, also does not like fabriz, queerplatonic or otherwise, and primarily enjoys reading about platonic relationships, this is, not gonna lie, disappointing to me.

However, like you said, it IS incredibly important for the aroace people who DO want to have/see qprs represented to get that! I want them to have it, and im incredibly happy for them that they do! yes, it's not something that i would enjoy, (it just doesn't align with my interpretations of either character) but like you said, a lot of aroace people find qprs to be an integral part of their experience, and seeing stuff get represented is so, so important!

this brings me to my actual point: you talk about how fandom falling in with your (and mine, i agree. you've encapsulated how i feel about riz.) point of view, this would end up alienating other aroace people who don't share the same view, or experience in their identities, and I don't want that either! The thing is, to me at least, that's just not how fandom works! Yes, in canon, if they confirm riz to be aroace (please please please please please) they will end up giving him one singular experience. it's impossible for him to represent all the wide and varied and wonderful ways for him to be aroace in canon, but that's what's beautiful about fandom for me! The metaphor you used for fandom was fighting over a bone, and while I definitely understand why you feel that way, to me, I cannot see it the same way at ALL. For every single individual person who watches fantasy high, there will be a completely different interpretation of each and every character, and all of them will be true. The thing is, when we're talking about Riz as an aroace character, well, there are not a lot of aroace people just in general, and fewer of those aroace people are going to have the same point of view, and there will be less fan-created content centered around this part of his identity as a result.

The solution, because there is one! is not to fight over the bone, or give up the bone, or keep the bone for ourselves, because there is no one bone. The beautiful thing about fandom, when the character passes from the creators hands into ours, is that there are infinite ways to interpret the character, all of them true, and when you don't see enough representation of the interpretation you have, the solution is to take YOUR interpretation and share it with the world. Write fics! Write massive text posts! Encourage and lift up the people who create things you DO relate to! Share what this character is to you and what you want him to be, and while it may not be a large percentage of people, you will find people who feel/have felt the same way you have. You're already doing it. You did, after all, reach me. I guess my point is, be the change you want to see in the world?

I understand that your whole point was about how fandom is so heavily romance focused and how that's frustrating, and maybe this isn't what you want to hear, maybe you just wanted to have a nice little complain (complaining and sharing your frustrations is good for the soul) and that's totally okay. I'm simply an optimist, and you seemed kind of doomy about it, so I just wanted to let you know that there is hope, and community, and people who feel the same way that you do, and hey, maybe if we work together we can create small pockets of fandom that can give you and everyone who feels the same way the aro rep they want to see in the world.

(I am so sorry for how long this got. um. sorry. thank you for putting up with me, I hope you have a wonderful day!)

It's lovely that you have such an optimistic perspective on this. And I hear you about wanting fandom to be a place that has space for a multitude of interpretations, but I think you're kind of missing my point. This goes beyond what you're saying, but it's something I get frustrated about in every fandom I've been in. There's a tendency for fans to want to ignore that fandom is a culture. That fan behaviors are shaped as much by cultural trends within fandom as by the desires of individual fans. Those cultural trends can be really harmful. But because fans often tend to treat fandom as a space outside of culture, and tend to act as if each individual character/ship/fandom is only made up of people having a personal engagement with the text, it becomes very difficult to address the problems that are deeply rooted within fandom culture. And those problems in fandom culture are reflective of the broader cultures of which fandom is a subculture, but they are also built, exchanged, and cultivated in a unique way within the subculture. That's how oppression works, relatively few people are actively trying to hurt others, but people all want to see their actions as independent from a larger cultural context so they don't have to worry about how they might be contributing to a culture that hurts people. It's why fandom, a space historically made up primarily of women, spent a very long time shielding itself from any accusations of sexism (which ran and continues to run rampant in fandom - as seen in everything from how female characters are treated to how m/m ships are forced into heteronormative tropes) by pointing to the failures of the source material. Despite the same problems occurring across the majority of fandoms regardless of the source material. And despite the justification not really holding up when one examined how many one-dimensional male characters fandom was happy to flesh out. I'm not a POC and I don't want to speak for POC but I've read enough critiques of fandom by people of color to know that racism (of all kinds) is an equally rampant problem in fandom.

And this issue of fandom as culture was what I'm talking about with Riz. The discourse over Riz's aromanticism frequently gets heated on this website. And I wanted to make a post exploring why that is. Because while discourse about any aspect of fandom can get heated (we're all emotionally invested here), I felt a particular weight of baggage in this discourse that I thought was worth attempting to bring to the forefront. There is a culture of romance-centrism in fandom. There is a culture of devaluing friendship (found family is great, but in my opinion, it has also become a way of talking around the devaluation of friendship in fandom spaces). There is a culture of characters only getting fic or analysis written about them if it fits into the context of romance or into a romance-dependant context of family. And so the baggage that I was trying to draw attention to with my post is that cultural baggage. Someone shipping fabriz may feel unfairly attacked by the desire of many people to keep romance away from Riz ("it's just a ship," "it's just me projecting on to the character," "it's just fandom, we're all supposed to have fun here.") And I wanted to point out the cultural hostility toward aromanticism in fandom spaces that makes viewing Fabriz that way impossible for someone whose spent any time observing and struggling with the broader culture of fandom. My metaphor about being thrown a bone was more an acknowledgment that being aromantic in fandom is always hard and that our options are limited trying to address this cultural problem by just talking about one character does leave a lot of people out. But this is the problem we have and the character we've got.

You're right that I was kind of doomy and gloomy about it. I'm not a person who likes to put myself out there in fandom. I'm fundamentally a lurker. This blog originally existed as a practice in positivity and contributing my own ideas. But after I left the fandom I started it for, I didn't come back to it. And it took me feeling mad about something for me to be motivated enough to post again. I already kind of regret it. But my intention wasn't just to have a good complain. My intention was to make the case that this particular discourse has a deeper cultural weight within the subculture of fandom. One that, if not considered properly, can easily allow people to shrug off their own role in building that culture. And it's a culture that is actively harmful for people who live romance-free lives (whether they are aromantic or not). I don't need there to be less romance in fandom. I just need there to be more space for characters like Riz to be allowed not to engage in it at all and still be considered worthy of fan attention.

Anyway, this is preachier than I like to be. I do appreciate that you are trying to bring optimism and empathy to fandom. But I also hate to be misunderstood. So I hope this clears up my point for you.

#riz gukgak #dimension 20 #long post #discourse #aromanticism #fandom culture #i feel like i shouldn't post this #but also i can't stand feeling like people missed my point #so sorry to everyone who sees it

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goodboyaudios · 1 month

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Hello! My name is Grim, and I fancy myself a bit of a researcher. Now, this is not for anything important or extremely serious. Instead, this is mostly for my own pure enjoyment and something I have in the works that is to be posted on Tumblr. You are not obligated to answer any or all of these questions I have posed. I know it’s a bit much. Take your time, but don’t feel obligated to do anything. Feel free to add any additional input! Thanks for your consideration!

1. How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium thats not Audio RP?

2. How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

3. How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

4. You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

5. Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

6. Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

7. As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

8. Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

9. How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

10. Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally? (very optional)

Sure! I'm happy to answer some questions!

I think with the addition of a visual medium it would most definitely be significantly easier, yes.

Well, I can't say for sure. I could explain for hours about how mainstream media forces a creative to conform their work within often-times hostile parameters. Nevertheless, I'd be blessed with the opportunity to try. That being said, I have a lot more creative freedom here on Youtube than anywhere else, at least by my standards.

I think it's very important. Conveying enough emotion without the added visuals means that it is ALL DOWN to vocal performance.

I am typically the primary voice, yes, but I must admit this is a very difficult question. I love to write stories of scifi and fantasy, I love to take concepts and ideas, pieces of dialogue and conveyed emotion and put them into an all expansive list of things to try, but I personally love bringing those emotions and ideas out myself. I find it fun! I suppose...I wouldn't! Writing is fun, don't get me wrong, but being able to perform it is part of my joy in creating what I make. If I stopped doing one, I'd have to find it elsewhere and that would take me away from doing the other thing.

I like to believe that, yes. It only makes sense that the writer knows the exact feeling to convey in a script, but you could call me vain for that if you like lol!

Listener characters are the bane of my existence lol! Okay, that was too dramatic. It's very difficult to write a character that doesn't talk, but represents...basically everyone! How do you compensate for that? And echoing dialogue is not something people do on a regular basis. No one talks like that, but we need to in order to get across what the listener is thinking at any given time, because if you don't, everyone is confused. It's quite frustrating and a hell of a dilemma in the scripting process.

Well, like I said earlier, I have to try and accommodate for everyone which is a challenge all on its own. It's VERY easy for the listener to become a talking head and I try my best to avoid it. Alas, I imagine even the greatest xlistener writer has fallen into that trap lol

No, it is not. I like 2D animation and RPGs.

Money? Budget? A lot more emphasis on visuals? When you start out as a content creator, you start with nothing and are tasked with making something, but with mainstream media, the network hands you a budget to make something. Granted those things might not be great given the parameters of the network, but hey! At least you can say you made something!

Very much so, yes. Zed is directly related to my insecurities and fears of not being enough as a person. Makkaro is related to my need for a work/life balance so that I might enjoy the little things while still giving my all. Albus is a toxic form of what I wanted to be when I grew up, a man who can fight through anything, but inside is deeply broken. Yargwynn is my running away from my problems in hopes that it'll all just go away. Mortallous is those problems always chasing me, always catching up. One day, I will tell a story of Zed realizing who he wants to be. That story will show that the man I really want to be, is myself. I will no longer be Good Boy Audios, but Good Man Audios. Yeah, it's cheesy as fuck, but hey, I like cheese.

Thank you for your questions. I really appreciate the time you took to ask me them. And I hope you enjoy my stories moving forward too!

#good boy audios #goodboyaudios #youtube #asmr roleplay #asmr boyfriend

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midnightanxietytm · 3 months

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Kitana muses about her creator

A/N: I'm back lovelies, and this time with a Mortal Kombat snippet. I had this one laying on my docs since like a month after release so enjoy! Requests are open btw

Summary:

"The man tilted his head at her with a smile, standing beside her on the balcony. She turned back at the horizon, resting her arms on the railing and pulling one of her fans, absentmindedly spinning the blades. “Why did you make us?” She asked, finally.

Liu Kang looked at her, puzzled."

Kitana doesn't really know how to feel about the alternative versions of herself and Liu Kang.

Contents: Liutana mentions, MK1!Kitana thinking about Titan!Kitana, character study, introspection, Kitana pov. Listen she's been my main since forever im lowkey obsessed with her.

Word count: 699

For as long as she could remember, Liu Kang has been there.

Officially, she was very young when she first met him, just old enough to start mingling in court business, what earth realm would define as a teenager.

She remembers he was polite, that he had intense eyes and that he never looked down on her, not that anyone ever dared to, but Liu Kang had something in his eyes that resembled a mixture of pride and pain, as if he was mourning what she could become. He had told her things about earthrealm then, about its champions, its people, then about the outworld, the places she didn’t really step into as a princess. He always had a lot to say. Now she knows why.

"You and my Titan version seem awfully close!" She had mentioned it once, and he refused to elaborate.

Not that he needed to, Kitana had eyes.

The definite confirmation came in training with an alternative version of herself; an idea given by Liu Kang himself.

"A god?! He's my consort!" She heard her own words with muted shock, but it made perfect sense now.

It was weird to think about; the fact that in multiple timelines, her and Liu Kang were… together. And it explained the weird glint in his eyes every time he looked at her. The protector of earthrealm had been mourning the lover he thought he lost, while staring at a perfect copy of her. How painful it must have been, she thought as she stared at the sunset.

“Ah, good evening, princess.” Said the subject of her musings, in his usual polite tone. “Am I disturbing you?”

She turned to face him, the remaining sunlight casting shadows on her face. Liu Kang was a handsome man, and he had always been polite and kind… “Not at all, In fact, I was thinking about you.”

The man tilted his head at her with a smile, standing beside her on the balcony. She turned back at the horizon, resting her arms on the railing and pulling one of her fans, absentmindedly spinning the blades. “Why did you make us?” She asked, finally.

Liu Kang looked at her, puzzled, so she continued; “It brings you pain, I can see it. You look at us and you see eons of history, yet you know it wasn’t really us there, at least not the ones you knew, we are constant reminders of everything you lost, or worse, everything you could have had.”

The god turns away from her, once again silent. He wasn’t angered by her question, that Kitana knew. The silence drags, the sun is almost gone.

“It pains me, yes.” He said, finally. “But it brought me a certain peace, knowing that I could give those I loved a better, more peaceful life. Even if it was in a completely different reality.” Liu Kang looks down at his own hands, Kitana does too. Those hands had created the universe, the realms, created her. “I won’t exactly tell you what happened in the previous timelines, but trust me, it was nothing but pain for all of those I loved, every ounce of happiness we achieved was snatched from us…”

The princess touched the tips of her fan blades. “From us…” she quotes him in a whisper, and again the silence engulfs them for a heavy moment. “I know about you and… the titan me.”

Her creator only let out a soft laugh, almost tender. “Every version of you is too smart for their own good.”

“You are the one who could have made me less smart.” She laughed too, and they turned back to face the last rays of sunshine disappear. “Can you at least be with… the one you love?” Be with me, or titan me, a version of me, was what she taught at first, but it felt too intimate to say, too confusing, she wasn’t his Kitana, and he wasn't the one for her either, not in this reality.

“Not all the time, as I would wish, but it’s already better than nothing.”

And that’s comfort enough, she thinks, for all of them.

Thanks for reading! My request are open and i added some fandoms including MK, the lists and rules are pinned.

#mk1 2023 #mortal kombat #liu kang #kitana #liutana #titan liu kang #time god liu kang #titan kitana #i am obsessed with her #mk1 fanfic #mk1 fluff #mk1 character study #Midnight anxiety posts

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genericpuff · 9 months

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Genuinely curious as to if you asked permission to use Rachel’s characters and she said yes or if you just decided Lore Olympus is popular enough to make a fan comic of and are hoping you don’t receive a cease and desist? Can anyone create a remake comic of original content and just change what you don’t like about it and it’s considered legal if you say the characters belong to the original creator? There is plenty of disappointing media out there that could be remade. I understand you cannot use their characters for profit so is just posting it ok?

Yes, anyone can, because it's called fanfiction lmao Obviously in my case the term "fan" is being used loosely here as at this point it's more like "foe"fiction LMAO but the same principles apply. Unless I try to claim LO is my own creation or make a profit off Rekindled, I should be in the clear. If legal action was taken against me then it would set a precedent against all forms of fanfiction, rewrite, redraw, etc. content around LO which are all essentially doing the same thing Rekindled is doing. I think people tend to view Rekindled as somewhat of an "exception" that's vulnerable to legal action because it's an actual weekly comic put into practice in the same playing field as LO (though they're on massively different bases obviously LOL), but there's not much more separating it from the LO redraw accounts or even the genuine fan accounts that have learned how to draw in Rachel's style (and use it to make their own LO self-inserts and whatnot). I had the time and resources and experience to do what I do through Rekindled, but every redraw, rewrite, fanfiction, etc. account are making the exact same statement I am, whether intentionally or not - "I do/don't like the canon, but/so here's what I think it would be like if it went like this".

There is definitely plenty of media out there that could be remade, and a lot of them are by the fanfiction writers out there who are filling that niche within their respective fandoms. LO is the one I want to do because it's the one that interests me and compels me the most to rewrite.

Not to mention, it's already a bold statement in and of itself to say that I'm "using Rachel's characters", a statement that likely wouldn't hold up in court LMAO Her "characters" are literally just stylized self-insert versions of public domain figures. She did not write The Hymn to Demeter. She did not create Hades, or Persephone, or Hecate, or any of the other characters she writes about. She does not own an entire religion or its deities. The only thing that she really "owns" is the licensing rights to the name "Lore Olympus", and while the style of LO is very unique and identifiable, you can't trademark/copyright a style because that uproots the entire foundation of what art is (ironically no one has had an original idea SINCE the Greeks, we all just learn and adapt our styles based on other artists that we get inspired by and learn from).

Shit, there are series completely unrelated to LO that get harassed or otherwise warned that they could cross into "legal territory" with LO just because they're Greek myth comics. Punderworld, Theia Mania, H x P Ficlets, all of these are comics that also tackle the H x P myth, and while they aren't attempting to do the same thing as Rekindled (as they exist on their own terms) it's really disappointing when I see people talk about these comics purely through the scope of Lore Olympus as if LO invented Greek myth. If WT/Rachel tried to pull rank over the story's "characters", they'd be picking a fight with every other Greek myth comic, book, movie, etc. and they oughta know that's not a fight they're gonna win lol

So everything beyond LO's branding is, in and of itself, fanfiction. Rekindled is just another level deeper by being fanfiction of a fanfiction. As long as I'm not profiting off Lore Olympus' namesake or distributing my work with the misconception that I created LO, it's legally fine. Morally, I'm sure it doesn't exactly make me a saint to do it, it definitely took a lot of hubris for me to say "yeah I don't like how you wrote your story enough that I felt the need to rewrite it completely" and I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking doing so is icky. There are certain lines I won't cross - I don't use the general LO hashtags because my content is very critical and my work isn't really for the fans, I don't encourage anyone to "show Rachel" what I do here because none of what I do here is obligated to be seen by her (and I know it wouldn't be in her best interest to see it anyways, she's literally said that she doesn't like criticism so why tf would I wanna show her a comic that exists to criticize her work lol), and I'm not planning on posting it to Webtoons because that's Rachel's territory. I don't want to overstep both in the legal sense and in the moral one. I think it's more than enough for me to just post my stuff here for the people who are seeking it, and not profit off it or directly affiliate it with LO/Rachel beyond crediting.

All that said, in a moral and legal sense, what I'm doing is literally the basis of fanfiction, and I wouldn't be going to such lengths and spending this much time every week putting out episodes every week if I never cared about LO and how it made us all feel, even if some of us don't love it as much as we used to.

#also just as some food for thought and because i couldn't find a place to fit it in the post #sonic mania ended up being one of the best games in the sonic franchise in over a decade and it was made by a sonic fangame dev #a lot of shakespeare's most beloved plays were also 'stolen' from other works #and don't get me started on the screenwriting industry #many of the books they adapt into film are completely rewritten from weaker source material or material that just won't work in movie form #obviously sometimes it's for worse and not better #but rewriting works you're dissatisfied with is an age old tradition IMO #fifty shades of grey exists and it was literally twilight fanfiction when it started LMAO #innovation is found in fandoms #i could just be haphazardly defending myself tho LOL maybe i'm just an asshole #lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus #antiloreolympus #ask me anything #ama #anon ama #anon ask me anything #lore rekindled #lore rekindled comic #lore rekindled ama

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kalinara · 4 months

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I was skimming through my dashboard and I saw a post that I thought was really interesting.

In the post, the person stated that they missed when fandom was more interactive, when it came to fanfic writers and fan artists, rather than today, where it was like the content creators were machines that didn't need positive feedback, but were just there to create product.

I'm paraphrasing, because I can't find it again. It stuck with me for a bit though.

See, I think this is the natural effect of discouraging constructive criticism.

I can appreciate that very few people enjoy logging into their email or messages and seeing a comment regarding a project that they've spent so much time and effort on and seeing "Well, this is what I think you did wrong."

I can appreciate that for most folk, fanfic is a labor of love, something that they're sharing with the community. They're not craftsmen honing a craft, per se. They're not looking for advice on how to improve.

That's understandable. But I think it misses something really important: that constructive criticism, heck, even a polite yet negative review is still ENGAGEMENT.

It's a conversation in a way that kudos aren't. It's a conversation in a way that gushing praise really isn't.

I'm not saying a writer has to agree with the criticism. People are people and sometimes people are full of crap. But the fact that someone took the time out of their busy day to actually engage with a writer about something they created, and to talk about it, and think about it, and examine what worked for them and what didn't...

That does mean something, in my opinion. I've been a fanfic reader, primarily a lurker, since I first took baby steps onto the web in 1996. Back before AO3. Back before fanfiction.net. I remember webrings, and mailing lists, and geocities. I even, vaguely, remember bulletin boards.

As I said, I was a lurker primarily. I didn't talk much. I followed the discussions. Sometimes I'd agree with it. Sometimes I'd disagree (quite strongly). I very rarely commented or reviewed.

But when I did review, that was because I really wanted to. And when I did review, I put a LOT of effort into it. I'd talk about what I thought the author did really really well (which was a lot! Or I wouldn't have bothered.) I'd mention what didn't work so much for me, and what I thought might have worked better. It'd take hours, sometimes, to figure out exactly what I wanted to say - what I would want to HEAR if I'd written the story. I always tried to leave the kind of reviews that I wanted to receive on my own work.

I'd never write a review like that now. The etiquette's changed. I recognize that the kind of review I wrote back in 1998 would be incredibly rude now. But when I look at the comments I've left nowadays - they're quick. They're meaningless. Even on fics I've truly loved. Sometimes I don't even comment. Just a kudo. Sometimes I forget to do that. It's not personal, but I've got things on my mind.

It occurs to me that even the word is different. "comment" vs. "review". There are very different expectations.

I see people sometimes talking about how what they really want is comments, though. And interaction. And I get that, but when you limit the type of interaction that you're looking for, then I think that you're going to get less of it.

I'm sorry. But sometimes I'll read a fic that's okay, but not great. It's got wonderful ideas, but they could be developed better. It's got good character voice, but some of the word choice is a little off. It doesn't sing.

At least, to me. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste. Maybe it's a craft issue. The author didn't ask for my opinion, and that's fair enough. But am I going to leave lukewarm praise and nothing else? Maybe. I have before. But more likely, I'm just going to hit the back button and look for something else.

It's easier to give feedback now than it was in 1997 in a lot of ways. Kudos buttons are lovely. Instant review buttons/forms that don't require a perpetually shy anxious person to send an email to a stranger are wonderful things. I probably do leave more comments now than I did back in 1997.

But when it comes to actual substance and engagement...I'm not sure there's even a comparison. Why bother? If I feel really strongly about something in the fic, well, I can write a blog post about it instead.

It is kind of funny that this means that I get the engagement out of it, rather than the author, but that's how it goes sometimes.

#fandom woes #this is not to say that fandom back in 1997 was all sparkles and wonder #there were a LOT of problems too #but that's not the point of this post

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istherewifiinhell · 29 days

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#never forget they used knockout instead of a different name they they had on the trade marks for SEXINESS reason. unreal.#<- can u explain that to me. anyways

yeah 👍🏻 although seems ive walked into a classic blunder of remembering something from a "the basics" video which ofc is from the wiki which ofc, its weirdly sourced and from a tf creator/company rep who. they have habits of just saying shit. ANYWAY. this is actually from the notes section on breakdowns page

the fandom concluded that Breakdown was meant to be Lugnut at some point in the episode's production. The Hub's Mike Vogel challenged this notion at BotCon 2011, claiming that Lugnut had been Knock Out's original name, which had been changed because "Lugnut" wasn't "sexy" enough for the character. The Prime Season 1 Blu-ray commentary, however, corroborated the original theory: Breakdown's place in the show was originally intended to belong to Lugnut, since a loyal Decepticon bruiser was desired, but the show creators wanted a land-based Decepticon instead.

That knockout was purposely designed as sexy seems to be a thing fans say a lot, tho i don't have a specific source to pull for that either. not that its particular hard to believe. and the tacit tf understanding here also being that. as the companies have to content with copyright branding, they prefer to use names they have on the books, and if the characters arent that iconic or new. any name seems to do, alas long as it fits the vibe.

also bonus fun(?) fact! botcon '11 also notable for when the writers said one of the most overly correctional homophobic things ive ever heard. (from knockout's notes section)(it DOES link the relevant youtube panel recording. but i have the wrong kind of mental illness, and would dissolve if i had to watch it, so lets take their word for it)

When asked at BotCon 2011, the Prime writers said that there is no designation for gay, or straight, for that matter, on Cybertron, where Transformers are created by the AllSpark, not through sexual reproductions. They also said that Knock Out is a knock out, and that the Nemesis is a very "don't ask, don't tell" place. And then they jokingly deflected the matter, claiming that Knock Out's mannerisms are not caused by any particular orientation, but are simply eccentricities caused by "a glitch in the AllSpark" the day he was created...

#some shit #its not called cisformers #😇hope that helps <3 #god i dont respect any of these people. and despite it all. they gave us knockout #restraining myself form mention the other parts of knockouts page #taking the wiki to task. PROPERLY. for their inane doylism used to launder the real world heteronomative androcentrism bias of tf creatives #TLDR? SO SAYS THE WIKI. which i use all the time for information. BUT. because i use it all the time. well. well...#edited on part of language so no one gets my ass for inaccuracies

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fagdykepearlescentmoon · 4 months

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listen ok, I dont personally ship hms, that's not how I see their relationship. However I feel like a lot of people are far to worked up over the idea of it.

A lot of you (and i will not name anyone but there are a few posts that come to mind) would benefit from learning about the separation between content/characters and the creator of said thing. Death of the author and all that. And beyond that, acknowledging that boundaries are for the creator (chonny jash in this case) and not the fans. As fans you have the duty to not shove it in his face if hes uncomfortable with seeing it. But that does not mean you cannot create it or so much as enjoy it.

Im not going to go off on a massive rant, I dont have enough energy for that. But this topic has been a very prevalent discussion in mcyt fandoms for years now so I've seen this whole song and dance. It doesn't matter whether you personally enjoy it or not you do not have the right to label people as 'disgusting' and cause them to be afraid to enjoy something because you don't like it and the creator doesn't want to see it. If the creator of ship content is taggin it properly and not shoving it in cj's face then there is nothing wrong with it. Like it's really not a big deal, you can just block and keep scrolling.

#just saying words #Please please please just be normal about this kinda stuff #And be normal about this post to I do not have the mental fortitude to handle people yelling at me and I will turn of reblogs if I have to #Just eugh it annoys me a little #And this does not mean you have to ship thats not what I'm saying #Please for the love of god dont take it that way #I don't even ship them #They're brothers to me #But I know people who do and they shouldn't have to be terrified of getting hate for it #It's not that deep #chonny jash #chonnys charming chaos compendium #cccc #Do I tag this as discourse?#I don't really think so but if I do someone please lmk #Im scared to hit post dont be weird about this take please

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frazzledsoul · 8 months

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So I've been writing and deleting this over and over for the past few days. I didn't want to upset anybody or come off too strongly but I kept thinking and thinking about it, and I needed to get it off my chest or I'd just keep obsessing over it. I guess it's something I still feel strongly about.

The idea that an original content creator should have any influence or input over whether one continues to create or consume fanworks is borderline offensive to me. The idea that one should consider that person's intentions or should refrain from continuing the story in our own way if it upsets the creator's sensibilities is really, really offensive to me. As a practical matter, they cannot look at our work (creators are encouraged if not legally compelled to stay away for plagiarism reasons) and as long as we are not making a profit off of it and are not breaking any laws, we are free to continue the story in any way that we wish. This is why AO3 exists, because there is a long history of capricious creators targeting fans for fanworks. The site is there to protect us because it is not the creator's sphere. It is ours. We do not need their permission to create and they do not need ours. We don't need to respect or even like the creator to continue the story and we certainly don't need to like the story itself. In fact, most fanworks come into being because we hated at least part of it, and wanted to try to make something better.

When it comes to the matter of Amy Sherman Palladino, we certainly do not need to respect her value system, to the extent that she has one. I decided a long time ago that I won't let that woman have any power over any enjoyment I got out of her work or the ways in which I sought better means of writing or enjoying the way other people write her story. I do not believe what she believes.

The story is over, and for the most part fans haven't like most of what she's written since 2006, and yet they keep begging and pleasing for her to come back and write an ending that they'll sure will make them happy. The series ended with a positive future for almost everyone involved and fans said it wasn't good enough. Fans asked for years for her to come back and write the real ending, because only Amy can write an ending that satisfies us. We'll respect anything you give us, Amy. Then we got AYITL and almost everyone hates it. She took away the youth and promise of almost all the characters and robbed them if the futures we wanted for them and undercut the premise of her series with that ending. And yet fans still beg and plead for more. Surely when she writes the second revival, she'll finally give us what we want! We'll respect anything you give us, Amy! It's a destructive cycle that never ends.

This woman has done more than enough damage to these characters over the years. She does not need to write for them again. We certainly don't need her permission to want better futures for them, or to only imagine those futures because it's what she wanted. She doesn't want them to be happy, and she doesn't want the fans to be happy. Her intentions should not ever be something that HAS to control the ways in which we retell her story.

As to why I rejected that woman's value system, it's because the show often felt like it was cribbed from my life before it was written, and once I did find comfort in the values I thought it expressed. I thought it was a story that valued compassion, integrity, loyalty hard work, sacrifice, and general human decency. By the end of season six, it was made clear that ASP found most of those things deeply embarrassing if not downright ludicrous. Her universe was proved to be full of moral rot: the only thing she valued at that point was narcissism, money, and emotional destruction. By the end of that season, Lorelai and Rory used the values that the men in their life held dear against them because it made them feel vindicated in hurting them. Luke dared to prioritize someone other than Lorelai and Lorelai used his loyalty and devotion to his family against him, knowing it would cripple him to know she chose Christopher, but choosing to do so anyway because Christopher would never, ever prioritize his daughters over her. Rory used both Jess and Logan's love for her in order to try to use one against the other: she knew that trampled over Jess's boundaries and beliefs in doing so, and yet she attempted it anyway. And ASP defended this as a moral good because Logan deserved to be hurt! (Rory expresses zero remorse about trying to hurt HIM). At least Rory felt bad about it and acknowledged Jess's worth as a person in doing wrong, but the morality of her actions never comes into play. And as for Lorelai? I would love for her to be one of those flawed characters who actually accepts responsibility for her actions, but she almost never is that person when ASP is writing her. The most important lesson ASP had to convey is that nothing in the world matters as much as what makes Lorelai Gilmore feel better, and the people that she hurts certainly never matter as much as her feelings do.

And apart from all that bullshit, I can't help remembering that Lorelai and Rory rejected the decent, dependable, loyal men in the story for the rich, charming Lotharios with a recent history of betraying them. That rejection may have been necessary in Jess's case (because Milo didn't want to participate in this charade anymore), but it does seem that ASP was arguing that Luke and Jess and all of their goodness didn't mean as much as money and charm. They were never, ever going to be good enough. And you know what? Lorelai and Rory hurt the people they chose, too. I feel ASP is as immune to the consequences of that as she was the the overall classist message she was sending here. Money and charm are to overrule all. Well, what if they don't?

So, yeah. I reject that belief system and the way she told me that everything I hold sacred in the world is essentially meaningless and not worth honoring. I've spent a lot of time in my adult life living out the consequences of the emotional destruction that Lorelai and Rory wrought so easily and in Lorelai's case, without shame or remorse (I don't think ASP would have ever let her apologize for what she did). I've spent a very, very long time cleaning up the mess that gets left behind. So no. I do not respect the message that this kind of shit is in any way justifiable.

So any attempt I make in my piddling fanfiction career, or all the shit I write on this hellsite, or even the stories I seek out, always is going to be a repudiation of the story as it was originally told. I am not interested in that story and I have zero interest in letting its implications control the one I prefer.

Gilmore Girls is not a comfort show for me. However, its fanworks are. It is important to me that they are not the same thing.

#wow i haven't yelled about asp like this in years #anyway just my opinion #gilmore girls #meta #i think even in media one has a goid relationship with the spheres shoukd akways be seperate

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damnfandomproblems · 11 months

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Response to an ask

Absolutely NO ONE was saying people werent assholes for going against creators wishes. We all collectively agree that people are in fact assholes for it.

That's not the fucking point. That's not what we are talking about here.

We ARE however talking about the fact that no matter how much of an asshole someone is, you can't control them. And you said this yourself. But it's because of that fact that you need to learn to just put up with it and just ask to not be shown that art or writing or whatever

Also fuck you for comparing any of us to your abusive mother. That's fucking toxic of you.

That's not even comparable. What WOULD be however is taking YOUR art or writing and changing it. Fan art and fan fiction does not count as this. It may be a drawing of a character you created but the fan art of it is not yours.

That is not comparable to your mother doing whatever she wants with YOUR things. Not to mention that would also include any fanworks you deem "okay" to make.

And one more thing

People will never stop creating fanworks. We have fought for decades to be allowed to create fanworks freely. It's obvious you know nothing about the shit that went down with Anne rice. Or how the Harry Potter Fandom pretty much excludes the author from her own works because she's a transphobic piece of shit.

If you don't want people making fanworks of your stuff then don't fucking share it. You as a small content creator will not be able to change this status quo of people doing whatever the fuck they want. No matter how much you try to guilt people about it.

But you know what. In one of the Fandoms your in I'm damn sure you've made something the creator wouldn't like. Even if it's just some ship. And when have you ever seen big name creators really say anything about this stuff being created other than "I don't want to see it"

Hell that's what celebrities do when people make RPF of them. The main rule in RPF is to not fuck show the real person the smut/gore/whatever gross fanfiction you've made of them. If they want to see it they will look for it.

You can try to guilt people all you want but you aren't going to change anything. There are just some things you just need to learn to put up with.

I've probably ranted enough and at this point idek if it makes sense anymore

But one last time. Fuck you for comparing people who make fanworks of any kind to your abusive mother. Absolutely just fuck you.

#mod sf #response to previous problem #fandom problem 4030

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egg-emperor · 1 year

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The scene where Sage had the flashback montage and cried is actually genius to me now as much as it's still super funny to me for it being hard for me and many others to take the kinda awkward singing seriously and the contents of the montage - but specifically because of the fact. Because it works as a recap that very clearly shows and proves that Eggman didn't genuinely contribute to the dynamic and her character development like we saw Sonic and friends actually do.

It just shows a moment where he gave her the tiniest bit of praise by casually mumbling that her work is "commendable" but then angrily asserts urgency to get out of Cyber Space so it's not good enough, the part where he says she's going to be useful to him as a better replacement to Orbot and Cubot so he's integrating her into his system to take control of the Eggnet because she can be more trusted and efficient with it as he specifically praises. And it also shows HER doing something for HIM by saving him and him specifically praising her for that because he literally created her to do so and she's once again performing efficiently in that, which isn't as common for his creations than he'd like so he finally praises that more highly but still only on the level of how he's praised creations like Gamma before.

It's harder for me to tell unless I pull up two screen to compare for the smaller shots where Sage alone is on screen (because I remember all of Eggman's on screen moments perfectly but don't do the same for any other characters LOL) so I hope I'm not missing anything else notable but I think there's also tiny shots of her asking if Orb and Cube are like her brothers to which he's just like "sure Ig if that's how you wanna look at it". Also his mention of calling his place home which it just factually is and she's like "oh so I could call it home too?" I suppose she's remembering that as stuff she can associate her feeling of love and family to, along with the circumstances of her being his creation making him like her father because it's literally all she actually can apply it to, not based on things Eggman has actually done or even said for the most part.

So I like the montage because it literally shows that Eggman doesn't actually do anything to earn her loyalty and protection because she was already created with intentions and hopes of loyalty and efficiency, shown in the prequel comic and how they're the two ways he decides to describe and praise her in the memos, and they remain the two things he actually takes pride in and values her for understandably. He didn't do anything aside from praise her for what she was created to do and she just applied love that she learned from watching Sonic and friends to those initiatives of loyalty and protection she was already programmed with and also any likeness to family like him as her creator and Orbot and Cubot as his too, the idea of having a home, etc.

Meanwhile on Eggman's side of things it's just like go girl give us nothing!!!! because he doesn't show any type of genuine selfless praise let alone genuinely fatherly affection lol. Because it shows his ass is just sat there, getting mad, and praising her only where he feels credit is due when she does something for him and serves him well, as we also see that anything below his expectations or beyond his specific desires and instructions makes him furious like his reaction to the suggestion to team up with Sonic.

Eggman's side really is shown to be as shallow, self-centered, and with his own interests and benefits in mind all along as both the way Eggman himself talks about it in the memos and as Flynn describes it to be in his Bumblekast, while Sage's is more professional at first but eventually becomes much more sincere and deep and meaningful over time lol I love it

#my post #dr. eggman #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #sonic frontiers #eggdad #sage the ai #analysis

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