#just some trends I've noticed

[naturalkillercyborg]

all lowercase at least one mispeling at least one instance of twowords stuck together misuse of. punctuation

#just some trends I've noticed

[burr-ell]

I'll preface this by saying that I don't by any means begrudge anyone their own personal headcanons or interpretations, but I kinda have to get it off my chest that I'm personally not very comfortable with significant deviations from canon character design on CR, and I really tend to side-eye people who have declared their fanart to be "better".

And sure, some of that is because i'm a cranky old bastard. But some of that is that I also have an animation degree and have studied character design. Creators generally give artists a fair amount of input as to how they want their designs to connote the characters' personalities—not just in terms of clothing or hairstyle, but in the overall shape of the silhouettes and body structures. And in the case of CR in particular, that's coming from a place of much closer familiarity with the characters because the creator is actually going to be embodying them for a fairly long period of time, so when the fan response is heavy deviation from that, I think it can feed into some unhealthy fanon perceptions and projections.

Like, for example, it's not so much that I think fanartists are "disrespecting the creators" or whatever when they keep giving Imogen a sweet little round face and big hips/breasts and cute circular glasses, but I've also studied shape language in art. You're communicating something when you design her this way; if a character's silhouette has a lot of circles, visually that connotes being friendly, sweet, and cute. The person who first suggested drawing her with glasses explicitly said they thought it would look cute—and no shade to them! They can like whatever they want!

But canonically, Imogen is a woman in her 20s who's been dealing with unanswered questions, abandonment, loneliness, and sheer exhaustion from trying to hold back and control powers that she never asked for—and who simultaneously uses those powers even when it isn't necessary if she thinks it'll help her achieve a goal or prove a point. She isn't unfriendly, and she wants to do the right thing, but she's also someone who's consciously chosen to keep to herself for most of her life, and yet simultaneously she's quite adept at persuading and deceiving people. I think we're meant to pick up that sense of world-weariness and cynicism from her angular facial features and thin frame. That's...kind of just how character design works.

I think the trend of disregarding the official art and giving her softer features has had an impact on the perception of Imogen as a character. I see a lot of views of her that really remove a lot of her agency, treating her like she's only ever been a victim of circumstance who's never put a foot wrong. Some fans got pushback for pointing out that it really wasn't cool for Imogen to openly contemplate whether or not the Ruby Vanguard might be right in front of three people who were killed by Otohan, insisting that imogen was just dealing with a lot right then. And yes, she was, but that doesn't mean that the way she was dealing with it doesn't say something about her as a character. I don't know if I'd call it coddling, necessarily (even though perhaps there are some very coddling takes I just haven't seen), but there seems to be some resistance, in some circles, to the idea that Imogen isn't a put-upon martyr. And in those same circles, round friendly-looking glasses-wearing Imogen abounds, to the point of editing the official art itself to "fix it".

Truth be told I'd be willing to bet that the rounder cuter Imogen actually came about because of the initial impression of her, given how much fanon at the start of c3 revolved around poor baby Imogen with her scary nightmares needing the wiser, worldlier Laudna to comfort her and kiss it better, but those visuals also proliferated rather quickly and well beyond past the point where that fanon was feasible anymore, and I think both aspects of that fanon ended up informing each other. It's not lost on me that the rounder and cuter-looking Imogen performs the literal function of sanding down her harder edges.

And like I said, I'm not here to be needlessly negative toward what other people want to do. If you want to draw the characters differently to their official art, I don't think either the cast or the artist are especially offended by it. But I personally dislike it, in part because I think some of these trends are a way for fans to claim a certain amount of ownership over the characters, whether they intend it or not. And the ultimate outcome of that is that when creators inevitably assert their ownership over a deeply personal story in a way that fans don't like, the backlash is much stronger than it reasonably should be, which is something I think the CR fandom has seen often enough not to continue doing as often as it does.

#cr meta #critical role #cr discourse #cr wank #i think chubby jester vs skinny jester also falls into this #and don't get me wrong i 100% support representation of body types and the cast does too #but there's a certain amount of overlap between chubby jester and weird fanwanky c2 stans #it's. usually the folks who cling to fanon art interpretations who get the most angry at the cast when things don't go their way #like i don't have StatsTM or whatever to prove it but i've noticed some trends #also it's always the female characters and particularly laura bailey's characters who get hit with this attitude the most #like! just say you don't like a call laura made! i promise you no one's gonna call 911!

[ifmagicexists]

there's something that bothers me so much whenever i read or see magic reveal concepts that involve "i'm more mad you lied to me than i am about the magic how could you keep such a big secret from me" and i finally realized its because it feels so. dismissive of merlin's struggle? him having to watch people with magic be arrested or executed or burned day after day after day, to listen to the people closest to him so casually refer to it as evil, as though that were an unquestionable fact, having to live every single day less and less sure he could ever be accepted after hiding so long and seeing so much.

like in general but esp as a queer person, seeing these takes that make a magic reveal just about "why didn't you tell me don't you trust me" when actually the characters did not really give merlin much reason to trust they would be accepting (and in fact often in their very reactions demonstrate exactly why he was hesitant), and even if they had he lives!!! in a place where it is literally illegal!!!! like it is so frustrating to constantly see these perspectives where arthur or the knights angrily question why merlin couldn't tell them and merlin just being silent in response, when its so beyond clear how difficult a position merlin was in.

merlin is almost never the main character in his own magic reveal scenarios beyond just worrying about the other person liking him again, and while i get why that is, since its the other person's perspective shifting usually, its still frustrating because its meant to be a culmination of his life's struggle and finally a full realization and acceptance of himself, and i wish we could see more of that: more of merlin's own messy emotions towards having to hide for so long, over fearing his own friends, over suppressing who he is, over getting used to being open about it for the first time in his entire life.

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #knights #this post is not aimed at anyone or anything in particular #and i hope i'm not coming off aggressively or anything #but its just a very common trend i've noticed and have been kind of frustrated over #also i mentioned arthur and the knights in the post cause they're usually the ones i see this with #weirdly gwen often just unquestioningly accepts merlins magic despite the fact that her father literally being executed for it combined wit #-morgana's betrayal would probably leave her with some complicated feelings about magic as a whole #gee i wonder why it is that her reaction is just skimmed over as easy 🤔 #anyway that's a Whole Other post the point here is #i want more of everyone realizing how hard it was for merlin #and more of merlin realizing how hard it was on himself #instead of reveal fics that almost always involve merlin comforting arthur/the other person #like there's a place for those but it just rubs me the wrong way given the whole setup #and how analogous magic is to queerness #res rambles

[uncanny-tranny]

Maybe it's just me, but part of why I never really felt completely secure in being public about my own artistic endeavors was how... being proud of yourself in any capacity for any reason is almost a faux pas, if that makes sense.

I've noticed how it's almost expected to perform the air of humility, but is that humility? Is it humility to say, "Oh, I'm sorry for clogging your feed with my awful art" or anything to the effect of self-deprecation?

I think that's why I so often gravitate toward those who make "bad art." There's a sense of freedom that is only achieved with the level of hubris that being unashamed in the number of people who hate your art. I wonder, though, how many people don't hate the art as much as they hate that they can't chastise the artist into humility, into recognizing how "terrible" an artist they "actually" are?

#art #i have clinical enough anxiety to not need people to expect self-deprecation from me when i do anything... #i always find it fascinating and almost freeing to see an artist make their own shit and be PROUD of that work #i unironically need to watch the room because that's the type of energy that i need so desperately #i do genuinely wonder if the largest critics of some of the 'worst' pieces of art do just tend to hate that the artist is openly prideful... #...that it isn't necessarily the art itself that completely enrages them but that they don't have the weapon of shame and humiliation... #...to put the artist 'back in their place' (the bottom)? #maybe i've been overanalyzing people's intention but i do wonder #i'm not saying you aren't allowed to dislike art (i dislike SO much art)... #...what i am saying is not all hatred of art is created equal and not all of it is something that is really as bad as it's portrayed #i need to emphasize that you are allowed to dislike art for whatever reason. there's some art i don't like for pretty petty reasons... #...but i don't think that requires me demanding artists to be ashamed and self-deprecate whenever they dare show their pieces #i think so many people are conditioned into self-hatred that anybody who shows any level of self-respect is off-putting though #like that's something i've really noticed a lot #and i think this is an aspect of the trend towards seeing self-hatred as neutral and even good

[nell0-0]

The only time I've ever liked Villian!Emmet was in one fic were he was an unintentional villian and everything got out of control. Basically he tried to use a legendary Pokémon, messed up and would mess something else up fixing the original mess up but since it wasn't from his pov we didn't find that out until later. Emmet's a good guy and in all his canon appearances he priorities fun and safety, I don't think he could ever intentionally be evil but he could make a mistake.

Ah, I usually end up dropping the fics where I see Emmet portrayed as a villain because they make me uncomfortable, but that scenario is actually something I wouldn't mind all that much? Like, yeah, it would still be somewhat upsetting but the guy was just trying his best. Still not sure I would be comfortable reading it tho. After all, as Emmet says, safety first! And that includes the content we want or do not want to consume and/or interact with.

I believe Emmet is genuinely nice, even if he can come across as intense and somewhat rude depending on the context (without meaning to, of course!), but even then it's in his own dialogue! He says "everyone smile" which infers the wish to make other people happy, including himself in that everyone, by partaking on his favorite activity ever (pokemon battling), and, again, he also says "safety first". Not very villain like if you ask me.

As a fandom, I think we should probably stop normalizing turning beloved characters evil/villains just for the heck of it, specially if they're neurodivergent coded or outright stated as so. But that's not just a problem in the submas fandom but a general trend, sadly.

#asks #emmet #my art #seeing most of the characters I relate to as villains gets tiring after a while #And well. while some of my favs are canonically villains... others are not #the farthest from it in fact #this is not meant to discourage content creators from messing around btw #just a general trend I've noticed #*looks at other fandoms I've been part of* #yikes

[rollercoasterwords]

ok! i'm actually gonna be grumpy for a second

this is gonna be me talking about the circular online discourse of "omg it SUCKS that mlm fics are so much more popular than wlw fics" specifically in the marauders fandom i do not know if it will be productive or insightful or if it will just be me being grumpy so. scroll if u want lol

anyway. i'm just! getting kinda frustrated at this point with the amount of people i see saying something like "guys...isn't it crazy how mlm fics are sooooo much more popular!! it's because of misyogyny!!" and then everyone just agreeing with them and like. that's it. internet echo chamber.

and it's like no okay i get it we need to have a conversation like it's important to start this conversation but we just. keep starting it. and starting it. and starting it. and it feels like it's not even a conversation at this point.

ok hang on i'm gonna try to organize my thoughts because i feel like there are...perhaps two main things that annoy me

there is no bad guy in this situation

one thing that frustrates me is this sort of weirdly....moralizing? ig? underlying tone to a lot of these posts. like, it sometimes feels like people are searching for someone to blame or get upset with, or some group of people to blame or get upset with. it's not just "oh misogyny is a reason behind this," it's "making a post about this issue and the way you respond to posts about this issue is an indicator of your personal moral fiber and also i now win good person points for saying this thing that many people have already said." maybe i'm being too harsh here because i DO think people deserve the benefit of the doubt and i'm sure that most of the people pointing out this issue have good intentions, i just...idk. sometimes it feels like virtue signaling more than anything.

and i think the reason it sometimes feels like virtue signaling to me is that there is no bad guy in this situation! there isn't anyone to "catch out" for the misogyny underlying this whole popularity disparity. if someone exclusively reads/writes mlm fic, that does not make them a bad person. is there perhaps some self-reflection to be done about why that is the only form of media content they consume? sure! but that's a call-in, not a call-out. y'know? idk maybe this is a whole other discussion but i already made a post about the reason i think mlm is so much more popular than wlw so i'm not gonna say it all again lol

2. the solution is actually right there. it's RIGHT there. this is a solvable thing

okay this is the thing that i think bothers me more and that contributes to those posts feeling like virtue-signaling more than anything. and that's that, at the end of the day, just saying "omg mlm fics are way more popular ugh misogyny" isn't!! that!! productive!!

like guys. this is fanfiction. this is literally fanfiction. if you truly view this as a really big issue, there are actually things you can do to fix it!! you can write wlw fics! you can read wlw fics! you can comment and kudos and recommend and send nice messages to people who write wlw fics! like this is actually a situation where you as an individual can actively do shit ??? and any of those things will be more productive than just saying over and over again that there's an issue.

like. imagine with me for a moment. picture me this. "oh man," internet user x says, "it really sucks that mlm fics are so much more popular than wlw fics! i want to see more wlw fics in this fandom space." internet user x wants to see wlw fics getting more attention, so internet user x goes and finds some wlw fics. internet user x reads them. internet user x recommends them to some friends. wow! internet user x has identified something they are unhappy with and has taken steps to change it! yay!

ok i know i'm getting sarcastic at this point i KNOW i told u guys i was gonna be grumpy. but like. the point stands (i think?). like first of all -- this is not a life or death issue; it's something that i would love to see actual conversations about, but at the end of the day this is all fanfiction and it's not that serious. but if it IS something that bothers you, actually reading and recommending wlw fics is just going to do so much more than making another post about how crazy it is that mlm fics get more attention. like. we get it. we have established that. let's either have an actual conversation about it or move on please.

"oh i would but i can't find any good wlw fics" dm me. i'll give u some. ok??? i have a whole post of recommendations. go look at that. jfc. if i could find them u can too!! it might take a little more work but again, if this is something you care so deeply about then like...work to find them. just!!! yeah. ok. i'm done now i think if i just keep going i'm gonna get mean which isn't fair bc like i said i think the people making these posts are well-intentioned. i am just! grumpy :)

#grumpy!!! #grumpy posting #posting on tumblr and being grumpy about it #idk sometimes u just need to rant on ur silly little tumblr blog #also this is not about any specific person this is just a trend i've noticed #like i said there's no bad guy nobody is in the wrong here #sometimes i just get annoyed at things on the internet and it's not because there's some big moral issue #it's just because i'm a hater at heart <3 #txt #ranting and raving

[iknowwhereyousleepatnight]

The fact that I could spot my vote immediately is hilarious to me. Really interesting the see the difference between two entirely different subject pools though!

yeah, i've had a sibling take it and they knew exactly which one was theirs. urs is calling to u

and the groups are very different! i knew that there would be some non-representative factors with such a small sample size, but i kinda forgor that psych students have a bit too much empathy to like seeing people in pain so all my sadism results were wayyy too low to be representative. so i came here and now my stuff is much more even. i wonder if the psych group really is so non-sadist and (sort of) non-masochistic (they are more partial to masochism but not nearly as much as the tumblr group) or if it's bc my questions were so face-valid and there's a stigma around sadism and masochism, esp bc some psych students have a bit of a purity/need to be morally right/etc complex. which i think could be fair. i talked to someone about it and they told me that maybe they're normal but ehhhh could be could not who knows

#ask #there's one person in the psych group that scored really high on masochism and i kinda want to figure out who they are #i'm so lonely in my world of non-masochists #i'm actually messing w the data rn (the project is focusing on correlation btw) #and i've noticed some interesting trends and stuff that i think are cool #i'm going all out for this bc i love excel i have 16 sheets open rn and i'm like a bit over half done lmao #this is just very fun AND they'll let me talk about it for 10 to 15 minutes so yippee!!! #i plan on speedrunning all the other stuff i need to discuss during my presentation #bc the results are the fun part and i wish to discuss everything always and forever

[itsjustpoopeh]

whew some of the takes i have seen in the tags

you can’t say that men need to work on toxic masculinity and holding themselves and each other accountable while simultaneously calling any portrayal of them *actually doing that* “bad writing because it’s unrealistic” like? do y’all think through what you’re saying or nah?

#and no not all those men in that room were united in being uwu himbos wtf #how the hell did they have an argument and discussion about if they had to do it if they all already agreed? #your complaints don't even make sense y'all are making me *tired* #i'ma end up writing that long ass post i've been pondering #about how just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad #this includes jack btw #and colin wouldn't automatically be a good feminist just because he's gay #have you met real gay men? #there's a lot of misogyny there let's be real #all queer rep doesn't have to be pure and angelic to be ✨valid✨ #it might be a series of posts #about every stupid take i've been exposed to in the last 24 hours #some of y'all need to just stop watching the show ig you seem to hate everything about it #i've noticed a trend about who it is too but i'll save that for later #ted lasso #richmond till we die

[transhitman]

hmmm I know it's because they're Legos, and I know the show itself does it in the "anime" segments, but just a psa to ninjago fans: you prooobably shouldn't be drawing the characters with yellow skin when you make them more realistic. Like especially in a show that's already kinda racist by appropriating east Asian aesthetics. Not trying to call out anyone in particular -- I'm sure it's not the intent -- but I've seen it a few times in the tag and it's just kinda. In poor taste I guess.

#ninjago #erm. yeah idk if it's a new trend maybe I just didn't notice it back in the day #but I've seen some very... iffy stuff.

[witchaotics]

wee bit of an impromptu rant.

I am so so tired of people flexing about how powerful their muses are whenever they feel disrespected. I understand that it can be a problem in the RPC where people aren't taking your muse as seriously as you feel they should, but I find often times when people express this frustration, their go-to is to flex how powerful their muse is and even get so angry that they forget all sense of tact or nuance.

Some muses are little assholes. Some muses will push yours even if they're weaker, and granted there are some muns who can't handle that heat and that is frustrating.

But I am so over people weirdly flexing as a response to this.

#ooc. #it just puts me off for some reason #like yes we get it your muse is powerful #idk there has to be a middle ground here #like you can ask for respect and vent your frustrations without being over the top angry as I have seen so many times. #vent cw #this is a trend I've noticed #and I'm tired

[risingsunresistance]

one trend i love to see while watching videos from different communities is that they all gravitate towards their own editing styles. either you all hire the same editor or you watch eachother's videos and get influenced within your own community and i think that's really neat to see :]

#watching some mcsr vids rn and i noticed these two guys are VERY similar in editing #and i see that same trend in other spaces im in. including the ones that arent mcyt :0 #idk it's just neat #especially when you can pinpoint where it started #everyone who got influenced by summoning salt. ily so much. i've been there since 2017 look at my boy he's doin so well ueuueuueue #chat

[sofastuffing]

this isn't meant to be derogatory but i think one massive sign that someone's a newbie artist is the way they add very prominent warnings not to repost their work

#it's bc they (ie. me) have seen a lot of like. art youtubers and others who make content ABOUT creating art stress the evils of reposting #which isn't wrong. reposting someone's online work is Bad in the context of individual smaller artists #but like. babygirl. i say this in the nicest way possible. nobody knows your art exists let alone is planning to repost it #i feel like after a certain amount of fame artists get more chill about reposts since they're kind of inevitable at that point #plus a larger artist isn't really harmed that much by it #and vice versa i feel like the people most stressed about reposts are newbies who. aren't really at risk of reposts #for the record this is not endorsing reposts. credit the fucking artist or die #it's just. a trend i've noticed #(or maybe i'm just surrounded by more chill artists and there are actually plenty of famous artists who are neurotic about reposts. idk) #apologies if this isn't structued very well I'm. rambling #not art™ #art #reposting #edit: oh yeah forgot to add i think it's also a lack of perspective (which tbf is kind of obvious) #a lot of young artists online view the discourse(?) around making art through a very online lens since that's all their exposed to #which shows through even in vocabulary like 'repost' #anyways i need to go 2 Bed goodnight #i say all this like i'm some big artist lol. i'm not i'm just in that awkward intermediate phase #both skill wise and popularity wise (though ik popularity doesn't actually work* like that) #*like you cannot work to gain online popularity the way you can work to improve art skill. it's primarily luck that gets you Big #and very few people get lucky anyway goodnight for real now

[tibby]

fascinating to me that the whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” mentality has really gone out of the window in terms of media consumption in recent years. meaning that the amount of mediocre or just plain bad content (books, movies, shows, etc) that get heaps and heaps of praise just because they look pretty (or in terms of movies/shows, have the right names attached) seems to have multiplied. 

#in some ways it sort of feels like the golden age of hollywood in which more weight is given to the actors involved #than anything else #which isn't inherently a bad thing on a personal level like we all have actors that we like and support #but when the cast is ALWAYS your sole motivator behind creating/watching stuff then...idk! feels like you're deliberately missing out #anyway this isn't inspired by any specific thing just a trend i've noticed #also something that isn't always intentional and ik i've been guilty of it #see: not thinking last night in soho was THAT bad because of anya + it was a very pretty film #but in hindsight i was like. oh. good god there are so many flaws in that.

[just-some-guy-joust]

@ the anon who asked about if a specific fish has been submitted, yes! it has! i will not name it publicly tho since i don't want people to Not submit specific fish just because one or two other people already have! assuming you are not the person who has submitted the creature you asked about, if you really want to be sure they'll get in then ! go nominate them!

#again. i cannot stress this enough. i cannot say this enough times. i will continue to say this until it gets through to everyone #do not worry about what other people have submitted. #i will gladly go through submissions and tell people specifics. AFTER the nomination round is over! #if you want a creature to get in SUBMIT THEM #IF YOU LET A CREATURE GO WITH ONLY 1 SUBMISSION IT MAY NOT GET IN THE TOURNEY #*shaking you* DO YOU UNDERSTAND #SUBMIT EVERY FISH YOU CAN THINK OF IF YOU WANT IT TO GET IN #if you are the same person who submitted the creature you asked about hiii hi worm anon how are you #FOR THE RECORD if you ask if a creature has been submitted and the answer is 0 #i will gladly post that ask publicly. because then some people might submit them #but otherwise i WILL NOT post those #because the trend i've noticed with these tumblr tournaments is #if something is submitted once and everyone following the blog Knows That #then they won't bother submitting it again. and then it doesn't get in the tournament #please please please please please. submit your creatures. #from now on if anyone asks if a creature has been submitted and the answer is more than 0 #i will not bother to even make this kind of post addressing it. so if anyone does ask and never gets a response #don't worry i'm not ignoring you. ...i sort of am but it's just because i can't post that #deep sea fish tourney

[redhead-reporter]

please clap.

#i hate how whenever i get this number down #i always wanna do a starter call LOL #but honestly lately i've noticed an rpc wide trend of people just ... not responding to starters they're given? #and nothing kills my muse faster #so consider this a sneaky starter call? #but ONLY if we can plot before hand :') #º ✧ 。 i’m still out but i’ll grab some stuff at the store ooc shit

[alexjcrowley]

Just feels like every piece of media lately

#FIRST OF ALL NO SHADE just noticing a well established trend #you go watch your IT your ST you go watch your comfort media I'm just here making memes #I cannot stress enough how this is just silly me poking fun at something I know today ST is out and I even got involved #don't watch the show cause not my cup of tea but I've got curious and I'm trying to get as many spoilers as I can #strangers things #it #it 2017 #I wanna tag other stuff but it might be spoilery #Il mostro della cripta #keeping the italian title because I don't think it was distributed anywhere else #Again I LIKE SOME OF THESE MEDIAS DON'T @ ME I JUST WANT TO MAKE FUN OF STUFF #I liked Il mostro della cripta a lot actually #it was an interesting operation