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permets-2 · 4 years

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Your tag that says why do we have to say this, I get it's a hypothetical question but JFC this is the most racist fandom I've ever been in. I can't conceptualize why, but it is. It's the epitome of white queerness and feminism, and is just tiring.

Okay I’m so sorry this is probably a longer response than you wanted but I’ve been thinking about this for a while now and yeah. Let’s talk.

Why is the Les Mis fandom so racist?

(Disclaimer that this is based on my own experiences in this fandom, I don’t speak for all Les Mis fans of color, obviously. Also that this is not a post to “prove” the Les Mis fandom is racist. If you need that before you wanna know why, you’re part of the problem.) (There’s a tl;dr at the end)

It’s because at the end of the day, anon, no matter how many Black Grantaires are drawn and no matter how many Asian Cosettes we get, Les Mis is media primarily by, for, and about white people. I mean, on a factual level, Hugo was white, and let’s not forget he had some wild thoughts on race - saying that white people were “the highest type which the human race has so far reached” and talking about the “inferior races,” saying that Europeans would “civilize and cultivate” Africa in the letter he wrote to The London News regarding slavery in America and John Brown. Also, obviously, all the characters are canonically white. That’s part of why content of the Amis as involved in BLM protests is so harmful imo - no matter the surface story you’re depicting, no matter how you draw them or write them, these are characters who are rooted in and steeped in whiteness, and The Black Lives Matter movement is not for or about them as white people. And, however you rewrite this story, it doesn't change the fact that you'd be imposing a narrative created by a white supremacist on a movement against white supremacy. This is not to say headcanoning/drawing/writing characters as whatever race you want is wrong, or that there isn’t power in artists of color reclaiming stories that have excluded or erased us for so many years! Lord knows I live and breathe for Amis of color, especially when they’re culturally well-represented. But it would not only be naive but also factually inaccurate to pretend that Les Mis is a story for People of Color, or a story that contains acute discussions of racial dynamics, let alone actively dismantles white supremacy.

Also, anon, the culture surrounding Les Mis source material is steeped in whiteness and exclusion. Musical Theatre is one of the most financially exclusive forms of art - tickets are often upwards of $100 each especially for a big name show like Les Mis. I could talk forever about the ways theatre is used as a tool of classism and racism, but in this instance, it boils down to People of Color are directly and indirectly denied access to the world of musical theatre, as audience, writers, directors, performers, etc. We basically see only white people playing the characters of Les Mis in professional (and non-professional) theatre, which is another less tangible barrier to communities of color. You’d think the brick would be more accessible, and on a factual level, sure, most people can find a copy for $9 at Barnes and Noble or get it from the library. But by God, the amount of academic elitism in high school essays to tumblr posts about the brick is off the charts - classic lit has a long history of pushing out People of Color. Why is Hugo one of the most well-known names in all of literature and not Hurston? Baldwin? Du Bois? (This is rhetorical. We know why.) There’s a lot of reasons why the brick and musical alike have been kept away from people of color (that i could get into, starting in 1619, but honestly we’d be here a while)- making this, once again, a piece of media by, for, and about white people.

Which is not to say there aren’t people of color in this fandom, or that we don’t belong here. I know so many Les Mis fans of color in our online community (myself included) who love it here and are so grateful for this space. It’s just harder - we have to write things off all the time. Why is almost 100% of cosplay white people? Why are most all the most popular creators white? Why, when characters are drawn/headcanoned/written as POC, does it play into stereotypes- why are Joly and Combeferre (the doctors) and Cosette (the woman who does not get much agency) the ones depicted as Asian, why are Eponine and Grantaire (the characters who Hugo explicitly calls ugly) the ones depicted as Black? (My broski @everydayatleast as a great post about that here) Why are we so set on blond Enjolras, no matter what ethnicity he’s depicted as?

And here’s the kicker: because of the plotline of Les Mis, we tend to ignore any issues of injustice in our own fandom. We think that because Les Mis is about equality and revolution, we’re automatically culturally and politically progressive. We think that because “Enjolras says Eat The Rich” and “books like these will never be useless”, we have achieved Wokeness. We think that when we stan these activist characters, we’re checking our activism box. We think that because we’ve got a diversity of genders and sexualities we’ve checked the box of representation but that’s another can of worms I will not get into. And this is almost always unconscious, I don’t think any of us are actively and maliciously trying to be racist! There is nothing wrong with having a background of whiteness! There is nothing wrong with being factually or culturally white as a piece of media (or, like, a person)! It is when we fail to be critical of the ways this whiteness affects others that we create racist spaces. (Which, as you said, anon, is how we get White/Non-intersectional Feminism.)

This is not directed at anyone in particular in the slightest, and this is in no way intended as a callout - I have so much love for this online community. And no, I don’t mean every single one of you is actively and aggressively being racist on Tumblr every single day. But yes I do mean the collective us as a fandom contributes towards a culture of racism every day, myself included. We as a fandom can do so much better. As Moose said when we yelled about LM racism for a hawt couple hours today, “In a fandom that purports to be about equality and social justice, we have to live up to our own ideals”.

(tl;dr - the Les Mis fandom is racist because it is a piece of white culture and writen by/for/about white people, Broadway and classic lit is rooted in exclusionism and there’s a lot of forces keeping people of color out of our original source materials, and because of the narrative of Les Mis being about revolution and social progress, we feel like we’ve achieved that and aren’t critical of our own shortcomings)

(phat thanks to my bro moose @everydayatleast for editing and contributing and Yelling with me!!)

#Les miserables #les mis #les amis #fandom racism #sollie speaks #if you feel hurt offended ashamed bitter guilty targeted while reading this post #maybe its time to do some thinkin #Things i did not include in this bc i have self control: the complexities of Black Javert and White Valjean #White Enjolras with a raised fist (aka BLACK POWER FIST?)#how i see almost no art of latinx/hispanic amis and even less indigenous amis #i think once i saw a middle eastern feuilly #how i looked through the faculty of prestigious univerisity classics departments and found 2 people of color out of hundreds of total facult #white people dont clown on this post challenge #other people of color would Love to hear your thoughts on this #seriously lets chat #would also love if yall (poc) have thoughts for you to message me instead of publically vibe checking me #plz im doing my best here #A series of disclaimers #first op is a person of color if that wasnt clear #listen to black creators and black voices especially for issues around BLM #second i have not read all of hugos letters #but i read this one on slavery a while back for apush and it stuck with me #hugo was racist #and im not saying like hes cancelled or some shit #because fuck cancel culture #just please can we be CRITICAL here #third PLEASE dont come for me about saying cosette has no agency #this is not what this is about #you are missing the point #fourth seriously this is not a callout

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savnofilter · 4 years

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Official Callout Post

-> LONG POST

TW: mentions of suicide, ephebophilia, grooming, pseudo racism (microaggression). toxic friendships, harassment towards minors, mental health, fandom discourse.

*DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT BECAUSE OF MY AGE OR SOCIAL MEDIA. THIS IS BECAUSE TOXICITY/TREATMENT. This post is not just minors. This is for the people from different ages 16-22+ who feel like they did not have a voice by fellow BNHA writers.*

To anyone saying that I’m lying because I don’t have every single piece of evidence, please know that it is virtually impossible for me to have every evidence. Mixed with people being terrified and people simply not collecting screenshots it is not possible for me to have everything. Unless any of us had planned to talk about this from the get go when each, there is no way that we can have everything. I have everything that I could use to prove myself.

Important posts: answering asks to the callout, our official last statement.

Important docs: age & mental health timeline & hate messages.

Key:

Lady-Bakuhoe/Kingkatsuki = LBH/Jo

Katsukisprincess/Tamakisprincess/Ttamaki = KP/Sky

Burnedbyshoto = BBS/Lyssa

Tomurasprincess = TMP

Lemonlordleah/(-Shinzawa-Kitten) = LL

Jojosmilktea/Dimplesum = Jojo

Redbeanteax

League-of-thots

Bratwritings/Phasmwrites/Arcanumbras/Yeagerbombs

Important Topics:

Clearing statements

Addressing my callouts

Alienated mental health

Fic stealing

BNHarem server regulation

Clearing Up and Corrections From Last Statements:

Updates

Grooming Section (Updated) - part 1. (8/1/20)

Grammar fix-up - all parts. (1/9/21)

Racist Undertones Section (Updated) - part 1. (1/15/20)

Mental Health (Updated) - part 3 (3/10/21)

People Who Aren’t Involved - part 1. (3/10/21)

My Age & Ladybakuhoe - part 1. (3/10/21)

Moved to google docs -> all parts. (6/20/21)

Added A&MH & HM - part 1 & addressing things. (4/17/22)

I have decided to update this because I have been receiving vile hate that I 100% believe who is behind it. Additionally, I have fixed up grammatical issues and context for places that need it. This update was only made in hopes that said writers would stop harassing my friends and I as they should've a year ago.

DO NOT SEND ANY WRITER INCLUDED IN THESE POSTS. DO NOT HARASS OR MAKE THEM VICTIMS. UNFOLLOW, BLOCK AND AVOID. I do not condone this being used in bullying ONLY in the hopes of informing.

My Age & Lady-Bakuhoe

My oldest documentation of me saying my age was on my blog in January 1st, 2019 // Official document concerning my age and mental health.

When I first came across LBH’s blog, it was through a reblog and nowhere on the post did it say 18+ or her blog. She also claimed to be 19 for a few months.

*Screenshots of the reblog.

*Screenshot of her blog at the most times of our interaction.

- sorry that the pictures are blurry.

That phone call I had with the person is factually incorrect. MCI is older than me by 5 months, and you all aren’t very bright for even believing that.

*Screenshot of me admitting I’m the youngest in the server.

You were also in my server when we revealed that both MCI and I are 15 year-olds (her birthday is in March, she is 16 now, making her never 14 when you guys interacted LMAO [Small note from MCI: My dumbass wasn’t even into BNHA enough to write fanfiction at 14, I was still trying to adjust to freshman year and I was way more active in writing on Wattpad at the time (the roots for anyone who didn’t start on fanfiction.net like you older people with kids]). The conversation happened in November, you left December.

*Screenshoshots of MCI and I talking openly about our ages again.

The reason Anon and I were on the phone was due to us discussing the callout post that DBN had made on me, and we talked about how DBN had lied saying that there was a “hate group chat” against me, when there was not. Then I brought up that she brought up in the post that I am a minor, and how I was worried about people sharing my personal information since Dee was the one who told DBN I am a minor.

I specifically remember the conversation going like this:

Me- “Yeah, I once said I was 18 because I was afraid of M**** not talking to me. I lied about my age once, but it felt wrong after that so I stopped after that one time.”

Anon- “Wait – I thought you were 17?”

Me- “No, I’ve never said I was 17. I turned 15 back in August, and have dropped hints here and there I am a teenager but I have not said I was close to that age (18) except that one instance in the server.”

I remember this conversation very clearly because she was the only person who I admitted that too (meaning everyone knew I was underage and never seen me lie), and after we finished our phone call, something told me sharing that information was going to bite me in the ass later.

This phone call happened on November 30th, 2019.

After months of us not talking, why are you talking about me, my personal business, and me in general? How did I pop up into your conversation? I would like to see the whole conversation, since it is clear that there was more to the conversation than my age.

*Screenshot that you first started reading/writing lemons (smut) that you were around (13-14) my age.

So how does this make me different from you?

I even talked about my school days, sharing my school time from the hours of 7:35~2:20 when LBH was still in my server (and active), and even in DMs when I mentioned my school hours once again.

*Screenshot of me mentioning my school hours in DMs.

*Screenshot of me talking about school hours in my discord.

*Screenshot of her a few chats down. oh and the person encouraging her is a minor btw.

You initiated most of our inappropriate conversations and you never once asked my age. You never asked if it was okay to talk to me like that, and you had no qualms about making inappropriate jokes towards me.

The person who relayed my personal information to LBH is also a minor, and Anon even told me in the phone call that LBH knows that she is a minor but that it was okay because, “Y'know, I’m 16. Jo knows that too. We don’t ever get too explicit, but she let’s some stuff slide since I’m turning 17 soon.”

LBH has knowingly and interacted with four minors I know for a fact that she knew were underage since 2/4 used to be in my server (meaning two of them still are), and have always been open about their age. All four of them interacted with LBH when they were 16, and are now all 17-18.

You also read my (very messy) posts back in November which contained the information that I am a minor.

*Screenshot of her saying she read the posts I made.

Gentle reminder, she was not 18+ until November 2019.

I would also like the receipts where I lied to YOU about my age and where I said I was 18. Stop abusing the fact that I’m underage to cover up what you have done.

BNHarem & Individual Writers Stealing

This section was moved from this part of the callout. Lyssa has only been the one that has been caught about stealing so far / have enough evidence.

We originally were going to leave this section out because the two writers in this situation (Kazooli and Kovori who had their works stolen) felt the other issues within the BNHarem was more important. Not really sure how to get started with this either, but since it’s been brought up that BBS has a history of stealing fics already, people thought it needed to be brought up again.

*Screenshot of Lyssa admitting to stealing Jo’s fic and then Jo proceeds to complain about how someone stole her fics LOL.

The whole conversation is a mess but I digress. The real issue is that you’re enabling stealing as long as you’re a writer/friend when it shouldn’t be allowed at all. You’re grown enough to know it’s not okay. How can people in college and/or in their twenties take this lightly? You get lawsuits for stealing people’s work.

There honestly is no excuse, and the fact people think writers recycle fics is probably one of the most insulting things I have read on this site. Writers aren’t supposed to fucking “recycle” or steal fics. You do it with creative drive, not because you want notes. You have been blamed for it four times and we only have clear evidence of two because the other instances the writers choose not to speak up about it publicly.

The fact that in BNHarem server someone goes “someone stole my fics” and everyone responds appropriately, but once BBS is caught stealing fic “it’s okay we all make mistakes” Your fingers don’t slip and copy fics or accidentally steal bits and pieces. There’s no excuse for it especially since this has happened already.

I understand the pressure of getting a piece or a work out, but where do you think plagiarism is a good idea? You’re in college but the concept of stealing someone’s work didn’t rattle your bones?

You people literally go on with hunts over people who steal your fics, but it’s okay once another writer in the community does it? Set an example for other people.

Repeating the same behavior is not a mistake and it’s not okay. What angers writers is that now that you guys are accepting this idea with open arms that, “oh no, as long you’re friends it’s okay!!” It’s not. The hive mind of just accepting everything that your favorite idols are doing without a second thought is toxic.

Ttamaki Apology + Addressing Server + Aging Up

Here is the apology that has been issued from the necrophilia post back on her old account. Having a written down tagging system on a blog is key, but using the universal tags is very important as well. I think it was a good idea that you have stopped writing heavy topics since it shows that you understand and are willing to change.

Shiggi-Lee had asked for staff audit logs to show there were not any mass deletions. Publicly you offered 90 days of logs, then in DMs you declined. We asked for audit logs because of the claims of bulk deletions of NSFW conversations in the SFW channels.

I am saying this in the beginning post so it sticks with you to the end: there is not a problem with aging up, and no we never called Lady-Bakuhoe a pedophile for writing minors. Please listen to our words as advice when you do your next work.

Ikinabi Apology for BNHarem Comment

It’s been brought up that Red has said some insensitive things while being in BNHarem (the comment is a little further down). Red has came to my DMs about it and has apologized.

Before we move on, I have also been sent a screenshot where remorse has been shown for making past statements and I do believe she can grow.

I’m saying universally, I do not condone that shit and anyone who believes like that, George Floyd’s situation should be a universal hurt for everyone. If you say insensitive shit on purpose and less on ignorance, you can go fuck yourself. If you actually show remorse and are willing to change, that at least is a better to a better mindset.

I believe Red is growing from this experience, and I really hope she does. What she said was not okay to just shrug it off and no it’s not something you have to forgive either. Although I am putting faith to see her change, Red needs to make sure that there is change happening. I’m not saying this is definite, but I will hold this accountable. In order to help someone grow, you need to promote change.

I’ll leave this quote for you guys to get a better understanding of what I mean: “Sure, I believe you’re not racist, but that does not mean what actions you did was not racist. People are so focused on the idea of being racist that the act of doing something racist is blown out the waters. To the point where calling out for doing something racist they go straight into defending themselves of not being a racist. Don’t defend, don’t excuse, just acknowledge. Apologize, understand and help other people learn.”

Being Blocked by Lady-Bakuhoe + "Jealousy"

The only reason I thought I was blocked from LBH was from the falling out we had in January was because of the fake drama she started between us after I fixed up everything between us. Which is why I thought it was confusing that she randomly blocked me months later. She did not let me know why she blocked me, and if I had known it was my age, I would’ve completely understood. I had even asked KP in dms if she knew why, and was informed that she hadn't known either.

It has also been brought up that I'm simply jealous of Jo. No, I'm not.

Where the fuck does this connotation come from that I'm starving for followers and notes? If I was so follower hungry, why would I take so many mental breaks? I've even stated that I'm trying to get better in other areas other than just writing NSFW. I've stated that I picked up fanfiction so I could practice on my actual writing. I literally say shit like "no-no square" or "jerk his chicken" in my works. I’m only taking black/poc and lgbtq+ requests at the moment, and write for unpopular characters.

Had she pointed her fingers at someone who has more followers than her and was eighteen you guys would’ve thought she was being stupid. It's such a big slap in the face when I see her and other people who I use to support, talk as if that's who I truly am when I'm not. When we're friends, I'm your #1 fan. Even if I just found you, I support the fuck out of your work. I have spent nights where I reblog people's works because I know how interactive my followers can be at certain periods of time. Honestly what hurts the most was that I was the one who warned her about people using writers. Really sad that instead of taking responsibility and acknowledging what you have done was wrong, you took the opportunity to just make me look bad instead.

Stealing from BLM Donation pool.

A few people have shared their concerns of KP originally deleting her blog because she and other's stole the money. Once again, we have been informed of the real situation as to why she diet-deactivated. The receipt may also be found on KP’s tumblr.

*Screenshots are of the message posted in the server and receipt.

Racist Undertones

People can have their own political opinion, but it is very inappropriate that while you’re raising money for a cause meant to uplift the black community and have a voice, you guys let ALM (All Lives Matter) conversations happen.

People have asked you guys to pin other black fundraisers/campaigns that you guys ignored. I don't even need proof for this, just go through your pins and see how it's not there. If you try and pin it now, you can also see the audit log in which it was pinned.

You let someone say that Hawks’ voice doesn't sound, "black"? If you can't correct that or teach your members to not say disrespectful things about police brutality victims, or even respect the black people that are in their lives, then you can't preach about Black Lives Matter.

Being toxic apparently isn’t enough for them. There’s either a tap-dancing coon in my inbox or racist mayo monkeys still trying to grovel for my attention. Either way these asks don’t even make me mad, it just shows that they suck as people. This will be updated every time I get racist anons. They decided to send these after the attack at the U.S Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

*Hawks comment.

*Racist asks that they have sent even yesterday (Jan. 6th).

People Who Are Not Involved

I do not appreciate the fact that people who have nothing to do with the stuff going on, have not had their names blocked. There are names that you should have NOT included, and you PURPOSELY edited my members in. There's a whole chunk where I'm not even present and it's just my server members. Why?

We understand that the jokes being made look tasteless to other people who don't know the context, and no we have never sent or considered sending hate. What you saw in those screenshots were just a bunch of dumb teens sticking up for a friend who was talking about being hurt by her friends.

In regards to UWU, everyone knows how she can easily misread a room. I know for a fact that she has never and will never act upon sending hate to someone. What UWU has said wasn't me even if she did have my face as her pfp. I have never had myself as my pfp for blog related things.

The other thing I would also like to address is the meme that Ginger had used in the conversation.

*This is the meme in reference to when Ginger made the joke:

*Ginger using the meme in other places.

Simply because an ex-friend saw LBH call Ginger out, they decided to expose the private business that Ginger entrusted said ex-friend with.

Ginger understands that it was a poor joke, and even stated in the beginning of the conversation that they didn’t even know you. Your poor choice to cover up Ginger’s name gave their ex-friend a bright idea to go on an exposing rampage, and tell people her old drama from Ginger's past. This caused the old disputes to be rehashed despite several efforts from them to grow from said discourse. I have seen genuine improvement in their behavior, and have shown to me in private DMs remorse on making such jokes without knowing the full situation. This has prompted Ginger to delete all their socials in fear of being doxxed.

Ever notice how she did not include the beginning part of the conversation? The basis of the conversation started when I opened up about DBN and Dee making a callout post about me, then it derailed to me talking about how I felt mistreated overall. You pulled the chats that only mentioned you so that everyone would look bad.

If you’re going to take out-of-context screenshots, at least include the parts where I am doing more than saying, "LMAO" and reacting with emotes, not exposing my members who literally did not know what was going on.

It's clear that all of the posts made about me was to only hurt my image and not create a change in my "behavior".

And for the dumb-cow who wants to openly defend her friends weird ass behavior, here is the proper proof that the rude comments in the poorly edited conversation she included was NOT ME.

If you're going to make a callout post about Savnofilter, leave it at Savnofilter.

Grooming Claims

When the situation was brought to our attention, minors and adults spoke up about how they felt like they were manipulated and violated.

From what we can show and confirm is that there is probably one instance where it was, but no real child pornography was distributed.

The grooming that I, Sav, has personally experienced and with what my co-writers and I saw was her and her friends coaxing people to trust her then use them for tasks/breaking down someone’s health to make them dependent on her.

“Grooming is the predatory act of maneuvering another individual into a position that makes them more isolated, dependent, likely to trust, and more vulnerable to abusive behavior.” (1, 2)

The claims were mostly sexual assault (making sexual comments and etc.) and unprompted NSFW conversations (see age doc for more.)

“Joining Her Server”

I have never joined their server, never thought of it, and never will obviously.

Lady-Bakuhoe, Burnedbyshouto, and Ttamaki’s server is 16+, ⅔ of their blogs are 18+. Lady-Bakuhoe has said it herself that her server isn't 18+.

*Earliest screenshot of her saying her server is not 18+.

*Updated version of their admission to their server.

I also don't understand the idea where my friends and I joined their server? Like there is absolutely no proof that any of us did that lmao.

For the people who are preaching that minors shouldn't be in your, "adult space", why is it 16+? Please sit down and read the room, thanks.

Age Incident

Incident because it only happened once.

To explain the instance that had happened on my server, a writer (not LBH) had asked how old everyone was. In response to the question, I had said 18 in fear that they did not want to be my friend anymore. I had later than deleted my comment, but I never brought it to said person's attention because I had realized that I already fucked up. I have mentioned my actual once in a private group chat, and I had thought that was the original reason why she had departed from my server.

Last year is when I had finally accepted myself as being bisexual and admittedly being the impulsive person I am, I accepted any type of female interaction just from that excitement alone. I was not aware that I would be conversing with people in their 20's, with the mindset that I had never met an adult who writes fanfiction. That one time I lied I used it as a defense mechanism which I still feel stupid about to this day. I just wanted to have friends who wrote as well and wanted to feel accepted without my age hindering that or hating me because of it. I didn't think that there would be anything illegal, and I never intended to be sneaky or anything like that.

Past that, 18+ is a content rating, had I known there were actual adults behind the stories I wouldn't have interacted like I did before. It was not until I realized until me being a few months in on Tumblr and interacting with other blogs that underage people in general were hated, and naturally it scared me. The realization that I unknowingly put myself in that situation made me defensive, hence lying ONCE about my age.

This post discusses not only me, but people who have felt wronged. Had Lady-Bakuhoe and friends had been open to listening when these instances happened, it would have not taken this turn. The behaviors discussed in this post were acts that were done over, and over again, not just a one time occurrence.

I’m not sure how to start this off, as many of you have seen I am piss poor shit at articulating for myself, but I will try to keep this as cohesive as possible. Before I start, don’t send me no stupid shit talking about “drop it already” when every writer and their mamas have been talking about it for MONTHS and even bring it up in every situation they can for sympathy points. I’m doing this to finally let go because when I did it the first time it wasn’t good enough for people. Many people have tried to tell me how I have felt or that they “know” me or have “seen this all before'”. No. The reason why I chose to speak in the first place was because I personally felt like I had been gaslighted/slighted by writer Lady-Bakuhoe on here. Not because of jealousy, not because I wanted attention, and not because I was mentally ill. What I felt from the months of even such as early September to late January was sincere and genuine even if I was going through stuff in my life.

The issue at hand has never been about:

Being called a predator for aging up in fics.

Me being upset over a block "about my age" or being jealous over notes/friendship.

I'm still developing as a person and that's why I can confidently say I'm sorry to anyone who has been turned off by my past behaviors. I formally apologize to the person I had lied to in regards to the age incident, and I apologize to any of my adults friends/acquaintances who genuinely thought I was 18. Who I was mentally from the end of August-January was a person I would never be today.

Furthermore, my co-writers ( @mci-writing & @shiggi-trash ) can swear on our behalf that the people who chose not to share their experiences are not lies. At first when the discussion had first started on MCI's blog, it was messy but we have trimmed and made this post to make it as coherent as we could. Please do not determine whether you support me or these writers simply because they make your favorite content. Choose based on what you read.

Continuation here: ▸main post◂, one, two, three, four, five.

#long post #fandom discourse #callout #bnharem #bnha x reader #bnharem collab #lady-bakuhoe #king-katsuki #ttamaki #katsukisprincess #burnedbyshouto #jojosmilktea #dimplesum #tomurasprincess #redbeanteax #league-of-thots #bratwritings #phasmwrites #lemonlordleah-shinzawa-kitten

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ohnobjyx · 4 years

Text

A sudden snow storm

Part 2: March

(Okay, second time I’m writing this post, as soon as I finish it, I’ll post it).

Disclaimer: I try to keep things objective (if I include my personal opinion, it’s in cursive and in brackets), but I’m biased because of the XZ friendly content I’m usually exposed to and by my own views of their situation. Open to discussion, but please make sure you’ve enough information to do so.

First of all, let’s keep in mind that I present here a rather negative part of the C- society. That’s because we are placing a magnifying glass on a small part of the fandom, so by no means all C-fans are like this. These are all a minority.

However, in the midst of so negative things, we find the reason why I think XZ will overcome this. He is overcoming it.

Targeting his endorsements

So, taking it from the first part, antis and haters were furious because they believed that XZ’s Studio had paid w/ibo to take his hashtag down of the hot search list. Some of them started to say that the only acceptable outcome for them was that XZ retired from the entertainment industry.

That night, Olay was to air a livestream with a product that XZ was going to endorse, and antis realized that they had a new way to express their anger. They turned to the “live comment” option of the livestream and flooded it with hate comments about XZ. Their comments and their interventions during the event made it impossible to progress adequately, and the announcement of XZ endorsing the product had to be put off.

So when they realized what they could do, antis and haters started to announce that didn’t just reject the products endorsed by XZ, they also rejected the brands that worked with him. In the face of such controversy and boycott, more and more brands chose another spoke person temporarily for their commercials and banners, removing XZ’s from their websites. Some of the companies even terminated their contracts with him, fearing the boycott from the antis.

From March, the antis centered themselves around the topic “Not buying products XZ endorses”, making his value go downwards at least for that time.

Douban

By the 3rd day ao3 was down, the reality sank in and people turned to douban, were C/QL, The Joy of Life, Jade Dynasty were in the top 3, all of them series were XZ is lead actor or secondary actor. The antis placed bad reviews on each drama XZ acted in, to the point of bringing down the score of C/QL from 8’5 to 7’9 in a single day (we are talking of around 1′5 million reviews in total), affecting every project he has worked on since the beginning of his career as an actor.

Public scorn

XZ as well as XZ fans became the objective of public scorn. From the 1st of March, some of the accusers apologized for “the problems caused”, and the one that had led the report posted a public apology and deleted every post related to the reporting. However, it seemed obvious to the rest of the users that they were apologizing against their will, and that they still thought they weren’t wrong, but it was done in an effort to preserve XZ’s public image, as well as their own image as XZ’s fans.

The conflict ceased between XZ’s fans and cp fans, now uniting in an effort to do damage control. They agreed to bring down the tone of the discussion, and once things cooled down a bit, XZ Studio posted a public apology, asking people to support their idol rationally, to speak and act carefully, as well as saying that XZ was currently quarantined at home.

With the attention on the antis, they started to dig up the dirt of XZ’s fans. It’s a sad truth that some of his fans had taken sometimes unreasonable measures to give him the spotlight, such as:

Making him the center of attention in a tv drama in which another actor was the male lead. They took over the community in w/ibo and started to remove all of the other actor’s fans from the group.

Some fans attacked WYB, so XZ wouldn’t have to “share” his success from C/QL with him. They reported WYB for not having a “host degree” (whatever that is). This was shot down by a statement from Hunan TV, by the way.

(By the way, WYB’s antis also tried to attack him using this incident, saying that his company and he had paid millions to create the smear campaign against XZ, to bring him down so WYB wouldn’t have to “share” endorsements with him... but these were all deemed ridiculous by most people, and it is).

Attacking whoever says that they don’t have any interest in XZ’s works (a professor was asked to have a look at his works, and he refused, so XZ’s stans started to attack him).

(A lot of people resented XZ’s fans for the 2/27 incident, and wanted a scapegoat. You can’t chase hundreds of people on the Internet, it’s easier to make a celebrity your target, which also hurts the people who offended you in the first place. It’s a “you take away what I love, so I’ll hurt what you love” kind of thinking. However, “professional” antis... they have their own agenda, which I’m not completely sure of what it is).

XZ Studio’s apology didn’t do much and the drama continued to unfold. Maybe XZ’s Studio wanted to wait for the storm to pass, and since acknowledging the issue would give it importance, they waited until they couldn’t put it off anymore. I don’t know if this was actually right or wrong, but people weren’t satisfied with this apology.

XZ’s fans would try to argue with the antis, and thus keeping the image of obsessive fans, even if many of them were actually right.

Fanfiction writers, mostly from the BJYX fandom, would receive insults and attacks from antis and XZ’s stans still pursuing their original stance, so a lot of content has disappeared.

(To this point: I don’t like RPS. I don’t read RPS fanfics. I didn’t like seeing them and adjusted the filters in ao3 so I could only see fanfics from CQL. But attacking the authors this way is also terribly wrong).

To take responsibility

XZ had previously signed contracts with several companies, with WJJW being the main stockholder. Since he was under so many companies, none of them wanted to take responsibility of the incident and try to solve it. Thus, it was left to XZ’s Studio and his public relations team to try to fix this problem.

Investors, directors and brands’ representatives all thought that this would take at least half a year for XZ to recover from this blow. It also depends greatly on how his next work is received by the general public. He still has the support from his fans, but that alone wasn’t enough in the face of such boycott.

Though the reaction of the entertainment industry will be detailed below, it’s also noteworthy that in the first days, some people (the MC from his 爱不是si interview, a critic) posted that XZ should step up and say something about the matter. There were only a couple of cases, and the positive responses outnumbers them, but since they are public figures, it attracted a lot of attention.

(I’m not so surprised that they’d choose to side with the public opinion... but to add oil to flames like this doesn’t seem very kind to me. But, again, this a very competitive industry).

XZ’s fans public welfare project

So, in the midst of this situation, which was very serious at the time, XZ’s fans public welfare group was founded with the support of XZ’s Studio.

It served to contrast with the disruptive, obsessive behaviour of the sasaengs, and proved that idols can use their influence to unite a large group of people to serve purposes that are beneficial to the society.

It came in a “good” moment, because if nothing else, XZ can’t afford that the first that comes to mind to the general public when they see him or his fans is this small group of people, who are the representation of the worst part of fandom culture.

(Since this project has the support of his studio, he must know of it and must have given his approval. But he is not the one to actually initiate the project, that was a collective effort from his fans, to do welfare projects in his name. He collaborates with welfare projects, he has done it before, and did it again in June. This a reflection of a more positive part of fan quan culture, which will be explained in part 3).

However, because he was in the middle of great controversy and criticism, this move was also considered “hypocritical and insincere” by the antis. Nonetheless, the influence such a large group of people have is undeniable (in promoting local commerce in this case), and the local representatives thanked them for their support. They kept on with their projects these months, usually promoting agricultural products from impoverished provinces. They were also praised by the media for the results they achieved.

For those who are inclined to doubt whether this was a move to improve his image, here it’s a compilation of charity and public welfare projects that XZ’s fans pushed forward in 2019, collecting money for numerous projects and 620.000¥ as epidemic relief effort during the coronavirus period, that started in December 2019.

This group also became a source of controversy in later months. It seems some people will never be satisfied, no matter what we do.

Support

However, people did realize (I think) that most of his fans gives him support silently. There are of course fervent people who jump to defend him, but that kind of behaviour is discouraged by XZ’s studio (what I said in this post that ignoring the antis is the greatest way to defeat them).

When seeing those comments and false rumours from the antis, fans tried to contribute posting positive things they had seen XZ doing or remembering his gestures with the people around him. Even people who weren’t his fans, also supported him. For example, a lawyer analysed the incident and declared that the fanfic had indeed violated Chinese laws (for damaging his reputation).

(However, there is an opinion that I agree more with: not liking a content doesn’t give you the right to manage it. That’s the responsibility, the duty and the right of the platform that hosts it. If you find a content unsuitable for that platform, you can report it to the platform and they’ll take it down if it’s indeed unsuitable. But to report it to the authorities seems overdoing it for me).

And now, no matter how important it’s the support from his fans, fact remains that his fans are people who don’t know him personally. Fans only get to see his public persona.

So it was extremely important and a very good sign that people from inside the industry expressed their support.

People he had worked with (actresses, actor, directors) posted comments praising him or expressing their dismay for his situation. One of them praised him in a direct livestream. Later in May, a screenwriter and director also posted a bewildered comment of why he was being attacked like that (to name a couple of cases).

I think that this was essential to his “recovery”. It’s a true give away of XZ’s character that well-known people step up and speak for him, especially if we take into consideration that they are facing a group of unreasonable antis and a very competitive industry, where one down it’s one less to compete with.

(For transparency reasons: some of them would actually be benefited if XZ’s reputation is recovered, like his coworkers from OOL. This is also a dangerous move, because it may turn the antis’ attention on them. But it’s also true that there were people who were “neutral” to this: supporting XZ didn’t bring them any benefit in the short term).

It was also a good sign that while brands still avoided his image, tv programs didn’t shy away from his image. Happy Camp emitted a video in which XZ appeared, so fans interpreted this as a sign of silent support from the program and the tv channel.

This was also very important. There have been cases before, when an actor was being seriously criticized by the public, that tv stations refused to work with him. In the case that an episode had already been filmed, they used photoshop to erase his image and simply cut the episode so all of his interventions and interactions with other participants were deleted.

(To those who are curious, this man had been a very successful actor for many years. He’d been “happily” married and has a 20 years old son. But when it was revealed that he had been keeping a mistress for two decades, he fell out of public favor. Quick.)

(See that space there, between the girl with cargo pants and the man in blue suit? Such are the miracles of Photoshop.

We are talking here about a week’s time. The episode was filmed on Friday and due to be aired next Friday. His affair was found out that week. In less than a day, the post-production team successfully deleted his every trace in the episode. So, if they believe it necessary, they can be very resolute and decisive).

So if an actor has really committed a mistake, the entertainment circle will not hesitate to take away their support. It’s also a way to say that they disapprove of what that person did.

XZ’s very brief appearance in Happy Camp was an auspicious sign for his future, meaning that he will work again in the industry since tv stations don’t refuse to work with his image, and that his dramas will likely be aired in spite of everything (I’ve never been happier to be wrong, since I thought this would take longer to pass).

It was also positive that in spite of everything, the sales of the products he endorses remained high and in the lead, in March, and the trend continued all the way to July.

←Part 1: First snowflakes | Part 3: Why does it snow?→

#gg's situation #part 2 of 7 #my post

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angels-heap · 4 years

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Okay hello I feel like you are Wise and Know things... it’s kind of hard to explain but is it wrong to just... Enjoy Things? With all the HL pisscourse going around it’s making me nervous about liking things like TF2 and missing something critical and huge in the media I consume and being labelled as a bad person for doing that. ESPECIALLY for liking characters like GLaDOS or Wheatley from Portal. I want to just Enjoy Things but there’s guilt tied to not being critical about every single detail

Thanks for reaching out, friend, and I’m so sorry to hear the current nonsense has you feeling this way. I have a hunch you’re not alone, and although I don’t claim to have all the answers here, I hope hearing my thoughts on this helps alleviate some of that guilt. This got long and I’m not putting it under a cut because it’s important.

The short answer to your question is no; it is not wrong to just enjoy things. You don’t have to constantly examine all your favorite media under a microscope and incessantly highlight or dwell on its faults to be a good person or a good consumer of media, and here are a few reasons why:

(CW for brief mentions of all the squicky/potentially triggering things that tend to come up in ship discourse conversations.)

1. It is virtually impossible to find a truly unproblematic piece of media.

And that’s okay! Media is both created and consumed by people, and people are notoriously imperfect and complex. Sometimes creators choose to explore dark or taboo themes that are always going to squick some people out, no matter how well (or poorly) they’re handled. Sometimes content creators are actually terrible people who deliberately try to perpetuate their messed-up ideas through media. Sometimes creators’ deeply internalized prejudices seep into a work in a way they may not even consciously realize. Sometimes consumers’ experiences or prejudices color the way they perceive a piece of media and may lead them to a very different interpretation than what the creators intended.

Point is, there are a lot of shades of gray here. We should always strive to do better as creators and consumers, but the goalposts for “perfection” are always moving.

There’s almost always going to be something about your favorite media—no matter how benign it is—that rubs some people the wrong way, or (perhaps unintentionally) perpetuates harmful stereotypes, or starts out okay but doesn’t age well down the line. Period. That’s an uncomfortable truth that we all have to sit with. But don’t despair, because…

2. It is still okay to engage with and enjoy media that you know is problematic. Even if it’s really problematic. For real. I promise. The media you consume does not determine your worth as a person.

Since you specifically mentioned Valve games, I’ll start out by clarifying that (as of July 2020), Valve games and their fandoms are pretty benign overall. Perhaps in the future, more of the humor will start to age poorly, or Valve will make some extremely questionable design choices with their next game, or Gabe Newell will be outed as a prolific serial killer, or whatever, but for now, there’s really nothing about Valve games that should make the average person go, “holy shit, you’re into that?!” when you bring them up in polite company. (And anyone who insinuates otherwise re: Half Life shipping discourse is either very confused about the definition of certain words or is maliciously trying to stir up controversy.)

That said, everyone has a different threshold for what they do and don’t want to see in media, and those boundaries are totally valid! But it is absolutely possible to enjoy even notably problematic media (e.g., Game of Thrones, the new Star Wars sequels, old movies where the directors were huge assholes to the female cast members, etc.) without being a bad person or a bad social justice activist. Instead of rambling about that at length, I’m going to link you to this excellent blog post on the subject.

The big takeaway here is that you can love a piece of media while also acknowledging its faults. In fact, I’d argue that a key part of loving something is being able to think critically about it and trying to hold its creators to a higher standard whenever possible. However, that doesn’t mean you have to be constantly analyzing it or prefacing every single public acknowledgment of your love for it with an “I know this is problematic and I swear, I just like it for XYZ” disclaimer, because…

3. Tumblr’s black-and-white thinking about media consumption is not healthy, “normal,” or (usually) present to the same degree in other virtual or real-world spaces.

I think most of the people on Tumblr who seem to be on a constant (and ultimately futile; see point 1) quest to find the One True Unproblematic Media have good intentions. I really do. And I applaud them for actively trying to understand and un-learn their own biases while becoming critical consumers of media.

Unfortunately, for a bunch of complicated reasons I still don’t totally understand and won’t get into here, some online communities tend to take these things to such an extreme that, in their quest to create a safe and/or inclusive environment, they actually end up creating an even more hostile one. To reference the recent drama again, nowhere is that more apparent than with “pro-ship” vs. “anti-ship” discourse.

Basically, “pro-shippers” believe that fiction is entirely separate from reality and therefore, “problematic” content (up to and including p*dophilia, inc*st, noncon, etc.) has just as much of a right to exist as any other content; this makes some sense on a purely intellectual level, but in the real world, obviously things are much more complicated than that. “Anti-shippers,” on the other hand, claim to be specifically against the aforementioned Big Three Bad Things in theory, but in practice, they’re basically the fandom purity police; they strive to criticize and shut down any media or fandom activity that could be even remotely construed as problematic, because they seem to have a (perhaps well-intentioned but ultimately misguided) perception that discussing anything “bad” in fiction will glorify/condone/promote it in real life and that all creators of “bad” fiction are inherently malicious. Often, they’re willing to twist definitions and jump through some very strange hoops to justify why something is “bad.”

The truth lies somewhere between those two extremes; fiction absolutely can (and does) impact reality, but not in such a clear-cut cause-and-effect way. People can see or read about dark/complicated/problematic things without condoning or enjoying them in real life, and conversely, people can dislike even relatively benign things without having to have an extreme, profound reason for feeling that way. People can also enjoy “bad” media while being fully conscious of what’s wrong with it and taking steps to ensure that it doesn’t negatively influence them, or they may lack the knowledge/context to understand why something is “bad” at first and change how they engage (or don’t engage) as they learn. There’s a lot more nuance to this issue than Tumblr is willing to acknowledge, and as a result, a lot of innocent people who just want to enjoy things in peace get sucked into some truly absurd drama that can be really hard to deal with. And that sucks. A lot.

So, TL;DR: Almost all media is at least a little problematic, but that’s okay, because the media you like does not determine whether or not you’re a good person. (And especially if your primary interests are Valve games... you’re good, mate. Seriously.)

The fact that you’re even asking me this question shows me that you’re being a thoughtful, responsible consumer of media, and that’s all anyone can reasonably ask of you without being a gigantic hypocrite—because whether they’ll admit it or not, everybody who’s perpetuating this discourse both on and offline likes something “problematic.” It’s impossible not to, unless you live under a rock and consume exactly zero media. Take care, and try not to let the discourse get to you! Go forth and enjoy things! (As always, my inbox is open for follow-up questions.)

ETA: Here’s another excellent tumblr post on this topic! And another one!

#asks #anon #fandom #ship discourse #sorry it took me so long to respond to this #I'm sure I left things out but here are some thoughts to get you started #long post

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natsubeatsrock · 4 years

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Should our heroes fall in love?

I've been on Tumblr long enough to know that even asking this is opening a can of worms. One of the earliest memories of this blog involves posting "the ships do not really matter." To which someone replied, "Yes they do". But it's not as if I haven't talked about this during this time of the year before on this blog before. Even as shipping has become a lot more hostile on and off this website, I haven't had much of a change in my answer to this question.

If there is an issue I have with Tumblr's treatment of ships, it's that the ships become the story. Not that they are an aspect of the narrative, of varying importance. The actual plot and characters are treated as secondary to seeing two characters come together as a couple. If this was just a matter of romance series being really popular with this website, this wouldn't be a big deal. This happens for series all the time, regardless of the series medium, genre, or even sexual orientation of characters in the discussion.

Naturally, there is an opposite movement that has grown more recently. Some people are against the idea of ships happening. Not against the idea of certain ships, as I have been. These folks are against the idea of romance as an element in fiction. In some cases, fans see certain ships happening as the creators giving in to the whims of fans or some larger agenda. There has to be some middle ground in this.

Before we continue, I need to stress that, in this post, I'm talking more from the perspective of ships as they happen in canon. Personally, I don't think that canon matters much when it comes to what you personally prefer as a ship. Then again, I've been lucky in that my ships usually end up becoming canon and my NOTPs don't end up as the canon ships. For this post, I only care about whether ships actually ended up sailing in canon or not.

There are two big questions worth considering. First, does the series lend itself to romance? Second, does it make sense that the characters in question can become a romantic couple?

The first isn't one that should require much of my time. One of the weird things about romance is that it's hard to say that there's a situation that two people can't develop feelings for each other. However, it's not as if every story is in a position to set up and maintain romances. I say this and know that whatever example I use involves someone's OTP, but you got this far so you've read my disclaimer.

Death Note didn't end with any romantic ships and the show isn't worse for it. In fact, Light gets into two relationships with people that like him and both only serve the purpose of furthering his own goal of becoming "the god of a new world". One of my biggest shocks after finishing the series and coming on Tumblr was finding that there were shipping fandoms for the series at all.

What is more interesting to discuss is whether certain characters ought to be together romantically. There are a lot of things that go into why characters get shipped with each other. Maybe they have an important connection with each other in canon. Maybe their personalities create an interesting dynamic. Maybe these characters are just your favorites and you want them to be happy.

Although, I seem to be more in the business of arguing why ships shouldn't be together. This involves arguing the reasons people think they work are wrong. To play off the last paragraph, maybe the relationship doesn't lend well to romance. Maybe their canon connection is overrated. Maybe you need to invest in writing fanfiction.

Remember the question boils down to "why these characters?" Chances are that you aren't going to be weighing the merits of all the ships in a series. However, it's often the case that you are considering ships involving a single character that conflict with each other. That's when this question comes into play. As an example, let's use IR and RR from Bleach. (Mostly to clear up an issue from my old post on the subject.)

Ichigo and Rukia's relationship is one of mentor and student at the outset. As the series continues, they start to work more and more independently of each other. While their relationship is important, it didn't lend itself to a romantic relationship. Part of this is because of the short amount of time they spent together. However, it's not as though ships haven't been built after less time. What we see of their relationship doesn't leave much to read between the lines. (I hate WatchMojo for this line.)

Renji and Rukia's relationship ran for a longer time chronologically, which certainly helps their case. But what really sells it for me is that Renji actually wanted to get closer to Rukia. They were separated and he was actually worried about her well being. Part of the dramatic irony between his rematch with Ichigo is exactly that they both care about Rukia and think the other is a threat to her safety. At the end of their fight, we see that the difference between them is that Ichigo wants her safe in this situation while Renji wants her to be safe past the situation.

Though, I'm not sure this does much to answer the real question at hand. The real reason to be interested in romance as a literary element, as I see it, is seeing how two characters play off each other. Ships with varying origins and fan popularity should be measured by what it means for the characters in the relationship to be in it. If they don't get together, is their reason to think they would have benefitted from being in a relationship? If they did, what is their relationship like?

That might sound as if I'm boiling down romance into purely a transactional relationship. (What can one character do for another?) Think of it this way instead. Why would you want to be in a relationship, romantic or otherwise, with anyone that hurts you? If you gain no enjoyment from their company, no benefits from catering to them, and have no obligation to them, why would you want to have anything to do with them?

One thing that has annoyed me about fictional relationships is that they often begin as the series ends. If not, to their marriage. On the one hand, it makes sense if a series that isn't primarily about romance doesn't spend much time on how its ships play out in the future. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to see how a ship gets together and what the characters involved are like on a normal basis as a couple, especially when it involves characters we've already grown to love throughout the series.

One series I know that did this well was Golden Time. The main couple si cemented well before the halfway point. The rest of the series puts them in situations where they live their lives as a couple. We see them get in fights, have misunderstandings, and their relationship almost ends close to the end of the series. To play off a theme that's becoming common in these posts, much of the tension behind that comes from how their personalities and backstories play off each other and factor into current events.

It's worth mentioning as I wrap up that this doesn't mean that two characters have to be in a romantic relationship to benefit from each other's presence. In fact, the vast majority of relationships that a person gets into won't be romantic but should be considered important. I'm grateful for media that shine lights on important relationships like friendships, work buddies, and family relationships, whether they be blood relatives or not. If series like Demon Slayer or Fullmetal Alchemist can themselves on the idea of familial relationships or series like Fairy Tail and Guardians of the Galaxy around group dynamics, it's not as if a series needs to have a romance to have important relationships to shed light on.

I say that and there is romance in all those series as well.

#not fairy tail month: crisis on infinite fandoms #our heroes #this feels more for analysts #than for writers #then again #writers question shipping #i'm doing that myself for stuff

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mass-convergence · 4 years

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Like I really want to like Batwoman which is why I watch it every week and I do like some parts of it. Kate Kane is an awesome character and I’m glad she’s getting a TV show.

My thoughts below the cut

Disclaimer: I haven’t read Elegy partially because I don’t have time but also if this season is based on/an adaptation of the story line it still needs to stand on its own. Basically: I don’t know how Elegy goes but if it is anything like the TV arc I’d have chucked the book out the window in frustration.

I’d like it a bit more if some of these characters actually acted like human beings though? Like the writing and the acting to me just feel ... off (and honestly it’s probably mostly the writing, it comes off as stilted and weird and off kilter).

Like I do like some plot lines where you scream at the character through your screen for acting like an idiot but I feel there’s no emotion behind it. Kate is just going through the motions of telling Alice to cut it out and let her help her. She doesn’t seem to be actually emoting though - and it could partially be due to Ruby Rose’s acting, I don’t know enough about her other acting roles to really make a judgment on writing vs acting because as I said: I dislike the writing on this show. She could be an excellent actor with just some really shitty dialogue and she can’t make it work. I mostly say this because there are some genuinely good acting moments in this series from Ruby Rose so it can’t just be her skill, it’s got to be the writing. Also it’s a CW show and I know that writing on many of these shows isn’t the strongest because ~~~~~*LOOK AT THE DRAMAAAAAAAA*~~~~~~~~~~.

But back to the screaming: “Why are you being an idiot” at my computer while watching this.

I don’t know what direction they’re trying to head with Kate and Alice. Is this a situation where Alice is blatantly manipulating Kate and her survivor’s guilt over the car accident by giving her little snippets of Beth being “still in there somewhere”? Or does Alice truly have a “good side” or at least a “Beth side” in there? I mean she probably does need help I’ll give you that but Kate has had multiple chances to bring her sister to justice and she’s failed in every single one of them.

It’s not bad per se, people are allowed to not be perfect and act against literally everyone’s interests. But every episode seems to have the same “Kate emotionlessly stares at Alice as she chews the scenery for a bit, tells Kate what a shitty sister she was for being like 12 and not going to the ends of the earth to find her because she had to have known she was alive through their ‘twin connection’, and Kate’s like ‘noooo, Alice you need to come back. Let me get you help’. And then Alice kills someone and is like, ‘whoops dear sister isn’t going to like that’ and Kate is like, ‘stop killing people Alice/Beth’.”

Like I feel like after the first or second senseless murder I’d have just completely lost all faith in my sister to act like a decent fucking human being (sorry sis, I’m sure and I’d hope you’d do the same for me though - please for the love of god and the safety of everyone in whatever city I end up in do the same for me). Survivor’s guilt or no. Because it turns out - having a shitty back story does not give you a free pass on murdering people.

Like Alice poisoned Mary’s mom which okay, sure she was the CEO/founder/head of a defense company that arguably did some very shitty and shady things including lying to Kate and her dad about the skull fragments and covering it up by attempting to murder Alice with the bomb - still not a free pass for murder. Sorry, I’ll go lick a boot now Tumblr. But apparently she also poisoned Mary who had fuck all to do with that and was just guilty by association (and also I guess Alice was jealous that Kate had a step-sister even though Kate seems to not give much of a shit about Mary ... another problem I have with this show - Kate is kind of a dick to her and I’m not entirely sure if it’s being framed like it’s bad). Even if it was “accidental” (”Oh you drank the champagne too?”) there was always that possibility. Not sure it was accidental though, pretty sure it wasn’t accidental. idk, I’m not about to wade through CW’s 5,000,000 ads on their video player to rewatch that scene.

And then there’s the Sophie/Tyler/Kate forced drama shit which seems to be mostly Kate trying to move on, Sophie being a little hung up on the fact that her ex is now back in town, and Tyler being like, “You used to like girls?!” and seemingly not understanding that yes, bi people exist. Again because of the writing or the acting I really can’t tell if Sophie loves Tyler or Kate or if either of them really love or have feelings for Sophie? It feels forced, like CW was like, “NO THERE MUST BE A LOVE TRIANGLE BECAUSE ~~~~~*LOOK AT THE DRAMAAAAAAAA*~~~~~~~~~~” or something. But being someone who really doesn’t like romantic drama in their media I can’t comment more on that tbh aside from: Tyler... I feel there’s a time and a place to discuss your marital issues with your wife and it’s not at work while trying to prove your boss didn’t just murder his wife. Like home, you guys do have a home and don’t live in the Crows headquarters yes? (fun fact: accidentally spelled that Crowes and just had a mental image of a thousand Russell Crowes running around Gotham beating up bad guys)

I guess to wrap this up:

- writing is still iffy and honestly bad

- I really do want to like this show and I’m hoping the writing improves

- Oh god I forgot other DC shows existed and when that stinger for Crisis on Infinite Earths popped up I was like, “W a t ... wait isn’t that that dude from that show?”

- Kate I’m glad you finally realized you really need to stop giving your sister a free pass but it’s kind of late for that

- tbh the best dialog writing continues to belong to Alice and Mary because they seem to both just take the shitty dialog and run with it and it’s probably because Alice is written to be an over-the-top Joker-esque villain and Mary to be the fun younger sister with some depth to her character other than “fun younger sister Gotham socialite Instagram celeb”, she runs a damn medical clinic which ... just give her her damn MD already because I don’t see anyone else (doctors or nurses) helping her with that and somehow she’s like Meredith Grey on steroids.

#Batwoman CW #Batwoman TV #Em has thoughts #it's a long post #Batwoman spoilers #I want to reiterate that I really want to like this show #and that's why I criticize it

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niafrazier · 5 years

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Making the Case for Beto O’Rourke

Full disclaimer: Beto is one of my top picks amongst the 2020 democratic field as of now. I’m a supporter but am in no way affiliated with his official campaign.

At a certain point, Beto O’Rourke was hailed by the media as basically the second coming of Obama, RFK, JFK, [insert any popular democratic figure from this past century… oh and Abe Lincoln]. After he unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Ted Cruz in the senate race, many people across the country were calling him to run for the presidency. He even surged in polling being just behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, both who virtually have 100% name recognition. His senate race garnered national attention and even caught Oprah’s attention (she practically begged him to run on her show FFS). Many (including me) grew to admire his authentic, organic, and down-to-earth approach to politics, which is especially refreshing to see given the fact that everything seems so contrived nowadays. So, he wrestled with his decision thoughtfully and eventually came around to the idea, officially tossing his hat into the ring on March 14th, 2019. But now? Right out the gate, the narrative has shifted, and to the mainstream media pundits and Twittersphere, he is seen as an empty-suited, entitled, misogynistic, arrogant dude dripping with white male privilege. What changed? How is it that the media, the very one that contributed to the rise of “Betomania,” subsequently went into a frenzy and poo-pooed all over his rollout? The faux outrage, double standards, and cynicism directed at Beto by opinion writers, pundits, etc. have basically motivated me to give my own takes on the most common criticisms I’ve seen thus far. So, here we go:

“ ‘Man, I’m just born to be in it?’ ”

I’m not gonna lie, taking a look at the Vanity Fair cover and seeing that quote was a facepalm moment. As predicted, this quote sparked outrage fairly quickly… given the optics of a privileged straight white man joining a race of several qualified women and POC… Understandably so. However, upon reading through the whole article, I was able to grasp the essence of Beto’s words. Here’s what he says leading up to his declaration, expressing urgency:

“This is the fight of our lives…not the fight-of-my-political-life kind of crap. But, like, this is the fight of our lives as Americans, and as humans, I’d argue.”

And now here’s the full quote: “Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment.”

He’s not so much saying that he was born to be in a position of power, rather, he’s expressing that during such dire times, especially in U.S. democracy, he could not in good conscience be complacent and not take action. Just as he was drawn to serve his district in El Paso as a 6 year city council member and a 3-term congressman, he believes that at this moment, he has a purpose to serve the whole nation by being as actively involved in the national discussion as possible—to stand up to bigotry and divisiveness displayed by the current administration of the White House. Beto basically confirmed what I had thought after further inspection when he clarified his statement later (Google it. I’m having trouble with my hyperlinks right now). Could he have worded it better? Sure. I just reject the notion that this one gaffe is supposed to sum him up as an egotistical maniac… please.

“He adds absolutely no value to the race”

This is arbitrary depending on what your key issues are, but I’m gonna give my take on why I think he’s an excellent addition to the race. So, I’ve been intrigued about the possibility of an O’Rourke presidential run since he’s hinted at it back in November. I really didn’t know much about him until toward the end of Midterm season, but the more I learned, the more impressed I became. (Side note: it was this clip that first caught my full attention.) What really fueled my interest in Beto though, was his stance on immigration. As a first generation Nigerian American, this topic is pretty personal to me. My parents were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to immigrate to America and raise me and my three other siblings. However, I’ve also seen firsthand the difficulty of not only getting through with the ridiculous process but also assimilating into this country. For so long, the Democrats haven’t really made immigration a central issue, until the Trump administration hijacked it and pushed the Overton window all the way to the right. With heightened xenophobia running rampant in this country as a result of this abhorrent presidency, it is pertinent that the Democrats not merely pay lip service to this issue any longer and take serious action. Beto has an advantage here: He’s grown up in and served as a U.S House Rep. in the border district of El Paso, also home to the largest binational community in the Northern hemisphere. He can add a lot to the national discussion and debate on the matter. When Trump came to El Paso, the local community organized a counter rally where Beto gave an impassioned speech about the border wall and immigration. It’s pretty long, but I highly recommend the watch. Furthermore, Beto has outlined a 10 point proposal on how best to approach the immigration issue, along with some facts about the border’s history, which you can read here. Immigration hasn’t really been a winning issue, and I honestly don’t see it being one in 2020. With that being said, I respect the fact that despite this, Beto has shown that this is an issue that he deeply cares about. If I’m being honest, even though comprehensive immigration reform is universally called for amongst Democrats, I doubt that anyone in the field will truly make immigration a main priority in their prospective presidencies. To me, Beto has shown that he will. Even if he doesn’t clinch the nomination, it still means a ton to me that we can have the potential to change the narrative of immigration in this country with serious discussion. With the way Beto is able to convey his message, I am hopeful for what’s to come.

So, let’s talk about Texas. With the way Beto was able to energize the Democratic base in Texas, Democrats have the opportunity to put the Republican bastion state into play. With 38 electoral votes at stake, Texas is extremely crucial for the GOP. To put things in perspective, if Texas turned blue in 2016, President Hillary Clinton would have been a thing.

*Bonus: “He Lost to Ted Cruz lol… already a nonstarter”

Yes. But you know who else lost to Ted in Texas? Donald Trump. Cruz obliterated him in the Texas Republican primaries. I’m not saying Texas is guaranteed to turn blue with Beto on the ballot, but if we learned anything in 2016, it’s not to underestimate the possibility of seemingly blue or red states to flip at any given moment. The GOP has taken note of this. We’ve seen that Beto has a ton of appeal in Texas amongst not only Democrats but Never-Trump-Republicans and independents as well! If Beto is on that ballot, the GOP will most likely exhaust a ton of resources and money into Texas to keep it from going blue. This will only make other states that Trump won with the slimmest of margins vulnerable. Also… I find it disingenuous to make comparisons between Beto and other senators that hail from deeply blue states regarding electability. If Beto lost to Ted in California, then yeah… we could have a conversation about that.

“A woman running mate is his preference? Who does he think he is?”

The backlash on this surprised me, to be honest… Even Whoopi Goldberg blasted his ass for the statement on The View. If I had to go on a whim here, I feel like it was the Vanity Fair article that sort of set the mood for Beto’s campaign thus far… because otherwise, I believe that this really wouldn’t have been a story. In fact, Beto is not the only male candidate to call for a woman VP. Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders have strongly hinted at choosing a woman running mate. Interestingly enough, I didn’t recall there being any backlash. Here are Beto’s full remarks on choosing a woman as his running mate:

"It would be very difficult not to select a woman with so many extraordinary women who are running right now, but first I would have to win and there's-- you know, this is as open as it has ever been."

This is very much the response I expected from Beto. Time and time again, he has openly acknowledged his privilege, even before getting hammered about it on social media. In the Vanity Fair article, he states his stance on lack of representation in Washington:

“The government at all levels is overly represented by white men,” he says. “That’s part of the problem, and I’m a white man. So if I were to run, I think it’s just so important that those who would comprise my team looked like this country. If I were to run, if I were to win, that my administration looks like this country. It’s the only way I know to meet that challenge.”

Furthermore, he is understanding and considerate of the fact that people are craving for diversity. Here’s what he says:

“But I totally understand people who will make a decision [cast a vote in the primaries] based on the fact that almost every single one of our presidents has been a white man, and they want something different for this country. And I think that’s a very legitimate basis upon which to make a decision. Especially in the fact that there are some really great candidates out there right now.”

I know I don’t speak for all POC or women, but as a WOC myself, I took no issue to his statements. In fact, I appreciate his sensitivity to the issue and the fact that he doesn’t shy away from addressing uncomfortable topics in politics, such as race and representation.

Let’s just be glad he didn’t pull a Hickenlooper…. Jesus.

“Light on policy… but he stands on counters amirite?”

To discuss this point, it’s important to understand Beto’s campaign style. Beto is more like a blank canvass. What he does is first listen to people and their concerns, and then from there, he shapes his policies around that. He feels that this is the best way to serve the people. The point of his road trips and tours was not to lecture people on full fleshed policy proposals. There is debate on whether or not this is an effective strategy, and I do understand that people do like to know exactly what they’re signing up for before casting a vote. That’s why some people will more likely gravitate toward candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who have been consistent in their messaging. However, I also think people underestimate the power of simply listening. Take these comments that a potential voter made concerning Beto’s ability to listen during his stop in South Carolina for example:

"I think if he keeps talking to the people and being able to listen, and not talk at the African-American voters. Talk to us. Listen to what we have to say… As long as you listen and then actually put forward ideas that are legitimate ideas to do things, then he will be fine.”

While policy specifics are important, this is still the early stages of Beto’s campaign. Specifics, of course, will have to come at some point, especially when debates come around. Another critique I hear is Beto not having any policy proposals on his website yet. He’s not alone though. Several candidates who have been running longer than he has don’t either. It’s also important to note that while people in the race most likely have been mulling a presidential run for several months or years, this has been something that came around to Beto as recent as November 2018. Stuff like this takes time. I think he has potential, however, in this area. For instance, as I mentioned earlier, he has put out a 10-point proposal on immigration. He also has a brief 5-point plan regarding criminal justice reform and legalization of marijuana. (Fun fact, he even coauthored a book concerning the legalization of weed.) And it’s not like he hasn’t taken stances on issues ever either… I mean, he has a whole congressional record, and his townhalls give you an idea of where he stands on key issues.

Oh... and about the countertops. Ugh. The fact that this really sparked outrage is comical. I’ve seen all sorts of takes on this from asserting his male dominance to throwing his youth in Bernie and Biden’s faces (lmao). At a campaign stop, the owner of the coffee shop that he was at asked him to stand on the countertop because people complained that they weren’t able to see Beto amongst the crowds and camera equipment (despite him being 6’4’’, ha). So then it just became a thing since. And he’s respectful about it in case anyone was wondering, lol. But there’s one thing I think both the Beto detractors and I can agree on: why tf is this getting media coverage? I do agree that there should be more coverage for other candidates concerning the real issues. However, the response shouldn’t be to go after Beto or chastise him for doing harmless acts during his campaign stops… Talk that up with the media. The ironic thing about this is that some of the media pundits complain about giving Beto so much coverage… all while giving Beto more coverage about the coverage he’s receiving… 🙄

So if you made it to the end of this extremely long effortpost, thank you. I actually had tons more to discuss but I’m not trying to make this into a novel. Anyways, I’ll say one last thing:

Before going along with groupthink or engaging in the toxic political echo chamber that is Twitter, I implore you all to take a step back and actually get to know these candidates. Seek after local news outlets when candidates visit to get a feel of the vibes from locals. Go to Beto’s Facebook page and watch a town hall or two. You may come home with a different impression than what is portrayed in mainstream media. I can tell you that when I did this, the difference was night and day. We have such an amazing field of contenders to choose from, and I’d hate for misinformation or bad-faith arguments to warp perceptions.

#beto o'rourke #2020 #democratic primary #2020 election #politics

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positivewhiteculture · 5 years

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10 tips to defend yourself against bullying, harrassment, and antiwhiteness from SJWs in the workplace or at school

Small disclaimer that this post is for white people who are unfairly assumed to be racists because of their skin color and/or bad interpersonal relationships, I am not trying to give tips to people to get away with actual racism. I am giving tips to people so they can defend themselves. If this post isn’t aimed at you, it won’t especially benefit you to interact with it, in my opinion. That said, do what you will.

So let’s go ! How to defend yourself ? Prepare yourself, it’ll be a long post !

1. Spot coworkers who are tumblrinas/SJWs

First thing first. This one should be pretty easy in some cases, but they’re not always obvious. Look for multiples references to white people in an ostracizing way. That may also happen on facebook and social media, if you follow them. Look for targeted passive aggressive behaviour against you or your white coworkers. That way, you know when and from whom you may need to protect yourself from in the future. It might not always happen, but at least you know what to expect.

2. Flawless behaviour

Especially in emails and anything with a written record. But you need to be careful the rest of the time too. When I say flawless, I don’t mean you should lick the boots of your non-white coworkers or anything of the sort (of course stand up for yourself when you need to), just try not to say and do stuff that could be interpreted as racist. Unfortunately, in cases of harrassment/bullying, anything can be interpreted that way for the sake of discrediting your character. I’ve seen it. But having shown a good behaviour will be way easier for you later when you make your case.

3. Record. Record everything.

If you’re bullied and harrassed, record. Gather written evidence if there is any (emails, etc). In case of extreme harrassment and bullying, you can actually record spoken words with a recording pen (yes, those exist), but overall you can take note with date, hour, context, of every sentence and action said or done to discredit you and harrass you. Even if this is done by multiple people. This will also help you at school. Gather your evidence. If they say stuff on tumblr or twitter or elsewhere shit like “kill all whites”, etc, you may want to include that.

(there’s a lot more under the cut !)

4. Know where your boss / school principal stands

If you can, try to know if the person you’re going to complain to will have a bias against you because of your race. When you’re going to bring up the issue you’re a victim of, you need to know whether you can talk about racism against whites or anti-whiteness. I’ve talked with someone whose boss said things like “there isn’t such a thing”, and she got in trouble even though she was the target of jokes, bullying, silencing, was belittled everyday to the point it was taking a toll on her mental health. You need to know where your boss stands, and if you don’t (or if they don’t think antiwhiteness is a thing), play it safe and don’t be the one who brings up race. If your evidence shows antiwhiteness, it’s going to be self-explanatory anyway. But if you know it may not be recieved well, only talk about the harrassment and bullying, it’s already obviously bad.

5. Try not to cry

I know this one is especially unfair, because crying is only human, especially in times of crisis, and usually I’d be the last person to advise you to avoid crying. Except, there is a trend going on of accusing white people, especially white women, to weaponize their emotions. This is absolutely going to be one of their attacks. So try not to cry. That said, forgive yourself if you did. Again, crying is human, we all do it, white or not. But if you can, try not to cry at least in front of them, when they can attack you about it. If you have anxiety, hypersensibility, or whatever mental health issue that might enable the tears, I know it’s unfair to tell you this but, let everyone know. Try to let people on your workplace KNOW about this, preferably before you ever accidentally cry in front of them or in front of your bullies. Anticipation is everything. That way, you will sound less defensive when explaining why your emotions showed, and that you weren’t weaponizing them.

and,going hand-in-hand with this one :

6. It’s not about emotions

When bringing up the issues with your boss, or school principal, you already know your feelings won’t be taken much into account. However, what you CAN say : “This behaviour has been slowing down other people”, “This behaviour has been in the way of efficient group work”, “My ability to work on this project/the global efficiency has been impaired by this person’s behaviour towards others”. If you’ve been seeing a therapist about the bullying you’re facing, you can show the evidence. Because they’re definitely going to try to make it about feelings being hurt, and you’ll need to present it as being a problem bigger than feelings. (also, DON’T GET ME WRONG, feelings very much matter. Defintely, feelings ARE a concrete thing. But people who bully you won’t give you that privilege.)

7. Do not, IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, play in their narrative. EVER.

This is the most important point. If you need to remember one of them, it should be this one. Their narrative will be : there is a grand scheme of things in which all whites are oppressing all non-whites EVER, in which white people’s ancestors were all genocidal without a single exception, and everyone else was an angel - and everything we ever do or say is reflecting that, so white people need to be punished. DO NOT EVER PLAY IN THIS NARRATIVE.

We all know Global History has been a lot more complicated than that, and that the modern world is also a lot more complicated than that, but don’t enter that debate. AT ALL. If they try to make the issue bigger than it is, re-center the discussion.

“Look, I know it would be fascinating to have a conversation about everyone’s ancestry here, but I suggest we go back to the issue at hand for now”.

If you’re falsely accused of racism, make it clear that the issue at hand is a bad interpersonal relationship. Especially since it’s hypocritical, because they may not have a problem with being racist with you !

“We’re not talking about politics, we’re talking about bullying”.

That’s where my tip #2 (flawless behaviour) will be useful to you, and also tip #3 (record everything). The problem is interpersonal, not systemic, don’t let them play that card. Don’t try to pull out a list of your ancestors that were all clean. That may be true, but they won’t care, and you need to NOT indulge in this narrative, not even a little.

8. Find your allies

BE LIKEABLE IN YOUR WORKPLACE. In times of bullying, it’s always life-saving. You need to have allies. Don’t rant right away, just, be a kind person in general (this should go wthout saying) but make extra affort at work/at school because you DO definitely need people to like you and enjoy your company so they can enventually be allies. You won’t be able to do anything without them, for several reasons :

A coworker who’s a friend or at least an ally can back you up on what you’re saying, so anyone accusing you of lying will struggle a lot more than intended ;

Their mere presence can discourage your bullies from bullying you, because they will want to be liked too (that goes especially for an environment like school) ;

And they will benefit your mental health a lot. Following a strategy to stop being bullied, walking on eggshells around your abusers at work or school, this takes a MASSIVE toll on mental health - having allies around is a must.

9. Communicate about your successes

This one may seem weird, but you need to communicate about your successes, you need to make it clear you’re a good element to the company, a good element to the group project at school, a good element to the team. It goes hand in hand with personal successes ! If you’re doing actions against racism, if you’re doing stuff in your personal life that makes it clear you’re a good person, communicate about it. That said, do not overdo it in a way that is too obvious. At all. You don’t want to be seen as someone who brags. You just want to casually drop stuff in conversations and then immediately go to something else. You want to put hints here and there without a word. You need to communicate your good results to your boss too.

I know this one seems ridiculous and uncomfortable but you will need it if there is a campaign against your character going on in your workplace. Preferably before anything happens if you spotted a potential enemy following tip #1.

10. Know your rights

You have actual rights in your workplace, and at school. Don’t wait for a bad situation to get very nasty before researching in the rules of school or the company anything that can defend yourself, and anything that you should at any cost avoid doing. You need to make it know you know your right, and that you take bullying very seriously. Let everyone know you can and will defend yourself - even if you don’t actually have enough energy or enough money to do so.

~ ~ ~

Conclusion : there are ways to defend yourself against these situations, don’t get discouraged ! Remember, you’re not alone.

Above all, stay safe and take care !

#anti sjw #sjw #anti whiteness #racism against whites #self care #tips #self defense at work #white positivity #it's okay to be white #text posts #advice

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actuallyaccuratescience · 7 years

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Introduction

This guide focuses on common inaccuracies you’ll find in media and how to avoid making the same mistakes. Just as a disclaimer, the things I point out are based on my own experiences at a well-run, somewhat well-staffed hospital. Procedures are different from hospital to hospital. If you’re writing a poorly staffed, overcrowded hospital in the slums of a large city, there may be large differences from what I have written here.

Getting every single detail accurate is a hard thing to do and nearly impossible given the fact that procedures vary from place to place. The least you can do is make an effort to get most things as accurate as possible. If things aren’t accurate, it isn’t believable for those who know the truth and it distorts the reader’s view of things.

I know that you may be tempted to forgo research and just read guides like this one, but you need to do your research. If you search tumblr’s tags for specific things like “PICC line” or “nursblr”, you can find a lot personal experiences and resources to help you learn more about the topic.

Doctors don’t draw blood or do IVs.

This fact is mostly the same across the board. Nurses (and sometimes certified nursing assistants aka CNAs) will perform IVs while phlebotomists or other specially trained individuals will draw blood. Why don’t doctors do those two things? Little things like IVs and blood can be taken care of by other trained individuals, doctors need to focus on diagnosing patients and performing tasks that others are not trained to do.

That’s not to say that doctors can’t draw blood or insert an IV, it’s just that they do not do those things in a normal hospital or office setting because they busy people. If your doctor character is in the woods, performing emergency medical care, then there would be a situation suitable to have a doctor draw blood or insert an IV.

PROMPT: A doctor has to deal with an emergency situation which requires them to insert an IV. The problem is, they haven’t done that since medical school- which was years ago. Describe how they conquer their fear. Do they end up doing the IV correctly or do they have to try again? What is the patient doing during this? Describe the patient’s emotions.

Orderlies exist- but that’s not really the best term to use.

If you don’t know already, there are different types of licensed nurses. CNAs, which I mentioned earlier, may be the lowest rank on the nursing totem pole but they are very important. The title “CNA” can be interchangeable with the term “orderly”. They both do the same thing: provide basic care for patients and transport them using wheelchairs.

If you’re thinking about making your character a nurse, perhaps you should consider making them a CNA or at least consider that they may have been a CNA before they became a nurse. A CNA’s duties include: bathing patients, moving patients around, taking vital signs, cleaning patient rooms, and dispensing prescribed medications. Their interactions with patients are extremely important and help to make the patient more comfortable.

Sometimes, hospitals will give them special training so they can perform more tasks than their school trained them for. For example, in a hospital system nearby, the CNAs are trained to draw blood so they don’t have to hire phlebotomists for the patient floors. CNAs do not receive this training from their schools but rather from the hospital. The CNA cannot practice phlebotomy outside of that specific hospital system or risk being sued.

PROMPT: Your character befriends the CNA who has been taking care of them. One day, the CNA disappears and is replaced by someone who is rude, poorly trained. Describe how your character reacts. Do they question the CNA’s disappearance or do they accept this new person? Why do they react this way?

An IV is not a needle in your arm.

It is a very common assumption that an IV is a needle in your arm and that the needle stays there for the duration of treatment- but that’s not the case. When an IV is started, a needle is used to pierce the skin. Once the nurse determines that it is in the vein, the tube (called a “catheter”) is further inserted into the vein. The catheter is connected to more tubing and to the IV drip itself.

The most common type of IV placed is a peripheral line. These are what you see in the ER and other places in the hospital. These catheters can be left in place for about 72-96 hours and then it will have to be removed and replaced. Other types of IVs will be discussed further down.

PROMPT: Describe the first time your character must have an IV inserted. What is the situation? Is it in the emergency room or somewhere else in the hospital? Who is there with them?

Ripping out an IV is terrible.

I know that you have seen someone on TV rip their IV out and I am here to tell you that it hurts like absolute hell and most people are smart enough not to pull out an IV. Some patients, like those with dementia or who are severely disorientated, may try to pull out their IV or successfully do it- but most patients won’t. An IV is inside of your vein, the IV administers medication and fluids directly into your blood stream. If you rip that IV out, you’re going to do a bit of damage vein and there will be blood coming out all over the place. Like every other wound, the blood won’t stop flowing until pressure is applied or a clot forms. Afterwards, you’ll have a lovely bruise for well over a week or two.

If you really want to know what it looks like to rip an IV out, here’s a video. Don’t try this at home, kids.

PROMPT: Your character sees a loved one rip out their IV. How do they react? Do they faint or try to stop the bleeding? Describe them coping with the bloody scene and how they talk to their loved one.

For patients requiring long term IV treatment, a special IV may be used.

This is a bit tricky because this all depends on what a doctor and treatment team decide, but since this is fiction, you can influence their decisions. As stated above, an IV is basically a tube (catheter) placed under the skin to administer fluids and treatment into the blood stream. If you have to keep repeatedly taking an IV out and putting a new one back in all the time, the vein will become damaged and may collapse. Being repeatedly stuck with a needle also becomes bothersome. That’s not a good thing!

For people that are receiving treatment every week or more often, a special IV may be put in place. These special types of IVs are: central venous catheters (CVCs), peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC lines), tunneled lines, and ports. PICC lines are commonly used for chemotherapy and TPN treatments.

Obviously, if you decide that your character will have one of these lines, you really do need to perform research. Search of these terms in the tumblr tags and online to see people’s experiences with these. Each type of IV comes with its’ own hazards and responsibilities. The site where the IV is inserted requires special care and the tubing itself must be taken care of to prevent infection and other issues.

PROMPT: Using the research you’ve conducted, describe a character’s experience with having a PICC line taken out. Don’t focus on the character’s thoughts and emotions, try to focus on the character’s senses. What does the room smell like? Does the doctor or nurse have a gentle touch? Is the room old and grimy or new and clean?

Tests and imaging take time, not everything takes place under one roof.

Testing samples and reading images can take a lot of time for different reasons. Sometimes there is a backup of things because of under-staffing or laziness, other times hospitals have to send out samples for special tests or they have to send out images because they do not have people at the hospital to read them. However, there are a few tests that can be done in minutes.

Tests that are labelled “CLIA waived” can often times be complete within minutes. They provide immediate, accurate results without breaking the bank or taking hours to do. You can also do lengthier tests in the lab, but these tests can be used instead of those. A few waived tests include: flu swabs, strep tests, HIV tests, cholesterol levels, some drug tests, glucose levels, mononucleosis testing, and pregnancy tests. Glucose levels and pregnancy tests are the common, everyday tests that can be done at home.

PROMPT: The results from a rapid pregnancy test come back as positive for someone who should not have a positive test. Two more tests are performed, they’re all positive. Describe how the staff member deals with this. Do they run even more tests? Do they ask for help or question the patient? Is there something wrong with the batch of tests or the patient?

Lab staff don’t always wear lab coats.

This differs from place to place but at a lot of hospitals and laboratories, lab staff do not wear traditional white lab coats. Instead, they wear these blue coats. Aren’t they cute? They come in different colors, but most are blue. It might seem strange but the reason is simple: the blue coats are disposable. Think about it this way: if you accidentally get sprayed with a stranger’s blood, you can throw the disposable coat out. Would you want to bring home your lab coat and wash it in your washing machine to get the stranger’s blood out? No, that’s gross.

PROMPT: Your character is splashed with blood while opening a tube of blood! Describe their reaction to the incident and how they process what has happened. Do they scream? Do they freak out? Are they calm and collected as they clean off? What are they thinking during this ordeal?

It’s very hard to steal a baby and get away with it.

Security at hospitals has become heightened over the years due to the overall increase in violence that has made its’ way into hospitals. You’ve heard about strangers stealing babies, drug dealers shooting people in the ERs, etc. Hospitals have teams of security personnel and special procedures in place to deal with these events. One of these special procedures is having emergency codes which assign a color or special word to a certain event. At the hospital I volunteered at, they used “code rainbow” to denote a missing or kidnapped child.

The colors differ from hospital to hospital, as does what happens after the code is announced. A hospital may go into complete lock-down or just the maternity ward. With my hospital, we were instructed to go outside the building and surround it so that no one can get out of the building. I suppose that doesn’t work too well if the person kidnapping the child intends to harm the child rather than leave the hospital with them.

Stealing a baby is especially hard because many maternity wards are secure areas. You have to use a badge to get in or you have to use an intercom to buzz in. You tell the intercom people your name, the person you are visited, and the room number they are in. The person running the intercom will decide whether or not to let the person in. The mother who has just given birth can as the staff to admit only certain people on a list or exclude certain people. That means the mother can ask for them to deny her stepfather or angry ex-fiance from visiting!

PROMPT: A baby disappears from a hospital and when the security team reviews footage and other items, they can’t find a single trace of someone taking the baby. In fact, they can’t find any proof there was a baby in the first place. What has happened? Does the baby actually exist?

It’s also hard to steal drugs.

As I’ve said before, some hospitals may be...worse (?) than others but many hospitals make it so that you have to have a badge to get into the pharmacy and a special badge to take out specific medications. The badge readers that let you in will also collect information so they will know when you went into the pharmacy. There are also cameras recording your every move. So your character may be able to steal drugs but they definitely won’t get away with it. If you want them to be able to steal drugs, they should either work in the pharmacy or be buddies with someone who works there.

PROMPT: One night, the hospital pharmacy is empty for a few minutes. When the pharmacists return, all of the medication is gone. Every single bottle, vial, and bag has disappeared. Describe how the pharmacists deal with this event and the chaos that ensues as the staff rush to figure out what has happened.

Pediatric hospitals are a lot different than adult ones.

While children can be treated at adult hospitals, if they need specialized treatment or have access to a pediatric hospital right away then they’ll go there. Practices will differ from hospital to hospital as will the specialties available there (here’s an example at VCU). Some pediatric hospitals make it so that the child’s room is needle-free (or as needle-free as possible) and procedures involving needles will occur in a separate room. That way, they do not associate pain with the room they are sleeping in.

Often times, if the child’s hospital stay is known about in advance, the hospital will let them tour the hospital and the section they will be staying in. Virtual tours may also be available. Most pediatric hospitals have extensive information online for parents and caregivers on how to talk to children about what is going to happen as well as information for themselves.

One thing that is common throughout pediatric hospitals is that security tends to be tighter than at adult hospitals. A lot of times there is also a greater emphasis on the psychological impact of a hospital stay and how it affects the patient and family.

I should also note that pediatric hospitals- and most hospitals really, are not like in The Red Band Society and other shows. Being in a hospital it not fun, it is not glamorous, it sucks and it is difficult. That’s not to say there will be moments of laughter and fun, but TV is very different from reality.

PROMPT: Research a pediatric hospital close to where you live. Look at pictures of the interior, look at the FAQ sheets, find a list of specialties for that hospital, and then read some patient experiences and stories. Write a patient experience/story for one of your characters (they don’t have to be a child).

You can’t just walk into (some) patient rooms.

Yes, you can walk into most patient rooms without any issues but depending on what’s wrong with your character or where they work, they might have to deal with extra precautions. Transmission based precautions are a set of procedures that dictate what you need to wear and what you need to do (or avoid doing) when interacting with a patient infected with something dangerous or highly infectious. There are three categories of transmission based precautions: contact, droplet, and airborne precautions.

It sounds complicated but the basic gist of it is that if someone is infected with monkeypox or SARS, you can’t just walk in there and treat them or visit them. You have to follow a specific set of instructions to keep everyone safe. Staff treating the patient must wear PPE that is specific to the precaution indicated. You can use this CDC chart to see what illnesses require specific precautions and this page describes the different types of precautions.

PROMPT: Your character walks right into a room they really shouldn’t have walked into. A short while later, they start showing symptoms. What are they infected with? Describe how they realize they have become infected.

#writing help #rp help #rp guide #writing guide #medical writing guide #geekmonkey guides #the geekmonkey speaks #medical guide

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sic-vita · 7 years

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Addressing the misconceptions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Ok, so I’ve been scrolling through Tumblr and seeing posts bashing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I just felt I wanted to address some of the reasons for why it’s deemed as awful and “not canon”.

FIRSTLY, it’s a script NOT a novel. I think many of the problems come with people reading it as a novel – but having said that, I can’t blame them because the play at the moment is accessible to less than 0.01% of Harry Potter fans. Still, it is A SCRIPT and words on the page might not translate the way they do on stage.

SECONDLY, “canon” is a term used to describe an officialised body of work ie. The canonical scriptures, the literary canon – with regards to the contemporary world, canon means the works created officially by the author, as opposed to works by fans. So to say a work created by the author and her aides themselves is “fanfiction” is just weird because it is linguistically not accurate, no matter how much the work feels like how fan works would normally read. Whether someone personally agrees with it as an addition to an existing series, it is canon because it is created by the author and people she has worked with, not fans.

Having said this, it is up to people if they want to see Cursed Child as the “eighth story”. As much as I like it, I prefer to keep the seven novels as an enclosed, definitive unit and see Cursed Child just as an exploration and extension of the Harry Potter world, rather than a concrete “eighth story”.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying the play is perfect – there are bizarre bits ie. The trolley witch becoming Wolverine etc. but that a lot of the accusations laid on the play are just unfair and unjustified because they aren’t thought through clearly – they’re random bits of information floating online that people jump on and then repeat WITHOUT CONTEXT

MISCONCEPTIONS AND DEBUNKING THEM:

1. The Timeturner plot doesn’t make sense

In Prisoner of Azkaban, the timeturner only went back A FEW HOURS – here they are going back years. Even in POA, they were warned that timeturners run the risk of the user going back to accidentally kill themselves – which is impossible if it really works along the fixed timeline that POA purports. Cursed Child SPECIFICALLY states that these timeturners are different and hence so dangerous because of how they can go back decades ago to change things up.

What I LOVE about the timeturner plot is it addresses the very simple, basic question of whether we can bring someone back from the dead – so many fans have asked why doesn’t Harry go back in time to bring back his parents/Sirius/whoever else etc. – and this shows why:

The past belongs in the past – even if it’s painful and terrible, we have to accept the past and leave behind our regrets over it. And I think it’s a beautiful message.

2. Why is Hugo/Neville/Teddy/xx character not in the play

Again, it is A PLAY – it isn’t a 500 page novel with a full range of characters to deal with – the play focuses mostly on two boys and it already runs over five hours. A play doesn’t cover every single thing especially in a very extensive world like JKR’s. It just goes with the format of the media. Yes, it would have been nice to see these characters but it would have been even weirder if they appeared on stage and then didn’t follow through by being the focal point of the plot.

3. Why don’t they show in-between bits like: how the polyjuice potion was brewed, how xx learnt about xx etc etc.

This follows on from the previous question – which is that in a play there are time skips, jumps and montages because people are physically sitting in a theatre watching things unfold in real-time. If all the in-between bits were filled in, everyone would be there for days.

4. How can Cedric ever be a death eater??

Yes, people are right. In the world JKR built Cedric would never be a death eater. But that’s precisely the point – in that segment of the play, they were in an ALTERNATE REALITY where even good, kind Scorpius could be someone that tortures his fellow students. This is an ALTERNATE REALITY CEDRIC – and I like how it shows everyone has light and dark in them and they choose which part to act on. Even the sweetest people like Cedric and Scorpius can be embittered and made dark if they chose to act on that part of themselves – and isn’t that an enlightening commentary on human nature itself?

5. Harry’s parenting: “I wish you weren’t my son”

People quote this line as if Harry said it out of the blue to Albus. IN CONTEXT, Albus’ line before this is “I wish you weren’t my dad” – in the play, Albus has been provoking and pushing Harry before this by mocking his past and his heroism and Harry finally snaps. Parents aren’t perfect and Harry definitely isn’t. I love how they explore Harry’s issues in being a father and his own problematic father figures in his youth – that confrontation with Dumbledore was something I’ve always wanted.

6. Harry being a douche and keeping Scorpius from Albus

IN CONTEXT, this happened during the first ALTERNATE REALITY where Harry is clearly a different person from the usual one. He’s rude and more bad-tempered than usual and he snaps at McGonagall and Ginny. Perhaps it isn’t so obvious on page, but on stage when the alternate realities occur and everyone is suddenly different and even the stage is set up differently, it’s very clear that this is NOT THE SAME – people are “out of character” PRECISELY BECAUSE it is an ALTERNATE REALITY

7. Harry is Out of Character

Not sure if these people remembered book 5 Harry – when that book came out I thought he was out of character too. Harry had a temper and he shouted and he sometimes was bad at communicating his feelings – it’s quintessential Harry – I don’t see what’s out of character about that.

8. Queerbaiting

Yes I agree that Scorpius asking Rose out came as a surprise even in the theatre, but the way the actors played it was also so ambiguous. Rather than the scene being a straightforward rejection of an Albus-Scorpius relationship, I felt the acting left it very open. Scorpius asks out Rose, but then he hugs Albus and says he has a “new version” of them in his head. So clearly, it is more complex and ambiguous than people think.

9. Voldemort has a daughter

Again, this does come out as a shocker but it isn’t as outrageous as it is on page. People say Voldemort can’t have children because he doesn’t know love – then again, sexual activity may take place without love, which it probably did in Voldemort’s case. It’s not something that is completely improbable but it does come as a twist in the plot which makes for very entertaining theatre.

10. Snape is redeemed in a way that overlooks his previous character flaws

Two words: ALTERNATE REALITY – Scorpius met a Snape that saw Harry Potter die, a Snape that failed both Lily and Harry and was fighting a lost cause with hardly any support this time. There was no Order of Phoenix or guidance from Dumbledore. So it is clear that this Snape behaves differently. Also, I saw it as a way for someone to finally tell Snape that his sacrifice was acknowledged – in the main books, Snape’s work is never known until after he dies, but now he just gets to hear that people acknowledge his heroism (and he was heroic, though deeply flawed and a terrible teacher)

11. Cursed Child erases the “all was well” from the last book

Yes. And I love it. “All was well” was so unrealistic. These were people who’ve been through so much, can they really live life normally and calmly with nothing else happening to them? At the very least, they have to deal with the trauma of battling as children and teenagers, and especially for Harry, all the baggage and tragedy he carries with him. And I LOVE that Cursed Child dealt with that unflinchingly.

If there are other questions and comments people have on the play, I’ll love to hear and discuss it and even add to this list. Just thought that since the same arguments were being rehashed again and again, I’d want to at least add my piece to it and give my thoughts.

#Harry Potter #Harry potter and the cursed child #the cursed child #hpcc #cursed child

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evakfanficsrecs · 7 years

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what are som of your favorite fics? love your blog❤️❤️❤️

Anonymous: What’s your favourite fanfic ever?

First of all, thank you! ♥ Second of all, I don’t think you’ve realized what you’ve gotten yourself into. Listen, I have so many favorites and I really tried to keep this short (I did!!), but it was impossible to choose just one (or 5.. or 10..), so I settled down on 15. Hope you don’t mind too much, haha.

Little disclaimer: these are in no particular order, but I decided to number them anyway, just to keep a better track :) Have fun!

with love, from anonymous by cosetties & iriswests✓ Summary: secret admirer!au; Isak just wants to get his coffee in peace, Even has a crush, and there’s a secret admirer on the loose.

That’s Not My Name by cuteandtwisted✓ Summary: one-night stand!au; “Isak.” Even smiled, then licked his lips. “Wanna go back to my place?” - aka: Isak is an exchange student in new york city where he meets a very forward and bewitching Even.

in better light, everything changes by TimeInABottle✓Summary: wrong number!au; “I just checked the revue website and blackmailing people for smoking weed wasn’t listed under the Kosegruppa description"… Isak accidentally texts a stranger (Even) while trying to text Sana.

Life is now. (and now, and now) by FlyByNightGirl Summary: In which the clips for season 3 update, because there is so much more of Isak and Even’s relationship we haven’t seen, so. Here it is, congratulations.

Cut Us Out In Little Stars by allyasavedtheday✓ Summary: Romeo and Juliet!au; Even Bech Næsheim. The boy making Isak’s heart beat double-time in his chest is Even Bech Næsheim. He can’t believe he didn’t realise it earlier. Even doesn’t have any social media and any pictures of him in the press are usually grainy or leave his appearance partly concealed through sunglasses or a hat but still. A sick part of his brain almost wants to laugh because of course. It’s not enough for Isak to like boys when he shouldn’t, no, he has to go and like that boy. The one boy his father would condemn him for being with without question.

You Don’t Even Know Me! by cuteandtwisted✓ Summary: HateToLove!au; “Let’s keep our daddy issues out of work,“ said Even. “Excuse me?!” Or: The one in which Isak and Even are interns who start on the wrong foot and don’t like each other at all (except that they do).

hot like fire, take you higher by birthmarks Summary: Isak Valtersen was a teenage boy and with that came internalized feelings and avoidance of communication. He spent more time morbidly thinking about his life than actively attempting to improve it. But that was about to change soon, considering the circumstances. He was entering his first serious relationship and everyone kept telling him that “trust and communication are the foundation of every healthy relationship!” (insert eye roll here). The issue was that most of the time what he really thought about was sex. And while he knew it was normal to think about, he was more than content with ignoring the topic than experiencing how awkward it could be to discuss it. Or: in which Isak and Even fall in love, discover their kinks, and experience life along the way.

i guess that’s destiny doing it right by allyasavedtheday✓ Summary: The alternate universe where Even originally went to Nissen and became friends with Isak and Jonas when they started first year but moved away after his episode at the start of second year only for Isak to never hear from him again. Fastforward to the summer before Isak starts college when he’s travelling around Spain and bumps into a certain someone in Barcelona.

I’m Not A Baby by cuteandtwisted✓ Summary: childhood friends!au; “This is Even, my bro. The part about him being my personal servant is kind of true though.” “Your bro? Your bro?! What the fuck, Isak? We need to get rid of this whole masculinity thing they teach you at Nissen.” aka, Isak and Even are childhood friends.

love and condoms by kassie✓ Summary: Isak was about turn on his heels and say “Fuck it” and go home, when a tall, slender-looking boy approached him from down the aisle. Shit. “Finding everything okay?” he asked once he reached Isak, his face entirely consumed by his smile. Judging from his choice of clothing, the boy definitely worked here. And, by the black letters scribbled on his name tag, the boy’s name was Even. Great.. Or: Isak owes Eskild a favor and Eskild sends him out to buy condoms where he runs into a tall boy who is a little too eager to help him.

Sideways and Slantways by iriswests✓ Summary: Isak gets stuck in an elevator with the one person he’s vowed never to speak to again. This eventually prompts a conversation long overdue, but not without the memories flooding his brain like a broken dam first.

True or False by iriswests✓ Summary: childhood best friends!au; Seven moments between Isak and Even (+1 with Sonja), ranging from the ages of four and six to the ages of seventeen and nineteen, respectively.

And If In That Moment by allyasavedtheday✓Summary: Isak rolls his eyes and reaches for his beer again. Even’s teasing always feels different to his friends teasing him. Even’s teasing feels a lot like flirting. “Anyway back to Emma.” Fuck. “Why isn’t she your type?” Isak considers his options, considers a single conceivable reason why a straight seventeen-year-old boy wouldn’t like a girl like Emma. He can’t fucking think of a reason and it makes him panic but he’s also just- tired. So fucking tired of having to constantly lie about why he feels the way he does. So he settles on as close to the truth as he can get. “She just- I guess it’s never felt right.” *Or, what would’ve happened if Isak and Even had had the Halloween pregame alone like they had originally planned.

The only thing keeping me on fire by diamondjacket✓ Summary: massage therapy!au; This guy—this profoundly, unfairly, deeply good-looking guy—is going to…put his hands on Isak? On his thigh? And, like…move them around? Listen, he’s just starting to maybe, possibly come close to beginning to acknowledge that he might not be one hundred percent heterosexual, all of the time. It’s slow going—okay, fine, it’s borderline glacial—but he’s getting there. He didn’t need this today. Or: Isak’s doctor tells him to get a massage. Even delivers…and then some.

cards and drunken propositions by Bellakitse ✓ Summary: “Eskild, please tell me I didn’t make a fool of myself in front of Even,” Isak begs, groaning when Eskild winces theatrically. “Oh, god, what did I do?” “You mean besides rubbing yourself against him like a cat and started taking your clothes off?” Eskild asks tentatively, giving him a pitying look when Isak lets out a noise of death and mortification. “If it helps he seemed to be enjoying your…attention?” * Isak doesn’t remember the night before but he knows he made a fool of himself in front of this crush.

( ✓ - completed fics)

#andie likes #anonymous #evak fanfics recs #evak fanfiction #hello!#i'm pretty sure i still forgot lots of my favs #skam fanfiction #this is the best i can do #this was SO HARD #well #answered

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prixmiumarchive · 7 years

Photo

Do you ever wish for a place to talk to other fanfiction writers? Do you get frustrated with the lack of commentary and text in a commentary-and-text-based medium of expression? Do your plot bunnies look like this fellow in the above, not-so-great banner? Do you miss the days when we called them plot bunnies? Has disenchantment with the state of the discussion of transformative works made you long for the days of dial-up, yahoo groups, and tiny fic archives run on GeoCities? Then this Discord server may be the solution for you!

Now, you might have questions. What is Discord? Isn’t it full of hentai? Do I have to install another application on my duct-taped-together computer? Can I do this on mobile? What, exactly, would make this have the potential for being anything better than the oft-abandoned, crickets-chirping concept of tumblr networks from a couple of years ago?

Those answers and more will be below the read-more. This is a living document which can be reblogged but whose content under the read-more may change. You can find this information and any other important updates to it in a static location at http://metamorprose.dreamwidth.org

Contents

Who this server is for.

How is it set up?

What is Discord?

What are Roles?

How do I set a Role or Roles for myself?

What/why Metamorprose?

Rules for Metamorprose.

Punishments on Metamorprose.

Disclaimers.

Who this server is for.

This server is intended for those who write fanfiction. If you have written 1,000 words or more of fanfiction, then you can assume this includes you, if you want it to. This is an all ages server with a few important exceptions. At present, there are three text-channels that are marked NSFW, meaning you will need to verify that you are of age to view them. Those text-channels are: nsfw-warren, nsfw-celebritiesrpf, and nsfw-musicbands. They are marked that way for these reasons: #nsfw-warren is a place to talk about writing fic that is rated M or E, #nsfw-celebritiesrpf and #nsfw-musicbands are marked that way because they are under increased moderation and discretion because they may deal with real persons who are living.

This server is open to individuals 13+ with the nsfw channels being restricted to those 18+. Any user found to enter an nsfw channel under the age of 18 will be subject to disciplinary action. Your curiosity and maturity is not wroth getting someone else in trouble.

Metamorprose is intended as a place for people who have a current or frequent interest in writing fanfiction. This does not mean that you must be writing at a certain pace or publishing a specific amount. Writer’s Block happens and so does real life. What this does mean is that if you are just a casual fanfiction reader who rarely writes that this might not be the most fun place for you. If you are an avid reader who has a lot of recs, even if you don’t write, you are welcome to join and see what happens. Any specific entry requirements or rules will be implemented and updated on an as-needed basis. For now, it is up to your discretion whether or not you would be a good fit.

How is it set up?

Metamorprose is vaguely rabbit themed in honor of ‘plot bunnies’ and their legacy. You do not have to care about or like rabbits. It was just the first naming scheme that came to mind.

At the time of invitation launch, the following are the text-channels on the Metamorprose Discord server:

#foxden - off-topic and social chat #rabbithole - where you go to role yourself #thewarren - fanfiction writing/process discussion #nsfw-warren - same as above for M/E-rated material #recs - rec fics by others #selfpromo - rec/promote fics by yourself #beta - seek/offer beta services #ficexchanges - yuletide? uh... anything else? promote and discuss here #catnip - PG13 very off-topic thread, stuff you just had to share that isn’t conducive to regular conversation #inspiration - aesthetics, music, etc. you want to share and chat about what it makes you feel or reminds you of #groupwatching - a place to set up sharing your favorite shows and movies and whatever else, through rabb.it or another service (not affiliated with this vague bunny theme) And text-channels for which you must have the appropriate role assigned to enter where you can discuss fanfiction writing and ideas and related topics for a given genre/medium. These subdivisions are based on Archive Of Our Own’s division of the same with some alteration.

#animemanga #booksliterature #cartoonscomicsgn #nsfw-celebritiesrpf #movies #nsfw-musicbands #theatre #tvshows #videogames #webseries These may change an the adminabun (me) is always looking for constructive suggestions on just about any aspect of my life.

What is Discord?

Discord advertises itself as “Free Voice and Text Chat for Gamers.” In addition to self-proclaimed gamers, it is also a place where one might find those who are interested in “memes” as a way of life and anime/manga fans with some overlap with tech-savviness. These are all generalizations, though.

Discord, in my personal experience, is very similar to Skype but with many more options. It is also, at present, ad-free, and to my knowledge plans to stay that way. If you are interested, the Discord team has provided a comparison chart of their features: https://discordapp.com/features

If you do game, do voice chat, or anything else, then it is my understanding that it really is a great application to use for that. For simple, text-based creatures like myself who rarely play games, however, it is a perfectly serviceable place to keep organized chats and PMs, all under one roof.

Another great thing about Discord is that you have several options to use it. You can use it in your browser simply by pressing “Open Discord” on the app’s homepage. You can use it in a desktop program/application, available for download on the app’s homepage. You may also use their mobile app, which to my knowledge is available for both iOS and Android. (I use Android, so if you have iOS issues with it, not my area.)

The application’s website is here: https://discordapp.com/

What are Roles?

A “Role” is a discord feature and term that determines aspects of a user’s status, permissions, and abilities within a server and its individual channels. For the purposes of Metamorprose, you should choose the one or two most-relevant genre/media roles and the posting medium (where you put your fic most-often) for yourself. The genre/media role will determine your username color, and if anyone hates their genre’s color I would be open to putting it to a poll. If you have more than one genre, you will inherit the color of the genre that comes first in the alphabet. AO3/Fanfiction.net/tumblr roles do not impact your name color.

The currently-available self-assignable roles are:

genre/media: - Anime & Manga - Books & Literature - Cartoons & Comics & Graphic Novels - Celebrities & Real People - Movies - Music & Bands - Theatre - TV Shows - Video Games - Web Series

posting medium: - AO3 - Fanfiction.Net - tumblr

How do I set a Role or Roles for myself?

First, you need to be in the text-channel #rabbithole. I am just learning about bot usage for this venture, but at present I use a bot called Nadeko. She is a bot who sits there on the channel at all times and will, unless she is having server downtime, respond to your commands. The commands you need to know for self-assigning roles are:

you: .lsar

Sending the message ‘.lsar’ will show you a list of self-assignable roles.

you: .iam ROLE

Sending the message ‘.iam ROLE’ will assign the role typed in place of ROLE to you. For example, if I want to assign myself the Anime & Manga role, I type this exactly: ‘.iam Anime & Manga’. Nadeko will message you back when the deed is done. If It doesn’t work immediately, try again in a few minutes.

you: .iamnot ROLE

Sending the message ‘.iamnot ROLE’ will unassign the role typed in place of ROLE to you. For example, let’s say I am finished with my current Anime & Manga fic project or am moving on to another fic for now. I can type exactly this: ‘.iamnot Anime & Manga’ and Nadeko will tell me when she has unassigned the role from me.

Please note that using these roles most effectively is not assigning yourself every single one of the genre/media roles that you sort of like. Having one or two genre/media roles active at once will make it easy for people to see what you are currently interested in writing, are writing, etc. There are plenty of places you can ping-pong from liked-topic to liked-topic at the speed of your fingertips, tumblr included. This server will be the greatest resource to you if you use roles and the genre-specific text-channels judiciously. You can alter your roles as much as you want, within reason, so you are not stuck just because you have an interest shift. (Trust me, I am the queen of multifandom lack of focus.) Just don’t abuse Nadeko. She is a free service who does not belong to me.

What/why Metamorprose?

I just wanted a name for the server that was kind-of unique and meant something.

“Metamorphose” is a verb meaning to change the form or nature of; transform.

“Prose” is what most of us write in, striving for the middle ground between purple and beige.

In the age-old fandom tradition, therefore, it is a portmanteau for the process of creative transformative works: metamorprose.

Rules for Metamorprose.

1. Treat others with courtesy and respect. Do not insult a person, disagree respectfully, and only offer constructive criticism.

2. Do not bait or otherwise goad another user into misbehavior. This will be considered misbehavior as well. If you are having an issue with a user, please come to the adminabun or any assigned mods to deal with it.

3. Do not post NSFW material in non nsfw channels. This does NOT include posting clearly marked M/E-rated fics in fic rec channels.

4. Keep on-topic within reason in the text channels that are not the #foxden. Reasonable and brief rabbit trails are fine, but don't turn them into niche off-topic channels.

5. Use good sense. Use discord's features appropriately. If you don't know how to or if you can do something, Google it first. If you can't figure it out from the first page of Google results, ask someone you trust. The adminabun is willing to take your questions about discord operation, within reason, after you have tried googling it yourself.

6. Non NSFW-channels should be kept at a PG-13 tone. There are no nsfw or profanity filters set up on the non-nsfw channels, so this is based on the honor system and abuse of this WILL get you warned.

7. Theft or plagiarism will merit a warning or an immediate ban, depending on context and severity, at admin/mod discretion. 8. Do not direct people directly to your patreon or ko-fi page. What you do in PMs with friends is up to you but do not otherwise promote monetary gain for yourself on this channel.

9. Do not offer financially-compensated commissions on this channel for fic or for art.

10. More rules may be added and will be announced, but ignorance of a rule is not an excuse to not follow it.

On Dreamwidth: http://metamorprose.dreamwidth.org/334.html

Punishments on Metamorprose.

Egregious and flagrant violation of any of the above rules or other abusive behavior may be cause for immediate ban. However, the general rule is that 3 warnings result in a softban. This will ban you but will allow you to rejoin the channel again after you’ve had a cool-down. 5 warnings will result in a permanent ban.

Disclaimers.

This Discord server is not affiliate with any of the following: Archive Of Our Own, the Organization for Transformative Works, Fanfiction.net, tumblr, rabb.it, dreamwidth, yuletide, or any other unnoted, official organization. It is a project by the fan and fanfiction writer whose Discord tag is Prix#9110.

By clicking the following link, you agree to be subject to the aforementioned rules and policies, whether you read them or not: https://discord.gg/z3FHEYQ

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ophirgottlieb · 7 years

Text

It’s Time to Look at this Technology Gem

Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS)

Date Published: 2017-05-04 Written by Ophir Gottlieb This article is a snippet from the original published to CML Pro members on 4-30-2017. LEDE As far as we are concerned, the bullish thesis for Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) reads so well, and looks so bright, we actually have to tame ourselves when we discuss the company and we review earnings. On November 28th, 2016, we published It’s Time to Pay Attention to Skyworks Solutions. At that time the stock was trading at $77.30. Today the stock is at $99.74, or fully 29% higher. We say again today, as we did back in November, "It’s Time to Pay Attention to Skyworks Solutions" and we urge you to read that dossier. Now let's turn to earnings: Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) Earnings Results The company earned $1.45 per share excluding items, up 16% year over year, on sales of $851.7 million, up 10%, in the March quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $1.40 a share on sales of $840.4 million. Irrespective of the stock reaction, this was a beat across the board. For the current quarter, Skyworks expects to earn $1.52 a share, up 23%, on revenue of $890 million, up 18%. Wall Street was modeling for $1.49 and $868 million. Here is the three-month stock chart:

As an aside, Wall Street is actually on our side with this one:

[Skyworks Solutions ]received at least eight price-target increases from Wall Street analysts following its better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings report[]. Source: IBD

We can't help ourselves but to repeat just a bit of the Top Pick dossier, below, before we get to earnings highlights. THE WORLD IS CHANGING Let's start with the realities of the world we are facing with respect to a dramatic shift coming our way, before we turn specifically to our Spotlight Top Pick, Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS). We use a lot of data from the Ericsson Mobility Report, which is free for anyone in .pdf format. First, we start very basic: mobile smartphone subscription growth projections:

I know this seems like it flies in the face of everything you've read from the main stream media, but, the main stream media often times has no idea what it's talking about. In fact, it's that reality that likely led you to CML Pro. So, to be clear, projections call for nearly 75% growth in mobile subscriptions within six-years. Another easy way to look at this is to simply go year-by-year and examine mobile broadband subscriptions by region, by year:

More broadband mobile subscriptions means more mobile devices and more mobile data usage. Check out this next chart for data usage per smartphone:

Keep in mind, that is per smartphone, so it's not just data consumption rising due to more subscriptions, but rather each subscription in and of itself is going to show massive growth. Here's that same information in a single chart -- note the dark orange area is data from smartphones:

As the caption reads, "between 2016 and 2022, the traffic generated by smartphones will increase 10 times." Now is the time to remember that Apple Inc iPhone users drive the huge majority of app usage, even with just a 15% market share of total smartphones. While the number of apps downloaded favors Google Play by about two to one, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones generate nearly twice as much revenue as Google Play. To put that into perspective, for every $1 dollar of app revenue driven by Google Play, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) generates about $4. If we see greater data consumption per smartphone, we likely see a greater benefit to Apple Inc than any other smartphone. Now, further projections tell us that 80% of all our content consumption by 2020 will be video. Yep, video will replace essentially everything we do online. Here's a nice little chart to visualize some of that growth:

That is 50% year-over-year compounded annual growth for six straight years for video data traffic. That translates into over 1,100% growth in six years (1.5^6, for you math heads). Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) Earnings Highlights Here are the highlights that stood out for us: * Skyworks is gaining momentum. Our outlook for Q3 reflects accelerating performance [.] * We delivered revenue of $852 million, up 10% year-over-year and above consensus, with gross margin of 50.4% and operating margin of 36.7%. * We achieved earnings per share of $1.45, up 16% year-over-year and $0.05 better than consensus. * Cash flow from operations was $236 million, an increase of 53% year-over-year. * [W]e ended the second quarter with a cash balance of $1.4 billion and no debt. * In addition to our financial performance, we are aggressively expanding our design win pipeline. * In mobile, we are extending our reach across all premier smartphone OEMs. Specifically, we enabled Huawei's P10 and P10+ models with low, mid and high-band SkyOne solutions, along with antenna tuner, carrier aggregation switching and power management devices. * We powered Samsung's Galaxy S8 platform with proprietary DRx and SkyOne solutions, as well as GPS and DC/DC converters. * In IoT, we supported Cisco's enterprise-grade MIMO gateways, delivered analog control ICs across Nintendo's gaming platforms, [] captured Wi-Fi mesh networking wins at Google and Plume, deployed high-power smart meter devices for Itron, and we launched custom solutions for Fitbit, Garmin and LG. * We secured strategic design wins at three leading automotive manufacturers, leveraging our advanced LTE modules supporting high-reliability connectivity, GPS and data transport capabilities. * Skyworks is capitalizing on powerful macro trends, diversifying across new markets and advancing our technology leadership.

The stakeholders in these ecosystems are monetizing vast flows of data, while fostering entirely new wireless-centric business models. This dynamic is creating a new trillion-dollar economy, underpinned by e-commerce, mobile advertising, social media, and cloud-based services.

* High-speed, reliable, always-on connectivity is at the heart of this secular trend. * Within the mobile market, we facilitate the data creation and storage that allow today's smartphones to transmit and receive immense amounts of content [.] * [W]e continue to address a growing set of vibrant end markets across developed and emerging economies, covering both mobile and IoT. At the same time, we are preparing for a significant 5G upgrade cycle, yet another catalyst fueling our business while leveraging our technology depth and systems expertise. And now we turn to the critical issue of Skyworks Solutions' reliance on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). * [D]uring Q2, we had three greater than 10% customers. * Obviously, our largest customer, which was slightly below 40% of total revenue, and then Huawei and Samsung, each of them which were slightly above 10% of total revenue. So that was from the company. We also add: Further, Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) noted that the second half of calendar 2017 should see accelerating growth. "[T]he real big part of our year is the second half of the calendar." As we noted above, the company sees the mobile world driving technology forward, and that is exactly what Skyworks Solutions wants to see happen. Back to the company's commentary: * [W]e are absolutely convinced and have great deal of visibility into the trends around mobile and IoT and where the markets are going. * [A] tremendous cast of major, major players that thrive on a mobile economy[.] * We're seeing IoT proliferate and we're seeing a Wi-Fi portfolio, our Bluetooth portfolio, our ZigBee portfolio move into more and more end markets and expand our customer set. * Gross margin came in at 50.4%. That was 20 basis points higher than what we expected and guided to. We maintain our Spotlight Top Pick status on Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) and irrespective of the small stock dip after the earnings release, we see growth accelerating -- not just in the second half of the year, but for the next several years. We still hold to our call when the stock was at $77 -- It’s Time to Pay Attention to Skyworks Solutions. WHY THIS MATTERS It's finding the technology gems that will turn into the 'next Google,' 'next Apple,' or 'next Amazon,' where we have to get ahead of the curve. This is what CML Pro does. Each company in our 'Top Picks' is has been selected as a future crown jewel of technology. Market correction or not, recession or not, the growth in these areas is a near certainty. The precious few thematic top picks for 2017, research dossiers, and alerts are available for a limited time at an 80% discount for $19/mo. Join Us: Discover the undiscovered companies that will power technology's future. Thanks for reading, friends. The author is long shares of Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS). Legal The information contained on this site is provided for general informational purposes, as a convenience to the readers. The materials are not a substitute for obtaining professional advice from a qualified person, firm or corporation. Consult the appropriate professional advisor for more complete and current information. Capital Market Laboratories (“The Company”) does not engage in rendering any legal or professional services by placing these general informational materials on this website. The Company specifically disclaims any liability, whether based in contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising out of or in any way connected with access to or use of the site, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages, including liability in connection with mistakes or omissions in, or delays in transmission of, information to or from the user, interruptions in telecommunications connections to the site or viruses. The Company makes no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of the information contained on this website. Any links provided to other server sites are offered as a matter of convenience and in no way are meant to imply that The Company endorses, sponsors, promotes or is affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorse any information contained on those sites, unless expressly stated.

#$swks #$aapl

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