#now people don't seem to get the most basic fandom etiquette | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

caelum-in-the-avatarverse · 3 months

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Hello! I’m trying to collect seminal fanworks for different fandoms, and figured that it would be a good idea to ask you for any for atla since you said that you’ve been involved in writing fanfic for the show for so long. Basically, I’m hoping to find any fics that are widely popular within the fandom and/or have laid the groundwork for certain aspects of fanon. I’ve already got Embers by Vathara down for this since I’ve seen influence from it pop up pretty often, but I’m a bit new to the fic side of the fandom so I wanted to know which other ones were out there. Thank you!

Hmmm. Well, I can probably point you in the right direction, BUT there's a few things about me you'll want to take into account.

I have always had incredibly niche tastes. Even back in 2009 I was way more interested in reading about minor characters than I was reading about the main cast, and I preferred genfic over shipping. So the fics I read didn't tend to get popular, and the fics that did get popular were usually shipfic and thus I didn't read them and wouldn't be able to track their effects on the fandom. I also haven't regularly read ATLA fic in years; I write it, but I'm way more interested in my own OCs and worldbuilding and headcanon sandbox than most fic these days, so I'm not sure what the current trends are or where they came from. Most of the things I point you towards are going to be very old and possibly forgotten.

That said, I think your best bet is going to be figuring out where the hangout spaces were and who the major players were in old ATLA fandom and going from there. @loopy777 and @piandaoist may be able to help us out here too, especially since I only joined the fandom after the finale aired; they were around long before that.

So, where did the original ATLA fandom and its fic live? Well, for the fic, mostly on FanFiction.Net. You're lucky in this regard--I don't think there were any big independent fanfic archives for ATLA. Harry Potter was around at the same time and had several big fic sites, but HP was older than ATLA, so places like Sugar Quill and FictionAlley were founded around 2001. FFdotnet was founded in 1998, but back then it was pretty commonplace to build your own personal place on the internet. By the time ATLA aired, though, I think FFdotnet was becoming the go-to fic place. And old ATLA fandom never seemed to have much of a slash fandom; if it had that would've been more incentive to start up a separate slash-focused archive, since m/m would be especially vulnerable to purges. So as far as I know, no one felt a need to establish an ATLA-focused fic website, and if they did it never got very big. You'll probably have some good luck seeing what was popular if you just go to the FFdotnet ATLA section and sort by number of reviews and check the dates on what you find.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are going to go looking for this stuff, you need to keep in mind that you are looking at a past internet that is very different from what you might be used to today. For all that purity culture wankers like to complain, AO3 is a dream compared to the olden days. Now, you can see a fic's tags and warnings (or that the author chose NOT to warn) before you even open it. That was not possible or expected on many other fic archives. FFdotnet only gave you so many characters to write your fic summary, that was precious real estate. Sometimes people warned for things in author's notes, sometimes they did not. The culture and etiquette around warnings was different; in many fandoms back then, failing to warn for character death was seen as way more upsetting than failing to warn for rape. Check the rating, the summary, the author's notes--and then understand that you might still run into a completely random sex scene halfway through the fic. Was every fic like this? No, of course not. Most of them weren't. But you have to understand that this is an unavoidable risk. If you can't handle the idea of stumbling across some underage Zutara smut, this might not be the project for you.

Oh, and mind the citrus scale--lemons mean sex, limes mean the characters don't go as far as having sex.

And FYI, it's been ages since I've read anything I'm about to go over and I can't remember the details, so yes, this warning applies to anything I recommend here, too.

Other places to check...well, fandom lived on LiveJournal back then. I'm not sure if ATLA fandom was very affected by Strikethrough and Boldthrough; like I said, there didn't seem to be a lot of slash fans back then. But you could probably go trawling through old journals and communities and see if you find anything interesting... Oh, and back then all fanart would've been posted on DeviantArt, that was pretty much where fanart lived back then. LJ didn't have native image hosting, you had to use Photobucket if you wanted to post any images on there, and why do that when DeviantArt was RIGHT THERE for your fanart.

Ooooh, here you go, FanLore has some lists of ATLA fan spaces, lots of which are on LJ and DA!

There was also AvatarSpirit.Net, but they shut down ages ago. I archived a lot of the threads before it went, but I basically skipped the whole fanfic forum--everything in there was probably on FFdotnet, and no one really left comments on the fic threads, so it seemed pointless since I was pressed for time.

I think that pretty much covers the places. So what about the people?

Well, off the top of my head, I think one fan you might find useful is AvocadoLove (haha your names match). She wrote a lot of fic, but her most popular by far was Another Brother, which I believe was the original Zuko Joins The Water Tribe story, so that trope can be traced back to her. AvocadoLove also kept what might've been the fandom's most prestigious fic reclist, which you can still see on both her LiveJournal and her DreamWidth:

LJ 1 | LJ 2 ||| DW 1 | DW 2

There's a lot of popular fics on this list. Be warned, though, that a lot of them have disappeared, especially if they were posted on someone's LJ instead of on FFdotnet. A few years back I went down this list archiving everything I could, and the number of error pages I hit was saddening. It's possible some have been reposted to AO3 so you can go check there.

Going off this list...

Enslaved by sharkflip--This was a popular Zutara fic, Zuko's the one who got enslaved lol. Extremely different worldbuilding from canon, I gave it a read once and it was interesting.

Mai's Ramblings by @loopy777--Oh my GOD I forgot this existed but it's great. Unfortunately ASN is gone and I have no idea if they're posted anywhere else, LOOPY TELL US, but these were just hilariously stupid rambles by Mai on every ATLA ship imaginable. Did they have a big effect on fanon? Unsure. Were they beloved by the ASN community? YES.

Stormbenders by Fandomme--Another super-popular Zutara fic, people loved it, so it's possible it might've affected Zutara fanon?

Water Tribe by Rufftoon on NoSelfControl--Okay, so this is a long webcomic about "what if Zhao survived the Siege of the North, got amnesia, and the NWT begrudgingly took him in?" Very popular with Zhao fans back in the day. The really cool thing about this is that Rufftoon was actually an ATLA storyboard artist, so her artwork looks a LOT like the show. I believe she made Water Tribe as a sort of personal practice for long-term visual storytelling or something. She did lots of other ATLA art too, you should check her out.

Oh, speaking of webcomics...

Plight of the Freedom Fighters by SioUte and PFFbySIO--The first webcomic was a "how to make Jet survive" story, the second followed the Freedom Fighters after the war as adults. SioUte was the Freedom Fighters BNF back in the day.

And while I'm thinking of it, not a webcomic, but sylvacoer had this whole not-really-Zutara story going on that was literally Blue Spirit/Painted Lady.

*thinks* Look, when it comes right down to it, unless there's stuff going on in the shipping subfandoms that I'm not aware of, I don't think you're going to find anything that directly established as much fanon as Embers did. There were plenty of other super-popular fics, sure, but most of them focused on shipping, and worldbuilding wasn't quite as important. Embers put worldbuilding first and foremost, and therefore it was easier for the fandom to pull from as a whole.

Uhhh let's see what else...at this point I'm basically just throwing whatever I can remember being interesting at you, lol, idk how much of an effect any of this really had.

DJNS wrote a bunch of fic with interesting premises, some shippy, some not. The Zuko/Aang roleswap AU was pretty cool.

For me personally, the biggest influences on my writing were Dark Puck and Rebecca Hb, specifically their Dai Li fics. They had a circle of friends on LJ who put out some good stuff.

*thinks* Yeah, I think that's all I've got for now. Hope that gives you a starting point! I'd also recommend, as you trawl through FFdotnet, checking out the authors' favorited fics in their profiles, you could probably find more interesting stuff that way.

Idk, I'll add more later if I think of anything. But if you start with AvocadoLove, I think that's an excellent starting point.

#asks #fandom history #ancient fanfiction #fanfiction #fandom #caelum rambles

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princemick-archive · 2 years

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i hope it's okay if i send you this but i'm pretty new to the f1 side of tumblr and don't really know the ins and outs yet and you're literally the first blog i came across and you seem really popular and talented so i thought i'd ask you for some blog recommendations? and maybe you'd know if there's any like fandom etiquette one should follow on f1 tumblr that's different from general tumblr etiquette because i know some fandoms have some extra unspoken rules and all that

Hi nonnie ofc it's okay!! so here's:

kyle, princemick's beginners guide to f1blr!

basic rules to f1blr:

please always tag any kind of crash, they happen, theyre scary please remember to tag them with 'crash tw'

don't cross tag keep the right drivers in the right tags, we dont wanna see max in the ferrari tag or charles in the merc tag etc

tag your hate with 'anti *insert driver*' (use first name not both first and last so it doesnt show up in the main tags) and don't go looking in those tags for ur fav just to defend them that's annoying ass hell

basic things to remember:

rpf is very likely to happen, if you dont enjoy it no worries to blacklist or not follow people who are active in it BUT rpf does happen a lot casually as jokes etc so dont take it to seriously

everyone has their favs and critize everyone, the block and unfollow button is right there, its still sport. curate your own experience.

NOW kyle's blog rec list below the cut!

go and support and show some love, they're all incredible creators and organized by fav driver/genre of content so please take some time to check them out!! (tried to explain what they mostly do but some just rb and post so ajksdb theyre still all amazing though)

a lot of these are also mixed in who they support, I put them in the catagory of people I identify them w most.

also tumblr is a dick so has a tag limit which means half of these are links so there are a bunch of people in here who didnt get a notif that they're in this post, so rip.

FIRST OFF follow my most beloveds @milflewis and @yeericcihaw theyre two of the most important people in my life who are on their own incredible creators, niamh is an incredible writer and fran a wonderful gif maker. both of them make tumblr so so much better for me and I love them dearly

general f1 blogs/people i think everyone should follow:

@race-week should be in everyone's following if they call themselves an f1 fan // @maranello THE ferrari blog (and incredible editor) // @brawn-gp incredible editor, ferrari main // @formulaoneisajoke lando main // @h-f-k amazing graphic designer // @alpinegasly insane f1 poster designer // @f1-stuff mosttly ferrari gifs that are incredibly and high quality // @yukierree irl friend and wonderful graphic designer // @husbono amazing writer and graphic designer // @hakkinens one of the source for classic f1 stuff also lew/seb/charles main // @greenliketheskyf1pics the classic f1 blog // @edoardo-mortara one of the non f1 motorsport blog // @josefnewgayden also one of the non f1 motorsport blogs // @oscar-piastri one of the best gifmakers/editors on this website

artists:

@souriadraws incredible artist // @alboncat amazingly stylistic and cute artist // @stoffelwdc incredible artist // @russilton incredible artist with a really distinct style // @absurdt funny and cute artist // @livetogether--diealone amazing charles main artist // @ruszhou incredible artist and george/yuki/guanyu main // @sebsxmp amazing linework // @mangocito incredibly cute artist // @cedobols the seb artist // @hyonibee one of the cutests styles

writers:

@stuckonspidey one of the mick writers in the fandom imo // @effervescentdragon insane (affectionate) and incredible writer // @schulott amazing schullot writer // @redpaint charles fan and writer

mick:

@acrosstobear 1/3 of the pilars of mickblr // @boomacher 2/3 of the pilars of mickblr // @mickstart the schumacher blog on this side of tumblr // @userhamilton funny, creative and gifmaker // @grussell63 funny and insane (affectionate) also big merc fan // @guanyu-ilott mick/callum main

charles:

@leqclerc incredible editor // @16whispers writer // @lukamodric wonerful editor // @mssr-monagato dramatic and a tifosi // @dobbiamo-capire tifosi and local italian translator // @monacoprince amazing editor // @ferrariprince16 major tifosi // @lileclair charles main // @lolaleclerc charles main // @finalgirlcharlesleclerc charles main // @c2stan one of the charles blogs // @balaclavacharles another one of the charles blogs

seb:

@lisandro-vettel very funny seb main // @teamgreenheart seb/lew main // @4xmulti21champion the ted kravits source // @005seb seb/alex main // @multi-2-1 seb main // @unhinged-vettel incredible designer // @youjustwaitsunshine funny ass seb main

lew:

@teamroscoes the lew blog // @lewki lew/yuki main // @xiaozhous guanyu/lew main // @danielssmile danny/lew/george main // @alexanderalbons seb/lew/alex main // @andreagrimes val/seb main also nando but won't admit it also incredible artist

other:

@spygate nando main, very funny // @beparwah96 yuki main, v creative // @formulaonedirection lando main, very funny // @pierrelli pierre main, cool ass editor // @its-always-silly-season funny ass hell // @dilfgrassi danny and lew main also fe fan // @tsuchansworld one of the yuki blog on this site // @gcsly the pierre giffer // @lesellieknope danny main // @estebanbicon este main // @raceweek the alex blog // @robinfrinjs one of the FE blogs // @estiebestieban este main

I think that's it!! go and support all these amazing blogs, this is bascially just my following list so it's how I've curated my tl and it's a wonderful place so highly reccomend.

#kyle.answers #anon #I hope I didnt like misorganize or misexplain smth #pls tell me if u want me to explain u differently #blog recs #formula 1 #f1

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jen-with-a-pen · 1 month

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If people aren't comfortable reblogging fics to their blog (which I am not, due to a personal history of being doxxed and humiliated to my irl friends and family), are comments sufficient enough engagement or would you rather that reader not engage with your work at all?

I feel like that came out sounding passive aggressive but I truly mean it as a genuine question and am just not sure how to rework it to sound less snarky! I see this discourse on and off from different fic writers and respect both opinions and think everyone should be able to curate interaction with their fics as they see fit.

Hi, anon.

I've been thinking carefully on how to respond to this. I can tell you're not trying to come off as snarky– which i say as someone who can't read tone for shit most of the time and whose own tone can come off aggressive or bitchy when I don't mean it to be.

I'm gonna address your ask as thoroughly as I can, if that's cool. Sorry if it's a long response. I'll put a cut in so I don't interrupt feeds ✂️

First, I want to pose a question to your question, which I mean genuinely with no spite whatsoever: why are you on Tumblr if you're not reblogging or don't even reblog?

As I've stated in other replies to the post I made a few weeks back, from the way I see it, Tumblr is literally built upon the foundation of sharing creations and content. There is no dead-set algorithm here like there is for Instagram or TikTok. Sharing is, quite fucking literally, caring here. We are able to form communities of all sizes because we share things. Reblogging is essential to the upkeep, and quite frankly the existence, of fandom and communities. Without sharing, our communities crumble and become ruins. We are actively seeing this as we speak: many mutuals and authors I follow are starting to quit writing due to passive, demanding consumption patterns and 0 engagement.

I know you probably know this, but I thought I'd restate it for answer's sake.

To answer the meat of your ask, I will pull from both personal experience and mutuals' experiences and input.

In my own personal opinion, if you are solely commenting on fics and are not engaging in anything else (no likes, no reblogs, etc.) then I personally think that Tumblr is not the site you should be on and, frankly, you should go sign up for AO3 if that's all you're going to do.

And I mean this earnestly. If all you want to do for engagement is commenting, then AO3 needs you because sharing does NOT affect authors nearly as much over there as it does here. In fact comments on AO3 are the literal equivalent to reblog on Tumblr: we don't get any and when we do it's like finding an oasis in a never ending desert.

Now in terms of what mutuals and other authors have said on the matter, it seems the consensus is that commenting without reblogging is a case-by-case basis. I'm going to quote a mutual of mine here:

"...if someone is commenting on my work but not reblogging… I'd say it's case by case. If it's just MY fics they aren’t reblogging, then it'd be a problem, but if they don’t reblog ANY [fics] I'd be more okay."

Another mutuals also put it this way:

"... I feel like there *is* both sides in this sense; yes comments are nice and engaging even though they aren't the preferred and most helpful way to boost writers..."

I feel like both of them put it into words where I struggled to. I will also say that I do agree with the point being that if you're not gonna reblog ANYTHING– no art, no content, no photos, no other fics, nothing– AND your profile adheres to the guidelines set forth in basic Tumblr etiquette (not looking like a bot and not a minor) then sure, comment away.

The verdict, in summary with my opinion and mutuals': it depends on your behavior and your interactions with other works and content.

I hate the word content but I couldn't think of another one.

But, my question still stands: why are you on Tumblr when you don't even participate in the basic fundamental function of this site?

I also wanted to take the time to address the other part of your ask regarding the doxxing and people finding out your identity.

It has been very widely known for (close to) two decades now that Tumblr is the place where you can have an anonymous identity. Truly. I've been on here for the collective half of the last decade and have been on the Internet for a little more than half my life, now, and Tumblr and fandom are literally the biggest and best places where you can be someone else. You can be completely anonymous.

The common denominator, however, is you.

The amount of information you have on your blog is what you choose to put on it. If you state your real name, your state and city, have one of those (imo stupid) carrd things or whatever, then honey– and I mean this in the nicest way possible, truly– that is on you. I know for a fact (from good and bad experiences) that you have all of the power in the world to annonymize yourself while still maintaining yourself on the Internet. That make sense?

A couple of mutuals made very excellent points regarding this:

"...I have a best friend irl who has Tumblr and is so close to the fandoms I'm in, and she doesn't know I write here. I am anonymous on here. I'm suprised she hasnt connected the dots because my aesthetics are the same in real life..."

"...I personally think its pretty easy to be anonymous on tumblr. Especially since usually all we ask is you have that you aren’t a minor at the top of your blog..."

"...it's really easy to be anonymous on the internet [...] you can be an ENTIRELY different person on the internet..."

From that last mutual, I'll paraphrase and go off of another point they made: the fact that you do want to participate and comment negates your ENTIRE arguement because someone– anyone– can find you and your blog through said comment(s).

Your digital footprint is what you leave behind. So if you have your city and state and grade and real name and all this other shit in your blog or carrd or whatever, then you are the only one who is responsible for having put said information out there.

Hell, I've been mutuals with some people going on 2-3 YEARS at this point and the only other things they know about me is my state, general city vicinity, my cat, and what I do for a living. That's it. And we span from early twenties to married with a kid or two.

We are in charge of what we share and I implore you– as someone with a certification in legal information technology– to please educate yourself on your Internet privacy and digital footprint. Please take the time to think about your actions and the information you have online. I STILL do this to this day, even after getting certified and being on the Internet for half my life.

I am sorry that you've gotten doxxed in the past. Truly, I am. It's a horrible act and I hope you never have to experience that again. Please know I am not being dismissive of that nor trying to blame you for said acts.

But it all comes down to you at the end of the day. In general, it's you, your actions, and the consequences of your actions. And if you happen to be a minor, then I strongly urge you to rethink your decisions and maybe step away from social media and utilize critical thinking in order to asses your situation and who you surround yourself with, both online and offline. I wish I had someone to tell me that when I was 14– fuck, even when I was 18.

And I mean it when I say AO3 might suit you more than Tumblr. If any fandom site has more capabilities to be anonymous than Tumblr itself, it's AO3.

Anyways, I think that's all I have to say for you. My DMs and ask box are always open and I am open to more commentary on the matter and related ones so long as it is civil and respectful. I refuse to stop having this conversation.

Thank you for listening ❤️

#jen speaks #commentary #ask #answer #long post #long response #i hope i addressed this enough for you anon #and others who kight have similar questions #this conversation is LONG overdue and i want to spearhead the effort to try snd build back fandom and engagement between reader and writer #anyways #i read this a million times and even had my boyfriend's input lmaooo #he doesnt have a clue about fandom but he assured me i wasnt coming off as an asshole 😅#im hoping i can continue the conversation with yall bc once im passionate theres no turning back #and idk about yall #but it fucking sucks seeing your friends lose interest in their hobbies and you look up to them and i hate seeing them so defeated #its an epidemic

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sandumilfshou · 14 days

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Meta analysis/hypothesis on what is influencing the rise of anti culture

FAIRLY LONG POST.

I feel like antis (as most commonly minors) are stuck in this vicious cycle that has been perpetuated by internet culture over the last 20 years without having the advantage of the early internet etiquette/warnings/safety education that we as millennials and older got.

Kids these days are pretty much online from birth. The internet encourages people to post their thoughts and opinions at all times, often without much thought, and this norm is perpetuated pretty strongly through sites like Twitter and TikTok. So they're posting all of their thoughts and feelings and opinions left right and centre, often without privacy settings turned on, usually on social media sites where anyone can see these posts. And because the internet is a panopticon, unless you are on a private or hidden account, everyone is also able to post their own opinion about your opinion. It's easier than ever before for someone to discuss, argue, reject, and attack other people's opinions. And it's human nature to double down and defend your position instead of coming to an agreement or neutral ground (or god forbid change your mind), especially when tone is difficult to get across via text, and even so when people are often automatically argumentative and aggressive in their initial response (I have been guilty of this many a time).

This is all tied up in what I think for minors is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the internet is. It isn't a safe space, it isn't sanitized for your comfort, and it isn't censored or controlled much outside of strictly R18 sites other than literal illegal content being reported. But there seems to be this view among minors and antis that by default the internet should be safe for them to navigate, and they should not be able to stumble across, access, or engage with adult content (not even necessarily NSFW stuff either). So when they see this, they're shocked and appalled that it exists where they can see it, and because of the above, have been encouraged by the nature of the internet to post their very strong, often underdeveloped and shallow, opinion about it! They do not understand that the internet is the wild fucking west and outside of strictly under 13 sites and parental controls put on them, that it is your individual responsibility to curate your OWN safe space on the internet. Be liberal with the block button! Make use of mute functions! Set your shit to private so people who don't know you can't interact with your posts!

But they don't do this, because they were never taught about the dangers of the internet like we were. I remember when you should never give out ANY personal information about yourself, not even your first name, hell even saying the country you were from was often frowned against. We were taught that the internet is dangerous and you are responsible for keeping yourself safe. Now kids are putting out their name, their age, their country, all of their mental illnesses and neurodivergences and triggers all over the place! (It doesn't help that so many social media sites are encouraging linking your identity on other sites as 'verification', making it very impossible to be anonymous or fully under pseudonyms anymore.) So they think the internet is a safe and fun place to spend their time and encountering any content they dislike is free real estate to have a very loud opinion on, and are conditioned to double down on this when questioned.

This leads to two things that have become pretty rampant recently:

A lack of understanding of basic fandom culture and etiquette

The rise of puritanist views from LGBT+ youth on sexual deviance / morality / kink, and the encouragement of broad censorship.

Cancel culture is so fucking rampant these days. Kids especially are terrified to be cancelled or called out, especially since cyberbullying is so fucking common now. For kids this is often tied up in their real life school interactions, but it is rapidly becoming normal to consider your online identity and interactions just as real and valid as your physical, everyday interactions. Internet friendships are just as strong - or even stronger - as those you have in real life at school, or work, or sports clubs. It's known that people spend more time on the internet now than ever, so more and more of our time and mental energy and space is taking place in the virtual sphere. Being involved in something that negatively affects you like cyberbullying, or being cancelled or called out, or even just labeled as 'problematic' is so much bigger now, and it's not as easy to "just log off" or "just turn off your phone" as it used to be, because SO MUCH of our identity is caught up in online spaces now.

There's this dichotomy where we are encouraged to post all of our thoughts and opinions on the internet where anyone can see them, but cancel culture is also making people - especially kids - terrified to make mistakes or withhold opinions for fear of being labeled 'problematic' or 'siding with xyz if you don't post an opinion that disagrees with it'. There's a hyperawareness of what could be considered problematic behaviour, this strong need to be performatively moral, even if it means throwing someone else under the bus to prove that you're unproblematic!

This all links back to my previous two points. It means that common historical fandom etiquette - things like "don't like, don't read", the term "squick", "YKINMK - your kink is not my kink (and that's okay)" have all but disappeared from lexicon and culture. Where in the past we used to scroll past things we didn't like, kids now feel the need to call it out to prove themselves morally superior and unproblematic. They don't care that most of the time the space is NOT FOR THEM, they ignore all of the 🔞emojis and "MDNI" warnings, because of this fundamental misunderstanding that the internet is not always by default going to be palatable for them. Internet culture has destroyed any sense of 'if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it' which used to be more normal (though that didn't mean people still didn't label every fic with NO FLAMES PLZ!!!11!)

Because of this lack of 'fandom etiquette', because of this misunderstanding of how the internet works and historically has been, because of this instinctive reaction to immediately disapprove of and attack content they viscerally dislike, instead of ignoring it, this is giving rise to puritanist views and talking points amongst LGBT+ youth, minors, and antis. They are literal minors who are literally not even relevant to these conversations and concepts, as most of them are R18, inserting themselves where they aren't wanted into discussions on and posts about things that they consider sexually deviant or immoral. Because they are CHILDREN. Of COURSE they don't like this content!

I'm not a psychologist, but I wonder if developmental phases are playing a part here. Like, when you learn to differentiate concrete and abstract thinking, the ability to understand nuance and separate fiction from reality. A lot of these antis are literally too young to be able to understand some of these conversations, but don't understand this, and don't understand why they should not be involving themselves in these R18 areas that are clearly designated NOT FOR THEM, because "it's on the internet and I can find it easily, so therefore it's applicable and valid for me to have an opinion on this!"

And all of this culminates into what we are seeing now as the anti phenomenon. So TL;DR -

The internet is a panopticon. Everything you post can be viewed by everyone. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone is encouraged to voice those opinions. Opinions now must always be morally superior and unproblematic, or you risk being cancelled.

Minors are coming across content on sites they are on that is not relevant to them, and ignore R18 warnings and MDNIs to insert themselves into these spaces to give their opinion, because they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the internet is and how it works, due to a lack of internet safety.

This means that common fandom culture/etiquette is being lost, and all of this is giving rise to youth parroting what they don't realise are puritan talking points and arguments against sexual deviance, morality, kink, and encouraging censorship. Which may or may not be exacerbated by the psychological developmental phases they are going through, which could be affecting their ability to understand abstract concepts and nuance, such as separating fictional morality and real life morality when it comes to taboo/dark/kink concepts in fan spaces.

(BTW many of my talking points above are thanks to @rainystudios' amazing academic papers which should definitely be checked out by anyone interested in this.)

#fan studies #fandom studies #fan culture #fandom culture #proship #proshipper #fandom history #fandom meta #fandom

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actofgrxce · 7 months

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So, OFMD is my all time favorite show and I am in love with every single character and have been wanting to try and join the fandom as Stede Bonnet, but I am SO nervous. Only because you, and several others, are just so incredible and I am intimidated but ahhh, I want to do badly write as my pirate princess. Any advice? Or just go for it? I’ve been writing for years, but graphics/theme making are not my forte.

Hey, friend!! Thanks for the kind words!!

I would just GO for it, with the understanding that there's a learning curve to the "rp etiquette" of Tumblr (and some users, as is the way with social media, will be more forgiving and flexible with "mistakes" than others). I would introduce yourself, as you have done here, to people who seem fun and chill, and express your interest in interacting with them IC. 1) Tell them you would be writing Stede. 2) Read their rules page (usually there is a pinned post at the top of a writer's blog offering a mobile-friendly link to their rules, which is basically how they prefer to interact with other writers, how often, in what format, what the writer's or "mun's" triggers are, etc) and tell them that you have: this seems to be a real sign of good faith around here. 3) Collect a small list of people (maybe 4 or 5) to start with, and follow them. If your rp blog is a "sideblog" to a main account, also let them know that, so that when a non-rp blog (you) follows them, they know who the heck it is! I cannot underscore enough how important it is to find people with whom you jive ooc, as yourselves. It simply will not be fun if you don't. So take your time with this part! 4) Make your blog. Customize your theme as much or little as you like, but a good rule of thumb is to at least make an "About the Muse" page (muse's story), a "Rules" (do's and don't's of interacting with you) page, and a "Verses" (discrete story timelines, usually grouped by how much you adhere to canon or by romantic "ships") page. Your muse is a "canon" muse: that is, a muse that already exists in the official fandom universe. 5) If you don't have it already, GET XKIT REWRITTEN (a browser extension that lets you alter Tumblr's increasingly perplexing and user-unfriendly interface, lol. There are versions for both Chrome and Firefox. 6) Start writing. You rp on Tumblr by reblogging a person's IC (in-character) post to your blog, and adding a text reply. They then reblog you. And so on and so forth. Here is where you consult their rules page to know things like: are they okay if I trim posts? Are they okay with me dm'ing them to ask for replies? What's the most courteous way to use tags in order to easily find past writing or filter my blog? How explicit can writing with this partner get re violence or s*xual themes? Etc. Everyone is different.

Re making your blog fancy: You do NOT need to be well-versed in Photoshop, themes and coding in order to run a blog. A lot of people now rp on Tumblr Mobile, where theme graphics don't show up anyway. Those who still use graphics vary, but most of us really don't care if our writing partners use them as long as we can continue to do so.

However, if you're still anxious, I've got a couple graphics and rpg sources right off the bat that can help you tremendously:

@poohsources (your one stop shop for EVERYTHING theme, icon, rp etiquette, formatting, etc related. A very kind soul) @octomoosey (best free blog theme coder on Tumblr!)

and if you're willing to pay for codes and graphics, I can also recommend a few good friends.

Also, if you have further questions, come to me. My anonynous ask option is usually on. <3

(Anyone reading this, feel free to add on your suggestions!)

#ooc #psa #rp advice #our flag means death rp

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feeshies · 1 year

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1 and 7?

and happy valentine's day nxsjsksj

Happy Valentine's day lol

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

I feel like I can't answer this with Metalocalypse lol. My two biggest ships are 1. between two characters who only share 2 scenes together (and one of them is basically a onesided rock opera Zoom call), and a three-way relationship with a canonically married couple + a third character who never interacts with either of them and died the episode he was introduced. This show stopped making material in 2013. We had to make do.

And generally, even if I don't like a ship, I can usually understand the appeal if I think about where the fans are coming from. I don't have to personally get it or even like the portrayal. But it's not that I can't fathom it.

But anyway, this is a Sanubis hate blog. Yeah I "get" the appeal of making an edgy vaguely goth love interest for the teen protagonist. But did Rick have to use one of the pantheon's most fascinating deities to accomplish that? First I was hopeful because tkc was one of the few properties that actually established him as the god of funeral rites instead of the god of death (serious pet peeve of mine), but then it becomes blatantly obvious that he's just there to be a love interest. And even if that wasn't excruciating, any fun dynamic he and Sadie have just vanishes after the first book. He used to be kind of awkward and rigid -- which makes sense because he's a 5000 year old deity who spends most of his time around dead people. But why is he wearing a leather jacket and combat boots??? Why does he dress like me?? Is that how he greets the souls before he leads them to the next world? If your ancient Egyptian funeral god can be easily cosplayed by me, you fucked up. But also, that awkwardness is gone by the next two books and he just becomes a love interest. The lost potential is frustrating. Sadie spends most of her arc grieving her dead mother, and one of the most central relationships she has is with a funeral god. That should have been brought up more. And, I shouldn't have to say this, BUT SADIE WAS 12-13 YEARS OLD. Get away from her!

That's it lol.

7. Is there anything you used to like, but now can’t stand?

Eh, I tend to keep a soft spot for my previous fandoms.

P/jo has frustrated me as of late, but that's mostly because the fandom doesn't seem to understand tag etiquette and it's impossible to find TKC stuff on any website because of that. But I still love the series.

#rr crit #just in case because i...kind of went on longer than i meant to

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peppertaemint · 1 year

Text

Fandom dynamics really do differ across groups, and I side eye anyone trying to say otherwise. The kpop fandoms I've found to be the most toxic are EXO, BP and BTS. NCT has subfandoms plus an overall fandom, and each subfandom is different, but Dream's fandom gives the most "bts army" vibes.

The rivalry between Dream fans and 127 fans is on-going, and it reminds of what we're now seeing between BTS army, NewJeans fans and Le Sserafim fans. Having rivalries within the company is actually an old marketing method - it keeps the customer base diverse as different brands attract different people, who feel they're making a choice that reflects them, when all the money goes to the same parent company.

Interestingly, NCT 127 fans are very upset at various things currently (concepts, promotions etc), and their fans made a twitter poll to decide whether to boycott the group entirely over it. 💀 They didn't decide to do that (last I saw) but the orderliness of their discontent was interesting. Also the extremes they seemed willing to go to make their points.

Shawols remain incredibly pretentious (guilty as charged) with a superiority complex. I've never seem so many etiquette guides and gentle conflicts in my life. People go on [rest] over the online equivalent of someone looking at them the wrong way, lol. And I've seen people genuinely distressed over being blocked. Sigh. God forbid you use your lightstick at the wrong time or arrive late to an event. You will be written about on Twitter with your exact row number given. 💀

Solo fan groups function like a more intense version of NCT's subfandoms, because they create separate, conflicting agendas within a larger system. As a JK "bias" I am always first to admit JK fans 9/10 can be found crying in the corner. They (we?) will get butthurt and not make it anyone else's problem per se. Other solo fans, not so. I think PJMs fascinate me the most because I think like Jimin himself, you can't really slot them into one category. Hard to pin down, full of the unexpected. I won't mention Tae fans because that will get me in trouble.

Taemin fans are split between insular, true "solo" fans and those that lean toward SHINee or SuperM. I think they are similar to JK fans but spend less time in the corner and more time creating problems. They will watch old content and decide TM was sexually assaulted or insert him into anything and everything.

I'm exaggerating to make my point but basically I really don't buy the idea that all fandoms are the same, and that some are just worse because of the sheer number of people who are fans. I think that's an excuse. All fandoms have toxic behaviour or "bad" behaviour but they are not the same.

#fandom thoughts #kpop #kpop fandom #this is meandering but oh well

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mariaiscrafting · 3 years

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ahhhh ty ty ty <3

ok, so I think that what makes Dream act this way (iykyk) is how dreamwastaken became so big so quickly. and by quick I mean fucking lightning speed.

he didn't have enough time to learn enough about cc etiquette, especially in these three aspects: influence, boundaries and fanbase/stans/whatever you call it. I'll try to explain it:

• Influence: Does he know the influence he has? Like, when he hears that he is the myct with the largest fanbase, does he really process that? I remember he talked about not being able to control all of his fanbase and there's bad apples everywhere -- which is true, and that only like 1% of his fanbase breaks his boundaries (that include sending hate for him, harassing, doxing, etc. yk, basic twitter culture lol) but, honey, with your big ass fanbase, 1% is still a lot of people. As a content creator you *have* to be aware of that.

let's take the hbomb situation. First off, as a streamer, it's you that set the mood of the stream. Even if he was only messing around with his pals, even if they did say to do not send hate to hbomb, dt dunking on him created a toxic environment, which caused his fans being toxic towards hbomb and you know what happens next. Hell, when this happened, I was watching Tapl and he was watching them and he was crying laughing over them screaming bc they were just. so loud and so aggressive that it was kinda ??? Sirs, this is literally a Minecraft Stream lmaooo

my point is, that was not the road that dreamwastaken, 21M fans, should've taken. he don't condone his fans actions but he knows his fans are diehard and will always be on his side, he should be more careful before stating negative opinions, especially if its towards another person.

• Boundaries and Fanbase: He posted a list of his boundaries a while ago, idk if you know or seen it (btw please george copy your bestie for the love of god <3) but I'm not talking about those boundaries, I'm talking about the basic boundaries between cc and viewer. boundaries that, in my opinion, should exist between cc and viewer. I get that Dream is an open person, an oversharing type of open person if I may add, but I think he should take a step back regardless. When I heard that he was taking a time from twitter, I genuinely got so glad, not because he couldn't start any drama then, but because it would do so so good for his mental health. I'm not even that fond of him, it's just that for me, any cc taking a break or outright leaving twitter is a win for me. I know how RSD is hard to deal and honestly letting shit out it's better but dream you have dt you have bbh so please don't make things worse online 😭 I know how good can be to feel validation from millions of people but. it's not a good idea, especially in the state that his fanbase is on rn (this topic is kinda sensitive to talk abt for me bc people be outright ableist and hide it as criticism like. say that shit's not helping his reputation and whatever without acting like he's fucking. manipulating his fanbase for being affected by his rsd💀 or, on the other hand, don't say that hes just being adhd🤪 when he's just being an asshole like damn that's a Him thing bro lol)

(omg it's so big I'm so sorry and theres a part two I'm so sorry tumblr user messed-up-gal ToT) - morango 1/2

pt. 2:

Dream is the proof that the people who loves you can be your downfall. istg. Have you noticed that every drama that Dream enters, people usually get more mad abt how his fanbase reacts (85% they'll react in a bad way) than Dream himself? it's not always, but its definitely more likely. I'm not saying Dream is saint, he Is petty and his ego does him dirty and made him choke multiple times before,, But! i dont think hes a bad guy. he's literally just a dude. ok, he's a 21yr old white gamer man that has a trumpie past (maybe?? idk. I think hes cured now ig lol) so he's bound to do some shitty things but he still tries to get better and hopefully he'll mature. 21 is old enough but it's still so young, yk? I kind of lost my mind during the end and my eyes are literally begging to be closed so tl;dr: Its gonna be hard for him to become a better cc bc his fans don't let him be criticized (by infantilizing his adhd symptoms or the mob mentality as soon as someone says anything abt him), the honest criticism get lost between lies from antis that don't know shit, he still has a lot of growing up to do and overall he became famous too fast and he needs to learn things even faster bc as soon as there's not a single one dream hater on sight they'll turn their back and attack him instead lmao I hate twitter i definitely have more to say but I'm tired and my memory is shit. just-- hate dream if you want, love dream if you want, nobody is obligated to have an opinion but I wanted to express mine. have a lovely day! -morango 2/2

Aight, there's a lot to unpack here, so Imma try to only go into the points I have something to add to (here's what I talk about in each paragraph, if you want to jump to a specific point):

Speed of Dream's rise to fame

The "bad apples" in the Dream fanbase

Post-MCC HBomb stream

Not condoning versus actually condemning his fans

Manipulation & RSD

Criticism of Dream, his fanbase, and his brand

The “just a dude” argument, flipped

First, I agree that one of the many factors that has resulted in the current image Dream has set up for himself, the way his fanbase functions, the ways people hate on him, and the way the Dream brand functions, is the speed of his rise to fame. It's unique, and there are probably a hundred social/psychological angles that could be used to examine the exact effects of that speed upon all of these facets of the Dream Name; did rapid fame beget the rapid rise of unrighteous hatred, did those waves of hatred then instigate the rise of a surprisingly overdefensive fanbase, did that rapid fame get to his head and/or result in an inability to appropriately handle all the after-effects of rapid fame, etc.? That point you bring up, about how the speed of his rise to fame requires him to learn even more quickly, is so interesting to me. I think that maybe Dream expected to get pretty famous pretty quickly, hence the preparedness in regards to some mechanics of influencer fame- merchandise, business-building, networking, knowing how to manage his fanbase to best benefit him. But I don't think he expected to get this famous this quickly. This is all speculation of course, as are this entire post and your ask, but I think that he just couldn't anticipate having to learn how to handle enmasse controversy, waves of antis, or every Youtuber speculating/knowing about him; and yeah, that results in him having to learn all of these things very quickly, lest he allow his whole brand and fandom to fall apart.

Second, I disagree with the frequent argument that Dream's fanbase is only marginally toxic. Personally, I think that the circumstances of Dream's fame, his personality and management of his fanbase, and his brand of content have resulted in the very specific kind of stan that Dream stans are. I don't think this is simply a case of "all fandoms have a small percentage of assholes who take it too far;" rather, the nature of the community itself breeds the kind of mentality of "an asshole who takes it too far." I only even know this because I was a Dream fan (kinda a stan, I'm ngl). At one time, I watched every single Dreamwastaken & Dream Team video multiple times; I listened to the Manhunts on repeat, as though they were podcasts; I followed mostly smiletwt and dttwt accounts on mcyttwt; I had upwards of 10 tabs for AO3 DNF fics open on my phone at a time; I watched DNF and Dream Team Being A Family-esque compilations on repeat; I watched every George and Sapnap alt stream I possibly could; I went out of my way to defend Dream against Redditors and Twitter antis regarding the cheating scandal. For the latter half of 2020, and a couple months of 2021, I lived and breathed this part of the fandom; so when I say that Dream stans are a whole other breed than any other kind of mcyttwt stan, I say that because I used to be like that, too. I usually use parasocial very loosely or ironically, but Dream stans are genuinely one of the most parasocial fanbases I have ever seen or been a part of. The level of investment Dream stans have in this man's life, the lengths they will go to to defend him, the amount of psychonalysis and digging they do on his life and character, the amount of emotion he can evoke in them- it's taken to another level, man. This isn't just characteristic of a fraction of his fanbase; this is what the fanbase is like as a whole.

Third, I partially disagree with your take on the HBomb thing, but not in the way one might think? I actually empathize with the way they reacted much more than I thought I would, simply because I suspect I have RSD (also suspect I have ADHD, have for several months now) and I can see myself getting insanely frustrated because of something like that. Like yeah, it was "just a MC stream" or "just an MC game," but that's kinda disregarding the fact that something that might seem like "just a [insert inconsequential thing]" to a rational mind might have a major emotional consequence/take a major emotional toll on someone with RSD, or really anyone who gets easily impatient/angry about video games (Sapnap reminds me of many of my friends, in that way). The issues I, personally, had with the way they handled the HBomb situation is that these are simply explanations and reasons for my empathy; they are not excuses. I have no excuse when I get irrationally angry about something inconsequential in my own life, for a couple of reasons. One, because I am an adult and I need to learn how to handle my reactions and manage my own anger. Two, because as someone with many mental problems, it is my responsibility to learn coping mechanisms to ensure my own emotional stability and livelihood; this includes learning whatever I need to handle RSD- whether that be isolating myself from others when I know I will become violently/passionately angry about something, creating and sustaining a support system that can get me through bouts of extreme emotion, finding healthy emotional outlets for my negative emotions that won't harm myself or others, or a combination thereof. I don't think what they said about HBomb post-MCC was an irreversibly horrible thing, or anything. I think there were errors committed by two men who should be fully capable of foreseeing and preventing those errors, but I don't unconditionally hate Dream or Sapnap for the post-MCC stream or comments. I just wish they had made amends quickly, publicly, and sufficiently, because the greatest consequences from the whole thing weren't even from those two criticizing HBomb themselves; they were from the waves of backlash because of their immense influence on the MCYT fandom, which could've been prevented, if they had acted maturedly and responsibly after the stream.

Fourth, you’re right, that he doesn’t seem to condone his fans’ behavior. I detest the frequent anti argument that one of the reasons Dream should be criticized is because he explicitly uses his fanbase to attack others, or something of the sort. Personally, I think he created his fanbase in a very specific way and interacts with them in such a way so as to benefit him as much as possible, yes, but he never actually tells his fanbase to go and yell at or harrass anyone. Still, there is a significant difference between not condoning something and condemning something. It might seem unfair, and it might be annoying of me to say this, but I truly think that someone with this large a fanbase, especially one as overzealous as Dream’s, needs to be condemned every single time it goes on some kind of rampage/harrassment campaign. Either that, or Dream needs to make a definitive, permanent statement against any kind of harrassment of others on his behalf. I know he’ll occassionally make the odd tweet or serious stream addressing something his fanbase did, but one of the many reasons his fanbase keeps doing the same damn thing is because he’s so lukewarm and spotty about this condemnation. A fanbase like his needs to be given explicit guidance and boundaries for the numerous things they do in his defense- harrassing/doxing antis, harrassing people who criticize him who aren’t antis (respectful criticism, other CCs, other MCYT stans, etc.), harrassing the people he critcizes (i.e., HBomb), speculating about his personal life (his relationship with his gf, his mental health/ADHD, his romantic life, his childhood, etc.), and speculating about his relationships with his friends and colleagues. My personal ideology is that, if you have significant influence over someone or a group of people, you are at least somewhat responsible for the things those people do or don’t do, if it at all relates back to you. I’m so fucking tired of the argument that CCs aren’t responsible for what their fans do. Obviously they aren’t responsible for every single one of their fans, and obviously they can’t fully control their fans at the end of the day. But I think there are certain things that reach such a level of extremity that does make those CCs responsible. This can be measured by either scale or intensity; that is to say, if a CC’s fanbase does things on an extremely large scale, or one person from/a fraction of the fanbase does something really extreme, then the CC is made all the more responsible. Another CC I’ve always had trouble discussing with other people on this subject is Pewdiepie, in particular, about the extremists in his fanbase. Because the things a small handful of his fans have done in reference to him and/or in his name were so fucking extreme, I thought Pewdiepie had to take at least some responsibilty. Along a similar vein, because the things Dream’s general fanbase does are so widespread and on such a massive scale, Dream has to take at least some responsibility.

Fifth, okay. Hmmm. I want to tackle this point you made about the ableism he faces in some criticism of him carefully and with empathy, but not coddling. One, I do think a lot of the criticism he receives for the ways he handles criticism (post-cheating Tweets, reactions to John Swan, post-MCC HBomb stream, etc.), disregard his RSD and can be oftentimes ableist. I’ve actually encountered people irl who criticize this aspect of Dream’s character, and have had to explain to them their disregard for how ADHD/RSD affect neurodivergent people’s reactions to criticism. But - and this is a big, and very controversial but - I think mentally ill/disordered people can 100% leverage their mental illness/disorders for the sake of manipulation. This is actually something I’ve learned from a psychiatrist, regarding the ways people I know and I handle our anxiety and depression. This manipulation can be unwitting or intentional, but it is entirely possible, and the possibility shouldn’t be entirely dismissed as ableist. Living with a mental illness or disorder that others know about/that you are very public about puts you in an interesting position to receive frequent sympathy, empathy, and/or pity. I’m not saying that empathy for Dream having ADHD/RSD is entirely unjustified; on the contrary, I have frequently expressed how I can relate to his ADHD symptoms and have defended him for expressing those symptoms, both on mcytblr and in real life. I am saying that Dream fans tend to use his ADHD as a kind of shield for a lot of criticism levied against him, including the supposition that he could be manipulating his fanbase to defend him because of his public expressions of RSD. So yes, my theory is that Dream knows how to levy every aspect of his life for his personal gain and for the growth of his brand, and that includes his ADHD. I think he has courage for his openess about his ADHD, I think his openness has contributed to the rise in awareness of mental health and empathy for neurodivergent people within Gen Z, and I think at least some of his expressions of RSD publicly/online weren’t intentionally made public. All that being said, I also think he has to know just how much his fanbase cares about defending him for his ADHD, and I think he has to know that some of the things he does related to his neurodivergence endear him to his audience, in a coddling, baby-ing, mildly ableist sorta way. Maybe this is all incredibly presumptuous of me. Of course, I can never know the real intentions behind any Dream video, Tweet, or stream. Maybe I’m just projecting, because I can see myself doing just this, if I had the maturity I had circa 2018-2019. Idfk know, man.

Sixth, I actually agree with you here, people probably do get more mad at his fanbase than him. Dream puts out content pretty seldomly, considering the frequency of content output for other Youtubers/streamers in his field/at his brand size. And yet, he has received masses of criticism. Considering that the things Dream himself does/says do not entirely correlate with the amount of criticism he receives, I think it’s a logical assumption that a lot of that criticism actually goes back to the size of his presence online, rather than the man himself. That is to say, because of the massive community he’s amassed, the exponential growth of his fanbase, their presence on every single social media site and in virtually every single Internet space/fandom, and the size of his metaphysical presence in his fields, Dream is much bigger than the man himself, so the criticism he receives will, at least in part, be a direct or indirect result of all these other aspects of the Dream brand. Something I don’t think many Dream fans/stans, or even most MCYT fans in general, understand, is that Dream isn’t just “one guy” in the eyes of the Internet- at least, not anymore. He hasn’t been for nearly a year. Like Pewdiepie, Mr. Beast, and other CCs who have amassed similar levels of fame and wealth via Internet content creation, Dream is a brand now, and most people will treat him as such. He isn’t just some uwu soft boy playing Minecraft anymore. He is on a whole other level from any other MCYT in his friend circle or colleague interaction bubble. His words will never again live in a vaccum or private bubble, his friend circle will never again be under anything less than intense scrutiny, his past actions will never again be simple mistakes or silly errors, his words will never again be casual tweets or streams for laughs among a couple thousand followers. Dream’s name represents something much bigger than just the one man. As such, all aspects of his brand, including his fanbase, will tie back to him and, ultimately, to any general criticism of him.

I’m not saying I like any of this, and I actually think the evolution of influencers from people to a marketable brand with similar mechanisms, responsibilities, and liabilities as a corporation is some kind of late capitalism nightmare fuel; I’m just stating my own observations and theories as to why so much anti-Dream criticism seems to be directed at his fanbase, rather than him.

Seventh, he’s just a guy, you’re right, but I think a lot of the antis on Tumblr understand this more than you know. As I’ve seen it, the sentiment among much of the “DSMP stans DNI” crowd seems to be that of “Dream/other MCYTs are such ‘bad’ people, so why do their fans stick to these mediocre, racist men, when there are so many better people to watch/better content to consume?” We know this argument is flawed for many of the obvious reasons - the conflation of all MCYTs’ actions regardless of individual identity, the equating of a CC’s fanbase’s morality to that of the CC they enjoy watching, the exxageration of any error MCYT CCs have committed as bigotry/racism, the fundamental misunderstanding and misinformation that led antis to believe this exxageration of the facts, etc. But I want to focus on the general, underlying sentiment of, “why not watch someone better, when your creator is problematic?” Sometimes, I ask this of Dream stans. Yes, being mildly ignorant, getting involved in the scandals Dream has, and being a right-leaning/libertarian centrist in the recent past all seem like harmless things, all things considered. One could say Dream isn’t nearly as bad as many antis who are misinformed seem to believe, and that there are much worse CCs Dream stans could be watching and creating fan content for. But I think what Tumblr antis wonder is, aren’t there also much better MCYTs/CCs people could be watching and stanning? Because he’s just some guy, right? Is his content truly so exceptional or is he really so exceptional a person, that people have to stick by him, despite the things that spike up regarding his current or past actions? I think that’s what made me finally decide to stop watching Dream. I realized he was just Some Guy. The Dream Team was a comforting dynamic to indulge in, DNF was a cute ship to read and speculate about, and Manhunts were fun videos to watch; however, once the Reddit posts came out and I read them in-depth, the cost-benefit analysis tipped over to the “not worth it” side for me. I realized Dream’s content, while fun and comforting, was not entirely unique, and wasn’t worth sticking around for, given what I then knew about his past political leanings. If he is just Some Guy, then there are a hundred more like him out there. There a hundred more ships, a hundred more found family dynamics, a hundred more entertaining and skilled Minecraft players. So while I agree with you on the point of people being allowed to love him regardless because he is just a guy, at the end of the day, I think that, if we are to believe that sentiment or use that argument in such a manner, we should also understand the flip side- that, if he is just some guy, why is it worth sticking around? To that I say, maybe because people just enjoy the simple things they enjoy.

Anyways, I wholly agree with your tl;dr. Thanks for that insanely long ask, this was a fun thing to keep me occupied while I’ve been at work, facilitating Zoom sessions this whole morning.

#ive been writing this on and off since 830 am est SHEESH #dreamwastaken #dream critical #eh i think im relatively lenient of him here given my past posts ab him #but still just in case the blacklist tags for yalls convenience:#discourse #/neg #asks #long post #long posts #this a LONG one bois #morango

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ackermanshoe · 3 years

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I'm the original anon you're so mad at. The reason why I haven't reached out to express my feelings is because i don't want to interact. It's as simple as that. The only issue I'll share now is the fact that you're all saying you're entitled to your opinions. Why, then, am I not entitled to mine? It's as frustrating to me at it has to you. Also, another issue is that your stuff is being spread through reblogs, so I see it even if I don't follow you, and blocking doesn't do anything for rbs.

For fucks sake why is it always 5 in the morning when I have to use my head the most. Anyways I said I wanted nothing more to do with this drama because frankly we all seem to want the best for rivamika.

But for starters you're not only saying we are toxic ( and that we are not even aware of it), you basically said we are ruining the fandom, you've not made your issues clear ( like what is it so wrong that we've doing that's really bringing the rm fandoms rep down??) But you also implied we aren't helping the community and other anons ( maybe yourself ) have gone to my friends inboxes as anons and accused them of these things and more. Why should I respect these kind of opinions when I clearly don't see how any of whatever me or my friends have done is worth being called "toxic" and everything else you guys said?

Yeah your entitled to your opinion which is why you shared yours and I did I say you couldn't? And if that opinion is of me or the people closest to me in the fandom, I have every right to speak on it.

If you don't want to reach out to me, that's hardly my problem because I'm willing to sit down and talk and even stop doing shit if it means y'all will stop this division between inside the fandom. I don't fucking understand why my friends have to apologise for simply doing what's the norm? And I'm sorry (??) We didn't read the shippers guide basic etiquette thing because for me, I've never been into a shipping fandom as I've been with rivamika. I don't understand why my friends should feel like leaving the fandom they love so much because some anonymous ask won't specify the things we've done to receive such words. Surprise surprise I'm also sick of seeing these shady ass anon asks and comments CLEARLY made about some specific people and the weird energy that is created by them.

And as for seeing my posts or reblogs, what do you want me to do? First you don't want me to express my thoughts and feelings on certain things even if it does stay within my own blog now do you want me to tell people to stop reblogging my posts? It's funny how last time this shit happened last month I said sorry if you had to see my content through my reblog but I'm not sorry anymore. If you can't ignore what you dont like and yet you want me to do the same thing with the antis asks and comments,,um,, don't you see your own hypocrisy?

Don't you see that your no better, you're just as toxic as I and everyone else and that is not an opinion, that is the uncomfortable truth.

The only difference between you and I is the fact that I've never expressed an opinion on you before now that could've effected you in a bad way. I've never said you people are whats bringing the downfall of your own beloved fandom. You do realise that most of us here are just to share and consume content and the fact that we get called these things you guys say fucking hurts?

I can't speak for everyone but I've never felt at home in any other community before rivamika and everyone here are the nicest people online nowadays and the last thing I wanna do is leave this community. But if YOU could be more honest you would want us to leave. I'm sorry if I sound hostile in this post, I'm tired both physically and tired of seeing this bs get dug up from the dirt over and over again.

If blocking doesn't do anything for reblogs doesn't it mean the people who reblog my stuff also agree with me which means that if you shouldn't be engaging with them in the first place if you know that they share the views as me 🤔

#ackermanshoe #dont ask ackermanshoe #god what has this come to

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wyn-n-tonic · 2 years

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hi yeah, about that "oh i don't want to bother her" post- i want to tell you and show you how much i love you and your writing all the fucking time. i don't really stop thinking about how cool authors like you in this fandom are, and sometimes i forget i can actually do things like express the sheer joy you give me, it feels wrong almost (i just recently turned 18 and was introduced to this whole fandom shortly after. this circle is full of really mature and developed blogs of people in like their mid 20s and 30s, and while i may know basic fanfic etiquette of "let the author know you like their stuff", i just never think, even though i'm technically allowed to interact with them now, that they would feel comfortable with, care about, or value what i have to say cuz im probably still just a kid to them) but right now i'm trying to get over that and actually give you a fraction of the love you deserve cuz it doesn't seem like you get enough these days. so, hey! in the brief time that i've been here you've been one of the lights of my life as a writer, definitely in my top 3 of day to day comfort fics, your stuff is some of the most entertaining and thought-out shit i've read, and i hope that you know how cool you are not just as a creator but as a person. thank you for existing, and for letting me bring my long winded ted talk to you

um, bestie, holy shit this was the nicest thing and i'm so happy you're here! and look, yeah... for a lot of us, you are still just a kid. but you're allowed to be here. i remember lying about my age to consume things when i was younger but i never spoke to the creators because i didn't want to get in trouble or get them in trouble. but turning eighteen was like this weird in between world where i was an adult and i wanted to be treated that way but i was also still a kid and that's how others treated me.

so like, happy belated birthday! don't be afraid to dip your toe into the waters of things you like or think you might like or want to explore. just do so safely and make sure you read the warnings in order to protect yourself because only you know your limits.

i think that everybody has something valuable to say no matter their age. i think it's really cool that you took this leap to talk to me even if it's just on anon and i do care about this because this is seriously one of the sweetest things i've ever gotten. it's crazy to think that somebody thinks i'm cool.... can you tell my little sisters that?

gosh, i'm gonna be thinking about this for a while. this was so lovely. thank you!

#ask o #holy shit this was so nice

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thatpinkbetch · 4 years

Text

I'm going to answer it this way, because I'm actually not a fan of some of those, and I've heard this is the way to do it if you don't want it ending up in the tag or the search I think? If i censor any of the ship names it's not out of malice! I simply don't want any of this to end up in front of eyes that just want to enjoy their ships 💖💖💖 if there is anyone who doesn't want to see opinions against t*d*d*ku, k*r*b*ku, or even iz**ch*ka, please don't read any further! Oh my goodness i hope this is all legible...

Anyways, hello!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I love talking about my opinion avkvmsocnaocjsoxks it also makes me really happy you like my blog 🥺🥺🥺 (I hope this answer doesn't ruin that avskvneognsocjs)

I'll start out by confirming that I'm not a multishipper. It makes me excited to see how the act of shipping itself can make others happy, but it's just not that way for me. I actually never read fanfic until I got into bnha (bkdk is just that powerful 😁😁) I'm actually...a little serious when i ship, or when i enjoy media, i analyze pretty heavily, so also, if that doesn't sound like anyone's cup of tea, i would once again recommend to stop reading and enjoy your day please!

I love analyzing characters and storylines and dynamics, but i will admit, I'm not a fan of most of the ships - not romantically. I think all the characters have interesting relationships to each other, all of the kids are great friends, and I love bonds and friendships so much 🥺🥺🥺

Those first two are perhaps the biggest, at least they definitely were the biggest when I first entered. Once i caught up, I didn't really understand the enthusiasm, but people have fun shipping, so that's nice! I think of those two as easy ships, if that makes sense? They're pretty simple, and easy to digest.

I personally am not a fan of romantic t*d*d*ku for a very specific reason; it feels weird to me for Todo to immediately fall in love with the first person who's ever shown him kindness (since his mother of course). Todo had never had any friends, nor any want for friends, obviously because of the abuse he faced as a child. Mido was his first exploration at a life outside of his father, a life he got to make for himself, it just doesn't feel right to me that he should immediately think "oh, is this romantic love? Is this the one and only for me?" Well, perhaps a teenager might think that way, but i don't think that's actually how he feels deep down, and I'm sure that's something a lot of us have to learn as we grow (I've definitely struggled with my own understanding of romance for the past 8 years). I think he still is trying to learn how to socialize and to make friends and to be a friend (and he's doing SUCH a good job!) But to immediately plunge into romance, which can be complicated, i don't think that would be right for him. I hope that makes sense! I know they're a very cute ship, which makes for fun! But again, I can be a little serious when i ship...

K*r*b*ku kind of falls into similar territory for me? Baku definitely had friends growing up, but he's seemed to always have trouble understanding his feelings and where he stands with others, causing trust issues. Kiri is really the first person he knew where he stood with, a person for him to be comfortable with and feel on equal ground, which i think is such a huge and positive role in his life, and i don't necessarily think that it needs to be romantic - for both of these, i think these relationships are incredibly important, to everyone involved, and making them romantic doesn't make them any more important!! In fact, i feel like them as friends actually can offer a more complex, interesting, and human dynamic between these characters, as sometimes people simply default to romance and then end up pushing for the same old tropes and ignore all the intricacies Horikoshi includes in his writing.

Again, I love Mido's friendship with Todo, and I love Baku's friendship with Kiri. I think these relationships are incredibly important, and friends are incredibly important. People who ship them are having fun, which is so lovely, and i hope they continue to have fun! I hope you personally find more fics about them that make you smile and brighten your day 💖💖💖

Iz**ch*ka is a little difficult, because they certainly are cute, separately and together. I thought they were cutest before Ura was told about her potential crush on Mido, when she was simply a source of bubbly energy and positivity that helped Mido open up and feel comfortable around other people. I feel though that, romantically, it's extraordinarily one-sided, and at this point, i have to wonder if they really are "end goal." End goal for shounen, of course, is hardly ever explicit ahzovndlfjsoxo but i feel like a better storyline for Horikoshi to take would be for Ura to realize that she's been confused, and these feelings haven't really been a positive experience for her. I've definitely gone through things like that as a teenager. Now, the ship can be very cute! They're basically the same person, and they're cute and bubbly! But again, it simply isn't for me.

I think Momjirou is very cute!! Of course, as a lesbian, i sense strong lesbian vibes from Momo, and strong bi vibes from Jirou, and I also saw the ship potential ever since the USJ attack - which i think, so did everyone else ahaovndofjsojfsk they're best friends without a doubt, though i have to say, i really like Kamijirou. She just makes him so soft, and he's so in awe of her, and she thinks he's so funny, I love how supportive he is of her, especially since she can be really insecure 🥺🥺🥺

I also think Ura and Tsu are very cute but another easy ship, and i kind of really like Ochamina 🥺 they're both pink and space themed, they're bubbly and energetic and kick ass, and i think they'd be super cute...

I saved todobaku for last, because, you know what they say, best for last! 😇😇😇

I've said it before, but if there was no Mido (impossible obviously, and i would never want that) then todobaku is where my heart would lie. Baku has never really been shown chasing after anyone except for Mido...and Todo, which really gets at my heart. There's a grudging respect there - very, very grudging ahakckdkfjskdk which i find very appealing! Todo is very important to Baku and he has also been able to show Baku some things about himself that he needed to question and reevaluate. Meanwhile, Todo puts up with exactly 0% of Baku's shit, which i find absolutely hilarious. It's funny to me how Baku wishes to intimidate Todo as he does everyone else, and Todo simply does not care. And Baku wants to be mad, and ends up mad that he can't be mad since Todo is a strong and worthy opponent. They just have such an interesting chemistry, there's so much friction, so much tension, and I enjoy it, particularly since they clearly should be friends, would be great friends, want to be friends, but Baku simply won't get over it 😂😂 I do prefer them as friends, but friends that are incredibly close, two people that understand each other on almost a telepathic level, two people that give each other shit while also refusing to take the other's shit.

I do agree that many people in this fandom seem to think their ship stands on some moral high ground? It could be a disconnect from the previous generations of fandom, or it could also be the growing mentality on this site that everything needs to be a battle of moral superiority, and also that what you like is part of your personality, and if someone doesn't like what you like, then they don't like you or that they think you're factually incorrect. I personally have stopped going into the bn/ha tag simply because I don't enjoy, well, many things i find there, and I'm happy with those that i follow. I've definitely seen hatred and invalidation for both LGBT ships and m|w ships, neither of which I'm comfortable with. I definitely don't go off tumblr for fandom stuff because there's practically no acceptance for any same gender ships, or any queer headcanoning, which, I'll be honest, makes me scared, as i am a very anxious person avdkvndkfje i do think it should be noted that we should be as accepting of cishet ships as we are of queer ships - no debate on this one - but again, you are right when you say that many cishet headcanons have been used to invalidate LGBT voices, and any and all allies must always be aware of this! It is much more often that queer voices are silenced, that queer ships are ridiculed, that queer shippers aren't allowed to enjoy or see themselves. And to anybody that doesn't want to be an ally... Whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you doing here ajxkvmdogjdicjsicjsodj I'm gay

I haven't really read much of anything recently, let alone other ships, platonic or otherwise, because energy has been low for me for a long time. I wish i could participate more and support all my friends and other fans, but it's been a bit of a struggle 😣😣😣 I'm so sorry! Something that I can do is make posts and analyses and metas, as those are quick and make me excited, so I'm always happy to respond to asks like these! (I say as i take two hours to write this response...)

I hope people have been taking care of themselves and remember that tumblr is really good at letting you cater to your own interests! I hope if you've made it to the end of this response that you enjoyed it, and you're not mad at me ahsovjekgjsocjwodkso if you are, that's fine, I'm sorry, I probably am really bad at social/internet etiquette and such that help you filter 😣😣

To any who are curious, you cannot change my mind ahdogmdocjdidk thank you to whoever sent this ask!!! A lot of this is a bunch of rambling I've always wanted to talk about but was frankly too scared to post! I hope I made sense and answered everything you were asking!! Please have a good day/night/life!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

#bnha #bkdk #tdbk #also no i dont have a twitter ans i dont want to get one absocndofjwodjaozjsldjai #sorry i just #i can barely keep up with surviving ajsnvondofjskxnsodjsodks #anyways i really really need to go to bed #i should have 2 hours ago....#but you know #this ask got me so intrigued #im serious when i say i like thinking about and writing these things!!!#again thank you so much for asking and im sorry if you didnt get what you were looking for 😔😔😔#asks #long post

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rpbetter · 2 years

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Thank you so much for the super quick reply! This is the same small fandom anon, but I do think I'd enjoy inserting my muse into other canons! He's a huge oddball who's both very secretive and very outgoing and I have a thousand hcs for him, and his canon is pretty much a slice of life, so I think he'd fit a lot of situations and universes... As much as I have a favourite ship with him in his canon, can't exactly go shooting for rps that don't exist at the moment. Do you have any tips on how to get started with a blog, and etiquette on reaching out to other rpers? Thank you so much!

(In response to this answer.)

You are very welcome! I know the turnaround time here can vary, I try to pick some asks a week that I can get done quicker if possible, but that's not always possible. Some responses take more research, reaching out to others for wider experiences, research, or more careful wording, and that can take a lot of time. So, if you ever send something in and I can't get back to you as quickly, never feel like I'm ignoring it! I'm just slow sometimes, I swear.

I am so relieved to hear about your muse! I'm relieved because this sounds like a circumstance in which you could easily integrate him into a wide variety of crossovers, I hate it when it seems like people might not be able to enjoy the muses they want. You also have a great attitude about this! It goes a long way toward having fun when you're willing to be flexible and so reasonable about things. Like with the favorite ship. Of course, it would be wonderful to find someone with that muse to ship with, but since that isn't the case right now, your willingness to put yourself out there for other interactions might very well end up in great ships you never would have thought of happening.

As for getting started with a blog, my best initial tips are to not get too hung up on making the blog perfect right away, make sure that it is accessible, and have the most important information available before you start trying to find partners.

People have an unfortunate tendency to get stuck on the blog's design, stressing themselves out, prioritizing this over getting the important information up, and exhausting themselves. As well as becoming frustrated after they spent a lot of time trying to duplicate their corner of the RPC's preferred aesthetics, only to not have muns beating down the door to interact. Attractive blogs are great, but this idea you'll see floating around the RPC that aesthetics matter more than anything isn't all that correct. If you, as a mun, are coming off as good to interact with and your muse as interesting, that is going to matter more than anything else...and the people who are more interested in your blog aesthetics are not a loss if they feel that way. If they can't love your muse at a basic tumblr theme, they don't deserve your muse at a piece of artwork tumblr theme, right? Right.

If you're not familiar with, or comfortable with, heavier editing of tumblr themes, it's absolutely alright to go with a more basic one that is easier to edit. Even those allow for a pretty good range of customization options. (You can always change the theme later on, too!) You can find themes in a few ways - tumblr's theme gallery, searching for things like "free themes" on tumblr, and visiting the theme makers' blogs linked on other RP blog themes. There are some themes made specifically for RP blogs, but it isn't necessary to use those, any theme that allows customization, has features you personally like, and is a single-column format works out just fine. Neither myself nor any of my partners who have been here even longer than me have ever used a RP specific theme, it's seriously okay not to. And it's seriously okay if you do want to! They tend to require more knowledge to work with, however, and are often geared toward multis. There is also the option of paying for a custom theme, but I would advise that you wait on that until you've gotten established.

You might be familiar with "container themes" from considering RPing here, but in case you're not, they are themes where most of the blog is static and there is a portion of the blog that shows posts or the page you clicked on in the links. This portion is contained in a square or rectangle. These themes can get a bad rap, though not a totally undeserved one, as many RPers make the non-static portion very, very small. They're not all like that! If these themes appeal to you, go with a style that is large enough for those visiting your blog to actually be able to read your posts.

This is a part of overall accessibility. You want to be sure that others can read and navigate the blog, and that you are making it inaccessible to those using screen readers or who might have disorders that eyestrain is a problem for. So, don't use themes that have page links disguised as graphic elements the visitor has to search for to locate. Don't use fonts that are difficult to read because of the style or size, and exercise caution choosing colors. No light colored font on a light background, dark colored on a dark background, or combinations that are incredibly bright.

Do make your blog reflective of your muse if possible by using colors and graphics that give the feeling of your muse, but don't make it an unpleasant place that is impossible to navigate.

It's important to be careful about your tags as well. Pick some tags you'll be using for frequently occurring posts like OOC posts, headcanons, queue, aesthetics, memes, and think about how you want to tag your RP interaction threads. A general format for the latter is to tag the URL of your mutual, give the thread a name often designated by "thread" or "th" in front of it, a tag for whatever verse you are using often designated by "verse" or "v," and if there is a ship, you can tag it with a ship name or phrase as well. You want to use things that allow for clarity in finding your threads again, as well as for others to use filtering if they don't want to see particular users or interactions. If there is material in the RP that is triggering or someone has asked you to tag, tag it as "trigger/topic here tw/cw." For example: depression tw.

Keep it simple, don't use tags that are exceptionally long phrases, use special characters or fancy fonts, as all these things can prevent others from filtering your tags as needed and from searching your blog for posts. Tumblr's search feature is kind of awful anyway, don't give it any reason to be worse! Additionally, many of the things people use to make their tags aesthetically pleasing are a nightmare for those using screen readers. The screen reader will literally read whatever is put there, meaning that if you put repeating elements in, it will keep saying them. It will also pronounce the letters in non-English alphabets that folks seem to think are cool to drop into things for The Aesthetic, and some special fonts, characters, and colors will give a terrible noise only.

Before you begin looking for mutuals and interacting, you need to have some important information available.

Have your rules page completed first! (It's alright to add to them and refine them as you go, you'll probably need to, just let your mutuals know that you've made changes by posting on the dash that you've done so.) Your rules tell others how you RP, what you won't write, need tagged, what they can expect from you, and go over important matters before they're a problem. Include things like what age a mun needs to be to interact with you, if there will be sensitive material on the blog/in the threads, how you should be contacted, if you're mutuals only, topics you won't write and/or need tagged, if you need to be contacted before sending a meme or starter to plot, and so on.

Rules aren't a bad thing, they're a very, very good thing! They make boundaries and expectations clear from the outset and help us better figure out who we might (or might not) work out with well. Unfortunately, you cannot simply put something as to the effect of "just have fun, don't be a dick" on there and call it good. Fun and what constitutes dickish behavior is too variable, and the people who are going to be a problem aren't going to not be dicks just because you tried to be a casual, open, friendly mun who asked them not to be. Give specifics as to what you do not want. That doesn't mean that you have to be hateful or anything, but it's good to have boundaries as a part of cultivating your space so that it's a fun time for you. Muns who act like they're being personally attacked because another mun has rules are enormous red flags. If someone is that bothered by you having boundaries and expectations, especially if they differ from theirs, they were never going to be a good person to interact with.

It's always important to have an information page about your muse, but especially so when that muse might not be a well-known one. You can link to a fandom wiki page for more information, but don't just link and leave it at that. Like your headcanons, information pages tell others how you write the muse. Tell people all the relevant information about your muse you can think of, with a secretive one, you'll want to leave some details out, but can still go over otherwise important aspects of their life. Let them know what makes the muse interesting, who they are as a person, what they look like, their age, occupation(s), likes and dislikes, and significant events in their life that shaped them. On this page, you can link tags for your headcanons or even an about tag for more information.

A verse page is going to be important for this muse, you'll want to have a few options up before interacting. This is where you come up with how your muse fits into other universes and open up the opportunity for those interactions. Pick some fandoms you're interested in doing crossovers with, then consider who your muse is within those fandoms (how are they different here, how are they the same, what canon events shaped them, etc.), and write out some details that make them a natural feeling part of the universe. You can even put down some plot ideas at the end of each to give others stepping stones to interaction. Once you start accumulating headcanons for these verses, you can link that unique tag here for them to get even more ideas.

You want to be certain that these pages are easy to find so that people will actually access them. On tumblr's app and the mobile version of the site it can be difficult to impossible to use regular blog navigation. Making a pinned post that remains at the top of your blog is a great way to provide those links for all users quickly. You can also reiterate on this post some of your most important rules, like age of interaction and your preferred RP style (oneliner, para, multipara, novella).

Regarding approaching others, the best idea is always to go have a look at their rules first.

Most muns will put in their rules how they want to start up RP and be contacted. For example, some want to be contacted only through an ask instead of tumblr's IM, or others don't want to be contacted until they've followed you back and you're now mutuals. If someone is mutuals only and they don't follow back, it's the better idea not to contact them even if they do not have that instruction in their rules.

If everything seems good in the rules as to contacting them, you're both mutuals if required, etc., then approaching politely with an idea is best. Something like, "Hello! I'd love to get something started. I think that my muse's x verse might work out great, if you're interested, we could plot or I could send you a meme, whatever is your preference." If you enjoyed a headcanon of theirs or have come up with an idea incorporating something from their wishlist (or just come up with a good idea in general) definitely mention those things! You want to express that you're interested and like their muse without unintentionally coming off as pushy or like they're going to be solely responsible for coming up with an idea for interaction.

Unfortunately, a hell of a lot of muns have had very nasty experiences anymore. If they come off as a bit cold at first, don't take it personally, they're very likely just playing it safe until they've gotten a chance to get to know you better. Some of those bad experiences have been other muns demanding interaction and refusing to take no for an answer, and it isn't right, but sometimes, the next person can get caught in the crossfire. Don't take things like muns blocking you after declining personally either. They're not trying to be offensive, they're trying to be defensive, minimizing the chance that they'll be treated poorly for declining. And if someone has a bad attitude with you for doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing? Well, at least you found out that this person sucks before you started writing with them! Block them and try not to let it put a damper on things for you.

Again, just read the rules and be sure you're contacting people the way they want to be contacted. You will also run into muns who are either fine with you starting interaction by sending in a starter meme or who prefer that you do so. When you see a meme they've posted that fits with the muses and that you like, go ahead and send it in. I like to contact people first anyway, as I am both neurotic and plot-based only, but if you're comfortable just sending in a starter meme and running with it, go for it!

When following people, it's much the same. Read their rules before following, this makes certain you're not going to have to unfollow as soon as you do read them and see that you're not right for each other. If someone's rules specifically cite aspects of your muse and/or writing as something they don't want to interact with, don't follow them. If they have rules that are contrary to yours, it really depends on the severity of that situation. Are all of them contrary? Don't follow. Only some very important ones? Still, don't follow. Are you willing to compromise on some less important rules that clash, as well as willing to address that with them so they know you are giving their rules preference? Then, yes, go ahead and follow them.

Rules are not always going to match up, but much of the time, that isn't a big deal so long as you're respectful of the differences and communicating with each other. However, what might have seemed like a minor difference to you might be a major one to the other mun. They might not be willing to interact or follow you back. It's just one of those things that happens because we've all got different comfort zones and things that are important to us.

This is one of those (too) many hot button issues in the RPC, but I feel like it is on the follower to adapt to the other blog's rules. I feel that way because the person following read those rules and decided they weren't an impediment to interacting in the first place. No, people shouldn't compromise on critical rules, like not interacting with minors when they have inappropriate content, but they should also have seen that, using that example, the blog was run by a minor, therefore, they haven't any business following. I mean things like seeing that a blog publishes its replies on a queue while you don't usually care for that and have this stated in your rules - in this situation, you knew the other mun was running on a queue, but decided it was worth it to you.

So, if it is a serious difference of comfort zones or the way you otherwise need to enjoy RP, don't follow. If it is something it won't bother you to compromise on and you'll be open about that with the other mun, go ahead and follow. And all of this is relevant because following is first, slightly less passive, form of establishing interaction and approaching another mun for RP. Being aware of the information they've provided you on their blog is a great first step, and once you make contact more directly, you can show them that you have read rules, about pages, verse pages, and/or headcanon posts by including this in your conversation. Mention something you enjoyed about any of these things, it puts people at ease to know you cared enough to actually read what they left for you!

It can take a little bit to find the right group of people, and that can be disheartening. Just know that none of it is personal, and you will find the right people eventually! Many times, all it takes is finding one person who works out great, then, their friends and mutuals are often happy to start interacting with you as well. Keep trying your best, stay positive, and find some sort of RP Side Quests to keep yourself entertained and into the whole thing when you've got few interactions. Things like elaborating on or updating headcanons, making whole new headcanons, exploring your characterization on your own by answering character development questions, writing some one-shots, and checking out new blogs around the RPC.

I think you've got the right outlook to make this work out great for you, and I hope you have a smooth learning experience and find some awesome mutuals quickly to get you started!

#answered #anonymous #post and ask replies #rp advice #tumblr rp #blog creation #mun interaction #getting started #queued

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