#I didn’t get any reblogs or comments until I pitched a public fit about not getting those things

[rpf-bat]

It’s the weekend. I have time to write more Whumpuary fics today.

But I’m kind of stuck in my depression bullshit.

[narutos-buxom-bust]

I generally don’t do this-if anyone has seen my blog, its basically just art reblogs and recommendations for fics I feel have been under-appreicated. But it’s finally happened- I’ve snapped. Thank you to the person I blocked for their lovely take about Kishimoto favoring NaruSasu vs SasuNaru, because you’ve officially broken this camel’s back.

I am a diehard forever switch shipper, but you all have worked so hard to ruin half of a good time. WHY is it always the “NaruSasu” fans who insist on being delusional with their whole-ass chests? And not just delusional, but fucking Rude?? I can’t scroll five minutes in the #sasunaru/#sns/#narusasu tagfeeds without running headfirst into some delulu minor or 20-something bleating about the objective correctness of Sasuke Being a Bottom or Naruto Doesn’t Bathe (??)?? This is not about LIKING Sasuke as a bottom or Naruto as a top- it is about the way ya’ll screech about that being “the most canon/in character” like clowns. Like it matters what a straight man in a still largely bigoted country thinks about your queer ship? Genuinely, I don’t see any “SasuNaru” fans being Like That these days. It’s not because those fans don’t exist- I am on AO3 and I follow fanartists on both sides of the spectrum, so I am aware that no, not “everyone agrees Sasuke is a bottom”! They just know the difference between canon and the fanon Kool-Aid tumblr is drowning in these days. And you don’t even stop there. I see popular “SNS” blogs shitting on fics and art IN PUBLIC- and it is almost ALWAYS “SasuNaru” writers and artists getting that grief with the holier-than-thou preaching about how “out of character” they are- pot meeting the kettle in real time! It shouldn’t have to be said, but don’t trash peoples work in public spaces- whether you name the work/creator or not, we can tell what it is when you choose to go into detail. Your meta post cannot compare to the time and effort it takes to craft an actual fanwork, so maybe just focus on the things you like instead of picking apart other peoples hard work, that they do for free, like you are an art critic and not a random asshole on the internet. And the rest of you engage with those twats like they are gods gift to meta! Still others are getting all up in SasuNaru artists comments and reblogs telling them they “did it wrong” or “draw it the other way” or “Sasuke is too PASSIVE to top anyone” (to steal one of their favorite lines, tell me you didn’t read the manga without telling me you didn’t read the manga). Show me one fucking panel of Sasuke being passive. I’ll wait. Just kidding, I won’t. I have already read your meta, and boy was it lacking. If you think I’m being reactionary here, it’s because I am! I recognize those creators, and they don’t deserve to stumble across that crap you are encouraging. I know NaruSasu creators too who manage to not be in-your-face condescending dickheads. But NaruSasu fandom, come get your children, they are misbehaving. And making you all look bad with your consent.

And the sad thing is, this isn’t even new behavior on “NaruSasu” fans’ part. Ya’ll have been acting fools dividing this fandom since the dawn of the western SasuNaru fandom, when you pitched a fit over the sasuxnaru livejournal community (which supported ALL VARIATIONS of the pairing), because the wrong person’s name came first in a fucking portmanteau. And all it did was make people fucking check and crosspost to both communities anyway, so thanks for that.

All of this, and you’re not even RIGHT. Ffs, like whatever you like and have whatever preferences you want- I DON’T CARE. I have my own! But the delusion that one side or the other is CANON is so genuinely brain-dead I CANNOT EVEN with this fandom anymore. Until Sasuke strolls onto that page and dead ass says “I only take it up the ass” YOU are talking out your ass, and wholly turning me off of interacting with “NaruSasu” content in the process.

“SasuNarus are always self inserts and make Naruto too feminine”- OH how many times have I seen THIS gem reblogged? Too fucking many.

Honey. Do you own a mirror? Because your glass house is showing. Who is it that can’t go two minutes without calling Sasuke a princess wifey queen babygirl these days and waving the Yin/Yang analogy around like its a pride flag. You know who else Kisihimoto applied Yin/Yang symbolism to? Hinata (Yang) and Neji (Yin). That word does not mean what you think it does, stop thumping it like a goddamn bible. That is not how sexual preferences WORK. We get it- Sasuke is pretty and has high cheekbones! 1 + 1 does not equal a born and bred canon bottom no matter how much you want it to. And no, before you say it, I don’t think Naruto is “a bottom”. Your top/bottom-essentialism is BORING.

Again, like and enjoy whatever the FUCK you want! But when you start insisting the things you like are canon and explicitly or implicitly putting down people who like other things, you have lost the plot. This post is for those loud people who can’t stay in their lane, and don’t forget that. SPEAKING OF. Why are ya’ll so obsessed over fighting with NH and SS shippers? It’s pathetic. They are not worth your time, and pretending they are just makes you look defensive and insecure. Like, we all know those are crackships dressed up as canon- who cares if someone ships them? Mind your business. And if they come into your house and start shit- laugh them out of the room. We should feel bad for them, because we all know how lackluster their content is. They are jealous and entertaining their bad behavior just makes you look as silly as them.

And while I’m up and talking about silly people, your “Sasuke did nothing wrong tagline” is a giant red flag.

Sasuke wanted to destroy all of Konoha because of what their government did to his people- you know who else loves a plan like that? Netan-fucking-yahu, you yahoos! Sasuke wanted to do a BAD THING, and it is OKAY TO ADMIT THAT. It doesn’t make him a bad character- he isn’t real (unlike Netanyahu)! I am not even saying Sasuke was wrong about EVERYTHING he did or wanted, and certainly not about his feelings- that is called NUANCE. But jeesuz, if you have to erase all the wonderful nuances and interesting flaws in a character to value them, you don’t ACTUALLY love that character. I cannot take your analysis seriously if you obviously view these complex characters with such black and white goggles. You’re just telling on yourselves and how you don’t actually understand these characters and their narratives. Because don’t even get me started on the meta about Naruto when it comes to SNS as written by “NaruSasu” fans. You hollow that boy out into nothing but sunshine and Sasuke sympathy, because that’s what Sasuke deserves? As if Naruto isn’t a character with his own trauma and needs and flaws? He ISN’T perfect anymore than Sasuke is- and this need to make him into this lifeless Good Guy whose only purpose is to love Sasuke, understand Sasuke, and heal Sasuke’s wounds is such a tragic reduction of his story.

Well, I guess I’ve burned my Naruto sideblog now. I genuinely can’t see myself coming back and doing any more fic recs for this fandom, because I have no desire to appeal to most of you at this point- ya’ll just rec the same five fics over and over anyway, so I already know my time is wasted on your boring asses. Seriously, branch out and support some other creators, maybe, instead of the same three BNFs who while amazing, are not the be all end all of writing in this fandom. If there are any genuinely reasonable shippers left on Tumblr (SN/SNS/NS idfc), ya’ll are too quiet because I haven’t seen evidence of it- and I WISH I did. I came back to Tumblr fandom looking for a community for this ship I love. But buddy, this community sucks. Ya’ll have let the shitheads run wild over this place, and it shows. I think ya’ll have circlejerked yourselves into genuinely believing you have cracked the SNS code with your flimsy fanon, and it is sad to see. Feel free to argue with me in the comments and reblogs or whatever, but you won’t get a response from me- not because I wouldn’t, but because I can’t. If you are someone who felt attacked by the above, I probably already blocked you in my main account at some point and I will not even see your responses. But good riddance, I already know you don’t have any opinions of value to me- you’ve told on yourselves. Anywho, Thank you for coming to my SNS Tumblr Fandom Sucks TedTalk. Glad I finally got all that off my chest. I’m out. As the great Megan thee Stallion once said, “I’m not finna argue with a Sasuke avi”. Looking forward to blocking more folks xx With Love, a random asshole on the internet tired of the assholes pretending NS/SN are different fucking pairings

*Sidebar cw for war in Palestine: And before anyone bothers--free Palestine, the IDF is committing war crimes and U.S. state-sanctioned genocide and have been for 70 years. No nuance there, full stop. I can’t believe I have to fucking say it but I know some moron will try to undermine this discourse with accusations of Zionism, because that is somehow what tumblr fandom has devolved into these days. And don’t bring any fucking antisemitism into this either omg. Rub those two braincells together a little harder, would you? And antis gtfo forever. I will never care what you have to say about anything

[enddaysengine]

Exploring the Manifest Zone - Episode 1: Introduction

Those of you who've been with me since the beginning may recall that I originally started this blog as a way to improve my writing while having some fun exploring different worlds. I'm going to keep that up, but you might also notice that I've started to branch a bit from the original monster descriptions and plot hooks (no duh!). One of the things that I've been doing recently on the Chronicles of Darkness forums has been Let's Reads of various books, including my ongoing review of Parasite Rex. I'm going to keep doing that, but I'm also going to open up my genres a bit, so you can expect to see Let's Watch and Let's Listen segments in the future on various topics and games.

That brings me to Manifest Zone. Manifest Zone is a podcast about Eberron hosted by Wayne Chang, Kristian Serrano, Scott W, and Keith Baker. It is excellent, and while I haven't finished the first episode, I've gotten some fresh new campaign ideas out of it. What I'm going to aim for in the future is to come out with Let's Listen to Manifest Zone catching my initial reaction to the podcast within a week or two of them being released. These thoughts will mostly be just reactions and unedited, so if you want to get a discussion going, feel free to reblog and comment. Manifest Zone also has a Q&A where they respond in short clips to questions. I won't be replying to those, although maybe I'll compile a bunch of them into a response later on.

So without further ado, Episode 1...

Introduction

https://manifest.zone/01-introductions/

So I know Keith loves Eberron, but I also know that Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans can make creators burnout. The fact that he's still here, still dedicated to a setting that was released 13 years ago and still has yet to see the light of day in 5e is incredible. He sounds so happy to talk Eberron yet again at the start of this podcast, and it is in some ways unbelievable. Eberron has survived and thrived not just because of Keith's grand vision, but because of the person that Keith is.

Keith, if you are reading this, thank you. You've given us far more than we deserve and Eberron fans are spoiled by your love and generosity.

It is fascinating how Wayne, Kristian, and Scott all got into Eberron and why they were motivated to do the podcast. That speaks well to having a variety of perspectives in the podcast. I'm interested to see if I can pull any of Kristian and Scott's ideas from Savage Worlds into Pathfinder. I've debated trying to run Planescape and Eberron in Chronicles of Darkness before, but never really pushed it.

I like the idea of introducing Eberron as a post-fantasy setting. In fact, I will probably include it in my next campaign pitch. Being up front with the fact that Eberron lacks many classic tropes, and the ones it does contain are often deconstructed or twisted in some way is good practice for GMs. I'd toss Eberron much more into Science Fantasy than plain Fantasy.

The way that elven lifespan impacts their culture wasn't something I had thought about until Keith brought it up in the FAQs. It has to be one of the most interesting parts of Eberron for me, even though it's underplayed. If I add another elf culture on a separate continent, I'd be curious what other alternatives are out there for how elves deal with death and memory.

Zilargo is absolutely one my favourite nations in Eberron, and there are numerous reasons for that. One is that gnomes feel like a distinct race with their niche and values that are clearly separate from both dwarves and halflings. Another is precisely the modern socio-political question that the podcast discusses; the question of how far we are willing to sacrifice privacy in the name of public security.  I  remember very early on when Eberron was first released, and Keith described Zilargo as being one of the scariest places to people who have been brought up in North America's modern culture. Unlike the Sarlona, Zilargo has made some genuinely challenging (and possibly disturbing)  political decisions, but the Zil remain relatable and understandable.  For all that I would personally absolutely disagree with the way that the Trust runs their country,  I can empathise with the why the gnomes made those decisions, and I find the implications for their culture to be fascinating. While Zilargo can fulfil an "evil nation" role in a campaign, their default presentation remains that of one political system amongst many, and they are not obvious villains. Of course, with the Trust, that's precisely the way they like it.

Lifting different storylines into RPGs is a time honoured tradition. Firefly would make for excellent fodder, but I'm more interested in the Lost story. I've heard Keith tell part of this one before, specifically the bit about the roc eating the captain, then the giant cat treating the roc like a songbird. I didn't know the bit about it being inspired by the TV show, but is sounds like an interesting scenario. Maybe I will try to write it up if I ever find the time. Diehard on an airship also sounds awesome.

The unanswered questions about Eberron are one of my favourite parts of the setting, and it is one of the things that Eberron and Golarion have in common. No one knows what caused the Mourning or what killed Aroden (well, Erik Mona knows the latter, but he isn't telling). This goes even further in Eberron than most settings. If you listen to the Speaking Stone segment on pronunciation, Keith says that the reason there are no guides how to say the names of the nations is that there is no one correct way to say them. The design team deliberately left out pronunciation guides so that Storytellers could have NPCs from different regions pronounce names differently.

The point that Wayne makes about the joy of trying to piece history and little clues together is so true. This is a common thread I see in Planescape, Chronicles of Darkness, and Eberron. History is important to all three, and they tell you as much with the spaces that are left in between what is explicitly said. They challenge you to find what fits in those gaps. There's a reason I have timelines for all three setting that I meticulously add details to so that I can see how everything relates together. It is no surprise that those three settings are my favourites.

"Wide magic" is an excellent term to describe Eberron that I haven't heard before. I like it. It's the same way that Firefly isn't high technology, its wide technology. I am guilty of calling Eberron magipunk though. The historian and teacher in me love the speculative fiction portion of Eberron's "magic as technology" premise. It is so interesting to see our world through a "mirror, magically."

The lock and key model of focus items with Dragonmarks is neat. I'll be using that one in the future.

The setting expectations bit is all very solid advice. The concept of failing forwards is very prominent in Chronicles of Darkness, and it adds to the game greatly. I'm wondering if there is some way to reward major failures that create drama and story twists in d20 like CofD does with dramatic failures and players being able to choose to turn failures into dramatic failures. Maybe extra uses of per day abilities? I'll have to think on that one.

Next episode is on the Last War. Super psyched for it.