#I have thoughts about how I’m interpreting karma here but I’ll put them on ao3

[cosmereplay]

Day 12: Karma

Rated Teen, Leshwi/transfem!Kaladin, post-RoW. Kaladin’s egg breaks. This’ll be part 1 of 3, part 2 will be coming up on the 18th!

“Kill me,” Leshwi said to the Rhythm of Hope, as Kaladin’s speartip hovered just below her chin. 

“No,” he smiled.

They had taken time away from their new responsibilities to spar. This time, he had come to her at the Listener enclave. Their duel had taken them deep into a chasm of the Shattered Plains, chasing each other around impossible turns. It had been exhilarating. 

She hadn't known she could still feel alive until she'd fought him. And now she didn’t know if she would get another life after this one. It made her feel frail, vulnerable–mortal.  

And yet in moments like this, especially with Kaladin, Leshwi's memories of the endless cycles of war and imprisonment on Braize seemed distant. She felt like the whole world was new, and that she hadn’t just been reborn, she’d been renewed. She felt totally free.

One of the things she chose to do with that freedom was spar with Kaladin. For so long, no one had come close to her level of skill, and in this life she had actually learned from Kaladin. Like today, he had used some kind of grappling move on her, flipping her through the air until she’d landed flat on her back, and he’d straddled her waist, his weight pressing her into the stone. Though he sat heavy on top of her, she didn’t feel the sting of defeat, just the thrill of the contest. They made an incredible match.

“Kill me,” she insisted, riding the Rhythm of Confidence. “Give me a reason to find a body you would like more.”

He blinked in confusion, and his grip on the spear tightened. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“A woman’s body, so I can entice you. Normally I am not picky about the body I receive, but…my passion has changed.” So, so much had changed.

“I…That would be too great a risk, Leshwi. Odium would torture you.”

“I would find a way to escape Braize. I would find my way back to you,” she said, forcing Confidence.

Slowly, his whole body relaxed, and he dismissed his spear. He looked down, then rested his hands on her broad, flat chest, splaying out his fingers across her carapace. “Leshwi, it’s an honour that you would do that for me, but it wouldn’t be necessary. You…you’re…ah…I’m enticed anyway.” He stared at his hands for a moment, then glanced at her. “Sorry,” he said quickly, and scrambled off her. He looked away awkwardly, then turned back to offer his hand to help her stand.

Leshwi attuned Reconciliation and kept holding his hand, even after she’d stood. This was something new and delicate, too. She felt so free much of the time, sometimes she forgot how stuck she really was. “Perhaps I’ve spoken to Confidence when I should have spoken to Consideration. But I am femalen, Kaladin, in a malen’s body. I wish to respect you and your human culture, and so I should approach you in a femalen body.”

“That doesn’t matter to me. You’re femalen no matter what body you’re in,” he said to Confidence. Slowly, his brow furrowed in an expression Leshwi couldn’t name, and he looked away, taking a deep breath. He seemed pained, perhaps.

She hummed to Reconciliation, then bared her teeth in the human version of the rhythm. “Thank you, Kaladin. In that case, I wish to court you.”

He looked up at her with wide eyes, and he stammered, his face changing colour. 

Leshwi thought perhaps she’d made another error. “Oh, yes, men are the ones who usually request to court. I hope I have not dishonoured you?” she said. I will be making much use of Reconciliation today, she thought.

“I…thank you Leshwi, but…I need some time to think,” he said, and turned to fly back to the enclave. 

She followed, humming Resignation. She had made too grand a gesture, close to swearing an oath she probably couldn’t keep, and then she had pained him in some way. But, keeping in mind he hadn’t said no yet, she forced herself to attune Resolve instead.

He remained silent and distant, even until he left to return to Urithiru. She hummed Resolve as she watched him leave through the Oathgate, determined to wait until he approached her again. 

[sumeshi-t]

when to shutcho bitchass up.

so i had this long ass reply as i was about to reblog a haikyuu writer’s response to a hate ask but i had to eat lunch, and my wifi’s acting up so it all got deleted. but anyway, after lurking in the shadows for god knows how long, i decided to speak up about this on-going issue of hate being poorly masked as “constructive criticism”. 

it doesn’t just happen on haikyuu blogs, like, every fandom has it. and it saddens me because i’ve seen the greatest blogs out here just vanish into thin air (or has gone on hiatus and never returned/archived the blog/deactivated) for getting hate that they absolutely do not deserve. nobody does. nobody needs that hate; not now not ever. most often than not, there are people who hide behind the anon feature in asks. but i guess some people lately have now learned how to own up to their own mistakes; and yes, everyone’s opinion is valid, is welcome to be entertained; however the way you word these things out also matters. it’s just like when someone writes something, you know? why do you get to complain, “your writing suckxz” when you can’t even write down why you think so? lol gtfo. people can interpret your words in however way they want, and that’s the one thing you cannot control. so at least, when you attempt to apologize for something you “didn’t mean to” or “was just a joke”, at least make it sound like you mean it. if you want your opinion to be taken seriously, learn how to say it with manners.

anyway, this post will be terribly long, probably longer than the shit i’ve ever written anywhere lmao. some of the things i’ll say here might come off as redundant but because the same thing happens over and over again, what else would you expect?

Exhibit A: “constructive criticism” does not mean, or shall never be equated to “hate”

if you go around tumblr, there are tons of posts which educate people how to properly write a critique, how to decently and reasonably critic someone’s work, whether it be in the form of writing, or digital art, etc. even if you type “constructive criticism” on that google search bar, tons of websites are going to tell you how to do it, so it really is unacceptable to use “it’s constructive criticism” as an excuse when all you’ve said is “your writing sucks”. literally, how can “constructive criticism” go from “you’re not even a good writer, why the hype?” to “you’re too positive, too fake, if you’re sad, show that you’re sad.” that ain’t it chief. constructive criticism is given to the works of a content creator, not directed at the content creator itself.

ever heard of the sandwich method? yeah, yummy and easy, right? basically it means, you start it off with the positive things about the content creator, then the negative ones in the middle, then reinforce them at the end. okay, i’ll repeat that here, let me break it down if that isn’t enough for cute little noggins to understand:

tell the content creator what made you hooked on their works in the first place. what made you indulge in all that deliciously free content, that has brought you to tears, to laughs, to orgasm. you don’t necessarily have to praise them, but acknowledge that you’re aware of what they’re doing and how it is, or how their progress is so far.

now here comes the critique part. this where the “however” and the “but” words come in, to transition from (for example) “your way with words is breathtaking” to “sometimes i feel they’re too much to digest all at once”. get it? pinpoint to the content creator just exactly what aspects in their current state do you wish they could improve on, or areas do you think they are lacking or weak, so to speak. be concise, be comprehensive, be nice.

lastly, my favorite part, is you give them tips or advice or just a fucking hint how you think they can achieve the things you said from #2. even if you know or assume that they’d understand your point, or “it’s their job to find it out by themselves”... well, a little input or jumpstart wouldn’t hurt, would it? so from the example, “your way with words is breathtaking” to “(however) sometimes i feel they’re too much to digest all at once” you end it with a, “i think or why don’t you try doing so, and this, and that,”

lemme go back to the “it’s their job to find it out by themselves” aha, news flash honey: this isn’t their job. it’s their way of enjoyment, their leisure, their free time that they use up just to bring out free content for lots of people like you to indulge in. most people come here, or on ao3, or basically anywhere where you can post your work, just for fun. you cannot be demanding, that’s why they have their rules and all, but i digress. content creators feed on feedback, and feedback alone. i hope you have an idea how something as simple as “asdflkjshdls” in the tags can bring a phat smile to a content creator’s face, what more, if it’s something coherent. just fucking keyboard smash is a boost to their confidence (trust me, it’s very fun knowing that how “asdfgjkl” i was when writing something, is the same as the “asdfgjkl” the readers had when reading)

this sandwich method thing doesn’t only apply to this certain situation. in fact, this is an effective means of communicating your point across to people in school, at work, and even in the comforts of your home. right? 

didn’t you feel bad when your teacher returned your paper to you and just said, “i gave you that grade just because” and nothing more? or when that classmate of yours said, “no, i don’t like this idea. think up of something else” for a project? didn’t you ever question them, “why, and on what basis?” 

how about, when your boss returned your report, only saying, “revise this” but what is “this”? sure, there are bosses who do this to try to teach their employees to find things out and find solutions on their own, but you cannot deny that some are just being disgustingly rude about it. 

how about at home you say? well... remember that time when your parents compared you to their friends’ children, or even compared you among your own siblings? or that time you were lashed out on? actually, you know, what, i’m sorry for bringing this up, as light as this was worded out, some people might get triggered simply from those two phrases i put out. however, i will address this issue next.

Exhibit B: you don’t know the people you are talking to, therefore you do not know what they are going through

you can’t say, “oh, you’re all just so sensitive” or “it’s just an opinion” when clearly, this (tw: depression, suicide, family issues, gender and sexuality, body positivity, etc) topics is/are sensitive to most content creators, to most people. some brush it off fine, and take a while to reach their boiling point, but not everyone’s like that. you can’t tell people how they should react to your random spewing of hate. each person has their own level of tolerance, so don’t go off and assume that everybody online is the same and grew from the same fucking tree. 

some or most people use writing/drawing/etc. as a means to cope with what shit life has thrown at them; and then you, being so stupidly ignorant, just waltz in and drop that bomb on what possibly, could be the only ray of sunlight they have in their life, especially now in this bleak year. 

receiving anon-hate or hate-asks should not be the norm. it is not and never will be okay. i thought you were here to critic their work, why even joke about something that could have been personal to someone? why even joke about these kinds of things in the first place? why even bring up something that might have been a personal issue when all you had to do was critic their work? 

my god, stop acting like a boomer already. tbh the audacity of some people here, idk. if you’re not going through anything at all, then may god/brahma/allah/whichever supreme being you believe in or whatever good karma it is, bless you. 

it’s not that one should sympathize, or, it isn’t also expected of people to full on empathize, but a little respect goes a long way. why don’t we try to put ourselves in the shoes of the person we’re about to send that hate-ask to. if not us, how about that close friend who’s easy to bring to tears, or mom, or cousin? wouldn’t it be aggravating? wouldn’t it be painful?

well... who am i to assume, i don’t even know you. get it?

just please, acknowledge that everyone here is human. they have emotions, they have their own thoughts, they have their own lives outside of the screen. how they choose to portray themselves here has nothing to do with you. how they choose to react to that hate ask doesn’t have to do with anything you should concern yourself with. 

LET PEOPLE ENJOY THINGS. LET PEOPLE LIVE THEIR LIFE THEIR OWN WAY, both virtual and in reality. 

i know this post won’t get too far, but i have had enough of seeing the nicest people, who just wanted to express their creativity and share the happiness and the fun, be put down just because of unnecessary hate. i hope those people who send those in never get to experience that, or if they have, i hope they understand that doing so to others isn’t going to change anything about themselves.