#this was directly related to an excerpt i just read on twitter

[gift-of-prophecy]

[bonvoyagenoona]

About Me 12 | Being Cited in a Teen Vogue Article on Y/N Fanfic, and Linking that with BTS, Psychology, and Narrative Therapy

source: Teen Vogue, article written by Stitch

What are you talking about now, Cheryl?

Lol you all know how much I love talking about writing! Talking about the motivation behind it, the structure and process of it, the way I feel about it, the experimentation I’m doing with it, etc. Thanks for reading along with me as I share those thoughts, which I post under #how i write!

The amazing fandom writer Stitch (here’s their Teen Vogue portfolio, their Linktree, and their Twitter!) put out a call last year for fanfic writers to weigh in on reader insert fics. They asked questions about what motivated writers to use this format. Naturally, verbose li’l ol me jumped at the chance to contribute, and I was lucky enough to get selected as one of the snippets for the article! 

I highly, highly recommend you read the full article, as there are so many discussion points about wish fulfilment, representation, and passion, but here’s my contribution!

source: Teen Vogue

And this relates to what I love talking about when it comes to BTS, writing, and psychology! What I refer to here, this aspect that Stitch so astutely identifies, this process of working through a problem and connecting with others who are going through something similar --- this is narrative therapy!

Here’s a wonderful definition from Psychology Today:

I’ve seen narrative therapy work wonders for people. Some use journaling techniques to get their thoughts on the page. Some use traditional story structure. Some use poetry. Some write raps. It can be very painful to re-access traumatic moments in order to heal, but shown the right guidance, time, and patience, it can make all the difference. And, as I mentioned in the excerpt above, I use some of these elements to reflect on and address my own life experiences.

So how does this relate to Y/N fanfic?

In reflecting on this more, I began unpacking my thoughts on format and the Y/N structure, specifically as it relates to motivation and impact of fanfic. 

Let’s talk about what the fanfic world calls POV, or first-, second-, and third-person voice! 

Here’s a quick summary from Merriam-Webster:

And here are my thoughts on the difference between them as they relate to fanfic!

Using first person, or “I” / “me” / “we” / “they”, indicates a motivation of wanting to share a personal experience from one’s own perspective. It’s common, and it actually reminds me a lot of how stories are told, and how advice is given, in collectivistic cultures. Whenever I talk to family or friends from such cultures and seek their advice, they usually tell a personal story and hope that I can glean advice from their experience rather than answering my questions directly. As it pertains to fanfic, this voice is very intimate. The story and author are inextricably linked, and that suggests that the motivation is to speak one’s truth, to share an experience in order to share oneself with others in a deeply personal way.

Using third person, or “she/he/they” (which I am using for A Map of Mrs. Kims!), provides more of an objective narrator, so there’s more space between the author and the story, though third person omniscient provides some commentary along the way from the narrator’s POV.

Here’s are small examples of third person omniscient with Bongseon and Jihu:

Bongseon suddenly understands why this trait is something her mother found so annoying.

“Jeez, fine, then read or something.” Bongseon replies, focused on her canvas. “Get something from my shelf over there. Just hurry up, and please don’t talk while I’m getting started. It takes me a while to get into the right head space.”

Jihu nods. He should’ve known better by now. Like with all things, there is a process.

It’s less intimate in the sense that you don’t have the author’s presence to shape your experience of the story; they are focused on painting a vivid picture for you. And I think I am leaning toward shaping AMOMK as purely third person for the main fic moving forward for several reasons, including:

It helps with managing a bigger cast of characters’ thoughts, actions, and motivations.

Third person omniscient still allows for fun little commentary, like what the characters are thinking and feeling (see snippet above).

Most of your asks refer to characters as “they” already! You also call Sad Girl and refer to the Bachelorettes introduced so far as “she”, so like with the entire AMOMK universe, I’m following your lead!

Using second person, or “you”/”Y/N”, straddles 😏 these two worlds. Readers are allowed into the story, which provides that rich immersion. You get the sensations, the thrills, the feels. The sexy feel of Yoongi’s hand on your cheek. The caring kiss Jungkook places on your lips. The way Jin fucks you with his massive cock.

Lol but for someone like me, who also writes in order to work out a past experience or inject a personal life theme into the work, it also allows for some separation to provide empowerment and reflection. It’s how I think messages to myself, every day: 

“C’mon, you’ve got this!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” 

“You know better than that!” 

“You need rest. Take a break!” 

At the top of this very post, lol, “What are you talking about now, Cheryl?”

And talking to myself in this way allows me to depersonalize enough to actually do the figuring out part of narrative therapy, the sorting through my thoughts as objectively as I can so that I can focus on telling / rewriting my story --- which is what narrative therapy is all about.

Whoa, that’s a lot to think about. Honestly, I’m just here for the fluff/angst/smut.

Lol thanks for indulging me. But for those of you who are interested, I’m endlessly curious about what you all think! When you read fanfiction, do you think this actively about POV? I’ve certainly gotten questions about in the past, and I’m still developing my thoughts and style on the more common structures that I use. When you write fanfiction, do you think about motivation, or just generally gravitate toward a particular style? At any rate, I’d love to hear what you think!

Also, if you want to contribute to an upcoming podcast on fanfiction, started by a wonderful co-worker and fellow researcher of mine’s friends, take this survey!

Finally, check out Stitch and their awesome work! Follow them on Twitter, check out their sites, and, if you can, buy her original work, too! Talking about fanfic and supporting people who write about fandom are small ways to help with normalizing and detoxifying fanfic, as well as advocating for representation, because they’re trying to showcase just how beloved and powerful fanfiction truly is. 

As always, thanks for reading with me, and I hope you enjoy this content as well. And don’t worry! I promise I’m not done writing about Yoongi’s hands, Jungkook’s lips, and Jin’s massive cock.

[houseofbrat]

“All the details sound as if they were out of Finding Freedom, the book Meghan ghostwrote with Scobie.” I believe she had a heavy hand in writing this book too. However, would it benefit him to say she did? Can he come out and say that she took control of the book and included things he didn’t approve of and include proof that happened? Or can the ghostwriter say he wasn’t as involved after a certain point? She’s not as good a writer as she likes to think she is and the book excerpts reflect that.

The palace supposedly had a copy of the draft that Moehringer wrote. I seem to recall barkjack mentioning that either on their blog or twitter last summer. Due to that, it wouldn't surprise me if we get some “before & after” pieces about the book later on this year. 

I didn’t read Finding Freedom, but I did read Andre Agassi’s autobiography, which Moehringer wrote, years ago. Agassi’s book was a great read, even though he too struggled with drug problems, a lack of education, and a difficult family life. 

Moehringer does have a professional reputation to maintain, and an NDA is only enforceable if you have the money and clout to enforce it. Meghan doesn’t have the money to fight all the battles she currently has, let alone any new ones starting later this year. She already can’t pay her legal bills. Will her lawyers willingly start new legal fights knowing that they’re not ever going to get paid for their work? It’s more doubtful than most haters realize at the moment. 

I bet the BRF or someone else will get Moehringer to break it in some way later on in the year. Perhaps not directly admitting what happened, but one of those “sources say...” articles. Never underestimate tangentially related allies in a pr fight. 

It wouldn’t surprise me in the weeks to come if we get an article in the DM comparing text from Finding Freedom to Spare. Meghan’s over-the-top writing practically demands they do it. And the DM never misses an opportunity to troll Meghan. 

What’s more surprising is the number of people on tumblr who are unable to realize that Meghan wrote the published edition of Spare! People who have been following this train wreck prior to the engagement & wedding. As in, they’ve followed her bullshit for YEARS!!! Once I heard the lip gloss detail a few days ago, I knew this was all done by her. Every detail. No way would Harry refer to Paris as “The City of Lights.” That’s Meghan-ese right there! 

And yet tons of people are just buying what Meghan’s selling left, right, and center... 

[061890]

Asougi and Naruhodou’s speeches and localization

A while back when the Great Ace Attorney was first released, I made a post on my DGS Twitter on some… Not great localization changes made in the first Escapade in the game's DLC. Namely, the topic of Asougi's speech.

In the Dai Gyakuten Saiban subtitles channel's translation of the DLC, Asougi's speech excerpt is this:

"Now's the time to make a stand! All you young and elderly, gentlemen and ladyfolk of the downtrodden classes!"

In Japanese: 「さあ！ 今こそ立ち上がれ！ 低所得者層の老若男女よ!」

While the translation uses the phrase "downtrodden classes", the original text uses  「低所得者層」 specifically, referring to low-income working class people. This is relevant due to the fact that, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, rapid modernization and changes in Japanese labor relations led to the mistreatment of the working class. The emphasis on social harmony, along with censorship and restricting the right to assembly (which would later become criminalized in 1900), made it difficult to organize labor strikes.

And yes, while this DLC episode was very much a slice-of-life thing compared to the rest of the Great Ace Attorney, the original topics of both Asougi and Naruhodou's speeches are very informative of their characters and political views; Asougi especially, which makes the changes made in the localization even more confusing.

See, at the time, rapid industrialization was done in order to bolster the military, as the government believed back then that doing so was necessary at the threat of European imperialism; however, as real-life history shows, this directly led to Japan doing irreparable damage in its own imperialist conquest.

So, for Asougi to have given a speech explicitly in support of low-income working class people was not just him being anti-capitalist, it also very much had to do with him being anti-militarist and anti-imperialist as well. 

Him planning to say 「老若男女」 ("men and women of all ages")  —specifically, him mentioning women of low-income in the working class— also references how labor relations for female workers in the textile industry were mostly girls from poor families that worked in wealthy households in preparation for marriage. Similarly, Asougi acknowledging workers of all ages references how at the time, Japanese labor unions were more inclusive than that of the United States', as apprentices could join regardless of age and skill level. 

Kazuma Asougi is, to the surprise of few, an incredibly political person. In fact, his actions here and generally recalcitrant treatment of authority figures, parallel left-wing socialist views at the time:

"One ideological faction [of the early labor leaders] favored discussion and cooperation with management, avoided strikes and political issues, and tried to win higher wages through improved productivity. These were moderates who favored harmony between labor and capital. The other major faction favored confrontation with management, thrived on political issues, and embraced the strike weapon. These were the left-wing socialists." — The Birth of the Japanese Labor Movement by Stephen E. Marsland

Even the year wherein he gave his speech, namely, the summer of 1897 is relevant to Japan's labor movement and how Asougi's character is rooted in exploitation by Western powers. This is because in April of 1897, Takano Fusataro, a Japanese labor activist, wrote "A Summons to the Workers", calling for the workers of Japan to organize at the threat of being exploited by foreign capitalist powers. Asougi's speech even parallels some of it, but notably, advocates for confrontation now while Fusataro discouraged revolution and radicalization, instead advocating for gradual change.

From "A Summons to the Workers":

「立て職工諸君、立つて組合を組織し、以てその重大なる責務とそのの男子たる面目を保つを務めよ。」

"Stand up, you workers! Stand up and organize unions!"

Asougi's speech:

「さあ！ 今こそ立ち上がれ！ 低所得者層の老若男女よ!」

"Now's the time to make a stand! All you young and elderly, gentlemen and ladyfolk of the downtrodden classes!"

Note: Fusataro references men due to "Summons" being directed towards factory workers at the time, but Asougi's speech generally references workers of all ages due to having a different audience.

In sharp contrast, Naruhodou's speech is about filial piety:

"Let's all cherish our mothers and fathers!"

Asougi losing all support for what was considered a very gutsy and controversial speech when he made a single slip-up —that being the infamous tongue twister— where Naruhodou wins for a very simple, even boring, speech tells us a lot about how they're seen by society. 

Asougi in canon is considered arrogant and annoying by multiple authority figures —namely, Auchi— because he's outspoken about current events and politics; and while being 23 years old is very much an adult by our standards, in Meiji era Japan, one couldn't vote unless they were male, over the age of 25, and paid taxes of at least 15 yen per year. This was something that mainly landowners and ex-samurai could do.

Naruhodou, on the other hand, is initially a typical Japanese young man that conforms to the status quo. He dislikes going against his parents' wishes, and as his speech shows, advocates for an idea that's the standard in Japanese society. He's also notably apolitical, as originally, when he claims he and Asougi talked about politics over lunch, Asougi corrects him stating he only ever talked about comedy theatre.

Note: While Naruhodou uses the term 「愛国」 (あいこく, lit. love of one's country, basically patriotism) when talking about he and Asougi's "debates", from literally everything we know about Asougi's political views, I seriously doubt Asougi was being patriotic when he criticizes the government as often as he does. That, and the fact that Naruhodou is already a very unreliable narrator and doesn’t even remember what actually happened.

Similarly, in the Japan-only DLC episode for Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2, he chides Naruhodou for not keeping up with current events:

Asougi: "It sounds like you haven't been reading the papers, Naruhodou." 

Naruhodou: "N-No, not so much lately..."

Asougi: [...] "Defence attorneys didn't exist in our country until only recently. Our reputations are still as low as mud, being called shysters who make underhanded deals. It's stuff like this which makes us have to claw back the people's trust. You should read at least this much, Naruhodou."

Naruhodou: "Urghhh… Newspapers are too complicated…"

Now, to return to the topic of the Great Ace Attorney, Asougi in the localization instead gives this speech:

Asougi: "So arise, ladies and gentlemen, and applaud our forefathers' plight and the fight for filial piety!"

...Thus, making him losing to Naruhodou a matter of skill and verbal articulation rather than that of politics. While again, yes, the DLC episodes are very much just extra content, the fact of the localization changing this not only weakens Asougi's character due to him being a very political person, but goes directly against his character.

After all, his original speech was a call to action for laborers in a time where labor relations were based in a parent-child (oyataka and kokata) dynamic for employers and employees respectively. To have him say that when he originally challenged this authority is just plain wrong, especially when Japanese society expects one to defer to their elders and authority.

Not only that, but Asougi's motivations for traveling to London had to do with how he and his immediate family were killed or harmed because of the Professor ordeal. He makes no mention of being obligated by his family name, even when he tells Naruhodou and Susato about them, nor the idea of clearing Genshin's name of wrongdoing. After all, while Genshin supposedly being the Professor was concealed from the public, it still would have brought him and his family shame in the wider Asougi family as a result.

While the Great Ace Attorney being localized certainly brings many great things —accessibility, directors' commentary, etc.— to the Ace Attorney's audience, it has several flaws in its localization, and this speech thing is just one of them; one particularly egregious example being Megundal being made Irish in a time where they were racially discriminated against, not to mention the antisemitism in DGS1-3, but that's a post for another day. 

In the meantime, I can only wonder why this change was made to a character whose story is inherently rooted in questioning authority, and speaking out regarding Japanese politics and current events at the time.

[joannerowlingfans]

Great article from June by Eileen Blair. Here’s some excerpts: 

“The Bodily Function Which Must Not Be Named

Daniel Radcliffe knows some things about menstruation. Recently he wrote a statement assuring us that the correct word for those who experience periods is not “women” or “girls,” but “people who menstruate.” However, when he told us this, he didn’t actually tell us this. He never used the word “menstruation,” or “period,” or “blood,” or any related word. There was no mention of clots, or cramps, or dysmenorrhea, or endometriosis. He did not name the “people who” experience these things.

Instead, Radcliffe did name author J.K. Rowling, who recently came under fire for stating the controversial opinion that the word “woman” is still of use, and that this now-contested term may even provide a more appealing way to describe human beings than “people who menstruate,” or the more streamlined “menstruator.” But while Radcliffe invoked Rowling’s name, he did not acknowledge her ideas, which she has expressed publicly in a number of tweets and in a recent essay. Instead, he opened his statement by simply insisting that there is no “in-fighting” between him and Rowling, without mentioning why anyone might think there is. He anticipated that “certain press outlets” might seize on the opportunity to report on a conflict between Radcliffe and Rowling, which they promptly did. The Guardian, the Independent, and the Times all referred to a “row” between Rowling and Radcliffe.

On social media, many enthusiastically shared Radcliffe’s statement, but I have yet to see any of Radcliffe’s fans mention that he both failed to identify the topic at hand and neglected to consider Rowling’s ideas about it. In 2020, it seems, if someone mentions Rowling, however obliquely, and with even the slightest hint that they disapprove of her for some reason they need not even state, they can count on being showered with unreserved praise.

The Menstruators Who Must Not Be Named

There is more that is not mentioned. The third sentence of Radcliffe’s statement asserts, “Transgender women are women.” Curiously, he does not go on to say, as anyone familiar with scripture would expect, “Transgender men are men, and nonbinary people are who they say they are.” In fact, there is no mention of transgender men or nonbinary people anywhere in Radcliffe’s statement, even though the ultra-specific term “people who menstruate” is intended to accommodate these groups—people who have periods who do not identify as women.

Why does Radcliffe choose this occasion to remind us that trans women are women? Trans women do not menstruate. This is why it is now considered exclusionary for those women formerly known as women to claim that menstruation is related to being a woman. That’s pretty much the point of terms like “menstruator.” By intoning “transgender women are women,” Radcliffe associates women, and only women, with the expression “people who menstruate.” This is exclusionary and transphobic. Not all women have periods, and not all who have periods identify as women.

Among those who cheered Radcliffe, I have yet to see anyone call out Radcliffe for his exclusionary and transphobic refusal to acknowledge “people who menstruate.”

The Silencing That Must Not Be Spoken Of

There is yet more that is not said. Rowling has been on the receiving end of misrepresentation and verbal abuse for over two years, simply for suggesting that women formerly known as women have the right to discuss the word “woman.” For advocating free speech, she has been derided, slurred, and even threatened.

Into the fray saunters Daniel Radcliffe, who, without any apparent effort, scribbles a few words calculated to score points with his base. His four-word magic incantation, “transgender women are women”—again, this is transphobic and exclusionary of people who menstruate—ignites passions and encourages continued demonization of Rowling. Readers need not even know what Rowling has said, for Radcliffe’s magic spell sanctifies him and positions him securely on the moral high ground. Rather than discuss menstruation, or Rowling’s point of view, he describes the discrimination young transgender and nonbinary people have self-reported. It goes without saying that this should be eradicated, but it is a diversion. Rowling, the prop he uses to display his righteousness, is at this very same moment being mercilessly bullied online and in the press. By ignoring this, by saying her name only to turn away from her, by making the sinner a foil to his own saintliness, he lazily enables those who would consign her to the online ducking stool.

Rowling has taken pains to be considerate and measured, just as women formerly known as women are still expected to do. Nevertheless, she has been described as “hateful” and “transphobic.” She has been accused of saying trans people “don’t exist.” Rowling has been called a “bitch,” a “cunt,” a “whore” (also “hoe”), and even—gasp—“a Karen.” (In reality, the offense seems to be not that Karen has demanded to speak to the manager but that she is the manager.)

As expected, Rowling is also called a “TERF.” (Rhymes with “serf.”) Proponents of “letting people be who they are” have proposed that “TERFs” like Rowling deserve to be physically assaulted or killed. One TERF-hunter calls upon a well-known veteran to do the honors: “I’d pay to watch [Charlotte] Clymer put on her army camo and shoot the TERF.” Another goes for the DIY approach: “Smack JK Rowling so hard I give that fool a lighting scar on HER forehead.” Rowling has been challenged to a duel by Tara Flik Wolf: “Oi JK rowling ow about you meet me outside! Hyde park! Lets fucking have it you cunt!” (In 2018, Wolf was convicted of assaulting Maria Maclachlan in Hyde Park in London.)

The demeaning comments are not limited to the blue circle of hell known as Twitter; otherwise reputable news outlets have also adopted the term “TERF.” Mainstream publications insist that this is not a misogynistic insult but a neutral term, an acronym radical feminists invented and applied to themselves. No matter how many times we insist that we consider this term a slur, no matter how many times we see “TERF” joined to “bitch” or “cunt,” we are informed that we have misunderstood, that this term is not intended to demean us. We really do like it, we are told. And a minute later we receive, for the 83rd time, a cartoon image with a gun pointed at us, an anime character threatening, “Shut the fuck up, TERF!”

The mainstream media has also joined in telling Rowling to “STFU.” The Washington Post says it directly in an article titled, “J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia Shows It’s Time To Put Down The Pen.” Molly Roberts informs us that Rowling is flailing; she’s a bigot; she’s even—middle-aged! And therefore obsolete. Other prominent publications have described her tweets and essay as “transphobic” or “anti-trans.” This is eerily reminiscent of how second-wave feminists were described as “man-haters.” In the 1970s, we were said to hate men. Nowadays we are said to hate trans people. Fifty years ago, we learned to speak about our bodies. Nowadays, we learn how not to.

Major advocacy organizations have issued patronizing “reminders,” as if Rowling has forgotten her lines. The Human Rights Campaign laments, “We see JK Rowling is at it again. Helpful reminder: If your feminism isn’t trans-inclusive, then it’s not feminism.” A GIF of Emma Watson as Hermione is included for no extra charge, mocking the author with her own invention.”

“Radcliffe’s statement has been applauded online by people like me: college-educated, feminist, middle-aged American women of the sort formerly known as women. I haven’t seen any of them mention the gleeful dehumanization of Rowling; nor I have I seen any of them object that Radcliffe has remained silent about the abuse, or that it was taking place as he crafted his “response.” While he is not directly responsible for others’ treatment of Rowling, he is responsible for contributing to a hostile climate, and not just among anonymous Twitter trolls.He is responsible for what he does and does not say, and for what he does and does not know (or pretends not to know).”

“The final paragraph of Radcliffe’s statement offers consolation to those who feel betrayed, who feel as though their experience of Rowling’s fiction has been sullied by Rowling’s continued existence. He assures fans that they may still be nourished by—well, by “the books,” “these stories,” and “the book that you read,” despite “these comments.” He doesn’t say whose books, whose stories, or whose comments.

The explicitly violent tweets and the contemptuous journalistic dismissals are unsettling enough on their own, and it’s troubling to think that Radcliffe’s failure even to address the matters at hand may have amplified them. But here he moves from omission to erasure. Whereas he began his statement by focusing on Rowling’s name and not her ideas, now he appropriates her ideas while refusing to utter her name. This final negation is pernicious in its own way. Radcliffe opened his statement with an acknowledgment of J.K. Rowling’s influence on his life, but just a few paragraphs later, he seems to have forgotten that he played Harry Potter in the movies based on the books rather than inventing Harry himself. At the same moment when Rowling is being “cancelled” by those who loved her books, as her former fans and even major publications demand that she surrender her agency and autonomy, Radcliffe steps in and arrogates the right to speak for “these stories.” He assures his base that they may still find meaning and solace in the books, despite the mortal sins committed by—She Whose Name Must Be Erased From The Covers Of Her Own Books. Chillingly, Radcliffe assures his readers that “nobody can touch” their experience of the books, implying that the unnamed, erased author has been purged entirely. How magnanimous of him. How inclusive.”

“I haven’t seen any complaint that Radcliffe fails to mention the trans men and nonbinary people who menstruate, or that he pretends not to know Rowling has already been fending off verbal attacks for years, or that he erases her name as he refers to “the books.” 

“Daniel Radcliffe seems to have forgotten Harry Potter began as an idea in J.K. Rowling’s head. But he wants “women” to be an idea in his own.

For all its popular appeal and re-postings, “Daniel Radcliffe Responds” does not respond to what J.K. Rowling expressed, and much is communicated by what he did not say. Radcliffe did not acknowledge the terminological issue or the content of what Rowling said about it. He did not mention the “people who” are affected by the issue or even credit Rowling as an author of “these stories.” Nor did the thirty-year-old honor Rowling as an elder who carries significant wisdom and experience—and who just might know something he doesn’t about the word “woman” or the practice of menstruation. He expressed fervent opinions about who counts as a woman, but didn’t show respect for this woman. Perhaps it is Daniel Radcliffe, not J.K. Rowling, who should “put down the pen.”

[naruto-au-week]

Guidelines & FAQ’s

We’re super excited to announce Naruto AU Week, a week-long event for all fans of Naruto to come together and share content they’ve created!

Event dates:

It will run for 7 days, from 8th - 14th February 2021.

This is an open event, and you do not need to sign-up to participate.

Content You Can Make:

We accept original content in the form of fanfic, fanart, fanvids, gifs, cosplay, physical crafts, mood boards, headcanons, meta, and podfics. All characters from Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto are welcome.

Rules:

1) Only original and new, unseen/unposted content is accepted, no reposts or recycled works please.

2) No minor/adult or incestuous relationships. Ageing up is allowed.

3) Triggering, sensitive and N.S.F.W content must be appropriately tagged, no exceptions. Works that are not tagged with TW/CW will not be reblogged.

4) Content for this event must not be posted before the starting date.

5) Respect content creators that participate in this event. Notes or tags that include rude comments, direct or indirect threats, character or ship hate will not be tolerated. Bullies will be blocked by the event blog and reported as necessary. If you don’t like what you see, please exercise some restraint and use the tools available to you to hide the content.

Please read below this cut for more info!

How to post your work on Tumblr:

1) List the prompt you are using in your post.

2) Tag @naruto-au-week somewhere in the body of your post, tag #narutoauweek2021 within the first five tags, and also any ships and characters in your work.

3) Apply a read-more cut to lengthy posts. Posts that contain sensitive/trigger warning content, erotica or N.S.F.W must be clearly labelled and contained beneath the read-more cut.

*N.S.F.W artists: Keep Tumblr’s constraints in mind when sharing your work. It is recommended to use another site (such as Pillowfort, Twitter, etc) as an image host and share the link within your Tumblr post, or crop/censor the image and link off site to the uncensored version.

Here’s an example of censoring images and linking off site.

Here’s an example of how to post triggering/sensitive/N.S.F.W fics.

4) For fics that are shared on Tumblr via an AO3/FF link: please also include the summary, rating of the fic, and any TW/CW in the body of your post. If sharing an excerpt that contains sensitive content, please put it beneath a read-more cut.

Here’s an example of an AO3 fic shared to tumblr.

And another example of sharing an AO3 fic to tumblr.

How to participate on another platform:

Post your work to whichever platform you’re using, and then send it to us by using our submit post form. Please do make sure to list the prompt you’re using and any content warnings that might apply.

Posting to AO3:

An AO3 collection is available to post your works to, which you can find here.

FAQ:

- Are all ships welcome?

Yes! Providing that the relationships are not adult/minor, or incestuous, we welcome all ships. Ageing up is allowed. Intra-clan relationships are fine as long as the pairing aren’t actually directly related (so Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha would not be allowed, but Itachi Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha is fine).

- Are the prompts mandatory, or can I write something else if I am struggling to come up with an idea?

The prompts are mandatory. We will have two prompts for each day so that if one of them doesn’t inspire you, there is a second option. If you’re having any problems coming up with ideas, you can always drop us a message on here, and we’ll happily help brainstorm with you or provide resources.

- Do we have to include both daily prompts?

No. It’s up to you whether you do one or include both. If you wish, you can create a piece for each prompt, create a piece including both, or just do one!

- Is there a minimum word count for fanfics?

Yes. The minimum is 100 words.

- Are Original Characters (OCs) allowed?

Yes. Feel free to use any original characters in your work as long as they interact with canon characters from Naruto or they exist in the world of Naruto.

- Are late entries accepted?

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[secret-reports]

Hello. I am Turkey Butt. ENTP cuz apperently you care about mbti lol.

My question is do you still believe Ava is Darkness, after the update in which ventus is revealed/implied to have killed strelitzia. The reason I ask is because during it, Brain makes a very clear distinction that the one who switched ventus for strelitzia, and Ava are two different people. He points out evidence that although Ava made changes to the masters plan, she informed brain, and would have make him aware of such a big change. I am certain this was Nomura’s way of directly telling the player that ava and who killed strelitzia are not the same person. Additionally, it is a very commonly accepted theory that Darkness is the one who killed strelitzia. Hundreds, probably more, believe that.

In summary, if darkness possesed Ven and killed strelitzia, then Ava is not Darkness, assuming I am correct in believing that Nomura was directly telling the player that Ava and the murderer are not the same.

Of course the murderer could be a third unknown party, and Ava is darkness, but I wanted to ask for your thoughts on this, and specifically, if you still think Ava is Darkness

Link to the update I discussed, and the comments contain proof of hundreds of people believing darkness killed strelitzia

Youtube.com/rJNZfQ2DnNo

Also tumblr bad discord good twitter dm good too why you gotta make me use a smelly site I’ve never used before in my life smh (dont answer that rhetorical question)

LMAO Hi Turkey Butt, its true I love me an ENTP haha

First, i guess overall, I do think that Darkness and Ava are at LEAST related or connected somehow because there’s no other explanation on Darkness knowing EVERYTHING that they know. Darkness knows about the Master of Master’s plan to trap Maleficent, about the Dandelions memories being overwritten, the projections, the data worlds. Later they say they’ve read most of the Book of Prophecies, they know about the ark. And even later, the lack of security within the clock tower, saying they’re an “old acquaintance”. In my opinion, all these things point to Darkness being someone of vast knowledge directly under the MoM’s teaching. Otherwise, I just don’t see how they could know all this. Maybe they’re an outsider who’s been observing all this time and is only just now finally to interact with the story, but even then I would think an outsider’s knowledge would be limited. Darkness knows things the MoM passed onto Ava, and Ava passed onto the Union Leaders. Luxu seems to know about Ava’s role as well, but in Observations Excerpt 2 Luxu doesn’t seem like he’s ever heard of “Darkness” until right before writing that report, so I highly doubt the MoM had a secret 3rd person he showed his plans to unbeknownst to Luxu. If Ava is NOT Darkness, then Ava KNOWS Darkness and she told them everything. That’s the only other scenario I can imagine at the moment.

(( putting the rest under a Keep Reading link cause it’s long-ish ))

Even in this update, Ventus says Ava told him “When it’s over, the other four will be waiting at the Battleground.” That’s yet ANOTHER thing only Ava herself would know. If it IS Darkness disguised as Ava, I don’t understand how Darkness would know this.

THAT being said, Brain, contrary to popular belief, does NOT know everything. Brain was also confident they were in the real world, so he was disheartened when he realized they were, in fact, in a data world. So in all honesty, I’m not taking what Brain says as gospel. Like us, he doesn’t have all the pieces. So just because Brain has faith Ava would tell them doesn’t mean to me she actually would. Clearly though, this is a matter of opinion because what you said disagrees with that.

Another reason why I’m inclined to believe Ephemer and Brain are WRONG is because they assumed Darkness does NOT want light to be spread to the future. But if we look to what Darkness says to Maleficent, it’s the opposite. Darkness is making SURE that Maleficent does not mess up the future since Maleficent knows what becomes of Radiant Garden (the world with the seventh light– Kairi). Not only that, but Darkness says its important for Maleficent to be the waypoint SO THAT the Dandelions can travel towards the future! Darkness WANTS the Dandelions to go! So this directly contradicts what Ephemer and Brain say, that this “Darkness” (who, by the way, the Union Leaders aren’t even sure exists) killed Strelitzia in a step to prevent the Dandelions from bringing light to the future.

Ephemer and Brain are SMART, but they don’t have the bigger picture, the details that we the audience have by looking at the points of views of other characters.

[alexsmitposts]

The Emergence of the Technetronic Society of Humankind The world community is being transformed. The current pandemic is only another phase of a metamorphosis set in motion decades ago. The intersection of our physical and digital lives is the battleground, where the last hopes of freedom are being bludgeoned to death. Few can see this because most people are already casualties the old world order sacrificed before the altar of liberty. Most of you reading this introduction will sense a bit of melodrama. But I assure you, anything I could type out here pales in comparison to the skullduggery that has beset humankind the last half-century. The war for planet Earth is upon us, but the battlefield is not some desert in Syria or a swamp somewhere in Latin America. The battlefield is real and virtual. It’s in the streets of Portland, Oregon, and the pages of Facebook. The Third World War is taking place in Walmart. It’s spreading to every back yard in Florida and every apartment complex in Bucharest. We’ve taken up arms against one another over every facet of life, not just whether or not to wear protective masks. Working-Class Struggle Redux Some of you already see this. You understand because you were finally forced to unfriend that high school buddy who Tweets or shares Facebook posters revealing humankind’s ignorance and meanness. We’re back to being tribal, devolution is upon us, and the end is written on the slum wall and the internet version. Wall Street is making a killing, billionaires are gnashing their teeth and wringing their hands, and the so-called little people are boiling in a kettle about to explode. Amazingly, my words here can be proven. Nobody can call “fake news” on this author. No sir. In 1970 the legendary (notorious for some) Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote a book entitled, “BETWEEN TWO AGES: America’s Role in the Technetronic Era.” The author, who was one of the five or six most influential political celebrities of the latter part of the 20th century, is well known for his aversion for first the Soviet Union, and then the Russian Federation. Brzezinski’s book was an is a “how-to” book on methods for using computers and communications technologies as a means of transforming society. Though the book reads like an analysis by a technology outsider, the work is part of a wide-spanning strategy we see coming to competition today. Let’s look at an excerpt from the first section of the book where the former counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor delineates post-industrial America’s course: “In the technetronic society scientific and technical knowledge, in addition to enhancing production capabilities, quickly spills over to affect almost all aspects of life directly. Accordingly, both the growing capacity for the instant calculation of the most complex interactions and the increasing availability of biochemical means of human control augment the potential scope of consciously chosen direction, and thereby also the pressures to direct, to choose, and to change.” I won’t tax the reader here, but I encourage you to read the book yourself so that what I am presenting will sink in. Brzezinski, in no uncertain terms, is describing the fundamental transformation of society beginning sometime shortly before 1970, when he collated the information within the pages of the book. Remember, he was LBJ’s advisor. The Rise of the Techno-Bourgeoisie He continues in this section to refer to the past ideologies of the industrial age which built and sustained America and other democracies, to insist upon a more “modern” or “advanced” central ideology. Brzezinski, who most detractors would describe as a dinosaur or archaic, was discussing cybernetics replacing humans when Bill Gates was still at Lakeside Prep School being bullied and writing his first computer programs. I mention Gates for a purpose that may be obvious to some readers. This citation from Between Two Ages will transport the reader to my line of thinking here. Brzezinski writes knowingly: “In the emerging new society questions relating to the obsolescence of skills, security, vacations, leisure, and profit-sharing dominate the relationship, and the psychic well­being of millions of relatively secure but potentially aimless lower­middle­class blue­collar workers becomes a growing problem.” Please remember, this was published in 1970, years before Brzezinski would brag that he had helped cause the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan so that it could get its very own “Vietnam.” The man was a genius, an evil one, but a brilliant geo-policy strategist nonetheless. This book is not a reflection of Brzezinski’s powerful mind, however. This book is the revelation of a plan set in motion after Dwight Eisenhower left office. It’s a blueprint for the liberal world order to completely dominate the world. But before you label me, please consider how this “growing problem” is being used today. Who is Donald Trump? Aha! Now I have your full attention. What about the psychic wellbeing of aimless lower-middle-class Americans? Or, the psychic wellbeing of relatively secure Germans right before Adolph Hitler made them afraid of all the nations surrounding their country? Wait! Don’t go to that tangent, please focus on who got Donald Trump in the White House and how this came to pass. You see, Brzezinski and his colleagues created the conditions, the society, and the “path” we see taking shape today. Think about our symbols now, for instance. How did Google come to dominate the internet? Who stood behind? What does Google do? How about Facebook or Amazon, or any of the monumental successes we see controlling this technetronic society we now live in? Google lured the masses in with “free” and with slogans like “do no evil.” The competition was driven off, through massive investment. Now billions of people are analyzed and “computed” like Brzezinski revealed, to transform society, not to simply extract money via ads. Take the case of Facebook, it’s the same story. A huge swath of humanity is studied, spied upon, and manipulated while the puppetmasters tweak ideology, foment discord, and steer the crowd toward the desired endgame. Sounds crazy and dramatic, doesn’t it? But, wait for it. In 1972, Bill Gates served as a congressional page in the US House of Representatives. He was then a National Merit Scholar who went to Harvard for a brief time, where he met Steve Ballmer, who would lead Microsoft until 2014. Ballmer was an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble for two years, where he shared an office with Jeffrey R. Immelt, the onetime CEO of General Electric. I hope you are keeping up with me here, for these names figure prominently in the current situation. Immelt was the head of GE’s Medical Systems division (now known as GE Healthcare) as its president and CEO back in 1997. To make a very long story shorter, Brzezinski was closely tied to all the names I am mentioning either through roles at the Council of Foreign Relations, or via more intimate and secretive associations. Take into consideration GE and Immelt’s view on China from back in 2010 when he said; “’I worry about China. I am not sure that in the end, they want any of us to win.” Fast forward to 2015 and Brzezinski is pushing for Donald Trump to “outbid” everyone for the presidency. He tweeted this to his followers on Twitter: “What’s better: a billionaire outbidding everyone for the Presidency, or billionaires picking the candidates for the Presidency?” The answer to his feigned query is drop-dead simple – “It doesn’t matter, the same people control no matter what.” And the control processes were put in action once John F. Kennedy was out of the way. LBJ played his role to a “T”, Nixon got too big for his britches and had to go, Ford plated nincompoop in charge to put the plan on pause, and peanut farmer/Nuke sub commander Carter helped roll out the red carpet for our current technetronic society. But I’m getting ahead. The Immuno-Catalyst Let me retrace a step to the associations of Gates, Ballmer, and Immelt. And most importantly, the current healthcare/pandemic crisis some experts believe is an induced one. Remember Gates’ pal Immelt headed GE Healthcare, which entered an agreement with Gates back IBio to commercialize the iBioLaunch vaccine manufacturing platform. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has funded iBio Pharma, which has been in recent news because of President Trump grandstanding about a COVID breakthrough. The company is one of those focused on vaccines against the coronavirus. And if you’re getting lost in this maze of technocrats, now it’s time to interject another key player named Warren Buffett. Buffett, who for all intents and purposes owns IBM, is another link in what we should call the Brzezinski Plan for world domination. Remember, it was IBM that teleported Bill Gates out of brainiac obscurity back in 1980. It is not common knowledge, but the last Watson family head of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. served as US ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1979 to 1981. It was the ideas and ideals along with the patriotism of the latter Watson, from which people like Brzezinski convoluted the notion of modern democracy. Thomas J. Watson Jr. was also central to the administrations of L.B.J., Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Moving forward, most people are unaware, that Warren Buffett is also the biggest contributor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (more than $30 billion). And in this, we see how the “system” of control gets its continuity. Finally, it was the Brzezinski plan that delivered us to the current sorry state of democracy. The former advisor to key presidents not only helped devise the plan to shift the world’s ideologies and social structure, but he also helped empower the super elites running the show, and the lower-middle class minions who would stoke the forest of orchestrated rebellion. When asked how he would deal with the super-rich, Brzezinski differentiated people like Warren Buffett and Gates from the rest, while at the same time feeding the mob that Trump now leads and the left learning hordes on the left hanging: “It would be increasingly helpful if there was a movement to publish, worldwide, lists of those who make, largely through speculation, enormous amounts of money almost instantly, and hide the fact from their social context.” A Government of Business Power So, a ruling elite was and is to be lifted, isolated, and protected using demonic intimidation from every vector. Today’s dog and pony show across western capitals have roots in Rockefeller’s and Brzezinski’s Trilateral Commission, established to help put in motion the tenets from the latter’s Between Two Ages manifesto. If I throw in the fact that the Trilateral Commission’s notable member list includes such notorious super-rich as Jeffrey Epstein here, I’ve no doubt the reader will be overwhelmed by the scope of this “plan” for turning the world upside down. Finally, the academic Noam Chomsky once criticized the commission’s goals as undemocratic saying the publication of the organization, The Crisis of Democracy reflects how modern democratic systems are not democracy at all, but systems controlled by elites. And the Rockefeller Foundation’s support of the various German eugenics programs and the connections to Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele and Auschwitz tarnish anyone and everyone associated with Rockefeller, and the ruling elite of this new “modern ideal” or technetronic society. In his 1980 book With No Apologies, Republican Senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater called the Trilateral Commission: “A skillful, coordinated effort to seize control and consolidate the four centers of power: political, monetary, intellectual, and ecclesiastical in the creation of a worldwide economic power superior to the political governments of the nation-states involved.” The Brzezinski Plan for new democracy is the liberal world order’s plan for humanity. It’s a process that’s been going on for decades, one centered around and dependent on the puppet President Donald Trump. You see, I believe it is Trump’s mission to utterly destroy the very social class of people he is supported by. It is the only idea that makes sense if you examine the loosed cannon idiocy of an otherwise shrewd businessman. What better way to bury the working class who have been bred, reared, and marginalized into mediocrity than to create a revolution against everything they stood for? The Confederate flag, the statues of heroes, the race issues resurfacing, riots, discord, snarling and biting at anyone and anything that is not TRUMP! Real Death, Real Fear, Real Monopolization For this Technetronic Era to culminate in a Utopia for the ruling classes, a pandemic was set loose, a very special kind of virus engineered (probably) for segmenting society. The hard-nosed working class would shun the femininity and weakness of mask-wearing, while the ultra-liberals at the other end of the spectrum would thrive on the morality of caring – and on winning against the callousness of right-wing discord. As I try to explain to those who ask, the situation today is a perfect storm of social upheaval engineered to bring in this new society. You see, both sides of the COVID argument are right – and wrong – at the same instant. This is as it was planned. Bill Gates and his monopoly on vaccines and the health community can hide in plain sight, while Trump’s and Biden’s handlers rake in hundreds of billions playing the dynamic markets. Watching it, at least from my perspective, is like watching the pressure in a boiler build up past the red danger gauge on the outside. In Hitler’s Shadow we find the depth of the US deep state and Brzezinski’s role in the planning for the new world without the Soviets (Russians) in the picture. There’s limited space for describing a CIA operation codenamed AERODYNAMIC which was the forerunner for transformative/revolutionary efforts in the CIS including Georgia, Ukraine, and now Belarus. The reader should understand that Brzezinski, and his father before him, were central figures in a movement to subdue and subdivide the Soviet bloc, and later Russia and her neighbors. No one reading this will know of a man named Mykola Lebed, who operated alongside Joseph Bandera and with the backing of the OSS and later the CIA. He immigrated to the United States because of his importance to the CIA and the deeps state, even though he was in league with the worst Nazis who ever breathed. Brzezinski broadened the scope of AERODYNAMIC, which was in league with former Nazi sympathizers to upend Stalin, and then later Soviet leadership. The history of it is all a deep well no single volume could encapsulate. Again, I have fallen too deep into the rabbit hole of the order, but the reader can observe via this CIA document bearing Brzezinski’s authorship how the plan for today was set in motion decades ago. Trump is destroying the Republican Party for good. Technocrat Bill Gates has monopolized immunization and will leverage it for this new Technetronic Society. The money and power behind this forceful transformation of our society are incalculable, mostly unseen, and probably unstoppable. Think about it, a plan to take over the world put in place decades ago, a plan hardly anyone notices because of its incremental, indomitable, and relentless nature. Sounds conspiratorial, doesn’t it? Well, conspiracies killed Caesar and overthrew the Czar. Conspiracies were the seeds of the American Revolution and the French one too. What? You think control is just a roll of the dice?

[duhragonball]

Describing Stuff

I’ve had this rattling around in my brain for a while, and I’ve got the day off and I’m trying to get used to this ergonomic keyboard I bought, so I figure I’ll write about this for a while.

Recently, I’ve been seeing more examples of really terrible writing where a male author describes a female character, and they seem to go out of their way to make it awkward and creepy and weird.   I don’t really feel like quoting any excerpts here, but you can find all sorts of examples on Twitter @men_write_women .

I feel like the common thread with all the ones I’ve seen is this compulsion to describe a woman in exhausting detail.  It always seems to boil down to how sexy the woman is, and why exactly she’s sexy, or what flaws she has that disqualify her from being sexy.   It’s sexist, because the emphasis is on the character as a sex fantasy for the author, and presumably the reader.   If the character has any other purpose in the story, it’s going to be undermined by a 500-word treatise on what her boobs look like.  It also insults and dismisses a sizable portion of the audience that, you know, may not be that into boobs.  

Writing is about setting priorities.  People talk about unlimited creative freedom and building entire universes at the point of their humble quills, and that’s horseshit.   Writing is all about deciding which parts of your daydream to keep and which to leave out.  You can’t capture every tiny detail of a character, or and object, or a scene.   Even if you could, it would take too long to document it all, and the reality is that the reader’s not going to parse that much information anyway.   So you have to decide which parts are important and which ones aren’t.    And if you blow 1,000 words trying to explain why breasts are cool, you’re sending a message to the reader about what your priorities are.    The message is: “I’m horny right now, and my libido is more important to me than this character or your enjoyment of the story.”   I don’t think that’s the message authors want to send.  

There’s also probably some ego bound up in this.   Every excerpt I see on @men_write_women seems to be completely unaware of any of the others.  It’s like each writer has deluded himself into thinking he’s the first person to try to describe sexy ladies in print.  That, or they think it’s been done before, but never quite right.  I sense such an enthusiasm whenever I read these things, like the author is going to pull out all the stops and come up with this literary salute to badonkadonk.  And it always ends up looking absurd, because they overthink it.    How can they not overthink it?   They're trying to come up with an extra-special description of something people see all the time.   I’m pretty sure that’s how the word “badonkadonk” was invented, because no existing words were sufficient.   

I’m going to talk about professional wrestling here in a minute, but first, let’s class the joint up by looking at the poem “Trees” by Alfred Joyce Kilmer.

I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

It’s that last line that made me think of the poem just now, because Kilmer recognized that he could never hope to recreate the beauty of a tree in mere words.  At best, he could only string together a few lines to remind people of how nice trees look, which is an achievement in itself, but it’s never going to be as good as the real thing.   If poems about trees can be beautiful, then how much more beautiful a poem is the tree itself?

But look at all the stuff he leaves out.   He doesn’t mention the trunk at all, or the rough texture of the bark, or the way the leaves turn color in the fall.   That’s because Kilmer wasn’t writing a monograph about the appearance of a tree for space aliens who’ve never seen one.     He was making the assumption that his readers were already familiar with trees and referencing imagery they might have seen before.

I think the same trick can be applied to women (or any humans for that matter), since readers can be trusted to know what they look like.    I also think it’s safe to assume that the inherent beauty of humans is comparable to that of trees, so a quick, simple description can be plenty.  

That’s kind of my approach to this sort of thing.   I’ve always struggled with describing things in stories, mainly because I would see these lengthy, detailed descriptions in books, and I thought I was supposed to imitate that and couldn’t really pull it off.  But eventually I realized that I didn’t need to, and maybe I’m better off if I don’t even try.   One of the stories that clinched this for me was “Gold” by Isaac Asimov.   The main character is contracted to make a movie adaptation out of a book, which happens to resemble another Asimov story, The Gods Themselves.   The problem is that the aliens in the book are sparingly described, so the guy has no idea where to begin.   Through the author character, Asimov defends his own writing style, opting to keep things fairly abstract, and relying on the reader to fill in the gaps. 

I could relate to this, because when I read Les Miserables in high school,  I couldn’t get past Jean Valjean’s name, because it reminded me of Jean Paul-Valley, the DC Comics character who filled in as Batman while Bruce Wayne was injured in 1993-1994.   Try as I might, I could not shake the image of Valjean trudging through the novel in an armored Batman costume.    So eventually I stopped trying, and ran with it.   I have no idea what Valjean was supposed to have looked like.   Victor Hugo might have described him, but I only ever imagined a young man with long blond hair and glasses.    Wearing an armored Batman costume.  

I’m not sure exactly when I put it all together, but eventually I realized that it’s all theater of the mind, and ultimately the reader is going to imagine whatever the reader wants, regardless of what you put on the page.  If you say this guy wore blue and the reader likes red better, they’ll just start imagining it’s red.   They may know factually that it’s blue, but you can’t stop them from making that switch.    Now, knowing that, doesn’t it seem a bit futile to describe exactly what shade of blue it is?    You can pontificate about the profundity of the color blue, and how the guy’s shirt was the color of the ocean on a blustery afternoon off the shore of Maine, but your reader is like “Nah, mate, I like red better”, then you’re probably wasting words.

I’m not saying it’s pointless to specify details.  If a reader was completely unwilling to cooperate with your story, then they’re probably not reading it in the first place.   But I think writers need to make peace with the fact that readers are looking for cues and stage directions for their imaginations, not immutable details.   That’s why it’s so important to prioritize.   Take the most important details and get them out there up front, when the reader is most receptive to them.   Boob size is not important.    If boob size is one of the top three details for your character, then you either haven’t finished creating the character, or you probably don’t actually have any use for the character.

Just to demonstrate what I mean, I’m going to try to write a description of AEW referee Aubrey Edwards, as if she were a fictional character in a story.   I wasn’t sure what to use for an example, but I watched All Out Saturday and she officiated the main event, so I decided to go with her.     That’s her on the left, but I probably didn’t need to tell you that, since I think we all know how to spot a referee.

Now, first and foremost, if I were writing a story about a wrestling match, I probably wouldn’t bother mentioning the referee much at all.   Their whole role in these events is to be as inconspicuous as possible.   They just enforce the rules; it’s the wrestlers who are supposed to be the main attraction.   I’d probably just keep it simple.  

“The referee was a woman, but Dirk Hardcastle paid little mind to her.   His main concern lay in the competitors, and which of them, if either was his archnemesis, Tad Plowshare, in disguise.”    

Or I might not even go that far, and just use “she/her” pronouns whenever the referee is mentioned.  I want the reader to think about where Tad Plowshare is, not the referee.

Of course, if the big twist is that the ref is important, then I have to go into a little more detail, because now she’s in the spotlight. 

“It couldn’t be.   Dirk knew it had to be true from the way she looked directly at him and smiled deviously.   He would recognize that sinister grin on a thousand different faces.    But he had already ruled out the officials and production staff as suspects.   He had been so certain of this that he had ignored the referee completely, but she was definitely the one.   And now that it was too late, Tad Plowshare dropped the act entirely.  She pulled off the tie that held her brunette ponytail in place, and removed the black nitrile gloves from her hands.    Only moments ago, her expressions and movements had been those of a consummate professional, focused entirely upon adjudicating the match.   Her bright red lipstick had been the only sign that she had any sort of personal life outside of her work.    Now, as she laughed in triumph, the red on her lips only reminded Hardcastle of the blood of thousands of innocents, which would soon be spilled as a consequence of his failure.”

Maybe I’m laying this on too thick, but the core things I’m trying to convey about Edwards are her no-nonsense attitude, the way she wears her hair in a ponytail, and the red lipstick she wears, which seems to contradict her serious demeanor.   I wouldn’t even bother describing her referee uniform, because everyone has a general idea of what those look like.      The other night, I found it kind of odd how the stripes on AEW’s refs look wider than what I’m used to seeing, but a lot of wrestling refs don’t even wear stripes at all, so it really doesn’t matter a lot.   I’d probably only bring it up if there was a need to mention variations in uniform.    Like if she was officiating water polo instead.

What I don’t need to spend a lot of time on is her figure.  I don’t see much point in talking about how fat or thin she is unless I plan to have her crawl through a ventilation shaft, and then I could just confine it to “She fit”.   And that doesn’t tell you anything because you don’t know how big the ductwork is.  

Physical attractiveness is something I try to shy away from, because I figure that’s a subjective thing, and I don’t see much point in trying to cram my own standards down anyone’s throat.   I don’t think it does much good to just declare that such-and-such character is attractive; it’s better to have another character do it instead, and that way it says something about both characters. This one finds the other one to be hot.   If I want examples of what they find so hot in the other character, I’ll try to keep it vague.    “Well, Dirk Hardcastle has a cute chin.   What’s cute about it?  Who knows?   Who cares?   The character who’s admiring his chin, that’s who.   But why should it need to be explained in greater depth than that.  

The handy thing about this approach is that it leaves large swaths of Dirk’s body open to interpretation.    He could look like a troll doll and still have a “cute chin”.  He could have chest hair or not, be chubby or skinny, and so forth.   So if you want to join in the notion that he’s attractive, you can rule in your own type, whatever that is.    

I don’t know if that’s making any sense, but that’s how I try to approach it.   When I read these long things about knife-like boobs or gentle slopes of buttcracks or whatever, it annoys me because it feels like whoever wrote that was losing a game they never should have bothered trying to play.   All they needed to do was have the character who’s looking at this woman be like “Wow, this is the hottest lady I’ve ever seen” or something like that, describe whatever sexy dress she’s got on (briefly), and you’re done.     And only do that when you need to.   Dirk Hardcastle doesn’t have time to size up all the ladies, not while that bastard Tad Plowshare’s running loose.

[wyrdsistersofthedas]

Symbols and Signs: More Thoughts on the Dread Wolf Rises

Wow!  Thanks for all the comments, reblogs, and asks!  It’s great to read all y’alls thoughts on our posts.

And looking at how many of said comments, reblogs, and asks have to do with whether the figure in the new picture is Solas and if the orbs around the idol represent the Old Gods it looks like we need to share some of the method to our madness.  Now that our initial flailing about DA4 being a reality is under (mostly) control, I’ll try to break down our thinking.

We immediately believed the figure, the central circle, and the wolf represented Solas given his Inquisition tarot cards, the Heirophant, the Hermit, and the Tower.  There were just so many visual similarities and elements from these cards incorporated into the design of this new mural that we were pretty confident about saying the figure was Solas.  Nick Thornborrow later confirmed that the figure was bald directly, and that it was Solas indirectly (sort of), on his twitter account.

So we know visual elements associated with Solas were carefully incorporated into the new image to echo the symbolism of the earlier tarot cards.  It therefore stands to reason that other symbols in the Dread Wolf Rises mural could be found in “Solas’ art” throughout the games.  The one below, in particular, caught our eyes:  

In this mural, a Titan has been felled and its heart taken.  Notice that the asterisk symbol representing the heart or orb is the same as the half circles in the Dread Wolf Rises mural.  

This is what led us to conclude that the half circles represented orbs, like Solas’, rather than the Old Gods.  If they represented orbs, then seven orbs suggested the possibility that they represented the seven Evanuris imprisoned in the Fade.  We also think that the large circles represent the Veil, cutting off both Evanuris and Titans from waking world.  `

(Side note: Doesn’t the “eye” above the Titan look like the Inquisition’s original sigil?  The Inquisition of Old’s goal was to control Fade magic.  The symbols presence in this mural makes me wonder again if the mages and templars are just the newest recruits in an age old war, one first fought by the Evanuris and the Titans.)

The presence of the idol definitely suggests a connection to the taint, but perhaps not to the Old Gods.  The idol is actually way older than the Blights, suggesting it is tied to the origin of the taint, not necessarily the Old Gods who are untainted until they are found and awakened by the darkspawn.  

Your Majesty,

It's difficult getting a straight answer out of the scavenger. These sods get themselves so blighted they can't think straight, much less keep spit in their mouths. He says, however, that he's gone down into parts of the Deep Roads that are so old that our people forgot them long before the Blight even happened.

He spoke of great statues and temples--temples! He spoke of things that could have only been made of magic and of impossible ruins untouched by darkspawn. He described creatures the likes of which we've never seen.

None of it's possible, of course. I've conferred with the Shaper and he says the Memories date back to the founding of the first thaig--what could have come before that? Yes, we're unable to explore these depths the scavenger spoke of because of the darkspawn, but surely the Memories would speak of such places if they existed.

Yet in this scavenger's belongings, amidst all the filth, there was a single idol. It was clearly of dwarven make, but not resembling any Paragon on record. The idol was dressed in a manner I've never seen. The Shaper of Memories also could not identify it or the substance from which it was made. The thought that the Memories might be wrong is... unsettling.

��� Excerpt from a report sealed in the Orzammar royal archives by order of King Annalar Geldinblade in 8:48 Blessed.

Symbols, however, often have multiple interpretations depending on the point of view of the audience.  (Decima is working on a post about exactly this in regards to the tree behind the figure in the Dread Wolf Rises.)  Could the orbs represent the Old Gods?  It’s certainly possible.  Especially if the Old Gods are connected to the Evanuris.  

Setting the half orbs along side Solas and the red lyrium idol suggests a connection between all of them.  Solas definitely has strong feelings about the Blight, Grey Wardens, and beings like Corypheus who delve into tainted magics.  He expresses concern about the Blight and the methods the Grey Wardens employ to combat the archdemons several times in Inquisition so it is a logical premise that these orbs could also represent the two remaining Old Gods.  

The Wyrd Sisters have always hesitated to infer that the Evanuris and the Old Gods are one and the same.  With that being said, however, we do think they are connected.  We just think it’s more likely that the Old Gods are the Forgotten Ones and/or the Champions of the Evanuris rather than the Evanuris themselves.  Connected, but not the same beings.  Cassandra’s thinking follows similar lines when she discusses Corypheus’ dragon with Solas:

After Here Lies the Abyss:

Cassandra: Solas, the dragon Corypheus commands - could it truly be an Archdemon?

Solas: One assumes that if it were, we would be facing a Blight.

Cassandra: So what is it, then? A corrupted dragon, simply another darkspawn?

Solas: It is connected to Corypheus. Such a relation goes beyond mere control - it is a bond.

Cassandra: It makes you wonder if that's all the Archdemons themselves are: pets to beings who no longer exist.

Solas: I would not go as far as that. This dragon is a replica, spawned from a creature who aspires to greatness. No more.

The Old Gods could be part of what is tethering the Evanuris to the Black City.  If the Old Gods were their Champions (“pets”), they would be bound to the Evanuris in a similar manner to how Morrigan or the Inquisitor is bound to Flemythal if they take on the geas from the Well of Sorrows.  Perhaps the Old Gods have to be killed in order to sever those bonds and allow the Evanuris to be escape the Black City.  Bonds to the mortal world make it damn near impossible for spirits (and elves who can take on spirit forms) to return to drop their connections to the mortal world and travel the Fade uninhibited. 

How do you bind a god?  Use the chains they created for others against the gods themselves.  

This would explain why Solas shits a proverbial brick when he thinks about the Grey Wardens slaying the Old Gods.  They are “freeing” the Evanuris of one of their bindings.  This might also explain why the Old Gods are not corrupted until the darkspawn find them.  The Evanuris are “singing” to them through their agents.  They can then control the archdemons through their bond with their champions.  Anyway, thoughts for another day and a more coherent post.

-MM

Post scripts (because I can’t stop thinking about all this!)

-An interesting point that Decima brought up as we were talking about this post is that the innermost circle of the Dread Wolf Rises mural looks like it has eluvians crossing the Veil circle.  Some of these “eluvians” are dark and dormant.  Others are active and in use.  Could symbolize Solas’ use of the eluvian network as well as the potential for eluvians to breach the Veil allowing access to the Fade (a la Kieran).  Great catch on her part, me thinks!

-The Old Gods’ song calls to the darkspawn, Titan song on the other hand repels them.  The darkspawn are compelled to find the archdemon, but they never set foot in the Primeval Thaig.  Why?  

-Several of the Old Gods seem to have been imprisoned near Titans.  Were they “standing guard” over the Titans?  Or were they their jailers?  Prepared to give warning if they ever woke up?

-Are the Titans asleep...or tranquil?  Did Corypheus’ actions at the Temple of Sacred Ashes “reconnect” the Varta’s Titan to the Fade?  So many possibilities, so little time!

-Last thought (because I have to undermine myself).  If the Old Gods were the Evanuris then they are “fragments” similar to how Flemythal can separate pieces of herself in order to escape death and destruction.  When the Darkspawn find an Old God, the taint creates an instant connection between the imprisoned (and likely mad with Blight sickness) Evanuris and this fragment of their former selves.  

[knadire]

Art Theft Committed by CreepypastaDotCom and Chilling Tales for Dark Nights

Hey everybody. I just wanted to tell an important story to anyone out there that’s an artist or a fan of horror media. In the wake of the mess last weekend surrounding Twitter account @RareHorror failing to attribute art they reposted to the creator and having a massive and embarrassing meltdown (which you can read more about here, language warning: http://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/rare-horrors-twitter-meltdown-ignites-debate-over-artist-rights.php), I want to share a similar experience I’ve been having. It’s going to contain some disturbing (but fake) Photoshops and paintings so I’m sorry in advance if this sort of thing upsets you.

 So about a month ago, while talking with some friends, one of them drew my attention to how the Twitter page for CreepypastaDotCom was tweeting out about a story on their main website using an image that looked a little familiar. There was no credit to be found. After a little digging we realized that it was the work of a rather well known, found footage-style artist who goes by SlimeySwampGhost, which many of us were familiar with. After discovering this, we collectively began filling their comments section with remarks about this lack of attribution. SlimeySwampGhost himself eventually asked for credit.

After a full day with no further response from CreepypastaDotCom, I decided to scroll deeper. I discovered that for the past few months, ALL their Twitter content was made up of uncredited artwork. Every post contained an excerpt, a link to the story it was from, a handful of hashtags, and an uncredited piece of artwork. Through this, I found another account called Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. They themselves are a horror audio drama/narration channel I’ve known about for a while. Not only did they have posts identical to those made on CreepypastaDotCom’s Twitter page, but they had made even MORE promoting their podcasts, audio recordings, and YouTube videos, still using artwork that they had no ownership of.

I want to put it into perspective how much of a profit these websites are making. If you visit CreepypastaDotCom (which I do not recommend), it is filled to bursting with ads. Their most recent story, which is only 1500 words long, contains four standard and one video ad to the right, a banner across the side and bottom, and three built right into the story, between every four paragraphs or so. I have seen an even higher number on longer stories. Though not an exact number, the site Worth of Web estimates that nearly 10 000 people visit CreepypastaDotCom and it earns nearly $150 USD daily. Though their site’s lack of ads is a little less apparent in its source of income, Chilling Tales for Dark Nights offers a subscription service starting at $5 USD a month and capping at $79.99 a year, locking many of their stories and recordings behind a paywall . On top of this, Social Blade estimates their channel earning between $144 and $2.3K USD monthly. These are not small groups making a mistake; these are large companies making the active decision to omit credit, at times going out of their way to do so.

So, I decided to spend a free afternoon going on a little crusade of using a combination of Google Images and other backwards image searching services to find and credit nearly ALL of the art they reposted in their respective comments section.

The most disturbing cases I’ve seen are:

-a few artists that I was able to tag directly that stated that they hadn’t permitted them to use their art nor was it free for anyone to repost or use (at bare minimum without credit)

-multiple artists who were selling the piece they used or others as a print

-several drawings that had logos, names, signatures or watermarks cropped out of the image to even further remove credit

-a handful of concept art from indie games

The most disgusting one I found was an advertisement featured on both Twitter feeds for a book on Amazon by K Banning Kellum. Attached to this was a piece that I discovered was hand painted by François Baranger for a crowdfunded book, cropping out the full resolution to hide the space where the text was meant to be placed. They were using art from an unrelated book to advertise another. Both Banning and Baranger have made statements asking that the advert be taken down.

It took a few hours before I heard any word from either of them. CreepypastaDotCom initially excused all this to Twitter’s word count, citing that their Facebook page properly attributed the specific artist I was referring to (which they mentioned was a “friend” of theirs). I pointed out that though yes, they did credit that very specific artist on that other social media, they failed to do so with a good majority of the art they were sharing, and that they had no issue adding an additional tweet to that chain after I mentioned it but still to none of the others.

Both pages did eventually remove all of the incriminating posts, but not before blocking me immediately after this interaction.

I had this on the back of my mind until a month later, when I decided to check up on both of them after the RareHorror incident occurred. When plugging their most recent text-based stories they began using (what I hope to be) stock photographs, and most of CreepypastaDotCom’s Facebook feed now consists of memes. But all of the images that they had removed on Twitter had not ben touched on this social media page, and I also discovered an Instagram page for Chilling Tales doing the same thing. While going about making similar remarks on these respective pages, I recognized the watermark of Omega Black, who’s work was stolen by them before, directly used in a thumbnail for their podcast, which is one of the ones currently hidden behind their paywall. In fact, a majority of their recent thumbnails on their website, as well as on YouTube, have art done by other people that they have not credited. They only credit the artists that they commission art from, which they can, have, and CONTINUE to do. I have made efforts to properly attribute and ask that they remove these images as many places as I have been able.

In the middle of writing this, CreepypastaDotCom has removed ONLY the post about post about K Banning’s book, leaving up everything else, and has banned me from commenting on their Facebook page any further. Chilling Tales yet to make any sort of statement about this behaviour. Since posting this to Facebook, I have now been officially blocked on both Chilling Tales for Dark Nights and CreepypastaDotCom on there, as well as CTFDN's Instagram. The posts that got the most negative feedback over theft (belong to Francois and OmegaBlack respectively) have all been completely removed, BUT all the others are still there. All my comments linking back to their respective portfolios, ArtStations and DeviantART profiles have been wiped clean and they are left uncredited once more.

In the end I just want this sort of thing to end. It’s not right that these pages are piggybacking off of the artwork of others to generate more interest and clicks, to earn a profit that the original creators will not see a cent of. As an artist myself who has had their art mistaken for free clipart in the past I can’t image what it must be like to have your work used on a much larger scale. So if anyone from the CreepypastaDotCom or Chilling Tales for Dark Nights team is reading this, please consider removing all these. It’s neither legally nor morally right.

If anyone following me is able to, I ask that you consider addressing all this yourselves on your social media of choice. I don’t want any outright harassment, but it seems like as with most large corporations, a large group of people expressing their dissatisfaction is the only way to incite any change. As only one person there’s only so much I’ve been able to do.

Any artists following me should be extremely cautious of who is using your art and for what purpose. If this is happening to anyone I know personally I’ve got your back and I’ll do everything I can to get it removed or appropriately attributed.

If you intend on doing anything like Chilling Tales in the future, even tangentially related, the Creepypasta Wiki is a better while still expansive resource for stories. Here are also some resources you can use for royalty free or public domain photographs and images:

https://pixabay.com/

https://unsplash.com/

https://stocksnap.io/

https://www.pexels.com/

If you want to use art that you like, at least ask permission first. The worst they can say is no, and no response is NOT approval. Credit the artist, and Google Images is not a source.

Below is a list of all the artists I was able to find who’s work has been stolen and left unattributed. It is not completely comprehensive since backwards image searching only goes so far, and as only one person I have only been able to track their posts back to the beginning of January due to their absolutely massive backlog of images.

https://www.deviantart.com/drfaustusau

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2331644373749140/?type=3&theater

 Gary Pullin

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2330164767230434/?type=3&theater

 Joe Webb

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2329562920623952/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/jflaxman

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2328831980697046/?type=3&theater

 *https://www.deviantart.com/koidl

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2326650480915196/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2326647174248860/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsnqEW_lpsc/

  https://www.deviantart.com/almanegra

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2326866630893581/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2445654418787737/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxYy84xFsc6/

 Masahiro Sawada

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2324896661090578/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/daverapoza

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2324062071174037/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/chromattix

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2324881584425419/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2440420665977779/?type=3&theater

 Emil Melmoth

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2322323768014534/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/kumpan/

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2322322098014701/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2433247106695135/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/jasonedmiston

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1955865917993656/2313320382248206/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/panchecco/

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2290413431205568/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2349352058417974/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2294791423874038/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2255315011155013/?type=3&theater

  https://www.deviantart.com/loish

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2286125321634379/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2338187819534398/?type=3&theater

 Ares Dragonis

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2284644478449130/?type=3&theater

 Matteo Ascente

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2282149892031922/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2327855437234303/?type=3&theater

 Klaus Wittmann

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2274267342820177/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2307437519276095/?type=3&theater

 Miklós Ligeti

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2272191189694459/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2302082193144961/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2442398692446643/?type=3&theater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiT77ezGfzY

 Eric Felten

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2271754523071459/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2301019089917938/?type=3&theater

 Jay Zhou

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2268483903398521/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2292754607411053/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/danielgrzeszkiewicz

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2265915273655384/?type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2286888337997680/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/nrjin

https://www.facebook.com/creepypastadotcom/photos/a.1890769041170011/2260490967531148/?type=3&theater

 Alex Monge

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2354560677897112/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvIqWUTl76c/

 OmegaBlack

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2433720263314486/?type=3&theater

 https://www.deviantart.com/dloliver

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2414995095187003/?type=3&theater

 Fernando Acosta

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2262643733755474/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bss96BaFaC1/

 Pedro Silvia

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2238916129461568/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEgbuqFJRD/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVeESsQbBl4

 https://www.deviantart.com/dominikbroniek/

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2458696254150220/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxsD7zXli7y/

https://audioboom.com/posts/7265417-the-art-of-imitation-chilling-tales-for-dark-nights

 https://www.deviantart.com/eemeling

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2454194474600398/?type=3&theater

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_zvU9u1epc

 https://www.deviantart.com/s-caruso

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2346953118657868/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7Wkr1FseL/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jae1pm4ui0

 Dario Puggioni

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2326173137402533/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuWnJ93lLjp/

https://youtu.be/kaLO87La0q0

 Clint Nitkev

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2309484632404717/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt7iHxDlFzm/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ZFM1EyBFQ

 https://www.deviantart.com/emerald-depths

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2273329246020256/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_DQ9nlKMe/

 Blaz Porenta

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2249680588385122/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsWkhdDldGI/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd0o6Lfac9o

 https://www.deviantart.com/jflaxman/

https://www.facebook.com/chillingtalesfordarknights/photos/a.684108731608990/2244718002214714/?type=3&theater

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOEvcVleCu/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qOOCS49RVM

[lets-steal-an-archive]

Supernatural’s “Silent Majority” and Hating Misha Collins

Excerpted from: Chin, B. (2019). When hated characters talk back: Twitter, hate, and fan/celebrity interaction. In M. Click (Ed.) Anti-Fandom: Dislike and Hate in the Digital Age. NYU Press. Google Books preview: 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 307, 308.

New characters are commonly introduced to long-running shows for a variety of reasons: to tell additional stories (e.g., when a lead actor eaves prior to the show’s end or when the stories are too dependent on a small group of characters) or to introduce a love interest for a lead character. These additions and changes sometimes divide fandoms, splintering fan groups into those who love, and those who hate, the changes.

Supernatural debuted on the CW [sic] in 2005. In its fourteenth season at the time of this writing, the show tells the story of Dean Winchester (played by Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (played by Jared Padalecki), brothers who were trained by their father to hunt and kill supernatural beings after their mother was brutally murdered by a demon. Supporting characters in the form of love interests, other hunters, and demons have dropped in and out of the Winchester brothers’ nomadic lives, but it is their relationship with one another that drives the show’s main storyline. In the season 4 (2008) premiere, a new character in the form of an angel, Castiel (played by Misha Collins), was introduced and subsequently added to the main cast(4) thus introducing a storyline featuring the battle between angels and demons, which became deeply embedded into Supernatural’s overarching mythology.

The show’s online fandom is largely based on the website LiveJournal, which hosts numerous online communities for episodic discussions and the archival coverage of fan-creative works like icons, fan videos, and fan fiction(5). Tumblr has also become a popular platform for the fandom, particularly for image-based posts such as GIFsets. Aside from LiveJournal and Tumblr, a collaborative website in the form of Wikipedia known as Super-Wiki (hosted at www.supernaturalwiki.com) is also popular, documenting news and information on the show, the cast and crew, convention reports, as well as the norms, culture, and practices of the fandom.

As the show features a predominately male cast, slash parings -- particularly that of Sam/Dean (known collectively as “Wincest”) and Dean/Castiel (”Destiel”) -- are popular with fans(6). The two fan groups often have a publicly antagonistic relationship, with fans competing for each paring’s popularity on Internet polls and for legitimization from the producers. On the one hand, Destiel supporters argue that writers and producers imbue Dean and Castiel’s interactions with innuendo, which are then not followed through in then show. While Collins (Castiel) has openly engaged in conversations with fans about Destiel at numerous fan conventions and events, others (including the producers and Jensen Ackles, who plays Dean) appear to be less receptive of this fan reading, with Ackles frequently refusing to answer any questions related to the pairing or Dean’s sexuality at conventions(7).

On the other hand, some fans see Wincest at the accepted pairing in canon, as episodes such as the fourth season “The Monster at the End of the Book” (airdate April 2, 2009) addressed the show’s fandom directly, making tongue-in-cheek references to Wincest. Fans have been divided by the episode, according to Laura Felschow (2010, para. 1.2), with some viewing it as “playful and inclusive” while others see its representation of slash (Wincest) as “harsh and demeaning.” The show’s nods to Wincest, and the producers’ continual tease on Destiel, led to fans’ constant struggle for their reading of the text to be legitimated by producers and recognized as canon(8). Castiel is often credited by the popular press as a fan favorite, but some fans, however, view the inclusion of Castiel as an impediment to the development of Sam’s storyline and to the Wincest paring(9), particularly when Destiel supporters frequently campaign for the recognition of their paring online and during conventions, confronting producers on their refusal to embrace the Destiel paring but continuing to tease fans with homoerotic subtext anyway(10). This has often resulted in ire, not just directed at Destiel shippers but also at Castiel (and by extension, Misha Collins, the actor). This character has seen the formulation of such groups as the “SPN Silent Majority,” established at the end of the show’s seventh season in 2012 by fans who felt that the writing quality on Supernatural had declined and that the addition of Castiel (as well as other supporting characters) robbed “the emotional resonance and quality” (SPN Silent Majority 2012a) of the show. These Castiel anti-fans believe the show should be grounded in the relationship between the Winchester brothers, rather than those with other supporting characters (in particular, Castiel, whose friendship with Dean forms an integral part of the show’s story arc in later seasons). Although SPN Silent Majority’s strategy involved writing to the show’s producers, studio and network, as well as directly tweeting Supernatural’s executive producers and writers, the campaign was linked to a “I hate Misha Collins Day” movement. Anonymous messages were left on Supernatural fans’ Tumblr blogs announcing an organized effort to vocalize and share the hate by tweeting the CW, the network’s publicist, and the show’s producers, calling for Collins (Castiel) to be removed permanently from the show. In retaliation, the actor’s fans organized a “We Love Misha” countermovement and reported a suspected Twitter account for spreading hate speech(11). As the Twitter hate campaign caught the attention of several Internet-based entertainment websites(12), SPN Silent Majority, who was accused of organizing the actions, declared the campaign to be a hoax spread by Destiel shippers to subvert their campaign to restore the show to its original focus on the brothers:

We’ve seen over and over again how determined one group of fans on one side of the ship war is trying to pull us into their trenches. ... After a week of these attacks, our theory is that a handful of fans are trying to hold parts of the fandom in a chokehold have been proven true. These are very dirty tactics and have no place in a community. [SPN Silent Majority 2012b]

The attention to the “I Hate Misha Collins Day” brought on by the reports on Internet-based entertainment sites and fans tweeting the actors directly also caught the attention of several cast members, such as Jim Beaver (Bobby Singer) and Richard Speight, Jr. (The Trickster/Gabriel), who, along with Collins, tweeted in response to the fans’ action of spreading hate (Beaver #1, #2, #3, #4; Speight #1; Collins #1).

Alice Marwick and danah boyd argue that part of Twitter’s appeal for fans is the perception that fans get direct access to celebrities and are able to interact with them: “Famous people mention fans to perform connection and availability, give back to loyal followers, and manage their popularity” (Markwick and boyd 2011, 145). The proliferation and immediacy of the medium also makes it a good tool for fans to organize campaigns, as both the “I Hate Misha Collins” and “We Love Misha” movements make Twitter their main platform for spreading the hate (and love). The media industry’s presence on the platform -- the CW network, its publicity department, Supernatural’s producers, and many of the show’s regular and recurring cast members -- makes Twitter a convenient space in which frustrated fans can air their grievances. In this case, Twitter is also used to counteract the anti-fan campaign to have Collins (Castiel) fired, as well as to call out the fan faction that is unhappy about his inclusion to the cast.

By tweeting the cast members directly and informing them of the hate some fan faction were determined to spread, fans were highlighting the hate to others who may have no knowledge of the campaign previously, potentially inciting interfactional hate within the Supernatural fandom as fans rushed to defend the show, its producers, and cast members. The hate campaign towards Misha Collins (Castiel) exemplifies the complex makeup of fan identity, whereby hate is very intricately linked to love. SPN Silent Majority’s campaign, it can be argued, stems from altruism: to return the show to its original emphasis (i.e., the brothers), thus calling for the exclusion of, or reduced screen time for, other characters whom they see as a threat and impediment to the advancement of the original storyline and, more important, the brothers’ relationship. In this case, it can be argued that fans adopted the strategies of anti-fandom to try and sway media producers to support their readings of the text. The actions of the Castiel haters resemble the definition of anti-fans advanced by Theodoropoulou (2007), whereby the fan becomes an anti-fan of the object (in this case, the character and, by extension, the actor) that threatens their love of the source text.

Collins’ tweet above could be interpreted as a way of telling anti-fans that his position in the show is secure and that the hate campaigns would not affect him in any way (i.e., the fans are powerless). Having said that, despite the public rebuttal of the hate campaign by the actors, none of the fans involved were individually named or tagged (on Twitter) by the actors who commented on the issue.

[...]

Derek Johnson asserts that “fans attack and criticize media producers whom they feel threaten their meta-textual interests” (Johnson 2007, 298), but I argue that through social media, fan frustrations can also manifest toward actors who portray characters whom they hate and feel are taking attention away from other beloved characters or pose a threat to fans’ favorite pairings. With the proliferation of social media networks like Twitter, fans are increasingly taking their frustrations with storylines and characterizations directly to media producers and actors on the platform, utilizing official hashtags as well as organizing hate campaigns to make their feelings known.

But just as hate campaigns such as Supernatural fandom’s “I Hate Misha Collins Day” can be organized, or anti-fans of H50′s Catherine Rollins can appropriate the show’s hashtag to criticize her character, fans opposed to the hate can likewise bring the actor’s attention to the hate, as Supernatural fans did when they alerted the show’s actors active on Twitter to the Misha Collins hate campaign. Likewise, the actors can choose to respond directly (in the case of Michelle Borth) or indirectly (as in Misha Collins). Both cases show that fandom can very often shift into anti-fandom when fans feel their concerns and opinions about the show and its direction are not being taken seriously by those involved in the production. This isn’t to say that fans shifting emotions toward their favorite shows are anything new; rather, the case studies above indicate that social media networks like Twitter and Tumblr have enabled fans to organize hate and counterhate (as well as save-the-show) campaigns, and just as much as Twitter is used by fans to express their love toward a show, character, or actor, social media networks are also used to express frustration, dislike, and hate toward actors and producers. What is also distinct is that social media like Twitter provide a platform with which actors and producers can directly respond to these expressions of hate and love.

--

4. For some fans, the inclusion of Castiel intervenes with the family dynamics of Sam and Dean, as Castiel was introduced as Dean’s savior, fans felt Sam was sidelined to develop Dean and Castiel’s connection and friendship.

5. The show also has an active offline fandom that centers on conventions (with the first Supernatural-centered convention occurring in Chicago in 2007) in various cities across North America, as well as in Europe, Australia, and South America. These conventions occur throughout the year and often have cast attendance. A collection of some Supernatural fan fiction has also moved to the website Archive of Our Own (https://archiveofourown.org) which, as of May 2014, stores close to seventy thousand stories (with over twenty-five thousand of those stories featuring the slash pairing Destiel), while the website Fanfiction (www.fanfiction.net) has around ninety-four thousand stories.

6. Catherine Tosenberger argues that Supernatural’s format alludes to to classic male buddy series like Starsky and Hutch, and “the fact that Sam and Dean are brothers in no way detracts from the slashy vibe. In fact, as brothers, they are given a pass for displays of emotion that masculinity in our culture usually forbids, which intensifies the potential for queer readings” (Tosenberger 2008, para 1.2).

7. Supernatural Wiki (n.d.) has documented some of the earlier exchanges in the show that comment on the relationship between Dean and Castiel, including the reception of the pairing among producers and the cast. Misha Collins (Castiel) has also spoken at length in an interview about why he engages with fans on the topic with Katherine Larsen and Lynn Zubernis (2014). Fans who want the pairing acknowledged as canon have accused the producers of “queerbaiting” -- a term, as described by the website Fanlore, used by fans to describe the “perceived attempt by canon creators ... to woo queer fans by introducing a character whose sexuality seems, early on, to be coded as something other than one hundred percent heterosexual (Fanlore, n.d.). For an example of this kind of discussion, which is a complicated issue that I do not have the space to get into here, see Veronika K. (2013).

8. “The Monster at the End of the Book” is by no means the only episode that features a representation of Supernatural’s fandom. In the course of the show’s airing history, six other episodes have referred to, or commented on, the show’s fanbase, represented through the recurring character of Becky.

9. I’m not suggesting here that fans who hate Castiel are immediately supporters of Wincest, Rather, there are also fans who felt that the inclusion of Castiel intervenes with the brothers’ story, specifically, that Sam’s characterization is often sacrificed for the development of Dean and Castiel.

10. A recent public confrontation among fans, anti-fans, and the producers can be seen during CW’s Supernatural promotion for the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, which resulted in CW having to cancel the #AskSupernatural hashtag on Twitter. The incident was reported by Cruz (2014) and Romano (2014).

11. See, e.g., Sup3rnatural (n.d.) for an example of a “We Hate Misha Collins Day” declaration. Also see r/Supernatural (n.d.); and Wilken (2012).

12. In a possible separate lead-up to these events, threats toward Misha Collins were sent anonymously to various Castiel fans and Destiel shippers, intimating that the actor be set on fire. See r/Supernatural (n.d.); and Wilken (2012). 

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, May 2019

Welcome to my latest summary of recent news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & ecommerce! This covers articles I came across from May 3 to May 30, although some may be older than that. 

I am out of town June 10-16, so I cannot predict when the next edition will come out, but I will do my best to make it before the June trip. I’ve recently narrowed my reading list so that I can get through it more quickly and post these more often. If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know! 

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

If you had your entire promoted listing budget eaten up by clicks on an item with “shoe” in the searchable keywords, contact Etsy to make sure you will be refunded. 

Etsy was accidentally suspending some shops for not using Etsy Payments, but they are in ineligible countries. Some but not all drop ship or use fulfillment in countries with Etsy Payments, but that doesn’t appear to explain all the errors. 

Mailchimp launches a new marketing platform that integrates multiple marketing needs, not just emails. Pricing will stay the same for existing customers for the time being. 

On the same topic, here is a study of various email services, and their different deliver-ability rates. 

Etsy is being sued after a child dies, strangled by an amber necklace bought on Etsy. [video & article] This is getting a fair amount of media attention. Not covered in many stories is the fact that the daycare employees didn’t call 911 at first, and the day home had more infants that day than they were licensed for.  

Better media attention: disappointed in the long delay for the introduction of the Harriet Tubman $20 bill in the US, an Etsy seller designed a stamp buyers can use to cover up Jackson’s face with Tubman’s. “Harriet Tubman” is a trending search on Etsy frequently since these articles, so this media coverage is really bringing traffic to the site.

Amazon is now using packing machines in a few of its warehouses that replace 12 workers each. They have other warehouse automation, too, & just started work on their hub at the Cincinnati airport. If you need any more evidence that diversification is the key to successful businesses, remember that they make the biggest chunk of their profit on their cloud services. 

ETSY NEWS 

This year, Etsy’s Maker Cities program (US only) has joined up with Mastercard for their grants. Applications are due July 3, and there is a webinar on June 3 with more info and instructions. [links in article]

They’s also extended their Design Awards submission deadline to June 4. Check out their FAQ if you have any questions.  

Etsy released a summer update to their spring/summer trends guide, with some useful search data. Clothing shoppers are interested in vintage styles, “with Etsy searches for “70s” and “90s” up 26% and 7% year over year.” I summarized the earlier report here.

In case you missed it, Etsy released their first quarter financial report for 2019, & I summarized it in the Etsy forum. 

In related news, Etsy ranks 3rd in USA Today's list of the top 20 fastest growing retailers in the world, even ahead of Amazon.

Some businesses are competing based on delivery speed, but Etsy is able to do well with much slower shipping. (That’s a nice feature in an article they didn’t write; not all good promotion is paid.)

I can’t remember if I posted this interview with Etsy chief financial officer Rachel Glaser before, so here it is again. [audio file/podcast and short text excerpt. Please note I have contacted Etsy about the photos & search comment, but they have not yet replied, other than with the usual links to Etsy’s search guide.] 

Short piece on Etsy’s approach to diversity. Spoiler alert - they like it, and the article links to other materials demonstrating why this is the best approach for businesses.  

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

If you want to get your website or blog material ranking faster, Moz has some tips for you. Note that the first part in particular contains advanced-level technical tips, but most of the rest is easier to grasp for non-techies. It’s worth a skim! 

But don’t break Wikipedia rules to get your images on top - North Face got caught doing that, & had to apologize. But “[f]rom Leo Burnett Tailor Made's original statement, it seems the agency was anticipating such a reaction to the North Face effort all along. In stunts like these, the ensuing controversy and attention around it can be part of the overall campaign goal and strategy.”

Once your website starts getting Google traffic, it is not unusual for growth to start to slow or even stop completely, but there are things you can do to avoid that.

Despite many people insisting that longer blog posts are necessary for good Google ranking, there is no ideal length for a blog post. 

Here’s a good list of free SEO tools; note that some are paid tools that have a limited free version. 

Links on other high-quality websites still matter to Google. (Most of us won’t be able to do the link-building that this test did, but the test demonstrates how much the links are worth. So if you aren’t ranking, realize that other people linking to your page is probably a big factor.) Some of your pages might fit perfectly on a resource page/site, if they answer a question or uniquely fill a need. You can find link opportunities on Twitter through following certain hashtags and engaging with the users. 

Google search results now include podcasts. “This feature doesn’t only search for the title or meta data of the podcasts but also can search for the audio – as Google transcribes them — directly within the podcast show itself.”

As of July 1, Google will use the mobile version of all new websites for their index, so make sure that you have a good mobile set up on any new websites (or old ones, for that matter, since most web traffic is mobile these days). 

There was a possible Google search update around May 9, then May 22, and now maybe May 29th. Google updates its algorithm a lot, if you hadn’t already noticed.  "To give you a sense of the scale of the changes that Google considers, in 2010 we conducted 13,311 precision evaluations to see whether proposed algorithm changes improved the quality of its search results, 8,157 side-by-side experiments where it presented two sets of search results to a panel of human testers and had the evaluators rank which set of results was better, and 2,800 click evaluations to see how a small sample of real-life Google users responded to the change.” (and some people think Etsy tests a lot LOL)

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

Have popular content on one platform/site? You can repurpose it to use elsewhere, for maximum reach. It’s less work than coming up with brand new ideas all of the time! 

Micro-influencers may work best for most businesses, because they can speak directly to your target market. 

There are proven ways to get more social media followers; it’s not just luck. 

Up-to-date infographic on the ideal sizes for social media images, by platform. 

Facebook announced several upcoming plans at their annual developer conference, including a desktop redesign. Facebook has also changed the video algorithm to favour posts that people watch for longer, and to disfavour posts that are just repurposing old video. 

Tweetdeck is rolling out more updates, including emojis and the ability to set up polls within the app. I use it, & I like it - I wish they had a phone app! 

If you are using LinkedIn, you may be missing some great tricks to get more attention. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Here’s how you can get better results out of Microsoft ads (formerly Bing ads) 

There was a bug in Google ads stats for April 30 & May 1st; they are working on fixing it. 

Google advertising can be very confusing, so here as some tips on mistakes you should avoid. [video with transcript] They also recently announced some upcoming changes.

Etsy shops can only buy their own Google Shopping ads through Etsy’s program, or you can let Etsy buy them for your shop, but if you want to advertise your website, here is a great starter guide.

Chrome is giving you more control over cookies so that you can avoid more targeted ads. Some point out this is not necessarily as user-friendly as it sounds - it means Google can stop other companies from tracking their ad performance while Google has all those records through Chrome & other tools.  

Facebook is also giving users more control over tracking for ads, & advertisers are not happy. 

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING 

You are going to be surprised that Russian search engine Yandex has a really good Webmaster tools package.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Some people are comparing Walmart’s new online wedding shop to Etsy, "with tons of personalized wedding gifts to buy on a budget.”

The coverage of Amazon’s big announcement about one-day shipping with Prime (in the US) mostly missed the fact that Amazon can already deliver to 72% of the US population in one day. 

Amazon employees told some third-party sellers that religious items were banned from the site - but it wasn’t true. 

Big Commerce now has a plug-in for Wordpress blogs. 

As promised, Zibbet has added Etsy to its integrations, which allows you to list on Zibbet and it will automatically be added to Etsy as well. This is only going to be useful once they add other platforms (since Zibbet has no traffic), so shop around if you are interested in this sort of tool, as other companies are doing the same things. Indiemade websites completely integrate with Etsy, for example, and they have more website tools. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

With increased discussion of free shipping on Etsy recently, this is a good time to review some of the more recent studies & surveys on the topic.  One US report from January shows that buyer expectations in this area continue to increase. Shipping cost is a big factor in purchase decisions, & shipping costs are a common reason for cart abandonment. There are a variety of ways to calculate how to offer free shipping without losing money. (Thank you to Rebecca for the last link!)

If you want more shares on social media, this study on the top 5 reasons people share things online will be useful. But Americans are now more engaged by mobile games than social media, which has implications for app development and advertising. 

Googly eyes make people donate more.

Smaller online businesses tend to make very specific types of customer service mistakes that harm your ability to compete. Although there isn’t always much you can do about the fact that “37% of customers expect a response within an hour“.

Can everyone read and understand your web page? Easy-to-understand English is an important aspect of accessibility. 

Help Scout produces some fabulous material on customer service; here is a great article on value propositions, with examples, and another on how to collect customer feedback, including analyzing your stats package to see where customers are having trouble with your site. 

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour)

Trend alert: more professional women switching purses for backpacks. 

You can now control how long Google retains data on you. 

You can also join the class action against major US telecom companies that sold your location data. 

Another example of a company getting people to post photos so it can develop facial recognition technology. 

Some businesses are offering products & services based on your DNA & other biological markers. 

Most people worldwide over the age of 15 have a cell phone, although not all are regular users. 

If you are concerned about internet privacy, & hate tracking, the browser Brave may be worth a look. (I haven’t tried it yet, but it comes well-recommended from various tech people I respect.)

Burger King has trolled McDonald's in ads & social media posts for years, & it can be pretty funny. “When McDonald’s abruptly and surprisingly lost its trademark on “Big Mac” in the EU earlier this year, Burger King couldn’t help but rub some salt in the wound. BK’s Swedish operations decided to celebrate for a day by offering a menu of “Not Big Macs” such as “The Like a Big Mac, But Actually Big” and “The Big Mac-ish But Flame-Grilled of Course.”

[amrita-gsk]

I just read this

Which supposedly is an excerpt from an interview with Kubo... I believe this came out around last month, but I'm not really sure about the date and I also read that it was published in a new Shonen Jump exhibit volume? So yeah, I'm not 100% sure about the source... but anyway, I'll look into it later.

Thing is I'm pissed off by this???

Yes, I always did feel bad for Kubo and his health and I understand that mangakas working on a weekly schedule are over exploited, so getting word of him getting an injured tendon makes me a little sad but... Now he's going around saying it's not his health that makes him feel bad but the fact that he's lonely? And what's more, saying he's lonely because he "isn't thinking about his characters anymore" and so that would mean he misses them?

The. Hypocrite.

I mean, how can he miss the people to whom he wasn't considerate enough to give them a decent ending? Also, the man is married and that was partly why he took so many leaves during Bleach's serialization besides his poor health and yet he still feels lonely? I feel that's disrespectful to his wife. But whatever, his personal life shouldn't matter to us so I'll go back to the interview.

While I acknowledge that he must miss Bleach and its characters in a similar way we do, I also get the feeling that his loneliness could also be related to how many fans and followers he lost. Most of us who were with him during the years and supported him through twitter know just how much people talked to him everyday, wished him well regarding his health and other issues he had, congratulated him on every step of his career and overall showered him with affection. And that was lost first when he closed his account due to... a certain group of hateful people and later after the end of the series. Because as much as I love Bleach and at one time had Kubo up in a pedestal, after the ending I lost whatever admiration and respect I held for him and just like myself there are countless others that are the same.

If you don't believe me it reflects directly on his new twitter account which admittedly isn't really active at all and it's more like a PR account than anything... But just one look at the incredibly few comments there are and all people do is either complain about the ending, ask for the anime continuation srly people stop doing that, if you want a continuation ask Pierrot and Shueisha... see if they care, or ask for a sequel for the manga. Now, the last two might seem positive but I'm pointing they out because in the past we wouldn't shut up about how much we loved and admired him, yes, there were always those who asked things for the manga and anime related stuff, but in comparison the number of personal messages he got was overwhelmingly superior, all of them always thinking of his wellbeing.

So yeah, I don't doubt he misses his characters but I don't think even for a second that's all there is to it.

The man lost us and just now he's noticing exactly just what he lost. He can cry all he wants but the truth stands: he wronged all his characters, fans and followers, and now he has to live with the consequences.

[homewardaffiliate]

How To Advertise My Website For Free – Leveraging Social Media

– By Jayson Gold-Pambianchi

Welcome back, fellow Homeward Affiliates! And greetings to our new visitors.

In our last article, How to Write a Article – A Homeward Perspective, we explored some of the basic tactics an affiliate should employ when developing written content, identifying how one can find and harness their own uniqueness to facilitate success in any marketing niche.

Today, as promised, we will be switching gears to take a look at advertising, and more specifically, how you can advertise your website to increase traffic for FREE. Although there are a number of methods that can be used to this end, the most powerful one is undoubtedly through utilizing social media.

Within this article, we will breakdown the basics of social media advertising, introducing you to the benefits of leveraging:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn

Youtube

Without any further ado, let’s jump right in! 

A Book of a Billion Faces

Yep, that’s no exaggeration! There are roughly one billion people who use Facebook nearly every single day (you and I likely included among them). No matter where you are or what language you speak, Facebook enables you to connect and communicate with just about any user. Having such an extraordinarily large social network at the tips of your fingers has it’s perks; letting you socialize with colleagues, friends, and family from half-the-world away.

– However, such an internet hub is a marketer’s best friend for other substantial reasons.

I personally have around 580 friends on my Facebook account. When you think about it, that’s a rather low number, considering how large many other people’s friend lists have grown in recent years. Still, putting things into perspective, whenever I post a picture, article, or video on my Facebook feed, over half a thousand people can see it. And that’s a big deal.

As social creatures that we are, we have a habit of discussing the things which emotionally move us and have positive and negative impacts within our lives. To an advertiser, this behavior is priceless, as much of the marketing world is based around publicity spread by word of mouth. By linking your unique and valuable content to social media platforms like Facebook, you can expose and entice thousands of people to explore your website and advertising products and services.

As long as you are posting quality content, many of your friends will trust your work and see it as respectable. As they are already friends with you, they should find you to be quite reliable to consult for advice. At this point, simply providing those in your circles with information related to your niche can see your traffic increase and business outreach grow.

What is your most recent article on? Cars? Travel? The newest supplements on the health market? Well, there’s absolutely nothing to lose by sharing a link to that article on Facebook… so share! all you have to do is write a simple post and explain how your content can contribute to the well-being of the reader. And best of all, Facebook isn’t the only social media outlet your work can be shared through.

Enter: Twitter & Instagram

Spreading Your Content Through Cyberspace

As illustrated by the above image, there are so many social media outlets which can be used to your advantage, I’d need a month just to go over them all! But in the interest of giving you a breakdown on the largest and most popularly used platforms, let’s take a look at Twitter and Instagram.

While slightly varied from Facebook in structure and social function, twitter and Instagram are a fantastic way to remain connected quite literally in the here and now of worldly socialization. Whereas Facebook pays homage to its namesake by behaving like a detailed book on social behavior, twitter lives in the moment, typically used to provide one’s followers with quick glimpses into their daily lives and endeavors. Instagram is very similar, except instead of commonly writing about your activities in short excerpts, you primarily display your behavior in images.

Although this can seem confusing, as like facebook, both of these platforms allow one to write and provide photos to their social circles, it is important to understand that twitter is primarily used to give written descriptions of behaviors, whereas Instagram adversely uses imagery.

But Jayson, why would I even want to use twitter or Instagram when I have access to so many people through Facebook? Well, true as that maybe, roughly 330 million people use twitter, and 112 million use Instagram. I don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t want to lose out on that kind of audience.

Collectively, utilizing social media will spread your brand across the digital space, and increase traffic to your website with great speed, hastening your path towards success.

LinkedIn, Social (Network) Marketing

In addition to the more popular and relaxed modes of social communication, partaking in a more advanced and professional social networking platform can have major benefits. As you have undoubtedly come to understand, affiliate marketing is a substantial profession and requires many, many skills. It takes time to learn to market effectively just as it would for someone to hone any other craft or profession.

Naming just a fraction of attributes associated with an effective marketer; it is important to be charismatic, well-spoken, organized, communicative, ambitious, conscientious and pragmatic. In today’s world, a person possessing all of these skills is a commodity. As a fellow Homeward Affiliate with this drive to learn and find success by honing your craft, you have great value.

Having a LinkedIn account to let others know who you are and what your skillset is can heighten the public’s awareness of the value which you bring to others. Moreover, it is another mode through which you can refer people to your website and advertise content.

YouTube, the Power of the Moving Image

We come to the gold-standard of visual exposure. Nothing allows you to touch the hearts and minds of readers by turning them into viewers, allowing them to connect with you through videos, learning from you directly. Putting a voice towards a face and a writing style can bring you to life in the mind of a visitor. Most importantly, when others can get used to seeing you on a regular basis, it alters their perception of who you are and allows them to connect with you on a more intimate level.

Instead of simply seeing you as an informative leader in your niche, they may likely come to see you as a colleague or a closely regarded peer.

As I have said, we are social creatures and any mode of communication which allows us to connect with one another in closer and more complex levels facilitates stronger relationships and leads to better business endeavors. With over 1.3 billion people watching youtube videos on a regular basis, I encourage you to tap this font, using the platform for empowerment.

Your First Free Steps

While relatively brief, this overview is meant to give you a basic foundational understanding of why social media and social networking are invaluable to an affiliate marketer, enabling you to branch out your business, pull internet traffic towards your website and touch many lives in a positive manner. In the future, I will be giving more detailed breakdowns on how to utilize the platforms we have discussed here to hone your social media use.

For now, I simply recommend you explore them! Read a bit about each platform if you are in any way unfamiliar, understanding how they are different and what purposes they can serve.

If you would like to receive additional help learning about these platforms and how to use them, I welcome you to head on over to check out Wealthy Affiliate, my favorite marketing organization. The community is designed to help educate affiliates to hone their marketing skills, regardless of their level of experience. Through them, I learned nearly everything I know about leveraging social media, and feel you would learn a great deal as well.

– To Start Learning Alongside Your Fellow Homeward Affiliates, Click Here!

Or, if you’d like to learn more about Wealthy Affiliate, you can check out my Wealthy Affiliate Review.

If you have any questions about this overview or would like to share your personal opinion, please leave a comment below! I would be happy to hear from you and for others to learn through you. Otherwise, take and see you soon!

Warmest wishes and kindest regards,

– Jayson Gold-Pambianchi

See you on the other side, Homeward Affiliate!

source https://homewardaffiliate.com/how-to-advertise-my-website-for-free-leveraging-social-media/