#which like. is what it is. i'm not entitled to anybody's time or comments or kudos.

[novelconcepts]

i don't make resolutions, but if i did

it would be to finish this fic

(and to be kind to myself for however long it takes to actually do so)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP can you explain anything about what this UMG partnership might mean? I’m seeing some interesting conversation or some vague comments about it but it’s all going over my head a little bit.

***

Hi Anon,

The deal is simply an extension and expansion of the distribution deal HYBE has had with Universal Music Group (UMG) since 2021, which itself was an extension and expansion of the deal BigHit had with UMG Japan since 2017. The expanded scope in this latest deal includes the allowance for UMG artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish, to access and use the Weverse platform the way k-pop and HYBE-affiliated artists do now.

I've talked about this being the business case for Western artists using the Weverse platform on my blog before, here. So, none of this should be new or unexpected to anybody even marginally cognizant of how HYBE has been doing business since inception.

I saw your ask come in weeks ago, during the height of the hysteria around the UMG deal, and made it a point to not respond back then. Partly because I hope hindsight, now that everything has died down, better clearly shows just how ridiculous all of that fearmongering was.

Now, I'm about to say something technically controversial, but (as usual) it's what I think. I believe what's happening in online spaces right now all over the globe, is the (anti-)Jewish equivalent of the Red Scare. That's why the extension of a distribution deal that already existed, resulted in mass hysteria in a fandom filled with people who by all appearances are old enough to earn a salary and pay taxes. Regardless of how noble the cause, a lot of people are well past the point of no return in terms of the conspiracies they are ingesting as gospel. It's not exclusive to fandom spaces, like I said this is happening in online platforms all over. But fandoms are a pressurized environment and so it happens quicker in fandom spaces, even more so in a k-pop fandom where there already exists the latent expectation that k-pop idols and companies exist to cater to your every whim. It's the flip side of the parasocial contract between k-pop stans and the idols they feel entitled to.

I said this weeks ago, but I've checked out of this particular discourse. It took me some time to hear what the sides have to say, to see how they act, and to decide for myself what makes sense to me. None of it does, and so I've checked out.

Stream Neuron.

[tired-reader-writer]

Interior design ref! Also, the poor household staff lol.

What do you call this creature

A tiny Barhai spotted!

I am fond of Bahman, but he does admittedly harbor some uh, hm, Old-Fashioned™ sentiments and attitudes, see how he describes Team Arslan. Narsus did talk back to the king yes but like he was frustrated after his (good!) work was constantly being obstructed, Daryun can be stubborn yes but so can the older folk he ain't special in that regard, etc etc. Aside from the bond he shared with Hilmes, it is clear here that he does put stock in stuff like status and bloodlines (and obedience to the monarch) and that's why Arslan's lack of royal blood shook him to this extent.

I am sympathetic of him but it is interesting to examine his flaws like this.

Kinda interesting that he described Khuzestan as “the countryside”— the impression based on this discussion I got was kinda rural but not exactly remote or backwater so hmm.

Narsus is watching over the training and I'm just fond of this because does he strictly need to? Back when Arslan was training with Vahriz it's not like his other tutors felt the need to supervise him like that— but Narsus is, and perhaps he wanted to tell Arslan something and decided to wait here until he finished his training or something, but that isn't the impression I got from this chapter, he didn't seem like he was in a particular hurry to tell Arslan something.

In conclusion: He Dad™.

Cuuuuute.

No comment, I just really like this part and I'm forcing y'all to appreciate it.

Getting ready to journey again! Not much to say in this scene except Hilmes please calm down a little bit. It is kinda funny that he has faith in Daryun and Narsus, lol, though if anybody were to point it out to his face I'm sure he'd get mad.

Oooookay. Mahendra. Another character I feel bad for, but also hm.

This moment kinda stood out to me during this reread— because my first thought upon reading this scene again was “ain't it your job to, uh, point this out to your charge/liege, my dude?” because that's what an advisor should be, isn't it? Try to steer your lord to a more appropriate conduct and path. Gadhevi acts so entitled and ignorant and arrogant, I assume his upbringing had to do with that and while we don't get much in terms of backstory or how the Sindhuran princes grew up and how much of a role Mahendra could've possibly played in it, we do get a small tidbit from the novels that apparently they used to play together, the half-brothers and Salima (Jaswant was present as well), so Mahendra could've had a part in Gadhevi's upbringing and he... didn't thought to interfere earlier? Just... went along with it passively? Dude?????

Maybe I'm being too harsh on him, maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I couldn't help but fixate on it this time around, he doesn't voice his concerns, he doesn't try to rein Gadhevi in, he's just going along with it and that doesn't bode very well. What if Gadhevi were to ascend the throne and makes for a horrible king with this sort of attitude? What then?? What kind of country does Mahendra want to see?

I suppose this is sort of a common attitude among royal retainers, be unquestionably loyal to your monarch and support them. That's it. That's what Andragoras probably demands of his subjects, that's kinda sorta also reflected in Team Hilmes a little bit (though Hilmes allows himself to be advised and actually values his men unlike fucking Gadhevi), even somewhat in Rajendra which we'll see in a future scene.

Narsus and Arslan's dynamic however, is different.

Arslan is smart and has a good heart, but he is inexperienced and Narsus recognizes this, and he takes every opportunity he can to teach Arslan better. Make better decisions, shut down potentially harmful assumptions, all around he's interested in shaping Arslan to be a good ruler in his own right. He's a dedicated mentor.

I feel for Mahendra, to be sure, he met such a tragic end, but I can't help but take note of his unwillingness to help make his liege less callous. I suppose he was planning to compensate for it with his mercy, but... It's not enough. It'll never be enough.

RIP in advance, Mahendra. No wonder you were doomed from the start.

Barhai spotted!!!

[cagedchoices]

About using AI to write replies... Why does it matter if people do or not? Maybe they don't have time to come up with a reply on their own but still wanna be active on tumblr. I just don't see why everyone paniced the minute this came up and jumped to banning anyone who might use it.

It matters because as of now, there's not really very many restrictions on what writing AI language models are allowed to pull from or not.

OpenAI is being sued in California because reportedly their AI was found using material protected by copyright from two best-selling authors. The authors were hosting both published and unpublished work on SmashWords. This means that the artists who created the work that the AI used and Frankensteined together, weren't paid or credited for their contribution to its dataset. This is currently a HUGE concern being observed with AI art and AI voiceover capabilities as well, with the fear being that if you can just use an AI to make a painting or replicate a voice for free or otherwise at only a small cost, then why would you pay an artist or actor for their time and effort? And I believe it is a valid concern.

I saw a thumbnail for an AI cover of A.rthur M.organ singing on YouTube just yesterday. I didn't even click on it. I blocked the channel, which was called "Made With A.I." or something like that. Because what this means is that R.oger C.lark, the actual artist who portrays the character of A.rthur M.organ, is most likely not getting paid for his work even though the AI is pulling from audio/video clips of dialogue he recorded and then emulating the voice by cutting together and simulating all the different sounds it needs to process to make it sound like A.rthur singing. Thus, now YouTube is profiting from the site traffic and ad revenue that video is creating for them (because they put ads everywhere now regardless of if the video is monetized or not), and the company that built the AI voice program is profiting from its use, and possibly the channel creator is profiting off of posting these kinds of videos. The actor is not getting paid even though it's his voice on the line.

When it comes to fan works such as fanart, fanfiction, tumblr roleplay, we are in a different boat. We legally cannot claim copyright infringement or make a profit off of our work in any way. Everything we do and everything we make falls under a social contract.

Most of us believe that stealing is stealing. When people repost art and other graphics or writing and claim that they made these things when they didn't or they trace over or repaint someone else's fanart, we call them out for it and tell them to reblog from the source, give credit to the original poster and stop being an art thief. That's generally what the social contract is. AI as it stands right now, violates our social contract. It doesn't give credit to anything it finds on the internet. It assumes that everything it finds is fair game.

Now all of that said, I have not personally picked out anybody using AI in the rpc yet. What I have seen is a confession blog in which somebody stated in one confession post that people were starting to use AI chat bots to write positivity for them and they hated the idea of that. I found some evidence that something like this has been happening on ao3. Bots are allegedly using the usernames of existing ao3 members to leave anonymous comments, most likely after datascraping fics so that the number of hits don't look as suspicious in proportion to the number of comments and kudos.

There have also been more than a few comments on anti-AI posts in which other users admit to using AI language models to continue unfinished fics they stumble across, with some feeling entitled to do so because "well if you leave a fic unfinished for a year i'm gonna assume you're never coming back and take matters into my own hands to get the ending i deserve" Which is an insanely entitled cold take.

And for another thing, we can't trust the companies who are developing all of these AI programs, because they could be lying to us. Currently there's a bit of a panic going around concerning Google's new beta AI assistant. There have been several conflicting reports. Some have been saying that the AI scans all of the Google Docs you've saved, public and private. Others claim that it only looks at documents you have set to public, and still other claim that it doesn't scan or save anything that it scanned without your permission. The problem is that Google as a company has shown us repeatedly through past experiences that they cannot be fucking trusted. Remember when they said they would never sell your data without permission? And then they got caught and 'apologized' for selling everyone's data without permission? Yeah. It's that lack of transparency surrounding how the AI actually works that truly makes it unethical.

I'll admit that yeah it may have been a little hasty of some of us rpers to start adding rules against using AI to write as quickly as we did and with only a minimal 'wait are people actually doing this?' mentality, but the way I see it is, I would rather outline my stance on it now before it becomes a huge problem, than risk leaving it alone until it's effectively too late to matter.

And as for being a roleplayer in a hurry to get replies done... I think we should address the root of the problem there. People are so anxious and afraid that their writing partners will ditch them and move on or that they won't seem interested enough in writing if they aren't pumping out replies all day every day and honestly, that's sad and it's really reflective of how transactional fandom spaces have become in the modern day, I think.

Using an AI to poop out a reply so that you don't have to feel anxious about not replying fast enough is not going to help us get out of that situation. It's just gonna make it worse. What we should be doing instead is encouraging people to go at their own pace. Not driving them right into the arms of AI authoring by stressing and pressuring them to respond within [x] amount of hours/days.

[the-bees-patella]

Hello there, for the writer ask 🤗 and/or 🧐 please.

From this writer ask meme.

(Research ask answered here. Also this got long as hell, RIP).

What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

I have never been "good" at fandom in terms of engagement, follower counts, and other metrics, and personally, that's not why I'm here. So this will be about becoming a better writer, so if that's something you're interested in, this is for you.

To start, I think the myth of talent is particularly pervasive in artistic fields, which both makes beginners feel discouraged and can make consumers, for lack of a better word, feel thoughtlessly entitled to our work. It's talent! It's not work, why are you complaining?

Don't fall for that shit. You can become a decent writer with some hard work and effort. That can be a double-edged sword, and on some days, that won't feel true or possible. I won't say I have the answers to how to make it happen. This isn't WikiHow. There's no YouTube video for this.

The only things I'd stipulate are:

Figure out what works for you. If you're following writing blogs or reading books about writing, you can get new ideas, but you'll soon realize some of them are useless. As you write more, you'll come to understand your preferences and tendencies better, and sometimes you'll be tempted to change them to better fit your idea of a "good" or "serious" writer. 97% of the time, you can't. Everybody has a Hemingway phase but nobody but Hemingway was or is Hemingway. You are the artist you are. Take what you need and travel light.

Read widely and write a lot. Reading is necessary to expand your knowledge of what's possible, and writing requires diligence, like any other skill. Even talent needs to be honed on the whetstone of practice. It's the only way anybody got good at anything. There are no shortcuts. Writers are not born, they are made.

I could stop there, really. But I already typed up this whole thing, so a couple more specific tips:

Develop your taste.

If you've started writing, you've already started on the journey of developing a sense of taste, probably because you've spent a lot of time reading. (If you haven't: start there. And read all sorts of things: short stories, long-form journalism, poetry, novels. The only way to develop taste is to see what's out there).

It may seem counterintuitive, but to develop your own voice, I think it's necessary to look to others. When you're reading something that punches you in the gut, maybe makes you feel a little despair that you'll never be this good, read it again and pay attention to your own reactions. When did you feel the punch? Why did you feel it? Isolate those elements and keep them in mind while writing your own stuff. Expanding the vocabulary of your creative voice can mean sitting down with a book or a story and taking literal notes. Leaving comments can be a good exercise, because it makes you look at a story more closely. Also, I think it's important to let people know when they've touched you. After all, isn't that what we're all after? Plus, people love detailed comments. Go out, be the change, etc.

If that all sounds a little bit too much like English class to you…yeah, kind of. I should have opened with the caveat that while of course fic is a hobby and it's just for fun, it's not that important, that's no reason not to take it seriously. I don't mean you should have to get an MFA to write fanfiction, God fucking forbid. And sometimes you just want to read (or write) fic and relax and not think too hard, and that's fine too, have at it. (You're still writing and reading, as verbs). I'm just saying there's also nothing wrong with dedicating time and attention to it, and sometimes, that's going to be hard.

Good. That means it's working.

2. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Fail. Fail hard, fail often, learn to fail better. They can't all be winners. If you're stuck in a doom spiral, thinking, "this is bad, this is the worst, I don't know how to write—" Okay, fine. Lean in. Make it worse. Make it the worst thing you've ever written. Maybe you just have a little writing indigestion. Just barf some rancid words onto the page. Nobody has to see it. Give yourself the freedom to be as indulgent and terrible as you want; a cringe secret between you and your word processor.

So much of what writers describe as "process" is just getting your inner critic to shut up for long enough to let the writer do the work. Some people write at specific times of day, or they have a specific place they do it. Some people have to pretend nobody will ever see it and don't edit at all. Some people do 87 drafts and wring their brain-hands over single apostrophes. (Freak behavior. Can't relate).*

You'll develop your own way of doing things, and it'll change over time to suit your needs, both external and creative. You'll find your own ways to beat back the shithead little voice that tells you oh, that's too much. Are you sure about that? Wow, bold move. And you'll learn to distinguish it from the genuine subconscious creative voice as it steers you along. But in order to do that, you have to miss a stair once in a while. Crash into the walls. Absolutely eat shit. How else do you learn to avoid that particular step? Go forth and brain yourself on the banister. Have fun out there.

*It is, in fact, freak behavior, and I did this last night.

3. Make what you like. Have fun.

If you haven't called it by now, I am 1000% a pedantic bastard, so it follows that I have a semantic issue with the phrase "write for yourself." It's bandied about so frequently as a kind of indicator of artistic virtue or purity, as though doing something as natural as caring what other people think about work you've posted publicly is some kind of moral failure.

I'm not saying it's wrong. I just refuse to be scolded by a Live, Laugh, Love sign.

Because while there are some things you might banish to the wastes of your hard drive, in the end, fandom is about community. Making art is a public exercise. I'm sure there are people who write and paint and never show anyone, but let's be real. We're here because we love something, we have something to say, and we want to share it with other people. Reaching across the pulses of cyberspace to say, "I, too, would like to see this man get railed this way in particular." The real art is the friends you made along the way, etc.

So I'm in favor of reworking "write for yourself" into something more cognizant of the dynamics at work. For myself, I use the Marie Kondo test (notwithstanding the mistranslation and overuse of this phrase, too): does this spark joy?

Do you get excited when thinking about the project? When you think about upcoming scenes or beats, do they still inspire delight? Even when you're stuck, do you still feel like it's worth working through those things to get to the parts of the story you like?

And this is where the "for yourself" comes in, because I think it's easy to get wrapped up in mandates here. But I have to finish! (Why.) People will be upset if I don't! (Sounds like a them problem). (People love to talk about how fandom is just for fun <3 and then talk shit about abandoned works. Bullshit. Of course, as a reader, you can feel disappointed. But part of being a person is learning to handle your disappointment with grace, so try that before yelling at authors, who are already porcupines of anxiety).

I think the most difficult one to let go of is when people like your story a lot. You're getting a lot of good comments, and in what can be jaggedly lonely world, you feel liked, seen, and appreciated. It's tempting to keep at it, to try keep hitting the dopamine button, even when the writing itself starts to feel shitty and no longer sparks joy.

But returning to taste for a moment: as a reader, can't you tell when the writer is having fun/losing their mind? When they want to be there, doesn't their clear enthusiasm and love for the story shine through, bright enough to reach you, warm you?

Have faith. There will be other stories. You'll have other good ideas. Give it time, work on other stuff and/or replenish your creative well. Maybe you'll rediscover your love for the story, or look back at the draft in a couple months and realize it isn't so bad after all. Part of why I have such a backlog of unpublished work is because sometimes the story, like bread, needs time to prove. And maybe you won't, and that's fine, too. If your readers are reasonable people, they will understand, encourage you to take care of yourself, and patiently await the next one.

If they're not, feel free to send them to me.

[wizardpotions]

Hey, you probably get these a lot but I just wanted to say I'm really sorry to see how people treat you on here. Your personal blog being popular doesn't erase the fact that it's yours and it sure as hell doesn't entitle anyone reading to decide who and what you should be, do, say. So many of the comments on your posts and the asks you post make me really sad that people so often forget casually chatting on social media and even making social comments through it isn't exactly activism and shouldn't be treated otherwise, and then realizing so much of it is flying at the same singular person is just...idk, I hope you're ok and I wouldn't wish this kind of experience on anybody. Your courage and patience is really inspiring and I hope you're staying/continue to stay safe. ♡

honestly thanks for checking in on this, i am fine though. people can say whatever the fuck about me but i know its right to be defending queer terminology. its literally same shit different time for which identity is "harmful to the community and is a slur actually" like honestly the words queer people use to describe themselves are not the same as those words being used by cishets to hurt you. and when we all realise this we can start realising that all these attempts to split the community absolutely come from the outside to make us all too busy about whos allowed to call themselves a boygirl and not the ways our rights are being taken away.

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Last year I had one kid and I'm convinced he's going to grow up to be a sexual predator that thought he was Magic Mike and whenever we played music he would jump up do a mock striptease moves and shake his junk in the faces of all the girls in the room including myself. When I told this to his parents his mom said oh he is so entertaining he does that at home all the time.

I had another kid asked me if I wanted a chunk of his big banana and he was not not talking about the fruit.

When I threatened ed to slap him if he spoke to me that way again, I got in trouble. Nothing happened to him.

So this year there is a kid who has a parent that works in the school system and the kid is a pain in the ass. You have to tell him at least six or seven times before he will comply with anything.

In the library they had just gotten all new furniture which the kids were told to be very careful with and he immediately started using them as tackling dummies.

He doesn't do anything in the way of work and then demands extra credit.

There is a cult of athleticism here where if the kids are halfway decent athletes they are pumped up to think that they are Olympic caliber and they don't have to do anything anybody tells them and he is very much in with that. They treat all the teachers like crap with a confidence that only comes from knowing they are the most entitled white kids in the entire world.

So anyway when report cards came out we were required to make a comment about every single one of the 110 kids we teach.

For his comment I said it seems like there is an angel and a devil on his shoulder and sometimes the devil wins so he behaves badly.

To me that is a very common analogy.

I wish kindergarten was still taught like it was when I was in kindergarten. I want to just go back take early childhood development and work with little kids because at least if they are self-centered they have the right to be.

Today I was WRITTEN UP for that and told that I was completely unprofessional and I need to go back and read the code of ethics again.

I used to dream about being able to teach Sandra Cisneros and Gary Soto to the kids. I dreamed of getting them into my favorite authors are just getting them into a reading. I dreamed of helping them question what was around them. I dreamed about being the one teacher they remembered because the class was so cool and they got so much out of it.

I used to love seeing the look on a student's face when they thought that they weren't going to pass the STAAR Test and I was the one to tell them they had.

Teaching is now just a Sisyphean effort of knowing the students can do & say whatever they want to you with complete impunity but if you say one thing wrong you will lose your job.

I just feel like all that is over and it's never going to come again.

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

“Poor guy spent a thousand years thinking his dad didn’t love him, and his brother didn’t like him. Then he finds out that they DID, and he was too stubborn to see it. And that his inability to do so in time led to the death of his mother, the one person that seemed to understand him. That would certainly be humbling.”

i am so tired, so fucking tired. the other comments aren’t good either.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Marvel/comments/xqiol7/loki_gain_all_his_5_movies_character_development/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

I think I just lost a bunch of brain cells after reading that post 🤢They're all so wrong that I don't even know where to start.

Let's go with that comment you highlighted, you know what that is? Abuse apologism and a nice dose of victim blaming, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't spend his life "thinking" that, he spent his life KNOWING it.

They did love him? Oh well in that case how they treated him is fine, right? And again with Frigga's death? They haven't seen TDW?

Also I'm still trying to understand what the hell does that have to do with the elves attacking Asgard. If Loki loved his family Malekith wouldn't have attacked? Uh... what? 🤔 They do know it was Thor who took Jane to Asgard, don't they?

On that, "humbling" thing:

"He was humbled by the Hulk."

They seem to leave aside that Loki was a threat to Earth so of course the heroes were entitled to stop him - the difference in the series is that he has done nothing wrong, the TVA kidnapped him because he stole the Tesseract not because he invaded NYC. (Also beatings are humbling? holy shit balls, man)

But these people think the TVA are the good guys!

"He still tried to weasel and scheme his way out of it the first chance he gets."

"He was still trying to cheat and lie his way out most of the time."

How dare he try to get away from the TVA, he should have been happy to join and work for the fascists, right?

"Hell, he ends up betraying Sylvie when Kang gives them his ultimatum because Loki’s gonna Loki."

Loki betrayed her? Pretty sure it went the other way around, buddy. But it's funny how not even when he's being a hero he gets a pass. Also, weird that none of them judge her, she's a Loki too, isn't she?

"He acts like a generic good guy after the first episode, i couldn't even see him as Loki."

Oh right, I had forgotten Loki is in the 'villain box' for these guys. If he ever does something non-villainous they stop seeing him as Loki! These fanboys are not high on character development are they?

"Realizing that all of your schemes and plots, the greed everything you ever tried to do was simply petty and inconsequential"

"IW Loki learns that he loves his family, and friendship is worth more than greed. Series Loki learns that he wasn't as important as he thought"

"Even he only believes half of it he sees everyone he cares about die"

This is so confusing: either he doesn't care for anybody and he's 100% self-centered and scheming and plotting against them..... or he cares about them so much that a powerpoint of his loved ones suffering is enough to change him for good. So which one is it?

Also, big yikes on the "in the series he learns he wasn't as important as he thought". This is what happens when people who know nothing about psychology think of themselves as armchair therapists. Losing pride and losing self-esteem are two very different things, that a scapegoat ends up believing he's not "important" is hardly news let alone good, he's always felt inferior, the last thing he needed was for someone to tell him he was right in feeling that way.

"He gained character development in ep1"

Oh man, not this again. No, he did not. I talked about that here.

"Loki has to analyze himself and his choices after the TVA powerpoint, and he also has to analyze himself after meeting Sylvie and the other Lokis."

Why, because Sylvie is someone to learn something from? 😂😂 Learn what exactly? Come on, man, there's not a damn thing that woman can teach Loki or anyone else for that matter.

I don't get these people, it's like they don't understand what they watch or... ugh who knows. I'm tired too, dear anon 🤢🤦‍♀️

[ficsforeren]

ngl i feel for both you and the anon 😭 i think where the anon was coming from was a genuine place and like they weren’t trying to seem entitled or rude. (hence why they put that last bit) but when english isn’t someone’s first language or someone just has a difficult time expressing what they want, the way they word things can come off blunt, harsh, entitled etc.

i think it was a genuine criticism, HOWEVER, not everyone is open for criticism especially when something is just a hobby/ something they do for fun, i don’t think it’s fair on you that their message made you feel like shit or that your work wasn’t good enough just because you tend to put emphasis on comfort and romance (which i absolutely love, i HATE fluff but i swear i literally inhale your fics) but i do also feel bad for the anon cuz everyone’s coming at them now (and i’m praying the anon who told you to grow up wasn’t the og anon)

SORRY FOR THE RANT I JUST FEEL LIKE THE ANON (if they’re still here) NEEDS A TINY BIT OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT EVEN THO I DONT AGREE WITH WHAT THEY SAID (i really do think it’s just a case of unwanted criticism that came from a good place)

((pls don’t hate me 😭))

Hello, darling! Thank you for the message and sharing your opinions with me ❤️

Yes, I understand your point, and honestly, I don't think that anon wanted to hurt me either (which is why I said that I was saddened by their message, not angered) but the thing is, it doesn't matter even if english wasn't your first language. It doesn't matter if they thought this was genuine criticism. They NEED to understand that writers, or artists, who create fanfics or fanarts for FREE, are NOT doing this for them. They write for themselves, they do it for fun, and they SHARE their ideas online and hope people will like it. There's a huge difference between fanfics and paid commissions. You are allowed to say "hey, i don't like this stuff" when you're paying someone to draw/write for you. You do NOT say that to artists who spent hours/days/weeks of their life making stuff for free, just because you don't like what they draw/write.

I don't know about other people, but I've seen a lot of writers and artists whose works I enjoy but they sometimes deal with stuff I'm not comfortable with, but I will NEVER come to their page, and leave message/comments like "I love ur stuff. But maybe u shouldn’t put that much ________ stuff I mean it’s fine but u add too much _______ parts." and you know why? Because even if I don't like that stuff, doesn't mean everyone thinks the same. But more importantly, I respect the time and effort they poured into their arts and I know how hard it is to create something out of thin air. I. respect. that. and what do I do? I just close my tab, and scroll away. Literally take zero energy. It's that simple. It's that easy. And you don't hurt anybody with it.

[eisforeidolon]

You're so right, re: the sheer idiocy and arrogance of certain stans in different fandom factions claiming to be better or superior to others.

Just a few hours ago I saw an ask by a Jared stan complaining about Jensen wearing skinny jeans/pants (which is absurd to begin with, but I digress... apparently these people have nothing else going on in their lifes). They then went on to say, and I quote, "Is he really that full of himself that he doesn't notice that those pants bring out his fat thighs and bowlegs?"

So even Jensen's choice in pants is apparently an indicator now of how "full of himself he is", since he doesn't even notice his (non-existent) "fat thighs" and should be hiding his bow legs. Riiight. Sure, Jan.

I'm not even going to touch on the bodyshaming or the "mean girl developmentally stuck in middle school" vibes of it all (or the mind-boggling factual wrongness, considering the man has and always had pretty skinny legs).

And who liked/reblogged/commented on this without taking any issue whatsoever with what was said?

The usual people who like to claim that what they post isn't hate, "just criticism", and anyone who disagrees with them lacks critical thinking skills and just can't compete with their superior intellect (this one's particularly hilarious to me, as I've seen more intelligent and coherent takes even from hellers than 95% of what these people's blogs consist of... and also, if you constantly feel the need to keep saying how much smarter you are than everybody else... then it's probably not true :))

Also saw quite a few of Jared stans wanting to enact revenge on the verified journalist who called Jared homophobic on twitter based on what he said at Denver con. The words "get her fired" were uttered (though they've now been removed by the person who said that), among with encouraging people to write to her employer. While I in no way think Jared is homophobic and also think the "journalist" is an idiot to base her entire opinion on Jared on this one admittedly slightly messy word salad moment, this is still utterly vile and unacceptable. Lots of people are idiots who base their opinions on snippets they hear without doing any further research (even journalists, clearly) and that won't change any time soon. People still call Jensen homophobic for the anti Destiel things he said for the same reasons. That still does not make it okay in any way to try to get people fired, to doxx them or anything else along these lines.

But sure, you're so much better than other nasty assholes in the fandom. You can miss me with that bullshit, I'll believe it the day Misha suddenly turns into a decent person or confirms his super secret marriage to Jensen (aka never).

It really does baffle me how they can't see that yes, it is actually the same dumb shit when they do it, too. When it's Jared, every negative comment, no matter how petty, is hurtful and fair game to be mocked. When it's Jensen, it's just CRAZY anybody might care unless it's literally slander and death threats. Only their butthurt matters for reasons - which is what all the stan groups tell themselves to justify their own bad behavior. *I* am entitled to be an ass because people are SO MEEN to Jared/Jensen/Misha, *they* are just awful! It literally doesn't matter that Jared legit gets the worst shit, that doesn't actually oblige the rest of the fandom to just sit quietly while they act as dickishly as they decide they're entitled to on any given day. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Whining that they think Jensen's pants look bad because they emphasize a feature most of his fans actually like? Seriously? Just ... I really do not understand how people don't get that they're the joke if they post something that embarrassingly stupid. Like, you can see it when someone prattles on about how Jared totally sits in chairs wrong, but ... *whoosh*. I mean, I've seen some pretty dumb shit from hellers over the years so I still see a win in The Dumbest Stans Olympics as pretty far out of reach. However, I definitely agree that people who make a point of constantly telling you how intelligent or nice they are? Red flags a wavin'. I have seen my fair share of bragging from people who only really look all that intelligent, logical, and discerning if you're comparing them to Goob. And if that's your standard, you might as well just glue googly eyes on a rock and praise its intelligence because it can't make a fool of itself on a consistent basis.

As to the idiot journalist, I don't think we agree on that one beyond the fact that actual doxxing is never okay. In this case, the person’s professional name and  a publication are visible directly on the twitter where those posts of libelous nonsense over a fictional ship are being put. This “journalist” doesn't even know enough about the subject to know which actor is meant, let alone to understand that tweeted garbage is dead wrong regardless. For a journalist, that level of not giving a single solitary fuck about facts? Is grossly incompetent and calls the ability to do a job in that field into question. Sure it's just a tweet, but it does beg the question of what else the “journalist” isn't bothering to do the work on while happily slapping a professional name and reputation on anyway. So no, I don't feel sorry about the twitter getting spammed by angry stans calling that stupidity out. I don't even think it's out of line for them to contact the employer the “journalist” personally chose to link, pointing out that they’re being publicly associated with unprofessional, incompetent, libelistic conduct. If they were digging up employers that weren’t intentionally directly tied to the twitter where the tweet was made, that would be different.

[amstories]

Newsletter #11: December 2022

If I'll describe my entire 2022, I'd probably go with WOW. I may have plans prepared for this year but it's still surprising how God surprises me spontaneously with unexpected things.

This year's highlights weren't really expected but I'm glad they happened. Join me as I wrap my 2022 in writing!

YEARLY WRAP-UP

For me, 2022 is an unforgettable year because this is the year when I first released a story related to my profession—Medical Technology. Publishing 576 Hours With You was the best way to start the year because little did I know, I would be known by most of my readers for medical romance stories.

One of the projects I had this year was to bring back my old stories namely, Brownout (Lights Off), OFF LIMITS, and April Fools Day. The unrevised version of these stories made me cringe but it was actually a great learning experience as a writer. Revising and rewriting these stories made me realize that there is still room for improvement for me.

This is also the year when I tried to enter Wattpad Romance PH's writing contest. I was able to write entries for the January and October writing contests namely, Three, Two, One, and Baby Boo, respectively. Despite not winning the contest, writing these one-shots down was still an achievement for me. Besides, it was really a great writing exercise as well.

Last but not the least, and probably my greatest highlight among all of my 2022 stories... You Make Me Sick is my first story within a collaboration series. This is probably one of the most unexpected things to happen to me this year because this wasn't really part of the plan. Nevertheless, I'm not regretting it because this brought me talented collaborators turned to friends, milestones I never imagined for my stories, and a community of readers (despite being small).

2022 HIGHLIGHTS

This year is the first time I collaborated with some writers. First, Tales From The Closet was released by several participating authors for our Write For A Cause project, in order to extend help to victims of the typhoon Odette. It's a privilege and honor for me to use my writing as an avenue to help other people. Through this project, I also discovered underrated gems and gained new writer friends. WFAC writers, I'm glad I met you all!

That wasn't the lone collaboration project I joined this year. Last February, I stumbled upon Gwayne's tweet wherein she wanted to start a collaboration series featuring Medical Technology. Since I love my degree program so much, I took the chance to do so. Few months later, we were able to release our collaboration project entitled, "MedTech Love Stories." Because of this collaboration project, I was able to craft one of my best works I've written so far which is You Make Me Sick. Aside from this, I was also able to connect with my fellow medtech student writers. Despite our busy schedules, I'm glad I have found new friends who I can rant on about my studies and understand it as well.

You Make Me Sick did not only bring me new writer friends but an actual community of readers. More than the reads, votes, and comments, I believe that the actual people who I can talk to is the best gift that my stories could give me. It brought me friends who I can treat like a family, and I'll forever be grateful for that.

NEW NAME FOR READERS

Someone asked me what do I call my readers and I just answered, "readers." Just because I don't really have a name to collectively call them. (I'm so sorry, you guys! Hahaha.) One of the reasons why I didn't want to give a collective name for my readers is that it could easily be mistaken as a fandom. I feel uneasy about that term because I don't want to be idolized by anybody. Besides, I've always wanted to treat my readers as my friends.

Another reason why I haven't established a name for my readers was because I don't really have any good ideas for a name. But since someone already asked for it, I've really thought about it seriously. So if you're a reader of my stories, I welcome you to my community of readers, RNAs, which stands for Readers Ni AM!

In medicine, RNAs carry genetic information and have various functions such as translation of genetic information, regulation of gene activity, and so on. This is a reminder to myself and to my readers to treat each other like family. Since you've read at least one of my stories, I'm hoping that you already have a piece of me, just like a single strand of genetic information. At the same time, you are also a part of me already.

I wouldn't be able to reach this far without you. Thank you for 377 followers on Wattpad! 🧬

WRITING MILESTONES

Last year, I made sure to document my numbers to see my growth statistically. Numbers are undeniably great indicators of growth, thus, this yearly statistics. Looking at my statistics last year, I can conclude that there's also growth in numbers from the number of reads, to the number of stories I've published, and to the number of followers I have in Wattpad.

This was also the year I braved myself enough to apply for Wattpad's Ambassador Program, which I successfully graduated to last July. My job as a Content Ambassador is fulfilling and enjoyable even though it's tiring but it's all for the love of the Wattpad community.

And so another time, here I present my yearly statistics for 2022.

Once again, if you reach this, thank you so much for being a part of my 2022. I hope to see you again next year. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!

nagsusulat, AM

[sword-and-stars]

can i ask you for some advice? i've been writing a fic with a controversial kink and i want to publish it, but im scared. everything would be properly tagged and everything that happens in the fic is fully consensual, but a lot of people aren't like you and your YKINMKBYKIOK attitude towards a/b/o (my fic is actually a/b/o, which is why your ask about it got me thinking). i'm worried ill get lots of negative comments. any suggestion on how to buck up and not care about the haters? thanks!

Hi! You have come to the right fucking place if you wanna talk to someone who’s been harassed about what they write.

I think one of the big things you need to remember is that most shitty people online are cowards. Very rarely will someone say something in public with their whole chest for everyone to see, so if you need to, you can always moderate your comments or not allow interaction from logged-out people. I would have a cheer-reader, or even more than one, who can read your fic and gas you up to feel good about it so that if you DO get some negativity, it’s easier to brush off. If you’re very concerned about how it might be perceived, nobody says that you can’t make a second ao3 account to see what the fandom reaction might be before anyone brings out pitchforks.

BUT. Say that you do all, some, or none of these things, and somebody decides to come to you and make it your problem? It sucks even when it comes from some rando that you don’t even know and don’t care about. But you’ve gotta fake it. The point is that you wrote the story for you because you enjoyed it. You tagged it appropriately, and if someone comes into your house to be rude to you, you can tell them to fuck right off and get out of your house. It’s not for them.

It’s for you and for anyone else who wanted a fic like that.

The biggest and honestly I’d have to say only downside to fanworks being so accessible these days is that it makes people feel entitled to your work or your time or your thoughts, or that if something isn’t for them then it isn’t for anybody. And people like that can eat it.

Be proud of what you’ve made, post it because it made you happy, and if someone’s gonna be a shit then they can come fight me about it.

[caixxa]

if you're up for it, i'd be interested to hear what led you to take a break/go on hiatus from writing. i've seen a lot of writers come and go over the years, and obviously, no one owes an explanation for their decision, but i'd be interested to hear how you came to the decision to step away from it. thank you!! ❤

Thank you for asking me! Like i said, I'm happy for the opportunity to talk about it - to clarify my own thoughts, if not else.

I had a lot of reasons to quit, both internal and external to the actual fic writing.

One big external reason is time and energy management.

I have a lot going in my life: a house that needs maintenance, growing kids with changing needs, a job that I could put more creative energy into to make it more interesting for myself.

While writing is a great hobby in that you can do it at varying hours, different timeslots and basically anywhere, it takes up a lot of mental and emotional energy which makes it kind of secretly time-consuming. When I'm writing, I carry the story everywhere with me even when I'm not actively typing it on my keyboard. And I need that mental energy elsewhere. I need to teach my brain to enjoy hobbies that either help me more in my everyday life (house and garden stuff), are better for my physical health (exercise), and I need to actually listen to my loved ones and pay attention to their interests, thoughts and views when they're still willing to share them with me.

(And yeah, when I do sit down and actually type the thing it is s l o w because English is not my first language and I have to check and double-check everything, even when I have a native beta because of course I'll have to do my best as if I was sending my writing to be graded by a teacher and I don't want it back full of markings)

I may find a balance later where there is still space for writing but I have to stay out of it for a while until I'm sure I don't let it consume more of my time and energy than I can afford.

Then the inner reasons:

I burned myself out. I spent two and half years in a fictional universe, producing 3 big fics. I wrote a good number of smaller pieces on the side. Even through the few short breaks that I took, a month or so a couple of times, I kept thinking about my story, planning it, talking about it, checking my inbox and stats page.

Inbox and stats. Sigh. I developed a less than beneficial relationship to those. It felt tough to lose regular commenters between fics. Readers come and go, they may be invested in one work but too busy to engage with the next one, and as much as nobody is entitled to my time as a writer, I'm not entitled to anybody's reading time. But still, I couldn't get used to the feeling of losing my grip of people's interest when the numbers indicating it declined fic by fic.

The changing relationship to the friends that I had made through fic, readers of my works and writers whose fic I had read and commented. When we started communicating fandom and life stuff directly, I guess it took away a part of the need to communicate the fan feels through writing and posting fic. I love talking to them but I also miss them as readers.

I have a feeling that I've given what I have to give to the hockey rpf fandom. I don't have the burning desire to tell a story that would be needed to push my love for my characters in people's faces, I have done it so many times and if I kept going I'd just be doing the same thing using the same words and expressions over and over again. Readers want and they deserve new ships, new stories, fresh views on characters, and there is an abundance of talent in the fandom, far better equipped writers than me out there to give them what they need.

In conclusion, I wasn't satisfied with my writership and if I had wanted to take it to new horizons and a higher level, it would have required time and effort that I wasn't willing to give. Trying to keep it casual, fun and light didn't work for me and rather than trying to make it work or put in the hours and work to improve either my writing or my brand, support system and marketing, I'm stepping away.

I'd really love to hear opinions about all this. Have I missed something? Could I have done something differently?

[grimreich666]

So once again we are to this point when it comes to the Christina + Ruby server drama. Now I realize I made a YouTube video that explained my disgust of certain Fanfic Writers writing community of Lovecraft Country that write for the Ruby and Christina fandom that's ran by Kswhateverspace and Hernameisjaye. Now know it looks like I bullied somebody but that's far from the case, as every action has a reaction. Now because the situation I wasn't going to go too much into it until, someone told me about the twisted mess both Kwhateverspace and the other admins were saying. And it had come to alot of my members attention that they done stuff with members in the past and it has clearly made people unhappy to a point where they aren't talking in thier own server. When it comes to the Ruby plus Christina server owned by Kwhateverspace, I joined with decent intentions and it thought it was a community that shared a love for Christina and Ruby, but it turned out to be a Sixth-Grade Mean Girls Special on Crack. I never wanted it to get to a racial points between servers, but it is looking like these white women with a Misguided Black Woman as thier Server Owner, obviously do not know what true racism is and how to handle their power as Admins and accept others opinions. And the saddest part is that not just me but other members have been kicked out for absolutely no reason and I don't know if anybody seen Kswhateverspace Blog. But everything on there is just about a lie, she claims that all of us violated the rules but nobody was given any warning before being kicked out. Now mind you I do know that the rules exist but the rules should have been implemented for more extremer conditions, but none of us members took it to that level. The issue that I have with the other server is their ability not to gauge a situation at any kind of frequency of balance as they just kick off people who they don't like. A friend of mine who's in my Discord now got kicked for absolutely saying a joke it was nothing that was malicious or ill intent to these people, and while I get that respecting their mental health as Fan Fic writers is a thing to do, me and others always supported before we started reading racist ass Ruby and Chirstina fics. This friend of mine was enthusiastic about reading their stories and very supportive and we all kept a good positive energy that could be see in my current Discord. The issue that the Admins on the Christina + Ruby Server is that they made someone's enthusiasm for a story seem like it was an issue with harassment and that was not cool eespically when she meant it in a LOL kind of way. There was no reason for her to get kicked off just like there was no reason for my other friends to get kicked off and there was no reason for ME to get kicked off. I understand people were all into safe spaces and making safe spaces but as Admins they should've addressed thier complaints to people in warnings, but the kicked people for simply commenting. Thus making thier own server and its members uncomfortable to be themselves and thats when becomes a dangerous place and if I hadn't of known that I would've never ended my own server to expose my friends to their toxicity. The issue between the Admins is that pride themselves on being Admins, but the lack leadership skills and comprehension skills necessary for it. For me as an Admin if there was an issue with a person's comments I would talk to them in Dm's and warn them. So for them to say that they're not big on public warnings that is fine, but when you do not privately warn somebody for a simple comment and for them to get kicked the next day something isn't right. Also how can a behavior improve if there is no communication between an Admin and their members? Me as an Admin I dont function that way, I always take the time if someone comes to me with a complaint to address the person on DMs. And if you read Kwhateverspaces blog on the issue and the screenshots nothing she says parallels to the intent in which these comments where said.

The issue that I have with this group is there ability to flex around their power an act like we had did something so wrong when we were simply just expressing our opinions. And we were well within our respectable means to address our opinions in the saddest part is that these admins are white within a predominantly black server and they do not get our way of culture.

Now as for the next member who was kicked it was totally uncalled for as she questioned why I was gone due to the fact that I told Hernameisjaye to learn her Black History due to the fact that she and another member Agent Sheryl did not understand why I did not think Christina was racist I had a whole You Tube Video about it. So they knew my opinion on it and why they chose to double team me on an opinion was so uncalled for. So when I made the comment that I'm sorry if I dont want to be black and militant to a character that I dont find as racist she flipped out on me, and kicked me I never called her anything I told her the truth and if you've seen my YT people know I could've taken it alot further with these Birdbrain Hoes. Nevertheless until a certain point I thought we were having a decent civil discussion, yet she took it out of context very fast when I said what I did and as for the Black History factor you could see that they were giving no concern to it and only cherry picking my words to make me seem antagonistic to them, as I was telling them about the harm that white women had done in history vs Christina Braithwhite. Now mind you I had told Hernameisjaye several times that she is entitled to her opinion and I was entitled to mine and it's as you could see on the time stamps. At one point I thought it was a civil discussion, that was until I got kicked out for it. It's clear that these Admins have no commonsense to read a room and come to a basic agreement, even as I was telling them they have an opinion and I have mine and I respect it. And yes I was mad for the kick and I did warn Kswhateverspace that I would be going to my platform with it and she even gave her approval of it as I do have the screen shots for that as well.

Hernameisjaye along with Agent Sheryl had been going on a Christina is racist rant for two days, and both were very antagonistic to those in the Serious Discussions Discord Server, who engaged her. I even went so much so to agree with her just to shut her up, yet she kept on at agonizing me and another member to the point of harassment. It was clear that they had spoken about us, before as they were so ready to kick us AGAIN WITH OUT WARNING US PRIOR. Now I will be continuing the Dandybear situation on part two. However I find it messy that these Admins cherry picked our conversations that me and the other member thought where civil and tried to turn it into something uncivilized on our end. This is the same kind of intent that always happens when it comes to black and white people, it always happens that a white person says something out of line and then when black person gets mad then they act as if the black person had antagonized and started the situation. Hernameisjaye is really sad at this point to try a tactic like that, and it's detrimental that shes allowed racism into her group, but has dropped the people that meant her no harm with there opinions as FELLOW BLACK WOMEN.

The Admins Kwhateverspace and Hernameisjaye claim that they want freedom for people to express themselves, but they act like bullies when the situation is not to their favor. Yet it was after the fact that told a lie and still continue to tell one after another member and I were kicked, that made the situation worse. You can read the screenshots of my responses on Kwhateverspaces blog or this one qnd you can clearly see I did nothing in the wrong, as I was coming at Hernameisjaye as one black woman to another. And if she had talked to me in DMs and cleared things out maybe I would've apologized for the comment even if I personally thought I wasn't wrong for it, as I had no shame in my game to apologize even when I'm not wrong.

YET the point I cant stand the most is that they overreacted to a statement I made, and yet they allowed a racist fan fic writer to stay in group. It is clear these Admins don't have thier heads on straight as they kick us out for having a simple opinion or objection to common discussion. Now I do understand there is a level of what Admins can take and what they cannot take, but when you do not make those boundaries clear and when other members make their boundaries clear when your antagonizing them, and you still keep doing it theres something wrong with you as a leader. All I have to say is look at the screenshots and out responses to ours.

[joannalannister]

I'm feeling really frustrated with the fandom these days. The final season of the show, which I loathe with the ferocity of a thousand suns, is coming and is everywhere and is going to reveal the ending of the books, which frustrates me. There are shipping wars, which I loathe. The theories have dried up. People seem to be extra entitled about TWOW than usual and the people who make fun of it in a good natured are also frustrating me. I just feel disenchanted. What do I do?

I can only tell you what works for me. Idk if my methods would work for anybody else, and just to clarify, this is not me dictating what anyone else should do, this is just what I do. 

1) Block early and block often. I used to just mute people but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  As they say in ADWD, winter’s here babe and not all of us are makin’ it to spring. 

2) Blacklist like it’s 1947. I have three blacklists running simultaneously. Tumblr’s blacklist as a first line of defense, xKit’s blacklist for a “soft” hide because I also have xkit’s whitelist running, and Tumblr Savior for a hardcore blacklist without a whitelist. Blacklist everything. Politely (politely!!) ask people to tag a Thing for blacklisting if necessary. If that does not work, unfollow. Mute and/or block if necessary. I do not recommend using mobile. 

3) Focus on what you love. I’m here to enjoy ASOIAF content. I don’t talk about the characters I don’t like. I don’t hate-read. I don’t write hate meta. Some people define “fandom” as “hating things” and I avoid those people. The people who predominantly hate on things are currently drowning out the people who just want to enjoy things and we gotta turn the tide, we gotta be the change we want to see in the world. (By ASOIAF content, I mean Lannisters.) 

So ask yourself what you love about the books. What parts do you love? What’s your favorite passage? Favorite line? Go reread it. Go blog about it. Do it now, as if this were one of those writer memes. Talk about it or just quote it, but you need a reminder of what you love. Go. I’ll wait. We have time. 

4) Pace yourself. As you well know, this is a marathon, not a sprint. You gotta take breaks, or you’ll burn yourself out. Read other books and watch other tv shows. (I have recs if you need them!) And for the love of r’hllor, make sure you pick up a tactile hobby that doesn’t involve a screen. When I do other things and I enjoy other media, I come back to ASOIAF refreshed. I have new ideas. I look at certain passages with new eyes. So pace yourself. 

5) Brace yourself. This toxic storm is going to get worse before it gets better. I don’t just mean the trashfire that’s coming down the pipe over the next two months. I mean the years between TWOW and ADOS. TWOW is going to be a very dark book, where the Heroes make a lot of morally grey choices and do some terrible things that @ntis will hold up and scream, “see, they were the villain all along!!1!” Expect this with every pov character; batten down the hatches now (see #1 and #2).

6) Sow the seeds of kindness. I cannot change how toxic this fandom has become, but I can tend my small corner of it. I try to say at least one nice thing to someone every time I log on. Send a nice ask, comment on someone’s post, let people know how much you appreciate their hard work. Maybe if enough people did this, everyone together could turn the fandom tide. (Probably unlikely, but it never hurts to hope, or to dream.) 

7) Know your exits. Define precisely what will make you hit the eject button. This can be something(s) the fandom does, something GRRM does, something the show does, whatever, but I have my lines drawn in the sand and I know what will make me say, “I’m done.” I have my exit strategy planned, if necessary. 

8) Find a long term ASOIAF project. Write that looong fanfiction, draw that complicated thing, do that big analysis, whatever. I have more long term ASOIAF projects than I know what to do with, R’hllor help me, I need help with them. 

9) Be steadfast. Listen to me: the books are going to end with the Others defeated. No, I have not read ADOS, but I know this in my heart to be true. GRRM is a dreamer, not a nihilist. 

The show is also going to end with the Others defeated. (Permanently? I don’t know. But defeated? Yes.) The Others defeated - that is what I believe the “same ending” means in the books and the show. 

Everything else is up for grabs. I have sat in an auditorium with GRRM in 2018 and listened to him say – very forcefully – that characters who die on the show will live in the books, and vice versa. 

So when you say, the show “is going to reveal the ending of the books,” I have to disagree with you. I do not think that the endings are going to be entirely the same, aside from the fact that the Others are going to be defeated. I think the showrunners who tout the “same ending” are speaking very broadly, and they don’t care about anything except cool visuals and cold hard cash. 

That show could end with Jon and Dany sharing the Iron Throne with their ten children, and until GRRM says otherwise, I will maintain that the Iron Throne is gonna get melted, and that Jon and Dany will die in the books while saving the world. 

None of my ASOIAF predictions are changing until I have the books in my hands, or GRRM says something that disproves my theories. 

So my advice to you is: Be steadfast. The show is not the books.

The books are an emotional journey. It’s the journey that matters – it’s the range of emotions those words on every page inspire in you – it’s the journey, not the destination. 

I don’t know about you, but that tv show inspires no emotion in me. The books, on the other hand, inspire some of my highest highs and lowest lows. 

Even if everything else turns out to be the same, without that emotion, that is not the same ending. 

10) Theories. I can’t help you with theories, sorry, I hate 90% of ASOIAF theories, but can I interest you in some analysis? I want to talk about bath houses in ASOIAF, Jaime’s loss of faith, Roose and Fahrenheit 451, Jason Lannister, Tywin and remarriage… There’s still lots of things to talk about in ASOIAF. I’m just getting started. Maybe this is just me, but I can entertain myself on the current ASOIAF content for years, I’m mostly self-sufficient here. 

11) The show. It’s coming. We all know it’s coming. 

But that means it’s almost over. We’re almost there. It’s the final push. Our time of testing is almost over. We’re so close. This isn’t a time for despair; this is a time for rejoicing. 

[The peach] was so small she could almost hide it in her palm, and overripe too, but when she took the first bite, the flesh was so sweet she almost cried. She ate it slowly, savoring every mouthful, while Ser Jorah told her of the tree it had been plucked from, in a garden near the western wall.

“Fruit and water and shade,” Dany said, her cheeks sticky with peach juice. “The gods were good to bring us to this place.”

You wanna know what I love about ASOIAF? 

Vaes Tolorro. These past few weeks, I’ve seen it on the horizon, drawing nearer every day. 

So have faith. Be strong. Be steadfast. 

We’re gonna make it through. 

The Winds of Winter is waiting for us on the other side.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Chopping Mall

Hi, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Annual Monsterween...

With A Really Bad Slasher Film, I Call Chopping Mall...

I Was Originally Thinking About Talking About Killer Clowns From Outer Space But Since The Happy Death Day Movies Were A Mix Of Slasher/Sci-fi And Comedy I Decided To Not Do It This Year And Instead Make Up For The Lack Of Gore And Blood In Those Films With This Film...

Now, Let Me Ask You Something, With A Name Like Chopping Mall What Would You Expect?

Oh, And Don't Bother Writing Your Answer In The Comments Because I Already Know Everyone's Answer, You Expect A Guy Who Looks Like Jason Voorhees Going Around A Mall, Butchering Unsuspecting Teens...

But No, The Person Who Made This Movie Thought...

(Person 1) "Ha! Who'd Want To See That? No, Instead Let's Do Killer Robots Who Gain Sentience During A Thunderstorm And Decide To Kill Teens Inside Of A Mall During A Late Night Party"

(Person 2) "Late Night Party/Orgy"

(Person 1) "Well, It's The 80's And You Can't Have A Slasher Movie Without Sex, So Why Not"...

But Is This Film As Horrible As I'm Making It Sound? Let's Find Out As We Watch Chopping Mall...

The Film Starts With A Film On The Secure-Tronics Protector 101 Robots Which Is The New Security System At The Plaza Park Mall To Which Their Creator, Dr. Sam Simon Is On Hand To Answer Questions Concerning The Robots...

(Start At 2:00, End At 4:35)

We Get A Title Card As We See The Goings On At The Mall...

Yes, That's Nice, Oh, Look They Got A Scoops Ahoy!...

(Start At 1:44, End At 1:52)

During The Credits We Also Discover That Roger Corman's Wife, Julie Corman Produced The Film...

Oh, I Guess That Explains Why There Are So Many Roger Corman Movie Poster Along The Background Of The Next Scene...

And It's In This Scene We Start Meeting Our Fodder For The Killer Robots Starting With Alison And Suzie (Played By Scream Queen Barbara Crampton) Who Work At A Barbeque Joint But As Suzie Puts It Tonight They're Going To Have Good Times To The Max...

However, Alison Doesn't Want To Show Because She Doesn't Know Anybody Despite Suzie Telling Her That After Tonight She Will, This Probably Leads To The Worst Piece Of Acting In This Film...

Wow, Was It Too Much For You To Put Emotion In That Line, Sir? Did They Not Pay You Enough To Say That Line The Right Way? Or Did You Just Think Eh, No One's Going To See This Movie, So, I'll Just Half-Ass It So, I Can Get A Paycheck...

Meanwhile, While A Storm Is Going On, Lightning Hits The Control Center Causing Alarms To Go Off As The Robots Gain Sentience, Killing The One Man In The Control Room...

But As That Happens We Meet 3 More People On The Robot Killing Fodder List, Named Ferdy (Not Fergie) Mike And Greg Who Are Using Ferdy's Uncle's Store For The Party Tonight With Beers On Hand And Suzie Setting Ferdy Up With Alison...

Meanwhile On The Other Side Of Town 2 More People On The List, Rick And Linda Have Engine Trouble Which Linda Manages To Fix, Most People Believe Them To Be Married But Me, I Don't Think So Because They Mention About Using Their Wedding Money To Fix Their Automotive Business So, That To Me Tells Me They're Not Married But They're Trying To Do So, But I Don't Know If Anyone Has A Definitive Answer For This Write Me In The Comments...

Meeting Our Last Victim In This Movie Leslie At A Clothing Store, She Runs Into Her Boyfriend Mike Who's There To See Her Despite Her Father Being There As They Tell Him That They're Going To A Birthday Party For Suzie Tonight Which I Don't Think He Believes But He Buys The Story Enough So They Can Continue Making Out...

With Alison's Dad Giving Her Permission To Go To The Party, Suzie Is Ecstatic As They Head On Over To Ferdy's Uncle's Store While Another Control Room Attendant Gets Killed By The Robots...

With The Party Underway, Everyone (Except Ferdy And Alison Who Are Introduced To Each Other By Rick And Suzie) Drinks Beers, Dances And Makes Out...

With The Protector Robots Going On Duty, The Teens (Except For Ferdy And Alison Who Are Watching A Roger Corman Movie) Do One Of The Things You're Not Supposed To Do In A Horror Movie...Pork...

(Start At 1:01, End At 1:07)

Meanwhile, A Janitor, Portrayed By Joe Dante Regular, Dick Miller Mops The Floor Only To Get Electrocuted By One Of The Robots...

(End At 1:15)

At Least It's A Better Kill Than How You Died In The Terminator...

His Character Was Also Named After A Character He Played In A Corman Movie Entitled A Bucket Of Blood So, I Guess They Were Honoring Him...

Out Of Cigarettes, Leslie Sends Mike To Get Some But Not Before Offering Him Some Incentive To Hurry Back...

Eventually Finding A Vending Machine, Mike Is Confronted By One Of The Robots Who Asks Him For His Identification But As Mike Shows It To Him, Giving A The Day The Earth Stood Still/Army Of Darkness Reference...

(Start At 0:57, End At 1:03)

It Tranquilizes Mike Only To Kill Him Off Screen (Don't Worry We See The Body Shortly) Wondering Where Mike Is, Leslie Gets A Shirt And Underwear On To Go Look For Him, But Eventually Finding Mike, Who's Throat Was Slit by The Robot...

Confronted By One Of The Robots, Leslie Gets Chased By It As It's Lasers Fire At Her Eventually It Hits Her In The Back And On Her Butt Before Taking The Killshot By Blowing Her Damn Head Off...

With Everyone Watching Leslie Die, The Robot Along With Another Robot Break Into The Store To Go After The Others As They Fire Lasers At Them, Eventually Making It To The Back Storeroom, The Main Mall Doors Are Now Barred Until Six Am And With The Robots Placing Dynamite On The Door To Blow It Open, They Have No Choice But To Separate With The Girls Taking The Vents While The Guys Take The Emergency Exit So They Can Get Some Weapons To Take Down Those Robots...

With A Robot Approaching, The Guys Try Firing Shots At It But Unfortunately All Their Bullets Bounce Off Of It Which Forces Them To Roll In A Propane Tank So They Can Blast At That To Blow The Robot To Kingdom Come, They Manage To Succeed But It Was Only Enough To Deactivate It For A Short Time...

Meanwhile In The Vents, Suzie Quickly Becomes The Worst Character In This Movie Because She's (Acting Like Suzie) Gotta Get Outta Here And She's Gotta Find Greg Because He Needs Her..,

Bullshit, You're In A Safe Place Get Out While You Can! Honestly, Why Do You All Love This Woman When She Plays A Character Who's An Idiot?!?

So, Getting Out Of The Vent, The Girls Land In A Hardware Store Where They Decide That If They're Going To Fight They Might As Well Go Prepared So Grabbing A Few Small Quarts Of Gas, They Molotov Cocktails So They Use Against One Of The Robots While The Boys Set A Propane Tank Trap On The Elevator For One Of The Robots To Fall Into...

With The Robot The Guys Deactivated Coming Back On-Line, Another Robot Starts Chasing The Girls But As They Hide Behind Planters, Alison Throws One Of The Molotovs At A Robot Only For It To Walk Right Through It...

Making A Run For It The Robot Starts Firing It's Lasers At The Girls As The Guys Try To Find Them But When Suzie Gets Hit In The Leg, The Robot Fires At The Molotov In Her Hand Which Sets Her On Fire, Killing Her...

Honestly, When People Are On Fire In Horror Movies Why Don't They Stop, Drop And Roll Instead Of Screaming Your Head Off Like A Moron Before You Die Either That Or Run For The Nearest Lake Of Water?

With The Guys Arriving, Linda And Alison Manage To Get Away While The Guys Hold The Robot Off But Eventually Reaching The Elevator, The Robot Goes In While Everyone Attempts To Fire At The Propane Tanks On Top Of The Elevator With No Luck But One Shot From Alison And Kaboom! Both The Elevator And The Robot Go Down...

(Imitating Rod Serling) The Next Time You Check Yourself Into Your Neighborhood Malls Elevator Be Sure You Know Exactly What You're Getting Into Otherwise You May End Up A Permanent Resident Of The Twilight Zone.,,

Hiding Out In The Restaurant Where Alison And Suzie (When She Was Alive) Works, We Get A Small Scene Of Character Development I Guess, Before Ferdy Tells Them That The Robot's Master Computer is On The 3rd Floor And If They Blow It Up, It'll Shut Down The Robots...

But When They Try To Go To The 3rd Level, Greg Goes Up The Escalator Only To Be Thrown Over The Railing By One Of The Robots

To His Death...

But As They Try To Make A Run For It To Another Escalator Another Robot Confronts Them Which Forces Them To Take Shelter Inside Of Another Store...

Taking An Escalator Inside Of The Store To Level 3, One Robot Tries To Laser His Way In While The Other One Goes To Level 3..

Relaxing, For The Moment They Come Up With A Plan To Use The Mannequins As Bait While They Shoot At The Robot...

No, Wait You Might Hit Kim Catrall!

Oops!

Firing His Laser At Them, They Eventually Reveal A Few Mirrors Behind The Mannequins Thus When The Robot Fires At The Mannequins It Causes One Of The Laser Blasts To Fire Right Back At It...

(Robot) Malfunction, Malfunction, Need Input...

But As The Robot Begins Firing Crazily One Of The Blasts Hits Linda, Killing Her, Mad About This Of Course, Rick Boards A Vehicle And Rams It Into The Robot Blowing It Up And Electrocuting Rick At The Same Time...

So, With Ferdy And Alison Being The Only Ones Left They Decide To Go Find That Computer By Splitting Up To Try To Find It, But As Alison Goes Down A Long Corridor, She Enters A Room Full Of Junk Only To Be Confronted By One Of The Robots, Ferdy Comes To Alison's Rescue As She Screams And Knocks Out The Robot's Laser...

Chasing Ferdy, He Tosses A Fire Hydrant At The Robot When He Runs Out Of Bullets Only For The Robot To Toss The Fire Hydrant Right Back At Him Supposedly Killing Him But..

(Start At 0:43, End At 0:51)

With Alison As The Only One Left, She Loses The Robot Inside Of A Pet Store Only For It To Find Her Again Once She Get Out But Climbing Down Only To Fall On A Tent, She Heads Toward A Paint Shop Where She Dumps A Bunch Of Paints And Thinners So She Can Lure The Robot Inside So She Can Blow It Up With A Flare She Got From The Hardware Shop And...

(Start At 1:38, End At 1:59)

It Works!

So, With The Robot Gone, We Discover That Ferdy Is Alive So, Him And Alison Can Live Happily Ever After And Get Our End Credits...

And That's Chopping Mall And Well, It's Bad But It's Good Slasher Fun...

I'm Not Going To Lie, Folks The Acting In This Is Horrible And The Title Is Definitely Misleading But The Kills Can Go From Dull To Freaking Awesome And Because Of That I Say See It And To Have A Nice Day While Doing It...

Until Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...