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fuh-saw-t · 1 year

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I’m here to express my interest in a deep dive! Since I’m not on TikTok, I’m always fascinated by what’s going on there. I also admit that I’m skeptical of the (for-profit) writing advice industry in general, but I don’t really have a great sense of the scope of it.

Hi! Thank you so much for the ask. Since I've been doing research on mainly pre-1800s styles so far, I don't have as much information as I'd like on this in terms of real citations. Though I do promise to update this post with more information through reblogs as time goes on (to fulfill the 'deep' part of the 'deep-dive')!

This will mainly be about my observations on this new attitude to writing I am seeing on tiktok, and through other people I've interacted with. It will be focusing on ideas, 'rules', and premises that I'm seeing occur, with my qualifications to write this being that I've been a proof reader, mainly for younger or newbie writers, for a few years now, study literature and linguistics, and generally find it a lot of fun to look at trends in writing and grammar over time.

Attitudes to Writing (as a whole)

Among the younger generations, I'm seeing the concept of a 'writer' being associated, in some subcultures, as being kind of cringe. And I think that's sad, honestly. I see a lot less readers about, too. Perhaps that's why.

I think that cringe culture has definitely done its damage in dissuading young writers and new writers alike. The demonisation of fanfiction and the mockery of anyone who's just trying things out is something I see everywhere. Personally, I see things such as fanfiction and the popularity of fanfiction among young people as great in terms of fostering new writers and encouraging the growth of new talent. Shaming people for experimentation, when it comes to art, will never be helpful. And yes, writing is an art!

Mocking artistic experimentation, however, seems to be something tiktok is very good at. Whether it be a 13 year old writing their first fanfiction or piece of poetry, or a seasoned professional with three degrees and a bestseller, the writing produced will not be perfect. Because writing is an art, and perfect doesn't exist.

This, actually, leads me into my next point.

Attitudes to Writing (in terms of learning)

This section will mainly be me talking from my experience of those who I have proof read for. Though I won't be naming any names (obviously).

As per my last point, I'm seeing a growing sense of a writing perfection, specifically in the younger writing community. In tandem to that, a sort of narcissism in terms of viewing whatever you've written as perfect, and not being open to the fact that it's genuinely impossible.

I've seen people get angry and defensive over corrections or recommendations for improvements, even if they've asked for them, and people request that I don't point out certain mistakes. Then whats the point? I hear you ask. The answer is likely either a certain shame in not being perfect, or a genuine view that whatever they've written must be flawless.

I understand being nervous. I understand confidence, and encourage it. But if someone refuses to acknowledge that writing is subjective, and that if you ask for criticism you will inevitably receive it, that someone is inevitably incompatible with writing. They will not improve, and that will stagnate them drastically. Those who have asked me honestly for criticism and have been glad to receive it were the ones whom I gave the least recommendations and corrections.

I note this here because it's something I'm seeing a lot among the younger people I'm proofreading for (below twenty). I feel like this goes hand in hand with the mockery of experimentation and imperfection I'm seeing on all sides of the art world online. Either that, or my before-mentioned observation that the average person doesn't seem to read that much; maybe people just think they're the best because they haven't read much else? Who knows. This is all speculation.

I'll also note the education system (in my experience) and it's approach to fiction writing. In my case, I found that it encouraged people to cater to mark schemes rather than quality; I can often see if someone is in high school doing creative writing, since there's often empty adverbs everywhere and a useless metaphor every second sentence. Not that there's anything wrong with adverbs or metaphors though— I'll get to that later.

Moreover, I sometimes see the idea that creativity can be taught. Personally, I disagree with that. Creativity, in my view, can't be taught—execution is what is taught. And that brings me onto my final point

Attitudes to Writing (execution)

Writing, again, is an art. There is very few ways you can write 'wrong'. To me, if it conveys what you want it to convey and is engaging, you've done well.

What I'm seeing, specifically through some tiktoks and some advice being thrown around online, is the rise of this nouveau-prescriptivism. As is with a decent amount of terms in this blog, don't Google that because I pulled it out of my ass.

Prescriptivism is real, however, and has been for hundreds of years. It refers to the idea that rules of how language should be written and spoken should be prescribed and adhered to; this idea has often been the basis for disagreements concerning AAVE, slang, and neopronouns (but that's for other asks or posts, if you want).

What I'd call this 'nouveau-prescriptivism' is the rise in unnecessary corrections and nonsense recommendations: make all your sentences short, never use adverbs, only use 'said', or never use 'said', and keep things simple at all costs. Oh, and don't forget the 'never start a sentence with a conjunction'—I've broken that rule quite a few times in this post alone. And I do it out of spite.

Beyond seeing these ideas and recommendations in advice etc online, I've also seen it through the recommendations of grammar bots and editor programs. For example, one I found being recommended on tiktok today: Hemingway.

Hemingway is an editor programme that seems to check for all the things I've seen bashed to all hell in some writing circles online. Adverbs, passive voice, complex sentences, you name it. It looks for those, marks your sentences if they are 'hard to read' or 'very hard to read', and rates your work according to readability so you can improve it.

But these sentences they flag up as hard to read are only hard to read to people who likely wouldn't get far in a book anyway. These sentences aren't incorrect, and they mostly don't need improvement. Moreover, the quality of your writing is NOT determined by how easy it is to read. If it was, those baby books with the pictures in would be top literature. All the time on some areas of the online writing world (particularly among the 'aspiring' writers), I see this view that complexity and high levels of detail are bad. I highly disagree. Sure, overdescribing can be an issue, but it has it's place. Adverbs and the passive voice also have their places in writing, and no AI or programme can determine where.

Here is an extract of my own writing put into Hemingway. I don't claim myself to be a great writer, but I like to see myself as average.

Sentences in yellow are labelled hard to read. In red, very hard to read. And the words in blue are those pesky adverbs. You can share your own opinions on readability.

Now, here are some extracts from extremely influential novels put into Hemingway:

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter

We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin

If these novels were so terrible, they wouldn't have had such a literary impact on the world. Complexity is not bad. As with everything in writing, its use is dependent on how it is utilised. Know the rules well and you'll know how to break them—I would say, if this was a rule to begin with.

I think the promotion of programmes such as these show what I'm seeing as a rise in this view that writing has to be simple and uber-understandable in order to be good. Sure, good writing is understandable, otherwise nobody would understand it enough to see it as good. But cutting out descriptions and complexity will just hinder the creative output of the writer. The less rules, the better. That's what I think.

Though, all of this is just my opinion. And I'd love to hear any friendly additions or views on the matter. I will also note that this post is NOT a commentary on the writing community as a whole. It's on specific subcultures I'm seeing brewing among the younger writers, particularly on tiktok.

Thank you again for the ask :D

#writing #creative writing #ask blog #writing advice #writeblr #hemingway editor #fiction writing #fsasks #ramblepost

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rayadraws · 4 years

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So many questions about one (1) cyborg

The last post I reblogged reminded me of some of the stuff I enjoy thinking about when it comes to Genos’ brain, his body and how the two might function in tandem. If you’ve read my fanfiction and/or ever discussed the topic with me, you know that it’s something I love talking about.

I have no training or special knowledge in any field that might come in handy to solve these kind of questions. So I definitely don’t have the answers, but I love thinking about them anyway. The human mind is fascinating in its own right and adding the concept of a mechanical body makes it even more exciting. I’m going to present some of the stuff I think about re: Genos as questions, without answers, because we don’t have them. One day we might, or not. If you too like this subject, you might enjoy thinking up answers for the questions. If you want to, feel free to reply or reblog with your answers. I will add my own headcanons in a separate reblog and I would love to hear your theories! All questions are SFW.

Let's go!

Basic background: Genos is a 19 years old full body cyborg. He has been a cyborg for four years. He does not remember most of his pre-surgery days. We do not know any of the details of his surgery or recovery process. He has said that he was at the end of his strength and that he was weak when Kuseno found him, but that could really mean anything.

Doctor Kuseno wants Genos to be able to live as much as a normal human as possible. He has hinted that both of them have been fumbling in the dark, finding their way together. Dr. Kuseno appears grateful towards Saitama, but there are also many struggles between Saitama and Genos in understanding the other and their intentions.

Questions about Genos body modification surgery: - Do you think Genos was near death, moderately injured or mildly injured/unhurt at the time of body modification surgery? Each option will give different implications, especially if Genos ever reaches a point of questioning his choices. - Do you think Genos had all his body converted at once or in steps? If the latter, was it intentional to easen the stress on his body/mind or the result of further injuries? Was there any infection/rejection from his body? - Did he require physical therapy after conversion? What did that look like? Any other kinds of therapy or training to get back on his feet? Questions about his brain & body cooperating: - How do you think Genos sees, hears, smells, feels and tastes the world? - Do you think Genos has control over his body in a way a regular person doesn't? If so, how? Are there other things that we might be able to control, that he can't? - Do you think Genos has ever dealt with phantom limb pain? Do you think he ever struggled with replacing parts of his body and/or accepting new parts as part of himself? - Do you think he ever struggles with, for instance, falling asleep or waking up because his brain and body aren't in perfect sync? Or how he exepriences certain stimuli, bugs in his system etc. - How do you think having/using his proximity sensors and other additional information on his HUD affects him? - Do you think it he had any problems getting used to his new body? For instance, imagine no longer having a heartbeat or a pulse. No longer bleeding, getting used to seeing wires, to exchange skin with metal. Do you think he ever struggled with spatial awareness, gauging the correct strength when gripping something etc? - How much do you think Genos is involved in the decision process when designing his body? For instance, take the latest body, dubbed the "dragon body". Do you think he or Kuseno decided on that colour scheme, not to mention all the spikes and plates? - Why do you think Genos has forgotten so much of his past? Is it due to the trauma, due to the surgery, a combination? Something else all together? - Do you think a full body cyborg is likely to have a lifespan comparable to the average human, longer or shorter? Do you think a full body cyborg might be at increased/decreased risk for any particular conditions?

Questions about staying fit for fight & daily life: - Genos has a mechanical body but his brain still requires nutrients. What do you think Genos needs to/likes to eat? - ONE has stated that Genos goes to dr. Kuseno for scheduled maintenance but can do basic repairs himself. Do you think it took time to get used to doing repairs on yourself, such as opening up your arm to fix a broken joint? - What kind of morning routine do you think he has? Weekly/monthly routine? Does he use any special cyborg products? Do you think there are stores selling cyborg related products in their world? If not, where do you think he gets hold of them? - ONE and Murata seem to have different ideas on how Genos sleeps. ONE has drawn him sleeping on a futon like a regular person, while Murata has suggested he sits in a corner and charges. What do you think? Do you think he needs more, less or equal amounts of sleep, compared to a regular person? - We know that Genos gravitates towards expensive/designer clothes. Do you think he has to make any special considerations when he chooses what to wear? Do you think some materials suit him better than others? Do you think he ever feels aversion to any particular material or something else related to wearing clothes? - What do you think Genos' hair feels like? Do you think he uses regular shampoo/conditioner or different products? Do you think he ever experimented with other colours/styles than the ones we're familiar with? - What do YOU think are the secret function of his earrings, that ONE has hinted at?!

#some of these definitely aren't open questions I'm sorry lol #but they're all ones I do or have thoughts about in the past!!#I'll try to write my own answers now...#meta #about genos

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phynali · 3 years

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more spn discussions, just skip this post y’all

@queerbluebird thanks so much for engaging with my post/reply! i really enjoyed reading your response and i have a long reply here.

i’m responding to your post/reply here rather than reblogging it because honestly that thread is - so long. so very long.

so first -

i agree there is a difference between entitlement and what i would call, not promise, but instead “narrative follow-through”. A story that completely lacks narrative follow-through does end up feeling disappointing, or frustrating, or rage-inducing, depending on what’s happened. to me there’s a fundamental difference between critiquing a story based on follow-through and bad storytelling (which your post aims to do), versus say, creating hashtag campaigns about a character being silenced because and spreading conspiracy theories about a bad dub (among other things honestly).

and also - queerbaiting totally sucks, we definitely do agree on that.

where we disagree, i think are these two core points:

i do not see the narrative build-up that demands a follow-through. i do not see supernatural as having built up to the story that many destiel shippers seem to think was there, and no one has ever been able to point out to me any actual textual reasons that do craft that narrative build-up

i fundamentally do not believe that destiel was ever a queerbait. queerbait involves active intent on the part of creators to tease a ship or queer representation in order to draw in $ from queer audiences without ever making it canon, so as not to alienate straight audiences. so, refering to point 1., i do not see the canon text as having laid the groundwork for a queerbait and those romantic tropes, at least not at any point in the past 7 years. and beyond the canon, the writers and producers and jensen ackles all indicated dean was straight, and that they were not writing a romance. if anyone queerbaited the fans, it was misha collins who kept teasing the possibility, and personally i would argue that was irresponsible of him. but that’s a different discussion altogether and tends to piss people off when it’s framed as such, because misha means a lot to them and it hurts to see the man who validated their feelings get criticized for the manner in which he validated them. so i’m gonna leave that aside.

beyond that, I want to engage with some of your specific quotes:

Supernatural loves to say “wait for it.” And I don’t think it’s entitled to feel betrayed if an author uses their story to say “wait for it” in order to convince you to stick with their story and then delivers the opposite after you do.

May i ask, where was the “wait for it” with destiel? this ties in directly to the queerbaiting. i indicated in my post/reply that while i see it from cas, there’s been little to no hint of any reciprocation of feelings from dean, and if anything the past 7 or so years have driven the point home that it isn’t happening. i personally am not able to see the “Wait for it” and that was the point of my question. without the “Wait for it”, i also can’t see the queerbait.

I asked for specifics and while i totally get not having the spoons, you provided a few:

(off the top of my head for Dean though, the mixtape, his response to Cas’ death at the end of 12, subsequent grief arc, and reaction to Cas’ return in the front half of 13 rank highly. His reaction to Lucifer’s prank call in 15x19 might rate, but maybe just because it’s so recent.)

not trying to be unkind here, but i quite genuinely don’t see any of these examples as framing cas and dean in a romantic light, or as hinting at a “what if”. the mixtape is like.... okay, maybe. i had read that as being symbolic of something else, but i can see wanting to read it from a shipping lens. (i don’t however think i’d read it as baiting or “what if” - it was quite textually not framed that way. shipping, 100%, but canon build-up, not for me).

for the other examples -- grieving for someone you consider family? and being happy when they come back? that’s not shippy to me. i mean - contrast the grief he showed over cas’s death compared to his grief over, say, mary? or, less extreme, charlie? and nothing compared to how off the rails he goes when sam is dead or he thinks sam is. so i -- i just can’t see those as creating a narrative that demands a follow-through. and when your friend who is dead calls your phone? of course you hop to the door - i don’t know what is romantic about that. sam would’ve hopped just as quick if “cass” had called his phone instead.

and look - i see what is fun to ship about all that. if i shipped it, i’d be happily collecting these moments with a smile and grinning to myself about how cute they are and much they mean. but shipping it vs. it being romantically framed in the canon are two fundamentally different things. shipping doesn’t imply narrative buy-in or deliberation from the creator.

moving on, you also spoke at length about 15x18:

15x18 made the sort of statement that drew back even people who did exactly what OP said they should do, turning off the TV years ago. It wasn’t a quiet “if you’re still watching, keep waiting,” so much as a shouted “hey we’re gonna do this thing, watch this!”

i guess destiel fans vs. those of us who don’t ship it really see this as fundamentally different. because you discuss that moment as one which requires follow-through, and say that if this were heteronormative m/f love declaration, there would be that expectation of follow-through. not necessarily reciprocity, but more - more conversation, more acknowledgment, more something.

(i mean - if there was more, but that more was “hey i love you too but only platonically, sorry man” would that be better?)

but no - i actually just... disagree with your point on that front. i can see why you feel the way you do and i acknowledge that it can be read as the start of a conversation. to me though -- and clearly, now that the finale is out, how the writers saw it -- that was actually the end of a conversation. the end of, like you pointed out, 12 years. a 12-year conversation that ends in a gorgeous declaration of love, and specifically how love isn’t about being together, it’s simply about being - it’s about the fact that you love someone, and that feeling alone is the most beautiful thing in existence.

to me, that declaration can only be written and interpreted as an ending. a sacrifice, a declaration, and a goodbye. so - while i kind of expected seeing more people in episode 20 and realize that didn’t happen largely due to covid - i’m not disappointed we didn’t see cas, because that culmination of his narrative (and then knowing he was with jack, after, rebuilding the heaven that he rebelled against and finally completing his narrative circle by fixing all the problems with it alongside the good god he sought to find all along) is kind of perfect.

and i genuinely don’t think if cas was in a female vessel this entire time that that would change. maybe some audience members would feel differently, but i think many of us would see it for the end it was nonetheless. there’s plenty of stories with m/f ships that are one-sided and that character sacrifices themselves for the person they love, so i don’t see why this would be any different (except the bury your gays issue, but that’s a whole other and very real conversation about media tropes).

moving on to the series finale.

As many people have pointed out in praise of 15x20, Sam is the absolute most important thing in Dean’s life, his priority above anything and everything… And yet there, at the actual end of the world, Dean ignores Sam’s call and instead cries over the loss of Castiel. Dean’s loss of Castiel plays in tandem with the loss of literally the whole world. But we’re not to take that as a promise that Castiel means more to this story, or to Dean, than a couple seconds of wistfulness after the dust settles?

I... yeah. i don’t see what this even is arguing. that dean taking a minute to himself to grieve his best friend, who just died in part because dean decided to go hunt down billie (who was literally dying anyway). he’s hurting. there’s nothing about this that’s a promise - it’s an end. it’s grief. it’s the horror of losing someone you care about, and the silence that comes after. it’s fundamentally human in it’s pain. and we, the audience, are invited to grieve with dean.

so I mean - of course cas means more to this story. of course he’s meant more than a few seconds of grief, after 12 years. but just because that’s the last time we see him on screen doesn’t mean we don’t value his story, and celebrate how it too came full circle.

You mention cas as a sort of avatar for a different potential ending for the brothers, and highlight him representing:

An ending where higher powers stop yanking them around and they get to actually live in the life they’ve built for themselves.

So while i never considered cas an avatar for that, i do think we all wanted the brothers to have their freedom. “finally free.” so we can agree on wanting that end. but we disagree on whether it was delivered, i guess? because i feel it was.

you also talk about what you and many other fans conceivably wanted a happier ending to look like. can i -- i’m going to be totally honest. i have not seen a single person who’s critiquing the end saying “i just wanted sam and dean to grow old hunting together with their dog until they retire together and die of old age.”

would that be satisfying to those who are mad about the end? i personally don’t think so, but maybe my opinion is being coloured by the most vitriolic fans i’ve seen. if sam and dean got to have the life they wanted free of chuck, and dean didn’t die, and they kept going (or retired and opened a bar together!). maybe sam still had a kid, but again because romance wasn’t the point, the wife wasn’t important and they left her blurry still so we could interpret ourselves if she was a wife or a co-parent or a surrogate or what. maybe dean has a kid too, with a similar question-mark-wife. maybe we get a few images of them having a holiday with jodie and the girls. and then getting to heaven together in old age, greeting bobby with a beer, and going for a drive.

would that be an end that wouldn’t cause fandom uproar? i would enjoy it, soft an slightly discordant as it would be to me. i prefer the ending we got, bittersweet and heartbreaking though it was, but i wouldn’t be taking to social media to yell about it if we got a softer epilogue, so to speak.

on the other hand... would that still not be enough, at least not for so many of the angry fans? i’m genuinely unsure. it seems to me that so much of the ire is about destiel itself, even if people are pretending it’s about more and other things than that. not everyone, but like, a big portion of them. which leads me to believe that nothing short of dean and cas at least interpretable as together is what they wanted. if every other single thing about the existing finale was the same except that cas was the one to greet dean instead of bobby, and even with the same basic dialogue, without discussing the confession, but they have a lingering smile, and dean leaves to drive and wait for sam with the promise he’ll see cas later -

if everything else stayed the same except who greeted dean, i genuinely don’t believe i’d be seeing almost any critique of the finale on my dash. maybe i’m cynical, but that’s where i’m at.

which is part of why i really struggle to believe that people are engaging in good faith when they critique the finale. because i feel like if it offered them either a) everything they’re purportedly asking for but still no cas and zero hint of destiel, vs. b) every other thing they claim to hate stays the same except there’s a wink and nod to destiel - i believe they would take the wink and nod.

On to some other things you raised:

But how can you know to walk away from a tragedy if the tragedy says “the end won’t be a tragedy, keep watching” right up until it ends in tragedy?

Oh i Get this. I hate thinking i’m consuming fun media only for it to rip my heart out at the end. i’ve literally - well, i’ve had a very unpleasant and distressing experience of this, actually. so i get it. also the opposite: i sometimes feel disappointed when i’m consuming media that is gripping and intense and painful, but then the end is too easy, too soft and happy?

BUT - supernatural never pretended it would have a happy end? the end was so. much. happier. than i ever expected. the Swan Song end was going to have Sam in hell being tortured by lucifer for eternity. according to something i read which i am fundamentally too lazy to link because who knows if it would have turned out this way but -- kripke was apparently going to have Dean jump in the cage with him at that end, if the series ended on S5? the ‘horror’ ending. completely devastating sacrifice for mankind (sam), and completely devastating sacrifice for his brother (dean). just -- oof. even if that wasn’t the plan and the series would’ve ended as the episode did - sam was still in the cage and cas was off waging war in heaven and dean was living every day knowing he was alive and his brother was being tortured.

i’m sorry if you thought you were watching a happier show. i know how much that hurts. that doesn’t mean the story was actually that happy though. sometimes, it’s on us as consumers to acknowledge we were misreading the media. i’ve had to do this. it’s hard, it hurts, but it helps you consume things healthier. i’ve had to do this growing recently, and i’m better off for it.

regarding the specific manner of dean’s death - that’s really not what my post was about and i’m not gonna address it here. i’ve talked about it elsewhere and so have others, and @lovetincture‘s original post spelled it out beautifully, in how human it was. i have feelings on how and why i loved dean’s death, and why it was the absolute opposite of what Chuck’s ending was and what he wanted (no blaze of glory), but i’ll leave those for another time.

They cast aside all the relationships they’ve built. [...] They lost/walked away from the life and home they built in the bunker. Dean got a season 1 death. Sam got a season 1 life.

I feel that there is a very huge difference between regression and progression when it comes to cyclical storytelling. And that difference seems to be missing from the ongoing discussions i’ve seen about this in fandom.

Coming full circle to season 1 does not at all mean that the development is ‘undone’ or that the story has regressed or that anything has been lost or destroyed. It can mean that, if the storyteller doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing, but in this case i don’t (personally) feel it’s a fair critique.

Dean’s death might parallel his s1 not-quite death from Faith, but the s15 result of that death is night and day. Dean is no longer alone. Dean does not go up to a lonely heaven filled with bittersweet memories, where even his canonical soulmate and him have wide gulfs between the memories they fill their shared heaven with. Dean dies a hunter, but he dies a hunter who literally saved earth and changed heaven and gets to spend eternity with his brother, side-by-side and together without all the pain and miscommunication, and he gets to see his family and loved ones too. he died having literally made the world so much better.

even without that though?

his story comes full circle, but dean’s character development isn’t about his death, it’s about the fact that in the first several seasons dean could hardly admit he cared without acting like his teeth were being pulled. he was too afraid of abandonment to ask for someone to be by his side. he was too afraid of rejection to let anyone in. and in the end? he asks sam to stay. he tells him that he loves him. he pours his heart out and says all the things that 15 years ago were stoppered in his throat, words trying and failing to claw their way free but his hurt and fears were too deep.

dean is free.

the point of dean’s story coming full circle to season 1 parallels was specifically to highlight this incredible development, not to undermine it. he is different. he is free.

god it makes me tear up just thinking about how happy i am for him despite how gutted i was by that scene??

(i could write a similar analysis for sam, about how he left for stanford to escape his life and how his finale life montage bits were the opposite of that, but honestly this post is long enough already).

Destiel is loosely a part of that promise in the sense that Castiel is a part of that promise. The symbol of free will

You make a super interesting argument about Cas being a symbol of free will. I don’t have much to say about it, because I’m gonna mull it over, because I think it’s kinda cool and I’ve never thought about it.

That’s - all i’ve got. thanks again for engaging. i’m happy to continue the convo if you have questions or want to reblog/reply

(though my followers might hate me omg, i’ve been spamming long spn meta posts for weeks now, it’s just been so confronting to see the ongoing fan reaction on twitter and how divided it is...)

#spn meta #supernatural #supernatural meta #spn #fandom discussions #uhhh what do y'all want me to tag this #it's not wank?#it's an open discussion which i like a lot #hmmm #discourse #i'll just go with that #destiel #kind of #this won't show up in the ship tag because that's not in the first 5 tags so i'm safe i hope #don't wanna be a dick and put this in the ship tag #long post #long post for ts #sorry if there are typos it is almost midnight and i am sleepy

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chaoticspacefam · 3 years

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2020 In Review: Wordcount Tag

I was tagged for this by @actualanxiousswampwitch , thank you! I’m not sure who’s already done or been tagged for this cause I am, once again, late to the party LOL but I shall (no pressure and sorry if you’ve already done it!) tag: @rainofaugustsith , @darth-bagel , @thatmmolesbian , @thelastenvoyyy and anybody else who wants to do this. Yes, I promise I mean you!

Words: 45,314

Published: 0 (I’m not counting the couple of Six Sentence tags I’ve gotten, they’re snippets of an unfinished piece & are included below instead :), or roleplay replies, cause that feels like cheating lol.) I actually wrote a lot more than I thought I had, this is a rough guesstimate as well, as my oneshot WIPs tend to be all over the place across something like 6 different documents, some of which have existed since 2018, so I had to guess at how far up to count from the end for some of them, but I think it’s a fair guesstimate XD I also have included lore/worldbuilding docs in this because that was a 3-month long Lockdown 1.0 Boredom/”Canon is a trash fire so I’m ignoring that and making up my own lore” passion project and I’m goddamn proud of how much I wrote for that. It’s the most I’ve written in one stretch (think I finished it over a span of 3 nights or so, once I’d done all the research and made all the notes ofc ^^)

Not Published: 45,314

The Breakdown:

swtor - 45,314

for creeping shadows (my main longfic/part one of the subterfugeverse series) - 1,553 - Aria, stop being difficult! *shakes fists* XD

oneshots - 16,223

lore/worldbuilding (for subterfugeverse naturally) - 23,001 (is this ALL tomato alien lore? pretty much, yes, yes it is :’D ~400 words is “the WIP reworked timeline to correlate my worldbuilding with the canon timeline that was released”, but 98% is just...me thinking way too much about Purebloods and how they deserved way better goddamn lore. I blame @fluffynexu ‘s amazing tomato worldbuilding posts, reading them when I went looking for “canon” lore one day for the rp is what got me started down that rabbithole (it’s awesome and if you haven’t already you should totally go check hers out too :DD), I had a “fuck you then canon I’ll do it myself too >:L” moment and once I started I couldn’t stop until I’d crapped out literally over 20k words on the subject *whispering* thank you LOL)

zephyrverse au bonus oneshots - 4,537 (stuff I wrote to fill in time gaps or “just cause I had a plot bunny”, relating to mine and k-christine’s zephyrverse au rp. None of these will likely be posted publicly, but they still deserve to be counted as words I wrote this year :’D

As you can see, most of my “muse” this year came from sporadic oneshots :’D The Ahaszaai twins also properly plot-bunnied their way into my brain in late 2019 and haven’t stopped making a nuisance of themselves the whole fucking year. Every time I tried to carry on with a chapter, one of the two of them would pop up like “Nooo write about ME! pay attention to ME!” - Yes, Ni’kasi, I will get to you this year, I promise XD

New Things I Tried:

Just Writing. Not worrying about whether “it wasn’t part of the next chapter” or “it comes from a part in the story that I’m nowhere near close to posting yet”. If I felt like writing something, or for a specific pairing/feeling/scene, whatever. I wrote until I ran outta muse juice. Yeah, it meant I didn’t technically “finish” anything this year BUT - the important thing is I wrote stuff. and that’s all that really matters, eh? :’D

Polyam ships! May not seem like a big deal but I spent a long time talking myself out of them because of internalised toxic monogamy and finally saying “you know what, fuck it! I can ship three or more people together and it can still be a perfectly wholesome, healthy and loving relationship and that’s okay” was a BIG thing for me this year.

Dialogue Scripts: which I didn’t count as wordcount because really it’s just word vomit of general tone/inflection and dialogue that I came up with right before falling asleep which I didn’t want to lose. Basically, if an exchange or a particularly punchy or moving line of dialogue popped into my brain but I wasn’t ready to write the whole scene that it fit into out, but didn’t want to forget the line(s). I wrote it out in movie script/script-style roleplay fashion e.g. Character’s Name: (emotion, hand gestures etc.) [Dialogue here] and so on. I know this is probably a well known trick of the trade, but I never took it seriously until this year. Seriously, do it. It’s great.

Favorite Thing I Wrote:

Hmmm, a snippet for Andronikos/Ni’kasi that I started this week which isn’t posted yet (saving it for this week’s Six Sentence Sunday so look out for it! :D) was pretty fun to work on, I love their dynamic and Kas is suprisingly fun to write for.

Also the Aria/Vano proposal scene that I posted a snippet for the week before last. I’m having great fun with that scene, and I really enjoy putting a non-serious spin on the classic “proposal scene” tropes. Can’t wait to finish it, though it may be a while before the full one goes up on AO3, as it depends whether it ends up fitting in as part of the mainfic or as an additional oneshot

And I have a D’leah/Kissai oneshot that I need to give another once-over before I finally yeet it onto AO3 and Tumblr for you guys to see :’D

Favorite Fic I Read:

@sleepswithvillains Eleanora/Quinn fic, Helplessly Hoping. I’m horribly behind on chapters and I gotta catch up and read the finale this week, but it’s been a helluva great ride and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the story! <3

Also The Invitation collab with @tishinada featuring Zas and Fiona had me squealing, I can’t wait to catch up on HH and see more of these two, they’re adorable ;-; @a-muirehen ‘s Relu/Merkara series of course! I’m a complete sucker for (friends to lovers to in Ariano’s case but yea pfpfpf) enemies to lovers ships and these two are just so good, I am on the edge of my seat every time we get a new snippet for them, ngl (grimace emoji) @darth-bagel ‘s Sylvas/Graz’zt and Sylvas/Liz/Rilfaen snippets which they’ve been spoiling me with on Discord @mercurypilgrim ‘s Ven’fir/Quinn AU oneshots, Cloudbank (Western was a particular favourite, but all are very good!) and of course @rainofaugustsith ‘s Lana/Viri updates are always fantastic, some personal favourites from this year were Almost There & Memory of Healing :3 (I totally still go back to read Commander & Advisor too sometimes, getting to see Viri be a little diabolical and messing with “MiNiSTeR LoRMaN!” was and still is my favourite thing XD)

If I’ve left you out I’m sorry!! These were the ones that stuck out in my memory, but I’ve loved everyone’s writing this year, it’s been great :3

Writing Goals:

to actually finish and post chapter 8 & 9 of Creeping Shadows. Then we’ll get to the meat and potatoes of the story and maybe Aria will stop being a brat and fighting me every time I try to stick to a semi-regular update schedule Get off my butt, finalise the name and get started on Ni’kasi’s part of the Subterfugeverse story. Maybe run the updates in-tandem with Creeping Shadows but idk if I want to wait till after CS is done before I start posting Kas’s side, or do them side-by-side yet, we’ll see ;) Keep writing! I know better than to pressure myself by setting a specific word count goal, that’s never worked well in the past

At least 2 chapters of each of the works mentioned above would be great though, more would be better! We’ll see how I go

Words of Thanks:

honestly, to everybody in the fandom I’ve met this year. Anybody that I follow, thank you for being there and engaging with me and/or posting amazing content for me to look at! I came over from deviantART where the SWTOR fandom is incredibly small and generally quite inactive and the contrast since moving over here has been incredibly uplifting. I very nearly cancelled Creeping Shadows and stopped posting fic for my SWTORverse altogether because I got next to no engagement on dA and it was very disheartening to the point where I felt I could enjoy the game and the rp partners I had, but the solo projects I’d put so much thought, time and love into already weren’t worth continuing. You guys took that spark and kept it going and I really don’t have enough words to say how grateful I am for that. Even if I haven’t published much this year, making posts on this tumblr, interacting with everyone and working on lore, plot points and so on for Subterfugeverse has kept me going through the Hellish Year of Nightmares that was 2020 <3

to the amazing new friends I’ve made in this past year, who have listened to me ramble about headcanons, character backstories, writing snippets (and rambled/sent some back), keep being awesome: @walk-ng-d-saster , @darth-bagel , @kyber-heart , @deepseacritter , @thedinalixlegacy to further friends and meme tag buddies, I get so excited every time I see a mention for a new meme or ask game in my inbox, so thank you!! : @mimabeann , @palepinkycat , @a-master-procrastinator , @raven-of-domain-kwaad , @actualanxiousswampwitch , @thatmmolesbian , @a-muirehen to my regular commentors/rebloggers/likers/askbox lurkers, I see every one of you and every time your users pop up I grin like a kid in a toy shop: @starlightjedi , @sparkles-and-rust , @wilvarin-chan , @sunsetofdoom , @ask-an-andalite , @thelastenvoyyy . @lyrishadow and more because Tumblr only goes so far back and I have the memory of Swiss Cheese. If you regularly comment, like, reblog, or anything, from me, know that I see you, and I love and appreciate you for it! <3

I couldn’t possibly remember to tag everyone and I promise if I missed you out it’s not because I hate you! Anxiety just sometimes be a bitch and I don’t wanna look like a clown calling someone a “friend” if I’m not explicitly sure we are, in fact, friends. I think you’re all awesome and I’m so glad to have moved over here and met you all <3

#long post #wordcount year review tag #elven's writing: stats #repost bc i goofed some links woops sorry everyone #^^;#will i eventually post any of this stuff? yes!#i will. i just...don't know *when* the time will be right for most of it hahaha #the only bits i won't post are the zephyrverse-specific oneshots cause i just don't feel like i want to #but everything else will (eventually) in some capacity be thrown into the void for all of you to read #shameless friend appreciation post #shameless mutual and follower appreciation post #<3 #swtor sort of

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withperfecttempo · 4 years

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// This post details my thoughts and headcanons on Sona’s lore update and her color story. Rather than separating them all into different posts, I think it’s sufficient enough to combine them into one rather than try to create separate posts and tack on my older headcanons from the previous lore.

***Please do not reblog or steal***

Relationship with etwahl and method of “communication”:

There is a combination of ways: through touch, seemingly intuitive; it’s hard to place a finger but it feels as though there is another presence working its thoughts in tandem with hers.

Coping and adjusting to petricite effects:

Upon her arrival to Demacia, she definitely felt the effects quite immediately. She grew fatigued and her family had thought that she might be tired from her travels and that she would recuperate after spending a certain amount of time with them without overbearing travels. Over time with consistent exposure, she has learned to adjust herself and adapt to the effects to be able to mask them sufficiently. Sona’s awareness could also extend to her being able to take notice of details to be able to adapt to her situations. Given that she’s surrounded by petricite daily, it’s a consistent enough basis for her to be able to develop a tolerance for it as well as figuring out how to allot her energies to be able to carry herself smoothly. Bigger gatherings such as galas tend to be the most exhaustive for her, especially when she has been asked to perform at the event. As she grows older and stronger, she’s been much better to be able to mask its draining effects on her.

Returning to Ionia, she must have felt the effects from petricite much like how one would experience jet lag when traveling. There is a point when her equilibrium in terms of arcane energy which causes her to feel sick or exhausted. As such, she needs time to be able to recover and get her bearings.

Sona and her abilities adapted and grew stronger.. It’s possible that the spirit in the etwahl adjusted also given its longevity and persistence to be with Sona. Her abilities most likely have grown as she expanded and honed her music expertise as well. Much like bottled inspiration, it lingers for a time before overflowing or bursting.

Political dealings in Demacia:

Sona does not have much of a role in Demacia’s politics despite now taking on the Buvelle name upon her adoption.

Given Demacia’s strong repulsion for anything arcane and that Ionia is a land that’s flowing with it, there is little surprise that there would be a number of stereotypes that manifested towards Ionians within Demacia. I’m almost sure that Sona’s dealt with multiple instances of racism. Creating stereotypes working off of racism is an easier way to create scapegoats to avoid persecution by the mage seekers. With this being said, I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to see a possibility of witch-hunts among citizens every now and then.

Learning languages:

It’s difficult for Sona, in general, to learn a language in general. It’s even harder for Sona to learn a language that doesn’t follow similar syntax and grammar as, say, a language she has grown up with in Ionia. It’s hard for her to draw connections and be able to make comparisons to grasp the rules completely.

She can only communicate so much through the rough sign-language that the Buvelles had developed specifically for her. She still tries to learn and employ other means of getting her message across other than music for practical means such as carrying paper and graphite in the event she comes across someone who doesn’t understand any form of sign. Since her form of sign is specialized for primarily her use, it’s more of a reason for her to be flexible in the event that her close friends or family aren’t able to help her at the moment she needs.

I’m keeping the notion that Sona can use telepathy with those akin to magic. I believe that her wanting to be able to communicate is one of the bigger catalysts to make this happen. It also wouldn’t make much sense for her to keep all her voice lines to herself. If the etwahl is possessed by some spirit, I could imagine that Sona is also able to communicate through telepathic means with spiritual beings.

Manifestation of Sona’s ultimate:

Sona’s ultimate spell, “Crescendo”, is something that consists of accumulated magic and strong emotions. Emotions can boil over when kept repressed for too long similarly to overfilling a glass or when substances are subjected to tense factors in a closed environment. The contents will spill over or break out of its confines.

She didn’t know it was something she, herself, is capable of ever doing.

Most of her magic is more support oriented, aiming to empower and help an ally recover. As far as her more offensive spell, “Hymn of Valor”, I see it as something that acts to leave openings such as disarming a foe.

Violence in Sona’s magic and morals:

Sona did not want to kill the mage seekers. Her ultimate is made of built up emotions and energies that ended up becoming a last resort as a result of being cornered.

Her being violent and actually wanting to kill goes completely against what she stands for as one who instills hope and comfort. Her strong opposition to Sylas’ approach is quite telling. All in all, she’s against hurting people, which includes murder, even if she inadvertently left the mage seekers in a ghastly state.

She was in panic mode so she probably didn’t think too much beyond the fact she just wanted to protect her friends and loved ones so she just wants to make sure the mage seekers are unable to go after them. Sona has seen too many innocent people being falsely accused and ripped of their livelihood so she wants to put a stop to it in any way she could. It also seems like they have suspected Sona for a time to approach her in an organized way.

If there is a time when she has absolutely no choice but to kill, I firmly and forever believe that the first and last person she kills is Jhin.

Despite much that she has gone through, she still manages to be a kind and comforting presence. Sona must have come to realize that despite being placed in the most unfortunate situations, she still is able to take her life into her own hands and alleviate any pain anyone else has experienced by simply being a warm presence while providing good and relatable music.

#'With perfect tempo.' ( Headcanon )#The Maven of the Strings ( League of Legends verse )#On Relationship with Etwahl and Method of Communication #On Coping and Adjusting to Petricite Effects #On Political Dealings in Demacia #On Learning Languages #On Manifestation of Sona's Ultimate #On Violence in Sona's Magic and Morals

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seenashwrite · 5 years

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Master Post: By Nash’s Favorites

The stories I recommend above all others, a nice variety of themes so you may get a feel for my writing style - and of course, this selection is subject to change as time goes on & more stories are written. 😉 Organized by Length, Pairings, and Ratings, with Summaries noted.

*~* Kindly do not reblog this subpost - please reblog the Main List 😊 *~*

D R A B B L E S

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DREAM? (Drabble, Dean x Reader, Teen & Up)

To borrow a bit from the bard - Remember, hope, wish, sleep, and see what dreams may come.

NIGHT LIFE (Drabble, No pairing, Teen & Up)

A brief tale about a typical night in the lives of the Winchester brothers.

O N E - S H O T S

HELLO, I’M GONE (One-shot; No pairing; Teen & Up)

Chuck told us a story about Baby’s early days. And we know how she’s spent most of her life helping the Winchesters get to where they need to go. Here’s a little of what happened in between.

THE LAST JOB (One-shot; No pairing; Teen & Up; can stand alone or as a follow-up to “Hello, I’m Gone”)

A long-time client gives a contractor his final assignment.

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE (One-shot; [spoiler!] pairing; Teen & Up)

An archangel takes a break from his reconnaissance.

SOME DEAN (One-shot; No pairing; Teen & Up)

Dean learns that sometimes good things come in small, albeit eight-legged, packages.

KISS (One-Shot; Female Reader x Male Actor of your choosing; Explicit/18+)

The definition of “kiss” depends upon the person.

M I N I - S E R I E S

STEP RIGHT UP (Master Post: Mini-Series; No pairing; [Older] Teen & Up)

Sam is trapped in what’s left of a burnt-down circus while attempting to assist a tormented soul, when a mysterious ringmaster arrives.

THE MIDWIFE (Master Post: Mini-Series; No pairing; Teen & Up)

In the mid-1950s, a member of the New York City chapter of the Men of Letters is sent to the United Kingdom to assist with what appears to be another stack of cold case dead-ends, when he suddenly finds himself questioning one of his closest-held convictions.

S E R I E S

SUPERNATURAL : REVELATION

“There’s a story no one’s telling…”

Set several years from now, this is an ongoing, canon-compliant story [writing in tandem with the current season] about things we haven’t seen on screen, rather fitting into the cracks left behind. The theme is exploring how it is exactly the world keeps resting on the Winchester family’s shoulders.

[Read at AO3]

⇦ BACK TO MAIN MOBILE MASTER POST

GO GET ON THE TAG LIST ➪

#Master Posts #Master Lists #Nash's Favorites #Nash Gets Organized

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heywaitiknowthatsong · 5 years

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What Makes A Platform, or How Do We Recreate Old Blue

It’s not enough to just make something. It’s got to be worthwhile. So if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right. Let’s start with the past.

What made Old Blue so good?

Old Blue (the site I will not name for fear of Big Red) was lightning in a bottle. There’s not way any site can hope to recreate the same success. It was the right parts at the right time, and whatever truly takes its place will be something unexpected. So what were the right parts?

The Easiest Way To Actually Blog

Old Blue removed a lot of the friction of blogging. These weren’t just technical challenges, though it took care of those as well. There were no servers to configure, no software to download. You picked a username and boom! You had a blog.

Big deal, other services (like WordPress and Blogger) were that easy. Where Old Blue really excelled was in getting content onto your blog. You were allowed and even encouraged to post content you found, not just content you wrote yourself. This was emphasized further by the “reblog” functionality that allowed you to easily repost content from another’s blog onto your own, giving you content for your own blog while attributing it to the original poster.

The problem of starting a blog is easily solved. Old Blue solved the much harder problem of how to easily get content onto a blog.

Dashboard Confessions

Even with the reblog button, though, there was still the matter of finding blogs to reblog from. For this, Old Blue took a page from the then-new Twitter and added the ability to “follow” other blogs. Their posts would then show up in a standard format on your “Dashboard.”

While this took away a large portion of the customization, it made keeping up with blogs easier than ever. There was no worrying about RSS feed readers or poorly-configured Google Analytics to worry about; readers got to read and bloggers got their consistent audience.

Mid–2000s Geocities-Style Self-Expression

Purists will complain about the single-column layout of most Old Blue blogs. They will decry the lack of responsiveness, complaining in tandem that the owner has neither heard of smartphones nor twenty-seven-inch monitors. One comment complained that the state of web design on Old Blue was similar to Geocities in the mid–2000s. I agree wholeheartedly, but I see it as a positive.

Self-expression has always been a part of the social internet. It started with Geocities sites, migrated to MySpace profiles, and eventually settled on Old Blue blogs. All of these allowed mostly unrestricted styles, letting site owners pick and choose random HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets from across the internet and blend them together into a miasma that was unmistakably them. Old Blue took it a step further, allowing custom domain names for free. If you didn’t want Old Blue’s name anywhere on your public blog, you didn’t need it.

Did it look ugly? To some. Did it sometimes break? Yes. But it gave people ownership over their blogs, allowing them to feel like their space was truly theirs.

Anything Goes

Everyone “knows” that Old Blue was full of illicit/NSFW material. And, let’s be honest, it’s made it hard for many to take the service seriously. In a professional context, the last thing a service needs is something work-related showing up next to something, well, not safe for work! This is doubly true when it comes to advertising, a sad fact that has robbed the service of much-needed revenue.

And yet, this exceptionally permissive content policy had a side-benefit. Content creators were free to post without fear of their content being removed for a nebulous “terms of service violation.” This was especially relevant in the wake of other online communities like LiveJournal and FanFiction.net nominally “cracking down” on adult content. These crackdowns were, at best, selectively enforced and relied heavily on community reports; the end result being illicit material that was nominally disallowed but somehow acceptable or unknown to the wider community was able to survive on those sites.

Content creators whose work was illicit (or even objectionable in other ways) could post freely on Old Blue without worrying about their content suddenly disappearing. This drove more people to the platform, in turn making it more attractive to other content creators with “safer” material. The network effects took over and made Old Blue a force to be reckoned with.

Hyper-specific Hyperfixations. Or not.

Old Blue made it incredibly easy to sign up and start a blog. That blog could be as specific or general as you wanted. And when you got to the point where you needed a different space, you could start another blog. And another. And another.

Content creators could make different blogs for different fandoms, different levels of content safety, or just different ideas in general. This gave rise to creatively-named specific blogs, like the notable “effyeah” named blogs, or particularly specific names like “picsthatmakeyougohmm.”

What Would We Need?

So, using these principles, what features would a potential replacement for Old Blue need?

Low-friction signups

Easy to find and post content

Easy to make multiple blogs

Easy to follow interesting blogs

Open-ended theming

Custom domain option

Clearly-defined (if not permissive) content policy

Five of these are technical problems. Good programming and good design can make these features sing. The issue is the last, social problem: the content policy.

The only site of any significant size that has survived with a permissive content policy is Archive Of Our Own. It’s run by the Office of Transformative Works, a nonprofit dedicated to making a space for works that would not otherwise have a home. As such, they have devoted significant resources to ensuring their policy can withstand legal challenges, and they rely on true tax-deductible donations to fund the site instead of skittish advertisers. Any platform that would truly wish to fill the shoes of Old Blue would probably need to take a similar approach.

An alternative is the one taken by WordPress. Savvy web citizens know that there are two sides to WordPress: the free website where anyone can sign up for a blog, and the open-source software anyone can install for free on their own web server. While downloading and installing WordPress is not necessarily for the faint of heart (it requires some technical knowledge of web servers and how to maintain them), WordPress is widely considered one of the easiest pieces of web software to install and use.

This ease of deployment allows the free website WordPress.com to have a stricter content policy, since anyone adversely affected can take their content to a self-hosted blog with a little effort. This is more than simply offering a blog “backup”; WordPress has built-in mechanisms to move content from one WordPress-powered blog to another with few changes. A blog hosted on WordPress.com with a custom domain can be changed to a self-hosted WordPress blog with few to no visible changes to visitors.

While the WordPress method doesn’t eliminate the social problem of a content policy, it does reduce the stakes. If a group of users find the content policy onerous, they can set up (and pay for) their own WordPress-powered platform.

What next?

And here is where I will cut this off. I humbly submit this for comment, knowing I’ve left some things out that may not have been integral to my experience on Old Blue but essential to others.

I’ll also be working on a follow-up to discuss particular technologies that could be used to create a new platform in this vein, so if you have any suggestions there, I’m all ears.

But I do want to close with this: these are ideas. These are thoughts. And that’s all they are. Building a platform takes a lot of work, both in the programming but also in how it is socially maintained. And as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Big Red are learning, the rules you choose to have and how you enforce them can have dramatic consequences to the community that builds up around your platform. This is not something I can tackle on my own, and it is not something I would ask anyone to volunteer for.

This is a thought exercise, a way of getting these ideas out of my head. I hope you find it useful, or at least a little informative. And if it helps shape whatever platforms come next, I’ll be even more happy. Thanks for reading; I’ll see you next time.

#from wordpress #analysis #portfolio

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