Here we go! Collecting things in one place! This is for all things RotTMNT x SW-related, specifically this little AU story @colibrie and I accidentally cooked up. Story is ongoing, updates happen when they happen!
Several years after the Clone Wars and the Purge of the Jedi, the paths of brothers thought long lost, cross...
Navigation
Main Story - S Y N T H E S I S
Act I
Mikey and Leo
Meetings: Reunion and additional images
Meetings: Familiar Strangers
Meetings: Resonance - Part I ✦ Part II & III ✦ Part IV ✦ Part V
Reflections: Part I ✦ Part II
Confrontations: Doubling Down - Part I ✦ Part II ✦ Part III
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Temp. bow because I don't have any good ribbon or cloth in the color I want, so that'll have to wait until I can make a trek to a hobby store or something.
Was a pretty quiet one here, but thankfully not soaking like yesterday! Hope you all had a wonderful day and enjoyed loving company and delicious foods.
It's been a long year, a tough one at that, and the world's not getting any less crazy, unfortunately. Oh, but God. (Good song, btw.) Things would be a hundred times harder to go through without Him. At your lowest, at your highest, when you feel like you're alone, it's the most reassuring thing to know you're not.
We don't know what the next day may bring, but we can always know that we're loved, and we'll have the strength and support we need.
Thank you all for tagging along with me through another year! Let's do our best for the next one! <3
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It's been a tough past few months and the holidays are a little different to go through, but we're chugging along. But I'm thankful for the support we've had, the check-ins, and knowing that even when things dip low, I'm never alone. I'm thankful that there's a loving God looking out for us, and who's taught by example how to love and care for each other.
I'm thankful for my family, for friends. For having a good workplace and wonderful coworkers. I'm thankful for all of you, and for being able to make you happy with a bit of turtles. <3
Recently, I received a reader comment on one of my Genshin Impact fanfics that really got me thinking about the nature of public interaction with art and media.
The comment in question reads as such:
I think most people would agree that this isn't a very nice thing to hear about something you worked hard on and feel proud of. However, the comment is unusual for a couple of reasons-- first, that it is NOT anonymous, as most hate comments are, and second, that it was preceded by a long string of very kind, normal comments on the chapters leading up to this one.
To me, this seems to indicate that this person thinks the things they said in this comment are completely fine. And, well, it's hardly the worst unencouraging comment ever to grace the pages of the Internet. One could even argue that it is acceptable, since the commenter expresses that they know that theirs is "just an unpopular opinion," and mixes in nice comments as well. So why does it still feel so bad?
I fully acknowledge that I did not respond well:
(In the interest of transparency, the full exchange can be found HERE. And just in case: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES HARASS THIS PERSON OR ADD COMMENTS TO THEM)
The golden rules of fan creation have always been "Don't like, don't read," and "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." I felt that this person's comment, despite its caveats, still violated the second rule, and as I had recently been hearing about younger and newer authors being chased off creative platforms by hate commenters, I was feeling particularly sensitive about the issue.
But then, the commenter returned with, among other things, this:
Well.
First, I'm inclined to think, and in fact hope, that the... interesting grammatical style... means that this commenter is still young. But in any case, they make a good point, and artists of all kinds hear this all the time-- that you have to accept criticism with compliment, and that you'll never grow as a creator if you can't tolerate criticism.
Let's examine this for a second. Merriam-Webster includes two definitions for the word criticize:
to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly
to find fault with ; point out the faults of
However, in actual colloquial use, I find that these are more likely to mean:
To analyze and give specific, meaningful feedback that can be acted upon by the receiver.
Hate commenting and trying to excuse it.
I'm open to other interpretations.
If we take a look at the original comment, is there any kind of analysis with actionable suggestion for change?
"I can't understand the reason why you decided to evolve the story like this... I can't understand how the Chongyun plot makes any sense after all happened between Xiao and Aether, how bold to articulate a second plot without a solid base plot."
These lines are the only specific criticism in the comment, but there is no sign of analysis (the commenter attempting to puzzle out what they think is going on, or explaining what parts they did understand), or any actionable suggestion (e.g. "It would have made more sense if X was resolved in the first plot before moving on to Y in the second.)
This isn't even taking into account kindness when offering criticism. As you can see, the commenter blames me for their inability to understand, and insults my plot choices. So what does a good critical comment look like instead?
The structure of this comment is similar to the previous: criticism mixed with compliment and the backtrack to "it's just an opinion you can ignore." However, it also contains a very specific suggestion that I can act on + a complete explanation of why the suggestion was made, an analysis of how the thing being criticized fits within context ("xiao doing it a ton when it isn't called for is very in line with his personality + trauma background"), and politely takes responsibility for the criticism ("my suggestion," "Genshin is a fantasy world... this is your fic").
I agree that criticism is necessary for growth. That being said, there is absolutely a difference between useful criticism and hate commenting or venting, and I believe there is no need to acknowledge criticism that has no respect for you.
BUT THAT'S NOT ALL
The original commenter also says:
"You're works are public... even if you don't like it [criticism] will come."
And oh boy does it ever. But I think it's worth talking a little bit about the difference in how things can be "public." My fanfiction and Genshin Impact are equally free and public access, and everyone who's so much as sniffed in the direction of the game knows about the kind of hate it receives on the daily. So what gives?
If the unkind comment had been posted on, let's say, Reddit or a book review forum instead, I would have had absolutely nothing to say, in the same way that no reasonable person would bat an eye at an angry player doomposting about Genshin Impact on HoyoLab.
The book review would not be to me, and the doompost would not be to any specific person involved in the creation of Genshin Impact. But by leaving a comment under my work on AO3, you are effectively speaking directly to my face. Would you walk into a local art gallery, and, upon finding one of the artists standing directly beside their work, tell them their painting is incomprehensible and the colors are ugly?
I hope not. If so, then all I have to say is that you would be an asshole, full stop.
Additionally, if people have to pay to consume a piece of media, or a large amount of money was involved in its creation, I believe some harsher criticism is warranted. After all, money is value, and the more money people invest, the higher quality they expect as a result. This is why it may feel fine to pay for a Netflix subscription, but odd to be asked the same for YouTube.
Genshin Impact, as a multi-billion dollar game, needs to deliver high-quality results to a very broad audience, and those who have spent a large amount of time and/or money on the game deserve to have their concerns taken into consideration (whether they actually are or not is a separate issue). My fanfiction, however, was written for free as a passion project, and the main intended audience was myself. My only responsibility is to tag it correctly when making it public. Most people in the community understand this, and know how to curate their own experiences in fandom.
For those still learning... if you've taken the time to read all this, I hope this discussion cleared up a little of the whats and whys of fan community feedback.
Sorry for the long-ass musings, but this is a topic that's been bothering me for a long time now, and I have yet to encounter any personally satisfying explanations for what makes good criticism and why negative comments are largely frowned upon in spaces like AO3. There are sub-zero takes I'm sure, yet since the problems persist, and may actually be increasing due to the influx of internet denizens unfamiliar with fandom etiquette, I wanted to say something anyway.
TL;DR
Real criticism should be trying to lift you up and make you a better artist, not blame and bring you down, there's a difference between hating into a void and hating you straight to your face, and you are responsible for your own experience in fandom, the testing ground for many new artists and creators-- be respectful.
This is extraordinarily well written, but I'll add my two cents in on the aspect that struck me the most. That is, the strength of emotions and the responsibility writers and readers share in managing them.
Like any other artist, writers are capable (and indeed, aim to) evoke emotion(s) through their prose. Similarly, those who read our works seek them out or give them a chance because they want to experience those feelings. It's why the tagging system for fanfiction exists, so people can better find the exact experience they seek from the vast sea of options. One reads a "crack" fic because one wants to laugh at the absurdity, while another reaches for suspense because they want the thrill of wondering what will come next.
Emotions are powerful things. In many ways, they tell us who we are, what we value, and what could be dangerous to us. We invest those feelings, along with our time into the stories we read. And thus, it's easy for those emotions to take control when something happens with said story that we don't expect. The commenter who reviewed OP's story mentioned feeling "comfortable" with the story, only to feel "lost and sad" when something happened in it that they didn't like/approve of.
Those feelings, not the desire to give a genuine critique, are what drove this individual. They were upset, and they wanted those feelings to be validated by forcing the author to see and acknowledge them.
As a fanfiction author, I won't say we have no responsibility to our readers' emotions, because we do. If our content has the possibility to be disturbing, or if we are discussing sensitive topics, we absolutely have a duty to handle those emotions with care and consideration by leveraging the tools at our disposal (summaries, tags, etc).
But as a reader, I can not stress enough, your emotions (positive or negative) are your own to manage. It is not the job of the author to validate you if something in their work disappointed you. It is not the job of the author to make you specifically feel "comfortable" or prevent you from feeling "lost and sad". Those feelings are valid, but you're far better off sitting with them, trying to examine what has upset you, rather than demanding recognition/recompense from someone you don't know, who is writing for the love of storytelling.
There is an accidental trend in my tmnt fanart. Its almost as if... many of my fondest childhood memories were spent playing games with my siblings. The rise & 03 ones have been posted before, I just wanted them all together.
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