8D

[farla]

The newest installment, this one answering the question of how they were going to keep complaining it isn't funny enough after hitting the author note saying that's not the point. Turns out parody means to tell many jokes, who knew? Also, the sporker's now figured out this is before gen five, although I don't think anyone's realized quite how much before it is.

We miss out on complaints about how the story of a kid getting a million cool pokemon for starting late is terrible, but the comments make up for it with their developing canon about my real views and statements I said at some point somewhere to their understanding. With luck, one of the commenters may even divine my true evil meaning even from the accepted chapter. Failing that, I'll just have to hope my newest fanfic provokes rage about my hypocrisy when I finally post it and ends up there as well.

Also Dragonfree attempted discussion under the impression they were reasoning folk. May she escape again with her sanity unscathed.

Comments

[wintersheir]

Grudge-spork is grudgy. lewl.

The thing that gets me about TRAINERS CAN'T START AT TEN!!! is that it's so confused by the examples of the game protagonists, which are obviously special cases. Like, no, a ten year old can't bring down Team Rocket by beating every one of its members in a pokemon battle and they probably shouldn't go on extended backpacking trips through wilderness areas.

But look at the NPC trainers in the game-- how do regular people get their first pokemon? Who are these NPCs? Elementary-school-age bug catchers and lasses with local pokemon who probably live in the cities they're closest to and are on a day trip to Mt. Moon or Viridian Forest. Heck, maybe one of their parents or a guardian is nearby, just not battling because THEIR pokemon are level 50. And then they get older and maybe they take a weekend trip to another city to get that badge. And then next summer they get another one, and then another, and then pretty soon they're 16 and they can head to the tournament alone or with a parent.

But anyway, just preaching to the choir. None of us would be here if we weren't continually mystified why furious anger, capslock, passive-aggressive ellipses and grudgewank almost always meets the suggestion that a fanfic with an older trainer need not start with an 18-year-old waking up and getting their first level 5 bulbasaur.

[farla.livejournal.com]

I think I've begun to see bits of pattern in the madness! They're people who really aren't interested in anything about the pokemon themselves and really resent the idea anyone should be concerned about that but are really invested in the idea the main character should be able to do everything. I think this is related to the fact they think the only proper use parody is one that's so ludicrously over the top it bears no resemblance to real sues. (As a complicating factor, I don't think they read much in the fandom, so they have no idea this is already standard.)

I actually talked someone into an overage trainer who's been training his starter for a while just now! Really, there are so many ways it could go, it's just people keep using the one worst option.

[wintersheir]

As a complicating factor, I don't think they read much in the fandom, so they have no idea this is already standard.

I think this is it, Originality was very clearly about making fun of poorly-thought-out cliches and juvenile attempts to be dramatic or elevate the protagonist or imitate the anime. But the would-be sporker is a) ignorant of context and b) is at such a Bitch Eating Crackers level with you that they're trying to find anything wrong with your writing and largely just demonstrating their own lack of understanding. Hoo hoo hoo.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

God bless Dragonfree. She is so patient. I hit bluescreen after "Sexism isn't really a big deal, guys!"

The most cringeworthy thing to me is just how bad the analysis is. To the point that it almost has to be willful misinterpretation... I mean, Unoriginality isn't anything near subtle... but the point is still going over everyone's heads. And not just that, the idea that *you may be being sarcastic* seems not to have registered... or, it has, but it's not convenient to the goal, ie, humiliate Farla.

Unfortunately it seems they won't be doing Lucki, which is sad.

I never realized how many people who resented you were on Das. It's really depressing. I honestly can't even read anything else on the comm anymore, it's just ruined it.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

Complicated that is the fact that they don't seem to realize this was written like, a decade ago, and isn't really relevant anymore. A lot of it seems very focused and nitpicky because the conventions it was mocking aren't big anymore-- goth sues (the Raven chapter) are pretty much absent, but were huge then, for example.

Which is of course the most damning factor, as anyone who actually gave a shit about a real sporking would try to find the context and see if it was appropriate.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

As the "Mirror Originality" chapter demonstrated, I think a lot of them are recognizing their own writing in there and squirming. And as we know, the only correct response to that is frothing rage at the person who dared made you aware of a mistake.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

Also! We have hit me being accused of being you, so this officially counts as farlawank now!

[farla.livejournal.com]

It's good to have you back! And yeah, apparently this is one of those no it is you who are the sexism for thinking anything's wrong with a female character.

I'm really amazed too. I mean, I was looking at it a few months ago and thinking wow, I need to get rid of the stupid author notes, but now I want to go back in time and tell baby me that no, they need to be even longer.

I think it's specifically the pokemon fanfic crowd that are like this. The fanfic sporks seem to be held to a pretty low standard and really give off that "I'm not like the other writers" vibe. I was looking around at the other pokemon fics and there's stuff from her that opens with

The Ferris wheel rotated upwards higher and higher, finally reaching its peak at the top and then descending. Touko stared out the window, alone in the car. As she watched the whole of Unova increase and then decrease in size, she was brought back to the memory of the last time she was in that car.

She had ridden it with N, the person she despised the most.

Why, pray tell, do you despise N so much? I mean, I can see how he’d make you not-like his views, but to outwardly despise someone in his situation is a bit harsh.

To be frank, she hadn't hated him until she found out he was king of Team Plasma.

You may notice that a recurring theme in this story is how much Hilda hates everything about Team Plasma and thinks they’re monsters, all, it would seem, because that's What the Hero is Supposed to Do. (http://das-sporking.livejournal.com/266029.html)

So literally the next line it explains why she hates him, at which point the sporker starts going on about how the story failed to explain why it is a pokemon trainer would hate someone running an organization loudly saying pokemon training needs to be abolished and stealing people's pokemon to do so, and also assaulting pokemon on top of that. (And this despite hating me for saying anything that questions pokemon training!)

She hates something about the fanfic, therefore all must be mocked. This is the kind of attitude that killed the sporking communities. Once you do this, it's no longer about the fanfic actually being bad, it's just about how much you can make fun of. I think it's made a lot worse by the fact they won't link to to the original fanfic, so no one sees it without the commentary or the bits the sporker skips. I always saw that as an important check to this kind of thing.

[farla.livejournal.com]

We need a bingo sheet.

[farla.livejournal.com]

It's actually even older than I realized. I had to repost it at some point, so the first half of the chapters are even earlier than the post date, and the second Unoriginality was first posted early 2004, so I think it was first posted sometime in 2003.

[farla.livejournal.com]

I wish I knew more context. One of the commenters won't shut up about some review I gave, but it doesn't look like the sporker even writes fic, so my current theory is she's not experienced with the sort of fanfic people actually produce and seeing it as an evil attempt to shut down all fanfic by telling people not to do stuff.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

Shh, I'm not really back yet. Technically no recreational computing for another week and a half.

Did you know silly women complaining about sexism are just overreacting? I sure didn't. Also, people who complain about the Elder Juniper leading his daughter around like a small child are just pissed that she "dared have a father who also was a Pokémon professor."

You know, Das was never really a feminist comm, but I have to say, I'm honestly shocked to see that left to its own devices, discourse will devolve into the "Don't get your panties in a bunch" crap that populates the rest of the internet, with a nice side of "women should be happy to be represented at all".

This is the reason moderation is a thing. I get that it's tough to mod a large comm, but how this wasn't the inevitable conclusion I'll never know.

[farla.livejournal.com]

I love how they won't shut up about her appearance while it is we who are demeaning women by objecting to the name.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

I just... UGH. Sorry to keep spamming your inbox, but I have neither the patience or arm strength to deal with them right now, and I have to vent somehow:

Who the fuck in their right mind saw Cedric Juniper as anything other than a Big Strong Man to lead around the first female Professor because her ovaries prevented her from being involved in the story itself? I mean, couple the Ivy thing with the Juniper one and the fact that Gen V's female rival's plotline was for her to suck, give up, and go do something else... is he under the impression that this is all a big cosmic coincidence? And to top it off, we're talking about VIDEO GAME fandom here, at a time where the gaming community is repeatedly coming under fire for not-at-all-thinly-veiled attempts at alienating female fans... it's kind of a Big Thing right now.

And obviously, it's a guy. Just fucking obviously. As if anyone other than a hetero male would respond to an accusation of sexism by throwing their hands in the air and going, "WOMEN! UGH! Don't even know when they're being talked down to and when they're not!"

edit: God dammit, his ffNET profile explains so much. Motherfucker, this is why I can't tell anyone I'm Christian and favor states' rights!

[farla.livejournal.com]

And to top it off, we're talking about VIDEO GAME fandom here, at a time where the gaming community is repeatedly coming under fire for not-at-all-thinly-veiled attempts at alienating female fans... it's kind of a Big Thing right now.

Well, there's your answer, he already knows all the talking points for why those female characters are fine and the dumb girls are whining about absolutely nothing and are the real misogynists for not liking the characters.

Even in a discussion where apparently none of them were even there for Ivy's episode! His dick means he knows more on any subject than we do.

[wintersheir]

Yeah! Oh man, are the days of the ludicrous sadness sues behind us? Is it just boring kids who get a special pokemon from professor pine? I've read some of farla's pokereviews but I missed the egregious sues.

Is there some kind of function where you can call up a random story on FFnet or whatever? I still get a review on gods and demons like twice a year and they're like "oh darn, I guess I'm too late to submit a pokemon" and I'm like FRIEND, THIS STORY HASN'T BEEN UPDATED FOR SEVEN YEARS HOW FAR BACK DID YOU SCROLL

[farla.livejournal.com]

They seem to be a thing of the past, like the noble dinosaur. Canon characters boring it up or legendaries as humans are the current terribleness, which sucks because they're all terrible in the same way.

My guess for old stories is that people are hopping along favorites lists. If someone currently active has your story/you as a favorite, they can funnel readers along to you.

[actonthat.livejournal.com]

BUT FARLA THERE IS A TREE CALLED AN IVY TREE DUH WE'RE SUCH FOOLS. I'M SUCH A SILLY WIMMIN SOMETIMES I EVEN HEAR GALLOPING AND DON'T THINK IT'S ZEBRAS