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Canyons of Static posted:madness  Tell us everything.
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Dec 3, 2011 23:33
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Knight of the 
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In about an hour when I get home I'll go through all my old IM logs and private messages and try to put a decent post together. By the way, Sir Prancelot, I've been following the Bibeau thread and all his fandom-suggestive-shipping poo poo makes SO MUCH SENSE if you know the kind of fanbase he's catering to. Turpentine Caz posted:Do you remember what any of these rules were? Of the yaoi I've seen, all of it was on art sites and most of it involved taking even old, masculine or ugly characters and drawing them as skinny, pretty, androgynous boys. I dread to imagine how characters are rendered who are actually meant to look like that. Also the furry rules sound like they can't be anything but hilariously arbitrary. This I can answer right now. The site only allowed males as the main focus of all images, since it was a yaoi site. But since a lot of yaoi boys basically look like girls with a penis, they had to get really specific and ridiculous for pictures where characters are clothed (which is actually a large percentage of images on the site. Fangirls who are scared of their own sexuality LOVE suggestive, "racy" images that aren't actually x-rated.) So, they started to develop a list. Some of the characteristics they deemed "feminine" were: women's clothing, full lips, big eyes, hourglass figures, weak jaws, lack of an Adam's apple, and lack of a "package." If a drawing of a supposed male had too many of these characteristics, it would be removed. For whatever reason people did try to sneak pictures of female characters in, I guess because they were too cool and underground for Deviant Art or something. The furry rule was tailored in such a way that "catboys" were still allowed, so a character could have animal ears and an animal tail, but their face and body had to be human. I think once you got into whisker territory it started being a furry. Any kind of snout meant immediate removal. Oh and there was specifically a rule about how human penises had to look, I think. You couldn't put like a dog penis on a human or whatever. However, penises could be "retractable" as long as they appeared to be human. 
Canyons of Static fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 23:48
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Canyons of Static posted:In about an hour when I get home I'll go through all my old IM logs and private messages and try to put a decent post together. 
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Dec 4, 2011 00:29
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mad carl posted:It's really an interesting group of people to me. If you have any particular experiences you might like to relate, I would likewise enjoy that. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, now that I think about it) I haven't encountered too many crazy lolitas in real life. Most of my stories come from internet drama, which is usually where all the drama goes down. I do remember one person from Livejournal, who happened to be about 40 years old and loved Twilight, who insisted that all pearls on brand-name lolita dresses were cheap and bad (uh, well, no) and even a "$10 string of pearls from Wal-mart" would be better. And also that teddy bears and prints with teddy bears are dangerous because they would encourage children to approach real bears.
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Dec 4, 2011 00:46
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mad carl posted:I'm not sure if this is what you're implying, but I'd like to note that those were two different people. I really don't know the "vanillin" person at all, and just witnessed the post and impending discussion. The dragon crowd is one that produces some of the most genuinely idiosyncratic behavior. I personally take a particular interest in people who have really convincingly alien thoughts and behavior, hence the note about "alternative operating system" type mental wiring.
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Dec 4, 2011 01:15
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I Watson posted:Shake it, bake it, booty quake it. If you enjoy John Hughes movies and/or giant robot shows, it is worth tracking down episodes. Derail from a couple pages back, but god drat, thank you for bringing this show to my attention. And so went my Saturday.
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Dec 4, 2011 04:11
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Hi I just found my younger brother's fanfiction where he turns me, another relative and some anime girls into fairies and rapes and tortures us.  He's always been obsessed with fairies and convinced they're real and poo poo but ohhhh my godddEDIT: Aaaaa I meant to hit preview oops I confronted him about it and he at first denied it, then awkwardly admitted that he's been writing stories like this for years. This is his way of getting back at women who have pissed him off, apparently. Keep in mind he literally thinks he is a reincarnation of some peter pan fairy prince, and will go back to being so after he dies. I ended up screaming at him and now he's in his room pouting. I both want to cry and laugh hysterically right now. Dabbo fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 05:30
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Jesus christ. Is that the guy who posted that in the Minecraft thread? edit to clarify: this guy? naptalan fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 05:39
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naptalan posted:Jesus christ. Is that the guy who posted that in the Minecraft thread? Thanks to my brother I've learned there is actually a subculture of people online who get off to writing fairy torture porn. The minecraft guy is loving mild compared to these people. What's hilarious is that right now our mom is texting me demanding to know why I was violating my brothers privacy(I walked by his laptop and saw an open word document titled something like "Dabbos just desserts part 3"). My brother is 18. I could write a book about how my brother is basically chris chan and our mom's frantic attempts to protect his ego, but I need to take a shower first.
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Dec 4, 2011 05:45
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Ask me about studying law with a girl who thinks she's married to Sai Baba Previously: The Girl in the Sari A Note on Henriette Phantom in Honolulu The Girl who Thinks She's Married to Sai Baba & Part 2 The Thespian Society Amnesia: The Friendship Descent The Stage Play Interlude 1: Raja Discovers Blogging Interlude 2: Le Fursécution! The Bollywood Film 1: A True Story The Bollywood Film 2: I am Batman The Bollywood Film 3: Andrew, You're Not the Father The Bollywood Film 4: Fever --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I am really good at google. Can I do some internet detective poo poo on your stories? A: NO. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bollywood Film 5: What If?   RHINO I NEED YOUR HELP URGENTLY Yes, you need someone to work the projector and the backstage for the screening tomorrow. You asked Wale and me yesterday. YES I NEED YOU TWO HOURS BEFORE Good night, Henriette.Day of screening! Henriette had decided that Wale and I, both who knew how to use the computer to do things, would be best to handle all the technical aspects of the show. Wale had a strong Namibian accent which people find difficult to understand, and I had a slight hearing problem and often need repeated instructions to understand things fully. A winning combination!  I arrived at the place two hours before time (of course), but Henriette herself was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, Wale was already there to help Lisa Lisa out with the projector and Henriette's laptop. So, where's the movie? Wait, is this CD 1 of 3? There are THREE CDs? And where are the other two? Henriette... is still editing the film.Well, this was terrific. We had ten minutes to test out a potentially five hour movie. I Will Survive! was obviously going to be a major success. Wale, in the meantime, had bigger problems to report.  This computer is full of viruses and spyware. Oh, and every ten minutes a window appears to tell me my porn-watching habits may download viruses into my computer. I thought I fixed that just a few months ago? Don't worry, we'll get another laptop from a member.I went backstage to figure out what kind of buttons were supposed to be pressed for the sound and lighting, and to teach the Thespian Society members how to work it. Having no experience in that area surely would give me an advantage in the field. As I was fiddling with the switches, Wale came to the backstage. Yo, Rhino. What if? I dunno man, what if? I ask myself that all the time. Ha ha ha. But seriously man, what if?It was obvious Wale was not asking me an existential philosophical question. What's shift? What... ok, I'm gonna come over. Give me a second.I went to the projector, which was hooked up to a laptop. Lisa Lisa were adjusting the device as the blurred image of a desktop was projected on the screen above the stage. Hold on, that laptop seemed familiar...  What the gently caress! So, what's yiff?
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Dec 4, 2011 05:46
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Dabbo posted:Thanks to my brother I've learned there is actually a subculture of people online who get off to writing fairy torture porn. 
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Dec 4, 2011 05:49
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Dabbo posted:   The Saddest Rhino posted:Ahahahaha, that's amazing. Great cliffhanger, dude.
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Dec 4, 2011 05:55
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Dabbo posted:I could write a book about how my brother is basically chris chan and our mom's frantic attempts to protect his ego, but I need to take a shower first. Please do this!
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Dec 4, 2011 06:23
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It is a strange experience looking back through messages from that time. Back then I saw myself as the mature, sane voice of reason among a bunch of screaming anime weirdos, but reading back many of the conversations I had and the things I got worked up about, I realize how immature and maladjusted I was. I just was slightly less immature and maladjusted than a lot of the other users, and so that was my frame of reference. If I hadn't got out, I might never have gotten better. This is how people like J-F Bibeau (go check out the thread in TBB if you haven't already!) get to age 34 without ever growing up. They just have their poo poo together a little bit more than the people they talk to, so they think they're doing great. Going back through my old PMs, I found a whole conversation where an admin was admonishing me for using the word "pedophile" in reference to some dude who exclusively drew underage porn. Because that word is offensive and bigoted, apparently, and unfairly insinuates that people who draw naked children might be sexually attracted to children. I also found the conversation with the pedophile himself, who insisted that he was not a pedophile because he was only attracted to illustrations of naked ten-year-olds taking it up the rear end, not real naked ten-year-olds taking it up the rear end. He suggested the term "boy lover" be used instead. He did get banned eventually but only for harassing staff, not for his sexual preferences. It's really amazing to look back at this and see how deep down into the rabbit hole everyone was. This was my "job" for over a year. I was not paid with anything but internet cred. Of course I went to class and had a workstudy job as well at the time, but I spent hours each day resolving inane arguments and debating with other moderators whether someone's catboy drawing was too anthro to remain on the site. Canyons of Static fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 07:05
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Ask me about having a Fairy Prince for a brother Things started out innocently enough. When I was 4 and my brother was 2, our Dad was discharged from the Air Force. We moved into the only place our parents could afford, a rougher part of town with few other kids. Our parents, afraid of the violence that constantly went on in our neighborhood, did their best to shelter us from the real world. While I love our parents, we really suffered from this. Often we would be kept inside the house for weeks at a time, because our Mom insisted it wasn't safe outside and other kids couldn't be trusted. Then we were old enough to start school. Mom wanted to homeschool us but she didn't have the time, and our Dad didn't want to put in that much work. So off to public school we went. From his first days there the teachers quickly noticed that my brother was very slow and wayyyy behind his peers developmentally. He couldn't talk, couldn't grasp the concept of letters or different colors, and couldn't comprehend basic instructions like "stay at your desk" or "don't wander out into the street during recess." The teachers quickly held a conference with our Mom, who was pretty offended that they'd suggest something was wrong with her son. That is, until someone uttered a word that would change all our lives forever. "Autism." Our Mom quickly changed her outlook. Her baby had autism. Her baby was special. She was an Autism mom! She would walk around the house bragging about my brother's autism, going on about what a stuggle it was, and how the world would be extra nasty to him and she'd always protect him no matter what. She would bring up the autism every chance she got, and never failed to let my brother know how unique and special he was, and not to listen to the mean children who made fun of him for barely being able to function, they're just not gifted like you. The only way my brother learned how to read and write was through the extensive efforts of his teachers. For a long time he was very uncooperative, since they actually expected him to do things and learn after a lifetime of our mom coddling him. Cut to a few years later. Both of us are horribly socially awkward and bullied. Our dad is incredibly abusive and distant, and our mom is basically living vicariously through her son's (newly diagnosed)Aspergers Syndrome. We both would constantly fall back into our imaginations to cope with the situation, since it wasn't like we could go outside. I read books like crazy and turned to art and the internet to escape. My brother, who still couldn't read or write well, was always watching cartoons and acting them out. He could only ever talk if he was quoting a movie or TV show, and imitating a character. For about three weeks he imitated Mario's accent, until I got fed up and punched him. Our mother grounded me for two months. I specifically remember this because it was around this time my brother started gaining an interest in "shrinking." He would constantly come in my room and use my art supplies to draw out crude pictures of girls he knew slowly growing or shrinking. Because he was 8 it was pretty hard to make out who it was, you could only tell by asking who it was. All he would do all day was watch TV and obsessively draw picture after picture of girls he liked shrinking and getting stepped on. I remember making fun of him and calling it creepy. Our mom yelled at me for mocking his creativity and grounded me for another month. Next bit will be my brother hitting puberty and discovering the internet. And seeing Peter Pan for the first time.
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Dec 4, 2011 07:11
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mad carl posted:At one point, during the 4chan revolution when everyone was deciding they were internet trolls. Their main board is 'Den of Angels', and someone made 'Den of Demons' and everyone went over there to prove how edgy they were (proving how edgy you are is another popular asian ball-jointed doll (ABJD/BJD) community pastime). To this day it was one of the funniest large-scale internet throw-downs I've ever seen, and a lot of drama was mostly raging over whoever was in charge of the community (there were lots of, and probably still are, really weird attempts at power-grabs from the chick that runs Den of Angels). There's a lot of overlap with the American lolita community, and when the two mix people start doing poo poo like snubbing each others' dolls and getting offended over snubbing each others' dolls. More on the American lolitas later. People in the doll community mostly tend to think they're major art connoisseurs, presumably on the basis that they own dolls averaging around $500-600, but most of them can't actually tell the difference between acrylic paint and watercolor pencil in the craft side of things. I've been in the doll hobby since 2007 and am semi active on Den of Angels and lurk Den of Demons. I can confirm a lot of this crazy poo poo did/does occur but not as much as it did when I first entered. The original owner of DoA (Aimee) handed over the reins to a person called Armeleia, who is much more stable and grounded in reality. Aimee has more or less retired and the other crazyass mods who were her friends flounced off and made a new forum called Resinality that almost no one visits. The tone of the forum changed when Aimee and Co. left and people who believe their dolls possess metaphysical attributes are slightly stigmatized (though not outright ostracized, its still the land of rainbow kittens). Armeleia has (mostly) cleaned up Den of Angels and steered the focus from all the doll-soul crap to something a lot more mainstream and commercialized. Den of Demons is almost completely dead except for a couple dozen posters who've become friends as a result of posting there, and the two forums aren't bitter enemies anymore. Armeleia even has a DoD account that she has posted with a couple of times. Don't get me wrong, there are still yaoi fans who make supah kawaii desu vampire boys, but they're in the minority nowadays. The male dolls are trending to a more realistic aesthetic with less stylized features and more beefy muscles, so we're seeing a lot less of the girly uke boys that used to be so rampant. Occasional drama happens, mostly having to do with marketplace transactions, but there hasn't been a huge wanksplosion in quite a while.
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Dec 4, 2011 07:54
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Just want to say, I actually googled "FFVII HOUSE" and man, oh man. Is sure is something. It's actually EXACTLY like Denise. Right down to "shinies" (useless crap) being imbued with magic power, leeching money, avoiding chores through astral pregnancies, the whole works.
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Dec 4, 2011 08:00
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Most of the time I run into someone from the BJD community and they talk to me about it they tell me that the community's way cooler now and everyone's way more sane. It's a phenomenon I've witnessed with a lot of the communities I've looked at. I think for the most part it's just that people get used to it and notice it less. It sounds like you've found a place within the organization that makes you happy, and that's good. I knew Aimee (the one-time boss hoss of the BJD community and owner of Den of Angels, the largest BJD forum) and a few of her mod squad and never thought Aimee was particularly crazy, just extremely busy and overwhelmingly distant as a result of that. That is to say that when I saw her around she was much too busy and in too much of a hurry to really even have time to demonstrate any particular insanity, and I personally wouldn't want to be running DoA, which became both a potential legal liability due to the possibility of scamming and various incidents that could occur on her site -- I had the dubious good fortune of being in a position where I got a fair glance at a lot of what went on behind the scenes in the community. Running that forum is an extremely unrewarding full-time job. For whatever reason, I never got to explore that community from the same 'being a dick all the time' position as I did the otherkin/soulbonder community. As far as the 'doll-soul' crowd goes, it seems likely to be a somewhat inseparable part of the community. The Japanese company that invented the BJD market, Volks, holds doll weddings and other ceremonies regarding the souls of dolls. I would like to note, however, that despite this pseudoreligious element being present in the Japanese fandom, it's always been my perception that those behaviors have a much gentler tone in that community. The rituals themselves seem to have a relationship to living Japanese traditions, and the aspects of the Japanese community that I've interacted with didn't demonstrate any of the negative traits I've witnessed in the American communities. That difference is very interesting -- it's something I've noticed (but personally experienced only to a much lesser extent) in lolita culture over there as well. Obviously Japan has different expectations of manners and social behavior, but I've felt puzzled by these differences as long as I've noticed them. I also suspect it has something to do with Japanese culture having a completely different rate of maturing. Rhino, those pictures with your posts are excellent. The art on this thread rules. mad carl fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 08:45
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mad carl posted:I knew Aimee (the one-time boss hoss of the BJD community and owner of Den of Angels, the largest BJD forum) and a few of her mod squad and never thought Aimee was particularly crazy, just extremely busy and overwhelmingly distant as a result of that. Aimee had the capacity to be very obnoxious in person. I am unsure if she's still at it because it has been awhile, but anything would always be steered towards ~HER DOLLS~ and ~HER MASTER COSPLAYS~ and ~HER LOLITA BURANDO DRESSES~ and ~HER TRIPS TO JAPAN~. I don't have any notable stories to share on my end as I would walk away when she got into that mode. Twiggy Johnson posted:Derail from a couple pages back, but god drat, thank you for bringing this show to my attention. And so went my Saturday. My pleasure. There used to be a thread for it on TVIV but it has been lost to the sands of time. 
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Dec 4, 2011 09:33
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Casca posted:I've been in the doll hobby since 2007 When you say 'doll hobby', do you mean spending money on dolls or actually making the loving things? Because if it's the latter I'd love to get in on that. e: Not Dollfie brand obviously, but those strange ball-jointed things that resemble them, they look fun even if resin is a oval office.
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Dec 4, 2011 09:35
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I Watson posted:Aimee had the capacity to be very obnoxious in person. I am unsure if she's still at it because it has been awhile, but anything would always be steered towards ~HER DOLLS~ and ~HER MASTER COSPLAYS~ and ~HER LOLITA BURANDO DRESSES~ and ~HER TRIPS TO JAPAN~. I don't have any notable stories to share on my end as I would walk away when she got into that mode. I'm not shocked to hear that, actually, and don't have any reason to doubt it -- I should have worded my post better. It's possible my writing has come off as being a little overly warm about the group of people I bore witness to -- I've made some effort to keep what I've said of them impartial, mostly to keep what I have to say from becoming a tirade about my dislike, but for the most part I felt mild but analytical antipathy towards them. The friends of my friend who was in the community were generally pretty rude to me whenever I had the dubious good fortune of being exposed to them or their meet-ups. mad carl fucked around with this message at 09:52 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 09:46
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mad carl posted:I'm not shocked to hear that, actually, and don't have any reason to doubt it -- I should have worded my post better. It's possible my writing has come off as being a little overly warm about the group of people I bore witness to -- I've made some effort to keep what I've said impartial in what I've said of that community and people in it, mostly to keep what I have to say from becoming a tirade about my dislike, but for the most part I felt mild but analytical antipathy towards them. The friends of my friend who was in the community were generally pretty rude to me whenever I had the dubious good fortune of being exposed to them or their meet-ups. Yeah, that is perfectly fair. You know, I think the whole allure of Dollfies and other ball-jointed dolls is a multi-layered thing. Part of it is the ability to ape whatever anime creature you desire with them, another is the whole Asian mystique, and round that off with the usual doll collector insanity that only the most limited and most expensive is worth your time and worship. That is why it is so drat good at drawing in the crazies, even though there is perfectly sane owners floating around out there.
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Dec 4, 2011 09:56
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I Watson posted:Aimee had the capacity to be very obnoxious in person. I am unsure if she's still at it because it has been awhile, but anything would always be steered towards ~HER DOLLS~ and ~HER MASTER COSPLAYS~ and ~HER LOLITA BURANDO DRESSES~ and ~HER TRIPS TO JAPAN~. I don't have any notable stories to share on my end as I would walk away when she got into that mode. SHE'S GOT A BOOK ON AMAZON YOU SHOULD BUY HER BOOK http://www.amazon.ca/Japan-Ai-Aimee-Major-Steinberger/dp/1933617837  It is also about her trips to japan you need to read about those
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Dec 4, 2011 14:14
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Sudden Guts Pill posted:As I posted in the Fandom Secrets thread, I'm a member of the lolita community and I'll attest that there are plenty of crazies there too. My local community is thankfully lacking in drama and crazy for the most part, but that's kind of uncommon. I'd love to hear your experiences with this, I'm sure it ain't pretty due to you posting about it here. Same, our community in Australia is more interested in drinking at a student dive bar and having fun get together at places we normally wouldn't visit with other friends groups - and getting drunk there! Ah the Japan Ai book, I remember when that first cropped up and the drama it caused, god it was so retarded. I think there were only two hardcore Japanophiles in our group but they mellowed out and found that the group wasn't as dedicated to sparkle motion as they were and we all have varied interests. Anyone's got any questions on Lolita fashion and the special flavor of imbecilic moron it attracts I'm here for that!
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Dec 4, 2011 15:12
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Corridor posted:When you say 'doll hobby', do you mean spending money on dolls or actually making the loving things? Because if it's the latter I'd love to get in on that. My Aunt & Sister have always been doll people in that they collect & dress the dolls. We've (me & spouse)always enjoy creating things, love to costume things, and modifying or repainting less expensive dolls is something we started to look into. Not to make money, just for relaxation & fun. You can buy kits, molds & such off of Ebay & others. Stringing them is apparently a real bitch (the one I have came pre-strung). You buy their eyes, wigs & such separately so you can do an incredible amount of customizing on even the kit ones & unfinished ones. The people in this thread that are really into them can probably tell you which kits are best for starters. Personally I want to get decent at repainting & redoing hair on the Tonner dolls. They are 18" and look more human than the BJDs.
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Dec 4, 2011 15:19
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Frankly BJDs always creep me out, but I'd understand why they'd have appeal. The level of customization is just great (though expensive), and I'd actually like making tiny little clothes. I don't, however, understand why people would think that the dolls are real people. From what I've heard though, the bigger BJD and Lolita communities are completely batshit insane and take offence at literally everything.
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Dec 4, 2011 15:46
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Khazar-khum posted:My Aunt & Sister have always been doll people in that they collect & dress the dolls. We've (me & spouse)always enjoy creating things, love to costume things, and modifying or repainting less expensive dolls is something we started to look into. Not to make money, just for relaxation & fun. Personally I think every post should contain roughly this percentage of ampersands.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:21
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Ask me about studying law with a girl who thinks she's married to Sai Baba Previously: The Girl in the Sari A Note on Henriette Phantom in Honolulu The Girl who Thinks She's Married to Sai Baba & Part 2 The Thespian Society Amnesia: The Friendship Descent The Stage Play Interlude 1: Raja Discovers Blogging Interlude 2: Le Fursécution! The Bollywood Film 1: A True Story The Bollywood Film 2: I am Batman The Bollywood Film 3: Andrew, You're Not the Father The Bollywood Film 4: Fever The Bollywood Film 5: What If? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I am really good at google. Can I do some internet detective poo poo on your stories? A: NO. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bollywood Film 6: The Importance of Data Security  Is that a dinosaur?(For reference, this is the actual desktop background:  ) What's up, Rhino? Jake Long, American Dragon... listen, that computer being used for the screening is yours, right? Yeah? Do you want to make it less obviously yours? Starting with cleaning up your desktop? That folder named "Yiff". Rhino tells me it may be someone's name or something personal and we didn't want to open it 'cause we totally respect your privacy and poo poo. Oh, yeah, that's right! You law students really are smart! You just think of everything. I'll go do that! Can "Yiff" really be someone's name? Uh... just leave it as that and don't think too much. I'm gonna google it when I go home. Some things are not meant for Man to know, Wale. Rhino, Wale, I've fixed the laptop! I've got to go back backstage, but Lisa Lisa should have the screen up in a minute. Nice. Rhino and I will test out CD 1.  So it is gay porn, right? Might as well be.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:27
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There's a strong tendency in a few of these subcultures to have a fiercely competitive hierarchy of Japanophiles. If I were to write a survival guide about dealing with these sorts of people, one of the first notes in it would be to never do anything that might be perceived as threatening to or competing with their feelings of being The Best Person At Japan. Failure to take care in that regard generally results in, at best, passive-aggression, and at worst some kind of explosion with tons of drama fallout. This goes double for BJD fans, otakin and lolitas, probably because they're all influenced by the J-rock fandom which, near as I can tell, is where a lot of this nightmare began. It helps that most of the lolita, BJD and J-rock fandoms dedicate an absolutely spectacular amount of time to finding things to be offended by or upset about. Otakin The big tagline for otakin (otaku + otherkin = otakin) for a while was "My soul is copyrighted." This is part of a big bid to feel oppressed and have some kind of soapbox to stand on -- pretty much all internet subcultures have some clique within them that really wants to feel victimized, as most of you are probably aware. Otakin really like to announce to other people that they're otakin while simultaneously pretending it's a big secret, and tend to announce poo poo a whole lot more than the other groups written up here, presumably as part of a massive ongoing quest for validation. Otakin are frequently subject to what basically amount to massive games of 'king of the hill' for attention. Also, it's pretty standard for otakin to believe that literally everyone they know is also an otakin. Claims that the original writer or artist "got something wrong" are very popular, as seen here: "My story basically coensides with Sailor Moon's portrayal of the Silver Millenium. There are many inaccuracies to the story, and most of what Naoko came up with is complete bullshit, but Sailor Moon is what I closely relate my past to. I do claim to hold within the soul of the warrior of the moon- though "she" or I or however you want to say it, was quite different from Naoko's portrayal. I also claim the title Crown Moon Princess- but I do not claim to be an only child." (With 'Naoko' she's referring to Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of Sailor Moon. I find myself wondering if there are disputes between people who "bonded" to the dubbed version as opposed to the subtitled version, but as with most questions about the bizarre with these communities the answer is probably "yes." In fact, I'm pretty sure I recall reading a big fight about that at some point.) A lot of cosplayers are secretly or semi-secretly otakin, and cosplay assists them in making it into a lifestyle. Regardless of how much they might resemble or not resemble the character they're "bonded" to, often they won't date anyone they can't convince themselves looks like the romantic interest of the character to which they're "bonded." American Lolitas Some ex-lolitas really like to talk about their "Peter Pan complexes." They tend to act famously catty and childish, but there's some kind of active subculture among them that deliberately seeks to imitate childish behavior. I get the impression it's related to imitating the significantly different rate of maturing present in Japanese teens. There's some kind of tendency to try to showcase apparent mental illness, and eating disorders run rampant. I've witnessed a fair amount of overlap with pro-ED communities. Like a lot of the subcultures mentioned here, there's a lot of struggle to become the top dog and stay the top dog. There's overwhelming amount of overlap with the J-Rock and dollfie fandoms, and I've realized that most of what I thought I was going to write about American lolitas actually fits better under that header. What's most noteworthy to me about lolitas is that they're unusually passive-aggressive, catty and competitive even in comparison to other Japan-influenced fandoms. The ones that I've known, with only one exception, were really only interested in talking about themselves. I tend to think that a lot of the craziest aspects of the lolita and BJD fandoms are actually bleed-over from the J-rock fandom, which is where most of the big crazy ringleaders got their start. BJD People: Part 2 I would say that most if not all of the doll people I've ever been around in person talk about their dolls as if they are people who have preferences, personalities and feelings. To a certain extent I think this is more like slang for many of them than an actual belief system, ie, "Kiyoshi doesn't like that coat." Some do get really out of hand over the "SOULS" thing, and I've seen one or two nasty internet catfights because two peoples' dolls had the same name. Generally, anybody who behaves as if they don't take their BJD hobby at least somewhat seriously is being dishonest on some level, and a certain amount of insecurity about that is the source of a lot of weird behavior. Nobody spends at least a few hundred dollars on a doll and then hundreds more on the necessary clothes and wigs, as well as possible modifications, who doesn't have a significant personal investment in what they're dealing with. I should note that I'm intending this as a put-down to anybody, I don't see much difference between paying a lot of money for a doll, a car, clothes, whiskey or housepets. J-Rock Fandom J-rock fans create some impressive pseudoreligious beliefs. My personal favorite example is the girl who decided, after the death of the J-rocker hide (sic), that she was his reincarnation. She told everyone this, including her mother, who supported her whole-heartedly. I'm not sure if she's still around, but she kept a very insistent LiveJournal about it and would go to anime conventions frequently dressed as him, announce herself as his reincarnation and hang out in the karaoke room. She had a lot of weird off-the-wall stuff to say about how it was possible for her to be his reincarnation despite being born well before his death, but it was incoherent and weird enough to be unmemorable and she usually just dodged the question. J-rock fangirls have an amazing tendency to develop pseudoreligious beliefs regarding whoever they're particularly obsessed with. I once found the blog of a schizophrenic who had written detailed explanations of her logic and drawn tons of quasi-quantum physics diagrams explaining how she was going to move to Japan and marry Miyavi. Some artists or groups have crazier fans than others -- Miyavi's fans and dir en grey (sic) fans are probably my least favorite -- I've noticed they have a tendency to be simultaneously the most off-the-wall and aggressive for some reason that is totally beyond me, and it's not terribly uncommon for people to physically assault one another over a snub (or it wasn't a few years ago). dir en grey used to spit fake vomit and blood on their audiences, so I guess this shouldn't be particularly surprising -- a lot of Japanese indy bands in the 90s had weird hobbies! The indy chicks get really rabid about owning CDs and hoarding them and making sure nobody else finds out about the bands they like or gets to hear any of the music while simultaneously making sure everyone knows what they have for street cred. In the 90s and early 2000s anyone who went to Japan was basically a celebrity, now it's a lot more common (and embarrassing). J-rock fandoms also have omnipresent RP, usually full of angels, demons, yakuza, and writing about specifically being a pop star in Japan. Only asian characters allowed, please. Most of this is just stunningly boring, but every now and then something really amazing comes out of it, like a couple of girls having Gackt (who was also an angel) carry Hyde's mpreg baby which he laid in the form of a sparkling egg. The J-rock fangirls have a lot of wanna-be cults of personality in their midst, which I put here because it's bled over into the lolita and BJD fandoms in a major way. This is mostly in the form of severely mentally ill people who quite literally do nothing but monitor their reputations in their respective community/communities. None of the ones I was aware of went to college, even to study Japanese, and they all worked absolutely bottom-rung jobs for pretty outstanding amounts of time. Weirdly enough it's very popular to pretend or try to seem to be able to speak Japanese, and if they put this much effort into actually speaking it they'd probably have been conversational. Jane is a pretty prime example of this. Jane Some of them were actually pretty good at it, which could be funny to watch if you weren't nearby. One I knew, Jane, had lots of really carefully tuned tactics, like befriending a group of two people then gradually moving closer to one while badmouthing the other. This seems to have pretty effectively created her a weird little gang of loyalists. She was also present in the BJD fandom, where the cult of personality effect would become like a brand-name and groups of people would pay tons of money for really genuinely awful and low-effort craftwork that would take massive amounts of time. Being a BJD community ringleader in this context meant doing lots of appropriately artsy things like taking pictures of dead birds, writing poems about black fog and sadness, and drawing manga about angels and demons who are in a J-rock band (who are also their dolls, of course). Jane wasn't actually an artist in any regard, but she managed to work her way in close to one of these blossoming talents and contribute heavily to the mini-culture that surrounded her. She actually had a very expensive limited edition faceup (a painted face on a doll) done by a big name artist wiped to have one of her pocket artist's faces painted on instead, though I think she might have been kind enough to do it for free (as a favor)! Jane and I periodically had falling-outs because sometimes I'd make fun of her when she did something particularly manipulative, which eventually lead to her being afraid of me. In one of our "pals" phases I met up with her in Japan, but it was a lot more difficult to find her behavior hysterical in person when she expected everyone she was with to carry her bags, spot her money she didn't pay back, and stand there while she had a sobbing fit because she couldn't buy a jacket she wanted for her doll. She also had terrible manners and didn't understand why everyone in Japan was so mean to her, which is actually another theme in J-rock fangirls that I think is pretty weird. Also, don't ever ask Jane if she'll share any of her music with you or mention that you pirate things, she will totally lose it. The anti-piracy soapbox is very popular with indie J-rock fangirls.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:44
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The Saddest Rhino, you are the best poster. I love how you drew the different expressions, just priceless. Also I don't know how someone can just have a folder like that, when I use my laptop for important presentations I open a guest account. 
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Dec 4, 2011 16:45
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The Saddest Rhino posted:Jesus Christ, it just keeps getting better. Or worse. I'm not quite sure which.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:47
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Hahaha Rhino, your pictures and story continue to be amazing.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:49
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He just keeps that on his desktop. Because he frequently has a burning need to INSTANTLY access some yiff without navigating through other folders. Ugh.Phuzzy posted:SHE'S GOT A BOOK ON AMAZON YOU SHOULD BUY HER BOOK Oh god, THAT Aimee. I used to be really into her stuff. I stumbled on her art portfolio site years ago, I was like 19 and thought she was really talented and copied a few bits and pieces from her style. I wondered why she had all these pictures of animal people, and drawings of herself as animal people. I followed her gallery for a year or two, then lost interest. Coupla years later I found her again, and with my new perspectives and knowledge I realised just how horrible the content of that site was (fursonas, mary sue wish fulfilments). Also discovered just how much more explicit horrible content had been purposely kept OFF this public portfolio site...
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Dec 4, 2011 16:53
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I saw a hard copy of that book once. I remember finding something about it kind of annoying, but I think I'm jaded because of the "WHY DOES JAPAN HATE ME?!" journal entries the J-rock fangirls post up when they get over there and get disillusioned. Unfortunately they usually get ragedeleted. Most things on LJ do.
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Dec 4, 2011 16:56
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Phuzzy posted:SHE'S GOT A BOOK ON AMAZON YOU SHOULD BUY HER BOOK I don't know why, but for some reason the fact that she translates Japan out of 日本愛, but not love bothers the hell out of me. Nihon Ai, or Japan Love. Don't half rear end your translations, people! Either all transliteration, or all translation. 
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Dec 4, 2011 17:14
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AngryRobotsInc posted:I don't know why, but for some reason the fact that she translates Japan out of 日本愛, but not love bothers the hell out of me. Nihon Ai, or Japan Love. Don't half rear end your translations, people! Either all transliteration, or all translation. but I Love Japan! is a boring title  And how would we know it was based on Japan without a Japanese word in it
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Dec 4, 2011 17:29
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Corridor posted:The fan-fiction thread has a ton of psych theories about this. Canyons of Static posted:(go check out the thread in TBB if you haven't already!) I'd love to risk my sanity in these threads, (especially the fan-fiction thread. Those people fascinate me.) but I can't find them. Any chance for links? Edit: Phuzzy posted:but I Love Japan! is a boring title By godzilla destroying the LambdaZero fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 17:53
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Phuzzy posted:SHE'S GOT A BOOK ON AMAZON YOU SHOULD BUY HER BOOK
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Dec 4, 2011 17:58
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I'm actually kind of scared and relieved that I don't know what BJD stands for or what this definition of "lolita" means. I do know I am sure as hell not going to Google either as my elderly brain might seize
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Dec 4, 2011 18:01
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Humbug Scoolbus posted:I'm actually kind of scared and relieved that I don't know what BJD stands for or what this definition of "lolita" means. BJD stands for Ball Jointed Dolls, which are little resin moneypits that otaku buy and then turn into literal fetishes for their needs. A 'proper Dollfie' could set you back anywhere from 800 to 1200 dollars. Lolita refers to the 'Gothic Lolita' style of dress, and consists of ladies buying expensive, brand name dresses imported from Japan or marked up at insane prices here in the states, or making their own and getting picked apart by other fans for being cheap.
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Dec 4, 2011 18:05
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