Darkscribes Blog for Rommel

Um...

March 20, 2008 | No Comments Posted

Nice to see double standards are alive an kicking. I'd call this gross hypocrisy but that'd be too obvious. So basically the EFO QC reject my story on the grounds that it contains rape but somehow this other story  which is clearly labeled a lemon they have no problem with?

So what happened the "rules":

"Rape in fanfiction is treading on some very thin ice, not only because many readers find it quite distasteful. If you decide to go this route, it is suggested you be very careful as far as character bashing and OOC go. We are very likely to reject rape lemons, as well as fanfics where the rape is the entire focus of the plot. Should it be an event in the overall plot, we will probably be objective with it. Essentially, if the intent of said rape is to be malicious, or to arouse, don't post it here."

Somebody please explain this to me. Somebody please explain these people's concept of 'fairness'?

Needless to say, if you going to reject something on some bullshit technicality, then shouldn't you apply that to all other things equally?

Maybe now they have a rules in which lemons are not, in fact, meant to arouse. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that since Shinji is a guy and that doesn't get a boner out of the QC, then technically they didn't get aroused so then it's okay? 

I'm waiting for another round of bullshit. But I'm used to that.

Anyway enough of my ranting. If you have something to say go  http://www.darkscribes.org/site/blog.php?user=9 or http://community.darkscribes.org/index.php/topic,339.msg12107.html#msg12107

Fairness...

February 4, 2008 | 1 Comment

Or in the interest thereoff, I let the QC post their apology on the comments section of my blog. I feel that is more than thety've afforded me. Also because it shows that accountability isn't entirely dead, for what it's worth. Here:

http://www.darkscribes.org/site/displaycomments.php?type=blog&id=131&page=1

Now, while I understand the need for them to save face, I have to say that the apology does little to change my mind in regards to the operation of the QC, and even less to encourage me or any other author to continue to submit or update anything to the site. Even the new rules sound as little more than meaningless promises. I've heard that before and it's my experience (obviously) that making new rules you don't intend to enforce only makes it worse. 

Kinda like telling someone "We've recently started a new rule for QC members.  What it boils down for you is, you'll have a minimum of 2 more comments before next friday" and then failing to come through, which could only have the effect of turning an already peeved author into a fed up one.

Anyway, I've made my point. To myself and hopefully to others. So now I must put the question to you. Why should I or any self-respecting author bother submiting their work to the QC if this is the treatmeant that awaits complex, non-black-and-white stories? If you don't want to make tough decisions and avoid or ignore stories because you want to avoid the responsibility that comes with those decisions then you make yourselves irrelevant.

And yes, I know when I submit something to EFO I agree to let the QC judge it, but that does not entitle the QC to show the lack of respect and responsibility they have. Without the authors they are nothing. They should remember that.  

 

On developing news...

January 29, 2008 | 2 Comments

If you thought EFO's QC was fucked up you haven't seen nothing yet.

After having a story in the cue--which, if the hit count is accurate (well, on EFO it had close to 90 with only six people having access to it, so I wonder) I'm sure you have all read by now--for a month trying to get it looked at, and getting excuse after excuse I get this comment from IO: 

 

"Ikarus Onesun has posted a comment to Power Plays, below is the comment.

You know, you're not a bad writer at all, Rommel. But having skills is one thing, and having a certain degree of taste is another. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against lemons in general (although I wouldn't exactly list them as a favourite genre). Lemon content works for me as long as it's handled maturely and makes some sort of contribution to the overall plot. But rapefics are another thing altogether, and they're not the kind of thing I want to read at all, or want to see here on EFO. It's a shame, because I honestly think you can do a lot better than this, and I don't want you to take this rejection as a putdown, because it's clear that you *can* write. Your characterization is quite good and your spelling and grammar is pretty clean for the most part. But if your only purpose with this work is to tittilate and shock the reader, than post it on mediaminer with my blessing. And if you can come up with something that handles mature themes more... maturely, then by all means send it our way."

 

 

My immediate reply, as you may guess, was to suggest that next time this supposed controler of "Quality" should, you know, read the fucking story before making an ass out of himself. You know, out of respect for the author if nothing else. Of course, in the effort of being "mature", it went like this:

 

"Your comments leave me with the nagging suspicion that you didn't even read the whole story. That is the only explanation for having missed the point so spectacularly. At least I can say Fresh C and Himonkey got it despite the rejection. I know I can write, trust me, so hearing that is not what I want from the QC. Instead I should hope for you to be able to pick out the themes and underlying context of the story.

I understand this is not a clear cut lemon. Certainly it is not meant to be because Evangelion does not lend itself to such a simplification. Rather, it is meant to explore relationships between complex characters through a complex, if physical and controversial, interaction such as sex, and through their actions, intentions, etc. Again, your failing to grasp any of these and to see anything about the story beyond the fact it is grammatically and orthographically clean point to you not having read it in anything other than passing.

And so does the implied accusation of immaturity. Considering the QC has seemingly had such trouble with this story--a fact I'm very proud of--and the comments from both Fresh C and Himonkey, it is a completely empty qualification. But I suppose it's the prerogative of the critic to try to slander that which he does not understand or doesn't take the time (well, you did have a month so that's no excuse) to read carefully enough to form any sort of informed opinion.

Sorry to call you out, but everything in your comments can be arrived by a simple cursory glance at certain "controversial" parts without any of the surrounding context, and nothing points out to you actually having given any thought to the story itself as whole.

But that's just MY opinion, so whatever."

 

Yep. Ladies and gentlemen, here you have you the reason EFO is a carcass of it's former self. Too sad, really.   

Pissed off.

January 22, 2008 | No Comments Posted

So I submited Power Plays to EFO last month. Big Mistake.

Two weeks into the wait I get this from Fresh C:

You certainly didn't make it easy for us with this one, I'll tell you that.
 The problem in QCing this story comes from the fact that it is primarily a lemon, but it is a lemon with plot. A lemon with plot is not something commonly seen... well anywhere. What makes this even more rare is that the technical writing used here is definately above average. It's clear that you know what you're doing in that arena.
Likewise the characterization is surprisingly realistic for the EVA fandom. Shinji is unexpressive and indecisive, Asuka is abrasive and coniving (yet vulnerable underneath it all), and what little we see of Misato seems to be on point as well. The secondary characters such as Toji, kensuke, and Hikari are more or less in the ballpark, though more sex-oriented than normally percieved.
And That's really my only problem with this story (as far as acceptance onto this site is concerned). Yes it's a lemon with a plot, but the plot revolves around the story being a lemon. There's no escaping that the main draw to this story is that it involves sex.
But I did a lot of thinking about this and I figure using sex as a method to explore a plot is just about the same as using humor, or action. Both of these elements (like sex) draw ones attention essentially away from plot, but at the same time you use it here to accent the main plot (that basically being an issue of dominance within the relationship with Shinji and Asuka).
You don't know how much I wanted to reject this story (on grounds of principle) but after thinking about it I realized that I've approved stories with less "meaning" in them before.  And since EFO accepts lemons, to reject this I'd be a bit of a hypocrite. So as far as I'm concerned, approved. Nice writing and kudos on having a lemon with an actual plot. (never thought I'd see the day...)

 

So I keep waiting. Apparently I need two approvals to get this thing through. Weeks go by. Almost an entire month, in fact. Then I get this from Fresh C:

Huge EDIT: Sorry to be a flip-flopper on you, but really after looking at Himonky's review I realized that this story does violate the rules of the site that prohibit Rape in a story when the intention of said rape is merely to arouse (which it clearly was in this case). I had forgoten about this particular part of the rules of the old site (which until further notice I'm still following). So sorry for "getting your hopes up" if they were up.

I have been patient enough and to be frank with you I'm rather tired of the BS. I don't care if it is approved. I don't care if it's rejected. I don't even to know why, how, what, or where. The fact of the matter is this has been sitting in limbo for a month and despite that fact nobody seems able or willing to make up their damn minds about it.

"I think there was a mix up as to which order the fics are supposed to be looked at.  Newer fics were added to the top of the list for some reason, though this has now been fixed."

That's what Himonkey said to me on a PM, after repeated attempts to get this thing looked at. I'm sorry, but you guys KNEW this in the cue because I made a point of telling you. More than once, and more than one way. At the risk of sounding like a whiner, I made a post in the forum to get someone to go over it. Hell, I even made a post on the main page of the site. And despite a month of trying to get a yes/no on this, nothing has was resolved. All I got was "You'll have two more comments before next friday."

Needless to say, that didn't happen. Which prompted another post, though "at this point" I was fairly sure it was pointless.  

And now, THREE weeks later I get a cop-up. See what I mean with the BS? Sorry, but that won't fly. Hence, this post. No, there were never any hopes. Well, actually there was one: that would do what you are supposed to do in a timely fashion. That hope pretty much ended a long time ago. A rejection doesn't bother me--it was expected from the start. Let me repeat that, I expected a no. I would have respected a no, and in fact commend Himonkey for having the guts to reject a technically superior fic in terms of the writing and characterization on the grounds of the subject matter. But that it took a month, and comes in such a backhanded way seriously pisses me off.  

Please explain to me why should I even bother uploading anything to EFO if it takes so long for TWO people to go over it, and one of those comes up with shit like this?

Now I need to be a jerk and ask for a quote of the "rule" that you apparently "forgot", that is unless it was totally made up on the spot (the excuse, not the rule). The site as it is accepts lemons provided they are well written, and lemons are meant to arouse. Contradiction much?

But lets forget about the rules--and in case you weren't around back then, I helped write them and in fact they were made in such a way as to make getting a lemon posted near impossible. That's not my issue.

Simply put, a month into this "Oops, I changed my mind" is not good enough for me.

Power (Re)Plays.

December 18, 2007 | No Comments Posted

So I've been working with Mike (guess who) to add some more stuff to Power Plays. Since it's like my only finished story so far I thought I should do this. I know you perverts like it. For Pete's sakes, it's the second most viewed story on the site, something for which I thank you all. However some of you don't leave feedback. What, you think I do this for charity?

I also asked BOF to get me out of retirement over at EFO so I can upload my lemon. Just because the place is a ghost town doesn't mean they should be without good smut-or whatever ghost wank off to. 

Another thing, unless I know who you are don't write me emails asking when the next chapter will be out or for me to write back. That's what the forum and the comments are for. Anybody that wants to discuss it or just tell mw I suck because Asuka is a bitch and Shinji is too good for her and go here. I'm debating if I should hold on to all three (re)play chapters until they are done then post them at once, or do them one by one. I still don't know.