Some Goodies & Why Fandom Can't Have Nice Things

[http://users.livejournal.com/_debbiechan_/]

First some recent goodies from Jump Bang, the Tokyo t.v. show that features Jump stuffs.  From baidu screencaps, posted gratis of Annie and Delicious at deathberry. Under the cut are the covers (in color now) of the new Bleach novels by Ryohgo Narita (unidentified new characters but possibly a previous Kenpachi and a lady person from Shunsui's past), the color cover for Bleach volume 55 (Bucky and some very large font), and Rebooted Souls (Ichigo).Also, a drawing of a very grown-up and badass Ichigo from Sensei.

The sketch from Sensei gives me all kinds of thrills. Kubo's art and Ichigo as a character have both grown so much in the past 10 yrs. Now the volume 55 cover. I don't know why Sensei was so excited about the style for this cover. I love Bucky and from this pic it looks like a nice scary portrait but nothing REALLY special--the huge freaking font annoys the FARK out of me, and while I see the double Quincy fives like two fists to the face, I get it already Sensei. I'd rather have art sometimes than his graphic posturing. This is the man who brings home his architecture magazines home and says he "purrs" over them but sometimes his style is too ... I don't know--at the expense of character? Like, I'd like to see a FACE rather than things?

Eh, I know he'll make up for it with the poem.    I'll get my characterization there. But I really don't like the big ass letters. I'm wondering if they're going to be in every volume cover from now on.

Goodies under cut












Second, I know that fandom is craving a translation in English of the fourth excerpt of the Bleach novel by Narita-san. There's one available at deathberry but it's being restricted to a closed subforum at the moment. I keep waiting for other translators to step up to the plate but so far its been days since the raw appeared and no one has translated anything but the summary. Apparently the DB fans who did so much of the work for fandom for years finding goodies and doing translations are truly the only ones who bother--despite recent claims to the contrary.

In fact, not long ago, deathberry translator pikeish (who previously provided for Bleach Asylum and all fandom with goodies via the IchiRuki FC before its break w/BA to form deathberry) stood accused of stealing a translation from Bleach Asylum despite hard evidence that her translation appeared days before BA's translation. Amazing fandom story. I know I've vowed to stick to source material and the Bleach MANGA in my posts but this fandom story is really too amazing not to mention. I've got such a personal stake in it too and it doesn't involve shipping pettiness but the fandom at large. What the story appeared to be at first was that some newbie translator had paraphrased pikeish's translation and reposted at BA to fanboi gratefulness and misunderstanding and much bitchiness towards the new forum who refused to share with BA. What eventually was revealed was that the administrator of BA, Velius, actually goaded this "translator" to go to to deathberry and take the translation, knowing full well that the translation posted at BA would not be authentic, original work. He then further goaded BA members to troll DB and suggest that pikeish took the translation from BA!

The attempted sabotage of deathberry by BA administration was all out in the open on BA visitor messages, screen-capped and exposed at deathberry. The thread was closed but you can read the whole dramaz HERE. The caps are rather shocking. (Velius: [administrator of BA]: "I'm good with code" and blackstrawberry [the "translator"]: "The one with the actual goodies happens to be someone other than me"). The thread itself features a surprise appearance from Velius who advises deathberry to lock down its forum 100% ... to keep people from stealing from it, I suppose.

Well, for the time being, deathberry is partially locked down. Unlike Bleach Asylum, it does not make any money off ad revenue and was never intended to be a biiiig forum. We were always a community of fans; we love what we do and never regarded ourselves as a public service either. Those of you who are blaming the people who run deathberry for keeping the bleach novel translation and other goodies from you, please don't blame us. We were sharing with the fandom at large. It was antics like the one the BA administration pulled that prompted the recent lock-down. People who work hard don't need wank and accusations. It's very unlikely that the new bleach novel will ever be (officially) translated into English--the previous ones were not. May this be a lesson to fandom. Entitlement and whining will get you nowhere. Want something very much? Do it for yourself.

ETA: Deathberry was considering releasing scanlations of novel to general public after some time so no further accusations of translation-theft etc could be made but decided to make only summaries public in a thread. See here

Comments

[sleepwalkerrrr.livejournal.com]

I could sit here and debate these points all evening, but I've said what I wanted to say. I think it was a douchy move. I also think that stealing the translation was a douchy move but one douchy move should not be the excuse for another.

I don't think this is completely wrong on some persepctive, but the thing is that you are looking at this thing without understanding what's really up.

The thing is that no one in fandom is required to use their skills to gather info and share. Anyone who does it does it because of love for their fandom like you said.

Now, what do you think happens when said people bash and belittle you and don't respect your wishes and effort? Like in the case when a Japanese fan who provided her/his stuff deliberately asked DB mods not to share anywhere else because she didn't want some spoilery info to spread too fast, and it was immediately down at BA without proper credits?

You can say fandom is about sharing. But it's about sharing because you want to have fun together. You want to have fun together with your friends and people you like. You don't want to have fun together with people who constantly disrespect you. You are not in anyway required to make an effort and contribute only to be dissed and have your effort belittled. You said you are frequently asked for commissions. Do you do that for people who say "bytch you should draw me a picture, you can't be that elitist when even your art sucks"? Cause that's pracically what has happened in DB. Is that even your fandom if they act like that towards you? Or that part of fandom you want to hang with?

DB started with less locking, then moved to more extreme when situations like above started to happen. Taking their translations or goodies, then mocking them or not crediting/crediting someone completely different with perfect knowledge of what they are doing. Even claiming that it was them who stole it.

DB mods are not officially charged fandom providers. They are individuals who have connections and who have contributed to fandom more than anyone else in BA. You say you want to prove that they are not so big. Why are you even having this conversation, if their lock down does no effect? If I share something privately, do people write how I am an elitist bitch? No because they can get what I provide most likely elsewhere. The fact that people are mad at them is because they ARE big, and any further resistance and anger towards them just proves that point. Yet they are at the same time blamed for being elitist and not sharing and belittled and bashed for stuff they provide. I would be pissed. I would give a finger to all "demands" "fans" put.

Finally there is no "ass kissing" required in DB. I've seen people who have openly claimed to be their enemies to join and not get denied of anything as long as they do this "sharing and having fun" thing nicely.

All of this is because personally I find your anger and blaiming to be elitist and ignorant to individual people's perspective's and wishes. They are not charged to do anything, they are blamed because they have massive amounts of info that others are not suddenly getting because they are assholes. DB is not locked because they want to share to their friends, it's locked because they don't want to share to retards, period.