Mixed Messages

During a recent correspondence with Calamareye, Ryuu made an interesting comment:

I confess that perhaps this battering at me - though my motives earlier was just to make it stop - is the means God would use to show me my own folly I've been refusing to see.

I did lawl pretty good at his use of "battering", but his ongoing habits of hyperdrama and self-pity aren't what make this comment interesting.

There really is something delightfully ironic about the idea that a blog run entirely by staunch atheists would be the meaty tools through which Ryuu's god tells him to STFU, and it's a little telling that this conclusion, though not terribly uncommon among the aggressively devout, is the one Ryuu comes to. It certainly couldn't be that people just flat out don't like his attitude, it actually has to be that this is some ***DIVINE PLAN*** advanced by no one less than the creator of the fucking universe, and it is only for this reason that Ryuu should listen when people tell him what an amazing twit he is. Because the opinions of mere mortals like us don't mean shit.

But even this isn't entirely what makes this comment interesting. Think about it for a moment.

Ryuu seems to think that he is religiously mandated by his god to hate LGBT people. Ryuu ALSO seems to think that our criticism of him is actually a lesson by his god for him to straighten up. But we've spent a considerable amount of time criticizing Ryuu's blatant hatred of LGBT people.

Wouldn't that mean, then, that his god actually wants him to stop being such a goddamn bigot?

Hmmm...

The reasons.

Okay, in my last post I hinted that my reasons for participating in this blog would be laid out in a separate post. This is that post.

Okay... for starters. I am the nice one on this site. I try to be polite, even in criticism, refrain from unwarranted personal attacks, and in general am the diplomatic arm of things. My friends, especially rinku, do not always fit this mold. Hence I was brought in to cover that part of things.

Do note mistake their blunt mannerisms (or caustic in rinkus case) as being the product of a seething cauldron of hate against ryuu, they aren't, that's just how they are (rinkus actually very nice once you get to know him in fact).

But this post isn't about them or defending them, they don't need me to white-knight for them, or to gather an army of white-knights on their behalf, they can handle themselves. No this post is about me.

I am here because, though I focused more on his art and his reaction to criticism in general, I do not care for his opinions on LGBT people, nor his high and mighty way of conducting himself in general. This is a personal opinion. Do I really know him all that well? No. But I'd bet that you yourselves also form sometimes unfavorable opinions of people you are also equally unfamilliar with beyond a certain point, so you'd be hypocritical to argue against my actions on those grounds.

I however decided to focus on his work as an artist. Yes he is an amateur. So am I, what is your point? He posts his work on a public forum where anyone might see it, and indeed even welcomes attention and viewers... until someone decides they don't really like it. This offends me as an artist in that I am entirely self taught. I had the mandatory high school art class, didn't learn all that much from it, dropped out of art for awhile until I decided to have another go at it.
And I sketched, sketched, sketched, and found it sucked. I went showed my work to people and asked people I knew to be good artists how it was. they thought I could really benefit from learning proper form and technique. Also they thought it sucked too.

Did I whine about being an amateur? Or that I was just starting, or that I had not attended art school? No. No I didn't I took all criticism more detailed then an unhelpful "it sucks, and thus you suck" under consideration, got ahold of some art technique manuals online and from used bookstores and TAUGHT MY OWN DAMNED SELF HOW TO DRAW. I used printer paper when I couldnt get sketch paper, never whined about how I was learning as I went. And I still often feel that I have miles and miles ahead of me. But I have not once whined about being a self taught amateur who hadn't or couldn't attend art school. I did not once treat all criticism of my technique as anathema (oh I sulked, who wouldn't).

I have perceived ryuu to have done this (that is to say, treated criticism of his art as criticism of himself). Many, countless artists on DA have, but here was someone I felt could actually do better then what they were if they actually put effort into a proper self-education on how to draw. And yet he whines about art school, and being an amateur, and various other things. Yes I felt the need to speak up on it. Then I moved on. And yet here we are again.

To Our Dear Readers:

While I can appreciate the want to stir shit up for shits and giggles, please don't do it by pretending to be Ryuu. He does a good job of being a little sausage all by himself, he doesn't need anyone's help doing that.

I mean, do what you want to do in your free time, by all means, but if you're doing it on our behalf, then thanks but it's not needed. We'd much rather report on the silly shit Ryuu actually does.

Your friend,
Rinku

What is this? No seriously

This is the ever elusive, nigh mythical, perpetually afk Dr. (_____), breaking his vow of silence to say one or two things in response to the recent drama.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I notice that Ryuu has basically sicked you all on this blog, having you do all the work while he stays behind, claiming that he is exhausted from it all. I call bullshit. That's right, BULLSHIT. Not just cuss he's sitting back and letting you, his fans, fight his battles for him, no not that. Neither is it because he seems to be reviving this fued when, from my long absent point of view, I thought it had fizzled to a quiet ember of bad blood ages ago. No not that either. Its that for all the time and effort put into this blog, he has but an equally large amount of time and effort being worked up over it. Him and his girlfriend, to the point that the words "shell shocked" have been used.

We are not an Anonymous raid, calling with death threats, ruining his financial life by hacking his credit card, or nuking his computer with viruses, no we are merely opinionated, and in the case of a couple of my fellow bloggers, outraged at his high and mighty attitude and bigotry towards gay people. We have not even done a massive raid on his page, beyond maybe talking to him there. Its been so long since I talked to him that I've outright forgotten how much or little we openly talked on his page (Hell, the She Elf is outright not with us anymore). I don't recall it being a whole lot. And yet here we are at least... oh god, what, a year? a year and a half since this blogs foundation and he has not done the mature sensible thing and written it off, but is actively recruiting people to send forth to "deal with us"

THINK ABOUT THAT. As for why I joined; said what I said... that's another post.

EDIT: Looking at out post history, I count... what only four posts in January, and before that one back in august? Yes, we truly do put so much effort into hating him. I'm honestly only making a statement because I find this whole resurgence of drama baffling)

This was actually going to be something entirely different.

However, our anonymous friend forwarded me a note from Ryuu.

Because we're not all working together on the same effing deviantArt account, I'm posting this here for everyone else's perusing. Transcribing this thing was physically painful.

Frankly, dude, you took a huge gamble sending this to the kind anon alone when you know other peoples' deviantArt accounts, whether or not they're on the blog roll. You're lucky it paid off, as I rarely talk directly to either the good Doctor or Rinku, the She-Elf isn't on the blog roll anymore (though I'm fairly sure she'd pass it on to me) and I was not one of the original contributors here. As such, I have an email for this kind of thing (ryuusubmissions [at] yahoo [dot] com). May wanna consider using that next time. Actually, please do, as I don't do email spam. I'll post a proper response within a couple days but for now I'm just getting this heads up out here, because we know you're reading.

EDIT- Whoa. Okay, Ryuu. That's a cheap shot. You call us cowards but you copy and paste the journal you posted to DA to Pirate Community and don't even bother trying to approach us face to face? I'm willing to talk if you are. Seriously, though? Way to mislead people. Doing this on DA is actually what got me to go see what happened. And then I started contributing. Just tossing that out there.

We have NEVER ONCE ATTACKED YOUR RELIGION. We have never once called you dumb. You're trying to make this into 'they hate me because I don't like yaoi'. No, actually. I hate yaoi. This has more to do with your complete and total intolerance of the LGBTQ community and to a degree your intolerance of other religions. We HAVE said you're a bigot. Because you are. We have said your characters are complete and total canon character ripoffs. Because, again. They are.

You seriously need to grow a spine, deal with this shit on your own and stop lying. I feel bad for the people you're misleading, my god.

ONE OF THESE THINGS
DOESN'T BELONG HERE

Transcript as per usual:

To all party members involved (Pirate Community and Zelda Epic Failure Bloggers),

Things are starting to get out of hand with this little war that's going on. I understand that there are many factors about me that you all despise to high heaven and I also understand that it's probably not going to change no matter what I do. I have read your Q-and-A on the site and I know that it is set in your mind that I'm the scourge of the internet. You hate me, you hate what I do, you hate what I say and you really want to let the world know how much I apparently fail as a human being. Alright. [sic] I get that. But if you'll bear with me, please hear out what I'm going to say and offer. You have demanded diplomacy from me to settle this before, so I would like to expect the same diplomacy in return (with minimal cursing if possible).

And I make this offer not for myself, but for my sweetheart. This is the first and foremost issue. If you're going to hate on me, then please just hate on me. Leave my sweetheart out of this petty war. She doesn't deserve to be caught in the hate or spam simply because she's associated with me. I'm the one you want, not her. If nothing else, please just leave her be.

I know I have apparently done something of great offense to you, so if there is something I can do to make it right or at least ease the pain, let me know what it is that I can help. I wish this trade of my cooperation to mend damage caused for keeping my sweetheart out of your cross-hairs [sic].

With that done in the forefront, now I wish to carry on to the main situation, that being the overall hate going on. I know that to some more than others, things I have said and done have effected[sic] you all differently, yet all in a negative way. I know why some of your[sic] don't like me, but not why for all of you. What I suggest is that since I have made you all upset, I can try to make amends for what has happened and maybe ease the pain of what time has been scratching at. Is there something I can do to lessen the resentment? It's one thing to just not like me but it's another to take such action. With the resentment this serious, I'd like to open my hand to you and offer to at least attempt to make things right.

I know to some, it's my stance on certain issues and I do apologize for harsh words on my part that made you feel as though I was bashing you. It wasn't my intent to make you feel personally assaulted, though I confess my lack of tact would make me come off that way. Even under coaxing did I back off on my forum rules to even begin to allow such things to accommodate [sic]. I will continue to mature and take things on a more even level towards another's [sic] beliefs, but I ask that the same step is made towards me and my beliefs.

To others, I don't really know what you have against me. Those at Pirate Community have been at me for so long, I don't even remember what started it. I can assume my immature stubbornness when I was younger played a role. But I'm trying to be better now. Still, if an accommodation can be made, I'd like to know so this conflict can cease or at least the pain of past events be eased.

That is my offer. I want this to end for us all. It's not worth it in the long run. Do you really want to look back on your life and think of how your time in this stage of life was so dedicated to hating someone? Let's find a way to make a truce and end the outbreaks of hate. None of us need any of this conflict in our lives. So let's figure something out. Please.

Praying our conflict will be put aside soon,
- Ryuu-Atrineas