Young Writers Society

Okay! Thank you for the help, @Lareine and @Jhinx!

Wow I looked at the amount of views SM has and it's gone up by almost 100 views just today. I think it had something to do with the team names haha

I'm so sorry for disappearing yesterday! I ended up being much more tired than I had thought. But anyway, it makes no difference now, since I'm dropping out. I would have preferred not to, but there are several reasons why I must.

Firstly, I have too many things to do right now. When I first joined, I couldn't have known I would have to invest so much effort. I'm already behind in chemistry and have an assignment due Friday, so I'm behind on my other storybooks already.

That brings me to the matter of said storybooks. I posted for one yesterday, but I need to post for three more, two of which are mine. I can't write short posts without feeling like I'm doing a poor job, so posting requires a lot of time.

Nevertheless, I would have stayed on board had it not been for one other factor, which is the lore itself. @Jhinx, you said it wasn't necessary to have watched RWBY before, but while that may be the case with the others, it isn't with me. I can't write to the best of my potential if I am this ignorant about the anime, so it would be better for everyone's experience if I just stayed away. I don't have time to watch the anime now, and as the ear-tugging incident proved, what you don't know may upset someone unintentionally.

Once my schedule has become more bearable, I'll certainly endeavour to watch RWBY so that I may follow this SB, but until then, I can only wish you all luck. I apologise for causing you inconvenience regarding the team names, @Lareine, but hopefully, AllisontheWriter will be able to create a character with the same letter. Morgan's CP is unfinished anyway, so if it needs to be recycled or scrapped, I don't mind at all.

@AstralHunter, so sorry to hear you're leaving. I highly recommend Rwby if you have time - it's quite an entertaining show and I finished it quite sporadically in about a month's time.

@Jhinx, if there's room for me after all, I'd love to join! If I have the ability to pick my own letter, it would be A for Amethyst, but I'm happy to work with AstralHunter's M.

@AllisontheWriter there's already a character named Amethyst, so unfortunately, that's taken :p

Discussion is currently taking place as to how this will be dealt with.

@Lareine - Oops. Great minds think alike! I'll stick with letter M then, to keep things simpler if this works.

@AstralHunter so let's clear the air on the real reason you left, as I feel there's no reason you should have sent me a PM when you listed reasons here to save face even though you said it wasn't the real reason. So, I'm gonna let the DT know the real reason.

You left because A) you didn't like how I handled the ear-tugging issue and B) you didn't like how I was critiquing the Character Templates.

I'll start with B first, because it also goes back to a point you put here in the DT, where you said you couldn't do this SB without watching RWBY. I disagree, and the reason I critiqued each CT so much was so I could help players with their characters to better match the universe without them watching the show. This was not done out of spite or because I didn't think people could do the CTs on their own, which is apparently what you're implying. This was done to be helpful to people. In fact, I have helped every single person so far with their Character Template in one way or another, and the only one who directly had a problem with it was you. I was there to help, and you took it the wrong way.

I made suggestions that would make either your appearance, weapon, or history fit within the universe. I did this because I have more information within the universe than anyone else in the SB. If people didn't want to do the research themselves (which was fine because, like I said, they didn't have to) then I would have been their best bet.

Now to A. I'll explain what this was about to people who didn't bother to read your CT at that point. In the "Other" Section, you put

Morgan had a dog called Lavender when he was younger, and he stroked and tugged her ears all the time as a sign of his affection. She would turn around and snap at his hand, but he would always pull back just in time. Even when he was too late, she never truly bit him, only slightly nipping his fingers. Because Amethyst reminds him of her - and because he had never seen a Faunus before - he will permanently attempt to do the same, much to the risk of his own health.

this. After talking it through with a couple of other people, we decided this was just not something we were comfortable with in this universe, because it can correspond to a sexual harassment situation in real life. So I vetoed it, and explained the reason I did. This was not personal, this was me vetoing something in your CT. I had done the same with at least two other people.

I am hurt from the reasons you left, Astral, which is why I made this. Not only did you make me feel like a fool in the DT, the reasons you put out were just you saving face, while you PMed me the real reasons. I have spent almost the past four days straight making this SB the best it can be, and the only person who had a problem was you. I was not trying to be rude, nor disrespectful. I made it clear from the beginning that I was only trying to make each character the best character they could be in the RWBY universe.

@allisonthewriter, we would love to have you on board! I've sent you a PM with some notes on the SB and links and such.

Well. You see, @Jhinx, I actually do have an assignment, a quiz, three practicals, and a weekly test due this week; there are really three storybook posts I said I'd write long before I joined this SB; and I don't currently have time to watch RWBY or research it. All three those are valid reasons for dropping out of a storybook. If circumstances were different, I might have stayed on, but yes, there is a fourth reason I left.

The reason I omitted mentioning it here was in an attempt to be civil. In fact, I initially included it in a spoiler here, but since the fourth reason regarded only you, I opted out of posting it here and sent you a PM instead, hoping to avoid exactly this. I don't have to save face because I'm not ashamed. I simply didn't like the way you handled things and wanted to leave because of it and to avoid any unpleasant developments. Calling me out here is inappropriate because all you've done now is endeavour to paint me in a bad light, and if that is how I am perceived, there's sadly nothing I can do about it now. I didn't want to pick a fight and still don't - I simply no longer had any interest in participating, so I informed everyone that I'm leaving and PMed you about a personal matter. Am I not allowed to disagree with the way you do things? Does that make me "bad" somehow?

So, moving on to the second matter you highlighted. You are correct in saying I did not like that, but I never implied the others shared my opinion. From my perspective, you were requiring more time put into character templates than is generally the case in the storybook section, which I certainly found odd. I never said you did it out of spite, but it did strike me as a tad too controlling. Yes, most of the cast is unfamiliar with the lore, but I daresay that is the case with any storybook. Anyone can create a storybook based off an expansive, preexisting lore, which means they would have just as much cause to critique the profiles as you did. That doesn't mean they do, did or will, even though they may.

As such, you could have let everyone make something new of the predefined setting, history and overall world of RWBY. You didn't, but that's fine, since it's your storybook and you can do what you think is best. After all, that's what all storybook creators do. I'm just saying it was never absolutely essential that the character profiles be a hundred percent accurate. If that was always your intention from the start, a clearer warning might have helped. I only recall you mentioning the possible name changes.

Now, for the first matter. I understood why you objected about it, and I agree. I am against any form of discrimination myself, since by the very definition, it entails drawing unjust conclusions about an individual, group, culture, etc. However, I am aware that sometimes, it is possible to offend someone because you are ignorant of something. That was the case here, but I immediately deleted that part regardless. My objection is over the way in which you told me it was wrong. In such cases, I would prefer to approach the person tentatively and explain why it is wrong. With you, it felt more like you were telling me it was wrong and ordering me to remove it. There is a difference.

Just as a final note to that, it corresponds to sexual harassment according to your experiences. I have no doubt your claim is valid, but keep in mind that I have different experiences. In my former high school, it was and is not uncommon for boys to tease the girls by touching or flicking their hair. The girls react strongly to it and warn the boys to stop, but more because it annoys them and they will punch you if you do it again than because it makes them feel uncomfortable and like they're being harassed. For that reason, I only considered doing it for the sake of humour - and though I shan't involve them, the creator of that character never once said that they were uncomfortable with it.

I am sorry you are hurt, but I don't see how I could have made you feel like a fool. I quit your SB because of personal reasons and tried to do it quietly, instead of publicly. Why would I have to lie to the other participants? Has there been any indication in the past that I would resort to dishonesty to avoid potentially embarrassing myself?

In truth, you may be hurt, but I am disappointed. My departure from this storybook aside, I sent you a PM so that we may discuss the matter there, should you have wished to do so. Instead, I come back to see you have antagonised me in front of fellow storybookers and friends. Yes, I admit saying "actual" instead of "primary" was a poor decision, and I regret it. But you failed to mention that I wanted to remain courteous. You know, since everyone already knows about this now, I shall enspoiler the PM I sent you below. It can't possibly harm me anymore than your post already has, but I would like to have it known that I have nothing to hide and that I hold politeness in high regard.

If I have offended anyone else, I once again apologise, because I take no pleasure in any of this. I only ask that you contact me via PM or IM, rather than here or on a wall.



PS: Please excuse the post and paragraph length. I had not intended to be that long-winded.

@AstralHunter real quick

I never said you did it out of spite, but it did strike me as a tad too controlling.

Hey there! I'm one of the people Omnom helped with CTs in this SB -- he explained a lot of stuff to me because I'm not as familiar with RWBY as he is. So, you know what I did? I said thank you and took the criticism and went on making my character while keeping it in mind c:

He's helped EVERYONE -- his criticism isn't meant to say "you can't do this", but "this other thing might work better, have you thought of that?" When I was having trouble with a Semblance for my character, he supported me and acted as a sounding board for me to bounce ideas off of. He was incredibly helpful not just for me but for everyone in the SB, hardly "controlling" at all.

My objection is over the way in which you told me it was wrong. In such cases, I would prefer to approach the person tentatively and explain why it is wrong. With you, it felt more like you were telling me it was wrong and ordering me to remove it. There is a difference.

It was not only sexual harassment in-universe, but it was also racist, which would have been cleared up by a simple Google search of the RWBY Wiki and human-Faunus race relations, which is a MAJOR part of the show's plot and character development, so there's a lot of focus on it. That's why Omnom asked you to cut it the way he did, and he wasn't even rude about it. He simply said it would not be allowed in the SB, and gave his reasoning. For posterity, this is what he told you in the WFP:

Other: Morgan had a dog called Lavender when he was younger, and he stroked and tugged her ears all the time as a sign of his affection. She would turn around and snap at his hand, but he would usually pull back just in time. Even when he was too late, she never truly bit him, only slightly nipping his fingers. Because Amethyst reminds him of her - and because he had never seen a Faunus before - he will attempt to do the same when the opportunity arises, much to the risk of his own health. (Jhinx: <-- no, I'm gonna veto this. There can be signs that Morgan is racist against faunus, but not to this extreme. Not only is this racist, but it can also be considered sexual harassment and I do not want that in this SB.)

He did not intend to antagonize you in any way. This was an attempt at clearing the air and making everything absolutely clear to all of the other participants.

Thank you!

Thank you for your insight and clarification, @Lareine. I appreciate that you wanted to help, but I don't entirely agree with everything you said. Had I stayed on long enough to finish the weapon (because he did give me advice on that) and to get to the semblance, I am certain he would have helped. But I was referring to the non-lore related parts that he critiqued.

I did not read his conversations with the others, which means the following example will be biased and perhaps irrelevant concerning everyone else, but please, bear with me. According to Jhinx, my appearance section was too long and contained unnecessary information. True as that may be - you shared his opinion, after all, and I immediately obliged - doesn't it strike you as even a little controlling that he wanted it handled his way? The part regarding the hair I understand, seeing as that refers to the society of the world, but the rest was acceptable.

Character profiles are, in my opinion, meant to give the rest of the cast a glimpse of what your character is like, which I attempt to do not only via the information in it, but also via the way through which it is presented. His commentary made me feel like I have to write in the way he likes, which I didn't want. Naturally, I was fully aware that I might be the only one who felt that way, which contributed to the message being sent in private. It's also why I said:

You are correct in saying I did not like that, but I never implied the others shared my opinion.

I thought it was controlling, so I left. The decision reflects my view, not everyone else's.

Thank you for providing the original comment too. I've reread it, but I still sense a reprimanding tone. As my post and your quote shows, I never said he was rude, merely that it was commanding. My preferred way of approaching such matters is always cautiously, becoming stern only if the other person refuses to listen. I therefore view any sterner first approaches as unnecessarily so. It may be a personal thing and also a view no-one else shares, but at the very least, I should explain that.

Finally, I must disagree with you. The differences I have with Jhinx concerns him and him alone. If he wants to discuss it with someone, by all means, he can go ahead. Friends are there to support you. Making public the personal reasons why I left and then claiming I didn't tell everyone because I didn't want to look bad... how is that not antagonising me? I have no issues with any of you or even the storybook itself, so why must I now defend myself?

@AstralHunter if you wanted to be civil, you should've just said "Hey, sorry but I have to drop out" and left it at that in the DT. If you wanted to go any further in your explanation, then you could've gone to PM.

Instead, you gave excuses then patronized me, calling me out for basically lying about not needing to watch RWBY, here:

Nevertheless, I would have stayed on board had it not been for one other factor, which is the lore itself. @Jhinx, you said it wasn't necessary to have watched RWBY before, but while that may be the case with the others, it isn't with me.

This is rude. Flat out, if you were being civil, this should not have been in your post. Now, I'm not saying you don't have an assignment, a quiz, three practicals, and a weekly test due this week or three storybook posts you need to do. I get it, everyone has real life that's more important than YWS. I left for three months and didn't tell anyone because of personal problems. I can also understand that you may have bitten off more than you could chew with adding this SB onto your slate. Again, been there, done that.

However, the point where I'm furious is that you decided to call me out on the DT. Yes, you brought most it to the PM, you still called me out publicly. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason to do so, so I revealed the entire reason you left. You were not being civil. You were trying to be the better person, and failed.

I'm not going to talk about you critiquing how I handle my Storybook, because it is my Storybook to handle. I accept that we have different views and we will leave it at that. You are not invited back to Shattered Moons, but when I do make another SB, feel free to contemplate joining those.

So. Ginger's profile is up. That leaves Mauve's and Claret the NPC. I'll get right onto those!

Thank you for the explanation, @Jhinx. I think I understand now why you are upset. I am genuinely sorry I affronted you by saying that, for I had not considered how that particular sentence would make you feel. I regret that I had to learn of it in this way, but there's nothing to be done about it now. Good luck with your storybook.

I'm going to guess my team is called Team Magic.