I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS COMMERCIAL
I was just thinking about these commercials and how I wanted one on my tumblr, and now here it is!
Awkward confession time: whenever I feel like the world is shit and I can’t keep dealing with it, I watch this and/or read about cool science things to remind me that it’s not all bad.
Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy occurs when a conflict exists that simply lacks any reason for the audience to care about how it is resolved. This is often because the setting is extremely but meaninglessly Darker and Edgier, and/or all sides are abhorrently, equally evil – or at least, far enough gone that any difference between the two is splitting hairs. As such, consumers of media affected by Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy tend to approach conflict between parties or factions with remarkable indifference; because no matter who wins, the universe will still suck. (And while it would be really nice to see them alllose, that likely isn’t going to happen.) In other words, there is nothing at stake. While there is a conflict happening, for all that the audience is concerned there might as well not be because they likely have little reason to care about who wins or loses. (And even when there areclear-cut good guys, they can be so smug, priggish, hypocritical, unpleasant, or just plain annoying that it’s hard to feel too sad if the bad guys defeat them, especially if the bad guys actually have a good reason for hating them.)
This is the emotional result of Black and Black Morality. Because the conflict between the equal evils is essentially meaningless, there is no dramatic tension. Maybe one Eldritch Abomination eats you in a slightly less painful manner than the other one, but either way, you’re still screwed. You can’t support any factions or hold on to any ideals after this effect has set in. All you can do is sit agape as the writers apparently attempt to outdo themselves at making the setting even worse and more unpleasant and more nihilistic to the point where the media is a bland miserable monotone. This trope is not just about a Crapsack World, but about Evil Versus Evil and too much cynicism producing this effect. A sure sign of audience apathy setting in is if they start rooting for the Omnicidal Maniac – the setting is so bleak that no part of it is worth saving. When total oblivion looks like your best option, something is wrong.
A: How did you come up with the title to [insert
fic]?
B: Any of your stories inspired by personal
experience?
C: What member do you identify with most?
D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate
with [insert fic]?
E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what
would it be about?
F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite
dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.
G: Do you write your story from start to finish,
or do you write the scenes out of order?
H: How would you describe your style?
I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading
or writing)?
J: Write or describe an alternative ending to
[insert fic].
K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up
with?
L: How many times do you usually revise your
fic/chapter before posting?
M: Got any premises on the back burner that
you’d care to share?
N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would
write (or finish) for you?
O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or
the characters?
P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call
an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in
advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)
Q: How do you feel about collaborations?
R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise)
you consider an influence?
S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?
T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?
U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and
why you like them so much.
V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to
any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?
W: Do you like more general prompts, or more
specific ones?
X: A character you enjoy making suffer.
Y: A character you want to protect.
Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read
it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?
I am actually fine now, but there’s just nothing like sitting through Adult-Type Meetings feeling like your ovaries started their own fight club and are slowly inducting the rest of your body
kototyph 