#[ YOU ARE STILL ENCOURAGED TO ENGAGE WITH MY POSTS/SEND ME ASKS ]

[sotwk]

I have come so very close several times over the last few months to putting my blog on hiatus. Once or twice I even considered closing up shop completely and just going *poof*.

I believe people should take social media breaks whenever needed for their mental health--please put your well-being first! In my case, however, that's a tough decision to make, because online life and fanfic writing are my escape from real life problems and the anxiety I suffer from because of them. I avoid disclosing my Life's Great Burdens online, but I'm shouldering some whoppers, and the toll they take on my mental health can get significant!

What I really want to express in this post is my deepest appreciation for the Mutuals and Anons who take the time to engage with me through comments and Asks. You help keep my blog active and lively even during my creative droughts, and I want to give you credit!

I don't belong to any writing communities, I'm not active in any Discord servers, and I'm not really in any subgroups of the Tolkien fandom. I'm really just kind of a floater who tries to be friends with anyone who'd reciprocate. Sometimes that makes me feel a little bit like an outsider, but those lovely individual Moots and Anons keep me from feeling lonely or unwelcome.

Extra special thank yous to everyone, Mutual/Follower or not, who recently commented on/reblogged old fics of mine, especially those who did 2nd, 3rd, etc. kudos or comments! The longer I go without posting anything new, the harder I get on myself, and the worse my creative block gets. Thanks to your gentle encouragement, I actually started writing again yesterday. It's still a slow start, but hope it continues to flow.

And to the Anon(s) who regularly send me Asks about my OCs and WIPS--I don't even know what to say! I wish I could thank you properly for this BIG HELP you provide, but for now internet hugs will have to do.

Anyway! I guess the hiatus/desire to quit is once again shoved back into the closet for now. I will do my best to do my part of the work in keeping this blog thriving! :)

PS. Anyone still waiting for responses to requests (esp. for my long-past Summer event)--I'm still game to write if you are willing to wait. <3

[causalitylinked]

OOC UPDATES

Rules have officially been amended! Things to note:

I'm no longer gonna chase (aka follow first) muns that are blog hoppers/archivers, especially if they have issues with commitment (failing to write me a starter/answer asks I've sent them or dropping threads after only two notes).

I'm now putting my foot down and unfollowing blogs who follow me first but make no effort in interacting (whether it be through liking/replying to posts or writing with me)... but I'm not strictly mutuals only anymore, meaning I will happily refollow blogs I've unfollowed again if they actually make an effort in engaging with me.

Basically added a section for Personals, Memes, Threads, and OOC Conduct... not only so my partners would know what to expect from me as a partner, but make my boundaries clear for personal blogs who decide to follow me for whatever reason.

[foldingfittedsheets]

When I was working at the sex shop I was pulling poverty wages. I loved my job but I was on food stamps and still barely getting by. When they hired the stores first male employee and he started at my pay rate after I’d been there for three years I quit.

I was initially really nervous when I saw the post for the mattress job. It listed a pay scale that I couldn’t even conceptualize and I appeared qualified. When I got an interview I was over the moon but also petrified. Reactions to my line of work often varied but most people were very embarrassed or skeptical. I worried about how I’d address it in the actual interview.

I lived far to the north of their headquarters and drove almost two hours to get there. When I finally arrived it was in the nicest thrift store clothes I could find, but I shrank inside to see a room full of older white men in nice suits waiting to be interviewed for the same job.

Why did I bother? I was decades younger than anyone else in the room, shabbily dressed, and I suspected I was the only afab person in the entire building. I stewed in my insecurities until I was called in.

The second I met my interviewer I was instantly put at ease. The man had the energy of a therapy dog, he was abound with positive, good natured energy. He was also incredibly beautiful. I grinned back at his welcoming smile as we said our pleasantries. But still. This very beautiful polished man seemed very innocent. How would the sex shop question go?

“I see here you worked at STORE?”

“Yes,” I said hesitantly.

“And that was sales? Or you just rang people up.”

“No, it was sales. I’d help people find products, we were encouraged to upsell, there was sales spiffs, and most importantly we educated customers on products to help them find what they liked best.”

He grinned approvingly and asked, “Can you give me an example of a time you successfully upsold a customer?”

I paused, wringing my hands before I asked, “How vague would you like me to be…?”

“Not at all!” He assured me. “Go for it!”

“Well. A man came in looking for something to make his fingers vibrate so when he was touching his wife it would enhance that sensation. We had cheap $10 cockrings that I showed him first. But we had a rechargeable waterproof one made of nicer material, and after I showed him a demo he bought that one.”

“How much was that one?”

“$110”

“Wow! You had an upsell of 100% from what he came in looking for! That’s incredible!”

He was so truly genuinely stoked and not at all embarrassed that for the first time I saw a tiny glimmer of a future where I didn’t have ramen and peanut butter tiding me over between paychecks.

He asked me to wait then came back to tell me he liked me so much that he wanted to send me right into another interview, if that was okay. He didn’t want me to have to drive back later, it was terribly considerate and exciting. I beamed and told him it would be lovely.

I then had the second worst interview I’ve ever had. The worst goes to the time I applied to be a store manager for a pet food place years later. The district and store manager interviewing me passed notes and texted while I was speaking. When the district manager called to inform me I didn’t get the job I told him I’d never have accepted anyway because I’d never had such a disrespectful interview.

The new man sitting behind the desk radiated an aura of a brick wall. As someone with anxiety I’m highly keyed into the emotional states of people I’m talking to. To receive no feedback at all was my personal hell. After a perfunctory greeting he asked me with no inflection to sell him a pen.

I gathered the shreds of my courage and attempted the Herculean task he’d set me. Through my whole improvised spiel he resisted all attempts at engaging him, regarding me with a cold apathy as I touted the benefits of my fictitious pen.

Halfway through I broke into a cold sweat. My smile didn’t waver but it grew strained as I projected friendliness and warmth into the black hole of his heart. My thoughts scattered and my sales pitch grew redundant in the face of his nothingness. I finally concluded with a hard close and he simply nodded.

He glanced at my resume and commented, “You didn’t ask me to touch or hold it. Though I suppose I can understand from your previous line of work why you wouldn’t.” I shriveled and died inside knowing that I encouraged people to touch dildos all day long and had been too frazzled to offer him the pen.

He bid me a cool farewell. I made it to my car before I started sobbing. I had never been so rattled. I couldn’t understand what I’d done to make him so unfriendly or if my threadbare clothes were what had made him treat me like dirt. I drove an hour and a half to get home, weeping intermittently.

I was therefore taken by complete surprise to receive a call the next day inviting me on board for their five week training program. The first man who’d interviewed me gushed on the phone about how the second guy had loved me and that I was going to be fantastic.

I was in shock. When I showed up to training the second interviewer was charming my new classmates, beaming and laughing. He was an utterly different person. To my dismay I learned he was the trainer for my district and would be my point of contact if I made it through training.

He joked with me later that his interview facade was just a tactic to see how people held up under pressure and I filed him into a category of my deepest enmity. I never forgave him for how small he made me feel that day, but I never showed him the depths of my fury.

I aced every test and went on to be valedictorian of the eight people who had survived the rigorous training process to earn a sales position. When I got my first paycheck I bought myself new clothes, the first non-thrifted things I’d owned in years.

[crow-ter]

I feel like something I need to address specifically is the fact that PLEASE dont follow me if youre going to send me weird ass messages after you realize Im a (rather agnostic but still) jew who lives in Israel. Its a VERY complicated topic and a conflict that has existed for so many years for a reason. But that being said, westerners seem to think that once they read a single twitter post and see some images of dead ppl (which from everything Ive seen lately are mostly either biased, propaganda or straight up lies) they can tell US, who live here, from the very conformity of their couches far far away, what we should do. I love to give ppl the benefit of the doubt and please ask that they do EXTENSIVE research, before engaging on this topic if they really really need to. Try for once in your life to actually research a topic and see it from all sides before forming an opinion, if you must at all. But remember that YOU dont get to decide whether Im allowed to exist or live, and my ppl will never again entrust our safety and existence to ppl that watched us be slaughtered again and again for two entire millenia and either did nothing or encouraged it. If you cant do that, then Ill ask you to kindly not engage in that topic at all. I do post/reblog about it here and there, between all the memes and fandom stuff, bc it affects me personally. I will not blame you for unfollowing me or anything, and you can simply ignore it and scroll past like a sane person would do, if you are just on tumblr for the funny and fandom.

[horrorshow]

Can you talk about why you think blocking and moving on is a bad thing? I thought it was a way to curate your space and avoid drama

idk maybe i'm too idealistic but fandom is a much more friendlier, welcoming, supportive, creative, engaging, active, diverse and interesting space when it's treated like a community where people are encouraged to participate and talk about their interests and where there's space for niche or more unpopular opinions without these people having to worry about being blocked and feel unwelcome by the majority of the fandom they are in. i can't stand how blocking everyone you disagree with has become the first thing to do.

you say its 'to curate your experience'. but blocking people does not only curate YOUR experience. you're also forcefully curating other users' experiences. and not for the better.

people say 'i will block you for literally anything' and then those same people wonder why engagement is down, why no one sends asks, why no one reblogs, why rarely anyone talks in the tags anymore and why this place feels so dead and boring and quiet. i wonder why!!!!

people treat real people as annoying ads they can dispose of at their whim. but that's not how a fandom or a site like tumblr works. (besides, if you really care about people curating their own experience you wouldn't block people. you can filter and blacklist and never see them again while still granting them the same freedom instead of actively making their experience worse.)

you say its to avoid drama. but seeing a post you dont agree with is not 'drama'. and blocking is not solving anything except for you personally. fandom was more fun when we remembered that every user is a real person you share a space with, and probably some mutuals as well, so you find a way to live with each other. starting with a restraining order seems a bit excessive and is not contributing to anything. it's not that hard to be respectful and tolerate others and acknowledge people have different opinions and interests and still co-exist in peace. its not that hard to be nice to people and try to find common ground with them and interact with the stuff you DO like. you do this in every aspect of your real life, so why not online?

i hear you say: 'but that requires WORK and i don't NEED to do any of that bc i can just block them'.

yeah, you can try to create your own bubble and only hang out with like minded people but you wont EVER fully achieve that (no matter how much you block, social media WILL keep feeding you posts you disagree with bc it makes them money). social media WILL pressure you into an 'us vs. them' mentality where you constantly feel like everything online is a threat or an argument you have to win and where being mean and unnuanced gives you the most notes and where you don't even see, let alone be able to treat, other users as people anymore bc you don't interact with them anymore other than to block or fight them. that's not how i want it to be online. it's not fun to me. and maybe i'm a pessimist but i think it will eventually be the death of online fandom and sites like tumblr. look at the state of twitter right now. DOES blocking give you a better experience in the long run? i doubt that it does. overall, i think it makes people even less tolerable and more vulnerable to hate and fear mongering, and social media an even more hostile place.

it's everything i hate about social media and everything i want to fight against and WILL fight against. i won't pretend my meager contribution will change anything, but i LIKE to just scroll past posts i don't vibe with and not see every argument online as a personal offense. it keeps me curious. most posts aren't that bad when you know the person behind it. i mean, you do you, i'm not gonna say what you should or shouldn't do bc that's up to you, but i recommend it: free yourself of the block button and bring back supportive user communities based on a shared love for the same thing and focus on what you have in common with people, just like you would do in real life. save the block button for the rotten apples who DO keep trying to pick fights and exclude others.

(which is, now that i think about it, probably the main difference: most people see the block button as a neutral way to prevent worse. but. that's only the case on an individual level. and treating everything online as an individual choice to which there are no further consequences, especially if they happen on a larger scale, is already a loss.)

[ooctlt]

I really like this blog most of the time, but sometimes you take reasonable earnest asks that are trying to be thoughtful, and are such a dick about it.

Like if it's the characters being dicks, fine. But you could say something in the tags or post to indicate you're not just viciously mocking someone for trying to engage.

I still haven't submitted an ask since seeing your response that led to comments along the lines of "anon should go die in a hole" for asking, pretty reasonably, why harrow would want to stay with people she didn't seem to like or want to be around or interact with.

(i know, because she does like them and does want them around but doesn't know how to show it) but it's an ASK blog. How do we hear that from her unless someone ASKS

i understand it might be surprising and a bit hurtful to see an ask answered with the characters being mean/flippant, and for that i do apologize that it wasnt made clear that it would be a common thing in this blog. id like to issue the disclaimer: there is always the possibility that the characters here will not take your question well. they might answer rudely, and instigating behavior is not only encouraged but expected on both ends. this does not reflect my personal opinions as the artist; there are over 250 asks even after i constantly compile duplicates, and i will answer the asks that i personally like.

i will assume you are referencing the two most recent posts where gideon acts rudely and i repost an old panel: for the former i thought anon was really sweet for being so heartfelt and encouraging, but gideon isnt the kind of person who needs to be told shes brave for doing that by a stranger. it was a simple act of survival. and harrow is still very much in the passive deprogramming phase. the latter response was meant to kickstart (spoilers) what i will call the "dicks last resort" arc, where i clean out the inbox and share more simple, low effort, but potentially rude responses*. this is because i have roughly drawn almost daily for 87 days straight, and would like to recuperate without being burnt out because i love this blog and i love art.

this leads me to my next point: some of these answers will be curt and short and rude, because they are easy to draw. if i only prioritized the "good" asks or to make certain ask responses kinder, or longer, it wouldnt be a daily blog. it would be a monthly blog where 5 asks get answered among 100s. i didnt anticipate people asking about harrows piercings, and i considered shutting it down by just having harrow say she likes them etc. but i did want to give more insight into harrows character even if she wouldnt say so herself, and that took roughly 3 full unemployed nights. if i treated every ask in good faith the same way i wouldnt have time for anything else, because they take more effort and have to be seriously considered for the future. i can retcon their favorite ice cream or play off griddlehark fighting - it takes more to keep track of a narrative about people talking Around their issues

* by rude responses i mean "this will affect the 679ers negatively, much like making your sim 🧑‍🤝‍🧑➖➖ someone" there are a few asks planned to hurt in the same way one drafts a bad end in a visual novel, and this type of interaction is encouraged. of course if you dont want them to get worse dont send asks telling gideon she should flirt with MILFs (you cant send this ask now i already said it), but i encourage the banter.

TL;DR this is the "characters think you are weird for personal questions" blog. i am sorry i didnt warn of the ask-response banter, because i also enjoy drawing these characters being dicks. i do like when aggravation and conflict leads to character development. "how do we get earnest answers unless someone asks" sometimes you will never explicitly get that from them, and thats what the dead ends are for: to let you know to try something else and read between the lines

[solisaureus]

I don't speak for everyone -- I'm sure some creators appreciate this kind of thing -- but I wanted to talk about people who send artists, writers, and other creators online "when are you going to make more" messages. Things like:

When are you going to update this fic?

Why haven't you posted art recently?

When are you going to draw the thing you said you'd draw?

Why haven't you followed through on my request?

Again, I'm sure there are some people out there who see these kinds of inquiries as motivating, as evidence that people are interested in what they make. And I don't doubt that most people sending these kinds of messages mean well. But I want to point out that this often comes across as entitled, inconsiderate, and demanding.

Most people making creative fan works (like fan art and fanfiction) have life commitments -- jobs, relationships, school, life events, personal projects, and their own health and wellbeing. Making art can be a stress reliever, but that can become stressful when people start demanding for more. For me, personally, if I haven't posted anything in a while due to life circumstances or poor health, seeing people ask when I'm going to post again just makes me feel guilty and stressed. It certainly doesn't make me write any faster.

If you want to show support for a creator who hasn't shared much recently, try this instead:

Compliments and engagement on their past works (if you've already seen/read it, a "coming back to this again, it's still great" comment never goes amiss)

If they haven't posted in a while, let them know you hope they're doing okay. but only if you actually care how they're doing as a person and not just as a stalled content machine.

Instead of asking when an update is coming, something like "I love this work (for xyz reasons), if you do continue it I'll be excited." This gets at the encouraging angle without sounding demanding.

Please don't treat each other like content mills that have inconvenienced you by stalling. We get enough of that from capitalism :\

[wildemaven]

night school teacher! javier peña x f!reader | q & a

@holacia3 had left some questions about Retired Night School Teacher Javier Peña, so I thought I’d make a separate post to answer them. Thanks so much for sending these!!

What made Javi fill in the vacant teacher role? Did he just move here? Simply transferring from another local school/ uni?

In my head he's retired from the DEA and his dad is encouraging him to do something else besides helping him on the ranch, something that he would find more fulfilling.

Chucho tells him about the community college looking for a replacement teacher for their night school program so he applies. I hadn't really thought about what he would be teaching at this point though.

Are you two having these late night talks at the school or going somewhere else before/after the building has to close?

In the beginning, it's at the school before class. As they get to kow each other more, it's after class. Javi gathering his things promptly, then joining her while she finishes prep work and packing her own things up. I picture there are some evenings where they get to talking and lose track of time, Javier being a gentleman walks her to her car to make sure she gets there safe, waiting for her to leave before even heading to his truck.

Eventually Javi would ask her to dinner. It probably nothing romantic at this point, both of them just enjoying each other's company. Maybe she then invites him to something one weekend, a concert in the park, he doesn't hesitate accepting the invite. Maybe that evening he kisses her for the first time, and it becomes apparent that there's something more blooming between them.

Has this Javi always been a teacher? Or a second career after his time at the DEA ended?

No, definitely a secondary career after the DEA

Do the other teachers/administrators know how handsome he is? Do the students make any comments to him or you?

I'm sure other teachers do know how handsome he is. I don't think anyone makes comments in the beginning, both of them keep it relatively quiet and to themselves.

What's his day life like? What's he up to outside of teaching hours?

He probably still helping his dad as much as possible, even though Chucho continues to tell him he doesn't need it.

When does he start leaving notes? On your desk? Is this a no-texting kind of relationship/ situation?

Maybe it's after the concert. The next time they're at school, she finds the concert ticket on her desk with a not about how he enjoyed himself on the back. She keeps it in a special place in her book bag.

How long does it take for you two to get breathless???

I feel like it isn't a rushed thing. I don't really have a back story for them as of now, but neither of them begin talking to each other with the intention of just right out sleeping with each other. It's kind of a slow burn and happens organically over time when they develop feelings for one another.

He's a lady's man in Narcos - is he already involved with someone else when you two first meet?

No, he isn't involved with anyone. He's very much single and has been for a period of time.

How is reader's love life before Javi shows up across the hall?

She's had prior relationships, few serious ones throughout her dating life. Maybe even an engagement or previously married. I think when they both meet, she herself is single two. Which probably helps the connection grow stronger between them as time goes on.

Thanks again for these wonderful questions!!! Really made me start to plot and think about their story a little more. 💕

[holybibly]

hi!! i’m a writer myself and despite having mdni on my blog, i still get a lot of minors trying to with my work. i regularly have to check my followers for ages in their bio and i’ve even had minors come in my inbox telling me that i’m ’overreacting’ for not wanting them to read my writing. it’s gotten to the point where i’ve just turned off anon altogether, partially because of the weird people in my inbox and partially so i know i can be safe and not respond to minors by accident.

i guess what i’m trying to get at here is even though you have mdni on your blog, how can you be sure that the people in your inbox aren’t minors. there’s nothing physically stopping them from coming on your blog and sending sexual asks and you seem to facilitate these asks by responding in an equally sexual manner. i hope i’m not coming across as rude, but i just don’t see how you can be sure that you’re not engaging with minors when you respond to anons in a flirtatious and sexual way. if you somehow do check their ages, great! but since they’re anon, i don’t really see how that’s possible…

So, hello. Well, the wording of the question is rather crude to begin with, don't you think? And frankly, I'd prefer to take such questions to DM posts, but if you want to talk, you're welcome. 

First of all, don't you think it's a bit unfair? Accusing anonymous people and then asking a question anonymously? I don't think it's very nice, or do you think I'm going to declare a witch hunt and go on a bashing spree? That's so stupid. Or do you just not like me? Because that's what it sounds like. In general, I don't mind you having an opinion, but by sending a message like that, you knew I'd respond to it. 

Secondly, I know this is going to sound awful and you can totally throw a bunch of shitty comments and posts at me, but let's be honest, even if we check the age of our subscribers and readers every time they subscribe to us, when they ask us questions, comment, reblog, etc., where is the 100% guarantee that those people didn't lie about their age when they created their blog on Tumblr? 

Go to any porn site; age verification is just a tick in the box. These are the horrible realities we face every day. The internet is a place where it is very difficult to verify anything, and unfortunately, there are consequences.

I am in no way supporting the sexualization of minors, and I am certainly not engaging in depravity, although you make it sound that way. 

But I do know that there are many people who can't talk openly about their desires, sexual or otherwise; people who doubt their sexuality and self-acceptance; people who are judged for being different; people who are shamed for being too feminine or masculine; for having problems with daddy or mommy; or simply for being too quiet and shy. Not all of us are going to come out for manifestos and parades. 

And in this case, the only option for them is anonymity. I repeat, I do not support the sexualization of minors in any way, and if you want to accuse me of encouraging such things, I suggest you look at some of the profiles of authors on AO3 who openly use sex scenes with minors and even children in the text of their work. 

I don't know your social circle as a writer, and since you're asking this anonymously, I can't even check your work, but I think the problem is not whether I answer anonymous questions or not, but whether I talk to my bunnies at all. Every time I get messages like this, I think about it. You call me weird, angry, triggering, and now a lecher. Not directly, but the context is clear. 

I've never written messages like that to anyone; you know, it's not nice. I've never intended to offend or hurt anyone with my replies or FFs. But apparently everyone around me, for some strange reason, thinks I'm some source of universal evil while trying to retrain me and change my character and disposition. 

I really hope you are happy with what you are doing. 

Bunnies, I'm sorry. There will be no updates for a while. 

[gatheredfates]

Hi everyone and happy weekend! I'm drowning at work, but I wanted to put out a Compendium update—thank you to everyone who submitted! I don't think I missed anyone but, if I did, I'll update accordingly. ✨

As of 08/10, the following communities have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

LARGE-SCALE COMMUNITY DISCORDS / SPACES

Final Fantasy XIV Ontario — This server was created to connect gamers in (or near) Ontario, Canada who love playing Final Fantasy XIV. Events include monthly map nights and irl meetups!

COMMUNITY FOCUSED / EVENT SPACES

Dragonhead — An open-world roleplay event for Ishgardians (and their neighbours).

Echelons of Etheirys — A community fostering political and court life roleplay in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, featuring regency-inspired tropes and themes; located on the North American data centre.

Buscarron's Druthers — A weekly roleplay community effort to encourage in-character, open-world engagement in the South Shroud and beyond.

The Bloodsands — Interested in combat RP? We have the place for you!

Lark's — An Ishgardian club for men.

The Regency — A gentleman's club.

Eorzean Museum Network — A network of free, player-run, venues; encouraging, supporting, and growing cultural venues and events anywhere in the FFXIV community.

Azure Moon Lounge — A welcome respite from the elements, the room is always cool and the drinks are plenty. Hosted by @rhela-xiv.

MISC

Compendium of Non-Weapon Held Objects — This is an ever-growing compendium of non-weapon held objects found in FFXIV for modders and gposers to reference. It includes a description of the object, the set/base/variant for adding it in Ktisis/Anamnesis/Brio, as well other technical information. This database is currently maintained by Nhaneh, Ainyan, and Pointyhats.

Have you thought about joining our Tumblr Community? You can find it here!

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here or send me an ask with the relevant information!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. This is all publicly available on the document.

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads. (Though these get posted to the SEAFLOOR Tumblr Community when I find them!)

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include IC tabloid blogs or other ventures used to generate roleplay.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

I want to put my community on the Compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my Community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community/resource on the Compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it. The same goes for resources; if it's relevant to the game, it'll be useful to someone.

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, contact me asap!

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

[holdinbacksecrets]

assuming they were normal citizens of the world, what kind of ig users do you think svt would be? like who would post stores about you all the time, who would soft launch you, who would only post during anniversaries, who would post cheesy ass things, who wouldn’t post you until y’all are engaged, etc lol. thank you! 😍

i feel like some of these still have an air of fame to them… like some of this shit fans would eat up/they have a feeling of being shared with an audience of strangers

seungcheol: he posts adorable videos of you that make everyone swoon. the most recent is you barefoot at his cousin’s wedding reception dancing in the grass with a glass of champagne in hand. you look heavenly, and his captured ooos and laughter are heart melting. in the corner of every video posted is a little *i have consent to share* because in some clips, it’s clear that you have no idea he’s filming, and that makes them even sweeter

jeonghan: you’re a complete weirdo, and he’s so amused. he doesn’t document all the wacky shit you do, but some of the best moments make it to his instagram

joshua: the only time you’re on his social media is when you’re driving and singing pocketful of sunshine. it’s basically your version of sunday morning

jun: he has a highlight dedicated to everything you bake, and he does wholesome zoom ins with the perfect background music

soonyoung: he’s documenting his life on social media but is respectful of your disinterest in being perceived, so your face is rarely shown. captured conversations are always amusing because the camera is focused on his expressions, and he always :] when you ask if he’s recording

wonwoo: he has a story dedicated to the summary screen when you’re gaming together, keeping track of wins, and adding cute emojis whenever you beat him atta girl

jihoon: he has an anime highlight where you share ratings and recommendations. you’ve probably started an anime commentary podcast together

seokmin: he’s dating a musician (cello player) and has a highlight dedicated to your recitals. every evening of a show brings the same trio of pictures: a flower bouquet held in his hand + i hope she’ll like it, you on stage, and one of him hugging you afterward backstage. so fucking adorable and the captions are so wholesome: “i’m the proudest boyfriend” “🥺🥺😭😭❤️❤️😘🖤🤧😍🫠” “everyone stared at me when i whistled from the first row, but i don’t even care”

mingyu: almost every picture he posts was taken by you, and he makes hearts melt with captions like “taken by my love” or “she did good, huh?” someone stop him

minghao: he met you at a yoga studio because you’re an instructor, and classes at dawn end as the sun rises. he always shares that moment on a monday as vibrant colors consume the sky, starting off his week right, and sends good vibes to followers

seungkwan: he posts pictures of you flipping him off at the dining room table—it’s an ongoing saga—because you haven’t had your coffee yet. we’re two peas in a pod. you film videos of him running, calling out encouraging words, and promising to give him a massage afterward even though he’ll want a donut instead

hansol: he alludes to having a significant other but is never forthcoming. the pieces come together quite easily because of his flirty replies to your comments, and any time he travels the location is the same because you’re long distance. the reveal comes when you’re graduating from grad school, and he posts candids fixing your cap, kissing your cheek, and beaming as he embraces you.

chan: even as a normal citizen, there’s no way this man wouldn’t be dancing, and you always bring meals to the studio, so he posts pictures of the impressive spread before eating. he’s quite public about his relationship. also posts pictures of you strolling through the farmers market, along with posts of you wearing matching bunny headbands featuring green face masks

[stormblessed95]

I'm Stepping Away For A While...

Over the past week, and then some, I have been called a multitude of names in an effort to make fun of me and rude names including wh*re, p**sy, bitch, a liar, a fake, etc. I've been told I'm a fake/bad ARMY, a fake jikooker, etc. Ive had people call my friends deragatory names and misgender them. And I've also had someone in my DMs try to gaslight me into believing that this was not harassment or Bullying, but that I should apologize to my followers for threatening to block people and that people were just expressing strongly worded commentary over how my actions hurt them. And that I needed to take responsibility for creating the drama at all. And none of that is okay, and honestly it's been a lot. And the way people just brushed over the name calling and harassment regardless of if they disagreed with me or liked me, that was a lot too.

Blocking people to curate my space is not harassment or bullying or disrespectful. Its simply protecting myself and trying to curate a safe space for me personally. Nor have I ever started a hate campaign to try and drive another blogger off the platform. And if a post of mine encouraged people to send messages or hurtful asks to someone else, and I KNEW about it, I would've said something and asked them to stop. Sharing an opinion or disagreeing with someone is not me sending anyone hate. Nor would I ever want that for anyone regardless of any disagreements we had over whatever topic.

I've lost quite a few followers over the past week, people believing things that are being said and that's fine, i was never here for the numbers anyway. Id rather you unfollow or block me peacefully if you dont like me or my posts. Some of the people engaging with this hate against me were honestly surprising. But it is what it is. But I don't feel safe in this space anymore. I honestly haven't for a while. Blogging isn't as fun anymore. I don't want to post while it feels like a chore. And that's not because of anyone or anything in particular. I opened this blog because it brought me joy and it was fun. And it's really sad that something that brought me happiness is no longer doing that for me. It's not just all this drama either. It's probably been awhile coming, making my timeline posts for longer posts felt more like something I had to do for you all instead of something I wanted to do for me. And that's not what I want for this space.

So I'll be stepping away for awhile. When or if I come back will depend on if I can get that joy back for doing this and I feel like this can be a fun corner of the internet for all of us together again. And also for if I feel like I can do this without it being so mentally draining and just not good for my mental health like it has been lately.

I'll leave my blog here and my masterlist because I know that a lot of people enjoy the archive of some past content I have cataloged there. I don't want to take that away from anyone for that reason alone since I want people to be able to access that content if they can't otherwise find it. I also want the option to be able to come back to this blog again at some point. So I don't want to delete it or say I'm stepping away permanently, nor do I want people wondering what happened to me or anything. I just need a break. I do apologize for all the post series I have started that are remaining unfinished now for a little while.

If you want to unfollow me knowing that I'll be absent from here for awhile or for any other reason, that's totally fine. Honest. No hard feelings. I wish you well and hope everyone will continue to do well and enjoy the next few months of music, content and love from the members. Maybe I'll try to be back in time for JJK1 whenever that happens.

Again, this is just something I need. I'm okay, I'm not hurt or upset. I just need a break. I appreciate you all understanding. I'll still be in this fandom and be ARMY for life. I'll still be around for the next day or so. Thank you for understanding. I do love you guys and hope to back as soon as I'm able to.

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Delta anon here and I have returned to do the ask thingy!

I'm gonna be real, I have only a vague memory of entirely why I started following you. It was probably after I had SCOURED all of Tumblr for Delta-related things, and then I found a post you had made. I remember that it was the post you made about Delta being plural, and that i immediately sent it to one of my friends out of excitement. And out of the sheer joy of finally finding someone who even as much as knew of his existence, I followed you immediately (this is also how I started following the majority of the people I do now lmao).

I also began sending asks relating to Delta somewhere around that time, too. It was all on anon obviously, but sending anon asks to you about Delta helped me actually learn a lot more about Tumblr and interactions through it. And when I got a positive/respectful response (I say this in the fact that I didnt think you would be mean, but rather in the fact that I'd never previously interacted with anyone that i could directly send asks to and remain secret so I was incredibly nervous), it encouraged me to keep going. Which is why I said in a previous anon that I was probably at least a solid half of the contributions about the asks involving Delta.

So, in this, thank you for making me feel more confident and comfortable with both interacting with people and also contributing to things I enjoy. I really enjoy getting to send asks and receive responses, which is why I'm around so much lmao. I don't have to worry about being seen as annoying, which is a massive weight off my shoulders - especially knowing that I can remain anonymous and not have the fear of being judged publicly where everyone can see.

In truth, I've always been afraid of directly contributing to content, especially on a platform that's known for judgement sometimes. I've always been afraid of being judged in sharing my own personal headcanons about my favorite characters, but being able to go anon made me feel much more comfortable just sending an ask.

So, all in all, thank you. However I will continue to stay on anon because I like the idea of people not knowing who I am lmao. The mystery entertains me /silly

(And btw, same as crow, we are also secretly mutuals lmao)

ahhhh i love my mysterious secret mutuals!! Im so glad i was able to help you feel more comfortable and confident engaging and contributing to content about your favorite characters! It took me a long time to manage to get there on my own and im glad i was at least able to do that for someone else, even if unknowingly.

And as goes for anyone sending any asks to me on anonymous, I will always try to keep yalls identities/users secret.

including if you accidentally send something without turning on anonymous (which i can tell if the end message is still signed [nickname] anon near the top or end of a message), in which case id probably just screenshot the ask and crop out any usernames before I answer the ask and post it.

And I completely understand the worry about being judged Del, I’ve been on and off Tumblr as a quiet lurker for years before I begin posting at all. But I’m honestly glad I managed to find the courage to do so, it gave me the chance to meet and talk to some pretty amazing people and it’s just so nice to have fun with everyone.

And i honestly enjoy reading everything you have to say about Delta, Beta, the Epic Sanses, etc. You have such cool ideas and I can tell how much you really seem to love this AU and this character and all his potential. And I love talking about him, he’s such a goober. I could never be annoyed by seeing an ask from you, im always overjoyed see one or even sixty lmao.

[ettawritesnstudies]

yooo so cool that you do writeblr interviews!! honestly that's really really cool!

how often to you do them and how do you choose who to interview! is it possible to suggest writeblrs?

love your interviews and you ask such great questions. I hope you get to interview your fave author(s)!

Thank you so much!!

I do interviews whenever people are interested, but recently I got a lot of attention on Instagram so I've got a bit of a backlog and they're going up (roughly) once a month!

When I first started this, I would ask friends directly for interviews so most of the earlier ones were my mutuals. Now I'm trying to focus more on promoting self published/indie/small press authors, especially if they are already published or have new books coming up. When someone asks for an interview and I don't know their work, I'll ask for a copy of the book and time to read and review it. Once I'm more familiar with the story, then I also know better what questions to ask and we can move ahead with scheduling. I do them over zoom or discord call and there's normally 10ish questions that I'll send ahead of time. I don't heavily edit the videos but I'll clean up any interruptions and make a transcript before posting.

I'm not super picky about who I choose to interview, but I'm trying to build an audience in the middle grade/YA Fantasy space so those might get preference. That being said, my most recent interviews have been for adult queer romance, poetry, and contemporary romance, so anything outside of erotica and high spice romance is really fair game because again, trying to keep this mostly kids appropriate. I reserve the right to give an honest review so I can't promise 5/5 stars every time, but I'll always be encouraging and friendly and ask engaging questions. I'm here to support my fellow authors even if our tastes don't match perfectly it doesn't mean we can't still help each other.

You can absolutely suggest writeblrs! Just make sure they're ok with it first, or better yet, just send them my information so they can reach out to me. I'll happily add them to the list. If anyone reading this is interested, my DMs and email are both good ways to contact me!

[vsaintsin]

Writeblr Intro +

Ayo! I'm V. If you feel like wearing fancier pants, I'll take Vincent or Saintsin, but V really does just fine. I'm a he/him trans fellow who's a bit queer indeed. I'm disabled, which isn't much of a subject - I bring it up to note that odd spots of inactivity on my part are very possible. If you want to be mutuals, interact with this post and I'll check out your work/drop a follow! I'd love to meet more creatives!

What I write -

Science Fiction, mostly, with other genres influence

LGBT & Disabled characters

Sometimes really heavy crap, ngl, so mind those tws

What I know! What I love! What I want to read!

I have side-projects and future novels planned in high-fantasy settings, but no ETA on when I'll have the mind for them :/

What I'm planning to use my account for -

Snippets of my work that I think are neat, or random short-stories that don't make the cut for the novels for whatever reason (usually tone/pacing/context)

Extra, fun information about my characters / the story

Art I make - mostly of my OCs, possibly of settings?

Whatever music inspires me/playlists

Whatever I'm reading, maybe...

Who knows? If there's something you want to see, send a message or drop an ask. I'm open to suggestions.

Are we into D&D character shitposting here? Is that a thing?

What I like -

A little bit of everything - seriously. If you've written/created it, I'm probably interested.

The above, but restated for emphasis.

Art, writing, music... I'm a vacuum for human creation, I love it, I want to engage with and encourage it.

My goals -

Like so many others, to become a full-time writer (hence the monetary writing, I'm sorry...). Being disabled in The States isn't a great gig, particularly when I'm still working full-time in retail.

To be a part of a writing/artsy/creative/whatever kind of community of people who build each other up, and share experience and knowledge with each other.

I'm apparently a chronic over-writer, so I'm possibly blabbing a bit here. If any of the above tickles your pickle, drop me a follow or interact with this post, and I'll respond in kind!

Self-promo- I have one published work out. If you want to read a debut author's sci-fi novel about identity and autonomy (feat. morally grey Frenchman) and help support me getting my disabled ass out of retail, the eBook is only 4.99 on the kindle store (and you don't need a kindle to read it, just a smartphone and the app).

(Disclaimer: The opinions of the characters do not always reflect the opinions of the author...)

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

hey i noticed an anon mentioned submitting a lot of arcana characters and i wanted to pop in to say that that game is a racist, fetishizing mess. not only do they have a brown character who is kept literally in chains and is a vessel for one of the writers’ thinly veiled bucky barnes slavery kink, one of the bad endings features their fantasy-jewish-coded character turning into a literal bird, not to mention his numerous bird motifs.

between asra, nadia, and julian, asra and nadia are clearly more sexualized throughout the course of the game, even when fans have asked them to tone it down and stop fetishizing their “exotic” brown characters.

the fandom is and has been historically overwhelmingly hostile to fans/people of color who try to mention these problems. fans of color trying to dissuade people from writing nadia as a step on me dommy mommy queen have been shut down by elle trying to spin it into a “women can be dommes too!” issue, when the problem is that nobody would be treating nadia like this if she was white. asra gets his paid scenes hijacked by the white LI and then is painted as the toxic one in his and julian’s relationship (of which is only there due to elle’s mlm abuse fetishization) because god forbid their favorite white boy isn’t a perpetual victim.

outside of the game itself, dana rune has run a fanzine about an incestuous fire emblem fates ship (corrin/ryoma/xander) and further information can be found at the relations_zine handle on twitter. she may have scrubbed her name from it but it’s clearly her art style lmfao, and iirc she’s still in the followers/following list on that account. elle has a long history of fetishizing mlm abuse/slavery/“yaoi” on their tumblr that they’ve since deleted, but like. i googled “elle thalassiq fetishizing mlm” and immediately found posts with thorough screenshots so it existed lmfao. and even if it didn’t, it’s very evident with how they treat asra/julian/muriel.

this is heated and not thorough, but i’d like to end this by saying that this is coming from a former fan who eventually had to leave the game and fandom altogether because of the compounded issues that were never addressed, brushed under the rug, or actively encouraged time and time again. do not play the arcana. there are better games out there. and the last i was in it, the fandom was a toxic cesspool that would attack anyone, especially fans of color, who ever voiced a dissenting opinion about anything in the game. i hold my queer media to better standards and you should too. this game does not treat dark, heavy topics with respect, it treats them as fetish fodder.

Okay, I figured something like this would hit this blog eventually. The point of this blog is not for me take a stance and say what media is good and what media is bad. I am not brushing off your concerns - that’s a whole lot of awful information, and from me posting your ask, people can make their own choice about wether they want to engage with the game or the fandom. But I am just one person, and I don’t know anything about 90% of the media that is submitted here. If I excluded every piece of media that someone said was below a standard, I wouldn’t have any media left. This blog is simply a recognition game, I’m not trying to promote these pieces of media. I’m not saying that because they have queer characters that they’re fantastic or anything like that. I’m not taking any stance on any of it, actually.

This isn’t about the quality of a media, the quality of a fandom, or the quality of the representation that a character represents. It’s just a recognition game.

I am not going to get into any of these debates myself, since I know almost nothing about most fandoms here, but if you have serious concerns with a particular media posted here, send in an ask like this detailing the problems and I will post it, so that people looking at this blog can see valid criticisms before diving into a new piece of media.

As a further note, racist and antisemetic comments or tags on any post will be blocked on sight.

I will tag all asks like this with “media critical”.