#+ explanation for the change: i just feel like this blog has become more personal to me again (

[izzymalec]

hey besties!! i've finally caved and starting today (saturday, 15. july) i'll slowly but surely (more surely than slowly) post things from other media as well 💔

everything will be tagged w the media name + the #not sh (that geniuely nobody has blacklisted but it's for me), if there are any triggers etc pls let me know so i can tag accordingly!!

this also means that my sideblog @deemacs will no longer be active bc anything that would've gone on here will now be on main

also this itty bitty change will be accompanied by tiny little changes in my (v faithful) icon and header (these aren't actually related, it's just good timing honestly)

thank u for reading and happy tumbling!!! 🩷🩷🩷

[creativitysloyalservant]

i have decided to break my lack of original posting on this blog to bring you my Thoughts on Rot in Paradise. because i played it as soon as i got up this morning and i have scoured for some opinions after finishing it, and now i have my own!!

(and also i posted this on twitter but twitter has such a Shit wordcount that i'm also posting my things here with More Detail)

so! spoilers under the cut, please go and play the game if you haven't. it takes literally an hour (it only took nearly 2 hours for me because i like voice acting by myself and exploring every nook and cranny) and it's also free. so maybe come back into the tag once you're done.

okay, so i noticed quite a number of people being confused and disappointed on the lack of an explanation for the monster. it's brought up in the story as the central thing driving the plot, but it's never explained on what "she" is, why she's compelling people to eat a ton of fish-related food or hell, metal, and why this doesn't impact June at all.

but you know what I think?

i think that that's the point. the focus of rot in paradise isn't supposed to be on the monster.

yeah, it's the thing that pushes the plot along besides June and the gang going on vacation in this island. it's what's causing that uneasiness from the moment that guy grabs June's arm at the drinks, to the sheer unnerving feeling of witnessing people going to the ocean to get Raptured basically. i know i personally felt a chill when i saw that one dude literally eating chains and the other hauling an anchor, as if they're trying to make themselves heavier so they get taken by whatever She is.

but that's not the main point! the main conflict is about June and her friends.

as people have pointed out, this game is about toxic friendships and relationships! it's foreshadowed in the conversation that June has with the gang about her cousin (which i will also get into), and it carries it through the way her friends are horribly warped by this ocean Creature. June goes on a silly little vacation trip with her friends only for them to become so so different from themselves that they lash out at her and even hit her in McCoy's case.

but she still sticks it out with them. through the whole game, even despite their verbal abuse, despite being slapped, despite them being people that she can hardly recognise. she stays with them for the whole game, up until the point where you are given the two options at the very end. and she could still stay with them.

because they're still her friends. she cares about them even if they still hurt her. from the way June still tells Carmen to tell June if she needs anything after Carmen literally tells her to shut up and leave, the way June worries about Vonnie eating seafood even though she continues to stuff herself despite being implied to either hate or make an active choice to not eat seafood, to the way June still trudges out to sea screaming for McCoy to come back to the shore as he wades further in even after he slapped her until her nose bled.

it mirrors the conversation about her cousin, the reason for why June was looking forward to the vacation. that while she did comfort her cousin through all of it, June clearly says that "they were dickheads, and she should have ditched them a long time ago".

but it's funny, isn't it? that June, an outsider to her cousin's friend group, easily sees the pain that her cousin's friends are causing her, and immediately calls it as it is. that her cousin should have left the second they hurt her.

and yet now, when her friends hurt her, even though this was a quick and sudden change that happened in a span of three days, June still sticks around. her friends are dickheads right now, and we can see that in the way they interact with June, but she still stays.

because they're her friends. and how could she just leave them like this if it's something that's causing them to be this way?

so no, i don't think the monster is supposed to be the main picture. we don't need to know what it looks like, or why it needs to do this to the islanders, or how it's even doing it in the first place. it adds to the scariness of the game, as per the Spooktober Game Jam, sure, but that's not the point. might be a bit disappointing to some, but that's not the point.

the point is about June, and the choice that she needs to make at the end of the game.

it's a choice on whether she chooses to be pulled deeper into the tides and be with the friends who hurt her and will continue to hurt her in this way,

or to leave them to their fates, whether deserved or not, and resurface to a world where she's alone without her friends.

and even though the first choice hurts much more in the long run, doesn't the second hurt even more in the moment? knowing that you're alone at the end of all of this?

even if it is the right choice, i'm sure the pain must be unbearable in the moment.

[saturnslandfill]

I should give this blog a little more attention or something (it's starting to gather dust).

Anyway, Venti in an argument headcanons since I can't sleep :P.

- Even though he hates it, if he sees that the situation requires it, he will remain serious and leave the jokes aside.

- Avoids arguments as much as possible. Tries to humor the situation (he doesn't downplay the situation, much less [the traveler's] feelings. He takes it seriously, he just doesn't like the tension).

- This boy hates yelling, a lot, from both sides. If he's already usually calm (someone who expresses emotions in a soft way), when it comes to an argument (when he's feeling really upset), he tends to shut himself down completely or (when he's feeling mad) jump over the line of "shut up" to "shout" very quickly.

If it's the other person who gets angry:

- He stands completely still. He can barely maintain eye contact.

- Laughs nervously and tries to calm [the traveler] down.

- He tends to run his thumb along the palm of his hand a lot, sometimes burning himself. He needs to do something with his hands to keep them still.

- His voice will become lower in tone and the sentences will become shorter as the discussion gets more heated.

- Broken voice when trying to speak. He will cough/swallow hard from time to time due to the "lump" in his throat.

- He will end up nodding/shaking his head. "Mhm" and "m-hm" for "yes" and "no" as he does not feel the strength to say words.

- Thinks a lot before saying the slightest word.

- He will force himself to speak anyway because the last thing he wants is for [the traveler] to feel ignored.

- He hates being told "you hear me!?/are you even listening to me?!" when he doesn't answer "appropriately", another reason he forces himself to speak.

- He will leave the room as soon as he starts being yelled at. He doesn't like the feeling, it makes him really anxious.

- He cries, a lot. He still doesn't like making any noises, so you can't bearly hear him when he cries.

- When [the traveler] has calmed down and Venti is ready to continue the discussion, he will write instead of talk. Sometimes he reads what he writes after some time has passed.

- So many apologies. The phrase "I'm sorry" loses it's meaning inside his head. -› "I don't know what to say, 'I'm sorry' feels like the only right thing to say right now, sorry..."

- If he knows he has done something wrong, he will be the first to approach and apologize. Sometimes he will need help from an explanation to know what is wrong and what needs to change.

If he is the one who gets angry:

- He still doesn't like shouting. He'll try to speak as quietly as possible, but if the feeling is too intense, the only way he'll talk is if he shouts.

- Short phrases and sentences or literally a damn speech, there's no middle ground.

- Gesticulation. He may be able to knock something over if it is within his range of motion when moving his arms and hands.

- When he's not gesturing, he tends to dig his nails into the palms of his hands when clenching his fists.

- Lots of eye contact.

- He doesn't think much before speaking. He ends up regretting many things when he recaps the conversation when he's alone.

- Either he swears a lot or no bad words come out of his mouth, no middle ground here either.

- Some words in another language often slip out when he shouts.

- "Get out of my sight." when he sees that [the traveler] doesn't makes sense and he's tired of trying.

- He will probably cry out of anger.

- Sighs, many in fact. He pinches the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes very hard repeatedly too.

- He will never be the one to speak first. A bit childish, and he knows it, but if he hasn't done anything wrong, he thinks he doesn't have to be the one to moves the world to solve the problem.

- He won't stop being angry until he receives a sincere apology. After said apology, he will return to being the same smiling boy as always.

I don't know what got into me to do this (I've been having lots of arguments for almost a month, save me).

[theshiftingfairy]

Ok, i wasn’t going to talk about those posts that are coming recently into shiftblr, who spreads limiting beliefs from shifttok but here is my five cents on the issue :

i didn’t see them, like at all. Instead i have a feed full of people loosing their mind over shifttok taking control on tumblr and dictate what is right or wrong in shifting. And i completely understand the feeling, the moment i realised there where other platform than TikTok to find shifting information and motivation, i left the app for tumblr, where i found a lot more grace for the « old » shifter that i am (like, it’s not even an issue here, i wouldn’t have dared to state my age on shifttok so i mostly didn’t interact and was a silent viewer.)

And i think the reason i don’t see those misinformation posts is because when i did see posts like that when i arrived on the app, i rapidly scrolled past them and the algorithm understood i wasn’t interested. The way algorithms works is by measuring your engagement on posts and push on you content that are similar to what you are already the most engaged on. This is calculated by the likes and comment you leave of course, but it also takes note of how long you stay on one posts (i don’t know about tumblr specifically, this is in general). In any case, i don’t take any chance, if i don’t want to see more of something, i don’t even bother to block, i immediately scroll past it. And for me at least, it has been more effective than blocking.

And you can argue that it’s because i engaged with content complaining about shifttok it keeps being pushed on my page, i think it’s absolutely the case, i have a few people i follow who spoke about it and i did like some of those post and commented on some too. And tbh, i will stop engaging with those content because all i see is complaints, anger and frustration and yes, it is TikTok all over again, not because of people trying to control what others do, but because of people being frustrated.

I want my feed to be full of storytimes from people who have shifted, without it being romanticised by the readers, like i saw it happening often on TikTok, with people demanding more storytimes like it’s a tv show, or becoming incredibly rude when they did not agree with the choices made by the shifters they follow.

I want to see advices from others shifters sharing what is helpful to them, but not claiming this is how you shift and you have to follow those exact steps, because every one is different and different things work for different people.

I want to see scenarios idea, headcanon, scripts . I want to see shifters having fun with their dr without getting on each other’s throats because they don’t agree with what the other is doing. I think discussing a disagreement with respect is awesome, saying i don’t agree with you and move on is ok, harassing people and threatening them because you disagree with them is not leading anywhere and is only building up anger on both sides and it’s frustrating for me as well to watch.

My personal advice for those who are frustrated right now is to keep going with their usual content, ignore content you disagree with and see if it keeps being pushed to you and block if someone harasses you. I know when the shifting tags are used, there is more chance to see those content you don’t want, but i think it’s not worth loosing hair over it.

Again, explaining your point of view, and why think what you think while staying respectful is awesome. I saw amazing posts explaining age changing and race changing (@mywitchyblog all their post are amazing, and it is very important to have a blog tackling touchy subjects like this and open dialogue ) and if the other party can’t accept reasonable explanation, there is nothing left to do than block and ignore, they won’t change their mind. They just don’t want to.

They decided to police what others do instead of focusing on their own shifting journey. Honestly, they will either judge us too toxic and leave on their own or they will create a new community within the existing one.

The huge issue i see with this unfortunately is for new shifters, they wouldn’t know what content is good or bad, and if the community gets so divided it will be harder to know what to trust. That’s the only thing where, i don’t really know what to do except continue posting.

Anyway, i was mostly frustrated only seeing complaints and while i share the frustration, i think it’s best to focus on our own journey and continue sharing what is helpful to us.

Happy Shifting 🧚🏻‍♀️

[dangermousie]

would you happen to have thoughts about the acting/casting and/or depth of characterization in rise of ning? i'm watching it and wanna be more into it but fsr most of the cast (besides wanyi and the stepmom) are not very...charismatic? to me 😧 would love a convincing mousie blog on the topic if you have one up your sleeve!

I am a terrible person for this kind of question because (a) I tend to watch most shows for the mains and supportings are less important to me in general and (b) I am not really a person who wants to convince others to like what I like because all my liking means is I enjoy it; others may or may not - I am no arbiter.

This said, while the OTP are the shining stars of the show for me, I do find the rest of the characters interesting (even if a lot of them are not likable - I dare anyone to find Dad likable.) I think it's because they all feel like real people to me - in their good and their petty. Even minor characters like First Aunt - I knooow women like this. Or the Dad - too many men are like that. Or take oldest daughter of First Aunt - so many other narratives would make her evil or besotted stupidly to the end but she is not - she ends up doing the sane thing and moving on from her crush and repaying FL's favor; but they don't become BFFs, they basically a nicely tolerant, which is a realistic thing in families.

And it allows characters both greyness and consistency. Take Lady Qiao. Awful person but loving mother and you really understand how Dad and societal structures pushed her into what she is. Or, even better, grandma - she is very much a grande dame of society, I am sure she was a good wife, but it's clear she is part of all the generational trauma and dad got his tendency to favoritism from her. And I love that she's consistently so - no magic change of heart vis-a-vis ML. It's realistic.

As to non-Luos, the only ones we really see are Ci Sha's sinister sexy marquis and his nephew. I am interested in the former not just for the hotness (tho mmmm) but because I want to know what his deal is, and nephew is interesting enough for a minor character.

(I am leaving actors out of this write up because I think they all do fine jobs, but mainly because unless acting is truly bad, I care about the characters only.)

This said - this is (a) very much a costume take on slice of life or, perhaps better, a cdrama take on something like a Gaskell novel - I love that small but wonderful subgenre but depending on one's taste, it just might not be one's bag (no matter how well a proper harem drama is made, for example, I just don't like them) and (b) this is all my very subjective take - I am a big fan of "clicking." I believe things either click for us or don't, somewhere in the lizard brain; we can then write a long explanation as to why but it really is an attempt to explain after the fact. And this just might be a situation where those characters/narratives just don't click for you. I mean, plenty of people enjoyed Are You the One this year and I felt like it poisoned my puppy - not even 100 essays could ever make me like it because it's so subjective. I could very well go "I get why X likes it" but it would, alas, not make me like it any more than I do now. I am one of probably three people who dislike the main premise of Nirvana in Fire (could write essays on it!) and the fact that everyone else loves it has not changed my mind.

I can perhaps explain (badly) why I think the click happened for me here, but I have no eloquence to make that click happen for anyone else (if I did, mwhahahahahaha I would take over the world and adapt every good danmei out there :P)

[stanfordprepped]

Why I Haven't Been On Sam.

I think it's time to address the elephant in the room: why being on Sam has been so difficult. And not just a few minute details. But an actual explanation since so many of you have been so kind and have followed me for so long. I am hoping to get back on him at some point. When I feel ready. I will be placing the reasons below the cut as triggering topics are inbound. Just in case anyone who knew what the reason was and or/have been involved in that whole horrible mess...Don't worry. I won't be mentioning anything to do with you. I won't be naming names. I won't be saying a word about all that. I want to protect your peace and privacy. I always will. That said, reasons below the cut :

Through my Sam Winchester blog, I met another roleplayer. I will not be mentioning their name either because what good will that do when 1) they are gone, and 2) I am never going to stoop to their levels. This roleplayer started out very sweet and kind. Our characters had a wonderful connection. They started reaching out to other roleplayers I was close to, as well as me. We all liked them and trusted them dearly. Eventually, a relationship was formed between myself and this roleplayer. They became a part of my friend group. We all even thought of each other as family. But slowly, things started to change. That person became more vindictive, hateful, and rude when things did not go their way. They would even try to rope me in via guilting if I did not help or trying to make me feel like they were being mistreated so I'd say something. I didn't realize what they were doing at first. That they were manipulating me into doing what they wanted. Time went on and it started becoming far more frequent. They started lashing out at everyone and if I wasn't on their side then it turned on me. Eventually, we all parted ways. Thank god. Because those people were smart for getting out. And I'm so very glad that they did and that they are all safe. The deeper things got, the more info this person had on me. Hell, we'd even met and spent four days together at one point. They met my child. They'd been to my house. Even when I started seeing the horrible way they were acting, I was too scared to leave. I could only use their aesthetics they made for me. I had to respond to them first on everything. I had to answer discord rps daily or they got angry. There were so many horrible fights. So many horrible things said to me. I had never felt so low. I couldn't do anything right. i was always upsetting them. I spent a lot of days crying. or pushing myself to write on Sam. Eventually, I snapped and got the hell out of there. Ever since, it's been hard to write here. It's hard to look at Sam the same way. And since that person wrote Dean for a short spell, it's kinda hard to look at Dean too. I just have an awful taste in my mouth. I'm still healing...I'm sorry everyone. for taking so long. I am still so messed up. I feel the need to apologize for anything and everything. I am constantly defensive. I am still anxious.]]

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

Hello! So I figured I should probably share my two cents on this since you seem pretty open for discussion. I understand a previous anon brought up the fact that this isn’t excusing it’s just explaining and I also understand that Magnifico mainly went all villain when that rat book took control, but I also feel like there may be a slight… I’m not sure how to describe it honestly so I’ll let the rest of my ask speak and see if hopefully my point tangible.

Magnifico did hold a weapon to Amaya’s face to threaten her into agreeing with him, and based on her reaction to seeing him with the evil magic (rapid breathing, shaky speech, flinching, instant fawn + freeze reaction) it’s possible she likely has some form of trauma that I personally believe may have been a abusive relationship.

I should say I am NOT a Magnifico hater, I don’t believe he was a villain at all but I’m not sure about hero. Of course I’m open to hearing others out and I’m entirely open to learning new things and changing my opinions! So this isn’t me saying ‘No you’re wrong I’m right’ it’s just intended as me giving my own personal views and asking for yours in return! Sorry for the three paragraph ask and I hope that you have a great day! 💙

(Also to people who hate on Magnifico that are coming to this account, just why?? Just leave instead of throwing a hissy fit in this persons asks whose just being kind and sharing their personal views, it’s that easy 😒)

Hey anon!

First of all, thank you for being so nice and defending me! Absolutely right! It's beyond me how someone who doesn't like him comes to my blog to nagg at me for loving and defending him, make me a bad person and furthermore accuse me of things .... crazy, anyway! Don't apologize for this long ask! 😆 I appreciate you wanting my opinion! I also wish you a great day! 💙

Now, let's begin this, shall we?

I can actually explain this as well!! 😃 (and no, it doesn't have anything to do with me loving and defending Magnifico. (Well mostly. *Eherm*) this is based on logical observations!

Soo, Amaya's reactions ... I'm absolutely sure they're not because he's been abusive. Magnifico had been nothing but a sweetheart to her. The explanations are much simpler and relatable.

Amaya knew that Magnifico was able to do great magic, she knew he was very powerful. But she also knew the evil book was powerful. She didn't know to what degree but what do you think happens to someone who's already powerful and gets posessed/controlled by an evil force?

Exactly. They become dangerous and unpredictable. The more power someone has the more dangerous they'd be if posessed by evil. Think of the nicest, sweetest dog, who'd never bite, never do anything bad. If this dog was to get posessed by an evil force, it could maul someone to death. It has teeth and a very powerful jaw to begin with.

The other thing is, who wouldn't flinch if someone pointed a weapon at them? This is a natural human reflex. Yes, some people are jumpier than others (I am 🤣, truly! Sometimes my coworker sneaks up on me while I work on a client to whisper something in my ear and I squeal in shock every single time. It's funny for everyone but me.) But we're talking about Amaya here! It's normal for the body to react if threatened. So we have our reasons why she went fawn mode.

Also, one of the first things she says to him is "How could you!" So, he's already in a very bad place, traumatized, suffering and on top posessed by evil now, and the first thing he's confronted with by his "wife" is blame. Nice. Blame! Guilt tripping and cornering him even further! Bravo Amaya 👏🏼

So Amaya being scared is relatable and justified. But does her being afraid justify her dumping and backstabbing Magnifico? No.

Just look at her smirk as she gives the guards the order to put him in the dungeons! I'm fine with Amaya x Magnifico shippers but I personally will never ship them! Poor man was desperate and shocked at how quickly and with how much ease she was writing him off.

If Magnifico had been her soulmate, she would have fought to death to get him back. Just imagine, if she had stood up and defended him, pleading her people to help her, saying something like : "Listen to me! Magnifico isn't evil, he's posessed by evil! I know he's dangerous and unpredictable right now but I know he's still in there somewhere and if we can reach him, we can get him back! I know you're scared, I am too, but together we can make it! Please, stand with me!"

I mean, she's the queen, alright? The people of Rosas are to obey and follow her command right after Magnifico. One right word of her and her people would follow her and not Asha. Btw. She could have also asked Asha and her friends to help her. I don't think they would have disagreed if she'd pleaded with them. She's their queen! Or would Asha have turned against Amaya as well then? 😐

You cannot tell me they wouldn't have been able to reach and save Magnifico by standing together in love and bold compassion! We literally saw how the wishes and (star) were set free from the evil force just by singing and standing together! Only imagine they had done this to free Magnifico! Saying he wasn't savable because the evil book said so is bullcrap.

I don't believe the evil book! A evil book is well, evil! And light will always be more powerful than darkness! Love will always be stronger than hate! Imagine a room full of darkness, then light a match, that tiny speck of light is still glowing! The dark cannot consume it! Because in light there cannot be darkness. And what does a evil book do besides destroy and corrupt?

Also, this looks painful! 🥺☝🏻this is nothing but incredibly tragic and sad!

Also, in the past, every single heroine has managed to break curses by true love and compassion! I was reminded of Moana and Te fiti for this!

Do you guys remember that scene, where Moana realizes that Te Fiti is still inside the posessed evil monster? Was Moana afraid? Sure she was! But did that stop her from reaching out to get her back? No!

Te ka (evil Te Fiti) could have burned Moana to a crisp in the split of 2 seconds but Moana still bravely approached her! She willingly faced death because she knew Te Fiti was still in there and by her immense love and compassion she'd get her back! She went "this is not who you are!" And boom!

There's more!

I also remember a scene from the 2 Maleficent live action! When Maleficent was consumed and controlled by hate, anger and revenge. She was all hiss, roar, I'm evil and Aurora stood up to her and told her "This isn't you! There's another way! I know who you are! I know you!" And Maleficent replies "You do not!" And Aurora in tears, in pain but 100% certain, says "Yes I do! You're my mother!"

And just like that the evil in Maleficent crumbles. True loves overcomes all evil! It's always been that way.

And even if no one would have helped Amaya, we'd still have the (true love breaks every curse!) But she did nothing. Well, she did run to Asha and her friends to sing about how bad he's always been like a pop star. She gave Magnifico up over the course of minutes, didn't even try fighting to get him back and wrote him off with a smile!

Magnifico was deeply hurt, the betrayal stung and he suffered inside. He had so much pain and anger and his anger is justified! Please, put yourself in his shoes for a moment. One doesn't even have to fully understand trauma and the whole complexity of the different forms of ptsd.

He only ever tried his best to have everyone happy and content. He only ever wanted to protect and keep safe. That's always been his goal. He held onto his power because he wanted to be strong enough to keep whats dear to him from harm at all costs! If someone wants to protect that fiercly it only means that person loves immensly 1 and 2 has suffered unbelievable painful loss. He loved his people! He cared for his people immensly. So much so he was willing to get himself posessed by evil even if he never wanted to! He felt forced by his desperation and utter fear.

And what did his people do in the end? Can you imagine how badly it must have hurt to realize you've only been loved for what you can do and give? How used he must have felt? He's been celebrated more for being handsome and a limitless genie than a loving king who established an amazing kingdom and ruled it well! He's bent backwards and all it took his people to turn on him was a teenager who thinks she knows better than anyone with a strange cute looking creature from the sky, they btw. knew just as little about!

Everyone backstabbed and betrayed him. Here he is, at the peak of all his suffering and posessed. His soul surely cried for help, hoped for anyone to reach out to him but no one did. He got kicked into his wound even further. Quite literally, this was the thanks he got.

[officialinuyasha]

Yashahime - Takashi Shiina Blog Translation - Sunday S February 2022 [Part 2]

12/27/2021

The first step in the princesses' journey is the village of the exterminators. The spotlight is on the grown up Kohaku-kun, and we look back at the story of “Inuyasha” from his point of view.

This comicalization starts with an entrance like "me and the reader visit the world of 'Inuyasha' with Towa-chan", and reconstructs the anime as "a story that explains the character of Sesshomaru from the perspective of a new set of characters". Therefore, “the testimonies from different perspectives of those who were there in ‘Inuyasha’” are an explanation that serves as a prequel and, at the same time, a guidepost. The past that boss Kohaku has been burdened with is also fully disclosed in the manga, deepening the interest in the complex shades of the father Lord Sesshomaru.

I interpreted Kohaku-kun as “another Sota-kun who lives in a harsh world”, so in the comic version Sota papa is an over-fond father and boss Kohaku also pampers the three princesses (laugh). I wanted to depict him as a grown up praying in front of the graves of his father and companions, whom he killed while he was manipulated by Naraku, and the fact that he hasn’t completely escaped from his past, but that would make the story darker so I modified it.

In the original Inuyasha version, Kirara-chan is a child who doesn't have speech balloons or anything like that, but in the anime version she is quite vocal, and it feels like she talks a lot when she is imported back into the manga. After wondering what to do (about this) in the comicalization, I interpreted it as “from the human Kagome’s point of view, she’s silent, but from the perspective of the princesses Kirara is relatively talkative”. While I was at it, I tried to make her more cat-like, but it turned out that if I made her too much like a cat, she would become a different person (or beast?), like "she's long when you pick her up" or “she presses your face with her paw pads and sticks to you if you are too sticky". For the time being, I drew it like this (laugh). 

I couldn't have a very large group of people riding on Kirara-chan, so a horse was provided for the boss (1) for the later development. When I drew it, I was able to capture the dignity and authority of him as an adult, so I think it was the right choice. By the way, this is just my personal, unofficial backstory, but I think the name of his beloved horse might have been “Kagura”. 

Kagura’s final scene is one of the most outstanding, famous scenes of the series, so I really wanted to pick it up, but the dilemma was that if I went too far into it, the balance of the story would swing too much in that direction because it is so impressive. Therefore, after consulting with Takahashi sensei, I decided to limit it to a small cut from the perspective of Kohaku-kun, who had rushed (to her side) and was watching her. In other words, I really wanted to show how she lived her short life to the fullest, even if it was just a glimpse. Her way of life overlaps with characters who appear later.

The centerpiece of the new chapter is the participation of older brother Kouga, who only appears in the anime original work (2). If the anime word line is extended, Ayame-chan should also be there, but due to page reasons she couldn’t appear. It may be that she is in charge of protecting the pack and house-sitting. 

As I wrote before, Master Yawaragi has been rejuvenated while slightly changing her standing position. This time she has no (spoken) lines, but in the next chapter she will be speaking in the Kansai dialect, so please look forward to it (laugh).

The first volume of the manga, which contains chapters up to last month, will be released around the 18th of January (3). The first print run has been reduced to a small number, so it will probably run out of stock… That’s what I hope… No, running out of stock means that there will be people who want it but can't get it so it’s not something good. It would be nice to say to Shogakukan “Hey!! You should have printed some more!! Hurry up with the second edition!!” with a smug look on my face. Well, there is also a digital edition, so in case you can’t buy in a shop please consider that option in addition to pre ordering and ordering it. Buy it.

Source: https://cnanews.asablo.jp/blog/2021/12/27/9451212

Notes

1- Kohaku. 

2- He refers to the original anime and The Final Act.

3- January 2022.

[spaceyflowers]

hi!! im still alive!! + updates on this blog

first: i would like to apologize for disappearing without a word for like. nearly a year. im terribly sorry for any worry i've caused T_T;;

honestly i have no good excuse for disappearing like i did especially without reason (not that im obligated to let everyone know my business but i did have a "i wont randomly disappear!" sentiment and yet... here i am) but in a nutshell, its basically: fandom shifts, college, and guilt.

if you want to know about the future of this blog fandom wise;

still going to be a lookism/viral hit blog (havent caught up yet) but most likely wont be as active in the fandom anymore;;; thinking of sticking as a lookism blog until that series ends but who knows when it will so i might eventually just change fandoms 😭

please dont feel bad about unfollowing or anything!! curate what u wanna see with who u follow, i take no personal offense, even if we've been long time mutuals!! ><

fandom shifts will probably be more common; i have this weird thing where i cant focus on multiple interests or i get stressed;; so i get obsessed with one thing for months/years but then once i lose interest and move on, its likely i wont return to it unless something triggers it. thats why i dont think "multifandom" fits me, i'll always be fandom focused, its just the fandom focus changes 😭

p.s. sorry if im being dramatic about this (i feel like a youtuber who got canceled writing an apology 😭😭) i just feel like i owe yall an explanation </3

if you're curious about me, i've left that under the cut;

got into a new interest which made me stop looking at lookism/viral hit stuff -> knowing my blogs are lookism focused, i decided to take a "break"

couldnt get myself back into lookism after my "break" ended -> couldnt get myself back on tumblr

started to feel guilty because i havent been active in a long while

senior year ending, school takes my priorities -> summer break comes, i swear i'll apologize on tumblr but guilt eats away at me and then i have to do college stuff

become a little active on tiktok, start feeling more guilty because im active there but not on tumblr

college begins, get busy with college stuff -> during breaks, swear i'll apologize on tumblr pt 2 but the guilt has piled up so much it feels like the equivalent of when a person cant get themself to reopen their animal crossing new leaf game because they havent touched it in a long time

first college semester ends, winter break starts -> finally convince myself to get over it and start typing all this up

once again im really sorry T_T i was not made for the content creator life bc i cant stay active for shit + i feel so bad gaining followers for one thing but once i move on from that one thing, it feels like im disappointing a lot of ppl even tho i know i dont owe strangers on the internet anything- im just repeating myself now but yknow

oh and for anyone curious: my current fandom is dmc <3

[mercysought]

before I jump on my memes, I mentioned at some point last week to talk about two things:

why I like that Solas doesn't even ask Lavellan to join him in tearing down the Veil

why Asharen wouldn't have joined him, even if he had asked

For the first point: I am of course not writing Solas on this blog, however, I do really like that Solas doesn't ask Lavellan. I like to think that, for my own Lavellan and how their relationship is, that he would likely know beyond the fact that he wouldn't want to drag her into this. Wouldn't want to see whatever he would need to do in order to achieve his goals or whatever he would need to become. It's a matter of respect for who this person was, this person that "changed everything" and how involving them in this thing that had destroyed already so much, caused so much pain I think that it speaks of Solas' character that he would want to shield her from it. As well as perhaps save whatever image she had of him in the process. This being said, I think Asharen feels a lot of "I would have expected you to trust me!" energy, though at the same time this is very clearly a purely emotional response.

The reality of what would entail explaining such things would be complicated at best and potentially relationship destroying at worst. For someone that has been so deeply alone for so long... Well, I cannot blame him. Anyway, I am just here to enjoy the pain ❤️

For the second point: I think that if, for Solas, his time in Inquisition showed him a "world of tranquil" where so much of his actions caused devastation, Asharen probably takes much of the opposite learnings.

For the first time in her life, she sees people of multiple races and backgrounds, mages and non mages alike be able to work together towards a common goal. For the first time, she was able to see the world that could be and should be, the deep kindness of people helping each other despite the desperation and pain and suffering. Inquisition made her see the world beyond just a Fereldan refugee that ended up being lucky in settling in Antiva, where her clan was able to go back and forth. Where magic wasn't strictly controlled. Where relation with humans was somewhat more accepting. Her time as Inquisitor made her see that people are good, capable of great kindness towards each other even in the smallest acts.

From a smaller selfish standpoint, she does have an extended and really close family. Tearing down the veil, precautions or not, would be an immediate no go. Especially if the explanation revolves a lot around trust. It's too risky and the destruction of life too great. I really like that during the cutscenes it looks like the Inquisitor has a spine because especially as a romanced inquisitor, someone like Asharen at least, it would be easy to see someone twist and bend their values because you deeply love that someone (platonically or romantically)

Standing up for your beliefs despite love and hurt can be a hard thing to do, especially when the person you love feels very strongly about those things (such as tearing down the veil)

[magpiesmemes]

|| Magpie's Tumblr RP guide ||

So it's been a while since I made one of these but with the shut down of omegle, more people are joining the site to rp, I figured I'd explain some of the basics.

Now none of these are necessary, you can just do as you do but these are some of the 'norms' here on tumblr currently. They may change and evolve over time, they've done so countless times in my time on tumblr but here's this for now for those who might find it useful!! Please feel free to offer feedback on this, I struggle with giving instructions so I've tried to make it as clear as possible but my brain isn't the best with this kind of thing. I will correct anything that needs correcting and add things as time goes on, so please do check back if you request an explanation/addition to something as I will try to add it asap.

Last updated: 29/11/23

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BASICS

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Basic Etiquette

Don't reblog roleplays that aren't yours, often this will mess up peoples thread trackers and it's a nightmare.

Rather than reblog asks to continue them as roleplays, make a new post and link the ask in that post. This avoids blog clutter for both parties.

ALWAYS read peoples rules and about pages. No exceptions.

No one is obliged to write their character purely as they are in canon. Canon divergence, au, or just additional headcanons for canon characters is very common. Do not make issue with someone just because their writing for a character doesn't fit with how you see them. It's their character, just don't write with them if you don't like how they write them. Simple as that.

Don't godmod. This means don't take control of a persons character unless otherwise instructed by the other writer, do not assume attacks immediately hit/injure/kill their character without prior planning for such a thing. You can write the attack, just don't assume it lands. This also applies to your character being aware of things - just because YOU know something, doesn't mean your character does.

Mun does not equal muse. Many people play villains because they're fun, don't assume that these people share the viewpoints of such characters just because they're writing them. The RPC would be painfully boring without some villain muses to stir the pot!!

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xkit rewritten

The absolute saviour of tumblr rp when you're on pc, unfortunately I don't believe it's available on the phone app but it's super useful for pc users. For chrome you can find it in the chrome extensions, I'm sure it's available similarly for other browsers. The functions on xkit that specifically benefit rp are: clean feed (for blacklisting any content you don't want to see), mutual checker, tag tracking+ and trim reblogs. Any others are entirely up to your discretion whether you want to use them or not. To use 'trim reblogs' the post must be in your drafts or posted, then you can use the little scissor tool at the bottom of the post to snip off older replies and avoid posts becoming excessively long.

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Settings

So if you're like me and want a chronological timeline for those you follow? Here's how to do that. Go into account settings. Not the blog settings to edit how that looks, you want the settings that has your account info, dashboard preferences, ect. Click 'Dashboard', which should be on the right hand side menu on your screen if you're using pc. Optional: Enable 'Show timestamps' so you can see how old posts are. I find this useful as it ensures I'm not responding to something that is 5 years old lmfao. Scroll down and turn off 'Best stuff first'. This should make your 'Following' tab chronological, ensuring you see whenever people you follow are posting.

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Blog Design

Try to make sure you have a header and an icon for your blog, you can set those using the 'blog settings' tab. Even if there's no picture of your character themselves, try to use an image that captures their vibe - this advice is for both the icon and the header tbh. While not having one isn't bad, it will make people less likely to follow back or perhaps even block you! Often iconless/headerless blogs are spam bots and everyone loathes those.

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Meanings of words commonly used by RP accounts:

Mutuals - Your mutuals or 'moots' are those following you that you follow back. Private - This means that the blog only interacts with Mutuals. Selective/semi-selective - Won't roleplay with everyone, they'll rp with people based on their own preference. Thread - A single rp storyline. Verses - Different timelines of characters. Eg. Kidverse, fantasyverse, ect. Mun/Mundane - You! The writer of the blog! Muse/Muses - Character/s you're writing. Faceclaim - The 'actor' of your muse, whether canon or otherwise. Who do you imagine playing them when writing or whose icons would you use for them.

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Tagging

When writing with someone it's a good idea to put their username in the tags at the very least, this allows them to find your threads easier. ie: '#magpiesmemes' would be used by others if they were to write with this blog.

Making tags for individual threads is also useful, meaning you can find specific rps far quicker. They don't have to be fancy but some people do like to make fancy ones. A nice simple one would be 'Thread: Threadname'.

Also having tags for specific verses is a good idea, indicating to your rp partner what timeline they're writing it. Something like '#kidverse' will do the job but you also can make those fancy.

Having a tag for rp memes you've reposted is a good idea also, meaning it's easier to find if someone wants to send you something. '#memes' does the job just fine.

Lastly, if you're a multimuse then having character tags is a good idea, indicating to people what character they're writing with. Something like '#charactername' is fine but again, any tag can be fancied up to your likings.

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Pinned Post

Having a pinned post at the top of your blog has become fairly standard practice in the rp scene these days. Usually this has your important links on it (rules/muse pages) and some explanation of what kind of blog yours is. For example: 'This is a Private, selective blog for charactername from fandom/an oc. Written by mun. [Ruleslink] - [Muselink]' This would work as a simple rudimentary introduction for people checking out your blog. You can pin a post by selecting the three dots in the top right on it after it is posted, ensuring it's the first thing people see when looking at your blog. This is mine, for example but it needn't be so indepth. I just have zero chill. If you're writing on a sideblog then it's best to also have a pinned post on your main account with a link leading to your roleplay account. That way people will know that you're a roleplayer looking to write if you follow them - and also they may follow the link to check out your stuff!

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Making Rules/Muse pages

These are important to indicate to people what you will or won't write, your personal writing preferences, ect. Many people won't rp with people who don't have these as it means they can't be sure of boundaries. People often use a post to do this, linking it in their pinned post to ensure people can find it. [Tutorial on how to link posts here]. That's the simplest way. You can also make a google doc or even make a carrd instead, linking them for people to refer to for this information. Alternatively you can use your pinned post and simply list it there - though there is risk of it cluttering your page if you have many muses. To avoid that, you can use a 'read more' such as the one this post was under. Make a new paragraph and various options come up, you want the one that looks like two straight lines with a squiggly line between them. [This icon].

Things to have on your rule page:

- Things you won't roleplay/triggers. - What is your stance on shipping (do you autoship with people who rp your muses partner or do you prefer chemistry first, ect.) - Writing length preference. Do you prefer short simple threads, paragraphs or more novella style? - Do you use icons? Do you prefer your partner would use/not use icons? Same questions with text formatting. - Tagging requests. Are there things you want to avoid on your dash using xkit's blacklist?

Things to have on your muse/about page:

- Basic description of who your character is, it's best to write it as if you're explaining them to someone who hasn't seen what they're from - even if they're a popular canon character. - If they're an oc with a universe of their own, a basic explanation of that universe would be useful but isn't really necessary if you can't/don't want to. - A picture reference of some kind is also useful, if possible. - A description of the verses you write them in. For example: 'Kidverse - This verse is set when my character is aged whatever and this is a short description of what they're like in that particular verse.'

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Advertising Your Blog

One of the many ways people advertise their blogs is by posting self promos. These are usually edited images with a little blog tagline, links to important pages and a short description of your blog. Here's an example of my own. Including tags of the fandoms you write in/write with is a good way to try and draw attention your way. Alternatively, if you're limited in your image making/editing skills you can make a simple post, perhaps with an icon or gif to draw attention. Explain your blog, what you write, who you're looking to write with, ect. Make sure to include tags so people can see it!

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More To Do?

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Okay, so you've got the basics down, now what? Well, there's a lot you can do to make your blog more functional and/or appealing.

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Thread Tracking

So you've got a roleplay but you're scared you'll forget to reply? I recommend RPThreadTracker. There's a how-to use it on the site faq and it's a lifesaver in keeping track of your threads tbh.

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Icons

Though not necessary, you can find icons to use usually by searching the 'charactername icons' or 'faceclaim icons' right here on tumblr, be sure to follow peoples instructions for using them though. Some people will want a like/reblog for their use.

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Formatting

Many people, like myself, use some form of text formatting when writing. Some of the usual ones are small text, like the one I'm writing in now. That's done either by using 'ctrl+shift+-', 'ctrl+-' or you can use this:

while highlighting text. This tool also allows you to colour your text, italicise, ect. Play around with it in your own time to see what works for you. Some other useful keyboard shortcuts:

'Ctrl+b' - Bolds highlighted selection 'Ctrl+i' - Italicises highlighted selection 'Ctrl+z' - Undo, good for if you've accidentally erased text you didn't mean to erase.

[duine-aiteach]

Dia dhuit agus dia dhaoibh, a dhaoine eile! I have noticed that foghlaimeoirí Gaeilge who send asks to this blog often have trouble with the Irish copula ('is'). I thought I would write up a little explanation in case it helps people! If you prefer not to post this, feel free to ignore (or copy the text out to make your own original post, I don't mind). Here goes:

In Irish, there are two forms of the English word 'to be' (is/are): the verb 'bí' (tá/níl/bhfuil/raibh/beidh), and the copula (is/an?/ní). The question is, when to use which?

The answer: it depends on whether you are talking about a noun (thing), verb (action), or adjective (descriptor).

The copula is only used when you are linking a noun to another noun (or pronoun). ie: Thing = Thing.

Verbs and adjectives use the verb bí (usually the tá form).

Compare these 3 sentences: I am tired, I am running, I am a teacher.

'Tired' is an adjective. We therefore need bí (in its usual form, tá). So our sentence is: "Tá mé tuirseach" ("táim tuirseach" in the standard form).

'Running' is a verb. We need bí here as well: "Tá mé ag rith" (táim ag rith).

'A teacher' is a noun.

Noun = Noun: in this case, we need to use the copula. It becomes: "Is múinteoir mé". Because this is the Thing = Thing structure, you can't use bí (Tá mé múinteoir/tá múinteoir mé are both wrong).

(Remember that when using the copula, the two 'things' in the sentence are usually in the opposite order than in english - 'is múinteoir mé, not 'is mé múinteoir' , even though 'I' comes before 'teacher' in the English sentence.)

You could also use a slightly different structure for emphasis: Múinteoir is ea mé (i AM a teacher!).

It's also worth noting that the copula doesn't like being next to the word 'an' ('the'), so you have to change the structure slightly in that case. Consider 'I am THE teacher' - you'd think it would be 'Is an múinteoir mé', but 'is' and 'an' don't like being together, so it changes slightly: 'Is mise an múinteoir'. (You introduce yourself as 'Is mise Pól' for the same reason!)

More examples of sentences using bí and the copula correctly: Is mise d'athair! Níl tú ag dul go dtí an léithreas. An dochtuir é an fear sin? Bhí mé san ollscoil. Is mac léinn Gaeilge mé.

So there you have it! When to use the copula, and when not.

Are there exceptions? Obviously - is Gaeilge é seo. Here are some:

You can carefully arrange a Thing = Thing sentence to avoid the copula: 'Múinteoir atá ionam' is an example. Use the structure 'Thing + a + [appropriate form of verb bí] + i (the preposition 'in') + other Thing'. The literal meaning could be written something like, 'it is a teacher that is in me'. (ionam = i + mé). This form is nice because bí has more forms than the copula, so it can be easier to express more complex structures. Did you know there is no future form of the copula?* If you want to say 'I Will be a teacher', 'Múinteoir a beidh ionam' is your only option. I am only a teacher - Níl ionam ach múinteoir!

Is maith liom ___, ___ is ainm dom, etc - I personally don't understand why these phrases are constructed the way they are (why not tá?). And that's okay. I simply learn them as 'set phrases' - words that always go together. This doesn't work so well for more basic sentences like my previous examples, because for those, you will be putting new combinations of words together on the fly, so knowing the grammar mechanics really helps. For these set phrases, I just learn them and ná chur ceisteanna faoi!

*technically, the future form of the copula is also 'is' - so ' I will be a teacher' is also translated as 'is múinteoir mé', the same as present tense. Could get confusing!

I hope this was helpful to somebody! I have scanned for typos and mistakes in the Irish, but I am typing up on mobile, so I can't guarantee perfection.

Oíche mhaith agus slán!

Go raibh míle maith agat!

[cthulhubert]

Some more random translation from Japanese thoughts:

Read a few volumes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, or in Japanese, Sousou no Frieren. I love looking up the meanings of words in other languages, seeing how they cut up the world in different ways than English. Japanese is especially interesting because it feels like all the kanji lead to a lot of words that are so specific they feel like jargon. "no Frieren" unambiguously glosses as "Frieren's"; but 葬送? "Attending a funeral procession; seeing off the deceased; burial of someone's remains; observing a burial."

Even if we had a word that meant close to the same thing, not sure a translator would've used it. Really upfronts the bittesweet and gloomy aspects of the series, compared to the title in English, huh?

A friend's playing the latest remaster of Final Fantasy VI, and we were talking about the differences between the Woolsey (SNES) and Slattery (GBA, Pixel) translations. While Woolsey made some great choices (especially in Chrono Trigger), he apparently also made quite a number of unambiguous errors, and Slattery kept most of Woolsey's more famous fun lines.

Here's Mato (professional Japanese localizer, been a fan of his blog for forever) on the differences: Legends of Localization.

But we talked about one change he thought was definitely worse:

Slattery has Kefta spamming every arbitrary negative word in English he can think of, but in the original text, Kefka is saying "Chikushou" over and over until he can only say "chiku" repeatedly; it's clear that he's having a meltdown. Not a time for verbosity.

Chikushou is one of the first ten Japanese curse words I learned, but the explanation of what it meant was so unclear I barely recalled it. "Damn it" is JDIC's first choice gloss, and it's probably a good one because it turns out the etymology is religious (ish: Buddhist), and just like how people say "damn" without actually intending to invoke the righteous wrath of God, a Japanese person just says it because they are annoyed. But it was originally an insult towards a person, saying they have been or deserve to be reborn into the Animal Domain, that is, they are lower than a real human, that they are brutish and ruled only by their desires. (This is right after you smack Kefka one, so you can see why he goes there.)

I ended up thinking about the choice of "esper" for the summoned creatures in VI. It's a great word, and I always thought it was very evocative of some kind of magical creature. Maybe just because I played Final Fantasy VI III at a formative age, or maybe because it sounds like vesper or whisper. It's actually from Extra Sensory Perception. Japanese loves its acronyms so "ESP-er" becomes "esper" becomes anybody with psychic powers. But despite that being common lingo, the magic creatures in FFVI were called 幻獣 ("genju", 'phantom beasts'), as they are in every iteration of the series (except VIII which uses GF).

While I was looking around on the final fantasy wiki, I noticed that the word translated as "magitek" is actually not that at all. It was actually "魔導", "mado". I've been chuuni, so I recognized "魔" ("ma", 'magic') off the bat, though not "導", It was interesting that it looks and sounds so similar to "道"; "do" is path or way, it's the kanji they use for the tao, and you might recognize it from "judo" and "kendo". 導 basically means conduct or guidance.

魔 on its own actually means something more like "evil spirit" than "magic", you add 法 (principles/law/system) to get "mahou", which is a very good match for "witchcraft". And 魔道 is in fact "the path of evil". The main reason I mention it is because like chikushou, it has a connection to Japanese Buddhism, which uses "mado" to refer to a netherworld where evil spirits dwell. 魔導 then is something like "leading (evil) spirits", which is a good fit for what magitek does in the game; though it's also generally used for sorcery and black magic.

[lifenconcepts]

I have been reading your blog from afar for a while now and I don't mean this in a creepy way at all, but the things you post are bizarrely similar to my own experiences. Although not at all similar because as I imagine (like me) you have 1 William Million different incomprehensible facades, so many you become smooth like a sphere. Probably all that is Hidden makes us polar opposites. That is all I have it say.

P.S I also like Russian music

This has been roaming my inbox for a while but I’ve just wanted to keep it there like a pinned message on a bulletin board, and yet, I hope I haven’t made you yearn for when I’ll answer this too much.

But yeah you seem like an eternally fascinating creature, and in all honesty, if I could change my identity on a daily and yet all the while being anonymous, I would. Sadly, being forced into a blog is inherently limiting, so I just try my best anyways to express and explain myself with all the metaphorical and literal explanations of what there is to life. I hope you find interest in my posts, maybe reassurance or help, even intrigue, but never feel afraid to reach out to me. My anons are always open to such lovely individuals such as you.

I agree that on the surface, many seem similar and even identical in some ways, but the fact we have an equal or more amount of things hidden away from others and out of reach of being perceived may just be what allows our brains to pilot desires and motivations. We all have struggled, ideas, goals, perceptions, interests, and thoughts - and sometimes a specific thing can coexist with an infinitely more nuanced thing (think to how some horrible people of the past like Hitler could have still been decent in hobbies like art or to their loved ones) but fear not for the difference as the very same thing that tears us apart also brings us together. We’re different and yet act a certain way to make others more happy in approaching us. It’s like two puppeteers communicating solely through their puppet shows. So much exists beyond, and yet, it just so happens that nobody wants to acknowledge who is behind the dolls on stage. You can sneak a glance, but you’ll not know the identity of the omniscient creature who is playing with an image for you to view. It may just be fine, though. ah, because you must be so interesting. Everyone is so interesting. There’s so much more than masking and hoping for time to wear down on confusion and allow light to peek through. Light is within you, friend.

aha! And I wanted to inquire, what’s your favourite Russian music? I personally love Alexey Vishnya, daitye tank, Bioconstructor, and Molchat Doma. A bit of an un unique taste but I just can’t be bothered with naming all the hundreds of artists I listen to from the soviet era. Anything Russian from the 80s I just adore.

[quickspinner]

No need to answer but I see you never tag mc-lukanette's posts with anything. I already follow them so nbd but for people who follow you but not them I feel like it gives this vibe that you don't really like their content and are just reblogging obligatorily? Usually you reblog posts with stuff like "cute" or "aw" which sounds like not much but it sort of tells people what they're in for. If you've got some kinda beef with them then disregard, just is v noticeable since you tag most other posts.

I actually haven't been tagging a lot of things lately except with the quickroundup tag. I haven't had time lately to read things right away but if I don't reblog immediately I tend to forget, or get confused about which ones I have and haven't reblogged. I sometimes manage to read things from my friends right away, but not usually. Art is easier because I just have to look at it so those usually do get something tagged because I do want people to know they are seen and appreciated. MC asked long ago not to be included in the roundup so those don't get even the roundup tag.

With that said, I have always made a policy to reblog everything Lukanette possible whether I am a fan of it or not and regardless of my personal feelings about the author. From the beginning I have felt that if I wanted others to promote my work, I should start by promoting theirs. If that implies I'm only reblogging out of obligation, well 🤷‍♀️ it's a self-imposed obligation that no one is responsible for but me. I'm not sure I intended to become the Lukanette clearing house but I have the platform and followers now and even if something might not be to my particular arbitrary taste, that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be promoted and find its proper audience. That's my personal philosophy.

I used to try and comment on every AO3 fic as well, hoping to encourage more people to keep writing because I love the ship and I want there to be as much content as possible, and because I like encouraging new writers and I know from personal experience how much a positive comment can help. I haven't been doing that for a while, either - too much Stuff going on in life and in my head that I don't care to talk about here.

To anyone who has felt disappointed that I didn't comment, know that it is not a commentary on your work, just the big fat mess that is life and mental health right now. Please know that even if it was true that I didn't personally click with your story, there are people out there who will love it, and I'm more than happy to help you find them, so release any guilt you feel about being reblogged "unworthily." You are worthy and your work deserves to be seen, and not only shouldn't I be The Arbiter of What Is Good Enough, I have absolutely no desire to be.

If you (general) feel people should only reblog things they absolutely love, and are somehow offended that I choose to include everything, we just have a difference of opinion on how we want to run our blogs. You do your thing, and I'll do mine.

If anyone has any "best of the best" or otherwise curated blogs or lists I am happy to promote them, but I like the way I do things here, and I don't plan to change. I will however continue to honor any requests not to be included in the weekly roundup, so remember if it bugs you to be on their for some reason, any reason, just send me a message and I will comply, no questions asked, no explanation needed.

[palomahasenteredthechat]

I'm bringing this theory here because I feel like, of all of the blogs, you will handle this gracefully.

Joe has seemingly had a very abrupt change in personality. Some of it is the facade public persona. I never believe when a celebrity claims to be a "private" person because, well, they're famous. So him dating a very public figure wasn't this huge deception.

That being said, the shift from the man who appreciated his fans, who spoke about his work like it was an art form, who attended anti-Trump rallies to the current Joe is quite startling. Within the span of two years, Joe became apathetic towards fans, gave a bizarre award acceptance speech in front of very important people, and is now romantically linked to someone with white nationalist beliefs.

I truly feel like there may be some drug abuse at play. This isn't me excusing or shaming him in any form. Addiction is a serious illness that isn't to be taken lightly. It also changes people, and not for the better.

I'm sure he was socially using before his big break, but money and fame bring more access. Joe's use may now extend beyond his friends' normal party-boy use. He was traveling everywhere with his childhood friends; now those friends haven't been seen with him in ages.

Maybe I'm just really hoping that he truly isn't as awful as he appears to be right now. And I'm not definitively saying that he's an addict or drug abuser. But it could explain him becoming, as you put it, a "pod person."

Ugh. It's so tricky with this. All of this conversation has to be taken with a grain of salt, because we don't know him, and we're thousands of miles away. But it's especially true when topics like this get brought up. People want to run with any salacious theory they find, and drug use is always a go to. Plus all the stigma and shame around addiction makes it so hard for people to admit when they need help.

It could be an explanation. Could. Could not. We don't know anything.

But I want to be very clear this is a theory, and nothing more. This is not definitive. I've created a space for open dialogue, and it's one theory around many.

Anyone who has struggled with this, there is no shame. And anyone who has a loved one who has gone through this, my heart goes out to you. It's a tough road.

No one is pushing a narrative here.