#I don't actually expect anyone to read this

[hillbillyoracle]

This post got me thinking. Like really churning. I just started working through Momento Mori by Joanna Ebenstein and this post kicked up some realizations for me.

Most of my major experiences with death happened before the age of like 25. Some were the ones you "expect" like grandparents and others were friends in my scene who either OD'd or straight up disappeared. My more recent experiences were supporting my partner through 3 deaths in the family in 3 months - one a cousin that was a few years younger than her that accidentally OD's leaving behind her children. Another was the grandmother who was her rock growing up in a chaotic household and who steadfastly included me at family gatherings when my partner's mom and sister would ice me out. All passed suddenly.

I think the only thing that is universally true about grief is that everyone goes through it differently.

Because so much of what these replies held up as "this is what you say" and "this is what you do" - I fucking hate that stuff (even though I admit I default to it) as much as or more than so many people here hate the religious comments (which I usually don't tend to mind personally).

To me:

"I'm sorry for your loss" = "I am having the correct feeling about this."

"I can't imagine what you're going through" = "I can't relate to you and I'm putting distance between us to feel better about it."

"How are you doing?" = "Share something vulnerable with me so I feel like I helped you."

And you could say I'm hearing that wrong, and I get that I likely am, but that's what those words mean to me. And when I'm grieving I've learned I can't really access that part of my brain that better attunes me the "proper responses".

I also do not want someone to feel angry with, I do not want my anger fed at all. I want help dissolving it because if I don't it'll fully consume me and that's even worse than the grief for me, to have all the good in me burnt up while I'm still alive because that's my personal experience of anger.

Which is all just to say, it has nothing to do with religiosity in my experience - there's simply no "correct" response you can rely on for all people. In words or in deed.

And that is what makes experiencing grief so hard - everyone gives you what they got and often it's a reflection of their own stunted relationship with death, yes even the atheists, and it often sucks.

And trying to comfort someone in grief sucks - how do you use words and actions to reach them when communication of any kind is so highly individual and this individual might not be able to tell you what they need and want to hear/have done?

If you go "no actually they're using the wrong words/actions, these are the correct ones", you wind up doing the very same things as the people who've pissed you off.

Or at least, that's what I found when I dug into it.

I try to be forgiving when I'm grieving but I fall short. I don't expect someone grieving to be forgiving if I miss the mark, but I appreciate it immensely when they're able.

My favorite things to hear when I'm grieving are ones I know some other people hate:

"I miss them so much."

"Remember when they..."

"I thought about them today."

"I wonder what they'd say about..."

"They would have loved this."

"I had a dream about them."

Releasing the idea that there was a correct thing people could say to me and I would feel a little better (or ensure I wouldn't feel worse) let me grieve how I needed to grieve. It let me support in ways I could better sustain over the long term (because boy howdy if grief isn't long term).

Anywho, a heartfelt hug and virtual cup of tea to anyone else reading this and going through it. On other side. Solidarity friends.

it's been a year so i feel more comfortable talking about it..

when you're atheist and you lose someone, religious people don't really know how to interact with you. it's fine, we have different worldviews.

'He's in a better place, now.'

Sorry auntie, but I don't believe that. I believe that his brain stopped working at 5h55pm on december 11th 2022, and that's it. Nothing after that.

It makes grief very difficult, because not believing in god or the afterlife also means accepting that you will never, ever see that person again. That's it. The end. Nada mas.

But, back to the aunties and other faceless people gravitating in the grey blurry waters of your awareness.

They tell you 'He's with god now' and you tell them 'Yeah I don't believe that' and.

they. get. annoyed.

Here I am, gutted open, the worst day of my life, barely holding myself together, and they! Get annoyed that I won't smile and entertain their point of view!

Another faceless person tried to heal me with cristals. She also got annoyed when I told her I didn't believe in that.

I usually don't really mind religious people. It's fine, we have different worldviews. I think I'm right but so do they. As long as they're good people, I don't judge them for their faith.

I'll even be grateful for them trying to console me. I get that you're trying to give me strength and love. Thank you.

But I'm going to be true to myself, yes even when I'm mad with shock and grief. And I still can't believe they got annoyed that I didn't play along to placate them, on the worst day of my life.

(I wanted to share because I've never heard anyone talk about atheism and grief, and the loneliness that comes out of it.)

[c4tluver02]

passing notes

wc: 1k

summary: Stevie passing notes, not letting you learn. What's new?

warnings: none!

a/n: i saw this pic on Pinterest and idk it felt so steve i had to write a quick something about it!!

The only good part about school was that you had one class with Steve. Besides seeing him in the morning, at lunch, and after school of course. But seeinging him for 10 minutes in passing never beat the whole hour with him. Being able to gossip about the students or the teacher was one of his favorite pastimes with you. Always quick to lock in on a conversation and report it back to you. 

Lunch had come and gone, Steve told you about some guy on the basketball team cheating on his girlfriend and you told him how the librarian tripped and fell in front of everyone. You had won.  There were only two more classes left, one being your class with Steve and then the very last one. Then freedom!

You and Steve walked into the classroom hand in hand, he said hi to one of his friends and you sat down. Unfortunately the seating chart did not allow for you and him to sit next to each other but with two other students keeping you apart. There was a soft chatter that filled the room and Steve made sure to get his extra few seconds with you before the teacher started class. 

“I think you and I should go see the new movie that just came out.” He says while grabbing onto your hands "Y'know the one with the clown?” He's being extra sweet cause he knows you don't necessarily love horror movies. 

Before you could try to find a way to get out of it the teacher stood up and cleared his throat. Telling the class about the chapters he expects to be done by the end of class.

Once the instructions are given out the classroom turns quiet, the teacher busy typing something away on the laptop as the students read. It was a boring book that had you zoning out every other page but chapters 1-6 were supposed to be read during class. Guessing the teacher knew no one was actually gonna be taking time to read it at home. A stupid rule because what were you even doing in school if all you are doing is reading a book? 

A quiet huff comes out while you try to re-focus on the words that were printed onto the page. All of the information going through one ear and out the other. When a gentle tap on your back takes your attention you notice that the girl who sits behind you has a note. She’s smiling and nods her head to the back of the class where Steve is looking out the window tapping his fingers on the desk pretending he didn’t do anything. 

It’s a yellow sticky note that the teacher had given him right before class started since Steve complained about losing his spot in the book. You know now it wasn't for his book but for you.  Anyone who he passed the note to could have easily read it if they cared even a little.  

“Sweetheart, beautiful, gorgeous, baby, I love ya! S.H.” It’s written in Steve's messy handwriting. You and Steve had only started saying ‘I love you’ since Friday. It now being Monday it's only sat with you for a little. Still fresh and raw. 

A red flush spreads easily across your cheeks as you quickly look to see if the teachers’ paying any attention to you. When you realize he's not you grab a piece of paper from your notebook and gently rip it out. Writing a quick note about how you love him back and you will go to the movies with him if you can stay over after. You don't sign it because why was he signing it in the first place? Weirdo, you think with no actual bite. Folding it up you pass it back towards him. 

Now this time you are the one pretending to tap your nails on the desk, patiently waiting for him to read it. You're aware that the two kids sitting between you both have to deal with this childish behavior but thankfully they haven't said they are bothered by it. The guy in front of Steve is in another class with him and the girl behind you is super nice. You wish you talked to her more. 

Seeing the motion of Steve passing a note to the guy in front of him you lift your head and gear up to grab it from the girl behind you. 

The guilt of making them pass it for you and the stress that your teacher might finally catch on makes you feel like this game should end somewhat soon. Despite this feeling you still open the note.

“You know you can come over anytime. And don’t forget I'm driving us home. Love youuu. S.H” The use of the notebook paper allowing him to write more. You wouldn't forget him driving you; he does it almost everyday. But the way he says the word home as if it’s yours together makes a grin spread across your face, making you slightly forget where you are. 

Before you could write something back your teacher gets up and asks the class about the chapters. The moment is over, your attention now on the information being given and you realize that you might actually have to read these chapters at home if you wanna get anything done. 

By the end of the day Steve meets you by your locker and you go to his house together. His hand is on your thigh the whole ride as he talks about how excited he is for the movie and how dreadfully boring the book you're forced to read is. Always one for dramatics but he manages to get a laugh out of you every time.

[limarkova]

Experimental Obsession

Part 11

Prev

Everyone was waiting anxiously in Jason's apartment for word on how (Name) was doing. Steph knew the PTSD was going to be bad from the little she learned. But total disassociation over the mere thought of the experiments. It was worse than anything they could have expected, especially since she was so much younger than Steph first thought.

Yes, she had heard stories and had seen (Name) in passing. That didn't change her mental perception of the girl. The stories made her sound older. At passing glance at what she was doing, taking notes and doing science experiments or lectures. Those were older kid activities, not seven- or eight-year-old activities. To think that no one was looking out for at the age. It made Steph feel guilty for not noticing. Why had she been so nervous? Cause she was previously a Robin and a Batgirl.

Shaking her head, Steph forced herself to continue reviewing the files. Well Barbara had decoded and read one of the files, there were dozens. So, they decided to start reviewing them while they waited. She sat reading through boring medical terminology she barely caught on to and horrifying descriptions of violence. (Name) was really just eight to nine going through this.

Steph paused as she began a new file. This one was dated two days before the escape. Her mind flashed back to her interrogation of Matthew Jenkins. If her math was right this would be the test that made Henry Duncan tap out. The one that made her chest look like a deflate balloon. Steph began to read the report when Tim spoke up.

"I have something."

"So, do I. I think." Steph held up her tablet gesturing to it, "You go first Tim. I still have to read through this."

"Okay so it would appear we've all misunderstood (Name)'s meta-abilities." Tim placed his tablet on the coffee table for anyone who wanted to look at it, "She's not a super healer. She produces a chemical in her blood stream that causes the effects of miraculous healing and potentially immortality."

"What? That should be impossible, there's no chemical capable of that. Even the Lazarus Pit has a limit" Damian snapped, setting his tablet aside.

"You're right it's technically not a chemical." Tim shrugged before looking towards the door to Jason's bedroom. (Name) and Jason were in there, as Jason attempted to calm her down. "It's a liquid metal, but it's still in her blood stream."

"You don't mean..." Dick started looking up from his tablet. Tim nodded causing Dick to swear, "Dionesium. What are the chances The Court of Owls is involved."

"It's unclear right now but we may need to explore that angle. Though the Court probably would have used Electrum. She, however, produces pure Dionesium in her bloodstream. Not Electrum." Tim looked down at his tablet again as Bruce picked it up. "At least that's my theory currently. They wrote it down as Concentrated Lazarus Pit Water they had found in a cave system somewhere beneath Gotham."

"I thought I destroyed the lake of Dionesium under Gotham after the Joker Virus incident?" Bruce looked up from the file. He gave Tim a quizzical look.

"Either it wasn't completely destroyed, or there's another one." Tim shrugged again, "Whatever the case they don't know what they found. That or I'm completely off base and were missing a file of how they treated actually Lazarus Pit Water to 'concentrate' it. However, they still got the Chemical they injected her with from a cave in Gotham. We're going to have to find that."

Bruce sighed, rubbing his temple. Steph focused back on her file and began to skim it for details, "On a different note. I found the log for the final experiment they perform before (Name) escape. The one that made Henry Duncan storm off."

"Really? What did they do?" Barbara asked. Throughout this whole ordeal everyone had shared horrifying revelations of what the experiments had done. Drowning, Burning, Shooting, Stabbing, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Duke even found a file where it shows she no longer displayed any brain activity when hurt. All that to lead up to the final experiment in Steph's hands.

Steph began to read through the file. She paused in confusion reading through the beginning, "Well they started by sedating her and preparing her for surgery?"

"Surgery?" Cass asked looking towards the tablet in Steph's hands.

"Yeah. Apparently, the anesthesia didn't work properly so she was conscious throughout the whole ordeal." Steph continued to read through the file. Every word felt like falling further and further down a ravine with no clue where the end was. She could feel the color draining from her face as pieces started to click into place. Pressing on her chest, deflated balloon, something growing. No not growing, re-growing. Steph's voice was barely above a whisper, "Oh dear god."

She was ten. She was child and they did that to her, all well she was awake. Steph felt like she going to be sick. "Oh, dear god, she was awake through that. Shit she probably remembers it too."

Steph felt like vomiting. That are running into the room with (Name) and Jason to hug the girl.

"Stephanie!" Dick grabbed ahold of her. It shocked her enough to drop the tablet. It slid across the floor landing by the coffee table. "What did they do?"

"We've been looking for our suscepts in the wrong place. They're not Meta Traffickers." Steph looked towards where (Name) was. She was ten and they didn't even know she was in trouble. "They're Organ Traffickers, who just made an endless supply."

Dick let go of Steph. He blinked a few times before glancing at the door. Everyone looked towards the door. The room had gone deathly silent as pieces began to slide into place. It was Bruce who spoke first, "We change plans. Now."

Steph looked towards him to see a dark look she had never seen on Bruce's face before. Soon it was as if dark steel had crossed everyone's face. They would not let (Name) down again.

When you started to come back to reality, you could feel someone holding you and humming. It was a familiar tune; one you remember in blur dreams about the past. A goofy little song about axolotls and penguins. The person singing seemed to remember the lyric more clearly than you. Slowly you began to join in the silly song, holding just the melody without the words.

A blanket had been wrapped around you and someone's arm pressed you against their chest. The humming mixed with the steady beating of their heart acting like a lifeline to the present. There was a shout in the next room that had you jerking up. The person allowed you to move but was soon hushing you back towards their chest. It was so gentle you simply allowed the motion to happen.

"How you feeling, angel?" You looked up to see that you were wrapped in Jason's arms. Blinking up at him, you shook your head before leaning back down to listen to his heartbeat. He took a deep breath. Soon he was slowly stroking your head. You hummed before burying your face in his chest.

This was okay. You could pretend you were safe for right now. Just like the blurred memories of when you were a toddler. Leaning into Jason's arms after your reoccurring nightmare. He had changed physically since them. Taller, buffer, but the comfort factor remained the same. "Do you want me to tell you a story, like old times?"

"I don't remember those times very well." You murmured gripping onto his shirt. "I know you taught me to read."

"Yeah, I did." Jason mumbled. You didn't look up at his face, but you could tell he was sad. There was something haunted in his voice, "Your favorite storybook wasn't even a story. It was a meet the planets picture book."

"Each of the planets had a different voice." The laugh that bubbled out of you was small. A hazy memory of Jason as a teenager with voice cracks reading in different voices danced in your head.

Jason laughed too, "Later when we played you insisted on being a space exploring scientist princess and I was your space pilot knight."

"Why did we stop playing?" The atmosphere shifted but didn't entirely break. Jason shifted the blanket, so you were wrapped up just a little tighter.

Once satisfied he asked one question. "How about a story okay?" You nodded and Jason began.

"Once upon a time in a kingdom not too far away lived a family of brave knights. Each one was skilled trained personally by the King, a skilled knight in his own right. One day a Princess was born and the King assigned one of his closest knights to protect the young girl. This made the two grow very close, acting as brother and sister despite having no blood ties.

When the Princess was two, a threat arose. A Clown Prince threatened the kingdom and more specifically the Knight's mother. The Knight having believed his mother was dead, rushed to her aid, ignoring the King's warnings. He ended up being captured by the Clown Prince. Before the King could rescue him, the Knight was killed.

Yet it the story didn't end there. Two years later a skilled Necromancer and his daughter found the body of the Knight. Together the two raised him from the dead but when he came back, he was no longer a knight. His body no longer felt right, and he quickly discovered he had been made into a monster. The Necromancer had showed him the kingdom. The now reborn Monster had been replaced by someone else as the King's Closest Knight and Princess once adore was left alone with no one. The Monster couldn't tell if she was left alone for asking questions or for not accepting the new knight.

In a fit of rage, the Monster attacked the King and his Knights. The fighting lasted months before finally the Monster's rage subsided. In those battles however the Monster did many horrible things, still the family accepted him. Even with the acceptance the Monster was scared to approach the Princess. If couldn't bring himself to accept the possibility of accidently hurting her. So, he stayed away for years, watching from the shadows as she grew to be a brilliant and kind scholar. When he finally had the courage to explain to her what had happened all those years ago..."

Jason's voice caught in his throat as he tried to finish the story. You had pressed your face against his chest. Softly you whispered, "She disappeared."

"(Name)." Jason took a deep breath. "I know that you probably want revenge or to make sure what happened to you doesn't happen to anyone else."

Your breath caught in your chest when Jason said those words. Fear that he knew what you were planning shot through you. He continued, "But please promise me you won't become a vigilant. I swear I'll get your revenge for you and make sure whatever happen to you doesn't happen again. Just please don't become one of us."

You took a deep breath to calm your nerves. One of your hands was under the blanket where he couldn't see it. You crossed your fingers slowly, "I promise."

The laboratory was quiet. Everyone involved had gone home for the day with the procedures completed. Isabella walked down the faux-hospital halls towards the office where her father worked. With Subject Origin lose somewhere in Gotham, the plan had changed. Subjects Alpha through Hotel were no longer allowed to leave during their recover phase. Just in case Batman got involved, he couldn't follow the subjects to the new location.

She knocked on the door to her father's office before slipping inside. The older man was sitting at his desk scribbling away on his journal. Isabella glared at the book, at least the notes in there were no longer about her. "All surgeries have been completed. We're monitoring the recipients now for any signs of rejection."

Her father hummed. There was long pause in which the only sounds that could be heard was the scratching of her father's pen. Finally, he sent the pen down looked at her, "Isabella what are the two results we are expecting?"

"Either all the recipient's bodies will accept the new organ, or they will all rejected." Isabella looked towards the ground. She intentionally didn't learn any of the kid's names. It made things easier for her; they were letters not children.

"Do you know why those are the two results?"

"No, I don't."

"Because" Her father stood walking towards the framed letter that revoked his medical license. Isabella didn't understand why he framed that of all things. "The experiments changed (Name)'s organs so they longer match any humans. She is a being that is truly unique now."

"Whose (Name)?" Isabella tilted her head to the side.

"Subject Origin, of course. Her name is (Name) Wayne." Isabella tried not to throw up. Wayne. Her mind flashed back to high school, to one of her friends that ended up dropping out to run Wayne Enterprises. It was easier to not know the names of her father's victims, because it made so she didn't know which of her friends was being reflected back to her.

Isabella began to silently pray Tim would never know what her father had done.

Prev

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[kyntypes]

Gentle and friendly reminder that not every label is catered to specifically you, and you/your experiences only.

Heavy /not being rude/ for the title.

It may be a hard pill to swallow, but some labels are meant to include certain demographics you want to stay away from, or dislike, and that is okay. Some labels are going to cater to a widespread of demographics that you may not even like, or care to interact with that side of it. Another reminder that many labels are umbrella terms for specific, different, experiences, even if it's not explicitly stated. No two beings will be identical in every way. The beauty in this community, is that things can change. Things are fluid. Identity is fluid. Biology and physicality is fluid. It isn't always static.

"Physical nonhuman" means many, many things for many different nonhumans. Some physical nonhumans are only physically nonhuman, but mentally human. Some physical nonhumans aren't fully nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans are fully nonhuman in absolutely every way. Some physical nonhumans weren't always nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans have traits that others consider nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans are physically nonhuman to cope. Some physical nonhumans experience delusions that allow for them to be physically nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans are physically nonhuman due to transitioning. Some physical nonhumans are born physically nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans can shift between human and nonhuman. Some physical nonhumans are nonhuman in a non-literal sense, and reclaim their body as physically nonhuman.

Physical nonhuman does NOT just mean the last sentence. It isn't always metaphorical for some folks. For some creatures, it's absolutely literal, and is to be treated as such. If you experience physical nonhuman in a non-literal sense, I think that's actually really cool, and I recognize you as physically nonhuman, regardless! However, it is not an excuse to push out those who literally are physically nonhuman. Sanism doesn't fix anything. It doesn't make you look any better.

"Yeah, I identify as physically nonhuman, but I don't literally think I am. That's when it's clinical zoanthropy."

"I'm a holothere, and all holotheres know they are biologically human."

"I'm physically nonhuman, but I think we shouldn't enable delusions by calling clinical zoanthropes and other delusional folks in the community nonhuman. They aren't actually nonhuman if they have a delusion."

"P-shifters don't count under the label physical nonhumans because p-shifting isn't real."

"Most physical nonhumans actually know they're human. They just physically identify as nonhuman non-literally."

"Physical nonhumans don't experience delusions regarding their physicality."

^ Examples of what it can look like to throw out a good portion physical nonhumans from their own community. Communities made for them. Forcefully assigning labels onto folks who are only presenting as themselves is very weird, in my opinion. Don't come into communities expecting them to cater specifically to you, and then pushing away existing community members for the sake of "reclaiming" a label to look more "sane".

Making blanket statements like these do more harm than good. There's a reason why physical nonhumans, especially on this site, are getting angrier and louder about the tireless disrespect, even indirect disrespect. It's disrespectful to come into a community, choose to learn absolutely nothing about said community, and then proceed to push out anyone you think doesn't fit your narrative of what physical nonhumanity should look like. It's disgusting.

Holothere, especially on Reddit, began losing its meaning because self-proclaimed holotheres would use the label, and then go on to claim that biological nonhumans aren't actually included. Girl, are you the coiner of the term? Did the coiner tell you that? Did you even read the Carrd? The Carrd that's literally on the front page, and one of the top search results on Google when you simply type in "holothere"? Did you? Did you look into the community and read and take time to digest our experiences, and accept that every holothere is different? Words cannot describe how *frustrating* it was to see a Reddit post that discussed the term, only for other holotheres to kick ME, a holothere, out of my own community. The term was literally made for me in mind, too? Like wtaf.

Again, there is NOTHING WRONG with being figuratively physically nonhuman. I can see why someone would do this for various reasons, and I think you guys count. This isn't directly JUST concerning these nonhumans who identify that way, but this is definitely directed towards nonhumans who decide to push each other out for the sake of sanism, and as a result of ableism. Let's face it, denying a delusional individual's right to autonomy of the usage of a label, or usage of something that makes them comfortable in their delusions is ableism. Pushing out delusional folks because they are experiencing something you consider not real is ableism.

Absolutely nobody is forcing you to interact with delusional nonhumans. If you decide not to, that's cool, but don't erase them because you don't like what they have to say. Don't erase physical shifters and automatically discredit them just because you don't believe in physical shifting. Don't armchair diagnose and mislabel literal physical nonhumans just because you don't think it's possible outside of a metaphorical/figurative experience. That's where the issue lies. It isn't about how you experience your identity, but folks with this type of physical identity do tend to be very exclusive and close-minded when it comes to physical nonhumanity. It very well seems to be in a way to make themselves look better. It's easier for most non-physical nonhumans to digest in most spaces.

Please, for the love of everything, DO NOT try to push someone out of a community that is literally meant with them in mind, simply because they seem "weird", "too intense", "delusional", or "scary". We wouldn't be so scary if you would listen, and kill the idea that we need to latch onto the idea of "being normal" in order for us to be taken seriously.

[sims2horror]

You are devaluing our work. Many businesses run on knowledge, but true value lies in how you apply it. There’s a world of difference between knowing a "'plan"' and actually executing it. Very few can dedicate this much time to creating free content.

More importantly: Stop comparing my work with other free/paid creators who design clothes and items without understanding the core challenges.

The evolution of any craft isn't just about fundamental knowledge. More often, it's about personal experience - or a team's collective wisdom - combined with the time and resources one is willing to invest in exchange for quality. Knowing the recipe doesn't always mean you'll cook something delicious.

If you expect content at Linda's level, you need to understand this quality of work can't be free.

This isn't about knowledge - it's about hours of work and execution. For example, converting something low-poly is child's play (just 15-20 minutes!). But when you start working with items containing 20,000 to 60,000 or more polygons - that's a completely different story.

Many have latched onto LUXE content - why? Everyone wants SL conversions, but to do this properly requires knowing how to obtain the right meshes and often paying the original creator $10-30. Then comes reducing polycounts (which often exceed 300,000 polys or more). And very few people - even those who understand the theory or some techniques - will seriously undertake this kind of work for free?

I read about your "compressor" - it's a "drop in the ocean". Don't make me laugh.

This doesn’t exempt us from manual polycount reduction. We meticulously separate garment sections into groups, optimize texture sets (never exceeding 1024x1024), and often refine textures ourselves to ensure flawless appearance. Countless hours are spent in MTK and Milkshape performing these painstaking adjustments.

Items frequently require multiple iterations before release. Why? Because you can’t just publish subpar content and expect mountains of cash (as some imagine). We craft conscientiously—for ourselves, for our community, and for the integrity of our work. So let's not pretend some magical 'compressor' does all the work - it's just one tiny drop in the ocean of effort we put into creating quality content. You sit there with your smug looks acting like we're the fools...

p.s: Be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when downloading content from third-party sources. Anyone can start by sharing 'safe content' to gain your trust, then quietly turn it into a 'weapon of mass destruction' that corrupts your game...

Distribution of Paid Custom Content Is Harmful

Speaking about the eternal topic of paid access, I’d like to share my opinion (even though no one asked for it).

I want to note right away that I’m talking about permanently paid content — I have no complaints about early access.

I saw that a certain person wrote that hoping to get custom content from certain paid authors for free is impudence, because they put a lot of effort and time into creating it.

That sounds fair, but do free creators put in less effort? Let’s say this is a debatable issue. There can also be long discussions about what counts as high-quality content.

But I want to draw attention to something else: these creators do not exist in a vacuum. They didn’t gain their knowledge on their own. Everything we and they know about modding in The Sims 2 is the result of intellectual — and not only intellectual — work done by many people.

I also see that paid creators tend to form closed, elitist groups and do not share their experience with the rest of the community, even though they benefit from its collective knowledge.

For example, would these paid creators be able to make their content without SimPE? This software is distributed for free. Or didn’t they learn from tons of tutorials published absolutely for free?

Programs, plugins, resources — all of this helps our community thrive around an old game abandoned by its developers (don’t tell me about Legacy).

It’s the players who openly share knowledge about their favorite game who prevent it from being forgotten and keep reviving interest in it again and again.

Let’s imagine all custom content for The Sims 2 were distributed for a fee. This would cool interest in the game — not only because obviously not every player could afford to buy everything. It would also make content creation less sustainable: access to resources would be more difficult, and competition in the creator market would split the income so much that it would become negligible.

This is why I believe that custom content locked behind permanent paywalls is harmful to our community.

[satocidal]

im so used to writing gojo ive forgotten how to erite for the other men LMAO

anyways now i want your thoughts on how the jjk men would console the reader if she got rejected

me when any character besides satosugu. it's crazy, my entire masterlist is just them with sprinkles of other characters. like i'm actually very scared of writing anyone else now (and have a superiority complex that i just KNOW them)

but onto this, yes. (these are with assumptions that jjk men and you guys are platonic) don't come @ for toji or nanami👹

I like to think Satoru would unironically throw you a pity party, don't get me wrong, it has everything you Love, expect ofc the person you wanted - and this fact, Satoru reminds you all night through his lame ass jokes. He fully believes in exposure therapy and so, the rejection gets brought up in jokes, at your expense, all night. Somewhere in the night your phone would also get stolen and he would read all the texts between you two, talking about how that didn't age well at all. But he makes up for it, he truly does - when he holds you so tight next to him, reminding just how much better you could do - you do deserve, and just full on bashing them. Makes use of his money to remind you that finer things in life do exist. And uh, duh, binge watching love island because, ofc.

I do believe that Toji would have the worst 'first' response to it - a little, "so?" dropping out of his mouth, or worse, "who didn't see that coming?" and it just makes you feel worse. But but but, he is quite the charmer and he senses it all too quick - so there he is beside you, acting all cool and non-chalant and ready to bestow his wisdom on you, he'll just settle beside you, offering something to drink - his holy grail for tough nights, and mutters a little "it's okay - if it ain't meant to be, it ain't meant to be." Actually very calm about the situation, in facts, for a minute too long, he'll even validate your stupid responses (not for too long, because he can only take so much). However if you need a hug, or a shoulder to cry upon? he's holding you so tight, offering the best quiet night you could want - and reassuring you that things will get better and you always are going to meet someone who'll be it✨for you. lol i can't see him not getting sappy when he comforts you so

A pursed line, a shake of his head and a long sigh punctuate the silence Nanami offers you, the moment you tell him the fact, bro is not amused. To say the least, Nanami was invested - from the very beginning when you had started questioning, stalking that person to slowly eating nanami's brain off about them, he'd been invested - so now he can only offer a sorry smile as he holds you, even he didn't see this coming. Like everytime else, he allows you to ramble, listening wholeheartedly - wincing and grumbling about how the rejection could have been avoided, grimacing that, that person reacted immaturely, staring onto his palm wondering where he went wrong to even allow you to like a person who would act this way. And after all of it, he opens his finest wine because what other ocassion if not for your grief - and then, he starts talking smack. and shit talk he does good, bringing down that person's everything - fashion taste, financial status, past relations - anything and everything, a true hater, such that you end up wondering if nanami was the one who got rejected.

The tea is boiling on the stove - for either case, Suguru had sent you with so many affirmations, it almost felt disappointing to tell him you got rejected. the clench of his jaw is so obvious - but he just smiles, smn in attempt to reassure you further, a little "i see," slips him as he leads you to the couch. You see he can't take it, not the frown you have as you recount the story (he's making mental notes of everything), not the little catching of your words when your throat gets all weird, so on the verge, not when he sees you blinking back the tears. Suguru is a hater, second to only nanami and that is because nanami doesn't pause on the hate track - suguru waits, suguru works his way to heal you first. so many reassurances whispered in your ears as he holds you, already making to-do plans to cheer you up, the hand on remote to browse through the movies you love to watch, other hand recahing to block that person BUT also, silently slipping in the worst responses in your head. telling you how that person never deserved you, how you must be going through smn he didn't notice because how could you like that? there's absolute disgust in his voice - and you know that disgust finally shines when he begins catfishing that person through some account just to get back on them, for you <3

[flossylove]

Ahhh okay back again! I realise I literally have not been keeping up to date with my spam messages, but who cares, only I'm reading these to myself lolol.

So. THE CLIPS TONIGHT!!

OMG where do I even start? So I was working during the day, so thankfully time flew by for me - I actually couldn't imagine having to wait around all day, I would've gone crazy! I was so looking forward to tonight, because I'll be honest - this remake is definitely my favourite! Maybe it's because it's my first one I'm ever watching in real time, but I genuinely feel it's more than that. They've made so many positive changes (like, in my opinion making Roko less toxic than William first was), and the cast is just so incredible in bringing the characters to life!

Nora and Roko are so easily my favourite Noorhelm remake by far! Their chemistry just feels so real and authentic (and yes I understand that authenticity and reality is literally the core of SKAM, but some remakes just weren't able to achieve that, in my opinion, but these guys have!) Maybe, also, I just find them to be one of the most beautiful Noorhelm remakes too - sue a girl!!

Okay, back to the actual clips! Firstly, I'll be completely honest, when we got the 22:05 clip with Maša, and she was talking about someone not calling for 3 days.....I genuinely thought it was about a girlfriend! Turns out, nope! Just her mum! But still, I believe in queer Maša being canon. It just works, u know? Also, Nora being such a sweetheart in that clip? Ugh love love love her. My heart literally hurt to see Maša crying, like, please no, I already love her so much. Already I feel she's spoken more words than Linn ever did!

Now onto the 13 MINUTE CLIP!! OMGGGG! Like, I already knew/was hoping it'd be a long clip like in the OG. But, once again, SRAM just outdid itself! I really do love how many one shot scenes there are. Like, I don't think I've seen anyone else talk about that? IDK, maybe some people have and I just haven't been seeing it at all hahahaha. But I noticed it so much in Season 1, and I'm really glad they're keeping it within the filming style! It really adds character to SRAM being it's own thing as well. I feel there's too much to even talk about with that clip but ahhh - Eva and Nix? Hello?? Love them! Nix picking Nora up? And that comment about expecting her way earlier (just goes to show that SRAM is making an effort to actually build Nix and Roko's friendship. Like, in the OG, I swear sometimes William just wouldn't tell Chris anything, like, IDK, to me that never made sense! But in SRAM, we know Roko actually talks to Nix about Nora - which, ugh, I love, such a loverboy!).

I feel like they kinda brushed over Vanessa this clip? Like, she was there in the photos, with both Eva and Tina, and I think Nix too? So like, did she leave with Tina? I guess it makes sense, cos they live in the same neighbourhood, but the fact none of the girls even mentioned her was just....iffy Idk. Nothing too deep, just something I noticed.

Ahh, one thing I just remembered! Right at the start, when Eva introduces that guy to Nora, and says about it being funny if he was called Adam instead. I loved that little throwback to the OG. I don't know if anyone else figured that, but I immediately was like OMG! In OG SKAM, when Eva has the date (the one that happened last Friday, or at least was supposed to? before it fell through? The one Nora lied about being busy for!) it's with a guy called Adam, and Vilde makes the funny joke about them being Adam and Eva. At least, I think that's correct and I'm not going crazy...

Either way, onto the important stuff - Roko and Nora!! I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. Their banter, their chemistry, the way they bounce off each other so naturally and get the same jokes, just really makes them so enjoyable! Like, yes OG will always have a place in my heart, but, like, sometimes, it felt as though William had no personality. No laughs, No jokes. No smiles. And I get it! The whole 'broody, but only smiley for the right girl' vibe he had going did work! But, like, we're 10 years into the SKAM remakes now, and I'm just really glad they made this change and gave Roko a solid character build-up. I hope I'm making sense hahahaha

I didn't even notice, cos I was too entranced by Nora's singing, but he actually joined in at one part? Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but he does do a little something, before he then starts playing on the synth? keyboard? idk. And he sounded good! I really hope there's a chance for us to see more of that in the future. Some people reckon that instead of it being an essay/article that William helped with, it'll be a song, or a musical project - and I'd really love to see that be true! Also, just a side bar, in the OG, I feel like, once again, with us getting minimal characterisation of William, the guitar was a little random. Like, it was just never mentioned again? I'm pretty sure? It's been a while since I did a Season 2 rewatch, but I just remember always thinking how that felt like it came out of nowhere, and then was never mentioned again? Hahaha. Whereas, like, Roko being into music, being a DJ, has been a key point in this storyline so far.

So, we've mostly covered the clip but still, I just wanna touch on how easily Roko was able to pick up Nora's slight discomfort about singing in front of him (for real, rather than just messing about) and he so quickly just backed away so she was comfortable. Like, that man is for one woman, and one woman only, and her name's Nora. Like, he is so down bad for her!! Which, ugh, as a single girl who's never dated, it's so refreshing, in the big year 2025, to see a representation of a guy not being afraid to have a crush? And yes, I know, like, he's still a teen boy, he still has flaws, and unfortunately his character is fictional, but still, I am loving getting to see him smile at her softly, and take her beauty in and just quietly appreciate her.

Can u tell I love them so much??

Okay, now finally onto the last clip of the episode!! SRAM finally broke their Saturday no clip rule! I don't even think it was/is a rule, they just never seemed to post on Saturdays. Like, at all. Although, saying this....maybe they did in Season 1? And I'm just being silly? IDK, it's too late for me right now and I should be sleeping but I needed to get these thoughts out!

Anyways, we got the clip!! I was so scared we weren't going to get anything following the end of the 13 minute clip, but I kept adding the clips together and was like... 'we should still have 3 minutes left of the episode???' so I wasn't giving up all faith on the sleepover clip!! And I'm glad I didn't!! Once again, I loved - but are we surrpised?? No, not really hahahah

I'm just really loving the way SRAM is putting this storyline together. Like, yes, do I wish I saw what happened in those two-ish hours between the clips? Hell yes. But, I also love how it wasn't all shoved together. So, I am simply living in my own delusion and saying that they spent all that time playing around with the synth and just messing with each other!

Sitting here, rewatching the clip for the 7th time already (note, it's only been 45 mins as I'm typing, since it got uploaded), I just. No words. Love it. I really liked how it started with a reasonable scenario, of Roko sleeping on the couch, but then Oh No, What A Shame, It Smells Of Beer, Guess He Better Sleep In His Bed Again!! And Nora's reaction? Girl, I see you.

The little barrier, iconic as ever!! Their banter about Vito too? The reach-over and breaking of the barrier, was such a small thing in this remake, but once again, I feel it really worked with the scene and Nora and Roko's characters. The physical contact will always get me! I am a physical contact girly, so you can imagine my reaction when in the clip before Roko touched Nora's waist!!

When Nora says she doesn't know how to turn off the light, the way the camera angle was looking, I genuinely thought we were gonna have Roko lean over to turn it off for her. Which, I get is unrealistic hahaha, but I would've loved it. To maybe have seen Nora panic a little as he got closer, get a little flustered... idk - I just can't wait to see Nora when she finally lets him in and fully embraces her crush hahaha

And I really liked how they did it so Roko lies in this version! Now hear me out! I don't condone lying haha, but this was such a little funny lie, about Vito being out with some chick. Like, Nora knowing he was fully lying and making it up, but instead of leaving and getting angry she just stays and jokes with him too. Like, Your Honour, they are in love. They both want to spend time together!

Roko's little smile as he says "You do like me a little." and looks over at her. Beautiful. Absolute Cinema. And the call back to 'Robi' at the end. I really hope they keep including this as a little inside joke between the two. I mean, Roko seems more than happy to respond to it!

The. Way. Roko. Moved. The. Pillows. And. Moved. Back. So. He. Was. Closer. To. Nora. Need I say anymore??? No, I didn't think so. It was so sweet to watch!!

Now finally, and I mean finally, promise I'll be done soon! I really recognised the piano track playing in the background as the camera started to spin around them. It's absolutely a famous piece, I just can't think of what one right now (it's so late, I need to be up in 5 hours this isn't good for me hahaha). But I really love it! And the camera moving - ugh! LOVED IT!

I don't know if anyone will think I'm crazy, but I kinda hope we get a clip tomorrow? Like, with them waking up. I know we won't, because we've gotten the whole episode in these clips. But, I could just imagine the little transition between clips. Like how they did in Season 1, with them panning over the bed with Eva and Jakov. From night to then the morning. I really loved that a lot last season! Made the transitions a bit more fun!

Like I said, it won't happen, but maybe in the future? In a possible future clip? IDK, this is me now just projecting hahaha

Okay, I think I'm all SRAMmed out for the night, so I'm gonna finish this here. I doubt anyone has even made it to the end, but if you did then wow, thank u for dealing with my ramblings! At the end of the day, I'm just a girl with too many thoughts in my head and no one to talk to about SRAM in real life hahaha

~ floss <3

[tokkiyuna-rkgk]

Smart! It would save a lot of time. Though, to be careful when you try to do different poses. From my understanding, you will only need to draw the shoulders different and then can just move the body to the direction needed. Be sure to not leave it flat.

I remember that phase. Try as many tools as you want. For me I stick to the fountain pen (for line art), technical pen (for coloring), paint brush (for coloring again), and Blending (for blending lol). I know you will soon find the brushes you are most comfortable, just takes some trial and errors to find them. Use as many as possible. Sometimes you find yourself using a tool that you never expected to.

I saw! I need to read them. Hadn't had a chance to catch up with the chapters. Though, I did try to read one of them but got lost. Though, I'm sure I only felt like that since I tried to read it before the day of my intermediate accounting exam. Also, don't need to apologize. Moments like those are one of the best since like you said, it helps with characterization. Makes the readers relate more to them, y'know? Bro, Scout Goseumdochi and the tree was my favorite moment in the later parts of the story. I actually had wanted to draw it, but didn't at the end. Glad to hear the original author is going to make art of it!

I found the sketch, but it's not finished nor is it funny. It's just Dalnim looking at the ants as they crawl into a bucket :\. Tbf, I was drawing during a lecture which is not a smart idea :((

I have a feeling you are fond of Siwoo lol. He got a fangirl lmao (jk). Oh and yeah, Twitter does that. There's actually something on the right corner that anyone can click/press on and will take the post to Grok. There you can do whatever. I had accidentally pressed on it with one of my posts, so idk what happened but I did exit it immediately once I realize what it was.

I heard of Great General Mighty Wing and saw it on Sah Beetle's account too since they made some fan art. I had not read the series at all. I need to eventually get around to reading it. At this rate, the creators of Squirrel and Hedgehog are gonna need to go to you for worldbuilding haha. Nice to see you being able to incorporate both series into one (even if its in planning stages).

15 projects?! That is so much! I hope you get around to completing each and every single one of them.

I saw that drawing. It's really good! Combining the photograph with the drawing was wonderfully done. Poor Bamsaegi though. Glad to hear a bit of update on those hedgehog quills.

I'm all done with finals! For the last two days, I have been extra sleepy. I think I'm all good now. But damn was I tired.

As for your tags:

I hope you finish all that you need to do including getting the files onto the Internet Archives (if y'all can).

That is why I never write canon characters. I absolutely will somehow overlook something or make them too OOC. That is why I stick to my own charatcers.

I'm not familiar with Bucky Bug nor Gus the Goose. I looked them up and they seem to be Disney characters? Idk if I am just not into Disney or what, but I never knew these characters existed.

Don't say that. You're still in the process of learning to get used to drawing. I am not sure how long you have been drawing, but I have 7 years of doing digital art (only 4 using an actual tablet) and 11 years drawing altogether. And even after all those years, I never had my art progress as much as yours. You'll get to a level of drawing that will be impressive soon enough. Heck, you'd probably be better than me soon. You are already doing better backgrounds than me.

With the manhwa, I am assuming you are talking about Great General Mighty Wing? Like I said before, I need to get around to reading it. I think I found it partially? But, I'll hold off on reading it until I am certain I found the full version.

Hello :))

Here's a small sketch of Siwoo (Haven't drawn this man in ages)

A quick explanation of the sketch:

The Raliaen Mountain Crescent Base doesn't have a formal financial department or anything related to it. Aera has tried to ask for a financial department to be established, but the Central government told her that they can't spare any for her as her base doesn't need one. Aera knows that's a lie since she and Hyeonsik are stuck maintaining the budgets and resource allocation of the base. Eventually, Aera is unable to keep up due to higher number of suspected enemy spies being reported. Hyeonsik hates to do anything related to finance beause he hates money (long story). So, he just gives them to Siwoo who had studied a bit of accounting before. Siwoo is genuinely still confused on why he is given the documents. Hyeonsik does actually give Siwoo a bonus for doing them, so Siwoo can't complain.

One of many reasons Siwoo needs coffee.

[hbosscreations]

Gonna be vulnerable on main for a hot second because my special interest is breaking me.

Background: I used to write crazy amounts of fanfiction. I still read an unhealthy amount of fanfiction. I edited so much smut (sadly very poorly) on adultfanfiction.net when I was a teenager. My favorite baby was a Red vs Blue fanfic that as of today hasn't been updated since 2019 and has 314,000 words not including one shots on the side.

I basically stopped writing in 2018. The demons were winning. It was a bad time for me.

August 2023, I rediscovered Hellblazer's existence thanks to tumblr.

I had a vague sort of knowledge about it, the kind of thing one absorbs when you're a kid and your stepfather is really into comics, but you're only allowed to look at the ones he doesn't really care about, so you end up reading about random characters you've never heard of and chunks of event comics that he freaking hates, but keeps buying anyway and also you had to watch the movie in secret because it's an abomination and anyone who likes it deserves to be (all manner of vile harm).

What can I say, the story of a mentally ill person so damaged that they lash out at the world around them and chase people off while also desperately wanting to be liked and not be alone? Of a person who's become good at tricking people because 'normal' interactions are fake and they can't have friends without bribes or manipulation because they feel so unlovable? A person who constantly loses friends, family, and loved ones because they're fucked up and when they fuck up, it directly hurts the people around them?

Let's just say, I vibe hard with the material in question for personal reasons.

I'm 1/4 through my second read of the original vertigo line because I know I didn't absorb everything the first time around. I expect that when I've done this, I'll want round three. I've got the spinoffs, I've got the reboots, I've got several movies, and one of the novels. I haven't had this much energy to read in years. I'm obsessed. It's opening the doors up for other projects I've put on the back burner thanks to my crippling depression.

I have feelings about the 2019 run, Marks of Woe and The Best Version of You. Complicated feelings. Feelings that make my fingers itch in the best way.

October 2023, I started writing again. Really writing. I can't call anything I write good, because it's the reader who decides if something is good or not, and I'm not done being the writer yet.

But I'm finally making the clicky clacky noises on my keyboard again and it feels like coming home.

I'm doing research, I'm throwing scenes together, I'm expanding on characterization for characters that barely exist. Thriving. Vibing. As of today I'm at 111,972 words written, and 18,000 of that was done in the past four days.

I'm so sad.

No one should care this much about anything. It's isolating and frustrating that there is no one in the world who cares as much as I do. And they shouldn't. It's not fair to expect people to care about the things I care about just because I want them to.

I have several people in my life who very patiently sit and let me talk at them about my comics and my writing progress and my feelings about where things are going and the things I've learned. They are so kind to tolerate me, because I know that I'm a lot and not a one of them cares at all about any of it, the way I don't really care about cars or glazing pottery or boho fashion or gel nail techniques.

I sit and listen and try to take in the information because it makes them happy, but it's not fun in the slightest, so I get it from the other angle.

Conventional advice says you should write for yourself, but if I believed that, I would never bother typing anything. I've spent my whole life with my stupidly vivid imagination, a rich inner world was and is necessary for my survival. I'm that person who can use all five sense when imagining a boat on the water, so making up a story for myself is a thing I barely need to think about.

My longest lasting hobby is 'fixing' movies in my head. My grandfather told me once I started 'making stories better' before I was reading (grain of salt with that one).

The act of physical creation has never been something I do for me. I wrote D&D campaigns and settings and painted minis and built model battlegrounds for my friends. I handmade gifts because that was what my family said they valued. I wrote fanfiction because there were people who shared my interest and would talk to me about the topic.

I'm so far into this, and for what? For me? Fuck that, I could have been done with this months ago if this was for me.

But if it's not for me, who is it for? I don't know anyone else who cares this much about a very specific storyline from a niche comic series. No one I know in person is ever going to read it, not a word, and I wouldn't expect them to. Frankly, I think if one of my friends did say they read it and was ambivalent about the actual text as they are about me trying to talk about themes, I might just crawl under my bed and never come back out.

But if it's not for me and it's not for anyone else, why am I doing this? There's not an answer here.

I feel like the demons might be winning again and I just haven't realized.

[egophiliac]

A-anime?

you know, sometimes I forget that Twst is actually an isekai that starts with the protagonist getting run over by an inexplicable horse-drawn carriage. and every time I'm reminded is a delight because that's AMAZING.

also. look. okay. there's a lot of very fun stuff in the trailer but I am obsessed with that Crowley surprised pikachu face. me when I spend all my keys and gems literally hours before they announce overblot SSRs and drop the anime trailer:

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Sasha going from thin popular cheerleader popular pretty girl before Amphibia and coming back taller and with muscle and covered in scars and maybe missing an eye and with hair short like a boy and she's no longer considered as pretty as she was before, to the point her mother takes hoursssss doing her daughter's makeup to cover her face scar or getting her an uncomfortable but hyperrealistic eye prosthetic (when she wanted one custom-made to look like Grime's eye) and trying to put her on some weird diet to make her lose muscle?? Which just made her feel tired and sick because she got it from shady internet articles. Getting kicked out of the cheerleading team despite being 10 times better than she was before with her amazing strength and agility because she has too many scars and looks scary to her old teammates instead of attractive now (why her coach is concerned about how attractive a middle-schoolers are is never questioned though). She's still popular and has a lot of cool made up stories about being missing in the woods and having to fight mountain lions with her bare hands or something, but it's different now. The new friendships she makes are more genuine, maybe she gets into some other team sport and while she can never tell anyone everything, she's a lot more emotionally honest now. Marcy designs her a beautiful prosthetic that looks exactly how she wanted and is a lot more comfortable and wears it despite her mother's complains. Now she almost kinda looks like the man (toad?) she actually wishes were her parent! How cool is that? Ugh, she just knows he would help her cope with the headaches and poor vision far better than her parents do. Her dad doesn't really care. He just looks at her weird when she does anything that requires even the littlest bit of strength, like helping him change a tire or carrying big boxes lmao. She's not even that butchy! Just a lil bit sometimes, she does like her sports and short hair, and picking up her girlfriends like they weight nothing (oh it gives her such a power rush!) but she still loves her skirts and dresses too! And she still thinks she looks great in them! She tells herself this must be how Captain Beatrix looked like during military galas, if she ever took off that uniform of her. It's certainly how Braddock would look. Somehow seeing herself through toad beauty standards helps a lot. Reminds her of how Anne would come back home dirty and sweaty and covered in mud after her parents took her on some day-long family trip to the mountains to look for frogs, happy and smiling so brightly, because "Hop Pop used to say 'if it ain't a little bit muddy, it ain't honest work'". And she knows Marcy feels a little bit better about her cane and crutches and wheelchair thinking about Andrias, and how much he changed his body to stay alive and look strong and healthy. Her body may not work the way it used to, but at least it doesn't have anything weird in it, at least she doesn't have robot parts - they got rid of the ports in her arms and legs just fine - at least it's all hers again. Plus, the weakness in her legs gives her a great excuse to ask for piggyback rides from her strong, beautiful girlfriend.

[hellooobees]

I can't stop thinking about how the show sets up selfishness and selflessness as two sides of the same coin. How do you walk the line between making sure your loved ones can achieve their own dreams even if it means hurting yourself, and hurting your loved ones because you're hurting yourself for their sake?

It all goes back to Thame putting up his wish on the orange tree that he'll make all of the other members' dreams come true. Thame, who agrees to a shitty contract and works himself to the bone and makes it completely his burden to prove that Mars is a good investment for the company. Thame, who is made to believe that that very act of love and sacrifice is only debilitating his friends' dreams and the only way to keep his original promise is to leave.

We see Thame essentially being back at square one in this episode. He has to leave and go to Korea alone so the people he loves can achieve their dreams. But so much has changed since then. Thame had found hope, that he could simultaneously keep his promise and be selfish to want both his band and his partner. He's once again been working himself to the bone, giving up all of his time and attention between the band and Po, because his tiredness is such a small price to pay to turn that dream into reality. Why wouldn't he gladly take on all of that tiredness and more?

But despite all of the groundbreaking things he's achieved and everything he's given of himself, it doesn't work. His friends break down around him possibly reigniting the same insecurities from earlier that he worked so hard to ensure wouldn't come to pass. His boyfriend breaks up with him despite Thame promising to take on all of the burden and tiredness to make it work. He's being forced to leave everyone behind and he's being left behind too.

That flip from Thame being convinced that the best thing for him to do would be to leave for everyone else's sake, to the rest of Mars and Po being convinced that the best thing for them to do is to step back for Thame's sake is so so important to me. It's not just Thame who made making his friends' dreams come true into his own dream. The rest of Mars and Po did the same thing with Thame's dream. But how does it all work when the sacrifices you're willing to make for the dreams of your loved ones are at the cost of their happiness because they're at the cost of your own?

Thame's effort didn't go to waste. We see all of that effort manifesting in how it opens doors for the other members and Po so much more easily now. But it's also true that at the base of those new successes lie the shattered hopes of that shared dream between them.

The show sets up the question of whether the person who's leaving others behind feels hurt, and we see so many iterations of it. We see Earn leaving behind the person who was an instrumental part of his success without a second thought. We see Thame giving himself up and leaving for the band's sake. We see Jun leave twice, the first so that his friend would for once think of himself and his own success instead of letting the others drag him away from it, and the second when he's sure that his friend can be what the person that he cares for deserves. We see Pepper being completely willing to leave if the two biggest parts of his life cannot exist together and we see Gam actually leaving when it proves to be true. And we see Po leave because he cannot let himself become an obstacle in Thame's path and make all of their efforts come to waste. If that's the price to pay so that the people they love can have what they want then so be it, right? Their sacrifices are insignificant in the face of that.

But what happens when all those sacrifices still aren't enough? When the cost becomes too huge to bear?

[bujlililu]

I originally wasn't gonna do this (because of embarrassment and shame), but whatever, we ball.

A bit of extra info/explanation:

Nightmare is hated mostly by everyone (who would have thought), but family relationships are messy and complicated. And then there's Ink. And my character. And Ccino who just has to run his cafe despite the occasional visit.

The 'different timeline' kinda just means that the relationship isn't simultaneously happening while all the others are, but instead in a different timeline/universe.

The relationship with Fresh is simply from my character's side

Likewise, their and Ink's 'friendship' is also strained because of conflicting goals and mindsets

Chart by @signanothername

[appystruda]

Small ramble about my art

[rmbunnie]

Another little inconsequential red hood thing and I'll admit that I'm decently biased but it irks me to see the whole "Jason can't shut up about his death/he makes his death everyone else's problem" take really frequently because he simply does not do that enough for it to be a thing in like any actual Red Hood story.

It's a thing you see sometimes in modern annuals/comics with large casts, particularly if a writer doesn't seem super confident with writing all of the characters that they're working with or if he's just a background character in this one, because with comics it's quicker to reduce a character to recognizable landmarks than to try and work out a whole new complex voice if you don't really need to, so it's tire iron, Jane Austen, Joker, and death, and it's all written out in dialogue because every character in a group event can't have their own internal monologue, but like. That's pretty much it. UTRH is the establishing event for Jason Todd post death so of course a lot of it is about his death, although it's arguably about the lack of response to his death more than his death itself, and he certainly makes it Bruce's issue but one beef doesn't make a trend. Plus if his death is anyone's issue beyond his own Bruce and Joker are like the number one guys whose issue it is. He THINKS about his death a ton in Lost Days, but it doesn't really reflect externally on any of his interactions besides with Joker, which again, that's justified and relevant beef. Teen Titans 29 is more about his place in the hero community/feeling like he was an outsider even before the bomb/Tim being the new robin than about his death, and side note, that being counted as an attempt on Tim's life also bugs me. He beat him up and then left of his own volition. That's not an assassination attempt its called a fight, albeit a sneaky and unfair one. But anyways. I can't speak on Battle for the Cowl because i haven't read it, both that and Batman and Robin 2009 don't really compel me, but it's entirely possible that's an outlier to my point seeing as I kinda sorta haven't read it and don't care to lmao. Even New 52 (although HIGHLY unpopular) and Rebirth/Dawn of DC/Whatever we're doing now Red Hood content don't really have him talking to people about it besides the occasional little quips. He might make stances that were developed because of his death other people's problem, like in the Mia Dearden Green Arrow situation with the "getting involved in other people's business" issue, but acting like he makes specifically his death everyone else's problem is ignoring all of the perfectly valid actually canon things he makes other people's problem. Most of the unpleasant traits he brings to the table are a result of his death and the sense of abandonment and betrayal that came with it, but that doesn't mean he's bringing his death into it when he acts unpleasantly any more than he's bringing his birth into it when he shows up in the first place. The consequences do not equal the event. All this to say it's irritating when people say the character is grating because he doesn't stop whining about his death when that kinda just indicates to me that they're working off fanon based on fanon based on kinda mid batman annual.

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

the fact is, if varric lives (and that's an if bc maybe solas does kill him lmao idk how much to trust that minimap reveal) it IS weird that you can't customise a hawke or account for the decision because it would be a little weird if a man who has lived through a wannabe god + blight dragon attacking warden fortress has nothing to say about ghilan'nain and her blight dragon attacking a warden fortress, especially if he potentially lost his best friend (Hawke). It's not outlandish for people to be a little disappointed to not get some customisation there because the choices are not equal to varric. the loss of hawke is obviously a bigger impact on him than whichever warden is there. given varric's personality, it's not outlandish to expect him to talk about it with Rook either especially considering weisshaupt is a thing that happens in the game. if he dies beforehand it doesn't matter, but if he's going to be around? yeah you'd think he'd be talking about it here.

speaking of weisshaupt, A PLACE YOU GET TO GO, a hero of ferelden who made the ultimate sacrifice IS FUCKING INTERRED THERE. But it's just "whining" to expect a nod (esp one that you can customise so it's your hero of ferelden) i guess.

regardless of whether morrigan has mythal or not, who she is as a person does change based on whether she was romanced and whether she had a child. it is natural that this matters and people aren't stupid to be tentatively concerned that nothing of her history is "required" but she's apparently this important vip character who will have more involvement in the game than you expect. like you are allowed to ask: okay what does this mean, what will she be like, will she be the same character i've loved across multiple games?

people are allowed to be upset or concerned that a game series that historically took your choices and your decisions into account has watered that down to 3 choices when certain choices that WOULD impact characters that appear in THIS game aren't. (and to be clear being upset does not mean harassing the devs, don't do that).