#I don't know why I'm so scared to post this

[catrocketship]

Hi, I have been involved in community-organized campaigns and even organized political actions and I want to talk about this boycott.

I know people want to do something. It's great that people are seeing posters about this in the world and talking about it but let's talk about what an action needs to be effective and why people are saying that it won't work (spoiler: it's not just people being negative nancies! This boycott lacks something that is key: organizing to back it up).

Who is your target?

Boycotts cannot be everything. Okay, so this one isn't everything, but it's basically everything; all gas? Amazon, Walmart, Target (which doesn't leave a lot of us with options for food). All credit cards?

We have to determine a target, and to that target we must supply a demand. What is that we want to change? The form letter that accompanies this boycott says something about "bullshit Executive Orders" but I'm going to need you to be more specific than that if you want results.

(The EO demand doesn't even really make sense because Target, Walmart, and Amazon aren't following any EO. The DEI Eos don't apply to private entities like these corporations. They're rolling back DEI initiatives because it's better for their bottom line and the EO merely signaled that the atmosphere was right for it.)

What is your demand?

Boycotts are a tool of political action. We leverage these tools in order to apply pressure. Examples include the Montgomery Bus Boycott, BDS, the 1965 grape boycott. I would give this particular boycott more points if it even said "boycott them until they stop XYZ! or start ABC!"

The thing is, boycotts aren't even a super successful tool. But whatever, when they are successful they have a specific target, they are integrated into a campaign along with other tools, and they have a demand . Otherwise, how do we know what success is?

Great, so nothing we do matters.

No, I'm just saying that a boycott unattached to an organizing campaign is not going to change anything (because we didn't ask for anything!)

Organizing works.

Looking around and seeing something you'd like to change, meeting up and talking with other people who want to change the same thing making plans together -- these things are successful. You might even plan a boycott together. You might even take the boycott national or join a national boycott organized by someone else.

If you are new to political action and don't know where to start, look around your community. You may have to change your channels to get in touch with the people doing the work you will end up doing. Look at bulletin boards in cafes, look at your city's reddit, hell, even search [city name] and [issue interest] on Facebook and see if there is an active group. Ask your friend who wears all the buttons. Then show up. Show up to these meetings in person.

Get to know your neighbors. If that seems scary, do the work you need to do to get yourself in good enough working order to introduce yourself to strangers.

Join a community group. Attend a seed swap and join a gardening group. Meet up with others to draw at a cafe once a week.

When in doubt, start with food. Find a community fridge in your area and find out how to get involved.

I also like CAW Shiny Things' list of ways to get started because it's broader than many other (it takes into consideration art as community!)

When you find a community organization, you will make important connections there and practice muscles you use in political organizing, like building trust, power analysis, and planning actions.

I know that we are all scared and that this boycott feels good to latch onto. It's wonderful that you want to take action. I hope that you find something in this post that gets you more deeply involved than a fakey vague boycott.

I'm not saying don't participate. It won't hurt anything. I am saying that there is so much more work we have to do to affect change.

USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.

Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.

If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.

Are you with me?

Spread the word.

[kokoskingdom]

kill yourself before you become an adult and a pedophile <3 no one likes you just become a statistic

ur so weird like 😭 like you niggas are so odd telling random 15yos online to kill themselves

if you believe im so weird and that im a pedophile go ahead and report me to the police.. see what they say

Because god forbid i mess around with fiction for funsies oh no no thats terrible

and by your logic, horror fans should kill themselves before they become an adult and a murderer

now your logic sounds retarded right? cuz what sense does that make. you niggas be on about absolutely NOTHING fr 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

fnaf fans should kill themselves before they become an adult and murder kids yeah??? yeah?????? thats your logic btw

this is the same shit as "I don't understand your reason for this and therefore I hate it and hope you die"

you see how stupid that sounds? thats what you sound like yn. 💀

pack it up buddy! you're too shy and scared to use your REAL account to send in asks, so you use the anonymous feature in order to not embarrass yourself. what are you gonna do if i turn that off, hm? what r u gonna do? shit ur pants and cry?? man up and send in an ask with your real account..

like i js know you're saying bullshit off the top of ur head. "no one likes you just become a statistic" a statistic of what..? suicide rates? 😭 you wanna be boosting teenager suicide rates?

like u sound downright idiotic tryna be in the right 😞 why r u telling real life people who have feelings to hurt themselves bcs they decided to post in their own little circle about some little drawings of fictional things that dont feel and arent real?? do u ever reread your text and take a moment to think about this bs🤦🏿‍♂️

this is deadass the equivalent of walking far and wide to find some ants and then complaining that there's ants😭😭 ur so odd

and im not even like upset over this i just wanna make sure you know what ur talking about cuz in all seriousness you could be in court if i actually killed myself 💀 u do realize this DOES count as suicide influence. that's a thing and it can get yew in troubleee.. ^_^''

anyways guys i'm working on some art right now.. it's shadowvanilla and i'm gunna TRY to make it high quality..? i've been working on ts for about 3 days now but the issue is im using magma and while its rlly good for a website it sucks for a general art program

I'd switch to like medibang or something but my laptop killed itself and i have to get it fixed so for now we are drawing on the. school chromebook 🙁💔💔

[heretyc]

I beg for Prime Assets comforting you after getting shots or a doctor's appointment, or anything similar.., I just had an appointment recently and twas very frazzled by getting jabbed so many times cause I'm scared of needles 😔 though I'm obsessed with your writing I've been stalking your page... thank you in advance if you accept this request 💜

I'm so sorry you got jabbed, hun :( needles are not fun. If only vaccinations were in pill/liquid form...we need to bring bubblegum flavoured medicine back </3

"Oh, hush now," Coyle clicked his tongue as he roughly rubbed your arm in comfort; the cutesy bandage on your arm was almost rubbed off due to his strength, his palm warm. "You know I can't just...you know..." He removed his hand to finger quote, "'Fuck that needle wielder up with my prod'. You want to get in trouble?"

"Yeah," you sniffled, "Fuck her, man."

"Lord, what'd I do to end up with you?" Coyle snickered, an arm being wrapped around you tightly. "Didn't Barlow give you the fuckin' shots?"

"SO?"

"You like Barlow, I thought?"

You huffed. "Not anymore."

Coyle snorted, looking back in Barlow's direction. "Ya heard that?"

Looking up from her romance novel, Barlow's eyes were lidded in boredom, as if she didn't just stick a plethora of needles into your poor arm, "Pardon?"

"...I'll shoot 'er."

"Barbi," you warned, your brows furrowed, "No. She was doing her job...as painful as that job was."

Barbi scoffed, Lupara shaky in his grip, "Her job isn't to fuckin' prod ya with needles, sweetness. The fuck were they for, anyway?"

"Tetanus, measles, diptheria...the usual."

"Diptheria?" He raised a brow, "The fuck is that?"

"A disease that I could die from if I didn't get the vaccination," you rolled your eyes, "I hate needles and I appreciate the comfort, but don't make this harder on yourself."

"Baby, I've been to about 10 fuckin' countries sealing deals and spreading my business, I ain't never get a disease like diptheria."

"That's because you ate dirt, Barbi."

"...For your information, it was fuckin' mud pie. And that shit was divine."

"Okay, dirt eater." You snickered, your arm - the one that lacked post-needle pain - raised to grab Lupara. "Lemme occupy my mind with Lupara, please."

"You gonna shoot Bar-hoe?"

You scoffed, "No, Barbi."

"Then no." He stuck out his tongue. Silly bastard.

"Ohh, my poor dear," Gooseberry's voice was gentle as her gloved hand rubbed against your arm, "Those nice doctors are just protecting you against the measles..."

"Fuckin' myth of a disease anyway," The goose chortled in the background, "I ain't neva gots measles, or tetanus, or whoopy cough."

"Whooping cough, Dr. Daddy," Gooseberry corrected to the goose's dismay, "Anyway, just relax and let me care for you, okay, dear?" She cooed, pinching your cheek. "I have just the thing."

"A pat on the back and a 'get the fucks over it'?" Futterman snorted, resulting in Gooseberry to narrow her eyes. "No. I was thinking more of a...ride on the Root Canal."

"...Fuck it, why not?" Futterman grumbled, "Whats are we waiting fors?"

"Uhhh, my arm is sore as shit, Futterman," you got up, "Don't expect a round of applause."

"Well jokes on me, then," The goose scoffed, his drill sounding in irritation. "Do all needles make you this irritables?"

"What am I to do with the two of you?" Gooseberry chuckled, her free hand on your lower back as she guided you to the large ride.

[chessboredom]

I'm wanna continue talking about Redeemed Beast! Smilk in a different post from my last one.

So Redeemed Smilk. Looking back at his past, he had a lot of followers. GREEDY and SELFISH followers. They don't want to believe about his words of truth, so he resorted to lies in order to please them.

Now here's my idea of a Smilk redemption, he becomes a clown entertainer/teacher for young cookies. I have had this idea in FOREVER. Why? Because,

1.) Children are the most truthful creatures on the planet. That means Smilk is probably going to have one hell of a childish but playful beef with a child, but without the hard feelings because they're all playing and acting. And he would learn how to remove grudges and instead get happy memories from it.

2.) Curious creatures with so many questions and requests, but no judgement! They'll l ask why he has so many eyes. They'll ask about tye Beasts. They'll ask about stories they've never heard before. They wouldn't think that it's real or fake. All they would know is that they get the answers they needed and cherish the knowledge they've received. If they found out it was a lie, they already know that Smilk has a habit of lying, so it was just fair that they believed him. He wanted to make them happy after all.

3.) They believe in anything and then get scared of ANYYYTHING, it's hilarious. He's gonna tell a group of children that the world is going to end in a billion years and then they get an existential crisis. (Pv would get him for this.)

and 4.) The very joy it brings when he makes them happy. Even as simple as pulling a rabbit out of nothing. A simple fact about insects or animals they never knew but will soon remember. Or he's gonna start doing the magic tricks on THEM and then they make a line so that their heads get detached from their bodies for fun. (PV is fine with that as long as the children and Smilk are having fun.)(PV could also do it himself.)

Pre-corrupt Smilk was an amazing and all knowing scholar the origin of magic in all of Earth Bread, but he just had the wrong audience to focus his judgements over his shared knowledge with. He focused on the greedy and selfish ADULTS of the cookie world to believe him, but not the children who have yet to know the wonders of the world and respond with pure unadulterated joy.

2 child cookies in particular that I've thought of talking with him are Star Coral Cookie and Wizard Cookie.

Him and Wizard Cookie would definitely nerd out about magic and encantations that Strawberry Cookie and Ginger Brave would get SO BORED over. The next thing you know is that Smilk already taught him how to cast a nuclear level threat spell to him Lmao.

As for Star Coral, her story was about her BELIEVING in her grandma's stories, but still being unaware that the story was about her. The very notion of her believing what other cookies didn't would give him a little bit of a warmth of hope in his cold heart. (Still haven't finished it but I'm already in love with the concept.)

[proftree]

you already know me well but idc i wanna yap anyway

Favourite Colour: sky blue or baby pink. i have my reasons

Currently reading: Shades Of Grey by Jasper Fforde. allegedly.

Last Song: Why Didn't I Kiss Her (The Useless Lesbian Song) by Ratwyfe

Last movie: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl? i dont think ive seen anything since

Last series: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: spicy all the way

Craving: my dinner tbh. im hungry

Tea/Coffee: coffee but its honestly kinda close these days

Currently working on: HUGE portrait. maybe ill make my first art post on here

i dont know 9 people on tumblr so. open tags. anyone who wants to yap to me

rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better

Tagged by @indrid-hot - thanks a bunch!

Favorite Color: A nice, warm, sunny orange - but also honestly most other colors of the rainbow and then some.

Currently Reading: The Tevinter Nights Dragon Age short story collection.

Last Song: L'appuntamento - Ornella Vanoni

Last Movie: Ah, gosh. HM. I haven't watched anything that's not a TV show in a while. I semi-voluntarily caught the last fifteen minutes of Scrooged over the winter holidays I guess?

Last Series: Last series I watched any part of is, as always, "Emergency!" because I will never not be stuck in 70's paramedic hell. If we're talking new-to-me shows, a friend's making me watch Grey's Anatomy (early seasons) once a week, probably because observing my growing despair about the characters' poor life choices is fun. I don't even normally watch medical shows, and yet here we are lol

Sweet, Savoury, Spicy: Savory if I had to pick

Craving: Some good spaghetti with olive oil and obscene amounts of lightly toasted garlic.

Tea/Coffee: Yes please, lol

Currently working on: OH BOY WHAT A QUESTION.

Spinning: Gotland on my spindles (4-ply, one single per spindle, for funsies - except I accidentally mixed up which bits of fiber go with which single on which spindle, so that'll be fun to sort out...), 7oz/200g of red Merino on the wheel (for a crochet hat, followed by 9.5 oz of red and black Merino for a woven scarf). But also 24.5oz/700g of grey Merino. And cotton on the supported spindle. And I've got some laceweight viscose on the mini turkish spindle that I should really work on...

Crocheting: Half a dozen things, including a lacy collar that needs buttons and blocking, a gigantic star-shaped wrap-around shawl, an incredibly boring granny square top for my little sister, and too many others to count.

Art: The Emergency! tarot as the eternal never-ending WIP; I also have some Dragon Age Veilguard related plans revolving around the Grand Necropolis and irl Catacomb Saints and I'd love to get some DA-style tarot cards done for all my player characters.

Writing: I still have a couple unfinished fanfics that need another chapter, as well as two deeply self-indulgent OC/Emergency! crossovers that friends are making me write, and I also have some Dragon Age stuff in the works - though if anyone will ever see that is another question entirely.

Music: Practicing various stuff for LARP; also slowly chipping away at Hozier's Work Song because my partner asked nicely.

With no pressure, I will tag: @geminyde, @caseyscraftycorner, @swords-n-spindles, @alpacazappa, @rosesonneptune, @rose-of-pollux, @zooarchaeologyatdinner, @kalikatze aaaaand I can't decide on a 9th person to tag so whoever wants to do this: You're It!

[scribesynnox]

Kef's post here, specifically the art at the end, is haunting me. It is fucking with me bad. I wouldn't wish boredom and lack of mental stimulus on my worst enemies, and here Jazz is. Stuck and trapped.

Aimless.

So I decided to write a little something because OOF. Do you know what it's like to be bored? Constantly? Because I do and it SUCKS.

For @keferon's apocalyptic ponyo au.

There’s nothing to do.

This isn’t anything unusual. Jazz regularly finds himself bored out of his mind every day. He’s exhausted every avenue of entertainment he can and then some. He already knows this human dialect, English, so he can’t entertain himself trying to puzzle out words and letters. The people at this aquarium haven’t given him any toys to mess around with either. It’s always a toss up whether the aquariums he ends up at give him toys or not. He prefers it when they do. It’s demeaning sure, but what isn’t in his situation? At least with a beach ball, he could do SOMETHING. It’s night and usually, Jazz would escape his tank by now to explore the building, but the aquarium was setting up some new policy, something about frequent tank escapes and trying to prevent them. It’s not from Jazz’s end, he’s too good at this by now to get caught, but the octopi weren’t exactly being subtle when they went to throw rotten clams at their caretakers. What this means for Jazz though, is that the aquarium is busy tonight, and there’s too many humans around for Jazz to risk it.

What it means is that there is nothing to do, and Jazz is bored.

Bored bored bored, he is so BORED, there is nothing to DO!!

He bursts into an agitated swim, circling circling and circling, trying to burn off the restless energy, or maybe to get dizzy just to feel something, anything, but he’s done this too many times, it’ll take more than that to get him dizzy. The apathy and numbed anger quickly comes back, stealing his energy and hollowing him out. He hangs in the water, bored.

There is nothing to do.

More notes on being Bored!:

when you spend all day every day almost always always always BORED, you start creating your own entertainment

Jazz zoning out a LOT because there just simply isn't anything for him to do. Sure there's the training and there's the performances and the checkups and the people watching, but they can only take away the boredom for so long.

Oh! By the way, off tangent, but I finally thought up of a reason for why Jazz hasn't tried talking to the humans in an attempt to get them to realize that he's sentient and that he has a home and he wants to be free. Or to get them to make his tank more, you know, hospitable. Or at the very least not claw at the walls inducing.

Uh, simple reason: he physically can't. Like, merfolk just Do Not have the vocal cords to pronounce human speech. Humans don't have the vocal cords to copy a lot of noises! We can do a lot, sure, but we can't do everything! I say it's the same for merfolk! The may look like humans, but humans look a lot like mers too, and so I say: while both of them can learn the other's language, they're gonna have a difficult time actually speaking it.

so like, Jazz DOES try to talk to the humans, tries to get them to realize that he's a person and he just wants to go home, please please PLEASE-!

but he is clumsy with human speech and they just think he's like a clever parrot. He has intelligence, sure, but that's it. They think his cries are because he misses his home and his pod, sure, but they also think he's better off in captivity since he is so small and alone. They know better. Poor little orca, so scared and hurt. But they know better. It's for his own good. It's okay because it's for his own good.

ANYWAYS I'm digressing, back to boredom notes.

Jazz loses time a lot. There's just.. so little for him to do. And so little reason to do it. He tries to keep himself busy but sometimes he's just.. tired.

He swims because he's bored of staying still, and then he stays still because he's bored of swimming.

haha, wait, oof, ya boi probably has depression honestly.

He probably gets moments of mania too. You know, ACTUALLY clawing at the walls, throwing himself against the tank because he hates hates HATES how small and cramped it is! How it's only big enough for him to swim in small circles! HE HATES IT

The buzzing in his skin, the restlessness, the need for something, ANYTHING, to make him think, to make him FEEL. He’s going to claw at the walls, this is torture.

The reason why Jazz knows so many human languages isn't just because he was passed around a lot and was exposed to them, it's because he was actively trying to learn them. At first, it was to try and tell someone that he just wants to go home, but when it became clear it wouldn't work, he still kept learning anyways because that way he could overhear conversations, read information from maps and leftover textbooks/papers, and try to escape on his own. Can't escape from the aquarium if he just gets immediately lost once he's outside. (don't think about how he wouldn't be able to escape even if he can read and listen. That path leads to numbness and Jazz has had enough numbness, he needs to focus.)

There's also just.. nothing else for him to do. And if he wants to stave off the boredom and Empty Hollow Fog, then he has to do something.

Honestly, when Jazz and Prowl escape, Jazz is going to have one HELL of an adjustment period outside of just learning mer culture and the ocean world. Going from being bored every day to NEW EXCITING DIFFERENT CHANGES is going to be exhausting. Like, yes, it's all very new and very exciting, and Jazz is going to be a little too preoccupied with staying alive and being terrified to really feel the crash, but man oh man, when there is a lull in all of this? This mer going to crash a LOT.

He's going to have to take a lot of breaks, not just because his tail is weak and undeveloped, but also because he's never had So Much happening All The Time before. It's a lot to adjust to!

(Not that Jazz will let himself have those breaks because uh oh, he's kinda lowkey ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED that Prowl will leave him behind if he can't keep up and Jazz is tired, but he can not go back to being alone.)

Jazz has so many made up games and tricks and stories and music and and and in his head. Because, and I can't stress this enough, there is nothing else for him to do! And when there is nothing for you to do, you start making shit up because the only other alternative is to zone out and lose time, or hit something. And Jazz gets bored of zoning out too, and the last time he hit something, they restrained him and sedated him, so uh. No. No more of that.

Jazz spent a lot of time tinkering with the locks on his tank and practicing moving himself on dry land. He's gotten good at escaping, and very good at doing neat tricks, like doing pull ups to haul himself up the stairs by using their railings, or waddling over the itchy carpet by lifting his tail in the air and keeping it there, or doing a semi cartwheel where he flips himself head over tails by using his tail to help himself roll over (okay that last one is just for fun but come on, he's allowed to have fun.)

Sometimes, when he gets too good at sneaking around, sneaks around while giving himself a handicap just to give himself a challenge. Is it a good idea? Probably not. But he's so bored.

He's gotten some close calls, but he is now very good at sneaking around.

Jazz watches people, just like they watch him, and makes up stories for them. The lady with the screaming toddler is actually secretly a spy, and the child is their cover story! But the spy lady is regretting everything in her life now. She can hack into any computer ever, but she can not hack a child and tell them to behave. The man lingering by the penguins is staring at them because he's thinking about a lover who was lost at sea! The kid popping bubblegum in the corner has parents who are going through a very messy and very dramatic divorce, and they came to the aquarium to escape the fighting. The lady in the giant hat is having a secret affair!

He is so bored.

Jazz also observes, and notices people. Notices their behavior, their motives, their patterns. The caretaker with the Tuesday shift get nervous with loud sudden movements, so Jazz is careful to be small and gentle when it's his turn to feed him. Because if he is small and gentle, then the Tuesday Caretaker will give him a small smile back and sometimes, he'll spend a little extra time talking to him while feeding him, telling him about his classes or about whatever game he's playing for the week. The teenager regular, who must be one of the staff's kids to be able to come so often, loves it when he puts on a little show, playing up his cuteness, and acting playful. She stays longer when he does so, and that means that she stays long enough to meet with one of the cleaning staff members that she's friends with. THIS leads to them greeting each other, and the janitor leaving his cleaning cart unattended, and if Jazz is verrrrry careful, he can snatch one of the chemicals from the cart before the janitor notices. The night guard on Fridays is lazy and always leaves his shift a little early than he should, which means Jazz has less time to get back to his tank on those days.

Jazz notices it all.

There's little else he can do BUT observe.

Jazz probably fidgets and stims a lot too. Idle tapping of his fingers, splashing his tail into the water absentmindedly, humming notes to made up music, or snatches of songs he's memorized, making nonsense noises to himself, tearing up bits of his environment, like peeling paint or crumbling plastic rock.

He tries to stave off the Empty and the Fog, he DOES, but it doesn't always work. Some days, the Fog wins and he just.. floats. Listlessly. Bored. He's so sick of it all, and he's so tired.

He's heard about depression from the college interns and he's pretty sure that's what he has. Lack of stimulation, isolated, and bored bored BORED. Plus, there's that small deal with him being FUCKING TRAPPED AND HELPLESS TO THE WHIMS OF A PEOPLE WHO DON'T SEE HIM AS A PERSON. So you know. He's probably depressed. The Empty is probably the depression. Yippee.

He just wants to go home.

please.

[stargazet]

rant incoming I AM TIRED OF YOU HOES BEING ALL "i wOULD give more comments but idk what to sayyyy🥺/my comments are just xy🥺🥺" HOW ABOUT YOU GO THINK OF A COMMENT OR JUST TYPE YOUR SILLY XY COMMENT ON 30 FICS WITH ONLY SLIGHT ALTERATION INSTEAD OF POSTING ABT HOW YOU ARE UNABLE TO COMMENT.

it pisses me off to no end that most readers need to be coddled and begged for just a SPECK of a reaction. You wanting to leave more kudos on a fic does NOT keep fandoms alive. your "i would comment but" does NOT keep fandoms alive!! you keep giving us excuses upon excuses as to why NONE OF YOU can type up 5 coherent words, but you want longfics and you want well-written fics and you want consistent updates on fics and PLEASE just keep bringing us the fics. I dont care anymore if you're shy or feel stupid, GUESS WHAT?? I'm putting my art, my soul, my joy out into the world for you to see and you think you can excuse your silence with being shy and scared uwu🥺🥺

You know what they tell every artist of any kind when they just started their craft and are not good at it??? To practice, that's right. So get your heads out of your lazy asses and practice. I don't care how many comments keep sounding similar, ao3 is not the mindhive of an individual, WE WILL NOT NOTICE IF YOU SAID THE SAME THING TO 5 DIFFERENT AUTHORS, BUT WE WERE ONE OF THOSE 5 AND WE WILL NOTICE THAT.

And if you hit me with the "But if it's from the same author-" well that's the perfect time to practice making different comments, isn't it?!

Yall get HUNDREDS of posts encouraging you to do this time and time again, even posts that TELL YOU WHAT TO COMMENT, do you realize how embarrassing that is for you as a readership??? Artists not just giving you the art but having to fucking teach you how to respond to that art?? can't you people do nothing but mindlessly consume?? We work our asses off FOR FREE, hoping to inspire others, wishing to connect with our art, our fics, and you are nothing but a void. A black hole. It's frankly not just so disheartening and frustrating, it's quite disgusting if you think about it. Am i just feeding a machine? You sorry lot of gawkers can't even say fucking "thank you for making this." the 5 coherent words in question.

I'm SO tired of seeing you bitches give me excuses and empty promises and SO tired of not even being heard when i yell and scream and shout like I do now. The commenters are keeping you husks and ghosts fed for now, but one after the other, your artists will get fed up or discouraged and they'll stop posting. If you only want fandoms with 3 big creators, then ig you'll get exactly that. I bet it will be fun and not at all stagnant or turn into a mini cult where one guy keeps shaping the collective! But I hope when this happens, and it will if yall don't change your approach real fucking quick, that you'll at least remember that you all snuffed your artists little lights out, one by one, with your haunting silence.

And now open ao3 and get your greasy fingers onto that comment section or so help me god

[guzhufuren]

Hey, I've noticed you've been pretty quiet lately and I hope you're doing okay. I know we're not friends or even mutuals so I'm sorry if I'm overstepping by messaging! I hope the world will treat you kindly and that you can find comfort and support if you need it 💕

hi sweetheart wow this is so genuinely nice and kind of you, thank you so much for caring to the point of reaching out

i'm on the way there! i will be okay, hopefully soon. it's not serious, i just had a medium sized break down after receiving a very negative comment on something i made, in mix with a bit of unrelated loneliness and yearning on top of that, plus many many 4am drowsy what-am-i-doing-with-my-life regretful thoughts that i have had in the last months swimming up. like for my unwellness history it's really only about 6 points on the scale where the maximum is 10, so not big. i turned all social apps off but couldn't shake off the distress caused by that one stranger on the internet being unkind to my project, despite knowing they were misunderstanding and were also not in a state to understand at all, so i was kind of confused about what's up with my brain and why it can't move on

and it was a good choice! because after being only with myself without any internet distractions for the first time in years, figured out in just a day that mood swings have been back for a while, over one month at least (so anger issues weren't totally Yunho's fault actually bless him), some other parts of mental health worsened too

got a grip on myself, went to my doctor, got back on meds, now i'm sleepy every minute of waking hours while my body is getting used to them again, but it's gonna be fine. received advice on how to write a mood log, turns out very helpful as additional treatment to keep hypomania and anxiety under control. i even started working out, doing memory exercises and preparing my exam notes tentatively, which is so hard and scary, oh my god, but i must. job search is even scarier but i'm working myself up to finding a good one with little, very very very very tiny steps but they are moving

in the first day of self made quarantine i rewatched the queer korean show Love for Love's Sake that cured me from depression for a while and from any possibility of suicidality for a lifetime last year. it didn't work the trick again, because i'm really not living in the best or even just calm psychological environment to let it do its magical healing thing the way it should, but it did give me new clarity and make me intensely cry some shit out, so that was also very nice

accidentally found the best fic ever and it brought me so much very needed comfort in the past week. it's sweet, funny and stress free. like a warm blanket. or a cup of vanilla cocoa that makes your cold toes tingle in winter. or a hug from the love of your life. first atz and woosan fic to enter my hall of all time longfic favourites. very rare honor but it deserves it completely

also found a bunch of bloggers who post videos of the ocean in Thailand, some even stream the beach 24/7. it's so cool, i watch it in the evenings for short periods of time. helps making it bearable to just survive here a little bit longer until i am able leave

i sort of of really like that when i don't spend 12 hours a day on the phone doing mind-numbing scrolling or posting, there is so much free time to do cool stuff? i have kinda felt like i can be back on here for a couple of days, but i still freak out a bit for two reasons. first, that bad comment is still hanging there and it still makes me too upset to open notifications or my own blog page, which is ridiculous but that's how my dumbass unwell-brain-made feelings are. so i will see how that goes away and i get over it like an adult. second, i'm scared to be sucked back in the addiction to the colourful little hellsite app so i usually end up throwing the phone away in panic after 5 minutes of the app being open. maybe i will work up to it more gradually, don't know, let's see how that goes too

thank you again my little treasure, i will happily take that kindness and comfort you offered here as you are a part of the world. and you can message without worrying anytime, no mutualship or officially labelled friendship necessary. i'm very cool with small amount of interactions, just not big on chatting online one on one for long and don't enjoy it super much. and also with how often i see you around we are considered friends for sure. so thank you again for being so sweet i really am so grateful to you for this, one hundred friend hugs in return

[amanda-519]

Ugh, I wrote like so many paragraphs but I had to put my phone down and when I opened Tumblr again my post was GONE. Not even in drafts so I have to write this AGAIN.

but, yes, I agree with you I'm also a huge Cecil apologist

I can understand completely why Cecil did what he did. Nolan almost took over the PLANET and Mark has the potential to be as strong as Nolan is. Of course the director of the GDA would try and come up with countermeasures!!!

.... But I'm also a Mark apologist. Like, imagine being Mark. Imagine growing up and having Nolan be gentle with you, be kind, be supportive. Mark grew up believing that his dad would never hurt him.

In season 1 when Nolan punched Mark, Mark was surprised. As he's on the ground he sounds like he can't believe his dad would actually hurt him. And later actually admits that he was surprised (and scared) that his dad hurt him.

Mark believed that his dad would never hurt him. That he would never hurt anyone.

After Nolan kills the Immortal in front of him, Mark immediately thinks that his dad is being mind controlled. His dad would never kill anyone. His dad LOVES him, his dad loves his mom.

And Nolan betrayed and broke that trust by killing all of those people, and almost killing Mark.

I feel like Mark kinda saw Cecil as a father figure, in a way. He was an older man in a position of power. He was wiser, more knowledgeable, and powerful.

Cecil was abrasive, stern, and a bit controlling. But I think Mark needed that. Nolan was shady, he could turn off his emotions. He could be at the guardians funeral and call them friends, and then come home and call them coworkers and not seem sad at their deaths.

Mark needed someone he felt like would tell him how it is. And I think he looked at Cecil for that.

Which is why Mark argued to work for him. To be on call. Why he trained with Cecil (like how he trained with his father).

Mark believed that Cecil wasn't like his father, on some level. Cecil worked for the GDA. He worked to PROTECT people.

I don't think that Mark's reaction to Cecil working with Darkwing or Sinclair was entirely because they were murderers, I think it was also because, in Mark's mind, he betrayed him.

Mark believed that Cecil was good, that he wouldn't hurt anyone, that he wouldn't work with bad guys (like how his father is working for the viltrumite empire), that he wouldn't hurt Mark (like how Nolan hurt Mark).

But then Cecil did.

Like imagine being Mark in that situation. Growing up thinking the world of your father, that he's a hero, that he loves you, that he loves your mom.

Only for Nolan to betray Mark so badly.

And then enters Cecil. An older man in a position in power, who has never been anything but nice (if a bit abrasive). (Remember, Mark didn't know Cecil was willing to let the giant tentacle thing kill him along with his dad)

Nolan helped Mark. He put him back on the field, made him feel important.

And then Cecil turned around and worked with murders and hurt him. Just like his dad hurt him.

But I can also understand why Cecil did what he did. I bet Cecil feels responsibility for what Nolan did, that he didn't stop Nolan before, that he didn't put in place countermeasures.

Cecil knew that Nolan was lying when Nolan showed up. But he hoped for the best. He was optimistic (naive) about Nolan. That he would help. And Nolan did, for 20 years. And then Nolan betrayed them. Betrayed him.

There were no countermeasures in place for Nolan. The giant tentacle thing they brought out was something they discovered recently. Even though Cecil knew that Nolan was lying when he showed up on Earth, he didn't try to think of a way to take Nolan down.

And it's not like it would have been hard to find a way, the screeching sound is a weakness. And I bet in 20 years Nolan came across something akin to that. But Cecil wasn't looking, he probably didn't pay attention to it.

And I bet that thought keeps him up. The fact that Cecil knew Nolan was lying and yet didn't try harder to think of a way to put Nolan down.

Nolan betrayed both Cecil and Mark, and that betrayal hurt both of them deeply.

I think both Cecil and Mark both, on a subconscious level, saw each other as a "do-over" for Nolan.

For Cecil, he saw Mark as a fresh viltrumite (like how Nolan was a fresh viltrumite when he first came to earth). Except this time Cecil is going to keep Mark on a shorter leash. He's going to put in countermeasures from day one (Cecil put the chip in Mark's brain right after Mark finished fighting his dad).

Cecil felt so out of control with Nolan that he wasn't willing to do the same with Mark.

I think Cecil pulled out the switch so fast because Cecil didn't like the idea of losing even the smallest bit of control of Mark. He was scared, sure, but he was also scared that if he didn't act now, that if he didn't get Mark back into control now, that this would be another Nolan situation.

For Mark, he saw Cecil as an older man he could trust. That was like his father in some ways (powerful, more experienced) but different in others (abrasive, says what he wants).

So when Cecil turned out to be working with murders Mark freaked out because he felt like Cecil broke his trust (like how his father broke his trust).

In conclusion, I can understand why both of them did what they did, lol.

ngl I’m a Cecil apologist

S3 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

like I mean come ON he tried so many times to get Mark to chill and talk and at least respect what Cecil was trying to do. Like no a nineteen year old doesn’t get to single-handedly determine moral high ground just because he’s superboy.

Mark needs to be able to have huge unconquerable disagreements without resorting to violence. Or menace and the fact he can’t check how scary being flown after is to Cecil is giving those six right men who don’t realize yelling at women is INSANELY scary to them for systematic reasons.

the fact nobody in marks life except maybe his mom can go “Mark stfu and sit down we need to talk like adults” without having to FRY HIS BRAIN is scary. Cecil’s job is to keep the world safe. Mark just made it very clear he’s willing to exploit his supernatural abilities when he has a conflict of opinion. That’s not good. What if Mark, like naive young adults do, discovers political extremism? Or idfk, Vilrtumite ideology. Who saves earth when its protector disagrees with the people he’s trying to protect? Who keeps the invincible in check?

[sympathytea]

Chat I have some thoughts about PVPCiv PrinceZam. I know. Typical right? I'll try to make this quick, but you probably know by now if you've seen my posts floating around that I ramble a lot. Spoilers below, for S1 and S2 (specifically S2Ep2.)

So! The prince in yellow has certainly been cooking. And I think safe to say I have...a decent enough vibe for him that I can be confident with this read. Starting from the top:

PrinceZam's cowardice has been obvious since our first introduction to him. Especially since his attempt at killing Evbo (unsuccessfully) and then proceeding to run and lock himself behind his door, where he can't be hurt sets him up for the type of guy that doesn't like to get into fights that he can't win. And runs when they don't go his way.

He displays this cowardice again when in the S1 Finale when he fights Evbo for the armor stand. They fight for a decent amount of time using just wooden swords, but then Zam notices that he's not winning this fight, and throws his trident at Evbo, and flees. Not even going back for his weapon until much later.

We don't see him again until S2Ep2, where he is holding the bird in a cage. His cowardice is still very much there, instead of trying to fight a fight he won't win, he takes someone hostage that Evbo likes to make sure he won't fight back.

Does that sound familiar? Yes!

Winding back a bit, S1Ep4. The big tonal shift episode.

Zam has fabricated a similar situation. Tabi is held hostage, Evbo likes Tabi, and Zam is threatening to kill her if Evbo doesn't comply. And this time he actually has assistance from the PVP Language guy, other iron swords and probably also the shields.

So you might be wondering "Tea is this entire read just to say he's a coward we know this"

Not quite! Theres more, obviously. This onion has some layers.

Zam to me, seems deeply afraid of not just losing a fight, but also death itself. To the point he seems to switch gears to becoming God to prevent the possibility of dying. Despite him not having a whole lot of PvP skills. (He lost to Evbo of all people multiple times. I don't think he has the qualifications to be God let alone take on Tabi and Clown I'm sorry lol.)

His original plan, seemed to just be hiding out on the iron sword layer, preventing both Tabi from getting the eternal sword, but also keeping Evbo there for immortality by durability refreshes. Which we see him using.

But then that plan fails, He dies to Evbo, and just...hides out in Evbo's house for awhile. Planning to take Immortality for himself.

That plan fails, He's scared now, and seems to hide out long enough to retrieve his trident and venture down to the iron sword layer, presumably to gather his henchmen and go down there as a team. Because he couldn't possibly fight Evbo, and the diamond swords by himself.

Slight problem with that.

Evbo and Parrot killed the entire layer while he was gone. Including the people on his side and possibly, some guards that were affiliated with Zam.

He did not know they were going to do this.

And this scares the shit out of him!

Evbo at this point has been not the type to just kill an entire layer out of pure spite and resentment. And so he would reasonably, be pretty shaken up about this.

He confronts Parrot. "I want to know why you're the only one still alive" is about the iron sword layer being empty. He's afraid of what these two can do to him. So he takes a page out of his own book and holds one hostage so the other can't hurt him.

Its also clear to me in his speech that he himself is afraid of death and seems to dislike Evbo's callousness towards it. "You should be thanking me for helping you not take life for granted."

So after he manages to get Evbo and the diamond swords to stand down, his plan becomes "Get the eternal weapons, become God."

This plan, I can assure you is going to completely backfire in his face.

He's overconfident that this will work, He's overconfident in his skills and thinks that he can just put the situation in his favor again, through whatever means necessary.

Tabi and Clown took down an entire civilization by themselves. Which I don't think Zam knows.

And honestly, I don't think there is a universe where Zam could win this fight. Two axes, both of them capable of permanently killing him and are already 3/5ths of the way to becoming gods. He's just too weak for this. He's lost to Evbo, who we've been shown time and time again isn't very good at PVP himself. He is improving, but Zam is lagging behind, and that's not a very good sign for his survival. He's certainly a fun antagonistic foil to Evbo, considering how afraid of dying and losing Zam is, compared to Evbo who seems to not give a shit if he loses as long as he can come back. Who also fights tooth and nail to win, but Evbo does it fairly rather than trying to rely on putting the situation directly in his favor. Evbo is kind to others that he enjoys, Zam seems to keep everyone at arms length, only valuing people who stay in line. Zam has only been shown to die to Evbo, and most likely avoids dying if he was keeping his immortality a secret. Which could be interpreted as him being better at PVP, I don't think he is. He probably just did cheap shots and ambush kills on unsuspecting players when he was on the wooden and stone sword levels. Considering we saw him do an ambush in his first introduction, then hid like a coward when it didn't work? Yeah... I want to see this menace crack like an egg.

[spacebubblehomebase]

"Say My Name."

Tumblr "Poll Results" for my #HHStargazersAU are out and so I'm releasing ALL the currently available titles of my future posts for this story!!! Though to not completely spoil the plot for everyone, I redacted some parts on the list. Just know that, while I DO have plans, they could always change and not everything is complete. But if you're still willing to be patient with me, here's a taste of my writing and art! Nothing serious. Just to see if it's to your liking. I won't always stick to such style, but there WILL be consistent world building as it's my favorite part of starting any AU! And if you like Chaggie or queerplatonic Radioapple centric stories then you're in luck because that's EVERYTHING I'm here for! It'll take a lot of effort, but GOD will it also be a LOT of fun! XD Still a show is nothing without an audience and according to my list, it's time for an INTEREST CHECK, so what say you? 👀✨️ -Bubbly���

(For more context, check out "Part One" of my story! "A New Day Will Dawn...")

[thepreachers-son]

This is meant to be silly please don't come for me!

i just think we could all benefit from tagging hate going into the new year. some of us come to tumblr.com because we want to see vampires kiss and some of us come to tumblr.com because we hate him so much we can no longer live as free men with this burden upon us. either is ok but lets not get in each others way. things are going to be so scary next year for a lot of people and sometimes you just want to make up silly little stories about silly little vampires on the internet to relax and maybe its a wild idea that we can do it without hurting one another feelings

[midnightwind]

okay tumblr decided to be Funny with me so I'm coming back to this outside of the tags because apparently I have too many thoughts about the Crows for my own good

so, cracking my knuckles because it's been a hot sec since I've sat down to be insane over the Crows and their politics! (god fuck sorry just looked up the 'cast list' for 8LT again and wdym Dante was Second Talon wtf- that feels wild okay sorry I thought Emil was Second Talon for some reason) ANYWAYS I think it's entirely possible that Caterina did not push on having Houses Balazar and Valisti vacate their spots, I would find it Highly unlikely that a Talon would not have a successor lined up should something happen to them. Caterina cannot be the only Talon thinking about Legacy and What Comes Next and even if there wasn't an obvious heir to the seat in Houses that lost their Talon I think someone would have stepped up, esp with Caterina looming over them being like “figure your shit out we have to save the country.” (internal fighting still very real, but unless a Knife tried to fight for the spot, I doubt they'd change Houses esp since we haven't heard of a Knife taking a seat recently [we don't know if Teia was Cantori before taking her seat or not to my knowledge])

although there is also a real discussion to be had about how much communication can happen between the Talons post invasion... Viago's letter to Rook mentions that writing letters to Minrathous will be almost impossible because of the Antaam (which I take with a grain of salt because why would the Assassin's Guild use mundane mail that has to be screened... and maybe he just means “they're annoyingly apt at spotting our messages so it's not worth it unless it's Important” idk, it would be on brand for him to also be like "and nothing you write is ever very important so fix that or stop trying to write me") but I think the Second and Third seats are at least still within their initial Houses from 8LT just because of the invasion looming. I do think Caterina might have gone scorched earth on House Kortez however (I can't remember if we have a Codex or dialogue citing this, I know we had a few references to fallen Houses but I read 8LT after finding those and don't want to open the game rn lmao) very much “can't know how deep the betrayal goes so burn it all to save us the trouble” you know?

so maybe Viago did become Fourth Talon after 8LT given he solved the murders and ensured Emil was caught, but then Rook happens. Rook ruins an important strike against the invaders and Viago spares them over it. Caterina understands doing anything for your family (and Rook is set up as his family and potentially his successor even!) but that can't be allowed so he has to be punished! But he's a clever Crow and a good Talon and an important piece on the board (esp when it comes to the Crown of Antiva!) so why not just take that promotion away and ensure he does better next time? scare him, ensure the Problem (Rook) is dealt with, and keep that hard worker under your thumb! I don't know if another House stepped up to fill that role or if there just currently isn't a Fourth Talon (Illario did have a full spread when he tried to take over as First Talon but maybe he just had stand ins or supporters mixed in with Teia and Viago, I don't think all the Talons are in Treviso or should all be there or could all be there that fast) I foresee Bolivar getting ousted by his own House upon his return from 8LT honestly so House Nero may still hold the Sixth seat under a new Talon, and well poor Arainai might still be 8th Talon (never rule out Zevran coming back to run chaos) but it's the weakest seat so I doubt Caterina really worried about solving that with the Antaam happening. and so as long as the House still answers and fights for the Talons in Antiva I doubt it matters who's name has the title, anyone in the House could have taken over for Giuli.

I think bare minimum that Teia should have been promoted to Sixth Talon tho she was core to finding Emil as the killer and it's esp weird considering Caterina very openly favors her. maybe they thought bumping Teia to Sixth but leaving Viago as Fifth would be too confusing? but only people who read 8LT would even find it odd (and even then, would we??) but maybe they had the seats already decided for Veilguard before Tevinter Nights was finished and things stayed the same between...

anyways, the whole of Antiva is primed for a Huge wave of reform at end of the events of Veilguard, esp if Rook is played as a Crow. the heroes of the world (this time) are all decently high ranked or highly respected assassins within the order and one of them even has ties to the crown! I think, if we had gotten to see a little further, glimpsed the road Antiva is on with ousting the Antaam, there would be a decent chance of the Crows becoming proper god damned heroes of legends to the country and Viago making a real move to take the crown from his father (with full backing from at least 2 Houses if not most of the order) and who even knows if having a full 8 Talons would even be needed then? the entire order of Crows could be going through some insane changes at the end of all this

also one other thing that was bothering me. even if we chuck it up to teia's influence and viago being super generous by not overtaking 2nd and 3rd talon (house balazar and valisti) after what happen in eight little talons, house kortez is pretty much done and gone. it makes no sense that a cuchillo house is jumping immediately to the vacated 4th talon position, viago should be a 4th talon now and teia 6th. the setup where they remained at their previous positions would only make sense if they for some reason kept 4th talon vacated, but that makes no sense, it's been years. i think it's just a slipup and by all means viago should be 4th and teia 6th at least. i would even expect more changes in the hierarchy, but on the other hand maybe caterina penalized infighting somehow now that they should be focusing on the antaam.

[copia]

i've done some horrible things to copia in the notes app but i draw the line at giving him a hip replacement. so my personal hc for his cane situation — disregarding the alternative of him taking one onstage just for the vibes — is that he developed early onset osteoarthritis from ballet and began to manage it. the rats mv was the last time he danced properly, then after the threat of replacement, it was strict physiotherapy and steroid injections until the cane wasn't as necessary as it once was. you can get footwear designed to help with oa, so i'm sliding the shoe moment from rhrn into this self-indulgent ramble ('i'll get injured' = 'things will be worse for me later'). he'll jump around the stage as often as he dares to the frustration of doctors and his mother — and his ghouls, who will help him limp offstage at every show towards the end of the tour and take care of him after treatments. limited movement frustrates him to no end but he'll put on a mask of cheery positivity until he's too tired to maintain it any longer. he'll manage it to the point where it's easier to live with than it was when he danced for the last time, but it'll never be like it was when he was young. he struggles with this more than he does the physical pain. who'd want a reminder of their imminent demise burning at their side with every step? still, he pretends, even if it's obvious to everyone close to him that it's a problem — no need to give them any more reason to end his reign earlier than he'd like

[mischievouslittlecreature]

Having one of those days where I wanna delete everything I've ever written and crawl into a hole to hide for forever.

Don't worry, I'm not actually gonna. My brain is just being stupid.

[laugtherhyena]

You guys should know i sketched this imediately after that pride month shitpost