#I wish there was more variety like that with the puppies

[plushie-lovey]

I feel like ganz/webkinz were really going somewhere with the designs of the peppermint puppy and pumpkin puppy. They still feel like they fit with the love, peace, and clover puppies, but are their own unique thing at the same time. I wish they'd continued along that route instead of choosing to make patterned puppies with busy designs and printed fabric (such as the spooky puppy, texting puppy, cupcake puppy, etc.) But that's probably a hot take lol

[sunshine-and-moonshine]

Cod - You use the safeword

Requested: Yes [hiii i’m actually dying for angry sex with the 141 boys/könig where the reader uses their safe word (i am not at all projecting my need to feel protected/cared for that is ridiculous.) (yes i am.)]

Warnings: A smidge of angst but mostly just some soft boys taking care of you

A/N: In which I reach the tag limit for the first time

Price

Price isn’t surprised when you use your safe word, having already been observing the way you seemed to be gradually getting more and more uncomfortable and stressed. So he pulls away without a fuss, shushing you softly as he wraps you up in a blanket, leaving the room only to come back a moment later with some tea and snacks to help you get your energy back. He’ll gently cup your cheeks in his big hands, pressing soft kisses to your forehead and shoulders as he tells you how good you did for him.

Gaz

Gaz is definitely surprised when you use your safeword, and his poor pleasure drunk mind literally doesn’t comprehend anything for a moment, so he’s frozen above you, brows furrowed as he tries to remember what that word meant again. But then it finally clicks with him and he’s so gentle as he pulls out, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead as he turns you both to be laying on your sides, your head tucked under his chin as he rubs up and down your back to soothe you.

Ghost

A pause, then a nod and a grunt before he’s pulling back. He’s more than a bit unsure of what to do. He knows he should comfort you but he doesn’t know how exactly to do that so he simply stands up and grabs a rag and a warm bowl of water, his hands oh so gentle as he helps clean you up. Anything you ask for, you’ll get it. Your wish is his command. Whatever snack, drink, or action you want, he’ll provide.

Soap

Soap is startled by your use of your safe word, giving you a look that resembled a concerned puppy as he carefully pulled away, his eyes carefully examining you for any physical injuries. If he finds any, he’ll never forgive himself. He’ll hold it over his own head forever. But if there isn’t any then he’s relieved, massaging your thighs and then your back, kissing at the back of your neck.

Alejandro

Alejandro blinks, stilling above you, voice gentle and soothing as he asks you to repeat yourself. He hums when you do, pressing sweet kisses on your face as he asks you what you need from him. He’s so gentle with you now, murmuring sweet things in Spanish in your ears, holding you to his ever warm body, firm but loose enough that you could wiggle away if you became uncomfortable.

Rudy

Rudy looks at you with concern when you utter your safeword, asking you repeatedly if you’re alright as he helps you get clean with a warm washcloth, nuzzling his nose against your cheek. Rudy will probably set up your favorite movie and get a variety of snacks for you to enjoy as you both wind down, his head in your lap as he keeps glancing up to check on you every few minutes.

König

König jolts away like he’s been burned, apologies already on his lips as he cups your face in his hands, his eyes wide and puppy-like, already letting himself be guilt tripped by the voices in his head. If you try and reassure him then he just feels guilty, shaking his head as he kisses your knuckles and palms before getting up to get you some comfy pajamas and then orders your favorite take out.

[zeroseuniverse]

Princess Treatment

WC: 910 Pairing: Yunho X reader

“Can I have three powdered donuts, please?” She asked sweetly, the worker almost beaming at the sweet face ready to serve her quickly. 

“Right away miss.” He bowed, rushing to put together the order.

The quaint shop was seemingly empty, but she couldn’t help but notice how homey the decor was, warm tones with odd accents here and there to make the place more inviting, magazines and books littering some of the tables making it look lived in. She found herself quite comfortable in the shop, that was until she heard the bell chime behind her, the clerk parking up to see the new customer while she idly avoided turning to face the newcomer.

“Can I help you sir? "The older male asked sweetly.

“Just give me her bill please.” The deep voice rumbled behind her, his body coming up to almost pressing against her before he spoke again. “Can you not run off like that again?”

“Can you stop letting women flirt with you?” She snarked still not turning to face the man, instead setting her eyes on scanning the variety of candy for sale in the small shop.

“Here you go, miss.” The clerk smiled, bringing her the box of sweets and taking her partner’s card to ring up the bill.

“She wasn’t flirting!” Yunho protested, earning an eyeroll from his girlfriend who turned on her heel to face him, slipping a hand into his pocket to grab the spare cash before heading over to the tip jar.

“Here sir, have a wonderful day.” She yet again offered a sweet smile as she dropped the large wad of money into the tip jar and grabbed the card after the transaction was completed. She turned to her lover who was watching her with a shocked face before yet again turning on her hell, only this time heading to the car instead.

“You sure do have your hands full with that one.” The clerk commented as he came to stand near Yunho to hand him back the large sum of money.

“Keep it, she knows a safe place when she sees one. She wouldn’t have left that money if she didn’t see value in your shop.” Yunho sighed, making a mental note of the shop’s name so he knew where to check next time she ran off.

“A sweet face and fierce personality is a dangerous combination.” the clerk said, placing a wrinkled hand onto Yunho’s shoulder with a wry smile.

“Yea.. Wish me luck.” Yunho said with an airy chuckle at the end before walking to his car quickly to not leave his lover waiting. Heading to his sleek black car he climbed into the driver side, instead of starting the car though he looked over at her with exasperated eyes. 

She was eating a donut while scrolling through her phone, not bothering to clean up the sprinkled powdered sugar all over the seat of the car. 

“Can we talk about this please?” He sighed, watching her sip on her drink she had gotten on their date to wash down the donut. 

“She was flirting with you.”

“No she wasn’t.”

“She literally touched your hair.”

“I had food in it because SOMEONE threw a piece of bread at me.”

“She literally called me immature.”

“Well you’re acting like it right now love.”

“She bad mouthed your girlfriend and you’re agreeing with her?”

“You didn’t even give me a chance to say anything before you took off.”

“You smiled at the comment.”

“Sarcastically. I was about to ask for a new waiter, can you calm down and stop stress eating now. I know you’re feeling bad and that you think you’re overreacting, you’re not, your feelings are valid and how you handle those feelings is valid as well. I’m not upset, I just wanted you to hear what actually happened before you got too hurt by your own mind. I love you and everything about you, even how jealous you get.”

“So I dirtied your car up for nothing.” She said quietly looking up at him with watery eyes as guilt hit her. She had purposefully gone out of her way to break his no eating in his car rule, to try and upset him. Only for him to be the perfect boyfriend he always is.

“What do you mean?” He asked confusedly, tilting his head slightly, almost resembling a puppy.

“You don’t like people eating in your car, that’s why I got the messy donuts to get you as upset as I was. It’s petty and ridiculous. I'm sorry. I’ll clean it the second we get home.” She rushed out an explanation, hurrying to put away the trash.

“Now hold on.” He said almost sounding offended as he stared at her incredulously. She froze in her actions before looking at him wide eyed. “That rule never applied to you, and it never will. And when we get home, you’re going to sit your pretty butt right there and I will carry you inside, we will have a nice warm bath and I’ll do your skin care and your night routine with you, then we will snuggled up in our warm bed and handle the mess tomorrow first thing in the morning. Let me show you how much I love my princess.” He grinned, starting the car and quickly taking off before she had the chance to protest. 

He’d give her the princess treatment whether she wanted it or not.

[sphireath-wisp]

#My Favorite Lipstick

Sypnosis: How do they kiss?

Warnings: I have never experienced those deep heated kisses (only quick ones), not proofread, different from my usual formatting, not individual sections, F! reader is implied maybe, suggestive at some parts?

Featuring: A Variety of characters x GN! reader

QUICK, SWEET, SIMPLE The type of kisses that he steals from you when he wants your attention on him only. He has so much to do today, so would you let him have your eyes on him and him only - even for this short, fleeting moment?

He stops in front of the door, his feet coming to a halt when he lightly grazes his own lips, realizing he had forgotten the thing that keeps him energized throughout the day.

You spot him, completely still accompanied by a stare that tells you he's deep in thought. Just as quickly as you saw him, his head turns to you. That rational part of his mind jerks his hand up to the doorknob, well aware of the time crunch he's in, yet he hesitates to leave.

"Bye-bye honey! Have a good day at practice," You wave with the sweetest grin known to mankind - the smile that was crafted to be too perfect, the smile that greets him home and showers him with butterflies.

His defenses are toppled down, and the grip on the door handle softens as his fingers hover around your cheek. Pushing away those irritatingly silky strands of hair that become an obstacle for him, he leans in for a short kiss that leaves the both of you wanting more.

While he still wanted to give you another - you could tell from his gaze, stuck onto your pretty lips like glue - he had to endure the hellish task of holding himself back.

It'll be fine though, he'll be able to satisfy himself once he gets home and returns to your side.

RIN ITOSHI, Sae Itoshi, Rensuke Kunigami, Shoei Barou, Seishiro Nagi?

FUN, PURE, INNOCENT The type of kisses that is embedded into your daily routine. The ones that don't seem that special brighten up his day nevertheless. The ones that cause giggles and laughter to escape out of the both of you.

He tackles you onto the bed, arms tightening around your waist as he presses kisses onto your belly. No matter how much you yelp and cry that it tickles, he doesn't stop, your laughter becoming the soothing music to ease anything bothering him.

Lips explore your upper body, pressing his soft and heart-filled kisses onto you until he reaches your face. Puppy dog eyes stare back at yours whilst his cheek nonchalantly rests on your chest. Like a cat, he claws his way up, tugging on your shirt once while he continues to cover every inch of your face with his endearments.

Making those dramatic "mwah" sounds whenever he leaves his mark on your skin, he holds the 'mmmm' sound with cold lips against your cheek for what feels like an eternity - and you would exaggeratively wish euphoric moments like this could last an eternity. Covering your face to shield yourself from his 'attacks', you giggle as you notice the apparent pout forming on his face.

His forehead flattens against yours and your pinch his cheeks gently, molding his face into a silly, lighthearted expression that engraves itself into your memory. "I love you," or so he would declare to you, his pupils dilating the moment he heard you repeat the exact words back to him, adoration laced into that siren-like hum of yours.

MEGURU BACHIRA, Reo Mikage, Yoichi Isagi, Hyoma Chigiri, Seishiro Nagi

DEEP, HEATED, FORCEFUL The type of kisses that he expects as a reward for all of his hard work. After a long day, he loves those cute kisses that you pepper onto his face - but he's demanding and knows damn well that he loves that rush in his body when you're aggressive with him.

He pins you to the wall, the loud crash of your body against it passing as if it didn't physically cause you to wince. Well, it's not as if you had any time to focus on the pain when you're stuck in a deep kiss, the satisfaction from receiving such a treat from him washing away any pain inflicted.

How could he not hold back? It had been months since he had seen your precious face and he just had to let loose. You invited him to a secluded corner away from anyone else and that ridiculously smug smirk told him everything he needed to know.

Your hands travel to his hair, pulling at his scalp to give you the limited time needed to breathe before getting to round 2. He doesn't restrain himself either, hands tucking themselves comfortably under your shirt and caressing your back.

Once the both of you stop, you catch your breath, heart still racing in your chest. "We're going to get caught, idiot. Hold back a little." You rub that dark spot on your neck, flustered face scowling at him as if he was scum.

An Iron grip holds your hand, lightly kissing another spot on your shoulder. "You're asking too much out of me, princess." He was still hungry for more, unluckily for you.

Technically, you initiated this, so you better be ready to bear the consequences.

RYUSEI SHIDOU, Micheal Kaiser, Aiku Oliver, Reo Mikage, Shoei Barou, Sae Itoshi(let me dream)

[midnightsun-if]

How Scarlett would react if in a ball the court held she founds baby!mc following her as a lost puppy? She would tease mc in the future?

I think if it’s something Scarlett cared enough to recall she might tease the MC about it, but I don’t think it’s something she’d look back on unless it was needed (she doesn’t really like to delve into her past, good or bad, for a variety of reasons as she tends to spiral a bit).

A soothing melody resounds through the ballroom — interspersed with the sounds of clinking glasses, light chatter, and even lighter laughter that rung with hidden intentions — allowing for the varying couples to move across the dance floor in an elegant display of grace; art coming to life in the face of measured movements.

It was all too much — too fake — for her to stomach for long; she had never been one to dally within the confines of court for extended periods of time. She played the part, of course. The dutiful heir, even if she’d never see the throne, and the even more doting daughter; one who laughed and smiled at each insolent lordling that wished to gain favor with her father, thinking she’d be too blind to see what they were trying to do by approaching her, and each moment she kept the demure expression across her face was a moment more that she felt something wither away within her.

Princess Scarlett Voltaire, in the face of many within the Etheric Court, was everything you wished for in a royal child: charming, docile, eloquent, and, above all, beautiful.

Princess Scarlett Voltaire, to Scarlett Voltaire, was nothing more than a caricature; a gilded cage that trapped her before the eyes of the many, locking her within herself, never letting the eyes of the few in to truly see what would happen when she’d finally be free.

This ball, this room, and the people that moved within it? Were nothing but spectators to a show they weren’t even aware they’re a part of. An almost voyeuristic entity settling within her gut, sending a chill down her spine, every time someone turned to look at her; a gnawing entity that made her want to rip herself open, to show what was being hidden away, to reveal that they were looking at a beautifully constructed mask — something that conformed to what they wished to see, but wasn’t truly there.

It’s a feeling Scarlett could only handle for so long — her nails biting into the palm of her hands — before she decided to slip away into the shadows that such events provided; going unseen, unwanted, for her duty had already been completed. She ensnared people towards House Voltaire, delighting them by feeding their egos, and letting them loose to speak about the accomplishments King Alaric had been able to procure while raising such delightful children.

Standing within the shadows now, watching her handiwork in action, makes another chill run down her spin, a sickening weight settling within her gut, as she watched various individuals laud over someone that wasn’t even real.

“You’re pretty.” The statement, along with the fact that she had been so lost within her mind that she let someone sneak up on her, causes a frown to settle over her features; annoyance sparking within her chest at the continued homage to her physical appearance. However, when she turned to spit fire towards the person that addressed her so, Scarlett’s eyes fall down to the small child that she had seen with her peripheries throughout the night; always looking in her direction with wide, innocent eyes.

Such innocence doesn’t deserve to be around this… Entrapped within the belly of the beast without a true way to escape.

Smoothing her features, adopting a serene expression, Scarlett tilts her head. “You should be with your parents, young one.” She takes a cursory sniff, ensuring that her assumptions were true, and a heavy weight settles across her shoulders when she realized that child before her was human; woefully, unequivocally, human. Even a shifter pup would be better than this — for they’d at least stand a chance if things went awry — but Scarlett couldn’t allow for her burgeoning feelings to show. It wouldn’t do anyone any good. “Where are they? Are you capable of getting back to them?”

The child still continues to stare up at her with wide eyes — observing her with a nonjudgmental gaze; no hidden agenda lurking within the innocent expression — and Scarlett, despite her years doing the opposite, couldn’t help the softness that edges within her own in return. She had never been good with children, even if they tended to flock to her, but she had also never been able to turn them away either; even if it’d be better for everyone if she was left alone. It seemed that now, even with this human child, her record wouldn’t shift in the slightest.

Crouching down, balancing easily on her heels, Scarlett maintains eye contact. “Do you need help locating your family, young one?” She looks out across the room, not spotting anyone frantically searching for a missing child. “Are they even in this room?”

Another slow blink, before a large grin stretches across the child’s face. “You’re pretty.”

Scarlett can feel her left eye twitch slightly at the repeated phrase — faintly feeling her dearest ones amusement, at the situation she had found herself within, through their bond — but she maintains focus and, what she hopes in any case, a pleasant, even if slightly exasperated, expression across her face.

“We’ve established that,” she replies. “What we have yet to discern is if you’re in need of assistance. Are you lost? Do you know where your family is? Did you come with anyone?”

It briefly crosses her mind that the child could be leftover meal; even if the practice had been dying out, and Scarlett herself found it utterly abhorrent, she’s well aware that there were some still within the court that feasted on new blood. But, looking at the demeanor of the child, and the elegantly tailored clothes, it’s something that was dismissed as a possibility; if the child were to be a meal then there’d be definitive signs. None of which being that the child was actually looked after to this degree.

Which only meant the child belonged, in the familial sense, to someone and it seemingly was left to Scarlett to return the little human.

“Come now,” Scarlett finally mutters, not enjoying the action she was about to partake in to ensure this endeavor went as quickly as possible. “Let’s go find your family. You shouldn’t be wandering by yourself in this place. It’s dangerous for people twice your age.”

Opening her arms, Scarlett observes as the child takes in the action with an excited gleam appearing within the innocent gaze and, before she can properly react, she has a tiny form burrowing against her chest, small arms wrapped around her neck with a little face nuzzling against it a moment later, and Scarlett just barely contains her innate reaction to push the encroaching entity away from her personal space. Instead, fighting against every instinct telling her to do the exact opposite, Scarlett rises, cradling the child closer, and begins to search around the room with an almost predatory gaze; she was on the hunt now, and she wasn’t about to fail. Still, looking down at the tiny form, it wouldn’t hurt to get some semblance of help — even if the request wouldn’t bear anything fruitful.

“Young one?” A sleepy gaze rises to meet her own. “Where is the last place you saw your family?”

Instead of answering directly, as she anticipated, the little face nuzzles back into her neck, tiny hands slightly grasping the dark auburn locks that spilled down across her neck from her elaborate hairstyle. Words slightly muffled, and intercepted by a yawn, but they were ones she had become quite used to while in the presence of this particular human. “You’re pretty.”

With the small form beginning to fall asleep, and while she’s still within the confines of the shadows, away from the prying eyes of the vultures that circle within this blasted place, Scarlett allows her gaze to soften completely as she looks at the slumbering child; for once, in a long while, actually allowing herself to believe the words, in the sincerity within them, and letting her heart rejoice in the happiness the warmth those few syllables provided.

[cozymoko]

Let us test your patience now! How about ROMANTIC yandere headcannon or fic for our mutual fav kaname with a human day class darling? Cucu- 🌕 anon

YAN. KANAME KURAN WITH DAY CLASS S/O

Note: Lmaooo. PS: writers block is killing me. o(╥﹏╥)

Pairing: Kaname Kuran x GN! Human s/o

WARNING(S): Yandere themes, manipulation, bad writing

Want more? → Vampire Knight Masterlist

Being his partner, you're destined to live a lavish lifestyle. Gifts have become an everyday occurrence between the two of you. It's his way of leaving his mark on you, gifting you with jewels and pricey trinkets, though he'd never tell you that. When noticing him with a matching one of his own, your relationship should be clear as day.

St. Xocolatl's Day was something he cared little about prior to his relationship with you. However, it was somewhat of an obligation to attend (to get to his classes). As he exited the gates, his eyes were quick to find you as they'd always have been. You stood near the end of his line, patiently waiting your turn. Little did you know, that was enough to make his heart swoon.

You were a bit reluctant to throw out the chocolates. This day came only once a year and you wished to eat to your heart's content. The variety of chocolates wrapped in colorful, florescencent plastics that were just as eye-catching as you'd expected. But from the looks of it, you wouldn't get to try any.

“Do these hold some importance to you?”

If you had not been his lover, you would've found it to be a genuine question. But the hint of dismay swimming in his usually calm gaze was a dead give away. He looked like a kicked puppy, an expression that was strictly reserved for your eyes. You were quick to shake away his worries, pushing the wrapped goods into his open arms.

The only one that remainded was his own, marked with such intricate and neat calligraphy that only he was capable of.

~~~ To my dearest, {Name}, whom I miss terribly. ♡

Every. Aching. Moment

Kaname is not one to shy away from his feelings, especially the ones involving you. The relationship you share is ambiguous, to say the least. The adoration and infatuation in his gaze are evident, and yet he's willing to keep it a secret for the sake of your reputation. Frankly, he's quite the selfish man, and at times he can't help but act rashly when it involves you.

The Pureblood wants to possess you and everything you are. He can hardly keep his hands off you as is, and the scarce amount of time you spend together only fuels his cravings. But with a little interference, I'm sure he could pull some strings. He is a Kuran after all, what can't he do for you?

Whether he wants to admit it or not, humans are very fragile beings. If he so chose to, he could slaughter thousands with just a mere snap of his fingers. At times, he wishes to do just that. After all, you had always been surrounded by other morals who practically jumped at the opportunity to suck away your time — Leeches, that's all they are. Blood-sucking leeches (hypocrite).

It's a shame he can't stay with you for the entirety of the day. During your absence, he's grown rather irritable with those beneath him. “Sharing you,” or rather your time, is and shall remain one of his least favorite pastimes. Truthfully, the thought of turning you into a vampire has crossed his mind more times than he'd care to admit.

“It's been quite some time since our last interaction. Are you avoiding me, {Name}?” His words came out as a feeble whisper, with how close he was to you, that was more than enough. “You've been spending far too much time with those in the day class and frankly, I've grown a bit jealous.” His warm breath grazed the shell of your ear as he gently rested his hand along the small of your back.

“Can't I be a little selfish? Just this once.”

Your relationship is bound to spark the interest of the aristocrats roaming the night class. It's not everyday they see the Great Kaname Kuran grow so soft for a mere human. Only a fool wouldn't be able to see how tightly you have him wrapped around your finger. But the real question is why?

Oh what a shame, no one will truly understand why. Those who've tried weren't fortunate enough to make it back. Their death being by the hand of a Pureblood who are they to say anything? In their eyes, your situation remains an anamoly regarding the many faces of Kaname Kuran. Though it seems he's not too keen on playing nice when you're involved.

An immortal life can be a blessing and a curse. Even so, it happened to be one thing Kaname wouldn't wish to liveanything. You've spoiled him far too much, at this rate you'll be a vampire in no time!

[heywriters]

how to make a tumblr post (and get notes!)

Have never seen any post discuss these exact things, so i'm sharing my insights with y'all*

Use images. They don't have to be good or spectacular like this extremely coherent thing I just made. They just need to catch the eye break up dashboard monotony.

The gif search feature is an unreliable wild card at best and a NSFW eye gouge at worst, but it gives credit to the op of the gif

If you're an artist your whole post is your images, so skip to the links and tags section of this post because the rest won't help much.

-> Image Descriptions

When making a post that contains images, hover over an image and click the meatballs icon in the lower right corner of the image. Click "update description" to add a description. It isn't always necessary, but it is very courteous for a variety of accessibility reasons.

-> Text

Break up your text. Run-on sentences are standard here, lack of punctuation too, you can really do whatever you want, but avoid massive blocks of text. unless you've got a really incendiary opening line and the entire center of that granite chunk of text is actually comedy gold, hard-hitting tumblr journalism, or one of those zany confessional posts that can be followed up by the drive thru meme

break up

your text.

and go light on the ALL CAPS. save it for emphasis or when you're feeling very unhinged or saRcAStiC y'know how that goes, i don't need to explain it. this site has a very dry tone to its posts so caps are rare. also periods

Bullet points and numbered posts are good and fine. The "Chat" post option is used less often these days, but different groups found uses for it so it sticks around.

Titles Matter

they help break up text and put people at ease. they are best for informative, mature posts but can make you look like a square in more relaxed conversations. sometimes they are also great for emphasis in a comedic sh*tpost (censorship is entirely up to you, btw. you don't have to censor much on tumblr except titties and genitals).

Tumblr automatically shortens long posts now, but etiquette asks that you tag #long post if you want to avoid clogging up someone's dash. It don't matter too much though, this is the "color of the sky" site, so get used to posts being too long

That being said "READ MORE" is a fantastic feature. Use it when you want some level of privacy like "hey, only click below if you want to hear about my problems" or "click below to read my 18+ fanfic." Read more is also great in case you want to delete something forever. If a reblogged post has a read more, but op deleted the og post, that content is gone (readmore has to be on the og post at time of posting for this to work, btw; edits to og post do not span all reblogs)

the other bells and whistles like colored font or italics are helpful in improving text, but we don't really rely on them. every mode of looking at this site alters those aspects somehow so we often ignore them

-> Links

Hint: People don't want to click links. We don't know where they're taking us. Most of us are on our phone and don't want to open another tab or leave the app to go on the browser. We're cozy here on Tumblr and do not wish to be whisked away (unless it's a rickroll)

Don't leave the link thumbnail to do all the work, like so

add a little sneak peak info, maybe your favorite line from the article or a reason why it's important for people to know the info on the other side of that link. Sell it!

When you're adding a link into a list, i.e. no large thumbnail just a line of text leading you to another site, try not to copy/paste the link as is

"https://......"

No one wants to click on that it's gross and scary. It's screams "meh, i'll click later if i feel like it." If the build up to the link is too good to resist ("if you want to save the orphaned puppies here's the link") then that http mess is sufficient.

Otherwise, dress your links up a little by including the title or a description of what the link goes to:

Or, if it's an informal post where you're just popping info in to back up whatever insane thing you just said, just write something like "link here" or "(x)" and hyperlink it.

-> Tags

artists, writers, and other creators: leave a tag on your creative content that makes it easy for blog visitors to see it all at once. e.g. "My work" and we click on that while on your blog and see only your works

You can have up to thirty tags on any post. All will make your post show up in searches and followed tags (it used to be only the first five tags that got you traction). However,

Please. Do not tag everything you can possibly imagine being relevant to your post because

It's called tag spam and it's against TOS

Everyone here hates that

No one is going to check all those tags ever. Someone might search one five years from now and accidentally find your post hanging out in the ether and they'll still ignore it.

Your imagination is wicked tiny because I guarantee the perfect tag is going to be something indecipherable and seemingly niche.

Follow popular tags (or at least be aware of them)

If yours is an off-the-cuff post and you don't have time to find out what a niche group is into then wing it, sure, idc. this is also the shitposting site do whatever you want

Don't put your hate in the fan tags. This is the unapologetically-like-dumb-things site and your negativity is not wanted. You can still complain, just avoid tagging to get the attention of the fans of whatever you're complaining about. That enables pvp and even nonfans will know you deserve the backlash

-> Audio & Video

clickable by nature because we all love noise and moving images so there's no special way to share posts like this. just post them with good tags and maybe a one-liner, and they'll sell themselves

Tip: it's nice to add descriptions to these too but it isn't common

Protip: if the audio is the best part of the video (e.g. a baby burps REALLY loudly and it's hilarious) please caption or tag "Unmute!"

-> mkay bye

that's all i can think of right now. will update later if i remember something

---

*this is year eleven of my time on tumbles and i studied marketing in college for like six of those years and have been applying that bupkis to tumblr ever since. every post i see that gets no traction and every lovely artist that goes nowhere on here bothers me so deeply and i sincerely want y'all to succeed <3 <3

+ If you find this helpful and want to support my blog, I have a ko-fi!

+ If you're concerned about my mental health from being on Tumblr so long and want to contribute to my "get better" fund, I have a ko-fi!

[rachetmath]

A Schnee Outing(Pt. 1)

Ren and Nora were heading back to their dorm room after a long day of work. Once they enter however they were shocked for what they saw. Weiss was on her knees in front of Jaune. She was begging and they just had to know why.

Weiss: Please?

Jaune: No.

Weiss: Please?

Jaune: Not going to happen.

Weiss: Please, Jaune, I beg you.

Nora: Hey what's going on?

Weiss: Nothing important.

Nora: *not buying it.* Jaune.

Jaune: Weiss and Ruby want to hang out except Winter, who promised to schedule a day with her is coming with them.

Ren: Okay, so what does this have to do with Weiss on her knees begging?

Jaune: She wants me to ask her sister out on a date.

Nora and Ren jaws were dropped after hearing that and in a few seconds, they snapped out of it.

Nora: WHAT!? Is that true?

Weiss: *embarrassed and starts crying* Yes!!! It's true!!! I want to hang out with Ruby and I don't mind Winter wanting to tag along but I also don't want her to feel like a third wheel!

Ren: I don't think Winter minds that.

Weiss: Plus she'll ask a variety of questions, and wanting a very detailed answers to each one!

Jaune: Oh so she's Yang but more deadly and insane. And better.

JNPR door opens with an angry Yang barging through. Her eyes were red with fury as Jaune felt a disturbance, knowing he’ll die if he doesn’t change the subject.

Yang: What was that vomit boy!?

Jaune: *while sweating* I said, Yang, you’re beautiful and sexy, and you shine brighter than any sun in the galaxy.

Yang accepts the answer and step back. However she wants Jaune to know one thing before she leaves. Warning him of what’s to come as she slowly walks back to the door.

Yang: Okay. Don't slip. I have ears. And these hands are not scared to punch you. Got it?

Jaune: Of course.

Yang closes the door leaving Jaune relieved he can live another day.

Jaune: (Shit that was close.) Anyways no.

Weiss: *puppy dog eyes* Please!?

Nora: Come on, help the girl out. It's just one date.

Ren: Plus, it'll be good experience for you since you never been on a date before.

Jaune: Screw you, Ren. And that is true, but I prefer when it's natural not forced.

Weiss: Oh come on, Jaune, please, I'll do anything!

Jaune: The answer is still no.

The conversation was going nowhere, so Ren, wanting Jaune to go on date, decides to give some ‘encouragement’.

Ren: Hm... what if I happen to send Yang that video clip of you cutting and dying her hair back at Beacon.

Jaune: *shocked* What?

Nora: Oh, I think Yang may still be wondering how her hair got that way. If I were to recall she said if she finds the perpetrator, then she will make them wish they were never born. Last time, she suspected Cardin and she stomp the living crap out his balls.

Ren: She then proceeded to hunt down anyone she suspected, almost destroying the school. Maybe we should-

Jaune: *death stares* You wouldn't.

Ren: *death stares back* Try me. Bitch.

Jaune and Ren continued to stare each other down, until Jaune gives up and decides to help.

Jaune: *sigh* Fine.

Weiss: You'll help? Really?

Jaune: Like I have a choice. I would rather let a Beowulf kill me than Yang. Not after what happened last time.

Nora: Oh yeah.

Ren: That woman went Yandere crazy.

Jaune: So, when is this supposed to happen?

Weiss: Next Saturday.

Jaune checks his wallet and bank account and sees he might not have enough cash to pay for Winter, let alone for what he needs for going out for a casual stroll. He knew while he had time he needed to make preparations.

Jaune: Okay that gives me some time. Nora? Can you help me shop for something to wear?

Nora: Sure thing. When?

Jaune: Friday will have to do.

Ren: But that will be the day before the date arrives. Why then?

Jaune: Look I don't have a lot of money, so I need to pull extra shifts if I'm going to make this work. Anyways, Weiss-

Weiss: *happily hugs Jaune* Oh thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Jaune: No problem. Now lead me to your sister.

Weiss leads Jaune to Winter's room. While walking they discussed how to approach the situation so Winter can accept Jaune invite to go on a date. Weiss tries to tell Jaune about the things Winter like however she didn't really know Winter to well beyond just playing with her as a child and training with so he was out of luck. When they arrived Jaune was nervous and no can blame him, after all he couldn't get Weiss to go on a date with him, so how on earth will he get the Ice Queen's sister to accept his offer. Jaune then stopped and took deep breathes and was to knock only to see Winter already opened it.

Winter: Oh hello Mr. Arc.

Jaune: Um... Ms. Schnee…

Winter: What brings you and Weiss here to my room?

Weiss: Well, Jaune wanted to ask you something. Right, Jaune?

Jaune: Yeah.

Winter: Okay, but can it wait, I need-

Jaune: Ms. Schnee?

Winter: …

Jaune: Will you-

Winter: Will I?

Jaune: Will you -will you- will you (Damn it, come on, Jaune, just say it. Don't be a wimp. Remember your doing this to survive and help a friend. Now, SAY IT.) Ms. Schnee, may I go on a date with you!?

Winter: A date?

Jaune: Yes.

Winter: With me?

Jaune: Yes.

Winter: ...When?

Jaune: Saturday.

Winter: Oh really? I'm sorry but Saturday I'll be with my sister and her partner Ms. Rose. Maybe-

Weiss: He can come with us.

Winter: Are you sure?

Weiss: Of course, the more the merrier. Plus, I mean he's perfect for carrying our bags.

Jaune: (Oh you ice cold bitch.)

Winter: Hm… very well. As long as Mr. Arc is comfortable, I'll gladly accept his proposal.

Jaune: (Oh brothers really?)

Winter: *up in Jaune's face* Saturday, at the entrance of the school, at 9:00 am. Don't be late.

Jaune: Yes ma'am.

Winter: And rule number one, call me by my first name.

Jaune: Yes Ms.- I mean, Winter.

Winter: Good, see you then.

Winter walks away to attend to her duties while Jaune was left speechless.

Weiss: Well that went great.

Jaune: Really? Carrying your bags.

Weiss: It worked. Now, I'll take my leave. See you Saturday.

Weiss walks away leaving Jaune to sign.

Jaune: Well I better get busy.

[artiststarme]

Oblivious Eddie

This is kind of the opposite of @ladykailitha's current story. It turned out a lot longer than I anticipated lol. Featuring the screaming match that you guys voted on! I hope you guys like it and please share your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

Steve was at his wit’s end. Things were now back to normal in the summer after the supernatural happenings of the Upside Down in the spring. The older teens had graduated from high school (Eddie included), the younger kids were off at camp or work or rehab respectively, and Steve was working his usual shift at Family Video. 

He was alone today since Keith was out of town on vacation and Robin was touring the campus at Indiana State. He was bored out of his mind. The entire day, he’d had a mere four customers with plenty of time to rewind the returned tapes, organize the shelves in a way Robin would hate, and take a variety of magazine quizzes. He now knew that his spirit animal was a golden retriever, Tom Cruise would date him for his personality, and that his zodiac sign would find fortune in the next month. 

However, if something interesting didn’t happen in the next ten minutes, he was going to do something drastic like pull his hair out or something. As the minutes ticked on, he started getting worried. Steve prided himself on being a man of his word and he made a decision which meant he had to stick to it. But did it count if it was a thought to himself? Would he have to pull his hair out by the clump to prove a point to his own brain? Maybe he-

His spiral was cut off by the jingle of the door’s bell. Steve let out a sigh of relief, “Welcome to Family Video, is there anythi- Eddie! Hey man, what’s up?”

Eddie had gotten a part-time job at Thatcher Tire and was trying to bring in some money from work of the legal variety. He said it was time to make money like an honest man and develop the good habits of the working class. Steve thinks that Hopper threatened him about the drug dealing and Eddie had no choice but to abide by his rules because he was the one who cleared his name in the media and with the cops. Either way, Eddie should be at work but instead he was walking straight towards Steve with a swish to his hips. 

“Heya Big Boy, guess what.”

“What?” Steve asked in curiosity. He didn’t know what would make Eddie so happy but his face was nearly splitting with the force of his beaming grin. 

“I got a call from a concert venue in Indy and they want Corroded Coffin to perform! They said that my notoriety from Spring Break could work as publicity and bring in more people. They want us to play this weekend!” Eddie was practically jumping up and down in excitement. 

Steve hopped the counter in order to envelop Eddie in a hug, “congratulations man! What did the kids say? Are they excited for you too?”

Eddie pulled back slightly, just enough to place his hand on Steve’s shoulder and look him in the eye whilst pulling a strand of hair from its position stuck in his mouth. “The kids? I don’t know, I came directly here to tell you.”

The comment in Eddie’s earnest tone caused butterflies to flutter in Steve’s stomach. He wanted to tell him first? That’s so sweet. Then he shook his head, it wasn’t sweet. It was just a dude telling his bro some exciting news. That’s all. 

“They’re going to be thrilled, Eds! You’re going to do great, I wish I could see it.” 

“That’s kinda why I’m here. Would you, Steve Harrington, do me the honor of watching me perform the most metal concert ever in a dingy venue in Indy this weekend? I’ll be honest with you, I’m a little nervous and having you there would make me really happy.” Eddie looked at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster, trying to persuade Steve to go. And honestly, he didn’t even have to. As soon as he had told Steve about the gig, his mind started thinking over blackmail he could use to get Keith to cover his shift. 

But, as he looked into Eddie’s pleading eyes and pouty lips, all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss him. Which… what the fuck?! Steve wasn’t gay, he liked boobies! He still liked boobies! But now he thinks he liked the picture of Tom Cruise in the magazine from earlier and maybe Matthew Broderick on the movie poster over there and definitely Eddie, fuck. Steve needed to have a mental breakdown, STAT. 

“Fine, yes, I would be honored to go with you. Now, get out of here and tell the kids. They’re going to be thrilled,” Steve said as quickly and nonchalantly as he could muster in the face of his fast-approaching sexuality crisis. 

“Yay! Thanks Stevie, I swear you’re going to love it. I’ll see you tomorrow for movies and beer at mine, right?” Eddie asked over his shoulder while walking to the door. 

Steve felt like he was being strangled as he watched Eddie’s ass walking away, “yep, I’ll be there. See you later, Alligator!”

The second Eddie’s van drove out of the lot, Steve was rushing to lock the door and turn the closed sign. He needed to have a breakdown in peace. He slid down the wall of the disgusting Family Video bathroom and let the pent up sobs explode out of him. He knew he was freaking out over nothing but he couldn’t help it. It felt like in the few minutes it took for Steve to realize he liked guys, his entire world had changed. He was an outsider now, a queer, a freak. Deep down, he knew there was nothing wrong with being gay. Love is love. But why him?

Honestly, this wasn’t the worst thing he’d gone through. Yeah, he couldn’t be open with his love for another dude without being targeted which sucked. But he fought literal monsters with a bat and came out of it relatively unscathed. So this obviously wasn’t the end of the world. 

Steve tried to think of what Robin would say in this moment but couldn’t come up with anything. He felt a rush of irrational anger at her because of it. Why did she choose to tour a college campus now? She was already planning on leaving him behind and now she missed his crisis when she was supposed to be there with him? Ridiculous, some platonic soulmate she was. 

After another several minutes of freaking out, he started to calm down. This wasn’t an awful thing despite his initial thoughts. He knew Eddie was gay after one two many beers and a miniature freak out on Eddie’s part. And he knew his friends should be okay with it. And Eddie was amazing, they went through the same things, and they’ve bonded over their matching bat scars. Looking back, maybe that’s why Steve hasn’t been able to get a girlfriend in months… because he like-likes Eddie!

A plan started to form in Steve’s mind. He was going to woo Eddie and show him what it would be like to have the full ‘Steve Harrington Dating Experience’. He’d flirt, take him on dates, the whole shebang. And when Eddie inevitably fell for him, they could be boyfriends. With the plan in mind and the crisis averted, Steve left the bathroom, opened the door to the shop, and continued plotting for the rest of his shift. 

This would be a piece of cake. 

~*~*~*~

This was much harder than Steve had originally anticipated. He did not consider how utterly unobservant Eddie was or how oblivious Eddie would be to his affections. Steve had been flirting with this fucking guy for a month now and he was no closer to making him his boyfriend. 

He’d started smooth the night after his breakdown when he and Eddie watched movies and smoked weed in his trailer. Steve had given Eddie a compliment on his outfit, brought beers, and rested his arm on his shoulder during one of the scarier movies. What did Eddie do? Nothing! Steve thought he might’ve seen the barest hint of a blush when he wrapped his arm around him but it was gone before he could check to make sure. So he vowed to spend more quality time with him to be more obvious. 

The next time was at Eddie’s concert. Steve drove Eddie’s van with Eddie and the rest of the van the entire way to Indy. During the drive. They kept up conversation about metal music, summer plans, and the kids. At one point of the drive, Steve straight up grabbed Eddie’s hand and intertwined their fingers. Eddie didn’t even break his train of thought and continued speaking, rubbing his thumb along Steve’s knuckles. Steve couldn’t even focus on listening as if Eddie’s thumb rubbing circles didn’t make Steve want to stick his fingers in his mouth. Physical touch was also not affecting his guy. 

He tried words of affirmation next and those didn’t work either. His flirts initially started small. He would compliment Eddie’s clothes, his hair, or the things he liked. Then they escalated to comment on his character, his personality, and ‘how adorable he was’. Yesterday, Steve literally told him that his ass looked great in his black jeans but would look better out of them. That statement made Eddie’s jaw drop and he let out a loud guffaw before continuing his conversation like Steve hadn’t just implied that he wanted to see his bare ass. Son of a bitch. 

He was trying out acts of service when Eddie called him out. Steve had been doing the dishes at the Munson trailer while he waited for Eddie’s shift to end when he came in. And he came in hot. He slammed the door behind him and waved his hands around in flailing outrage. 

“Harrington, what the actual fuck! What are you even doing? You’re so fucking confusing!” He screamed as he saw Steve scrubbing at a stain on a white cutting board. 

Steve whipped around to look at him and narrowed his eyes. He was the confusing one? He’d been flirting with this dumbass nearly every day for a month and getting nowhere. “I’m confusing? That’s rich coming from you.”

Eddie blinked in shock before his lips pulled back in a snarl. “First of all, nothing about me is rich. Second of all, yes it’s you that’s confusing! You’ve been fucking flirting with me for weeks and no you’re doing my uncle’s dishes! That’s confusing.”

“Why is it confusing? I’m doing the dishes because you weren’t home yet and I needed something to do. I’m flirting with you because I like you. What’s confusing?” Steve was legitimately confused at this line of questioning and he really didn’t understand why Eddie was yelling. 

“You like me? Newsflash- you’re straight. You’re the straightest person that I have ever met. I don’t know why you keep flirting with me or what angle you’re trying to play here but I’m not interested in being your experiment, Harrington.” Eddie yelled at him, his finger pointing at Steve accusingly before moving to hug himself in self-comfort.   

Steve saw his discomfort but elected to act defensively and yell back at him. “I’m not straight, I never said I was and you never asked! I like both and it’s really shitty of you to try and tell me who I like when you have no idea what’s going on!”

Eddie opened his mouth to talk but Steve plowed on, “your whole schtick is nonconformity and sticking it to the fucking man but you draw the line at me liking guys and girls? Maybe I don’t like you as much as I thought I did. You’re obviously just as rude and judgmental as everyone else. And you’re welcome for the dishes, fucker.”

Eddie grabbed his arms as he went to move past. “Harrington, Steve, Stevie. I’m sorry, please just listen to me. Steve!”

Steve jerked his head to the side to glare at him. “What?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you or not be appreciative of you washing our fucking dishes. I just, I didn’t know you liked both and I was losing my mind the past few weeks because I couldn’t figure out if you were flirting with me or if it was just you being a good friend or if you were playing a prank or something. I’m sorry and I do appreciate you,” Eddie was biting his lips nervously and his hand was still wrapped around Steve’s upper arm. He looked earnest and like he genuinely regretted his actions. 

Steve sighed, “I’m sorry too, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable-”

“I’m not uncomfortable! I was just really confused and I didn’t know what was happening. But uh, I like you too.”

Steve’s eyes met Eddie’s. “You do?”

“Hell yeah, man. You were my gay awakening in middle school. That’s why I’ve been so frustrated this past month. I didn’t know if I was imagining it or if I actually had a shot,” Eddie chuckled. 

Steve stepped closer to him and put his hand on the back of Eddie’s neck. “You definitely have a shot.”

And then, Steve pulled Eddie’s face closer to his own and their lips smashed in a kiss. Eddie groaned as their teeth gnashed in the bruising kiss. When they finally pulled apart, they pressed their foreheads together and breathed in the same air. Steve whispered, “you were my gay awakening too.”

Eddie’s answering cackles were so loud, Max came over to tell them to shut the hell up. She got a free front-row seat to their liplock and let out a scream so high-pitched that the window glass quivered before running back to her trailer. On the bright side, they wouldn’t have to come out to the kids.

@doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes @pyrohonk

[sparklecareforrealjustice]

I wish we had any characters who were visibly old. I know antheries have super long lifespans, but why does Rem look the same in her 70s (Cometcare) as she does in her 40s (Sparklecare)?

yes!! i absolutely agree! It's not even just that, some of the patients parents and grandparents had been revealed before...and youd think the draws depict them old, right? WRONG!!!!!! they all are YOUNG LOOKING! maybe they have some "old" features like glasses, and the old men outfits (flannel button up, jeans) or something similar, or maybe a cane, but thats only one...one or two of all the parents or grandparents ive seen!!!! sure, anthries have a longer life span, but youd still age at least?!! maybe some ear drooping, some slight color shifts, hands wrinkling a little, etcetc!!! i wish that kc gave us more variety in... everything. more old-looking characters, more variety of anthry species instead of the same three species, or at least we got the characters to LOOK different if they are different. some of the species kinda look like each other or arent depicted right. all of that kinda bothers me :( - mod puppy

[riley-coyotl]

First Monthly Puppy Report Card for Kelpie!

Now that we’ve had her for a little over a month, here is our first puppy report card for Kelpie (idea yoinked from @kangals!), for her progress from 8 – 13 weeks. Be prepared for these to contain Too Many Notes because that's just how I am. Categories subject to be added to or change as she matures and things become more or less relevant.

Food (drive, appetite, sensitivity): 🟡 - Moderate food drive, she loves to eat but sometimes gets picky with treats and we’re still figuring out what works best to motivate her (flavors, textures, variety?) She also loses interest in most food treats if she’s overwhelmed/overstimulated, which has its advantages and disadvantages re:training. Also, if I give her a chew that’s too big and/or not interesting enough, she won’t usually eat/work on it right away and becomes very interested in finding a place to “bury” it for later. She’s very good at burying things and it’s very cute, but I think sometimes it’s stressful for her feeling like she has to get it buried, and I wish she’d just eat the dang things...makes it harder to occupy her when I need to (pen/crate/separation training etc.) She does have a great appetite for her puppy food though and is always stoked for meal times! She does unfortunately seem to get some tummy upset fairly regularly, I think from when she has eaten too many rich treats at once...see above re:figuring out what works best for training treats. :/

Toys: 🟢 - Super playful, loves to play with toys—with us, with the other dogs, or by herself! She loves tug and has a wonderful natural retrieve which I’ve been encouraging and reinforcing. We’re working on baby toy skills, biting the toy and not my hand, switching between toys, encouraging focusing on the correct toy when playing alongside the other dogs, and gradually improving there. She does still think another dog having a toy makes it more interesting, but we’re working on her staying on her own toy and not stealing theirs, and she’s learning.

Sleeping: 🟢/🟡 - Settles in her pen in our bedroom pretty much right away at night, and will usually sleep for 6-8 hours… BUT in the same pen during the day (and this is a problem because between me and my partner, he sleeps at night and I usually sleep during the morning/day,) she is only able to settle/sleep 2-4 hours at a time before she wakes me up needing to go out. At this point she typically settles in her bedroom pen quickly during the day too but occasionally she’ll be a little restless/whiny first. As for napping during our wake cycle hours (e.g. in the pen in our family room where there is more activity, or on the couch,) she sometimes has a hard time settling and will fight her sleepiness. I think she prefers it to be dark when she’s sleeping, but she is getting better about that.

Crating/separation: 🟢/🟡 - Haven’t done much work with the actual crate yet; kinda introducing it slowly, she’ll happily go inside to earn treats, and she sleeps in it on her own fairly regularly, but I haven’t shut her inside for longer than half an hour here or there while she works on a frozen stuffed snack. That said, for management/confinement we’ve been using puppy pens in the family room and our bedroom instead of crating, and she has become fairly decent at being left in her pen(s) when we leave the room or go to sleep (see above (sleeping) re:her ability to settle in her pens,) which is a HUGE improvement from when we first brought her home and she was constantly crying at any separation whatsoever. She’s also pretty good at entertaining herself with her toys in her pen, but she does sometimes get some FOMO if we’re around/“available” but she can’t be involved, and will whine/yap a bit before giving up and entertaining herself. Also, at this point, we have been able to leave her home in her pen in our bedroom while we leave the house for up to around 2 hours (haven’t tried longer yet,) giving her a frozen stuffed snack, which she happily eats and then settles and sleeps until we return. She’s doing really great with that!

Potty training: 🟢 - Aside from her having a UTI when she was 8 weeks old that caused her to be waking us up every hour to go outside when we first got her, she’s been doing pretty great! She is pretty darn good at letting us know when she needs to go out. Accidents have been relatively few, and she has only pooped in the house I think once in the entire time we’ve had her (and it was entirely my fault for missing her asking to go out.) She has also mostly figured out the potty bells all by herself just from watching the big dogs! She still can’t hold her pee very long when she’s awake/active, and occasionally if she’s busy playing she won’t realize she needs to go until it’s Too Late, but I know that stuff will improve with time/maturity.

General training: 🟢/🟡 - She is really smart and has picked up a lot just by observing things (which she does a lot of observation, she’s a clever little pup!) That said, her attention span for training sessions isn’t that great yet, and I think she’s not particularly good at generalizing behaviors in different environments yet either. So we do not have a lot of behaviors actually on cue yet, and mainly I have just been focusing on play, engagement, handling, socialization, and just foundational skills for the behaviors I want to teach in the future, rather than training specific behaviors. And we’re still figuring out the best treats to use to motivate her in various contexts. That said, I’ve noticed that we’ve already developed a decent language of communication with each other despite not having done a ton of formal training, and I’m pretty proud of that!

For specific behaviors, though I can’t say she “knows” them with any fluency, she’s working on sit, down, stand, touch (nose target to hand,) chin rest (cooperative care foundation,) muzzle (stick her face in a cup,) as well as eye contact, and foundations for drop it and leave it. A few other things too, like basic luring and shaping skills, but nothing is remotely “finished” yet and practically nothing reliably on a verbal cue so I feel a little behind hahah :’) (but I remember feeling the same way about Juni too and it all worked out, slow and steady wins the race!)

Recall/Off-leash skills: 🟢 - Currently don’t have a recall cue aside from “pup-pup-pup-pup!” but she is doing great about that and is pretty reliable at this point, and getting reinforced heavily for responding to that and just for checking in with me too. Does well wanting to stick within a reasonable radius of us on her own.

Leash walking: 🟡 - Haven’t done much actual formal training on loose leash walking, but she’s starting to pick it up anyways. She does try to pull when she needs to go to the bathroom (she wants to get to the Right Spot) or if she’s excited/really wants to sniff/fuck with something, but I’m not too worried about that at this point… She seems to really enjoy walking right at my heel/between my legs a lot (or underfoot) and I have been rewarding that position a lot just any time she offers it, I think it’s going to translate well to LLW as we get more practice.

Biting: 🟡/🔴 - She is a little SHARK! She bites the hardest out of any puppy I’ve had. She doesn’t get bitey as frequently as some of my other puppies, but when she gets in bitey moods she bites HARD. In the first couple of weeks we had her, she broke the skin and gave me a few gnarly little punctures multiple times. That said, she’s gotten a LOT better about it, and is starting to learn not to bite so hard. I don’t expect or try to teach my puppies not to bite at all, I just expect them to learn to be inhibited in their bites so it doesn’t hurt. We haven’t consistently gotten to “doesn’t hurt when she bites” territory yet, but she at least hasn’t made me bleed in a little while, and is starting to respond to me asking her not to bite me...at least a little. 😂 I have also come to learn that if she’s starting to bite too hard during play, it often means she needs to pee and hasn’t realized it yet.

Manners: 🟡 - I don’t really expect much re:manners from her at this point. I over-emphasized teaching and enforcing manners with Maple when she was a puppy and I regret it because it led to her not communicating her needs as actively, so I have kinda swung the other way and tend to let my puppies be a bit wild. So I will give Kelpie a mid grade on this one since she has a strong mischief mode, tries to steal the TV remote, bites ankles, jumps on people/the other dogs, isn’t good at respecting door boundaries yet, has tried to get up on tables/counters for food (thankfully she’s not tall enough yet so we still have time to nip that in the bud,) is still figuring out what is/isn’t For Puppies to play with, and she yaps/barks a lot when frustrated… However, she is also learning to sit nicely for her food (and to politely beg for treats/scraps,) doing well not trying to steal my food when I’m eating around her, and beginning to respond to me interrupting her when she’s doing something I need her to stop. So by my standards here, she’s doing ok! Going to start working on her not jumping on people now that she’s not tiny anymore, and gradually work in other stuff too. Not door dashing is a priority here for me too.

Grooming: 🟢 - We’ve done a lot of basic handling practice, and I feel she is doing very well with it at this point. She’s become very good for brushing and letting me wipe her down when she inevitably gets muddy. Doing pretty well with nail trimming handling. Working on foundations for cooperative care and I think she’s starting to get the picture. Working up to baths/teethbrushing, and she’s doing wonderfully for the foundational work we’ve done towards that. Of course, getting lots of treats for all of this. Started training scratchboard for nails too.

Car rides: 🟢 - She rides great in the car. Occasionally somewhat squirmy when we first get in the car, but typically she just wants to look out the window for a few minutes and then goes right to sleep. She seems to find car rides very comforting. Noticed a tiny bit of carsickness on the ride home from the breeder, but absolutely none since. If we’re out and about and have multiple stops, she typically settles quickly when we get back in the car. She has the makings of an excellent road-tripping dog!

Outings/socialization: 🟢 - She has taken practically everything in stride, bright and curious about her environment, and has recovered super well the very few times she’s gotten spooked about something. That said, she does seem to get a little overwhelmed/overstimulated sometimes. Not afraid/nervous, just...things are So Much. I think this is fairly normal for her little puppy brain though, it’s a big world out there, so I can’t fault her on it. Just have to continue to keep in mind that she is a sensitive dog, not flood her with too much at once, and give her plenty of time to process her experiences.

Dogs: 🟢/🟡 - Very interested in other dogs! She loves Maple and Juni, but is almost too interested in playing with them. She has a hard time disengaging her attention from them or focusing around them (or around other dogs we’ve seen out and about,) but she’s getting better about that, and she doesn’t get over-excited when she sees other dogs in public. Juni is absolutely loving wrestling with Kelpie all the time, to the point where I think she indulges the puppy a little too much. Maple has been less willing to engage in play with the puppy—Kelpie can bite too hard during play, and I often have to step in to “rescue” one of the big dogs (usually Maple) from her when she’s being too rough and not noticing or not listening to mild cues or corrections that she’s being Too Much. She does respect corrections from them when they are more “obvious,” but I don’t like to let it get to that point if I can avoid it. I think they are all still figuring out the best way to communicate their boundaries with each other, and improving on that, but we’re not there yet and still need a lot of supervision to help enforce boundaries.

Humans: 🟢/🟡 - Friendly, curious, interested in watching/investigating people, and happy to meet people who want to say hi, but not overly excited about people if they don’t engage her, which I appreciate. Again like with dogs, she’s not very good at focusing around them though, which we will need to work on. I want to encourage mostly polite neutrality around strangers with her since I don’t like being bothered a lot in public, and because she will be walking with Juniper a lot in the future, and Juni does NOT like being approached by strangers, so Kelpie is going to need to learn that typically if we see a stranger, we are going to ignore them. I did also see her get a bit overwhelmed once when several people surrounded us to fawn over her, so I don’t think she enjoys being crowded (which is of course totally fair,) and that’s something I need to be proactive about because it’s bound to happen because people get starry-eyed when they see a Dalmatian, especially a puppy.

Cats: 🟢/🟡 - Curious and excited, unfortunately to a fault because neither of our current cats is EVER going to want to play with her, sadly. That said, she’s gotten fairly good at respecting their boundaries and their space, rarely tries to chase them, and is starting to figure out that they’re not all that interesting for her. Though, if she’s in a rowdy mood she’ll still bark and play bow at them just out of reach while they hiss at her... Given that neither of our current cats is particularly good at training puppies (RIP Lucy, you were the best…) I think this is about as good as I can ask for at this point. Given her steady improvement, I think she will continue getting more cat-savvy.

Small animals: 🟢 - Interested in watching/chasing, but isn’t obsessive or intense about it. Pretty quickly disengaged from a rabbit that ran away from us.

Bonding/affection: 🟢 - At this point I feel like we’re pretty well attached to each other already. She definitely finds it rewarding to be with us, follows me around and is interested in what I’m doing, and seeks comfort/safety in us when she gets spooked. I’d like to see some more handler focus (rather than “ohhh, environment/other dogs!!” distracting her) but she’s a baby and also not a herding breed like my other two so I think that will develop more with time and I just have to meter my expectations and not try and compare her too much to the sheps.

She’s also a sweetheart and I love her. She loves to be petted, and likes to chew toys in my lap while I pet and cuddle her even when she’s riled up. She enjoys being picked up and hugged and gives really good hugs herself, snuggling her head onto our shoulders. Picking her up for a hug can frequently help calm her down if she’s too amped up, which I find very endearing; literally sometimes if she’s having a hard time settling, turns out what was wrong was just “needed a hug.” She’s pretty cuddly. At one point a few weeks ago I felt like she suddenly stopped being as cuddly and only seemed to want to lay by herself, but I’ve figured out that the main issue was just that she wanted it to be dark where she was napping. And since then she’s just become more cuddly, coming to snuggle up next to me/rest her head on me when she's sleepy and I'm letting her hang out on the couch with me. I think as she gets less of the puppy crazies and more mature, and gets better at sleeping when it’s not dark and quiet, she will only continue getting more snuggly and more handler-focused. I hope so anyways! The cuddly velcro temperament was a large part of why I wanted a Dalmatian in the first place, so I’m happy to see her developing into that.

Overall grade 🟢, I know I might sound a little overly critical of her/myself in some of this, but really she’s a good smart girl and a very fun, happy, playful puppy, and very sweet. I think she is a nice moderate puppy, pretty confident but sensitive, and has a ton of potential. Hoping she continues to improve with sleeping longer and settling easier during the day, so I can start getting better sleep and more rest consistently. I think that will put me in a better position to continue to bond with her and get more into a good groove with her training-wise. Hopefully she starts building more handler focus as she matures as well. Also hoping she continues improving re:being an insane little bitey shark too so she can have more/longer free roaming time in the house with us and the other dogs!

[senjuushi]

Antique Gun Character Intros

Since a good few people have asked for this now, here's a character intro post covering the Rhodoknight Antiques! o3o Disclaimer that I do not know these characters anywhere near as well as I do the Moderns, and as a result, my takes are subject to change as I get a better feel for them. Still, I hope this post makes the Antiques more accessible to y'all and gets me some more requests for them... XD

. . .

This is Enfield. Outwardly, he appears to be polite, good-natured, and normal. He’s very much not that. A lot of Enfield’s character is shaped by his younger brother, Snider, whose terrible behavior and constant threats of remodeling Enfield to be “just like him” are a real handful to deal with. They deserve each other. Underneath his noble exterior, Enfield is a little freak. He’s obsessive, smothering, and neurotically desperate to be of use, with stalker-y tendencies and a bad habit of idol worship. He wants to be good and helpful, and he’ll do some highly disturbing things to accomplish that. His relationship with Snider also has a weird amount of tension... of the suspiciously suggestive variety.

. . .

This is Snider. He’s awful. Snider’s whole personality revolves around the fact that he really, REALLY doesn’t want to be a person. His belief that he’s still nothing more than a weapon leads him to a fixation on combat and an utter rejection of anything too human for his liking. This includes eating, sleeping, and bathing. His gun is a special case that was made right on the cusp of what separates a Modern and an Antique— and as a result, Snider is technically both. He can function as whichever side he chooses to and only defaults to Antique because that’s what he finds most useful. He’s Enfield’s younger brother, a directly adapted and functionally superior model of gun, and because of that, he’s constantly trying to “remodel” Enfield into the same type of gun. They have a weird relationship where Enfield babysits him, Snider is unfailingly bratty and threatening, and the suspicious levels of maybe-sexual tension are just plain weird. 

. . .

This is George. For the most part. He’s the embodiment of the “cheerful, stupid American” stereotype that’s so common in anime. An all-around sunshine boy, George is good-natured, friendly, sweet, and more than a little oblivious. His main issues come from the fact that he shares a body/gun with the “Brown Bess” personality (the poster boy of the first game). George feels inferior to Brown Bess in both his capabilities as a weapon and his value as an individual, and he repeatedly expresses a belief that everyone around him would rather have his counterpart in his place. Though he tries his best to be good and useful, he’s painfully aware that his existence is kind of a disappointment. He’s way too self-sacrificing for his own good. 

. . .

This is Kentucky. He’s more or less an overexcited puppy who REALLY wants to prove himself. Passionate, energetic, and with very little volume control, he’s somewhere between adorably earnest and annoyingly intense. He has a sort of one-sided rivalry with his older brother, Pennsylvania, where he’s aggressively trying to surpass his big bro... while Pennsylvania just wishes they could get along better. Kentucky is also pretty short-tempered; he’s perfectly respectful to his Master but ready to throw hands with other guns whenever the chance arises. He cares a lot about aesthetics and his appearance, wants Master’s attention desperately, and is definitely compensating for a lot of internal insecurity. 

. . .

This is Pennsylvania. He’s a laid-back guy with a love of hunting and the outdoors. The level-headed parallel to Kentucky’s hot-tempered enthusiasm, Pennsylvania is calm, independent, and a bit aloof. He can get caught up in his own way of doing things to the point of forgetting about others’ feelings, but he’s well-intentioned and generally kind. A reliable “big brother” type who looks after others, he very much seems like the type who’d willingly get hurt if it meant protecting someone he cares about. He doesn’t have a lot of pride in the sense of how he appears to others and is more concerned with doing what needs to be done than getting his way or looking good.

. . .

This is Charleville. He’s a sweet little guy who’s very damaged. In the game’s story, his previous Master (before the player owns him) is literally renting him out. For his healing abilities as an Antique, technically, but the more sexual implication is still very much there. Because of this renting out and his previous Master’s general mistreatment, Charleville has an intense fixation on purity, perfection, and being appealing to everyone around him. He’s delicate, gentle, polite, and affectionate, but also has a bad tendency of hiding any problems in an attempt not to bother people. He values his physical appearance and holds himself to a strict standard of behavior, though his more attention-seeking side does slip out from time to time. Charleville desperately wants to be loved, especially by his Master, but he’s convinced he has to be all but perfect to earn it. 

. . .

This is Chassepot. He’s Gras’s older brother and the source of MANY of Gras’s problems. Like Gras, Chassepot initially comes across as a polite, charming gentleman. That’s very intentional. He wants Master’s affection and approval desperately and does everything possible to come across as the kind of capable, pleasant person who his Master can rely on and be close to. Under that surface, though, Chassepot is dangerously prone to feelings of jealousy, inferiority, and comparing himself to others. He’s easily provoked and can have a violent temper with other guns, and his past failures haunt him endlessly. It’s likely that he has the same tendency for rabies as Gras, but is just better at keeping it contained... in the short term. We know from the previous game that Chassepot can snap, and when he does, it’s bad. 

. . .

This is Tabatiere. He’s a laid-back, inoffensive person who’s perfectly open about the fact that he’s meant for a support role, not the front lines. Usually functioning as Chassepot and Gras’s babysitter, Tabatiere sticks to the sidelines, minds his own business, and tries to be helpful where he can. He’s deeply insecure, however, and his self-esteem is so low that getting too much attention, even positive, makes him highly uncomfortable. He has the atmosphere of someone who willingly accepts anything bad that happens to him because he can’t imagine deserving better.

. . .

This is Dreyse. He’s an ultra-strict, ultra-serious sort who values rules, order, and hard work. Between his massive body and imposing personality, he comes across as highly intimidating... but he’s as respectful and obedient as can be when it comes to authority figures. Dreyse has high expectations of himself and his performance, to the point where he’ll accept nothing less than perfection. No matter what physical or emotional distress it causes him, he’ll do everything possible to fulfill his orders and succeed as a Musketeer. Deep down, he has a lot of guilt over his past and personal failings, and the only value he sees in himself is as a weapon and tool. Herme respects him massively, and the two are close in a kind of weird way. Dreyse ends up as his caretaker during Iron Days, for example.

. . .

This is Jitte. He has that kind of happy-go-lucky, easygoing personality where he’s both pleasant to be around and kind of a ditz. Very much “drunk goofy uncle” energy. When his self-esteem issues aren’t getting in the way, he can be quite affectionate (especially with Master). Sensitive, earnest, and emotional, Jitte has nothing but good intentions in mind with everything he does. He has the typical bizarre gun insecurity, though, and worries a lot about if he’s as useful and worthwhile as the other Musketeers around him. His gun also functions as a jitte, which is more or less an Edo-period police baton. Though he seems pretty carefree, Jitte is surprisingly hardworking and takes pride in being able to protect people. He’s very moral, with a strong sense of justice. 

. . .

This is Karl. He’s a dignified little man who, despite his youthful appearance, is the oldest gun in the series. As in, he’s from the early 1500s. A unique weapon who belonged to Emperor Charles V, Karl has a long and prestigious history, and he knows it. He’s proud and well-mannered, takes his status as a famous piece of history very seriously, and is quite concerned with how he appears and behaves in front of others. Showing weakness is hard for Karl. He does a lot to hide how lonely and weak he can be, including active attempts to remain aloof and relatively unattached to his Master. The most he can tolerate is a professional, weapon-and-wielder relationship, since anything else would be opening him up to even more loss. I think he’s also weak to stress and VERY bad at dealing with unfamiliar situations; being esteemed as a valuable relic for so long means that he’s pretty sheltered and more unused to physical pain than he wants to admit.

. . .

This is Lorenz. He’s kind of insufferable. The mad-scientist intellectual type, he has a massive ego and a superiority complex to match. His type of gun was made in both government and private factories, with the government factory-made ones being notably superior in function— and this Lorenz is one of those. Like a lot of the Antiques, he’s eager and insistent to prove that he’s a useful, high-quality tool, even and especially when that means making himself look good at others’ expense. He’s extremely loyal to Karl, to a kind of pathetic degree... and also absolutely terrified of Dreyse. That leads to the part where Lorenz is very much a coward who’s playing tough in the hopes no one will see through the farce. He’s easily agitated, neurotically stressed, and can’t stand things not going his way. 

. . .

This is Cutlery. He’s a little brat who has the typical bizarre-gun problem of pathetically low self-esteem. His gun is a weird one— it’s technically three guns disguised as pieces of silverware that were used on pirate ships as a covert weapon. Cutlery has a whole complex about how “cowardly” he is, and despite his prickly attitude and initial rudeness, he’s painfully shy, insecure, and unable to handle attention of any kind. He’s prone to idolizing people and desperately wants close relationships, but is too anxious, defensive, and afraid of being hated to open up to people without panicking. That said, he can be awfully needy and clingy once he’s attached. He also has a strong fixation on food, to the point where hoarding behavior and general food insecurity seem likely.

. . .

[trigunsbbygirl]

I really liked your Vash and Knives isekai, so good. Especially the music part. Made me wonder what kind of music do you think Vash and Knives would make together and what would they make on their own. Like would Vash be more pop and rock and Knives more orchestral and indie. I wanna hear more on your thoughts on this if you wanna share. Just go pig wild!

honestly I hope this makes sense cause I don't actually really know a lot about music smbdkbs but either way I had fun writing this!!

•Nai does make a lot of orchestra music, although I think he'd mainly stick to the piano, he does explore with other instruments often. I could see him making music that sounds a lot like boss battle music. or, like similar to his theme, music that sounds a bit heroic. sometimes he'll make the most gut wrenching piano piece.

•he doesn't really write lyrics much since he uses music as a way to deal with his emotions and it makes him feel way too vulnerable. Nai won't even show Vash some of the stuff he has written. at least, not yet (he may show Vash some overtime as they've healed and worked through their past.)

•but when he does, he writes complex lyrics, never actually, truly writing about his feelings. always leaves a lot up to interpretation but he doesn't mind. (kinda likes the mystery to it in a way lol)

•every once in a while he kinda writes based around the past and everything that's happened.

•like the anger and confusion he had as a kid, finding Tesla, the betrayal of Rem and Vash choosing humans over him. a song of the hope of having wanted to make a paradise for himself, Vash and their sisters, then for it to be ripped away when he showed up on earth. but then the song becomes filled with hope again, Nai wishes to live a future where both him and Vash are happy on Earth.

•(also Nai is lowkey jealous that Vash's theme is like a cowboy theme and makes one of his own.)

•Vash writes a lot more happy and upbeat songs! they're usually about love, happiness, looking to a bright future. he wants to bring happiness and hope to people around the world.

•Vash mainly focuses on pop, rock, and edm, but he really wants to try his and at a variety of different genres and instruments. he finds it really fun and challenging. plus he loves learning about the music of each culture, why the music is the way it is, the significance of it, it's history. Vash would also love to work with other producers!

•trimax Vash especially, would write about a mosaic of love that grows as people close to it dies. because even though those people are now gone, they will still live on through memories that the mosaic holds and proudly shows. (saw a hc that Vash talked to the girls after vol.10 and Milly told Vash that he was a mosaic of those he loved and that they would live on through him or smth like that. it hasn't left my mind since..)

•he also makes music about things that have happened to him on Earth. he wrote a song about the time he found a pretty necklace and he wanted to buy it to give to you, but he had ended up forgetting his wallet so he had go go home. when he got back to the store the necklace was gone and as he was moping, walking through other stores, he found another necklace that he thought was prettier, so he bought it and rushed home to give it to you. very silly song, very dramatic. lots of others like that.

•Once made the most heartfelt, sorrowful song about loss and when you asked him if he's doing alright in response to hearing the song, Vash turns to you with the biggest pout and puppy dog eyes. "I dropped my donut the other day:(" you stare at him as he pouts more, "it was a really good donut!:(("

•he would absolutely make a song based off of Gitchee Gitchee Goo from Phineas and Ferb and dedicate it to you-

•when the twins work together it's a mix of orchestra and edm. at first it was really rough, especially since they were just in the beginning of trying to fix their relationship and Vash was also still trying to find his style with music. there's a lot of clashing between instruments, style and composition. it was really all over the place.

•but over time they've learned how to create their own harmony within their combined chaos. they learn how to smoothly transition from orchestra to edm and combine the two at the same time. (I don't like projecting too much but I can see them making music kinda like how Xtrullor does? like Nirmiti, Samsara, Supernova, Earthsplitter and Ichor specifically)

•sometimes they'll also create a piano piece together and Vash may even write lyrics for the piece.

•also! a few months after they've fully healed they decide to burn the sheet music and files for their first song as a way of finalizing the healing process. as much as the song means to them (especially Vash since he sees it as Nai willing to open up to him,) once it's been deleted it feels very cathartic and they commemorate the beginning of this new chapter with a song that's warm and hopeful

•if you're interested in music in any way, making it, or just learning about it, the twins are happy to help teach you! they'll explain everything that they can and Nai is secretly excited to teach you how to play the piano. (Vash is too but then he realizes just how happy Nai is about you sharing an interest in the piano and let's Nai do most of the teaching.)

•or! if you also make music they'd love to have you work on songs with them! if you're on the fence about for whatever reason, they're begging (Vash with the puppy dog eyes and Nai,, staring at you and trying to discreetly ask for your help) and giving you all the reasons why they'd love to have you work with them and hyping you up.

•doesn't matter what type of style or genre you mainly use, they'll gladly learn how to incorporate with their own styles too. making music with you is one of their favorite things to do.

[sleepy-aletheas]

It's interesting how Hoyo manages to put a "love-interest-by-default" fem characters in each location, and just leave it at that.

On Herta's Space Station it's Ruan Mei, who we cannot call out, or go much against in any shape or form. She is pretty blatantly posed as the marketable "Hot Mommy with issues" and just threw her to the wolves (I really like her, I just wish TB could have had more variety of interaction with her, to not force feed us affection towards RM, who didn't even ask for it).

Belobog has Natasha, who TB can, if not outright, flirt with, it's pretty much just gushing over her at all times (understandable). She is the most maternal-but-not-actually-a-mom character we got, but since she wasn't even build up with bad habits and grey characteristics, it's pretty nonintrusive and gets a pass (that's wholly my own bias and I don't take criticism for that one).

From the Luofu, if we don't take factions into consideration, then it's definitely Kafka who is the Chosen Mommy; which again, I'm not complaining about. They at least let her be...however she is. She has her complexities and secrets, and TB at least has a choice of going the "i like you" route out of their own will, and not the dialog rewording compliments only.

And now in Penacony we got Firefly, and my poor baby has to suffer by the fate of "a writer's fave", and is so heavily pushed, any personal characteristic that is just about her (for her) is immediately overshadowed by the annoyance that she is pushed to be the obvious fancy of TB in that place (To me it's 10x funnier to me, cause I played 2.0 and 2.1 in one day, so I didn't even have a month-long time to ruminate about her between the story beats; I literally knew her for an hour and already was told we were this ridiculously close). She truly is getting the Ayaka treatment, and I'm so sorry for the suffering she will carry for hopefully shorter time than Ayaka did (she was also done dirty by the writers, but the players took her wanting to have a friend after a lonely childhood of basically forced on social isolation, and just made her a love sick puppy...).

Depending on if they give Jade the RM treatment, she could have enough wiggle room like Kafka and TB can decide how to talk to her, but I'm not even gonna think about it now, and simply wait and see.

Conclusion: Making pretty characters desirable by force at the cost of their perception from the player base is bullshit, and I will put all of them in my pockets for safe keeping, since no one wants to treat them (specifically Ruan Mei and Firefly) right on the writing team.

[canmom]

Feel free to ignore considering it’s a very messy topic. Why do you think SFF communities (especially book communities) attracts so many bad faith actors?

my apologies anon, I took a minute to answer this one.

I think the most parsimonious answer is that they don't, especially, it's just that bad faith actors are basically everywhere. like, is it really true that there are more bad faith actors in SFF than in say, music? film? 'literary' fiction, or other genres like crime or erotica? i think if I was as immersed in any of those worlds as I am in SFF, I'd know about just as many stories of petty cruelty, exploitation, bizarre dramas...

still, some speculations about factors playing into it, that aren't necessarily specific to sci-fi.

the thing about SFF is that it's a subculture, and one that's pretty niche. not quite as niche as like, BASE jumping or something lol - most bookshops around here will have an SFF shelf, and obviously SFF films and games are almost as mainstream as entertainment gets - but for dedicated sci-fi fans it's seen as a sort of refuge of 'people like them' (generally some variety of autistic nerd archetype), and there is a lot of anxiety that comes with maintaining that.

this sort of attitude is commonly associated with the old guard of reactionary fandom - the infamous Puppies - but I think by now we've seen that the current overtly queer/progressive/whatever you wanna call it generation is just as capable of lashing out at perceived intruders. (for an obvious example, this kind of sentiment was a major factor in the Isabel Fall incident.)

besides that, what are people fighting for anyway? what are the 'stakes' of scifi/fantasy fandom? intuitively, they're tiny. but...

within any niche subculture, it is possible to achieve a certain degree of fame and influence. if you can play the rhetorical game, you can establish yourself as a microcelebrity/tastemaker, promote your friends and make a show of casting out the enemies, and set up the rules of the discourse... in your small bubble. until sooner or later the wind changes and you get knocked off the pedestal, anyway. so part of it is just people wanting to rule an insular little fiefdom.

but then there's also like... 'being an author'. SFF lit is not especially popular these days. you can't really make a living from short stories anymore (too few magazines that pay, too hard to get in, too little reward). however, if you get very, very lucky, make the right connections (probably at Clarion), you might just be able to get some novels published, and maaaybe they will find an audience and earn out their advances... and if everything goes perfectly, you might just manage to make a reasonable middle class sort of income.

and that's not nothing! especially if other forms of work are inaccessible. i have a friend whose circumstances were changed very dramatically when they got a big advance on their novel. but ultimately I don't think it's about that, nobody would sensibly try to become an author for the money, it's an obviously terrible gamble.

however, within the subculture, being a published author is a still big deal. it's a sense that you've 'made it', people will look up to you, or resent you if they don't feel you deserve it. there is a strong divide between 'authors' and 'fans' that structures interactions between the two. I don't get the impression that this is actually very fun for the authors, but it's easy to see that from outside and think "I wish I was worthy of that kind of respect too".

much the same applies in other fields - for example animation. maybe it pays shit and demand insane hours with zero job security... but for the fans, you come to have immense admiration for the 'real animators' and want to feel you could be their equal one day. and people are willing to sacrifice a lot for the sake of that idea of accomplishment, even if it's still very unlikely.

so with all that in mind... science fiction authors are usually science fiction fans. there's not really any other reason you'd write it lmao. so could speculate that for the ones who have 'made it', the situation is still precarious, or seems like it. there's little guarantee you'll get published again if a book doesn't sell. and you depend on a good reputation to stay in the game. so you have a bit of power (enough to go to your head) and fear of losing that power and sense of accomplishment... that's probably sufficient to motivate a whole lot of horrendous behaviour that would seem incomprehensible from outside.

none of this is really specific to science fiction/fantasy. but then I don't think SFF is really all that unique.

[wyrddogs]

Because I always like hearing people’s answers to this question: what are your top 5 breeds (and why)?

Oh man, uh. Top five breeds as of today:

Dachshund (mini longhair flavor): They are fantastic do-anything dogs. Want to go for a hike? Want to stay in bed and snuggle? Do sports? Hunt? They can do all that and more. They're super portable but act like they weigh eighty pounds. They will keep you laughing with their antics and also their nub legs. I love the juxtaposition of the little flop ears and the sweet face and the sincere desire to murder small animals. The stubbornness and penchant for mischief is a feature, not a bug. To quote Udo Kopernik, "There is a certain degree of megalomania. That makes the Dachshund very charming."

Belgian Shepherd: I imprinted on German shepherds in kindergarten and fell sideways into Belgians. They're athletic! Beautiful! Confident! Do you need a dog to complete a task? A Belgian is the dog for you! They've got all the shepherd qualities that I adore while still being dog-sized and dog-shaped. Super intelligent dog who demands you provide him with a job or by god he'll find one himself. And even though this puppy is currently driving me absolutely bonkers, whenever I see him trotting around the yard I think of that part of the tervuren standard: "Always in motion except when under command."

Border Collie: Unfortunately I also imprinted on them young. They are one of my favorite breeds and have been for more than twenty years and if I can find one that doesn't twig me I'd snatch it up so fast. Another do-anything, biddable, athletic, dog-shaped dog. The quintessential herding dog. Do you want a smart, small, thinking machine to have adventures with? A border collie is the dog for you! Every time I see one of those classic black-and-whites out working sheep in the field I think longingly, "what if..."

Collie: What can I say? I read Lad: A Dog at a formative age. Just copy-paste that entire book right here. I wish collies came with the grit and drive I like, because I'd own one in a heartbeat. Maybe as a retirement breed. I'm in a couple Scottish collie FB groups so I can live vicariously.

Havanese: Every single one of these dogs I've met has been an absolute goddamn delight. Bubbly! Playful! Bouncy! Joyful! These little clowns want nothing more than to have a great time, and they want to do it with you. I absolutely understand why they are so popular as pets, because yeah, I'd probably have ten or twenty myself. I wish the smooth-coated variety wasn't a DQ because a more perfect little dog-shaped-dog cannot be found. Google it and look at that face and tell me you aren't absolutely charmed.

Thank you for asking!