#I'm moving. AGAIN. i move a lot

[coolspork]

They should make a type of major life event that doesn't feel like your heart is trying to consume the rest of you violently and with malice

[adrenaline-whump]

I don't know who needs to hear this (me) but if you're on the fence about participating in Whumptober this year...just remember, there's no need to weigh yourself down with so many personal rules that it's no longer fun. You don't have to be a completionist. You don't have to come up with a theme and stick to that exclusively. You can half-ass stuff or make simple contributions or whatever works for you! You don't have to make a project difficult to make it have value.

[welcometogrouchland]

(ID in alt) I literally said I was gonna post this month's ago and then never had the wherewithal to describe it and so I didn't Lmao (said with pain). But since I'm thinking of opening my commissions I figured I should remind ppl that I. Yknow. Can draw.

Lots of Steph here (I had major art block making all of these and my brain worms for her kept me going) + some sprinkles of stephcass for Cass nation to enjoy!

[royalarchivist]

I love the QSMP. Not only has it introduced me to many amazing international creators, it's also introduced me to the French and Brazilian community, who are so sweet, funny, and chaotic in their own unique ways. I love seeing fans sharing their culture and learning from one another, and I myself have learned a lot this past year. I think it's incredible how QSMP brings so many different people together – all of us united in our love and passion for this project and its goals.

But passion can often evoke strong emotions, and these strong emotions aren't always positive.

The past few months, I have seen multiple waves of hate, bad-faith generalizations of communities, and racist remarks directed at fellow fans – especially those who are part of the French / Brazilian community. This kind of behavior is inexcusable, and is in direct conflict with the mission of QSMP, which is to break language barriers and unite communities.

We are a global community with a variety of people from different backgrounds. Miscommunications may occasionally occur because of cultural differences and/or language barriers, but we should use these moments as opportunities to learn and engage with other people rather than assuming the worst about them and starting fights.

Although certain issues can be resolved with communication, sometimes it’s better to block and move on. Avoid spreading negativity or hate, and save yourself the headache of interacting with people who are just looking for someone to argue with.

No matter what community we're a part of or what languages we speak, we're all here to have fun. Please remember to be kind to each other. We have more in common than we have in conflict.

[vcrnons]

JOSHUA seventeenth heaven highlight medley.

[tritoch]

Something that bugs me a lot in Dawntrail discourse is watching people who think they are defending the expansion argue away its best aspect. Because here's the thing: Wuk Lamat isn't like prior FFXIV characters. She takes up way more space than them. That's good!

A common thread you see in defenses is that people are complaining about things they were fine with earlier in the story. "Oh well actually Lyse was also the main character of Stormblood and people didn't hate her as much!" or "Heavensward is the story of Aymeric and Estinien and Ysayle, and the Warrior of Light doesn't do that much!" or "No one complained when Gaia jumped into the Eden raids, or when Emet showed up during Seat of Sacrifice" with the implied conclusion of "Wuk Lamat's not different from any other previous major character, your complaints have more to do with [sexism/transphobia/your crippling insecurity about not being the main character] than the way she's written." First of all people did hate Lyse. I get what you are saying but they very much did hate Lyse.

But Wuk Lamat is different. She's different because Dawntrail is unapologetically, full-throatedly her story. She is there at the start, she is there at the end, she is there basically all the way through except for a brief interlude. She is the character you talk to the most, she is also the character that talks the most. She has more of a complete arc than anyone else in the expansion. The antagonists develop much stronger direct and personal relationships to her than they ever do with you. Several major characters have relationships to you through her more than they do with you directly. At multiple points in the story you explicitly step back and are like "Go right ahead, queen, do the main character stuff." She 100% takes your role in certain ways. She's literally a new WL to your WoL!

and that's awesome! Like, holy shit! If you had traveled back in time and told me after Endwalker, "Hey, the next expansion will be almost solely and entirely focused on the character journey of a young woman, and she'll be nuanced and complex and allowed to fail but also allowed to succeed wildly, and her characterization will be interesting and her ideals will be very directly challenged, and she'll get to do some real classic 'sorry my noble opponent but I must stop you, even though I sympathize' shit, and the way she is framed won't feel excessively male-gazey, and she won't get stuck in the FFXII Ashe Miniskirt, and she won't just be someone you watch and clap for while the real protagonist and narrator is some random guy in her entourage," I would've been like "haha, okay, I like FFXIV as much as the next guy but I don't think it's shaken its baseline sexism off enough to do an expansion entirely about a woman and her personal growth and what makes her a good leader, especially after Stormblood's mixed reception. And CBU3 definitely doesn't have the guts to make her even more of a main character than any other prior NPC, and you didn't mention this part future time traveler, but I also don't believe they'll be willing to cast a trans woman in the role." And I would have been fucking wrong!

Yes, Wuk Lamat is the main character. Yes, she does get more attention than other NPCs, or even your Warrior of Light. And yes, that's totally fine, and even something to praise!!! You don't have to run from it to accommodate people who are looking for something to complain about!

[elzorton]

Richard II

[dewwshi]

we'll be there! 💖

[spotaus]

Finally did that doodle of Ec-4o!Dust!

My greyscale alcohol markers are dying so badly rn so the background looks rough, but also I do enjoy the more messy vibes lmao.

And... bonus wips my beloved!

[sukibenders]

Look, I enjoy the Targaryens as much as the next person and think that their house, their family mess, all of it is very interesting. I want a dragon so bad and they are one of the reasons, I get it. But, on the same hand, it gets annoying when people say/act like they are the only interesting house within ASOIAF (this rhetoric is mainly on Twitter, from what I've seen) and it primarily has to do with them having dragons (to which, for a time many Targaryens didn't have after the dance and until Daenerys came into the picture). Look, having dragons is cool and all, but if that's all that makes a house interesting then maybe that house is boring. And, could be just me, but by saying that I feel like it's lowkey disrespecting all the work GRRM put into the other houses and their characters. If the Targaryens are your favorite that's fine, but there's no need to act like the lore behind other houses also isn't just as important. I'm new to this fandom, but there are so many aspects that have pulled me in and it's sad that people ignore it just because it's not a part of one particular house.

[several-ravens]

jon finally apologised to martin and tim so i like him now

[abyssalzones]

I'm glad that transfem stan post is one of my most popular gf art posts to date. I think if we all try really hard we can firmly establish the concept into the late-term gravity falls fandom zeitgeist similarly to ford being gay. take my hand

[royalarchivist]

Translation:

7 DAYS LEFT!

On the 7th at 7 PM, we will go to the Nether.... I will create a way for everyone to escape this island! I promise!

[cerise-on-top]

Heyhey..h um could you write some fluff/comfort with reader x 2bhank? Pretty pls? Like where the reader has been depressed(?)/burnt out for a few months and has been going on less and less missions and one day just refuses to leave their room for one self deprecating reason or another so 2b and hank try making them feel better in their own ways

Very self indulgent request I know but sometimes you gotta give yourself a little treat <:]

Hey! Sorry, I sort of misread this and thought you wanted 2BHank helping a burnt out reader, so I wrote that instead ^^; Again, I'm really sorry about that!

2BHank with a Burnt-Out!S/O

For as dense as Hank could be most of the time, even he can tell that you haven’t been doing too well as of late. At first he’d think you were just sick and needed some time to rest, which meant he would take on the missions you would have gone on otherwise. He was a competent grunt in his field, he could accomplish just about any task given to him. 2B, while he could sense that something was up with you, would let Hank do just that so you could recover a bit. He didn’t think you were just sick, he somehow could feel that it was something worse, something that wouldn’t go away by just letting you rest for a few days, but he left it at that. After all, you did go on missions again, some with Hank, Sanford or Deimos, some on your own. However, at some point, you just hid away from everyone, shying away from the dim light of the sun as well. Hank wanted to see you, he really did, but you wouldn’t open your door. Why? Were you doing alright? It was obvious you had been “sick” again as of late, but even he stopped buying it at some point. While he wouldn’t be too concerned about your physical wellbeing, you could handle yourself in a fight, he’d kick the door in anyway to see if you were there in the first place.

Lo and behold, you were in your room after all, lying under the blanket, not moving, merely sighing as you heard the door fall. Polite as he could be, Hank picked up the door and leaned it against the wall before walking up to you and sitting down on your bed. He’s not usually one for too much talk, but he would ask you what’s wrong, why you didn’t open the door and why you’ve been “sick” so often as of late. He won’t judge you, but he just wants to know the reasons. When you tell him you’ve simply been burnt out on it all, he wouldn’t know what you mean. Hank genuinely doesn’t know what burnout is, so you’d have to explain it to him. But even then, I don’t think he’d really understand the gravity of the situation. You’re tired? Then take some time off. He tries, but it’s not that simple.

The open door would catch 2B’s attention and he’d enter to check up on you, involving himself in the conversation as well. He, too, would ask you how you’ve been feeling and what has been the matter. When you tell him you’re pretty sure you’re burnt out, he’ll sit down on the bed and ask you how he could help. He may not be an expert by any means, but at the very least he knows that this will likely be something that will last a long time. Although he may not be too happy about that, he won’t push you to be better immediately. Will also explain the situation to Hank, whose gears have started turning. If you know how they can help you, that’s great. There’s no one solution that fits all. A few people at S.Q. have been burnt out from all the missions they had to go on, so you’re definitely not the first.

2B will let you rest for the time being. If you ever feel up to it, then he’ll send you on a small mission that doesn’t involve too much danger, such as picking something up from a vendor. However, he won’t have you fight for your life while you’re burnt out, those tasks will be left to Hank and the others. 2B will also be checking up with you more often. He’s not the best with his words when it comes to more emotional things, but he tries. Will comfort you to the best of his ability and won’t stress you out about all those things. You need rest, that much is obvious, so he’ll let you have just that. S.Q. will continue to perform. If anyone ever talks badly about you, then they’ll be sent to him and will have a stern talking to. No one will talk shit about you as long as he has something to say about it. Overall, he’ll be very compassionate about it all. If you need something from him, he’ll give it to you, just give him the word.

When it comes to slowly reintroducing you to small things, it will actually be Hank who does that. He just really wants to spend time with you and 2B, but you’ve been so distant as of late. But he remembers 2B’s words and won’t force you to do anything, but will ask you if you’re up for something small. This might start out with something along the lines of playing cards or board games with him. If you say yes he’s actually over the moon and his metaphorical tail will start wagging. Slowly, he’ll bring you more and more things to do. New things for you to try, and old things you used to enjoy before you got burnt out. Naturally, there’s no pressure from his side, he just really wants to have an excuse to spend time with you. And if you simply do something along the lines of knitting while he’s sitting on the floor, just watching you, then he’s content.

Overall, neither of them will blame you for what happened. In fact, they’ll try to help you to get better again. If you ever just want the two of them to stay with you, then you can ask them to. Of course, if they’re going on a mission, then they won’t have too much time to cuddle with you. However, you’re more than welcome to call on either, or both, of them to just get something off your chest as well, they’re more than happy to listen. 2B and Hank just wanna see you smile again. If it takes a lot of time, then so be it, but they both just hope things will go back to how they used to be. They’ll both do just about anything for you, so don’t be afraid to ask them for anything at all, you’ll likely get it eventually.

[synthshenanigans]

BRO

Im crying

[beaft]

I'm so sorry about your job. Losing out to automation really fucking sucks. I know it doesn't help much now but fairly soon a lot of those companies will be finding out that AI is not a good enough replacement for humans and so those roles will be opening up again. I hope you find something to bridge the gap soon. Just remember that you're waay better at what you do than any AI and hopefully when those companies come crawling back you can demand a wage increase from them.

thank you for your kind words, they're truly appreciated. i'm trying really hard to stay positive and remind myself that things won't be like this forever, but it's just... difficult. the last time my life felt hopeful and like it was actually going somewhere was pre-pandemic, when i was studying for my master's degree - then covid hit and after that everything has just been going steadily downhill.

i hope you're right, and that things will improve; this is just one of those days where believing that feels like holding on to a cliff edge with my fingertips. praying that i will be able to make some sort of change, any change, before the year is out