#I've only been able to get on mobile recently

[dutybcrne]

Gotta love that good ol crossover old man yaoi

[the-disemvoweler]

I.. did not want to be that guy asking his followers for money. And I am so sorry for doing this.

I've been dealing with horrible, horrible joint and muscle pain for a while now. It's constant, but usually, it's manageable. But recently, it's gotten so much worse at times. I now need support to be able to walk sometimes. However, I don't have a job, and my family currently isn't taking my condition seriously. You see where this is going.

What I really need is forearm crutches, but if I can't get that, I will settle for a cane.

I can only be paid through cashapp, or by Amazon gift card (dm me if you choose to do that, we will work out the details). Do not feel pressured to pay me. I will find a way to get through this.

I will post a proof of purchase should I manage to get either of these aids.

Cashapp: $NovaDC

$0/$120

Please help me get a mobility aid.

[ms-demeanor]

Not to be rude or derailing your answer to the ask about the scorched earth post, but I do think quite genuinely that the site is becoming more openly hostile to its userbase, or at the very least its disabled userbase. While I’m not a fan of mobbing people’s personal blogs in targeted harassment campaigns, I think some people are also ignoring that staff blatantly said in a recent post that epileptic users would need to pay for ad-free to have their safety assured

I kind of don’t think that’s being ethical or user friendly, to me that sounds like they’re refusing to meet basic accessibility requests and answering with ‘pay us money to be safe’. Strobing and flashing ads aren’t just eyestraining, they can legitimately lead to serious injuries for epileptic folk, and telling people with epilepsy to just pay up or get lost is kinda… I dunno… disgusting?

So it looks like in a livestream (not on a post so far as I've been able to see) either photomatt or zingring made a glib and inappropriate response to an epileptic user asking about flashing ads and suggested that maybe they needed to pay for ad-free.

That's bad, I don't like it, and if it was supposed to be a joke it was a shitty one.

Zingring, tumblr's COO addressed that comment in a post where she said:

Buying ad-free (or gifting ad-free to someone else) is always an option, but that is not the solution (and of course, some folks simply can’t afford it). Sorry that it sounded dismissive in the session! That was not my intent.

I still think that's inappropriate (it's not that ad free isn't *the* solution, ad free shouldn't be *a* solution to accessibility), but it looks like Zingring has addressed this issue multiple times.

She got tagged in this post listing ways that tumblr could improve accessibility for photosensitive users and seems to have pretty consistently followed up; she has explained that there are rules against flashing ads that are sometimes violated by the advertisers and asks people to please report ads that break those rules so those advertisers can be blocked, has noted that there is apparently a "stop all autoplay" option in the works behind the scenes. She does also seem to take it seriously when users reach out with complaints about accessibility issues and seems to be willing to explore options.

Looking through that blog, this does not seem to be a site that is hostile to users with accessibility issues so much as, like everything else that's wrong around here, it is ridiculously understaffed so every project that someone wants to have as a priority is a project that someone else needs put on the backburner.

However, to very gently push back: how much of what you're experiencing as hostility from tumblr is actual hostility and how much of it is seeing posts like this, which suggests that tumblr is removing accessibility features because the lightbox didn't have double-tap-to-zoom on mobile for some users for a short while, claims that the blocking/flagging issue is a false flag against trans women, shared the inaccurate fearmongering post about tumblr live's ToS, and also claimed that tumblr "allowed" flashing ads that violated the in-place rules that tumblr has for advertising?

(this kind of goes with the 'nobody understands the ToS' but also nobody understands ads; tumblr does not have enough staff to look over the ads that go on their site every day, no social media company does, they rely on advertiser agreements as a sort of enhanced honor system and reports from users if the advertisers don't hold up their end of the bargain; the only way around this for any site that uses ads is to not have ads and that post is explicitly saying don't pay for tumblr because they are doing ads wrong - either they have to run ads and some bad ones are going to slip through and users will have to report them or tumblr will have to be 100% paid by the users or tumblr will go away. If you see ads that are unsafe for photosensitive users on *any* website you should report them to the site because the site almost certainly doesn't know that there's an advertiser violating the ad ToS unless someone tells them)

Generally speaking, I am actually *not* seeing worsening accessibility features, I'm seeing improvements compared to where we were five years ago - alt text on images is now built-in and devs are working hard on making tumblr more compatible with screen readers (as noted in the changes blog regularly); tumblr itself started offering different dashboard themes for users after years of complaints about contrast levels and readability; the "tiktok/twitterified" desktop dash view that everyone hates is supposed to be more readable on wider screens.

Compare this post in October of 2022 when Changes celebrated adding animations for posting (and told users those could only be disabled at an OS or browser level) with this post from July 2023 when they rolled back a feature because of an unexpected use case that could cause problems for photosensitive users.

These aren't things that I'd expect to see from a company that didn't care about accessibility, or that was openly hostile to questions around making the site more accessible.

I don't disagree with you that the comment from the stream about buying ad free was inappropriate; it absolutely was and it must have made photosensitive users feel like shit. But in the three months since that comment tumblr has been very responsive about getting flashing ads removed as soon as possible and seems to be working on more permanent fixes. I think this may be an instance of able-bodied people not realizing how shitty and dehumanizing their joke was (and it was) and taking the steps to do better.

If you don't think they're doing better, I probably can't convince you. I certainly don't think that tumblr is perfect about accessibility and I think that users need to continue pushing for improved user control of how the site displays and interacts with various devices. But compared to the kind of responses users complaints got from staff in 2018? I feel like things have improved a lot.

[factual-fantasy]

18 Asks! Thank you!! :}} 🎪

@pink088

Guuuuurl does it look like I missed the boops? XDD

(I DID miss the super boops and revenge boops tho. I was trashed on the couch and stuck on mobile all day so I wasn't able to send any back to anyone💔💔)

Uhhhmm... oh jeez lemme try to remember-- I'm assuming you mean the order I got everyone in the game..?? Cuz other than the goofy little comics I've been drawing there isn't much of a story beyond that-

Uhhh so I started with Midori(Sprigatito) obviously, thennn... I think I caught Grim(Gastly).. then I caught Gloria(Ralts). Thenn..... arrhrhhgh I thiiiink I went looking for eevees, but I found Anastasia(Shiny Kricketot) in the process and kept her. Then I picked one of the eevees I caught at random and kept him. Then lastly I found a Mareep(Bonnie) by surprise and kept her.

My memory is very poor but I thiiink that's mostly accurate <XDD If I misunderstood your question don't be afraid to send another ask! 😅

@pbjfox37147878

Sorry, I don't take requests.. But hey! You already got a solid concept going and some artistic talent, you can always make it yourself for free! :0

Not really.. I've had a surprising number of uncomfortable experiences with the fandom recently so I've decided to take a step back from Octonauts for a while..

@psype

:DD Thank you! I'm glad you like them! :}}

And yeah that's how I pictured her XDD its becuase I use her the most out of all my Pokémon-

Now she's not bossy and doesn't have a leader or "I'm better that you guys" complex, none of that! She's just very intelligent and usually very level headed and calm. I can imagine that she's gotten the team safely through a lot of complicated situations and her plans/advice have rarely led the group astray.

Plus since I use her so often, I like to think that she's one of the most powerful Pokémon on the team. If not the most powerful. So whenever the group was met with a great danger, Gloria was probably the one to rescue them <XD

So the whole group kind'a gravitates behind her and lets/wants her to take the lead most of the time. Especially when things get complicated or dangerous!

@nerdyskullcap (User in ask)

I took a peek at their blog, but I couldn't find any original art of the Conductor after quite a while of scrolling through that tag.. I only found reblogs of other peoples Conductor comics.. <:(

XD That description of Gloria is very fitting! I use her the most out of all my Pokémon and she rarely loses! XDD

This was a cool read, and hey! Some of my Pokémon have some of those attacks! :000 Gloria has draining kiss and Bonnie has discharge! :D

@cat7890

I'd like to think they've never fought before.. maybe some little bickering on a bad day, but never anything serious.

They have good communication and just generally get along really well and like a lot of the same things. So there's rarely conflict between them! :0

Thank you! I'm happy to hear that you like my artwork! :}}

As for your question.. I'm afraid I don't understand/cant explain it--

Lets say I wanna draw Mario. I imagine what the drawing might end up looking like in my head, what pose I'll draw him in and what colors I'll use.. And then I just.. draw it. It might not look exactly like what I pictured but its probably close enough.

If that doesn't answer your question, I'm afraid I either don't understand your question or this is just an art thing that I don't know how to explain. <:( Sorry, feel free to send another ask with more specifics if you have them!

@sleep-deprived-fr3ak

If Bill ever became a lawyer? All hope is lost XDD

@raven-bearden-the-interviewer42

I haven't really thought about the details of the crews travels and adventures.. but I'm sure that when Louis got cursed and became a crab monster? That was probably pretty memorable XD

Probably this one honestly <XD I cant think of anything more cursed off the top of my head-

@fawncr33k

I suppose that would be fine, but I wouldn't prefer it. As I've said many times,, just comments guys! Asks, reblogs, tags, how ever you type them. I just want comments.👍

@neo-metalscottic

No problem! Getting asks are usually a pick me up :}}

As for the Dry Bones thing, that's what I meant by "not sure how it fits into the AU yet" 😅 Who'd they fight? Why did they fight? When did this happen? No idea. Its all just a neat concept with no structure yet :// And beyond the awkward living situation with the Dry Bones today, I haven't really thought about how the Koopa culture has been changed by the war. That's just way too much thinking and I'm way too sick to bother trying to figure it out atm- 💀💔 But maybe someday I'll think it through!

Now Luigi, I had this idea that he had a bizarre encounter with a 1-UP and was later bitten by a Goomba. Over the span of say... 5 days or so..? Luigi slowly got weaker and weaker until eventually he became bedridden and actually died- He came back to life moments after but it still completely shook Mario and Luigi's worlds for a sec there-

I had intended to draw a comic about this, and I made a sketch about it in the past.. but around the time I thought of this idea my Mario phase was kind'a passing over so I didn't feel like making it- <XDD

As for a potential sequel, I would like to see Wario, Waluigi and Toadsworth. Not sure why Toadsworth wasn't in the first movie- he absolutely should have been. That deep voiced purple..? council..? toad guy?? Totally should have been Toadsworth :/

And my request for the Wario bros is that they are taken seriously. 😅🤣

@cherrycreamfairy

I'm doing okay so far today, thank you! :}

@littlelightfish

I haven't really figured out the details about how Tuna and Louis lost their limbs- 😅

But I'm considering that Louis lost his arm (I assume you meant his arm-) in some kind of work related accident a long time ago. It must have been a fishing accident somehow..

As for Tuna, either some kind of natural disaster/accident or.. someone "removed" them... O-O

I do not :/ I'm not even sure what homestuck is.. I thiiink its a webcomic-

@nemo-draco

Oooo! :00 It looks cool! :DD

And thank you, I'm hoping I get over this soon too 😅

[coelpts]

alright, guess we're complaining now.

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Friday, May 26th, 2023 changelog which reads, "On web, clicking anywhere in a post’s header now opens that post. Previously, you had to click specifically on the blog name."

Second image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 changelog which reads, "To clarify a point made in last Friday’s post: on web, clicking the reblogged-from blog name in a reblog’s post header now takes you to that blog, not their reblog. Clicking in the empty space in the post’s header, and in the header of each reblog trail item, now takes you to that specific post in the blog view popup. This is one of a series of updates we’re making to the reblog consumption experience across all platforms, to make it more intuitive and consistent, especially for new users." End ID.]

Tumblr, this change is bad. A lot of other people have already shared their own complaints for this new and awful system, but it's time for me to properly throw my hat in the ring instead of at-ing you directly due to user error. Whoops.

[UPDATE 6/11/2023] HORRIBLE NEWS, EVERYONE! This change has hit mobile. There is no longer any way to access the previous version of a post except through theme reblog chaining on desktop. I've added some extra fun comments both as an edit to this post and as a reblog so nobody misses out.

All my complaints are in the read more because this got LONG.

TL;DR- This change breaks a major signifier used across the site, removes post functionality only to replace it with redundant blog links, and completely destroys a primary mode of social interaction that's been used on Tumblr for over a decade. Here's the Tumblr Staff support link so you can give feedback on how bad this change is.

Part One: Signifiers and Consistency

This is my biggest point, so it will be a bit of a doozy. Strap in.

This change is about making Tumblr operation 'intuitive and consistent' by unifying behavior between like-designed parts of the site. Now on the face that's not a bad reason to do things, and making sure users are able to intuit what a button does based on its properties is good design. I'll give an example:

Hearts symbolize the 'Like' function on Tumblr. The heart button on a post adds it to your Likes, the Likes option on your account is accompanied by that same heart, and Likes show up in post notes with that heart. This heart, then, becomes a consistent and reliable signifier. If you see a heart button on Tumblr, then whatever it's attached to probably has something to do with Likes.

So, back to the change. This change relates to the signifier of the 'Tumblr blog url link'. The idea is thus- on other parts of the site, such as the Search tab on mobile and on a blog in the dashboard tray, you will see related or similar blog suggestions like these:

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example blog with the 'Blogs like this one' tray visible, populated with four example blogs.

Second image: A second cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example of the Search page on mobile with the 'Check out these blogs' feature highlighted, where two example blog cards are shown. End ID.]

These suggestions are Tumblr blog urls paired with their icon and a little bit of their blog, either the title or some recent posts of theirs. If you click on that url title, the link follows through to that blog. So there's the signifier: click on the url, go to the blog.

But now we have a bit of a snag. What about these?

[Image ID: A cropped reblog screenshot. The crop shows the Tumblr urls of the reblogger @coelpts and reblogged @coelpts-artchives with the reblog symbol between them, the rebloggers icon, and the date that this reblog was posted. End ID.]

Well, these LOOK like Tumblr blog url links. They're styled in the same way. In fact, the reblogger even has a blog icon next to it! So all signs point to these url links pointing directly to a Tumblr blog if clicked on. After this change, that's exactly what they do- so, like, no problem, right?

But, hold on. There's another signifier here! These aren't JUST Tumblr blog url links! This is…

[Image ID: First image: The former image of a cropped reblog screenshot, focused on the urls and reblog icon.

Second image: The Tumblr reblog icon. End ID.]

Our good friend, the Reblog button! That's another classic Tumblr signifier, and it sits right next to the Like button I pontificated about. Reblogs are an integral part of Tumblr, and on top of every single reblogged post you will see that icon. And would you look at that- it's even the same color as the second url link!

Those url links that established the 'url link' signifier that we talked about before, in the search page and on the dashboard tray, aren't attached to any posts. But this url is, and the reblog symbol is right next to it. The reblog signifier modifies the url link signifier. This link should go to the reblog from this user. Right? Because it is a reblog FROM that url link- so that's where it should go! And that's where it used to go, before this update.

[EDIT] I came back to fix some typos I noticed but while I was away I tested mobile to see if this change hit the app yet. It has not, but what I saw instead confirmed the above point- on mobile, selecting the reblogged's url ALSO highlights the reblog icon next to it! These two signifiers are connected, and should be read together.

By changing the url links to be more 'consistent' with other url links across the site, a major signifier that keeps the site together has been broken entirely. What should lead to a reblog- something that is clearly shown through use of a recognizable, consistent symbol- no longer does.

Part Two: Redundant Redundancy

Okay, so that's not all this change does. It also adds a brand new functionality to the post header- the white space is now clickable and serves as a replacement for the original 'to this post' link on the reblogger's side of things. These headers also generate for anyone who adds to the post, and you can click through OP too.

[Image ID: The cropped reblog screenshot from before, but with the word 'Clickable!' written in purple in the blank space above the date. End ID.]

This is also part of that design unity thing; on mobile tapping anywhere on the post header takes you to the post, and you can only tap on the blog url of the person the reblogger reblogged from. That makes sense, since on mobile you're maneuvering your fingers on a small screen and tapping a tiny url next to another tiny url is bound to cause problems.

I don't necessarily have a problem with this on the base of it. I have opinions about mobile and desktop parity that aren't really important here, but it does nicely showcase an issue I DO have- most of the changes made to reblogged posts are completely redundant and unnecessary.

---

[UPDATE] This change has hit mobile now, and it's added a fun new complaint about desktop-mobile parity that is now very suddenly a problem; the headers generated from reblogs with content don't have any responsive feedback for tapping them on mobile. OPs does, but any old Joes doesn't. This is not true on desktop, where on-hover a post header will change color; on mobile they stay completely white and plain with no on-tap color change. On top of that, the new headers are actually harder to see on mobile! There's no clear way to actually see where the header starts and the post continues! Tapping a header was deeply confusing because I got no confirmation I did anything of value until I was wisked away to a post- there's no signifier on mobile that this is a thing you can press.

This is what I was talking about in regards to desktop and mobile parity that wasn't important at the time- what's good for mobile isn't always good for desktop and vice versa. Having a post header be tappable on mobile instead of op's url link, where you have less fine motor control and there's a lot of small buttons clustered together, makes sense; but making all post headers into buttons on desktop isn't a good idea because they aren't 'buttons' and it's very hard to make it clear they are. I mentioned signifiers above and that applies to this change- there just aren't enough signs that show these are all buttons now and where they go. The fact that they're completely unresponsive on mobile really is the cherry on top, because you do not KNOW it's a button unless you tap it accidentally or already know from desktop that all headers link to reblogged posts. The design has been made more confusing; what was a functional affordance on mobile has been applied to desktop without limits or concern, making the original mobile affordance more confusing and producing a poor signifier.

Alright, that's enough from future me. Let's get back to the original post, about how this change that introduces a bad signifier is also redundant.

---

First of all, it's not like clicking the link url just threw you into a post abyss when you clicked it. Clicking through to a reblog…still took you to that blog, both on mobile and on desktop. On mobile all you need to look through the blog proper is to pull down and refresh; on desktop it's even easier, because following a link pulls up the dashboard tray for that blog with the blogs url immediately below their icon.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now shown on the blog @coelpts. The post is on the left, and the user info card is on the right. End ID.]

This change then removes one step to get to the front of a blogs page, and puts the original longer path on the new clickable header. They go to the same place, the first is just exactly one click faster. You could do the exact same thing by clicking the user icon instead.

But wait! We can get even more redundant! You know what else is standard Tumblr functionality on desktop? The hover card!

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the card for @coelpts-artchives below the icon. It has the blog title and description alongside three popular posts. A purple arrow points to it from the url. End ID.]

If you hover over any url link for about a second, a card for that blog will pop up. This tray lets you follow a blog, send asks, report them, check their popular posts and do a bunch of stuff straight from the dashboard. It also takes you directly to their blog if you click the url link on the card itself! That's right, there was already a way to go directly to the blog the previous user reblogged from! And every single blog url link does this, too- not just on post headers, but even in the text of a post itself.

So before this change, you had five ways of interacting on a post:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's post.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's post.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

One of these is redundant, but that's fine- it's just how url links work, and it's better that all urls can do that. Signifiers, we talked about this. But every other link goes to a different place, including the previous version of the post.

After this change, there's six, with changes in bold:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the white space header next to a user > User's post.

We now have three ways of getting to the blog of the person who reblogged this post, two ways to get to the blog of the person they reblogged from, ONE way to get to the post, and ONLY if someone added to it!

This change removes functionality and replaces it with needless redundancy. As I said near the top of this section, we could already get to the blog through a reblog link- so all this does is remove getting to previous post iterations.

Part Three: Broken Chains

And hey, let's talk about previous post iterations. Y'know, something that's super important on Tumblr? Different versions of a post float around the site for years- some have been around for a decade or more. And some are only available for one post.

As I'm sure everyone knows, unless a group of tags are peer reviewed and added to the body of the post itself or are appended to the next reblog in the chain, they only exist on that version of the post. This means every iteration of a post is functionally unique, and long before we were given the ability to check the tags on a reblog directly, the only way you could check the tags for a post was by checking every iteration. This practice still exists today with 'prev tags'- users still find it useful to gesture to a previous version of a post and show what other people were thinking or add their own thoughts.

Remember the new redundant links? All that means you can't get to a previous version of a post anymore. Those tags are functionally lost now, unless you dig through that persons blog or through all the notes of a specific post. Sure that may not be a problem for a post with 300 notes or so- but what about 27,000? What about a post that was reblogged three weeks ago? If you're trying to wrangle Tumblr's dodgy search function on the blog itself, what if the post has no text to search for, or if the blog has it's search function turned off? Any post tagged with prev tags now directs to literally nothing. Anyone arguing or conversing in the tags is now speaking at air to everyone else.

There is still one way to trace reblogs. You can access the blog itself- not the dashboard tray, but the actual url.tumblr.com blog- by using a hidden link in the meatball menu off the side of the post.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the meatballs menu accessed. The first option, showing the date of the reblog, is highlighted. A purple arrow points to this option from the meatballs menu icon and a circle is drawn around it. End ID.]

From there, you can track a post backwards through proper blogs. The reblogged posts will have a 'via Blog' note on them, and you can follow that trail all the way up a chain.

…Unless someone doesn't have a theme enabled. Without a theme, a user won't have a url.tumblr.com domain and it will redirect to the dashboard tray, breaking the chain. And, as of an older update, blogs by default do not have themes enabled- so any and all new users suddenly roadblock this process. Oops.

All of this means that what was once a convenient social aspect of Tumblr has been completely severed with little to no alternative. Trying to wade through hundreds upon hundreds of notes to find the one you're looking for is tedious, time consuming, and potentially impossible if the post is large enough.

Finale: What Now?

Right, so- this sucks. I didn't even go into how this makes it tough to find and block cr/pt/t/rfs if a post passes into their hateful space, or how this makes it harder to copy post links without tracking shit because it's in a different menu now, or how it's now more difficult to access a previous post for reporting purposes. All that shit's also true, but they're side effects of the big three problems the changes introduce.

This change is ultimately user-hostile and seems to follow the worrying trend of 'other sites are doing it, so let's do it too!' Tumblr's been kicking about recently. Tumblr Live, the new change to images and videos, gating viewing posts behind making an account, and attempted algorithm feeds through 'Best Stuff First' and 'Based On Your Likes' are what immediately come to mind. Tumblr's defining, driving aspect for it's continued existence has and always will be its uniqueness. Pretending to be Instagram and TikTok and fucking Twitter will do it absolutely no favors- all it does is undermine what actually makes this site, as a social platform, interesting and vibrant.

But it's one thing to just complain and it's another entirely to provide feedback. Here's a link to the Tumblr Staff support page. They've walked back on new features before when we've made a ruckus- the Shop icon replacement is on the forefront of my mind right now- so it's time to make another.

TL;DR 2- This change makes browsing Tumblr more difficult than it needs to be. It breaks previously established signifiers and removes vital social functions only to add redundant and empty features to cater to a new userbase instead of actually improving the site for the users they already have. It's not a good change.

Thanks for reading ✌️

[httpiastri]

sleeping patterns – cn34

nights filled with endless crying and screaming take a toll on clement's confidence.

genre: fluff, slight comfort/angst ig

pairing: young dad!clem x young mom!reader

warnings: none

author’s note: aaaaaaaaaaa im so soft for clem and ive had such an insane baby fever recently. i miss him sm :(( he would be such a good dad, i just know it

f2/f3 masterlist

‎‎ ‎‎

the big, red numbers of your electric clock on the bedside table tell you it's only 3am, a frustrated huff passing through your lips when your eyes slowly open. it takes a while for you to realize what's waking you up – but then it makes so much sense.

the soft cries on the other side of the baby monitor sting like a knife in your heart, and you're fully awake in a matter of seconds. you're just about to push yourself up to a sitting position when the bed dips next to you. after turning around, you find your boyfriend already jumping out of bed. "i'll get her."

"are you sure?" you ask, voice creaky after several hours of not speaking.

clement nods, leaning down to press a kiss to your temple. "go back to sleep," he hums, and just like that, he has waddled through the door to your nursery.

the sad truth is that your little one hasn't been progressing with her sleep as much as she should. she had a period of almost sleeping through the nights about a month ago, but then you were hit with the four-month regression. she's almost five months old now, and still, you have issues with sudden wakeups in the middle of the night. as much as you adore every second you get to spend with her, you just wish you could get one full night of sleep sometime.

you know you won't be able to fall asleep until clement is back, you never can. but it's not because you're worried; in fact, there's not a single piece of concern on your mind over it. you know that he has mastered the cradling-cooing-bouncing sequence by now. and sure enough, your daughter's cries grow lighter and lighter, until the only sound that can be heard from the monitor is the ones of soft steps and hushed whispers.

but something feels off. even when the apartment is completely silent, clement doesn't come back to bed.

it's very strange. he fell asleep once in the rocking chair in the nursery, but complained about his back aching for a week afterwards and promised that he would never put himself through that again.

the moonlight peeking through the poorly shut blinds in the nursery casts a shadow across clement's profile when you step inside. despite how dark it is, you can see every little toy on the floor and every detail of the little race car-themed mobile that dangles above the crib clearly. you're way too used to being in here at night.

clement has put your daughter back down into her crib by now, and his hands are wrapped around the railing as he leans over it, looking down at her. he doesn't react when you come closer, and he doesn't move a muscle even when you place your hand on his shoulder. it's easy to understand that something is bothering him.

"what's on your mind?"

he turns to you and lets out a tiny exhale, as if it was a struggle for him to snap himself out of his thoughts. he shakes his head. "it's nothing."

"tell me," you press, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze.

"well, i…" he squeezes his eyes shut. "i'm kind of freaking out. it's been over four months, and… i still haven't adjusted."

"honey," you start, your hand moving to the back of his neck. "where is this coming from? so suddenly?"

"i don't know," he says with a sigh. "you've seen me lately, i've barely been able to fall asleep at all."

he opens his eyes again and gazes down into the crib, eyes softening once they land on the little bundle of love resting so peacefully. he follows the way her chest rises with her breaths, her slightly pouting lips, her tiny fists that are wrapped around her blankie.

"it feels like i'm the only one who's struggling. you're such a natural, you're doing so much better with her, while i just feel… hopeless."

you don't want to interrupt him – clement doesn't often speak about his deeper feelings, so now that he's finally going, you don't wish to stop his flow – but you have to say something. "i think you're doing really well."

"you actually think so?" he asks. though his gaze doesn't move an inch, he can still see you nodding in the corner of his eye. he takes a deep breath. "i've heard people say that new fathers go through things… that it takes time, that it takes patience- and i've tried to be patient, i really have. but…"

he finally looks at you, and his heart breaks slightly at the sight of your uneasy expression, the tension in your eyebrows and your worried eyes. he hates being the one to make you feel like this.

"i just can't get rid of this constant anxiety. it feels like i'm always stressing over something. over you, over her, over everything."

you relate to every word he says. being this young, you feel like you're stumbling through darkness most of the time, not knowing what to do. it's frankly a guessing game, with mostly correct guesses mixed with some bad ones, since neither of you have any prior parenting experiences. even though he may not see it or know it, you're going through the same things as him.

no one had expected for you to get pregnant at this age, and no one – not even the two of you – had expected for you and clement to actually keep the baby. and sometimes, way more often than you'd thought before, your youth and inexperience has been catching up with you.

it's hard, but at least you have each other.

you step closer, draping your arms around his shoulders in an instant. "it's alright," you whisper into the skin of his neck, your nose filling with that scent that's just so him, and you finally relax a bit. his hands find your waist, fingers caressing your sides through the flimsy material of your nightgown. "it's okay to feel like this. i do, too. i think… all new parents must feel it." you give his neck a soft kiss. "but they all get through it, don't they? and so will we."

he stays silent for a while before he nods slowly. "it's all just so… intimidating. i don't want to mess anything up."

"and you won't." you pull away slightly to look into his eyes. "i trust you fully, and-"

you're interrupted mid-sentence, the sound of your daughter stirring in her crib taking clement's attention away from you as he glances towards her. you see his adam's apple bob as she begins to whine, her fists clenching and face scrunching up. "should- can i take her?" he asks tentatively, hands trembling slightly on your sides.

you nod not even a second later, stepping out of his embrace to give him no excuse to hold back. "go for it."

clement had bought every parenting guidebook he could find, and read every website with tips for new parents on the entire internet – and yet, nothing had prepared him for this nervousness that he's experiencing so often. he knew it wouldn't be smooth sailing all the way, but he hadn't expected to feel this uncertain in everything he does. even in the way that he picks his daughter out of her crib, he feels anxious that he's doing something wrong.

however, the second she feels her father's presence, it's far from the story that his anxiety has been making up for him. she lets out one last soft cry before, as if out of habit, nuzzling her face into his skin.

while clement has been struggling this whole time, you can't help but notice that she settles easily into his arms. like she belongs there; like she knows that he'll take care of her.

because he always does.

"see?" you say, letting a finger run along the curve of her cheek as you smile down at her. "that's not so bad, is it? you're doing so well."

considering all the difficulties he's faced, hearing these kind words of appreciation from you gives him comfort in a way that few other feelings can compare to. his gaze is still glued to your daughter, the precious little baby that is his entire world. well, half of his world – the other half is standing right next to him. "i love her, you know," he says softly. "even if she doesn't know it yet, i do. so much."

"i think she knows," you answer, watching as your boyfriend cradles her against his bare chest. he has loved the skin-on-skin contact since day one, and you're sure she does, too; her gentle babbling is always a sure sign that she's completely content. you can't hold back from smiling. "and she loves you just as much."

"sometimes i just can't believe that she's ours. that we made her." his eyes meet yours, nothing but pure love in them. "isn't it strange?"

"strange that we've done something good for once?"

he answers your tease by sticking out his tongue, nudging your shoulder with his, though gently enough to not bother the little one in his arms.

"come on, let's go back to bed," you say, leaning in to press your lips gently to the back of her head. "one night of co-sleeping can't be the entire world, can it?"

[paper-mario-wiki]

What does your Googoo aresenal look like?

This is my default Googoo loadout. I use it by far the most. Some of the lower stats like the "Burning players killed" on the Yaoi paddle, and the "projectile reflected" on the Part-Time Rocket Launcher are newly added strange parts, so they don't reflect on the actual lifetime stats.

Additionally, I try to only have one strange cosmetic per set, since having more than one is overkill. "Ain't She Sweet?" is something I traded for a few months after I came out, so that reflects lifetime kills with this set as Scout and not Chase.

Chase's longest-running strange cosmetic was this pink painted Apparition's Aspect.

The other set I've been using a lot lately is this one:

The Stinker is my favorite weapon I've been playing with recently. I think I've actually used it for fewer than 15 hours total, so the stats aren't massively impressive yet.

I also reuse Aint She Sweet? for this set, and for the melee I've just got a normal Powerjack (I don't use that thing very often).

Depending on the map I switch between shotgun or detonator for long-range poking and better mobility.

Another set I recently acquired was one that I set up after unboxing a gold-centric unusual and deciding to make it its own whole thing.

Premium Toaster was a gift from Van from when we were still dating (never gettin rid of that one).

Cruelty Squad is a strange field-tested Jazzy warpaint, which if you know anything about the TF2 economy might be more impressive to you than anything else. I was able to pick one up right after the paint came out so I didn't get charged a bajillion dollars for it.

The newest item, and the only one that I traded specifically for this set (aside from the filamental which is a normal unique cosmetic and therefore worth less than 5 cents) is the Axtinguisher. It came pre-named when I traded for it, and I haven't been able to think of a more interesting name for it. Frankly, I think the American Psycho name is cute, but I don't know that it really fits me perfectly. When I think of somethin' better I'll change it.

Those are my most Googoo Signature loadouts summarized, but here's all of my pyro loadouts:

A few extras:

[stoukadraws]

I've been having an issue with Tumblr for a few days now, for some reason I can't view images and they're stuck as the gradient type image if you know what I mean.

I thought it would only last up to a day or two but it didn't and I'm getting worried. This is happening in both the website and mobile app, I even went to other devices not connected to my account but it's also facing the same problem.

I've tried refreshing, logging out, but nothing seems to be working. I tried to look up solutions, but it also looks like other users are also facing the same problem. I don't see many people talking about it so I'm bringing it up right now.

This is a problem only in Tumblr, everywhere else is pretty much fine. I haven't contacted staff for help yet but I'm not sure if it would do much, but if it does help then I'll write to them about it.

I planned on posting more recently and already have a post ready, but if this issue still isn't fixed then unfortunately I won't be able to post art for a while until it's fixed.

If anyone has any idea on how to fix this please let me know.

[fungifanart]

Subzero Sonata

Characters: Male reader, Yuu!reader, Vil, Epel, Lilia, Malleus, Silver is mentioned

Word Count: 888

CW: Violence. The reader can sing. Also, the reader can use magic. (I'd recommend not thinking about it too much)

Notes: *Slaps Word document* This thing can fit SO much self-indulgence in it! I wrote this as part of a TWST Halloween collab organized by @twistedchatterbox. So, uuuhhh, sorry I'm late. I've been working a new job recently on top of class, so I haven't been able to sit down and write much.

(In case you were wondering, this is the song)

--------------------------------------------------------

You feel your determination solidify inside of you as you face down an army of possessed students and as the group splits up to take on each threat, you move towards the crowd and call out to the others, "I can help you guys with crowd-control, but I need you to cover me!"

"What? What are you gonna do??" Epel questions.

"Hey Vil! Remember how you said I'd make an excellent opera singer?" You ask as the man in question looks at you with wide eyes, "Well, you're about to get your wish!"

—--------------------------------------------------------

The sound of a ringing bell echoes throughout the hall, as if signaling the coming of the frigid wind that is now blowing across it.

The Prefect kneels in the center of the protective circle Vil and the others have formed as a flurry of ice and snow swirls around him and the first notes of a song echo from seemingly nowhere.

The music builds as the flurry disperses into cold mist, revealing the Prefect in a completely new outfit, going from a white shirt, white sweatpants and a white faux fur shawl, which Vil had only begrudgingly approved of, to a fine-tailored suit reminiscent of an opera virtuoso's accentuated with delicate snowflake patterns along the sleeves and rims, all topped-off with a pure white parasol.

Vil stares in awe as the Prefect begins to stand up and speak as the music swells, "Good evening, masters. Is this the new recital stage?" He says while giving a small bow.

The music gains more orchestral instruments and fully begins as the Prefect closes his parasol and walks forward, "Oh my! Such a large audience! I'd better jump into the chorus then!" He says before clearing his throat and releasing a powerful high note in time with the music that sends out a wave of pure ice magic into the air, forcing nearby ghosts to abandon their host bodies and leaving any stray ghosts in its path on the ground, frozen solid.

The Prefect keeps singing as the air grows colder and Vil turns back around to focus on fighting. However, as he does so, he sees more blasts of ice magic being shot at the possessed students with each new note the Prefect hits.

Vil tries to keep his focus, he really does, but hearing the Prefect’s voice repeatedly go up and down musical scales with such elegance and precision that he didn't think the other man possessed makes it extremely difficult.

However, with the Prefect’s help, they've managed to hold their own so far, and with Vil getting only slightly distracted by the beautiful singing happening behind him, just for the Prefect to stop singing as the song progresses to the next verse. Hearing this, Vil glances behind himself to ensure he's okay and sees a burst of icy mist call forth large snowflakes that dance around the Prefect as he stands firm with perfect poise and posture before opening his mouth to continue singing.

Things are seemingly going well as the Prefect sings…until Lilia takes notice and jumps completely over both defensive lines made by Silver and Vil's groups, razor-sharp nails trained perfectly on the Prefect’s neck.

However, before anyone can react, the Prefect reaches an elongated high note that he aims directly at Lilia, buffeting him with a concentrated storm of ice magic that sends him flying back towards Silver's group, covered in frost that hinders his mobility to ensure he won't be making a jump like that again.

The Prefect’s song continues as the biting cold encroaches on the enemy with each note, forcing more and more ghosts out of their mortal hosts and eventually drawing Malleus's attention, who sends a barrage of green fireballs at Vil's group from his place at the pipe organ, all of which are neutralized by the Prefect’s ice.

Finally, the song reaches its climax, which is signaled by the Prefect’s voice going up an octave, causing Vil to have to resist the urge to stop fighting and pull up a chair just to watch the rest of the performance. Which he may well be able to do at this point with how many possessed students have been saved now, but Vil decides not to leave anything up to chance and continues fighting as the ice and frost on the floor creep their way up the platform where Rook's group is still engaging with Malleus, the heat from his fire attacks being the only thing that stops them from overtaking him.

However, any remaining heat in the air quickly disappears as the Prefect reaches a note so high for him that it causes Vil's heart to skip a beat while sending a torrent of sub-zero temperatures across the entire hall, liberating the last of the possessed students and coating every surface in the grand hall with a solid layer of permafrost.

The song ends with one final high note from the Prefect before he holds his parasol above his head once again as his outfit reverts back to what it was before.

And, despite his disappointment about the Prefect’s outfit, Vil can only stand there, enthusiastically applauding the other man's performance and silently hoping that his makeup can sufficiently mask the heat he feels blossoming on his face in spite of the overwhelming cold encompassing the area.

[misc-obeyme]

Got this chat last night and dnjsffhksodwkodw he's so sweet. I mean, we could all guess pretty certainly that Barbatos would drop anything and everything at any time to help out MC, but this confirms it in a way that makes me love him even more <3

Also! I don't have screenshots of this one, but during the current event, Barbatos reveals that he keeps teas that MC likes in his room. Not only that, but he keeps them near Diavolo's favourites; which really proves we are his two favouties <3 There's been a lot of Barbatos content recently that just proves how much he cares, and I am living for it!!

Just imagine Barbatos having all of your favourites teas and being able to make you whatever you want before you even ask for it.

And og my stars don't even get me started on Barbatos visiting you to help you unwind before sleep. I just know he'd give the best massages, and that tea he said he'd make you? Divine.

Just being around Barbatos at any time is very calming and peaceful (at least in my mind) so imagine what it would be like when he's actually trying to be calming...

Oh yes, I was so obsessed with that part of the event where he talks about his tea shelf, I got out of bed at 3 in the morning to post all the screenshots here. I would've just done it on mobile, but there's a 10 picture limit for mobile posts. :(

Anyway, in case anyone wanted to see the screenshots of that part, they are all there lol.

This is exactly why I love Barbatos so much. It's the way he notices things without being told, the way he just takes it upon himself to bring MC whatever they need, the way he takes care of them.

It's like he's not so wrapped up in himself that he can see what other people need and he takes great care to notice especially when it's someone he loves.

This is the quality that made him my favorite. I'm one of those people who tends not to tell others when I'm struggling irl. Like it isn't that I'm trying to deceive people, it's more that I don't want to burden them with my problems, you know? So a lot of times, it goes unnoticed. Which isn't anyone's fault but mine. But there's something about the idea of someone noticing despite how much you try to hide it or brush it off, someone who won't let you just pretend that there's nothing going on or that you don't need help, someone who insists on doing those things for you anyway. And doing it in a way that isn't like it's some big deal. Barbatos is just like, you are having trouble sleeping, I will come over and make you tea to help with that. And that's it.

I'm also extremely anxious irl. I find that being with people who are calm reduces my anxiety quite a bit. And I just know that even just being around Barbatos would keep me calm. I'd probably be nervous at first because I would think he's soooo cool lol. But once I get past that introverted shyness, I would just want to be with him all the time. Because I'd feel that sense of calm that I don't get to feel on my own very often.

Anyway, didn't mean to ramble, I've written too many essays about Barbatos at this point adlk;fdskljf

It's just that I too was especially touched by these moments! He would indeed be the calming and peaceful influence that would easily allow anyone stressed to relax enough to drift into slumber...

And you know he'd give the best massages.

[trifoliate-undergrowth]

aren't we lucky to live in a time in which technology is so easy to use and convenient for connecting us with friends? an old friend of mine died suddenly and I was the only one of the friendgroup able to make it down in time for the service (because I left work and started driving immediately after the news) but I promised my grieving out of state friends I'd discord video call them so they could view the service, since we were all on a discord channel together. at the service I mentioned this to the father of my friend and he asked if I could also send him the video. I couldn't figure out how to start a call on discord because unlike on desktop there's no button to press on mobile, my friends kept telling me to press the audio record button, which only makes an audio recording. ok, well, I wanted to save a video for friend's dad anyway, so I'll just record a video and share it with everyone later, I apologize to my friends waiting in the chat who thought they would be able to view the service with us. I record the service feeling bad about that but hey this is something. it's long and the file is big so of course I can't just send it in the chat. Can I email it to friend's dad? no. It doesn't even give me the option to share as google drive link. I try to upload it to drive manually. it's telling me I don't have enough space and I need to upgrade to their subscription service. I delete several old videos from drive and try again. it still says there's no space. I upload it as an unlisted video on youtube (so it's not public but anyone with a link can view it). this takes literal days to finish uploading but finally it's there. at last, I've fulfilled my duty, at least a little bit. I send everyone the links as I'm getting on a plane to go back to work, extremely emotionally and physically exhausted. when I look at my messages later they're asking me to un-private the video so they can watch it. that's weird, it wasn't private in the first place? I go look at it. ah I see. It's blocked because there were copyrighted songs played at the funeral. maybe I can upload it to facebook? but I don't have facebook on my phone for a variety of reasons (don't use it, also it's got an unusually high amount of tracking and weird data stuff associated with the app even for how bad apps usually are) so I need to get the file on my computer. plug my phone in with transfer cable. the prompt to file share does not show up to initiate file sharing. wait, I can access youtube on my computer, can I download the video that way? yes I can. will facebook block it too? how long will it take to upload there? am I doomed to fail my promises again and again? I thought I was lucky in being able to be at the funeral and that this would give me closure but it's dragging after me like an albatross. my friend's dad just texted me could I Please share the video with him because he wants to watch it. believe me man I'm trying

I start the download and start typing this post in frustration. i finish the first paragraph and check on the download. download failed. I click retry. I type some more. I check on the download. download failed. retry. download faile.d retry. download failed. I am literally keeping track of how many times this happens. I'm not exaggerating. wow it kept downloading for a while that time--download failed. retry. download failed. retry. did I mention I have covid right now, possibly from traveling to the funeral, and I'm out of breath and almost lightheaded from walking up stairs, so I can only imagine the breathing issues that have been getting progressively worse with every infection are going to make it even harder for me to exist the way I want to after this. download failed, retry. is there not enough space on my computer? I cleared up space recently, and shouldn't it tell me if that's the issue? I have a hard drive I could get out it necessary, but I don't really want to save this albatross, I want to get it out somewhere the people I promised to share it with can see it and forget about it for a while. it only needs to be on my computer long enough to upload to facebook. download failed. retry. when do I know I should give up on this? download failed. retry. this is becoming a metaphor for grief now and I resent it. it says the download will be complete in 28 seconds. maybe this time? it's said 28 seconds for a while. download failed. opening in 32 seconds. 19 seconds. fuck it's stuck on 4. so near and yet so far. yep. download failed. 6 seconds. holy shit I've got it. it's on my computer. I open up facebook on my devoted 'shitty websites container' browser (chrome, I also leave my amazon account logged in on there in case I'll rarely need something) and try to upload. loading. There's no time estimate even. just a 'posting' spinning loading circle. I'm terrified I'll accidentally close the window and have to start over before it's done. I don't know if my discord friends have facebook. can I silence the audio on the parts of the video so I can share it unlisted on youtube? I'd have to do some in depth video editing of a kind I've never done before, though I have done some basic video editing in the past--years ago--so maybe I could figure it out. this is a week past the funeral at this point. it just keeps going.

posting . . .

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Wibta for asking a long distance friend if she even wants to be friends anymore?

My friend and I have been friends since uni and lived together for two of those years. Since uni finished over a decade ago, we both moved back to our hometowns but stayed in touch via our phones and, what used to be, annual meet ups.

The first summer after uni, she came down to stay with me for five days. But for the next few years, I travelled to visit her for five days each year (including travel days) because I was earning more and had a more stable job, so it was easier for me to take longer off (to accommodate the travel days and pay for actually travelling).

In 2018, I didn't have a lot of leave left, so I asked her to come visit me and comprised that I would pay for her travel costs.

In 2019, I suggested that we go on holiday together, promising to make it a cheap one. (It came to £300 including flights, accommodation, food, and spending money. I know because I paid for it all and she paid me back.)

Then, we had plans to go away in 2020 and I would pay for flights and hotel because it was her 30th. Obviously, covid scrapped our plans until 2022, but we did get away.

None of this is a problem. I don't mind paying for things and having her pay me back (or not, if I've offered it as a gift). I don't mind making things a lower budget, like just me going to hers or her coming to mine. I think always have a great time together.

But I feel like now, it's very hard to get her to meet up with me at all and it's really hurting my feelings. A couple of times when restrictions eased in the UK, I suggested that I could come up to see her, but she said that there's not a bed in the spare room anymore (I have an airbed, I could bring).

I asked her last year, when I was going through a pretty depressive spell, if I could come up and see her, but she said that the only time I could come was during a three day period when her parents were away, which was the only time she'd have a free bed. I asked if her parents were only away for three days and she said yes.

(I thought this to be odd because they don't usually go away for such a short time, and she later admitted, likely because she forgot I asked, that her parents were away for a week.)

I said that I couldn't travel 7 hours on the Monday to travel 7 hours back on the Wednesday because that wouldn't really be a break.

I recently asked if she would come down for a week in about six months time and she said she would have to see closer to the time.

Also, just for reference, work is no longer a concern for her because she's on disability benefits, so it's not like she can't get the time off work. She doesn't have kids or any dependents.

And, I would understand if her mobility prevented her from travelling, but she's gone to stay in a caravan with her other friends recently. She's going to stay in a cottage holiday with family next month. And, I could always come to her, if she would just let me.

And, as for money, I would again pay for her travel costs, because I know money is tight for her. And I've always paid for my own food at hers, so it's not like she would have to pay more for for if I was there.

In addition, and my reason for being so upset tonight, we are supposed to have a weekly night where we watch TV together and text about it. But there have been multiple occasions where she has cancelled last minute and it hasn't been an emergency. (Think... My aunt is coming round, I have to go drop a birthday present off). She did it twice this weekend... Once, moving it to Sunday and then cancelling on Sunday about 40 minutes before we were supposed to start.

Last minute cancellations really bother me because it's really disrespectful of my time. Yes, this weekend I didn't have anything on but that's because I have it in my calandar and plan my other events around it.

But I feel like I might be the ah (at least because of the meeting up thing) because I have the privilege of being able-bodied and well-off, so travelling isn't a big deal to me.

It just feels like she doesn't care as much about maintaining the friendship and I'm bending over backwards to make accommodations.

What are these acronyms?

[preciousweirdworld]

Hey guys. I've been on Tumblr for the last almost decade, probably since I was like 11 or 12. I've never actually made a post, only shared others post, but today I’ll be making my first post.

This post is a plea for help. First off, I should introduce myself. My name is Keiranique, but everyone calls me Precious. I was born with a rare deformity known as Fibular Hemimelia. This means that I was born without fibular bones in my legs. I was also born without ligaments in my left leg, so that’s means my left knee dislocates with any little movement I make.

I’ve spent my entire life in pain. I literally can’t walk or stand for more than a few minutes without experiencing excruciating pain and soreness and discomfort. The doctors in my country (The Bahamas) have never been able to provide a concrete treatment plan to straighten my leg, most have given up entirely. My case was too complex for them.

I had to seek help abroad. After years of tirelessly searching, I finally found an Orthopedic surgery center that can help me. The problem is that my surgery cost hundreds of thousands of dollars I simply do not have.

This surgery is a life-changing operation and my life literally depends on it. Because of my limited mobility, I have been left out of so many things. There are so many places and activities that aren’t accessible to me because of my disability.

It hurts so much to always be left behind and out of stuff. I feel so sad and lonely all the time. For years I have struggled with depression and anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Unfortunately, my mental health has only gotten worse over the years.

I started a GoFundMe campaign a few weeks ago, and sadly I’ve only received a few donations (which I am very grateful for). I thought more people would donate to help me, but sadly, that hasn’t been the case.

So guys, I pleading for any donations and help. Even if you are able to donate, it’s okay, you can share this post so that it can reach more people.

I’ll attach a video of me willingly dislocating my leg to validate my claims. I’ll also include a picture of my most recent X-Ray.

Guys, I’m really going through it mentally and physically. I don’t know how much longer I can go like this. This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been, so please be nice and no negative comments.

Please help in any way you can.

I need all the help I can get.

TRIGGER WARNING

[l00ney-m00ny]

Yo guys, so I have problems with both left and right sides of my knee and hip. Last year, when I got my cane, it was only on one side, and I was able to manage it very well with the cane, but recently, it just hasn't been handling it. I can even go for a 1k walk without being in so much pain that walking becomes hard. At most, I can probably handle 2.5k before I desperately need to stop.

Now, that may seem like a lot, but whenever I hang out with friends we walk everywhere and then I also work with young kids, so me being able to get up and move and stuff is pretty important.

I have EDS, and I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for any mobility aids or support gear that could possibly help? I've been thinking of forearm crutches for a while as I've heard they are useful for knees and hips, but I thought I'd ask others online to see what helps them, too.

[aintgonnatakethis]

twenty questions for fic writers

Tagged by @bagheerita ❤️️

How many works do you have on AO3? 29

What's your total AO3 word count? 208,847

What fandoms do you write for? Stargate Universe mainly, though I've also tried out Stargate Atlantis and James Bond.

Top five fics by kudos: what do pretty monsters dream of? (SGA, Sheppard/Todd) down here they call us animals (SGU, Rush/Young, vamp AU) Valentine's Day (James Bond, asexual Bond) Consultancy Opportunity (SGU, Rush/Telford, PWP) Good Things Come In Threes (SGU, Rush/Young/Telford, P-with-P)

Do you respond to comments? Yes, every one. I know how anxiety-inducing it can be to leave a comment, so I really want to put the effort in to respond. It might take me a few days, as per the anxiety, but there's nothing I love more than discussing my fics!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? so i bite my tongue and hope for blood (warning for non-con) Rush is drugged and does things to Telford. Telford understandably reacts poorly. No working through the trauma here - just trauma.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Hmm, looking through my fics I guess I'm not a happy endings kind of guy. 😂 Think the best I can do is Valentine's Day, with Q worrying for a lot of it that Bond is sexually pursuing him only for things to end up firmly in the asexual category with cuddling and talking and petting cats.

Do you get hate on fics? Nah, everyone's pretty chill. Though of course I'm not involved in any large fandoms and that's where the more aggressive people tend to end up.

Do you write smut? Hell yeah I do! When I started posting to A03 near the end of 2022 it was the majority of what I wrote. Recently I've not really been feeling it - ever since I really had to force things so I'd be able to finish the 10k final chapter of the threesome fic - so I've been writing other stuff. I'm sure the smut will reactivate at some point.

Craziest crossover: I've never written any, and I'm afraid I'm not a fan of crossovers at all. 😂

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nah, not to my knowledge. Though I guess with AI scrapers you never know these days.

Have you ever had a fic translated? No, though of course I'd give my permission for it.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nothing posted to AO3. Back in the day I RPed Doctor Who smut and stuck it on FFnet, and got a warning slapped on my account for it. 👎

All time favourite ship? Young/Telford/Rush, either all together in a threesome, or paired off in any possible permutation. These three guys are the revolving door of my brain.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I haven't worked on Your Own Worst Enemy for a long while, a fic where Rush, Young, Telford, and Destiny are all recovering from different forms of sexual assault. Though I'm really pleased with what I've got so far, I'm not sure where the plot goes next and I want to handle the subject matter with care. I think it's the kind of fic I have to complete before I start posting.

What are your writing strengths? I really enjoy taking a character and changing their sexuality to all the possible options to explore the possibilities. I've been told I do this while still remaining in character because I do the work to get there instead of just slapping a label on. For example, I've written fics where Telford is straight, bi, gay, aromantic, and am currently working on one where he's asexual. I love seeing what shapes I can bend characters into while still remaining true to canon.

What are your writing weaknesses? I see writeblrs talking about doing big cuts in their editing process, trimming off thousands of words at a time! While I understand why, cutting a scene I've worked hard on is something I can rarely bring myself to do.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I think my knee jerk response would be to say yes, but don't overdo it. Even if the translations are readily available (found this skin which works for both desktop and mobile users and uses HTML instead of making the author fiddle around with editing the workskin for each individual translation) having to move to hover/click can take the reader out of the story if it's done to an extreme degree.

First fandom you wrote in? Doctor Who, in... 2007 I want to say.

Favourite fic you’ve written? down here they call us animals is the first one that springs to mind, as it was such a massive sense of accomplishment to finish a long project, and making my own vampire lore and history was really enjoyable. I have to give a mention to a memory, a distant echo (warning for memories of non-con) as well though. I feel like I crafted that with my bare hands from clay, you know? Telford's trauma... I could wax fucking poetic about it for days.

No pressure tagging: @fortunatetragedy @frostysfrenzy @wolgerrswraith @frostedlemonwriter @galadhir + open to anyone who wants a go!

[tarnishedinquirer]

Fringefolk Hero's Grave 2

Here I am, back at the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. I'm stronger. I've got a torch and a spyglass. I'm wearing armor, thanks to a certain someone helping me take that mask off.

Though, to be honest, still not comfortable with my face. I think I forgot how it's supposed to work.

Looking from a distance at the handless woman, comparing her to the Erdtree Favor... They could both be earlier depictions of Marika, but I can't be sure. The Erdtree Favor looks a lot more recent, even if it was also in the distant past. If the statue was holding a vessel of some kind, she would've been holding it upright, rather than pouring it out. One removed of power, one removed of identity. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a discovery here.

This time, I looked around before crossing the bridge and noticed a ledge down below. No reason to antagonize the Grafted Scions, so I jumped down. There was nothing on the ledge, so I jumped down again, and landed in shallow water.

I took some stairs and then an elevator up, and found myself on a platform overlooking the chariot track. Unfortunately, I was not alone, as another of the red-clad Banished Knights attacked me with a halberd. By now I knew for certain that his techniques were of Stormveil. These knights must have served Stormveil at some point. So what was Stormveil's connection to dragons?

As the chariot raced back and forth below, I looked up, only to find several giant pots suspended from the ceiling. Can't imagine why they would be there. Some kind of failsafe, maybe? A way to take out the chariot if its creators couldn't disable themselves? That made sense. The magics to control it might be lost to time, but a giant exploding pot would probably do the trick in a pinch.

Took me until the last pot to get the timing right, but oh was it satisfying. I'd never have to worry about that thing again.

In the wreckage, I found an Erdtree Greatbow. That seemed odd... was the thing supposed to also shoot arrows at me? Was the artifact used as a power source somehow? Or was the chariot itself some sort of mobile reliquary? Impossible to say, considering how thoroughly I destroyed it.

Greatbow featuring Erdtree styling. In times of old, when faith and battle went hand in hand, this weapon was created in tandem with the Golden Arrow.

In times of old? FAith and battle always go hand in hand. They still do, if some of these gold-clad zealots I've met are any indication. Even when not led by fanatics, the faith is still used to oppress, like with Demi-humans and Misbegotten. My god can beat up your god.

This world keeps finding new ways to horrify me. When I entered the final chamber, I was expecting something like the chambers at the end of catacombs. This was similar to that, but instead of one mass of roots at the end of the chamber, enormous clumps of decaying bodies hung down from the ceiling like rotten fruit. The guardian was a creature like a gnarled root crossed with a snake, except far worse for how its cracked skin pulsed and oozed with unknown sickness. The voice called it an Ulcerated Tree Spirit. Was this in any way related to the Avatars? Perhaps their dark equivalent.

I found it was still as "holy" as its cousins, but rather than casting magic from its hammer-stave, it breathed fire like a dragon. Perhaps that's why I found a Haligdrake talisman on someone trying to flee. He must've thought it would protect him. It afforded me some protection, but nowhere near enough.

It took countless tries before I was able to read its undulating body language. Before I could tell a feint from a lunge from the thing just dragging its bulk across the floor. Halfway through the fight, it erupted into golden flames that did not consume it, only made it more dangerous to approach. I applied burning resin to my sword in hopes that like a tree, it would burn. It helped, but again, the creature was so resilient the damage increase was marginal at best.

Then I started using everything at my disposal. Picked turtle necks for stamina. Exalted flesh for strength. Aurelia as a distraction. I found that if I hugged its belly, it had a harder time hitting me, unless it decided to just roll over top of me.

Eventually, though, it fell, and I claimed my rewards.

Banished Knight Oleg. One of the two knights known as the Wings of the Storm. After his banishment, he attracted the notice of the Grace-Given Lord and later, having slain a hundred traitors as the Lord's hand, Oleg earned the hero's honor of Erdtree Burial.

First, this knight must've been Engvall's partner. Second, Engvall's ashes said that he was a hero of the fringes, yet Oleg is the one interred in the Fringefolk Hero's Grave. The one who rejected the Grace-Given Lord is in a tiny, waterlogged tomb on a rotten river, while the one who accepted him is buried in a hero's grave. The whole thing smacks of politics.

Finally, this "Grace-Given Lord." Godrick the Golden/Grafted was born in grace. That's basically the only thing he has going for him. A Grace-Given lord is one who was not born in grace but was rather granted it.

Conclusion: Engvall stayed watch over Stormveil while Oleg answered the summons. It's not a stretch to assume the summons was from Leyndell. Oleg distinguished himself fighting traitors, while Engvall died as a hero in exile. When Oleg died, he Engvall was stripped of his burial place and shunted off to a forgotten, disrepaired tomb, guarded only by a lone gladiator. Perhaps Engvall's master was one of the traitors, and Stormveil was the traitor's castle before Godrick took over? That would explain the disrespect.

Who is the grace-given lord?

What was wrong with this tree spirit?

Who was the former master of Stormveil, the one turned traitor?

When did Marika's iconography drop the ewer?