#It's been with me for so long like 2018...

[hyenafu]

I know this might seem like a bit of a random question, but what are some criticisms of Slightly Damned you can't stand, and what are some you think are at least somewhat valid? I only ask because I do have a few problems with the comic (not really gonna go into here because I don't want to come off as too critical obviously) but I feel like some of the more noteworthy ones have been too long established to just change it altogether, and the best one can do is make something better from its foundation (which I must say, you've done a really good job at ^^)

The complaints that I think are the most unfair are by bigots who think my comic is only getting more inclusive because I'm pandering to wokeness or whatever. These people are also the most likely to misgender me and have no idea what they're talking about. They just can't stand the bare minimum of gay and are often hypocritical, using fallacies as the basis of their arguments. It's tempting to want to argue back, but when has that ever worked on the internet? I think the most valid complaint is that the pacing of the comic is too slow. Sure. Not much I can do about that one. My comic alone doesn't pay all my bills. If I focus exclusively on work, I get depressed, so I have to goof off sometimes. I'm just one person. I don't have a team. I'm doing the best I can already. Another valid complaint is that people don't like my blend of humor and drama. Sometimes readers find it inappropriate or jarring. It's valid because I recognize it as a difference of opinion and understand why they feel that way. But I don't care. I like my weird mix of goofy faces and drama. I sometimes make jokes during periods of great stress in real life. I love all the wacky faces and over-the-top cartoon action among dire circumstances in comics like One Piece and Usagi Yojimbo. Like, it's just my style, man I don't seek out unsolicited advice about my comic. Some people may think that's snobbish of me, but the truth is, very little of what you find that way is actually valuable.

"And as to those critics, she said that she’s managed to do something that might make us all better off- she doesn’t read the comment sections. In perhaps the most roundabout poignant part of the talk, she likened receiving feedback about her work as being like consuming food. She would take a pie from someone she knew and trusted but compared taking unsolicited barbs from strangers as “licking a handle on the subway.” She used to pay very close attention to that kind of critique because she felt that it somehow would make her a better creator but ultimately decided that it was only toxic." - I HAVE SEEN OLIVIA JAIMES, THE CARTOONIST BEHIND THE NEW NANCY, by Rocko Jerome (2018)

Besides the outright hateful sentiments, a lot of unsolicited criticism can be categorized as "I don't like this story because it didn't do what I wanted it to do." Which is fine. I do the same thing when I try to process stories and talk to my friends about them.

But I don't get in the author's face to tell them I think they did a bad job. At the end of the day, no matter how crap I think someone's story might be, I'm not psychic. I don't really know if they did exactly what they set out to do. For example, people have never stopped giving me crap about the death of certain characters. But their whining has only made my convictions stronger. I don't like when other stories don't take deaths seriously, with a real sense of permanence and grief that is not easily solved. To someone else, seeing that character be alive might have solved all sorts of problems they had-- but that's not my story. I've had someone tell me that the focus on Buwaro and Kieri's mushy romance is too distracting to the main story. I don't think that person knew that a large part of why I started making this comic in the first place was as a vehicle for my OTP. I also want to make said vehicle entertaining and worthwhile. If I didn't succeed for that person, that's fine. But don't tell me that half the reason I made the comic is distracting from it. What do they know about what I want? What do you really know about what the author wanted to achieve? That isn't to say that my comic is immune to scrutiny. Of course it has problems; every story has problems, depending on your perspective and the basis by which it's getting judged. I've solicited and received thoughtful criticism and helpful advice from teachers, my advisor, my friends, and from reading/watching tutorials. Some I agreed with, others I chose to ignore. Sometimes it just took a while for me to come around. I hope I never stop learning and improving. Like you said, I have to keep working with the foundation I already set. But I don't feel trapped by it; my creativity is being challenged in new ways. I have a lot of playing pieces and now I get to see what kinds of connections I can make between them with my older, more experienced (both good and bad) mind. Since Slightly Damned is a story serialized over a long period of time, a certain amount of it is made up as I go along. I do have plans and goals, of course, but I'm also discovering this world alongside my readers.

[emmaelt]

I've been going to concerts since I was 10 or so. My first concert was Avril Lavigne (yes, I am quite old). I found it extremely overstimulating, and have often found that after concerts or similar experiences I act a bit like I'm high. This is possibly the hyperactive adhd pouring out of me, but I think it's also the music as a 'special interest' thing. I read once about somehow who used to think they were super religious because when they were in church they'd feel so moved, but it was when they went to their first concert that they discovered that it was live music that did that to them, and for me that's exactly how I experience live music - it's an almost religious experience.

Some tips.

If you don't enjoy other people touching you, esp. strangers, get seated tickets. Often, everyone in seated tickets will get up and dance, but I find it more manageable to be around other humans when we have to maintain proper space from each other. You also do not have to get up if you don't want to. If you can't get seated tickets, lots of people stand at the back and watch from afar, and that's valid. You don't need to be in the crowd to have a good time. Do what makes you comfortable.

If you find loud music to be overstimulating, you can use any kind of earplugs/ear defenders. I have always been protective of my hearing (Covid gave me tinitus anyway, fml) so I have never once gone to a concert or movie or live event without ear plugs at minimum. No one has judged me, or even noticed it most likely. I used to force myself to go clubbing when I was a teenager, and I even wore earplugs then. I even wore them during my wedding, I got some cute gold ones from loops to match my jewelry, and I actually got compliments on them.

If exiting is stressful for you because of the crowds, you can find a safe space to wait until most people have left. Or, if you can bear it, you can leave 20 minutes before the show ends and skip the crowds. If you have a train to catch, see if there is a later one, or plan to leave early so you can make it. You can usually search on google to see how long a concert is, and if there is no available info you can contact the venue to see if they have the rough runtimes.

Smaller venues will be able to help you if you make them aware of your needs and let them help you. I went to see Dodie at the Roundhouse in London in like 2018 or so, and even though I was undiagnosed at the time, I knew I struggled with this type of thing. I let them know I had anxiety and needed some adjustments, and asked them what could they do to help? They switched the standing tickets I had purchased to seated. They had someone meet me at the back door, so I wouldn't have to queue. They showed me to my seat. They even let me have a pass so I could use a different, more private bathroom if I needed it, and showed me where it was. It was absolutely the best concert experience I've ever had, and it didn't cost me anything extra. If you don't ask, they won't be able to help you. If you do ask, and there's nothing they can do, at least you've tried.

However, it's also ok to not know what you need and to use your experiences to learn what you need going forward. I didn't know prior to seeing Dodie that I could ask for these things. I didn't know prior to clubbing that I hated clubbing. It's ok to have a hard time, but be kind to yourself about it, and let what helps help.

if you're autistic and worried about how a concert will go, this post is for you!

(no image credit since i took that pic w my crappy camera lol)

my first concert was last night, and this was my experience.

security

if you're UNDER 18, they'll write a big 'x' on both of your hands in sharpie to make sure you don't try to buy alcoholic beverages underaged.

if you're OVER 18, they'll check your ID, and if you're legally allowed to drink in that state, they'll give you a paper wristband. if not, they'll write a big 'x' on both of your hands in sharpie.

next, they'll check your tickets.

after that, they check your bags for weapons. don't worry, it's not completely emptying and going through it. they'll just shine a bluelight flashlight in it.

and lastly, they'll stamp a music note pattern on your right wrist, so the other staff can make sure you've paid to be there.

merch stores

i reccomend buying some to support the artist! the band i saw, cavetown, was doing a fundraiser to help families in palestine.

the size of the store will vary depending on how many products the artist has. not all of it will be on sale, but a pretty good amount.

the show

the band will be jumping around on stage the whole time, and the lights will be super bright. the audience and the music will be loud. for me, i love environments like this. but if you don't do well in them, i reccomend noise cancelling headphones.

the concert should last from 1-3 hours, depending on how long the opening and the encore (if there is one) is.

exiting

for me, this was the worst part.

everyone will be trying to get out at the same time. the hallway will be flooded with people.

once you get outside, you should be good to go!

i hope you have a great time!!!

[vasoppressive]

When I fire up my copy of pokemon sun i always get so sad

[tokruta]

someone who is good at psychology help me understand why i adore jegulus with all my heart but don't like drarry outside of very specific aus

please my family is dying (my ability to read jegulus lives aus is heavily compromised)

[jestiamy]

yeah I've. been into undertale aus again. happy birthday fresh. alt ver under cut

fresh sans by @loverofpiggies . I don't think I have any extra notes. other than. yeah sorry my style has been (more) inconsisent lately ; I've been trying out stuff

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

I was just listening to a song I used to love while we were friends. I listened to it so often, we talked so often, it became the background music to our relationship.

I'm listening to it while I knit. I often forget that I started knitting because of you. I remembered tonight. It's strange, I never knitted anything for you. I've knitted for other loved ones, rarely for myself, but never for you. I remembered you showing me the amazing things you made, and I wished I could get to that level of skill. But at that time, you had to explain to me how to purl because I couldn't get it.

Everything reminds me of you in a terrible way. Everything I do is an echo of you. I started painting so that I could paint for you. I started knitting to bond with you. I hear your voice in the music I listen to. You're haunting the things that I love. Will I ever make a brush stroke or stitch without you on my mind?

[sonknuxadow]

i kind of want to read stc because ive never read it before but i also never finished the sonic x comics but i also kind of want to re read at least part of archie because certain sections of it are just a huge blur to me because of the fact that i read the entire series including spinoffs and side comics over the course of like . 2 months tops. so many choices so many sonic comics to read .

[ovcii-doodles]

"That's right, and that's where I'll be. That is where we will be."

pls go watch the rvb restoration trailer

[kalashtars]

crazy just howww much saltburn was a movie filmed For Me. i was there for the dark academia boom on tumblr. i was part of its creation. there's like a straight line between my posting about the secret history on tumblr and the creation of this film.

[abimee]

twitter in general never worked for me because i feel like that website even before the musk algorithim suppression bibiity bobbity boo stuff was just always more about trends and the popular thing at the time which does horrible for me who is always late or just never present for trends. DA was fun while it lasted but i blew up my last DA account in 2018 and never looked back also that website should be boycotted. i refuse to engage with mastodon or cohost or pillowfort at all. im only on twitter because my friends are and the locked account function is my dsaving grace

and i dont like sharing Discord with strangers on account that i dont see discord as a social platform i see it as the equivalent of a landline where im only picking up calls if i can recognize the caller ID. im very much so stuck in the past of like 2014 and do not move with the motions of the internet so when a website i engage on dies i dont seek alternatives i simply crowd into a smaller and smaller hole until ill inevitably only be reached via youtube comment or something

[theragamuffininitiative]

a new andrew peterson album would fix me.

[rosetintedgunman]

Oh! You Must be New.

Not that that's a bad thing, mind you. Everyone is new at some point. Even me! But it can be a bit of a problem when you find a blog that's been around in some capacity since 2018. There's a lot of gaps to fill in, and hopefully this post will help be a starting point.

While this is a Wilford rp and ask blog, no matter how busy or quiet it may be, it has been around for a long time. M.otherloving came out about a month or two after the blog was set up, and the accuracy of what I was writing meant this blog was on the right track - I was the only person in my circle at the time who didn't need to either make major headcanon changes or opt to abandon canon and go divergent. With every appearance, there's been no major tweaks that have been required to adjust the portrayal. To toot my own horn, it's been fairly spot on.

Between that and natural character development, this can mean that the blog could be a little... 'inaccurate' to expectations, and can cause a lot of confusion for those who aren't 'in the know'. So! Consider this a 101 on the character without needing to trawl through the gauntlet of a two-part bio (the second part isn't even finished yet....)

In brief, I kindly ask that you leave expectations of a reckless madman who fully personifies the "LOL XD RANDUM" and has no clue about anything going on at the door, please. If you want to compare him to a canon appearance, look more toward M.otherloving or Space.

For a lot more info to help get you started, read on.

-

While this Wilf (also known as 'Rose' when interacting with variants) is still eccentric and kooky, he is more grounded in nature. Chances to interact with others and maintain a somewhat normal sense of time flowing in the correct manner have started to help him feel more connected. Not only that, he's starting to get glimpses of his original life as William, and a later life of Wilson Jackson Bartholomew (or just 'Jack'). The latter I haven't gone into much detail yet in general, so don't worry about that. If you see him getting glimpses of these memories, he doesn't go into hysterics. That's important.

He is six foot three, and heavy built. The evidence of his past life as a soldier is there in his broad shoulders, a barrel chest and strong arms, as well as how he can hold himself. However, he's got a proper tubby belly, and this softness almost counteracts the threat of the almost unnatural strength that lies within. His moustache is either pure pink or black with pink tips depending on the day. He's got a curly mop of black hair that has a slight red-pink tint when the light shines on it just right. The only genuine traces of pink in his hair can be found in his fringe, which curls over his right eye. There's usually faint stubble across his jawline, and he flat-out refuses to wear glasses (he'll say it's because he doesn't want anyone missing out on his 'cute chocolate eyes'. Don't believe him. He just doesn't like them and won't humour the idea of contacts). Despite this, he's still athletic, and can move surprisingly fast if you aren't prepared.

He's still a reporter, though these days he's taken a bit of a back seat. His work in the studio is helping the Jims and others who are making their presence known on camera. When he does interview, that reckless, gun-wielding side comes out in full force... But it's more akin to an act than anything truthful to who he is.

Instead, his priority is the Moonlight Roller. It's the reclaimed disco setting of M.otherloving that was redecorated and given a whole new lease of life. I go into a LOT more detail here, but in brief: it is a roller rink, amusement arcade, diner, and bar that is located both in a real location and in between the worlds and stories. If a character needs a break, they'll find a door to the Roller.

Personality-wise, Wilf is still eccentric, but it's closer to a 'weird uncle' mixed with a cartoon character. He's normally upbeat and childish, though he does have his more serious moments. He'll still take time to voice whatever odd thought crosses his mind on the dash, or go directly to another blog if he wants an answer or opinion on something. And to my surprise, he's even tried to be the stereotypical 'bartender who listens to others' woes'. I never thought that would happen! How did that happen?? He used to be notorious for putting his foot in his mouth!

As for his abilities? He's got the abilities to lift things in and out of pocket dimensions. He always has a weapon on his person, even if there's little reason for it these days. He can blink out of existence or disappear if eyes are off him, and use doors as a way to teleport/take shortcuts. This can sometimes land him in different timelines or eras, not that he minds. He's got impeccable aim, and he usually only misses if he chooses to. That's not mentioning his ability to use any weapon after a brief examination with startlingly good skill.

By the way. You can kill him, but he won't stay dead. He'll come back to pester you about it in a few days.

-

This blog also has William, but I don't need to talk about any potential differences. What you saw in WKM is what you get, essentially. His height was rather unusual for his time, and he absolutely used this to his advantage to add to the intimidation factor. He was a loyal friend, but also not the nicest person to be friends with. And if he didn't know you? Good luck!

Sometimes, you may see someone called Liam. This is a 'what-if' timeline where Celine never arrived, resulting in William's death and him taking the role of 'the villain'. Despite the 'what-if', this was actually the intended plan, where William would die, and everyone else would leave, alive and safe. This goes into more detail about that. In brief, his main distinguishing factor is his paralysed left arm as a result of the fatal injury he received during the gun confrontation with the Detective.

[shiraru]

Got really into drawing my ocs as anime bugs

[crownconstellation]

related to all of the oc stuff i reblogged from my likes, my desire to do art studies so i can draw, & the ask brad sent me about putting ocs thru stuff i answered earlier:

i have been thinking about my one oc project So Much lately. like all the time. i have two main oc projects i switch between (both of them fan projects based on an existing series bc i'm not personally v good at building from the ground up and like having a basis for my oc content) and one of them has been the one at the forefront for a very long time. however the other one has like possessed me lately bc i'm thinking about it more than i've thought about it in a Long Time. like i don't think i've thought about this this much since 2018, which is when 1. i first started it and 2. i was so passionate about it i wrote a 50 page google doc about the characters (unfinished), a 15 page lore doc (also unfinished), and made an entire spreadsheet about the character rpg class options and their skill trees

so i have a lot of stuff i want to work on with that and as soon as i can draw again i WILL be drawing a lot for that. and also probably talking about it. stay tuned for my ocs i've had since college that i've scrapped and entirely reworked since then

[andro-dino]

ever since i got into sbr the bombermen now live in my brain..... maybe some domestic hcs for the bros and the dastardly bombers?? after the latter get redeemed im interested to know how you think they acclimated to being normal guys again

SBR IN MY INBOX FALLS TO MY KNEES AND SOBS I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THESE

There’s so many thoughts that have just been brewing around up there for ages. One that is like a suuuuuper old thought that’s been up there for years is the idea that Green hangs out with his sisters a lot and at some point gets really into painting nails and tries to get any and all of his siblings to let him paint their nails (ignore the fact that they don’t canonically have nails rn okay lets just pretend). It’s pretty hit and miss. I like to think that Yellow would be one of the most openly receptive to it but he cannot hold still for that long so his always end up really scuffed and messed up but he still loves them anyways. Also during this era I liked pairing up Green and Red as like, particularly close, and Red despite all his usual willpower is very weak to Greens manipulation and I just think it’s so silly. I drew a lil thing of him also ages ago beating up his training dummy while holding his hands out very carefully trying not to mess up his freshly painted nails and I just think that encompasses that whole thing.

SPEAKING OF RED AND DUO DYNAMICS I LIKE WITH HIM, him and black have a very stupid rivalry and constantly butting heads with each other is something that I hold very near and dear to my heart. It was a product of all the tiktok audios that were popular at the time that I had saved for hypothetical future cosplays I think (side note I need to get back to cosplaying (my magnet wig has been staring me down recently)). Their dynamic is very similar to dan and reiki to me if that makes sense. except they’re both better and worse. idk they’re just very dear to me <3 this one interaction in sbr2 genuinely made me like scream and cry and throw up it’s all 2018 axel ever could’ve wanted.

Another individual duo dynamic between the bros I am obsessed with is blue and pink bc I hc them as twins and they r so important to me. Blue in general I like to think of as really good at reading people (even if he doesn’t usually make that super obvious) and he tends to notice when Pink is overly stressed out and putting too much pressure on herself. When this happens, he’s usually able to bring her back down to earth by smacking her upside the head with a pillow and telling her to take a break. I like to think that if she’s stressing out abt like having to look after their other siblings or whatever, Blues like “I’ll handle it” and it’s very ominous and pink does not fully know what that entails but she does know that she really wants to take a nap so she lets him handle it. I think you give that man a monster energy or two and he could do anything.

I was also recently thinking abt the respective eldest four/youngest four quartets of the Bomberman bros and they just. mean so much to me. I like to think that they hold like their own respective council meeting to discuss the current state of affairs and stuff they’ve noticed about the other half. THEYRE JUST VERU IMPORTANT TO ME. with the older bros, again with blue being the most observant, I like to think that he tends to bring up stuff that none of the others have noticed yet and it always catches everyone off guard. The younger half are extremely silly with it. Like I don’t know how to describe it but they are the most functionally dysfunctional group imaginable and it’s both horribly chaotic but surprisingly organized. Yellow is the minutes man. he does keep track of everything in crayon. Half of the time he does get distracted drawing flowers and butterflies instead. there’s no one else they would trust with the job. Red thinks he’s the leader since he’s the oldest of the four. Aqua and Green have not broken the news to him that he is not. It’s okay he doesn’t need to know.

As for the dastardlys, I don’t have a lot of specific ideas for them as far as like, re becoming parts of society goes (though most of the ones I do have are mostly whiteplasma focused (and none of them are very coherent bc thinking about them together just makes me sob violently)), though I’ve honestly always liked the idea of them forming their own sort of ragtag sibling kind of bond. It’s very strange and weird and none of them are really fully used to it but they find comfort in each other methinks. Pretty serves as the main bridge between them and the main eight. I like to think that even after buggler n everything, she still dresses up and keeps Karaoke around as like, a sort of drag persona. It’s very important to me that for both groups, she is both very sisterly and mature but also incredibly silly to degrees unheard of. I’ve always liked the idea of her and magnet being especially close. They r. insane together. sometimes pretty is able to ground him and give him good advice and other times they bring out the worst (best) in each other and it ends about as well as you’d expect, but they r like besties in my head.

Plasma I’ve always thought of as just having a natural protective/big brother kind of instinct to him. It’s funny bc half of the dastardlies are older or roughly the same age as him but he still just like instinctually pulls out a lot of the big brother talk with them. One interaction I’ve thought abt is between him and golem where they’re kinda just hangin out and whatever and he brings up how golem and yellow are getting along and plasma’s like “it’s nice that you’re making friends I’m very happy for you” and golem (in his own vocabulary obviously) is like “yk you don’t have to talk to me like I’m a child, I am like thousands of years older than you” and plasmas like “right my b force of habit.” (I do think plasma is still like mentally older than golem iykwim but yk, golems not like green little either). It’s funny I actually used to not really like/care about plasma that much (I honestly think it was just his English voice acting like it really just does not do it for me dawg) but now I love him so dearly. His and white’s dynamic is especially important to me (if that wasn’t already clear) and like. augh. aughhh <333 they’re so incredibly similar in so many ways and just the thought of them consistently being together and training and hanging out with each other and bringing out the best in each other is so important to me. They keep up their friendly rivalry while helping each other out, white especially helping plasma and the others get reacclimated to everything and supporting them along the way (and maybe he and plasma smooch a little too idk the world is a beautiful place). I think White also gets along with Golem pretty well. mostly just bc white supervises golem and yellows hangouts/dates for a while just to make sure yellow is really fine without him keeping his eye on him all the time and in the process, grows really fond of golem.

I think as far as the other dastardlies and the bros go, I also like red and magnet together a lot just like generally. they r so incredibly silly I just think they should not be separated (even though only bad things happen when they’re together /silly). I also obviously am obsessed with phantom and blue together. extremely over dramatic guy who still thinks they have an intense rivalry x guy who goes “lol” and does not feed into it at all is the best ever in the world. Also, just bc of that one image from the sbr credits, him and black together I think would be great. They both have such a flair for the dramatics that I think it’d work. You’d think they’d be a mess just with how different their usual personalities tend to be but I think it cancels out and both of them think they just kinda get each other (they do not)(they don’t need to know that they’re happy anyways).

[benvoliotheorphan]

Me: Yeah I don’t think I can really ship Kratos with anyone. It’s just really hard for me to imagine him in any sort of romantic relationship. Yes I know he was married twice, but still-

God of War Ragnarok: Shows flashbacks of Kratos with Faye

Me, with tears in my eyes: Oh, okay, nevermind.