#It's my blog and I'll post what I want to and all that

[solifloris]

UH ! AHEM ! taps mic... happy february !! this is @rose-tinted-kalopsia by the way.. HFJWMFN HEAR ME OUT !!!!!! I SWEAR IT'S ME !!!!! 😭😭😭

long story short, tumblr complications ... and my main (previously @roxierosies-main) was mistakenly terminated, so i ended up losing access to all my side blogs for the time being 😭💔 i haven't heard back from support yet, but i am expecting it to take a while (like... a month or maybe two...) to restore :( and like. i still really wanted to be able to write and find somewhere to archive and share them (and continue lnds shitposting lmfao) wjdnsnfhs SO...!!!! now we have this blog 🤲

why solifloris? HONESTLY im taking this opportunity to rebrand a lil hehe. so once i do get my blogs back, i'll be switching url's and rebranding as solifloris for real !!! :3

so what's on this blog? WELL !!!!!!! a while back i promised a valentine's event and i def don't want to go back on that promise...... so that's what you'll find here in the meantime! 🥰🥰 BUUUUUTT if in the case (though hopefully not 😭) it takes more than two months to restore or i don't hear back from support.. at all.... THEN i'll be using this as my new writing blog, and keeping @rose-tinted-kalopsia as an archive for my existing works! 🤲

what about your ongoing series? i knoww 😭 i still have "youtiful" and "to you who shines the brightest (i'll give you everything)" ongoing, so this does mean that in two months' time if i don't get my account back, these are the first i'll be reposting here so i can continue them!!!

we're going to hope i still get my blogs back, and soonest ... but for now 🤧 this is where you'll find me !! and i SWEAR it's me guys, my mutuals can vouch for this, i promise 😭🤲

TL;DR—

this is a temporary/backup writing blog bc i'm currently locked out! 💖

prev writing blog (in the process of retrieving access to): @rose-tinted-kalopsia

new main (you'll get follow/like/ask notifs from): @sunmerberrie

navigation links (from @rose-tinted-kalopsia): pinned post / rules / masterlist / fandom+character list / request guide / taglist / ao3

++ signal boosting @hunters-association , and also generally to anyone hehe i'd appreciate the reblog to spread the word hehe thaaankkk youuu!!! 💖

[theprettynosferatu]

State of The Blog, February 2025, or As I Type This

CW: Politics, general downer.

I promised myself I wouldn't write about this. Guess this post makes me a liar, aside from a humble kink-maker. I also promised myself I wouldn't complain, and that I won't do. Things are fine. Texts are being written. The smut is flowing, even if slowly- or less rapidly than either of us would like, dear reader.

Now... shit sure is fucked, huh? Not the most eloquent way of putting it, I know. But who has time for rhetoric these days? And I'm not even American! But I happen to know that a large portion of my little corner o'smut here hails from the USA. I have lived there myself. I have, perhaps, something of a romantic streak when it comes to what America could be. Sadly, it's not what it could be that we have to deal with.

Things are moving quickly. This is not by accident.

As I type this, the richest man in the world has gathered an unfathomable trove of data from the US government. Illegally, of course, but it appears such things no longer matter.

As I type this, information on gender and trans issues is being erased from government websites.

As I type this, self-ID is no longer a thing for my non-binary and transgender American friends, acquaintances and readers.

As I type this, ICE is raiding workplaces, schools, churches.

As I type this, someone has lost funding for life-changing research.

As I type this. the US is getting into a trade war on three fronts. All casualties in this war will be, as is always the case, the working people. On all sides.

The casualties of all these things will not be heralded. They will not the announced or published. They will be silent, in the form of people rationing medicine they need to live, getting sick from the cold and not being able to afford a doctor, perhaps choosing to not go on anymore in a world that seems to scream in their face that they don't matter, they are not wanted, they are Other.

You are shocked and traumatized because that's the point. To shock you into paralysis, so you won't have the bandwidth or time or energy to react- your reaction is what they fear.

I am nothing important. I make stuff to get people off. What right to I have to say anything to anyone who is really suffering? What the fuck can I do? Provide some escapism? Perhaps. It is useful, insofar as burning out on doomer shit helps absolutely no one. I'm nowhere near a front line, so to speak. Perhaps I'm being delusional thinking I am contributing something worth fuck all to people, but hey, I can do delusion. Or hope. It's hard to tell them apart sometimes.

I can't tell you to fight. I can't start preaching about the importance of community. I can't tell you what to do. It's not my place, and it's not my expertise. I'm not here to play armchair resistance, and neither are you. You are here for kink, and so kink I shall give you.

But I couldn't do the State of the Blog and let this go unremarked. As futile as it may be, as stupid as it sounds (and I am aware of the ass I'm making out of myself here), I just wanted you all to know you ARE wanted, you CAN handle this. Shit is bleak. But it won't be bleak forever, because YOU won't let it. The dawn is in your hands. And when you need a break and want to read smut, I'll be here.

Oh, and before I go, just in case anyone isn't clear:

Fuck off fascists.

Fuck off transphobes.

Fuck off xenophobes.

Fuck off racists.

Fuck off real sexists.

Life is not on your side, you absolute dogfuckers. It never has been, and it never will be.

[cloverapple]

hiii! i came across your blog yesterday, and i love your advice. that's why i feel like you would be the best person to ask these questions that I've been having for the longest time (sorry, long read ahead).

I've studied LOA for the past 2 years or so, and even though i have a good understanding of it, there are some things that always trip me up when it comes to shifting.

how do i deal with waking up to the 3d? yes, by assuming that you are in your dr and that you shifted last night. that's the most logical answer. but even though i know that, sometimes it is a lot easier said than done. for example, a few days ago i wanted to manifest shifting by simply deciding i could shift on command and that i am there. i could be 100% sure the day before that it would happen. the whole day, and even a few days after that I'd stay in that state of being a master shifter, and i would feel amazing because of it. but it's like there always comes a point where i wake up to the 3d and i get discouraged (yes, i acknowledge that i am manifesting that reality by saying this, but i finally have to get this off my chest). my thoughts get all messed up and i start spiraling, returning to my previous state. i start questioning myself a bit and feel down. the main reason for that being time.

it took me so so long to figure out this issue about myself. I'd be like: how long is it gonna take? when will it happen? i know i have it in the 4d but when will it appear in the 3d? having it in the 4d isn't enough, i need to have it in the 3d right now. stuff like that. i find it very difficult to formulate my thoughts, but basically I'm in a spiral of:

watching a video/reading a post about LOA/shifting that reminds me of how easy it is -> applying LOA to shifting/any desire in a way that feels good for a few days at most -> starting to question myself after a few days because it hasn't shown up yet in the 3d (which is caused by me forgetting the role the 3d plays and how LOA works) even though i did everything "right" (e.g. letting go of control or the outcome, deciding, not wavering, etc.) -> falling back into a state where i question how i can shift, what i am doing wrong, etc. -> repeat

how can i break out of this cycle?

i think the main problem here is time and in general the 3d.

i know that the 3d is not a measure of my success, only made up of my current assumptions etc. i know that. but it's like i forget it once i step into the state i wanna be in and stay there for an extended period of time.

i always hear people say that "time isn't real" but i still don't really know what that means, how to apply it or how to internalize it. i really need that mental "click" to finally understand it and use that concept in my favor. because my problem is that with manifesting/shifting, after a while i start asking questions about why it's taking so long the 3d. for example, most nights i fall asleep with the assumption that I'll wake up in my dr (while letting go of control and not wavering) the next morning. but when it doesn't happen eventually, i start to question why, because since time comes from consciousness aka me, it should work in my favor.

I'm honestly so lost right now and i would really appreciate some help because I'm spiraling again. I've known about shifting since 2020 but only realized how ridiculously easy it is after joining tumblr this year and yup, i acknowledge that i am desperate to shift, preferably right now. it's not something i admit to anyone or myself because that's basically continuing to tell a story i don't want to experience (a surefire way to fail), but it is unfortunately the truth as of right now.

thank you for reading, i know this was a lot to get through!! (*^^*)

So pause for a second, because I’m going to tell you something I hope to ingrain in the mind of everyone who sends me an ask—and that you need to remember before reading everything I’m about to say:

YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO SHIFT. The ability is inside you right now. The moment you read this, your mind already knows how to shift. Everyone does.

The moment you accept this, you solve half of your problems.

And then you tell me, "But if I know how to shift, why isn’t the 3D reflecting that?"

Well, yeah. You painted the house, and now you’re sitting there watching the paint dry.

Look, watching the 3D closely and looking for results isn’t a problem for some people. Some can assume, “I’m already in my DR,” open their eyes, and BAM—they’re in their DR.

Some people assume, “I will shift tonight,” and just like that, they shift that night.

Some people let go of their DRs, stop putting them on a pedestal, and they shift.

Some people clutch their DRs close to their heart until their knuckles turn white—and they shift.

It sounds a lot like you’re forcing yourself into a method of applying the Law of Assumption that doesn’t serve you. Why?? If you recognize that your issue is focusing on time and constantly checking the 3D, work around it. Remove time from your shifting journey.

I don’t like assuming I already have something, then checking the 3D and not seeing it there. Hell, I can shift on command, and yet, if I were to lay in bed right now and tell myself, “I’m in my DR,” I guarantee you I wouldn’t shift. Why? Because that doesn’t work for me.

My dude, change the way you affirm. If affirming in the present (“I already shifted”) doesn’t work for you, change it! Say, “I’m going to shift.” If even that hasn’t been working, let go of implementing time into your affirmations.

Change “I’m going to wake up in my DR in the morning” to “I’m going to wake up in my DR at some point because I KNOW I can shift.”

Change “I’m in my DR right now” to “I can’t wait to be in my DR.”

Remove time from your affirmations and assumptions, because that’s clearly the problem here. Instead of trusting that you’ll shift tonight, trust yourself because you already know how to shift. Or trust your mind because it knows how to shift. Trust your awareness because it knows how to shift.

“I fall asleep with the assumption that I'll wake up in my DR (while letting go of control and not wavering) the next morning.”

If this were completely true, you wouldn’t be sending me this ask. You wouldn’t be doubting yourself as much as you just did in everything you typed. Truly letting go means releasing the need to see results in the 3D.

So, take time out of your assumptions. From now on, say “I will shift.” Or say, “I already know how to shift.”

Your brain then goes: “……???….uh….” looking at the 3D all confused “When? We haven't shifted!”

And you tell it, “It doesn’t fucking matter because I’m going to shift eventually.”

Now, let’s say hypothetically, one week passes and you haven’t shifted. One month passes, and you haven’t shifted. Two months pass, and you haven’t shifted.

And then you come back and say, “Clover, why the heck haven’t I shifted yet? It’s been (insert amount of time). You told me to remove time as an expectation, so why haven’t I shifted yet??”

And I’ll smile at you and ask, “So you’ve been counting the days?”

Let me tell you something about letting go—and hypothetically, ignoring the 3D.

Treat your ability to shift like your fortune. You have a fortune sitting in your bank account right now, and you’re rich. Do you think a rich person checks their bank account every hour to confirm they’re still rich?

"Well yeah, Clover, because a rich person’s reality already reflects that, they’re sitting in a mansion with all their riches."

Your fortune, what makes you rich, is your ability to shift. You already know how to shift. Shifting isn’t something you learn how to do, just like breathing isn’t something you learn how to do. Just like chewing isn’t something you learn how to do. It is an integral part of every human being. If you have awareness, then the ability to shift exists within you.

You don’t learn shifting—you learn yourself.

You learn what makes you shift. What makes you manifest easily. What makes you assume easily. What kind of affirmations your subconscious doesn’t argue against. What makes your self-concept skyrocket.

Because everyone is different, everyone shifts differently. What works for Person A might not work for Person B. What works for Person B might not work for Person C, and so on.

Even my reply to you, it might not resonate with you. But that’s not my fault, and it’s not yours. If that's the case, your job is to look elsewhere—and, in the best-case scenario, look internally because that’s where the answers always are.

Let’s go over your fix options because I just yapped a lot:

YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW TO SHIFT.

Remove time from your affirmations and assumptions. Removing time from your shifting process makes it so you have nowhere in the 3D to look.

Stop paying attention to the 3D and pay attention to yourself because what’s going to shift is your awareness, not the damn 3D. Every time you catch yourself thinking, “Oh, but it’s not showing up in the 3D,” remind yourself:

A) You already know how to shift.

B) Shifting is something you can do.

C) It could happen at any moment, so why should anything else matter?

If you were promised a million bucks from a 100% trustworthy source, would you spiral?

One more thing before I wrap this up:

It could be that actively using the Law of Assumption isn’t what works best for you. Maybe you work better with visualizing. Maybe you induce the feeling of being in your DR or being a "master shifter." Maybe subliminals work better for you. There is a world of options out there, and it is completely useless to force yourself to do something that's only bringing frustration in the end. Because there is no singular way to shift. There is no singular way to manifest. And sometimes—for some people—while the Law of Assumption is always true, focusing on it directly isn’t what serves you.

[languid-bones]

Murderbot 3D Print Part 3 - FILES!!!

It's what many of you have been waiting for! THE 3D FILES!

The price??? It's free!

That's a lie, the price is actually that you send me pictures of the results so I can have the joy of seeing what you all make. (I mean it, this is a threat)

Based on comments so far, it seems like this will be the first dive into 3D printing and figure painting for some people so I'll go through some of my approach to give you an idea of how I got to this result.

This is actually my first time sculpting, printing and then painting something to completion, so I am not experienced and you can totally do it too. As you may see from my blog I am primarily a digital artist and I occasionally do gouache and ink work, I have literally never painted or sculpted a figure before. (This counts as foreshadowing if you run into any problems with my files lmao)

Sculpting:

I sculpted the model in Nomad Sculpt on my Ipad and tidied things up in blender. I am still a massive beginner with sculpting so I incorporated pieces from some other freely available models to assist me (these are credited in the listing with the model). You don't have to worry about this part!

Printing:

I printed this on my MARS ELEGOO 2 printer. The settings I used for my print are included on the model listing; with these settings the model took about 7.5 hours to print.

The Files

I have uploaded 3 different file formats, a .stl, a .chitubox and a .ctb. An stl is the basic 3D model on its own, it can be opened in most 3D software if you are looking to edit it and it can be imported into any slicing software (slicing is the process of cutting any model into layers for the printer). If you use this file you will have to add the supports to the model yourself (supports are very important in preventing catastrophic print failure).

The .chitubox and .ctb files are specifically from the slicing program I use which is chitubox. The .chitubox program is for the model with the supports for printing attached and the .ctb file is the sliced file that is ready for the printer. VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE is that these two files are sized and prepared based on my 3D printer dimensions. If you want to use these files, I recommend checking either files in chitubox (and have it set up for the model printer you will be using) and checking the size before going ahead with printing. If the size is too big for your printer you will have to resize the model and add the supports again but you can use the files I have supplied as reference.

I specifically used Chitubox 64 for this as Chitubox basic hates me and won't slice the model so it is solid inside. Printing something solid is easier to print than printing it hollow and trying to cure the resin trapped inside/drain the model (uncured resin is nasty nasty and will also generate gas that builds up pressure and will crack your print).

I recommend using either the basic stl for printing or starting with the .chitubox file and setting up the slicing settings by yourself. The ctb is a good reference for how things should look but probably not the best starting point to guarantee a successful print. If you add supports yourself, I recommend looking up some youtube videos on how to properly support a model, and what parts of a model need the most support and avoiding visible marks on your models from supports.

Post-Printing

Its important to clean and cure your print properly after its done, but if you are getting it done at the library or somewhere else you may not have to worry about this.

To remove the supports I used a heat gun to warm and soften the resin supports and little clippers my friends use for gundam to cut them as flush to the model as possible.

The next thing you want to do is sanding, sand down the marks from the supports, any lines or imperfections from the printing. Resin is relatively soft so this is not hard. I personally bought some cheap sandpaper that went from 400-1000 grit, glued it to icecream sticks, disposable knives and some flat toothpick things and used that to get into small crevices. Sand with wet paper to prevent resin dust going everywhere.

Painting

After sanding I sprayed the model with a primer, I specifically used Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 in white. This was my choice simply because its what my local gundam store had and I chose white because I didn't want to use a darker base coat that I had to lighten for the armor (simply put most of the model is white and white is a pain in the ass to paint opaquely)

After this I went in with my standard run-of-the-mill acrylic paints. The key to getting a smooth finish with no brush marks and lumps is to thin/smooth out the paint a little with water and build up the colour in layers.

I painted my base colours (white for the armor, black for the shoes and visor and a dark grey for the suit underneath the armor). To get a cool beaten-up effect I laid some light blue into areas on the armor where shadows would fall, after that I dabbed panel line accent colour which gets into the crevices and lines of the print and accents them (you can also just use really watered down black paint for this, I was lucky to borrow supplies from a warhammer 40k friend). I also covered parts of the armor with it and rubbed it off for a grimy effect and then dabbed some brown paint in for extra colour variation. I then came in and dry-brushed some lighter colours on the dark areas and fixed up the white where I wanted it brighter.

Then finally I coated the whole thing in a matte varnish to protect it and it was done!! My own Murderbot completed!!

Hopefully if you haven't done something like this before, this helps you get started There are dozens and dozens of great tutorials out there for more info or if you want to take your design in a different direction to mine.

Most importantly?? Have fun!!

If you have any issues or questions feel free to message me and we can work on it together!

[truelovepolinator]

It's so sad to see you turned into a 🐜Luke and a Jakola, you used to be one of my favorite Lukola blogs. So girl bye, go follow Tiff and the other clowns. I'm sure they'll love you over there

Actually, Anon, this take is the exact opposite of what I said. I explicitly said that I do not believe Nicola and Jake are romantically involved. I also said explicitly that IF Luke is really dating A, I cannot respect that choice and I don't think it reflects well on him.

In fact, I'll go further. If by some wild twist of fate Nic and Luke really are dating these other people, and they go on to have the longest, happiest relationships in all of celebritydom, then good for them. I'm glad they're happy. But I will never ship those pairings. Not ever. The only ship I care about is Lukola. That ship is why I'm here.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This is my one and only real world celebrity ship. Lukola is special. And I never said I believed the story we were told this past week in N's interview and L's hard launch. I said, they've told us something very clearly and we owe them the courtesy of listening and considering the possibility that what they've told us is true.

I also said that the only version of all of this that actually makes complete sense, even now, is Option 1 (where they are together). However, they have asked us to take a step back this past week, so I am respectfully doing so because I believe this is a critical time in their lives. I want to give them the time and space they need, so I'm turning down the heat for my part. I'm just a tiny nobody account and my choice to back-off will likely make little difference, but I want to respect their wishes in a time that feels especially important.

And if you read between the lines, what I've just said is the literal opposite of jumping ship.

For reference, here’s the blog post in question.

[bouquets-for-fandom]

💐 FAQ 💐

Can I send multiple bouquets?

Yes! You can send as many bouquets as you'd like!!

I'm just asking to leave it at a reasonable amount and not to request 50 or so at a time!

You can send up to 10 blogs in a single ask

Will my bouquet be anonymous?

I send the bouquets anonymous on default.

You do not need to send them on anonymous in order to keep your name a secret

If you would like to have your name or @ included you need to tell me in your ask specifically!

Can I send a message with my bouquet?

Yes! Just let me know what you want written on the card and I shall deliver it with the bouquet

Can I choose a color or flowers?

Yes absolutely! The background color, flower color and flowers can be chosen by you but it's not a must.

Please keep in mind that I can't fulfill all wishes flawlessly but I try to do so to my best ability!

If I don't get any color or flower wishes I just send a random bouquet

How do I know if my bouquet will be sent?

If you send your request off anon I will answer your ask privately to let you know that your bouquet has been queued and will be sent out within the next hours or days

Please do not send in your request a second or third time because it hasn't been posted yet. All requests will be posted! (See further down on how to reach me if you have questions)

Why can't I send an ask?

To avoid long waiting times between request and delivery I close the requests every few days for a few days.

If you have any questions in that time you can always dm me

How long does it take until my bouquet gets sent?

That depends on how many have been requested!

At the moment there's an average waiting time of 2-3 days which is when I close my requests.

If you have any concerns just message me and I'll let you know when your bouquet gets posted!

Does it cost money?

Nope! Sending a bouquet is completely free of charge. All it takes is a few seconds of your time to let me know who it goes to

I do not take any payment or donations for running this blog. It would make me very uncomfortable if anyone sent me money on kofi or wherever for spreading love as this isn't something I do for myself. This blog is about spreading love and making people happy - nothing more.

If you would still like to donate something I'd ask you to send your money to a good cause instead of into my pockets.

How can I reach you if I have questions?

If asks are open you can contact me via asks.

My dms are always open as well!

You don't need to be scared about showing your face / staying anonymous. I'm running this blog alone and I don't tell anyone anything - not my friends, not the bouquet recipients.

Lastly, I do not care if we have personal issues and you would like to send bouquets to people. This is peaceful grounds and will not look at you sideways, make fun of you or ignore your request. Any issues between us stay between my personal blog and you - see this as just a service not run by me. I'm staying professional and send bouquets regardless of our relationship or lack of it.

[lsunstreakerl]

Carlos, Max and Daniel's relationship is exclusive, right? But like, do they know that whoever stays at Toro Rosso will get in?

What's the name of their ship? Carmaxiel? Versincciardo? DMC?

when can we expect darkbull on ao3?

Where will we see more about Max's kidnapping, here or on ao3?

Why is Max being with Charles a worse future for Max in Darkbull?

How does Charles treat Max? (I suspect this is a spoiler, but just give us a hint plssssssss 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺)

yes, their relationship is exclusive, but there's the unspoken understanding that the 4th driver will also be a part of it. (at least, an understanding between RB, carlos, and daniel. max is like "wow that'd be crazy and I'd be so lucky if a third person wanted in on this" but that's just max. he doesn't realize that's exactly why the screening and hiring process has been so difficult.)

I hadn't really thought about a ship name, honestly. I'll let you guys workshop it :)

I'm trying to figure out what angle I want to tackle Darkbull on AO3 from. the ficlets I post here are too short to be real chapters, so I honestly might start the AO3 fic from the beginning and run it chronologically, and you guys here on the blog will get updated snippets as I think of them, or little future ficlets that I want to write but aren't ready for the fic.

you'll see the more fleshed out kidnapping on AO3 (as well as other things, because I don't want my blog banned), but you'll still get little snapshots here, like the max pov I posted earlier.

I sort of mentioned this under the earlier ask from Decidedly33, but as far as who's "better" for max- all the options are bad, but physically, max is much safer with rb than he is with charles. psychologically he's kind of screwed either way. everyone in this verse is unhinged but charles has a few screws less than everyone else.

you sent this before I posted the kidnapping ficlet, so that's your hint for how charles treats max lol

[p-redux]

Yesterday you posted images from a private Instagram account. It seems off brand for you to be so intrusive. Assume that you will or have taken them down already and/or posted an exclamation?

Um, you must be new. 🤣 I've been in the fandom 10 years and my focus has always been posting insider info...because MANY people want that. Off brand? 🙄 Again, you must be new. THAT IS MY BRAND. And that's why most people follow me all these years, first on Twitter, back in the day, and now here.

I'm hated in the fandom by Extreme Shippers and assorted other nut jobs precisely because I post what others don't post. That's how I was the first to sink the SamCait ship in 2014 by posting the info my Tony McGill family source gave me--that Tony was dating Caitriona. And that Caitriona and Sam weren't a couple in real life. I give my followers what they want. If YOU don't like it, then my blog is not for you. Thousands of people DO like my blog, and I'm here for them. Love it or leave it.

Do I post a lot less than I used to? Yes. So, maybe that's why you were under the false impression that I don't post insider info. But when I get info and people are asking for it, I'll post it. Again, don't like it? Don't look at my blog. Simple as that.

Also, I'm nice to those who are nice to me, but I'm a HUGE bitch to those who are bitches to me.

I also don't take kindly to people coming to my blog and telling me what to post, not post, or what to take down. That will get an immediate FUCK OFF from me.

In summary: I'm a major bitch who has to try very hard to be nice. And I am nice if you're nice; if not, I serve you your head on a silver platter. And I post stuff other people don't post. Are we clear now? If you're cool with that, stay. If you're not, leave.

That's all, folks.

[casscainmainly]

Hi! I've loved reading your thoughts on Cass and other overlooked characters on this blog, it's really opened my eyes and made me want to explore canon more (sadly until recently I was solely into fanon)

I've seen you talk about Steph a lot, and you seem like one of the best people to ask about her. See, I've only ever seen shallow portrayals of her in fanon, and when I've tried looking into canon, I get...mixed portrayals at best. Especially when it comes to her dynamic with Bruce or Tim. And I'll admit I got put off by it.

But since you've already made me excited to learn more about Cass, I figured if you like Steph too, she must have more to her than what I've stumbled onto. So if it's not too much trouble, could you recommend some comics/stories to help someone trying to lose the fanon goggles get to know (and hopefully adore) her?

Hi!! I'm so glad you're diving into comics, it's a wild ride but honestly a lot of fun <333. And Steph is definitely a character with incredible amounts of depth to her. For a full reading list, check out @bitimdrake's reading order (it stops at the New 52 which is a company-wide reboot, for post-N52 stories check out this page and then this one).

Steph's portrayals are often marred by misogyny both in and out of text. Her relationship with Bruce can be off-putting, and sometimes her treatment will be absolutely infuriating. However, all of this makes her super interesting to me - she's a character who refuses to give up, whose tenacity is so strong it even defies real life mandates to erase and belittle her! If you stick with her, you will come out with a character who's so much more than anyone ever thought she'd be.

I'm not a Steph expert by any means, so I'd recommend asking Steph-centric blogs like @a-bad-case-of-the-stephs (whose metas are incredible) because you might get better recommendations from them! But for Steph stories I've personally enjoyed, they are:

Batman: Huntress/Spoiler - Blunt Trauma: After an earthquake, Steph teams up with Huntress to take down some bad guys. This one issue undoes a lot of fanon - it dives into Steph's outlook on life, moral beliefs, and her relationship with her father. Highly recommend!

Batgirl (2000) #26, 28: In Cass' Batgirl run, Steph features as a prominent side character and their relationship is one of my absolute favourites. #26 is a Steph-centric issue where she fills in for Cass, and explores her insecurities in a really fascinating way. #28 is also a Steph highlight, showcasing her perseverance and why Cass is so impressed with her.

Solo (2004) #10: Not sure if it's in-continuity, but Damion Scott (Cass' co-creator) has a super fun story in here about Robin!Steph and Cass. Just really adorable and fun, and one of the best encapsulations of the Steph-Cass dynamic.

Batgirl (2009): Jumping over to Steph's Batgirl run, it does hit better if you've read Robin '93 but honestly it's good either way. Steph has so much personality in this run, it's incredibly fun and shows her humour, resilience, and heart, as well as some of her flaws. Really really worth reading!

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl: A Bruce-Steph story that may require some context, but it's probably the best Bruce and Steph reconciliation we'll ever get. Very interesting insights into how Bruce and Steph see each other, as well as a really iconic slap.

A general rec for Steph is Robin (1993), which is important for her Spoiler and Robin days (I assume this is the run you've tried though). Detective Comics (2016) is not really the best Steph portrayal, but it's far from the worst and has a really nice one panel about Robin!Steph.

I hope this helps!! Steph is an amazing character who deserves a lot more from both fandom and DC, so any interest in her is greatly appreciated :))).

[lunarian-anarchist]

Help me survive my volunteer service so I can serve Americans during disasters

Hey y'all so as explained in other posts I'm not certain I have enough money saved up along with my other expenses for the 10 month long program in Americorps. Another problem is when I come back I may or may not have a job. My old job said I'd be welcomed back but a lot can change in 10 months.

This volunteer program offers a fast track hiring process after completing it, HOWEVER; with the current administration that may change. Also I'd likely get hired as a reservist not a full time position. Basically I need a cushion when I come back.

Do note that venmo forces me to use my dead name.

Please please reblog even if you can't donate. It sucks having to beg on the internet but I don't want to have to leave early or come back with no money and potentially no job.

During the next 10 months I won't be on this blog as the job can be 12 hours long and I'm also going to be putting all of my focus into this. I'll be pinning this and it'll stay up until I'm back in mid Nov of 2025 or until I reach the goal.

Editing this to say if I reach the goal amount I will temporarily be back on to let y'all know so no one is sending me extra money.

UPDATE:

I unfortunately will not be able to go due to financial strain from a tax return mess up and also my nana is getting worse in her dementia. I also had a really bad CPTSD episode tonight hours before my flight.

I only got 50$ out of the 700$ and I'll be sending that back but yeah that's where I'm at....

I'm really fucking disappointed in myself and have no idea what my future looks like now. I'm sorry to everyone I let down.

I have no idea what I'm going to do now besides pray my old job takes me back and go to college.

[mel-loly]

-New Update!

For those who didn't see it in my pinned post, I'll be talking about it here in this post.

The character Primrose GoldenFlower took the place of Marcos GoldenWings (Marcos is now one of the secondary characters while Primrose is now the second main character).

Reason:

Marcos doesn't have much of a story, other than being just her/Primrose and Mel-Loly's son. Also, I don't draw him much like I did “back then/at the beginning of the blog”, which makes it even harder for him to be the main one, and not that I draw Primrose “very often”, but she's still a character I draw more than him. She has a good story with Mel-Loly, which I'm going to do in parts/chapters (it's so big), but Marcos doesn't have any, since his only “story” is part of Mel's, which makes no sense to put him as a main and VERY important character.

(he is indeed an important character, just like all the others, but still, he is not as important as Primrose is in the group's history and everything in itself)

Thanks for reading this far and if you want, tell me what you think of the change (was it good or bad? Does it make more sense or not?), that I would be very happy to know your opinion!❤️

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for an incredible 500 days of love and support. I offer you: answers to questions that no one has asked.

(As always, more can be found in the tags <3)

[kotaki]

"A World Connected by Tying and Weaving! Cure Lillian! Don't Be Scared, Don't Be Scared."

[destielmemenews]

Due to a lot of feedback on the nature of this blog, and how the meme format can come across as insensitive and shameless, I'm considering switching to a news only post format, without the use of the destiel meme. I greatly enjoy sharing information about current events, and would like to continue doing so in some way.

So I am making this poll to ask everyone their opinion on the way I do things, and for suggestions to improve my content.

[peoplesrazor]

The often stated goal of people in the crit community is for Lily to lose her platform. This would result not only in her facing some consequences for her behavior, but will also make it harder for her to prey on and influence vulnerable people. While it's certainly reasonable for those personally victimized by Lily to want to see some legal consequences as well, those goals aren't going to be reached by discussing her on social media, with a few exceptions.

For instance, using social media to present and archive evidence and as a way to make others aware. If a victim is actively in the community and close to people in it, it wouldn't be unusual for them to post updates on whatever is happening on the legal front. Maybe just to vent now and then. Legal action is always long and frustrating and very often expensive. Venting about that, at least, would be reasonable.

There would be little reason for the rest of us to continue talking about Lily, I'd imagine.

People may bring up something now and then. You'll see the occasional post that says something like: Remember when Lily Orchard compared a Jewish woman to a disease and got to keep her youtube channel? That shit was wild, huh? They'll be comparisons between her and other people who are being discussed. Sometimes more accurately, sometimes not.

I know there is a pervasive idea in Lily's base and in those critical of the crit community that we're all obsessed with her and using her for content as a way to make money or get clout. That we'd actually be secretly upset if she never made another video or blog post.

I'm pretty confident in saying, for most of us, that's not true. I don't think people outside of this understand how frustrating it can actually be. In my case, at least, there are any number of videos or post that I could comment on, that have factual errors that can easily be corrected, but I don't because they don't matter as far as that ultimate goal. I will sometimes, if I feel it might be interesting to discuss, especially since it was my original goal for my blog to discuss media criticism. Usually, it's not worth it though.

Because even when I do make a post with the express purpose of calling out Lily's racism, ablism, sexism, her victimizing people, or to show a pattern of behavior, my reward is being called a transphobe, a misogynist or having my motivations for doing so questioned. I can't tell you how lovely it feels to make what I think is a well documented and easily provable argument and have it dismissed because I chose to use one of her media takes as my starting point. You think I want to do this? That I enjoy that?

I'm not sure those of us without a "real world" connection to Lily would even be able to move the goal post past de-platforming. Like how? That's the only spot that goal post can be. There's this big immovable wall just past that with the words "no admittance through social media" scrawled on it.

We can't get to the other side of that from here.

So, yeah, I see most of us moving on. @spacefrog1984 will post more frog gifs. @thetepes will discuss tea and post more cultural food videos. @agramuglia will cover other media and media critics, which he is already doing. Sai may close @purpledemonlilyposting or she may use it to argue with people like you on here.

Me? I'll make more youtube recommendations, discuss indoctrination tactics and debunk things like pseudoscience. Mostly, I'll likely go back to vanilla media discourse and talking about bad media takes that don't involve Lily, which is what I started the blog to do originally. Maybe I'll do some more in depth analysis of The Owl House.

What are you going to be doing, Starry? Still, posting about Sai and everyone whose ever had an exchange with her all day?

Does a channel termination mean everyone can move on? Or does it just mean the goalpost gets moved?

[booksandabeer]

Ramblings on Fandom: Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, Delusional Shippers, and Alleged Misogyny

So with the release of Season 2 of What If…? emotions are once again running high, the outrage is outraging, and people are up in arms about the whole Captain Carter situation. While I do think that some reactions are a little overblown, even needlessly aggressive in tone to the unfortunate detriment of their otherwise convincing arguments, I share the confusion and frustration about the sudden centering of a long-dead & never excessively popular character, the sidelining of the Steve-Bucky friendship, and the as-inexplicable-as-it-is-total exclusion of Sam Wilson as Captain America. However, I’m not here to talk about the show because (1) I haven’t watched this season and have no plans to (why waste time torturing myself with something I know I’ll hate?) and (2) other people have already written dozens of metas about it, so what could I possibly add at this point.

What I do want need to talk about (lest I explode) is something that has irritated me for a long time and that is now happening again: Every time someone even mildly criticizes Peggy Carter, expresses doubts about her suitability as a heroine, or even just questions her disproportionate importance to the franchise post-EG, inevitably a certain section of fans will come out of the woodwork to immediately throw around accusations of misogyny and yell about how we’re all just a bunch of delusional Stuckies who are mad that she got "in the way" of our ship. Sigh.

This is gonna be a long one, so I’ll put it under a cut. Rant incoming. You've been warned. If you don't want to read, simply keep scrolling.

First of all, let me state very clearly that I’m not debating the existence of misogyny and sexism in fandom spaces—or in the media from which these fandoms originate. At all. It exists, it’s a thing, I’m not denying that. Which is exactly why it frustrates me endlessly to see these accusations thrown around as a gotcha! argument to shut down any and all critical debate around a female character. All it does in the end is escalate rhetoric and radicalize attitudes.  

In the case of Peggy Carter, specifically her treatment by Stucky shippers, I’ve always found 'misogyny as a motive' to be a largely unsubstantiated accusation.¹ Now, I neither presume nor do I want to speak for the entirety of Stuckynation, so I will not claim that there aren't corners of the fandom where people discuss her in ways that I find off-putting and deeply unserious, but I will say this: If you genuinely believe that disliking one (1) fictional female character equals “hating all women” and wanting to suppress and marginalize their presence in fiction and real life alike—then I think we need to take that word away from you until you’ve learned its true meaning.

You might also want to ask yourself how exactly reducing a female character to a mute trophy wife or a heroine who has to act out her love interest’s recycled storylines helps your feminist fight.

As for the “getting in the way of your ship” part of the argument. Very simply put: No character can get in the way of something if there never ever was “a way” to that something to begin with. “Being mad” implies that there was a reasonable expectation that wasn’t met, a substantive hope that was crushed. Now, I’ve said this before and I’ll gladly say it again a million more times: No Stucky shipper in their right mind ever truly thought that there was even the slightest chance that Marvel Studios owned by the Walt Disney Company would allow Steve “Captain America” Rogers and Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes to be canonized as an explicitly romantic pairing in their billion dollar franchise. Be serious. That was never in the cards. I wish we all lived in a world where it was, but we don’t, and it wasn’t. The best we could ever hope for was for Steve and Bucky to get a good, satisfying, in-character ending. And if, in Steve’s case, that would’ve included hints (or more) about a possible rekindling of his, uh, aborted romance with Sharon—then so be it. But we never got any of that. The characters never got any of that. Instead they sent Steve into 1950s suburban hell, literally trapped him behind a white picket fence, and condemned him to a life of passivity and lies, all so he could be married to a woman he barely knew a long time ago in a completely different world; who built and ran a top-to-bottom Hydra-infested organization, but apparently never noticed that there was anything wrong with her life's work. For decades. Great. As for Bucky—well, we’ve all seen the devastatingly grim-faced, utterly lonely, and deeply sad version of him that was presented to us in TFATWS. Happy endings all around, I guess.

So. Am I mad that Steve didn’t get to ride into the rainbow-colored sunset with Bucky at the end of EG? No. Because that was never going to happen anyway. Would I have been mad had he ended up with Sharon or another female character in the 21st century? Also no. Granted, I wouldn’t have been ecstatic about it, but mad? No. But am I mad that Steve ended up with this specific female character under these specific circumstances as presented in canon? Fuck yeah, I am.

The thing is: I personally believe Steve and Peggy to be fundamentally incompatible when it comes to the way they view the world and their respective places in it; their morals and values; their capacity for compassion and empathy; their ability and willingness to compartmentalize, compromise, and collaborate with people and institutions whose ethics and/or politics do not align with their own. I have a real hard time believing that a relationship between these two (or worse, a hasty marriage) could be either happy or long-lasting.

I don’t believe Peggy to be inherently evil, I don’t hate her, I simply think she operates within a different moral framework than Steve (and even genuinely believes it to be a righteous one).² Your mileage may vary, but I personally happen to find that framework reprehensible, even indecent, and ultimately dangerous. After all, over the course of the 20th century, we have seen exactly where that kind of “the ends justify the means” brand of pragmatism leads—over and over again. Not to mention that the people who use this line of argument to defend characters like Peggy (or real-life politicians for that matter) never seem to want to look too closely at who gets to define what "the ends" are in the first place and who decides when they've finally been met.

(Never. The answer is never.)

And to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with depicting, and even centering a narrative around a morally (dark)gray character—oftentimes it’s actually the more interesting option—but you cannot at the same time claim that they are purely good and should be only admired as such when their actions literally tell an entirely different story.

So, no. I will not accept Peggy Carter as the shining aspirational heroine that the MCU so badly wants to sell her to me as—while simultaneously continuing to reveal things that paint an increasingly darker picture of her character. And I will certainly not celebrate seeing one of my favorite characters of all time—whose defining trait was that he couldn't ignore "a situation pointed south"; who used to fight for the little guy and against the establishment; who once said about the very organization that Peggy Carter helped build that it was so corrupt, it all needed to go—rendered morally inert for some hollow happy ending that may as well be a conservative’s wet dream full of false nostalgia for an America that never really existed. I cannot find it in me to be anything less but mad about that.

But that does not make me a misogynist. It does not make me a delusional shipper. It makes me someone who looks at what the MCU has been telling me about Peggy Carter for years now—over and over again—and takes them at their own word.

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¹ If you’ve actually read a a fair number of Stucky(!) fanfics you will have noticed that the reverence afforded to and "page time" devoted to her character and her relationship with Steve is somewhat disproportionate to anything that's backed up by canon—well, up until EG, where she was suddenly reanimated as The Great Love of Steve’s Life—and in my experience, it's highly unusual for any fandom to put so much (mostly) positive attention on another character, let alone a potential love interest that is not part of the endgame ship.

² I also want to emphasize that if you love Peggy and she's your fave: good for you! I genuinely have no beef with you. People can agree to disagree. All I ask for is that we maybe stop willfully ignoring the less savory aspects of her character. You don't need to pretend she's perfect to justify your affection for her. I LOVE Steve, and yet I have no problem conceding that he is FAR from perfect.