#Just a quick poll to test stuff

[oneknightstand-if]

One Knight Stand Update 4

Chapter 2 Part 3 - The Forest & the Warehouse

Featuring...

Merlin's Guide to Minor Neutral Parties

New text messages and phone calls from non-dead people you haven't ghosted. And maybe some not-so-living ones too.

MC may appear on TV! This might not be a good thing. And they aren't the only one, cameo appearances from a future RO

Duel of AoE spells while frolicking through the magical forest. Your past decisions totally can't bite you in the ass here.

Attempt to summon Cthulhu. Dance the macarena. Have I mentioned posterior-biting consequences here?

Also an abandoned industrial warehouse is the best place for a leisurely stopover.

Icebreaker games stop staring at the noises with mini stat boosts as prizes!

Oh yeah, RO #4 finally joins the crew.

Before you play the game with an old save, you'll want to clear your cache for the oneknightstand.co website and then check that the game's frontpage is displaying Version 0.23. Then after loading the save, check the Status Page to make sure that your stats haven't reset back to the default ?¿?¿?¿.

If your variables have reset back to the default, then unfortunately that save file has corrupted (it happens to the best of us for unfathomable reasons) and you'll have to reload another save file. It you try to play the game through a corrupted save, you'll just get a bunch of non-existent errors. Please do the entire clear cache + confirm non-corrupted save file before reporting any potential errors. Then report the errors... all the errors!

Play the Updated Beta Test

(Since there were bugs & typos still reported & fixed throughout Chapter 1 & 2, your current saves are probably going to reset to the beginning of each section of the game. If things get too wonky, you might want to try restarting from the beginning. )

Additional Word Count (Sans Code): 84,000+

Additional Word Count (With Code): 107,000+

New Total Word Count (Sans Code): 900,000+

New Total Word Count (With Code): 1,227,000+

Average Playthrough: ~70,000+ words

Note: You can view the game code on my site the same way you do on Dashingdon just add /scenes to the end of the URL.

Link to New Polls on the Update (Which don't auto close in a week like the Tumblr ones)

Next Update

Merlin's Guide to Minor Unavailable (the final part of the guide! 🥳)

The first appearance of the Free Time Hub (god help me) Featuring...

Getting romantic with Merlin

Having The Relationship Talk with Adrian

Doing stuff with RO #4 because they're totally here now

Getting help with that entire changeling, amnesiac, lucid dreamer thing

Researching suspicious things you've noticed up to this point

Boosting those stats (with the help of the ROs if you can't bear to be away from them for a few minutes)

Also quick reminder that the Alpha Build of the game on Patreon updates as I complete each section, so the first part of Merlin's Free Time section is already available.

[centrally-unplanned]

Let's do a "Tepid Critique" of Tanner Greer's latest piece around America's new turn away from the European security alliance. It is a quick one, generally outlining how generational churn has resulted in a cultural shift around the value of NATO+ amoung a new wave of people who weren't around for the Cold War. And he outlines this as a response to the material realities of the US/Euro funding split, citing a 2011 speech by Sec Def Robert Gates:

Indeed, if current trends in the decline of European defense capabilities are not halted and reversed, future U.S. political leaders—those for whom the Cold War was not the formative experience that it was for me—may not consider the return on America’s investment in NATO worth the cost.

I do not think this is a false statement, but I think we are confusing the mechanism here. There is not in the US much of a "new generation" of people who now hate NATO or Europe. All of that polls very well!

The actual Ukraine war tested it, sure, (live wars do that) but it didn't shift it much at all - except amoung a minority faction. And note, Ukraine...isn't in NATO? Like that isn't a NATO thing! The US also tired of supporting South Vietnam, this just happens in all wars - we are cheapskates, news at eleven. The idea that Greer & Gates outlines of a next generation "atrophying" away this alliance is not really shown in the data.

And that makes sense because, while Europe underfunding their military is bad for Europe, it really isn't a huge deal for the US. The only real NATO war fought since the end of the Cold War was against an attack on the US! I guess you can count the Serbian bombings, but that is incredibly small bore. And to widen from NATO, dozens of European allies helped the US in Afghanistan and Iraq and the War on Terror, and meanwhile almost none of those countries have had any real conflicts that we have had to commit to. Whatever they spend on military is general "bonus" for the US. There are wider problems here, sure, that isn't my point - my point is that the current US population has not, materially, felt at all the "burden" of supporting Europe. There is not yet such a thing.

Now ofc there is a large minority faction that is pretty passionate about all this isolationism stuff! Which is a valid mechanism for change even if the "silent majority" is unmoved. But I think this group is a bit misunderstood because they have looong roots in the US. Many who have written about this will mention the isolationist parties of Charles Lindbergh and the America First movement; this did not vanish during the Cold War by any means! It just didn't win elections. My perennial go-to Trump precursor Ross Perot was a globalist-skeptic, and in 1992 - one year after the USSR fell! - he won ~20% of the vote as an independent. Not saying that was his Big Issue, it wasn't...but it wasn't Trump's either. The turn to isolation in the current administration wasn't fought at the ballot box, it was fought in the shadows of the back rooms and the trenches of Twitter. Those are far more contingent battles and "generational churn" is too simplistic to use for them.

And let's look at some of those fighters! Remember the whole North Carolina hurricane thing last year? That was a big one for the anti-Ukraine movement, lots of shit like this:

Now I want you to remember Greer's point, that European "free-riding" created the conditions for their intellectual discarding. Take that, and imagine a world where Europe spends 3% of its GDP on defense. A world where Europe, instead of giving 40% of all military aid to Ukraine like it currently does, gives 70%

In that world does a single word of this tweet change?

Obviously it doesn't! It is actually insane to think it would, no one does. These tweets are from fucking liars, they don't care about the actual quantity of aid flows to Ukraine. If Trump was president when the aid was given they would never said a word! It is partisan bullshit from top to bottom. The actual, material realities of the US-European security relationship are a bit player in this ideological reshift. It is just domestic politics picking out partisan victims.

The simple reality of America's currently realignment on this issue is that is not a grand shift in public opinion so much as a collapse in the elite structure of the Republican Party. They failed to gatekeep candidates due to a bad primary system, failed to anticipate the growing importance of immigration, and were too stubborn to just lie to voters and pivot to the center on things like middle class welfare. And that faction, for mercurial reasons, also hates Europe. This is not some inevitable trendline by any means.

Now, I said this was a tepid critique, and I meant it. I think this framing is wrong, it didn't happen the way Gates implied. An extant minority wing hijacked by an outsider strongman executed an entryist takeover of an existing party structure and started winning just enough online culture war battles to grow into dominance. But it is the case that, while that happened, the Republican Party is still pro-life despite Trump not caring about that in the slightest. Because when he took over the party, the pro-life faction was strong, and he could not simply discard them, and so he accommodated them (and other reasons ofc, just gotta focus).

Foreign policy, unlike domestic policy, never has a large domestic voting base, so it was easy to discard. But also, while traditional Republican support amoung party elites for the globalist strategy was consensus, the faith in it had been dinged by European weakness. Few really wanted to die on this hill the way that during the Cold War they would have, and Gates is correctly outlining something that happened within this elite subfaction (as opposed to the "establishment" as a whole, where it did not happen). So when push came to shove on this topic they balked, over and over - while at the same time hard-pushing tax cuts and welfare reductions, the things they have strong faith in.

I do think a world where Europe was seen by these elites as "doing their part", pushback would have been stronger. Enough to make a difference? Eh, who knows. But still worth pointing out and exploring.

[beautifulhigh]

Wanna get angry on this Saturday? Cool. Come join me on this.

I think Miguel hacked Alex's emails way before the leak.

Alex wouldn't be able to just "drop by" somewhere for coffee. It would have to be cleared, vetted, all the usual stuff. So he will have a routine that he follows, a routine which includes (at least) one Secret Service member. And when you have a routine and protection like that, schedules will be sent out confirming who is with Alex and what the plan is for the day. Sent out by email. And OH LOOK he's in the coffee shop...

Alex tells Zahra that he "emailed senior campaign staff" three weeks ago with his Texas memo. A memo that Miguel has read by the State DInner. He says he "quite literally has his sources" and... well.

The email leak. Miguel has his article written and published within hours of them being put on Reddit and he is called out on how quick that is.

So when did Miguel hack Alex's email?

"We made out once, on the campaign..."

Ellen Claremont was on the verge of making history (huh). The first female president, in a mixed race marriage with a biracial, bilingual son. The Lometa Longshot going all the way to the White House. Getting the inside track on that would have been one hell of a scoop and when you have her son, desperate to do more, be more in this world, then that's an in you can manage. Get some details about the campaign, how things are going. But also finding out about the people behind it - film!Oscar and his own political campaigns. Alex, the up and coming law student.

Little flirting, little making out "fully naked, in a hot tub"... You gotta wonder where Alex's phone was at that time and whether Miguel got his hands on it.

From day one, the central mission of POLITICO has been to help sustain and vastly expand nonpartisan political and policy journalism by winning the audience. (From Politco's "About" page)

Alex talks about how he's good for "photo ops and New Year's parties and stupid shit like that" and so there is an interest in Alex, the First Son. He's good looking - the party is filled with the "who's who of eligible young women" and we know from Henry's first text that he attends events with a plus one. And Miguel has a line into that, to win the audience for Politico with updates about Alex doing more, being more, working as part of his mother's campaign.

So yeah. I think Miguel got access to Alex's emails back on the first campaign trial which makes it all the more horrible as he watched those emails come through in real time. He knew what was going on when he was in New York, making comments about them being in the same hotel.

"Do you really think we're ever hooking up again?" "Well I don't anymore"

is his reply in a lovely bit of equivocation because Alex is clearly shutting him down this time... but maybe he also knows about Henry. The Henry who walks in through the door moments later. Miguel knows he won't be hooking up with Alex because someone else is, and maybe the comment was a way to test the water. Would Alex turn him down and say or suggest he was seeing someone?

In the book more emails are exchanged following the storming of Kensington: there is no clear timeline in the movie: Labor Day is at the start of September (Lake House), it's a week before Alex flies to London (so mid-September), and the election is at the start of November. They are outed the week before polling (Zahra says "we'll find out next week" following Alex's speech) which makes it around mid to end of October when they're outed. That's about one month in which they would have been in touch, likely through emails, fully committed to this relationship and making it work.

Dropping the bomb before the election is one way to get traction because all eyes are on the White House at that time. Plus a month to pull off the emails, to get them sorted, make a plan for Reddit, start working on your article...? Taking each new message as it comes in?

Miguel hacked Alex's emails WAY before the leak and I'm pretty sure I'm willing to die on this hill.

[amybizarre]

🌈Hey Y'all!🌈

Just wanted to test the waters real quick. I've been toying with the idea for a Steve Saga Infection AU for a while now. Yes, inspired by the MLP infection AU trend from... March last year? Well, it still rots my brain, so I want to make something with it.

That something would be a rp style blog. I'd make a sideblog for it and people can send in asks for the characters to unravel the plot, discover the characters' fates, gather info about the disease or maybe even send them supplies. (Not sure about the supplies yet)

So! What do you think? Poll and a little bit more info is under the cut :3

To give a little vague info, without spoilering too much, the AU will be based on the episodes where Plague Steve helped the Rainbow Town crew to defeat Infinity by infection him with the Plague Potion. Let's just say stuff goes horribly sideways for them there and Infinity doesn't remain the only sick one.

Aaaaand because I cannot live with the premature death of my favorite characters, let's just say they're all alive. Light Steve will be there with the Rainbow Town Crew, Nightmare Dark and Shadow are also alive and kicking and mayhaps Prof Red from SSO will also make an appearance, we'll see. In short: Feel free to ask your favorite characters, they're all alive in the beginning!

Oh, and my personal headcanons will flow into this too. But seeing that this will be an AU, I think that's a given. ;) Thank you for sticking around through my rambling! Have a great day/night!

[leafofkudzu]

Screeches to a halt in a cloud of dust HELLO I'M LATE I'M SORRY. The first Saturday of a fresh month is tomorrow, which means it's time for another community art party hosted by [VS] Verdant Shield! Last week I ran a(n also late) poll and the winner was Rata Sum, a place we haven't been since the very first small test party all the way back in January!

For those who haven't heard of them before, art parties are an idea carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - big (or small!) get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all kinds to hang out, chat, and create together! Put together your most eye-catching look, find someone who inspires you, and get to work! Afterwards, everyone uses the party-specific tag (ours is #VSArtParty) to share their creations so others can see and spread the love around via reblogs! The tl;dr I always say for these is this: the 'goal' of an art party isn't to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Party details are in the image above, but I'll toss an expanded text version under the cut with things like /squadjoin information!

Location Details:

A guildmate suggested we have the party down by the docks this time so we could have a boat party, and I totally agree! I may have put Antidawn Anchorage as the primary land point, but if you have a skiff feel free to take to the water as well! Worth noting that in order to interact with others' skiffs you must be in the same party or squad, and you do not need to have a skiff of your own to interact with a party/squad member's one!

Now, for those not familiar with Rata Sum, here's a quick image of the spot in question, which can be reached by taking the Antidawn Anchorage or Dawnside Quay asura gates nearby the Magicat Court (Antidawn) and Metrical Court (Dawnside) Waypoints:

Time & Squad Details:

As always, the party will consist of two separate events, with an hour break in between (though technically people jump from one to the other immediately anyway so the NA one tends to 'start' earlier than the scheduled time).

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Summer Time (aka 3pm Eastern Daylight Time or 5 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Toxicologist Mosse for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Daylight Time (aka 1am Central European Summer Time or 1 hour before in-game reset). This one I’ll be hosting on my main account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Teekzi for an invite.

IMPORTANT NOTE (mostly for the NA party): If you join and the squad is at or above 45 members, please just taxi into the right map and then hop out of squad to allow others to do the same! Essentially all conversation now happens in say chat so you won’t miss out on anything by being outside of squad!

Closing Words:

My apologies for the extremely short notice on this one everyone, I've been slapped with a bunch of IRL stuff (it's nothing bad, don't worry!) that's kept me out of the game for longer than I'd hoped. With all the exciting game news buzzing around lately though, I might just have to set aside some proper time to let myself get invested in this again, we'll see! Anyway, as always, thank you so much to everyone who comes out to these events and helps make them so special - I can't wait to see you all again tomorrow night! ♥

[mariacallous]

Are you an election denier who’s just not satisfied with the number of conspiracies about Wi-Fi-connected voting machines or reports about floods of illegal immigrants stuffing ballots into drop boxes on TikTok or Instagram? Do you pine for a place to share and learn even more? Want to connect with like-minded election deniers?

Well, with just 60 days until the 2024 presidential election, and with efforts to undermine the outcome of the vote already well underway, there’s now an app just for you—and no, it’s not Elon Musk’s X.

Facebook for Election Deniers

VoteAlert is a new app from the election conspiracy group True the Vote, a company with a rich history of combining tech with election conspiracies only to come up with nothing. In 2022, True the Vote claimed to have evidence showing that so-called ballot mules were being used to stuff drop boxes to sway the 2020 election in Joe Biden’s favor. Earlier this year they admitted in court they had no such evidence.

But that didn’t slow them down. The group has already rolled out one online tool this election season called IV3 to facilitate mass voter roll challenges, and with VoteAlert, the group now wants to give election workers and poll watchers the chance to get in on the action.

VoteAlert is designed to be a one-stop shop for all your election conspiracy needs, featuring a scrollable feed of the latest voting-related alerts, the ability to report your own claims, and even, apparently, a 24/7 hotline.

The app isn’t available in Apple’s or Google’s app stores, but is available as a web app, so people can still join. Catherine Engelbrecht, cofounder of True the Vote, did indicate in online meetings in recent weeks that the apps would be available on the major platforms, but it’s unclear right now when that will happen. True the Vote did not respond to a request for comment about VoteAlert.

Before you sign in, the app asks you to agree to a disclaimer that’s a little different from those of most apps: “It is up to you to use VoteAlert responsibly. Federal law prohibits actions that can be viewed as voter intimidation, including photo, video, or audio recording of voters while inside protected polling place boundaries.”

Users of the app are then presented with what looks like a typical social media feed of text, images, and videos. But instead of lime-green memes about Kamala, Instagram cooking videos, or “very demure” videos on TikTok, initial indications suggest the feed will be filled with livestreams of drop boxes in Wisconsin or reports of Wi-Fi-connected voting machines in Arizona.

While the app isn’t really up and running yet, we’ve got a glimpse into its possible future thanks to test posts from Engelbrecht’s team that cover the wide gamut of conspiracies the group has been pushing.

“It says I already voted by mail?” asks D from Loudoun County, Virginia, in a test post that popped up in my feed. “I just moved a few months ago and went to get my voter registration and address updated. They told me that I have already voted by mail—but I haven't.”

Meanwhile, JR in Kent County, Delaware, claimed in another test post that someone was having a bake sale “trying to get people to vote for certain candidates.” (There is a very clear sign on the cookie table with the prices; a quick reverse image search shows the image dates back to at least 2017.)

Meg Denning, who works with True the Vote, has also posted, claiming: “​​All the machines went down and there was a wifi [sic] connection,” referring to a favorite conspiracy among election deniers that the internet itself has been used to conduct voter fraud on a mass scale.

Though these are just test posts, the section of the app that allows users to report their own claims shows just how focused True the Vote is on promoting election conspiracies.

The app also allows users to indicate their location, precinct number, and whether they are an election worker or poll watcher. It also helpfully offers you a predefined list of possible voting issues to report, including “ballot harvesting or trafficking” and “non-citizen voting,” which are concerns that groups like True the Vote have been baselessly promoting in recent months.

If you believe your situation is life or death, the app even has a built-in emergency 24/7 hotline you can call to report your outrage. “Thank you for calling True the Vote,” the chirpy automated female voice responds after a couple of rings. “We appreciate your commitment to liberty.”

No one picked up when I called.

The automated voice did tell me to send an email or leave a voicemail before signing off: “Ever onward.”

[sincerely-sofie]

still cant get over travailshipping. i remember when you first tested the waters with it (which i believe was some time before the tpiag chapters started coming out?) and at first i thought it was pretty funny. ark slowly but surely falling headfirst for twig, who if she had a tagline it would be "if i could turn my feelings into weapons, mine would be a goddamn nuclear bomb", and her at first just being oblivious to it and thinking that the letters that expressed love and care that were written in cursive in her mailbox were just funny and she wanted to show them to ark with the guy just looking at her with the most "well that backfired in the weirdest way possible". but when tpiag finally ended i finally connected the dots as to why these two are just. augh. i wont go into detail here in your askbox but i wanna know is: HOW DID YOU DO IT. HOW DO YOU KEEP MAKING SUCH GOOD IDEAS FOR THE FUNNY DIGITAL ANIMALS. TELL ME.

(thinking to myself) "Ugh I should stop posting so much travailshipping stuff... It's probably so annoying to everyone who sees it. I feel bad for my poor followers. I'll check my inbox real quick and then commit to shaking up my content by—" *gets obliterated by your niceness*

Oh man. I remember posting that poll where I hesitantly described a possible Darkrai/Twig pairing in the tags while proposing Twig/Kip as an alternative route, despite it not being the direction I wanted to take the characters, because I was so scared of what people’s reactions might be. If I remember right, I posted it a little bit before I had just barely reached 5k words in the first draft of TPiaG.

I've been trying to write up detailed responses to how I come up with good ideas for travailshipping in particular, but there's one rule I use that defines everything after it and speaks for all of them: I have fun with the characters.

That's it. That's the rule. If I don't want to write a subject, I don't. I stick with what I find enjoyable and resonant. Does a joke make me laugh? Does a scene make me cry? Does a villain make me punch a hole in my wall? Does a cute gesture make me squeal? If so, then into the project it goes. I think people can feel when someone is having fun with their work, and that fun radiates out into their own experience consuming that work. It's like laughter— joy is something we're sharing with others as long as we feel it. Fun is contagious.

Also: when you don't force yourself to make things you hate, you attract people who like the same things as you. These people will find your work even more fun— because not only did you have fun making it, they're having double fun consuming it.

An important tangent I'll go off on is that I think that every creative project idea is a good idea. There's so many beloved bizarro ideas in the world, even the ones who try to be cool about how weird their premises are. There's this weird show where the main character works as a service industry worker in an underwater setting that's ruled by a Roman deity— he lives in a piece of fruit, and his pet gastropod makes cat noises. This show sounds like word salad garbage on paper and could be tossed out for its nonsensical nature, and yet SpongeBob SquarePants has made Nickelodeon over $13 billion dollars and is a treasured part of many childhoods. There's also a character who spends his time locked in intellectual and physical combat with a wannabe clown and wears a costume with bat ears while doing it. Batman's been an icon for over 80 years.

All of this is to say:

Ideas are always good ideas by virtue of existing. They don't derive their goodness from external sources. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Make more of what you love. Don't make things you hate making.

If you have fun while making the thing, people will have fun while they consume the thing's content.

I hope this makes sense. I didn't touch on idea generation as much as embracing existing ideas. Fingers crossed that was the right response. I'd just woken up from a nap as I was writing it, so hopefully it's not too meandering and managed to answer the question and—

— Oh shoot. Was that a hypothetical question??? Uh. Sorry if I went off on this rant when you were just trying to voice your niceness. Oops. 🫥

[sylwanin-was-right]

I attended my first classroom lesson in Kelutral and it was rlly nice!

It was the first time the two teachers (ma Tekre and ma Wllìm) tried that type of lesson, which was mainly a vocab lesson where they chose a general theme—this theme was "feelings"—and looked at a list of 20 common words related to that theme (we, then, applied those words to basic grammar lessons and did a v small bit of listening and speaking practice).

Apparently it was only supposed to be an hr lesson, but aside from time taken to correct ppl on using spoilers (LMAO), and some repeating of lesson mayerial for ppl would couldnt keep up, it was v engaging and i liked it! It honestly didnt even feel like 2 hrs.

I know a lot already, at least abt the grammar, and i actually accidentally clicked the notif for the lesson bc i thought it was just a post instead of a notif abt vc lesson lol. But i stayed cuz i figured it would be engaging and also productive at least somewhat. It rlly was for me cuz i study grammar more than i study vocab lol (i didnt actually know a lot of the 20 words!).

I rlly liked the formatting of this lesson and I hope they do it again! A few suggestions that come to mind for the next lesson like this:

An in-chat moderator to answer questions so the main speaking teacher can be interrupted as little as possible for backlogged questions or ppl who need help w miscillanious things, like finding links, asking where we are, or using discord features like spoilers or technical issues (at one point i got off task bc i had to ask if Tekre was still screensharing bc it didnt appear on my phone bc my app was glitchinng and losing connection rlly badly).

A disclaimer, verbal check, and class participatory test to make sure everyone knows how to use discord features related to excersies lol - there was a lot of time and a bit of frustration from ppl not knowing how to use spoilers for the first listening assignment, which is understandable bc not everyon knows computer stuff beyond the basic interface, and it was distracting and defeated the point of the lesson (which was to listen for words and write down what u thought u heard to practice phonetic and spelling skills, but spoilered so others wouldnt see ur answer). Eventually the ppl who couldnt understand or find the right commands or keys to spoiler did so and things went along a lot smoother. So perhaps before the lesson begins, a poll comment can be created in the chat by the mods/teachers for ppl to react to to see if anyone needs a short toturial for using discord features. Then everyone in the class can do something engaging like writing a simple sentence (regardless of mistakes) or word abt the theme in spoilers or whatever the task is in the chat. I understand this sounds shorter in theory than it does in practice so maybe an period of 10-15 mins before the official lesson begins can be used to ensure ppl know how to do the task.

A short guideline for the day's lesson plan written and pinned to maybe a classroom channel so ppl have an idea of how things go? A lil iffy on this one cuz i usually have classroom stuff muted until now and i never signed up for any classes cuz i do study work on my own, so idk if this or similar was done. I did like that we used the google document for the lesson but perhaps an overview or just quick bullet point of the class events and instructions could be of use, esp for timing!

Overall i rlly enjoyed the lesson and want to attend more now! I made a practice paragraph that ma Tekre reviewed and corrected for a few errors i made (i cant find it anymore rip, but i did a pretty good job w a few case ending errors). Sivako!

[ahmedmusaadotcom]

Digital Marketing Plan & Ideas for Your Business (Even If You’re Just Getting Started)

Hey there, If you’re a business owner—whether it's a small startup, local shop, or an online brand—you’ve probably heard about digital marketing a lot. But let’s be honest… it can feel overwhelming, right?

No worries. In this blog, I’m going to walk you through a realistic and friendly digital marketing plan, with simple ideas you can start applying today. No jargon, no rocket science—just practical stuff that works.

First Things First: What Is a Digital Marketing Plan?

Think of it as a roadmap for how you’ll promote your business online. It helps you:

Reach the right people

Share the right message

Use the right platforms

And most importantly—grow your business

Step-by-Step Digital Marketing Plan

1. Know Your Audience

Before you post anything or spend a dollar on ads, ask yourself:

Who is my ideal customer?

What's my budget? (Even small budgets can work with the right strategy)

Where do they hang out online (Facebook? Google? Instagram?)

What problems are they facing that my product/service can solve?

✅ Example: If you’re selling handmade soaps, your audience might be people who love organic products and care about skincare.

2. Set Clear Goals

Your goals should be specific. Here are some examples:

What do I want to achieve? (More sales? Brand awareness? Website traffic?)

Get 100 new followers on Instagram in a month

Sell 50 products from your online store

Grow your email list to 500 subscribers

Don’t go in blindly—track everything.

3. Choose the Right Channels

You don’t need to be everywhere—just be where your audience is. Some popular options:

Facebook/Instagram – Great for visuals, storytelling, running ads

Google Search (SEO) – Best for long-term visibility

YouTube – Great for tutorials or product demos

Email Marketing – Amazing for building relationships and repeat sales

4. Create Content That Actually Helps

Content is the heart of digital marketing.

Instead of just saying “Buy this!”, try:

Sharing tips

Posting behind-the-scenes

Answering common questions

Telling stories

✅ Example: If you’re a fitness coach, post simple home workouts or healthy snack ideas. That builds trust, and people will come back for more.

5. Use Ads—but Smartly

Paid ads (like Facebook Ads or Google Ads) can boost your reach fast—but start small. Test different ads, check what works, then scale up.

Tip: Always write ads that talk like your customers. No fancy words needed.

Engage With Your Audience

Don’t just post and disappear. Reply to comments, answer DMs, ask questions, run polls, thank your customers—be human.

People love doing business with brands that feel real and friendly.

Track and Improve

Use free tools like:

Google Analytics (for website)

Meta Insights (for Facebook/Instagram)

Conversion Rate (How many visitors actually buy?)

Mailchimp reports (for emails)

See what’s working. Double down on that. Drop what’s not.

Extra Digital Marketing Ideas

Run a giveaway to grow followers

Collaborate with other small businesses

Start a blog (like this one!)

Offer a limited-time discount

Use storytelling in your captions

Final Thoughts

Digital marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. You just need a clear plan, some creativity, and the patience to try things, learn, and improve.

Even if you start small today, that’s way better than waiting for the “perfect time.”

So take that first step—and if you ever feel stuck, just come back to this guide. You’ve got this!

Quick Recap:

✅ First Things First: What Is a Digital Marketing Plan ✅ Step-by-Step Digital Marketing Plan ✅ Set Clear Goals ✅ Choose the Right Channels ✅Create Content That Actually Helps

✅ Use Ads—but Smartly ✅ Engage With Your Audience ✅ Track and Improve ✅ Extra Digital Marketing Ideas ✅ Final Thoughts

[alkit832]

I'm white and have very little stake in this argument, so please kindly take what I'm saying here with a huge grain of salt, like, the size of the iceburg that sunk the Titanic levels of grain of salt, but I do have a really quick idea I'd like to just stick on with some blue tack stuff real quick, or just ignore me, as I said, I don't really have any importance here, especially since I'm not down in the grit with y'all.

Equal rights means everyone, wether you personally deem them as worthy of those rights or not.

We cannot call rights equal if they have ideological based requirements to access those rights.

There shouldn't be requirements to vote if you want equal voting rights, that's why we removed poll taxes and eugenics based knoledge testing being required to vote.

This goes for all things, housing assistance shouldn't have requirements other than needing housing, food assistantce shouldn't have requirements other than needing food, and medical assistance shouldn't have requirements other than needing medical help.

Tacking on ideoligical requirements just means you're leaving behind people who need help because you deem them "unworthy". Level of education shouldn't matter, skin color shouldn't matter, sexuality shouldn't matter, gender shouldn't matter, and their opinions and ideology shouldn't matter.

And before someone says "well, if we don't tack on these ideological barriers, they'll never learn", think of it like this, someone who needs help and doesn't get it will just be radicalized against you and even more unwilling to learn. If you want them to open up to the idea that everyone should be able to access that assistance and have those rights, you have to show that that means everyone, including them, so even from the, frankly, bullshit thought process of "we must force people to agree with us because we're right and this totally wont backfire or be used for wrong shit later" helping them is the right, and advantagous, thing to do.

Anyway, sorry for kinda highjacking the above post, as I said I have very little skin in this game, but uh... Yeah, that's it, sorry!

"haha look at this red state where everyone is a poor un-educated racist hillbilly hick! they definitely don't deserve human rights! epic leftist OWN!!!"

i see this take a lot and honestly it's extremely fucking disappointing considering most red states do have predominantly poc (black, Hispanic, indigenous) populations there who are also being heavily systemically opressed and actively fight for rights too.

[aparticularbandit]

Loaded God Complex (VI)

Summary: The problem with designing a Game that ends in your death during your most desperate hour is that sometimes things can get better.

…and then you still have to play a Game that ends in your death.

Or: The woman we know as Tsumugi has probably the best birthday of her life at what is probably the worst time to have it.

NOTE: Because this is pre-game, Tsumugi’s name is different. In this, she is primarily referred to as Tsukasa Yuki instead of Shirogane Tsumugi. Despite names you might recognize, every other character in this is an OC. Think of it as a reverse reference; Yuki seeded her scripts and games with references to people she knew and loved. We’re just seeing that in reverse.

Chapter Rating: T. Fic Rating: M for brief nudity.

AO3

previous chapter

“Are you ready?”

Usagi tightens the tie of Yuki’s sailor uniform and pats it twice before stepping back.  “The new batch of actors are all in their starting positions.  Everything’s just waiting on you, Tsukasa-sama.  We won’t start filming until you give the okay.”  She won’t meet Yuki’s eyes.  She’s never been good about meeting Yuki’s eyes.

“I just plain need to fix the first flashback light,” Yuki says, patting down her pleated skirt.  It’s been a few years since she’s worn anything like this – since that Haruhi cosplay Ryoko convinced her to wear.  Or maybe the KyoSaya pair.  No, no, Haruhi came after—

Yuki gives herself a mental shake.  She can’t think about Ryoko right now.  (She can’t think about Ryoko at all.  If she thinks about Ryoko too much, she’ll fail.  She can’t fail.  She started this thing, and she’s going to finish it.  Even if….  Even though….)  Instead, she looks up and offers Usagi the same smile she’s always offered her, ever since she hired her so many years ago.  “K1-B0’s hooked up to the polls?”

“Mmhm.”  Usagi nods.  She flips through a few screens on her Monopad.  “I got the back door working for you.  Tested it a few times just to make sure.  Put another station in that classroom just like you asked, in case you need one faster.”  Her brow furrows.  “You won’t, um, try to use that when someone’s nearby, right?  I put in some stuff that’ll hide it super quick if someone shows up, but—”

“And the final trial room?” Yuki asks, removing her glasses and gently cleaning them with a fold of her shirt.  Then she places them on the tip of her nose and pushes them back up the same way she always does, the way that makes her happiest with herself.  (She's about to be an anime villain, isn’t she?  It’s not her fault that no one caught it.)  “Everything’s set?”

Usagi nods again.  “Yes, Tsukasa-sama.”  She averts her gaze.  “I…I just wanted to say that it’s been…”  She swallows.  “It’s been a real honor working with you this season.”

“You make it sound like I’m going to die, Usa-chan.  I assure you, that just plain isn’t going to happen.”

It’s easy to lie to Usagi.  Harder to lie to Ryoko.

(So she didn’t.  She just didn’t say anything that would make Ryoko want to ask questions, to make her think that anything was different than it normally is.  This is just a Game like any other Game.  That’s all.)

Yuki takes Usagi’s free hand in both of hers and gives it a little squeeze, startling Usagi so much that she nearly drops her Monopad.  “Thank you, Usa-chan,” she says, meeting Usagi’s eyes and giving her the most encouraging smile that she can.  “This season would be too plain without you.  After Mitsuki, I didn’t think we would ever—”

“Thank you, Tsukasa-sama,” Usagi murmurs, cutting her off.  She brushes her long, strawberry blonde hair back out of her face, gaze dropping.  “That means a lot, coming from you.  But....”  Her lips press together.  “Mitsuki—”

“Mitsuki was plainly one of a kind.”  Yuki sighs and drops Usagi’s hand.  Her gaze flicks to the door across from them, the one that will disappear as soon as she walks through it.  Then she takes a deep breath to steady herself.  “I’ll see you on the other side.”

(She won’t, but it’s important to keep up appearances when you want to burn the world down.)

~

Each flashback light directly downloads the script into their victims’ heads.

Sure, the audience will see a general overview of some of the scenes included – the memories that the victims will regain – but they won’t see the script.  K1-B0 will have a system of polls to which he gains access as they reach different points in the story’s progression: who to spend free time with, for instance, or what gifts to give them.  A little bit like playing a visual novel.  There may be some choices, but they don’t really change the overall plot, even if they look like they might.  He’s all about anticipating what people will do once they collectively have control, and after being in so many fandom spaces over the years—

That’s not important.

Yuki doesn’t use the back door immediately.  She can make minor changes here at the beginning, but the bulk of the changes will come later, after the season has so much footage aired that they can’t backtrack anything.  But right now, she needs to make two name changes.

~

There are hundreds of thousands of applicants each year.

They pare them down before auditions to less than a thousand and then set them before a panel of official Team Danganronpa creators.  Yuki has been part of this process for years now, her plain face kept hidden from the potential contestants so that none of them can track her down later.

Applicant 154 doesn’t have anything particularly interesting about him, other than that stupid hat.  He wants to be a detective, but they’d brought back Kyoko during the 50th Anniversary Game.  It’s only been two seasons since then, so it’ll be a hard sale.  But he has a certain look to him.  He fits with the image of the characters she has in mind.

Doesn’t mean he’ll be useful, though.

Yuki tries not to yawn – she hasn’t been sleeping well since moving into her office, but that was inevitable – and on an impulse that she can’t quite explain, she leans forward and asks, “You mentioned loving the detective characters.  Is one of them your favorite?”

“Oh – no, ma’am!”  154 gives a sheepish look but doesn’t turn away.  “I see myself in them a lot more, but…but Saihara Mitsuki was my favorite!  I know she’s one of the newer characters, but…but her relationships with the others, especially Otonashi-san, and then her death scene?  I…I never really got over it, ma’am.  Never really got over her,” he corrects.

Yuki doesn’t say anything else during his audition, but after he leaves, she says, calm and plain as anything, “I want him.”

~

Yuki’s always known what his last name would be, of course, but if she’d put that in the script, she never would have gotten away with it.  Having him say it live means they don’t get a chance to change or correct her.

Then the pianist.

Yuki’s finger hesitates over the keys, but she makes the change anyway.  The viewers will pick up on Saihara, but they won’t know to theorize over Kaede.  That one’s just for the rest of the Team.

Then she takes a final breath, rolls her shoulders, and drops as much of Tsukasa Yuki as she can before handing the now completed first flashback light to Monotaro.  “Make it look like a mistake,” she says.  “Make it look like you plainly screwed up.”

As he scurries off, she steps into the role of Shirogane Tsumugi.  A little earlier than the others, perhaps, but that should be fine.

They’ll all die anyhow.

(She hides the ring in her breast pocket.  It’ll get moved to an inside pocket of Tsumugi’s jacket during the magical girl style transformation sequence.  She won’t forget.  But that’s for late nights and early mornings when she’s hidden away in her room.  It’s not like anyone will see inside of those this season anyway.  She made very sure of that.)

~

At the very beginning, when they meet in the gym, when the Monokubs have screwed everything up, when they aren’t in their proper outfits, when the other victims don’t know why they’re there or what they’re doing, when that first (and only) transformation rips their old lives away in the form of clothes and replaces them with new ones, when that first flashback light goes off—

Tsumugi looks plainly forward, where she knows the camera will be looking (K1-B0 is a gimmick; he can’t be the eyes of the viewers the entire time because the story can’t be left up to fandom control), and pushes her glasses up, the thin Utena ring she’d swiped from Ryoko’s jewelry box glimmering on her middle finger.

(I love you, she thinks.  I just plain love you, and I’m sorry.

You plainly deserve so much better than this.)

((None of them deserve better. That’s the point of the Game.))

[randomaccessmike]

Reading, Writing, but maybe not ‘Rithmetic

Greetings starfighters. It’s time for another edition of “10 Things” worth sharing with you. It’s almost the end of the school year here in the Bluegrass, and my thoughts turn to summer and to my daughter’s impending move to middle school. I’m old. Anyway, I hope your life is just as interesting. Perhaps some of these shares will make it even more so. 10 Things Worth Sharing -I read around 100ish books per year, but as a doctoral student, I’m having to read more. Here are some tips from two experts on how you can read more than you thought possible. -If you’re in grad school, these books will help you get through and maintain your sanity. -Some thoughts on how we can avoid raising machines (hint: let’s stop standardized testing) and raise humans. -I put together some quick resources on Juneteenth that you may find helpful. I know most schools aren’t in session by the time Juneteenth rolls around, but we can’t overlook teaching this important date. -One of my elementary teachers (and Future Shift Fellowship cohort member) created a podcast with her students. Actually, the students did all the work. It’s pretty awesome. -Friend and professor John Nash, Ph.D., has done some amazing work with AI in his classes. In a recent episode of his podcast, he talks about testing AI and what does and doesn’t work. -Fun stuff: if you’re of a certain age, you may remember The Midnight Special. What you may not know is that the show is back, thanks to the official YouTube channel. -Have you ever seen a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio? Here’s your chance. -How Makerspaces in Schools Can Support Student Mental Health -Final thoughts: Daft Punk released a tenth-anniversary edition of Random Access Memories, including what may be the “last Daft Punk song ever” and I’m totally not over it yet. BONUS: As I was compiling this list, I got the notification that you can now provide input on the National Educational Technology Plan. Polls are open for K-12 Educators and Families. Please take some time to let your voice be heard. This is the first time since COVID-19 hit that this important policy document is getting an update. You can access the links to either poll right here. Thanks for reading. The end of the school year means we’re officially in the “dads and grads” gifting season. I’ve put together a couple of book lists for quick and easy gifting. Here’s one for dads and one for grads. Enjoy! Read the full article

[kakusu-shipping]

[gamingmadereality]

alright bet lmao I'll be going down the post in order, just to save myself some time... this is still going to be a textwall though, so strap in Radiation: Sadly I don't have the direct screenshot on this, but the quote is on Bulba and I verified on my copy of Y that Sycamore does, in fact, say this: "Let's talk about Mega Stones briefly." "My theory is that they're special stones irradiated by the light--the energy of the Legendary Pokemon (Yveltal/Xerneas)--fired from the ultimate weapon 3,000 years ago." "And that's what I think they are." "It's even possible that stones like Fire Stones were what turned into these Mega Stones."

Next up, why are they rainbow labradorite? Because golden labradorite (Oregon sunstone / Fire Stones) can look like this:

And rainbow moonstone/rainbow labradorite looks like this:

(Quick side tangent - I actually started this whole business of Poke-theorizing because I was curious about what kind of rocks/minerals Pokemon stuff was based on. I'm actually a rock collector more than a historian or anything, and Oregon sunstone... is pretty distinctive. No other gem gonna do that.)

Japan's feelings on nuclear power:

(I was right about the year, but the poll is a little more limited in scope than I remembered - my bad. Still, the reasoning is largely the same, and this kind of sentiment would've been much more prevalent around 2011 after Fukushima, so XY being released in 2013 would be pretty adjacent to that cultural conversation.)

Godzilla developing from the atomic bomb (more accurately, from the accidental irradiation of a fishing vessel which is shown at the beginning of the original movie, which was a real historical incident - the Daigo Fukuryū Maru, which was irradiated as a result of testing at the Bikini Atoll):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daigo_Fukury%C5%AB_Maru#Media

https://nhm.org/godzilla-living-atomic-bomb https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/godzilla-was-metaphor-hiroshima-hollywood-whitewashed-it-n1236165 (Yes, I'm citing Wikipedia. No, I will not be taking criticism in this matter, this isn't middle school.)

LGPE Mega entries (also on Bulbapedia):

In order to support its flower, which has grown larger due to Mega Evolution, its back and legs have become stronger. (Venusaur)

The overwhelming power that fills its entire body causes it to turn black and creates intense blue flames. (Charizard X)

Its bond with its Trainer is the source of its power. It boasts speed and maneuverability greater than that of a jet fighter. (Charizard Y)

The cannon on its back is as powerful as a tank gun. Its tough legs and back enable it to withstand the recoil from firing the cannon. (Blastoise)

Its legs have become poison stingers. It stabs its prey repeatedly with the stingers on its limbs, dealing the final blow with the stinger on its rear. (Beedrill)

With its muscular strength now greatly increased, it can fly continuously for two weeks without resting. (Pidgeot)

It's adept at precognition. When attacks completely miss Alakazam, that's because it's seeing the future. (Alakazam)

Under the influence of Shellder's digestive fluids, Slowpoke has awakened, gaining a great deal of power–and a little motivation to boot. (Slowbro)

It can pass through other dimensions and appear anywhere. It caused a stir one time when it stuck just one leg out of a wall. (Gengar)

Its child has grown rapidly, thanks to the energy of Mega Evolution. Mother and child show off their harmonious teamwork in battle. (Kangaskhan)

With its vaunted horns, it can lift an opponent 10 times heavier than itself and fly about with ease. (Pinsir)

Although it obeys its instinctive drive to destroy everything within its reach, it will respond to orders from a Trainer it truly trusts. (Gyarados)

The power of Mega Evolution has completely restored its genes. The rocks on its body are harder than diamond. (Aerodactyl)

Psychic power has augmented its muscles. It has a grip strength of one ton and can sprint a hundred meters in two seconds flat! (Mewtwo X)

Despite its diminished size, its mental power has grown phenomenally. With a mere thought, it can smash a skyscraper to smithereens. (Mewtwo Y)

Now compare these to 'the scary ones' (Alola Dex entries) for the same species:

It tries to take the lives of anyone and everyone. It will even try to curse the Trainer who is its master! (Gengar, Ultra Sun)

Mega Evolution also affects its brain, leaving no other function except its destructive instinct to burn everything to cinders. (Gyarados, Sun)

When it Mega Evolves, it becomes more vicious than ever before. Some say that's because its excess of power is causing it pain. (Aerodactyl, Moon)

Are they watered down? Yeah, kinda. But these are already watered-down compared to the ones everyone really talks about:

Its red claws and the tips of its tail are melting from high internal temperatures that are painful to Houndoom itself. (Houndoom, Ultra Sun)

The excess energy from Mega Evolution spilled over from its mouth, breaking its jaw. It spews endless blizzards. (Glalie, Sun)

Mega Evolution fuels its brutality, and it may even turn on the Trainer who raised it. It's been dubbed "the blood-soaked crescent." (Salamence, Moon)

And those, quite simply, are not available Pokemon in LGPE. Again, the biggest exception here is Gengar, which... well, received some unique treatment in the Alola games in general:

Should you feel yourself attacked by a sudden chill, it is evidence of an approaching Gengar. There is no escaping it. Give up. (Gengar, Sun)

Even your home isn't safe. Gengar will lurk in whatever dark corner of a room it can find and wait for its chance to catch its prey. (Gengar, Ultra Moon)

Gyarados and Aerodactyl, meanwhile, were already noted as vicious predators in many, many games before this (with special emphasis on Gyarados' capacity for destruction).

And last, but not least:

That would equivalently be (again according to Bulbapedia) Slateport City. Who works there? Captain Stern, whose submarine runs on Infinity Energy using the Devon Parts in ORAS - the same stuff Mega Pokemon use, and developed directly from research by Devon into the Ultimate Weapon, per a quote by Mr. Stone (the head of Devon):

"Let me first take us back 3,000 years, to the days when this story began… There was a great war at that time, in a region far from here. That war was finally brought to an end by a weapon created by one man. And what energy source could power such a dreadful weapon? Do you know? You see… It ran on the life energy of Pokémon. The energy that could be gained by the sacrifice of so many Pokémon… There are surely many people who would call it reprehensible. But my grandfather, the president of Devon before me, said this… "Couldn't we use the energy to improve the lives of people and Pokémon?" And so he developed our greatest creation here at the Devon Corporation: Infinity Energy. Thanks to Infinity Energy, Devon was able to become one of the top industries in Hoenn and developed into the giant you see today. You may be surprised to learn that the Devon Parts you once recovered for us were in fact parts of a motor that would make it possible to power a submarine using Infinity Energy. It was not long before we began to expand our attempts to further human development. Next, we moved into exploring space. The rockets launched from the Mossdeep Space Center using our Infinity Energy… They are the true results of our dreams, our passion, and our technology. But never did we imagine they could end up as the best hope for saving our world."

Obviously, the only other type of submarine power source is nuclear.

One last thing I want to add - that relation between nuclear power and 'life-force' also doesn't come out of nowhere. When radiation was first popularized in the early 1900's, Japan treated it as a living thing, which was intangible and invisible yet had profound effects on the world around it, much like a kami:

IIRC, the very negative Mega-Evo dex entries in SM/USUM was because some people at gamefreak that really disliked the mega evolution gimmick were tasked with writing dex entries for the game, so they actively and maliciously slandered the Mega-Evos with the whole "This kills the 'Mon, and if you do this you're a monster" retoric.

That is also notable in that the later Let's Go games, which had all the Gen 1 megas, but with much more light hearted dex entries. They were written by someone who didn't hate mega evolution.

OH MY GOD YES I heard of that story too and if it's true then that's so fucking funny because that level of complete and utter SPITE for a gimmick is TRULY UNMATCHED IN ALL OF POKEMON LORE

[utahlive]

No episode today (i have a test i gotta study for booo) :( However in usual “no episode today” style, I’ve got some behind the scenes stuff! (+ answering asks). I’m really glad you guys like hearing about this part of the blog :D

It’s a little long so I’m putting it under the cut

So my latest method of answering asks is to write a quick outline/reply and save it in drafts (as opposed to what I was doing, which was copy pasting asks into the notes app and writing replies there. dont ask whats wrong with me; I dont know). Anyway this specific comic had its first ‘script’ (shoutout to @/ghostburface for the ask)

I usually draw out what I imagine happening and then add text to hit the points im aiming for, but I did the opposite in this one. I had a lot of trouble figuring out the actual visuals for this one

(For the record I tried to find the original price of the glasses on the las Nevadas merch page but it wasn’t there. I remember losing my mind over the price tho)

attempt/draft 2 (sort of) since I wasn’t sure about the layout. I was really hoping to just have three panels (as you can see by the “if 3 that would be epic” note above)

And then I transferred it digitally! I did go over the script in DMs with my friend so it ended up as it did I did see one person pointing out the whole “rose colored glasses” thing (shout out to you fr !!). I had a lot of meaning I was going for with this one but I have a hard time finding a middle ground between “so obscure its not there” and “way too obvious”

I also wanted to answer some asks (as per usual :3 because I love talking with you guys)

I wish he would grow it out!! However as anyone who’s gone from short to long hair... the awkward phase is NOT pretty. I did hear on one of his streams he might cut it when the EP comes out rather than the album. because he’s a coward (but I can’t blame him)

who doesnt feel like ripping up their pillow though, amiright fellas? Shout out to all the utahlive fictives out there (I’ve heard of reported sightings). Would love to talk to you guys some day <3 It still baffles my mind that this blog leaves any sort of lasting impression on people (for reals though, I hope you guys are ok!!)

this one isnt directed at me but I just think its funny you say this because summer 2022 I went to the Winchester house with my friends, but we all decided it wasn’t worth the price so we just checked out the gift shop and walked around the outside for about two hours. it’s actually very pretty! super cool architecture

this one is under the “what would you recommend I get at the gas station”

It’s also not a question but I think it would be funny to let you know I wrote and queued that post (and the other one posted that day) at like 5am I don’t know how I missed it because I usually check my posts the next morning before they get posted I know it’s bad I’m trying real hard to get my sleep schedule to be normal (this post is sponsored by melatonin tablets)

GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY 🤺🤺🤺

I assume you’re talking about the mcytblr sexyman poll?? Im already making predictions and bets in my head on this one but Ill be fighting for MY meowmeows till my last breath

[whumpsday]

Whump of March 2023!

i decided i'm going to experimentally make a post at the end of each month going over my favorite whump that was new & prominent that month. as a general rule i'll mostly only include series that have had at least 2 updates in the month and started fairly recently.

so, here's some AMAZING series to check out! and yes it's mostly vampires because it's my rec list and i love vampires. 🧛

-

Several new series by @zillastar13, all of which are included at the same link. Personal favorites are Our Man Flint, where a vampyr hunter grapples with being turned into a vampyr himself; Eden, a pet whump story where the whumpee goes stockholm fast; and Blood Sacrifices (18+), about a vampyr who poses as a god and very much abuses that position.

Things End | People Change by @whumpcloud, about a vampire whumper who's been tortured by hunters finally at the mercy of his former victim. (my favorite trope obviously)

An Earthly Cosmological Redshift by @quietly-by-myself, about a vampire mafia underboss and his lover find themselves in a dismal situation.

Poisoned Ivy by @whumpshaped, academia whump! As if whump couldn't get any more harrowing, now it involves being forced to do schoolwork. (Under the Bell Jar, about a tiny whumpee waking up trapped and alone, was also just completed!) This is one of the only two non-vampire entries on this list.

Blood Bag AU by @emmettnet, a fresh vampiric twist with a widely-beloved (now bloodbag) whumpee and his vampiric carewhumper. He's also put out some amazing art this month!

A New Beginning by @a-crumb-of-whump, about a vampire pet whumpee recovering with the now-grown child of his whumpers, isn't really new (though it's also had some great updates this month). But its poll-based spinoff Carlos & Bailey: An Interactive Story is! Now you get 2 vampire pet whumpees.

Magnanimous Moonrise & Savage Sunset (18+) by @not-a-space-alien, about a vampire being experimented on for weapons testing and the hunters who take pity on him, is in a similar boat. It's had some great updates this month along with a brand-new interactive adventure, Savage Sunset CYOA!

Pick Your Poison by @thebluejayswhump, about someone who gets lost in the woods and increasingly strange things occurring while an uncanny sense of dread rises, is another interactive adventure! The second of two non-vampire things on here.

Some quick picks from ongoing series that have made appearances this month:

Emil's Story by @obsessedwithegos (and animatic!)

The Scry by @deluxewhump

The Enclave by @lumpofwhump

Born to Live by @whitehairandblood (also a whump artist!)

General Kieran by @whumpycries

i've put out some stuff this month too!

And whump some artists not previously mentioned who have put out some amazing work this month! Check them out for whump art!

@befuddled-calico-whump (art tag)

@terriblywhumpy (art tag)

@dontworrycomics (art tag)

@whump-blog (art tag)

I also want to thank @amonthofwhump for hosting the March Trope-A-Thon! It was a wonderful writing event that livened up the last days of winter and I can't wait to participate again next year!

Happy reading! :)