#Using voice messages and such on discord so that I can still chat is something I didn't expect anyone to do

[iamamythologicalcreature]

2024 Round-Up and Review

2024, aka The Year I Discovered I Love Drawing Baz With Long Hair.

But also.

Honestly?

(Yeah, I'm going to be honest. Yeah, it's going to be a long post. Buuuut it's my blog, so here we go!)

This past year was rough. Really rough. In many ways as difficult as 2020, and in some ways, even harder than that. I lost my specialized medical care after 2023, and my health tanked in 2024. Medication changes, chronic illness/pain, and the hardest thing of all was... this idea I seemed to have that if I could just fake it enough, I could make it. Like I could deny my disability into non-existence. Pretend it away.

Instead, I ended up pushing myself past the breaking point, with the worst possible timing ever.

And THEN (when I desperately needed to stop and rest), I packed up my life and moved across a continent. (I hadn't moved since college. So I thought I'd move and it'd be done. That was wrong. Ahem. I'm still moving in...)

But the GOOD that happened last year came in the form of friendship. That's not just a line. My friends were my lifeline. To those friends who stuck it out with me even when things were far from easy, thank you. You are the most incredible people I know, and your friendship has given me reasons and opportunities to feel joy and hope where I might not otherwise have done.

Okay. So. The ROUND-UP is... *drum roll*... Under the cut!

At first I was a bit bummed to see I'd only finished 9 pieces of art during the entire year. But since I am being honest... I know I did my best, and so clearly the best I could do last year was nine pieces of art. So many of those pieces were attached to amazing projects, though! I got to do several collaborations with some truly amazing human beings, and I also got to run my very first fest for the fandom! So I'm calling it good.

Now, finally, the art links:

(I won't be including works in progress on this list, as I still hope to finish them at some point XD)

January: Oh my God, January. I didn't finish anything in January, but I worked on a lot.

February:

Tis better to give than to receive - This was my contribution to Erotic Grope Fest, and it was my first time doing anything NSFW. It's pretty tame, all things considered, but I think it still fit the mission. Also ended up posting a high-res version of this on AO3. Because. I mean. Come on. XD

March:

Three lost boys (found) - I started out as a beta reader for @mooncello's inspired take on Neverland, but by the time I received chapter 2 I was very nearly begging to be able to illustrate it. I'd had this particular image in my mind after reading the matching scene in chapter one, but had tried to suppress the inspiration. Silly me. I'm so glad I gave in. This is a favorite of mine.

April:

Keeping Neverland - (Technically posted on Tumblr in May, but on AO3 in April, so...) Illustrating @mooncello's writing again, and this one was a challenge! But one I wholeheartedly embraced. I wanted to echo Baz's journey as an artist with my illustrations, so where I used pencil sketching for the chapter one illustration, I went for a finished charcoal drawing, here. Digital charcoal, it turns out, can be just as difficult as the real deal. Slightly less messy, though. (I'm very proud of this finished piece.) Also where I continued my exploration of Baz's long hair. XD

May:

A rough sketch for a rough night - It feels a little off to be posting this sketch in my art round-up, considering the emotional inspiration, but truth be told I ended up liking this sketch quite a lot. I also learned a couple things, from both the events of that night (not my finest moment) and the drawing of the sketch (hey putting my feelings into art is a good idea). So I think ultimately this little sketch deserves to be included on this list.

June:

Teenage Dream - I posted this on Tumblr in June, for my birthday, but I actually did the art at the beginning of the year for the Valentine's Day exchange on the Carry On server. I rarely finish anything to this degree, and am immensely proud of it. That said, I ended up using it for so many things last year, I'd be okay to not look at it again for awhile. (I called it "Teenage Dream" because it made me think of a daydream Baz might have had as a teenager - now made real with Simon by his side. Cause I'm a sucker for their romance >.> )

Illustration from The Eternal Life of Baz Pitch - So I'm not sure how I got lucky enough to earn a special preview of @monbons's story, but I knew I couldn't read it in pieces. So she let me read the whole thing. It was very cool. I read it all at once I think? And when I was done I crashed Monica's DMs to yell at her about it. But then I drew this picture. (While I was chatting with her, even, and casually asking her about cherry blossoms so I could draw them the way she imagined them. It was very fun.) Now we're friends. XD (Check out the fic - now posted in entirety!)

July: Uh. Migraines. Just migraines. I had to pull back from the fandom a lot, and stopped participating in a lot of online activities. Boo.

August: Sketched concepts for CORB, and packed.

September: I moved over 4000 miles.

October: Everything I worked on in October ended up debuting in...

November:

Carry On Through the Ages! Okay, as stressed and sick as I was, I have no regrets about taking on COTTA. It was AMAZING. So much wonderful content! It was SO GOOD to contribute to the fandom, and to do that with history geeking? Dream come true. I also dipped into my previous area of expertise (picture manipulation) and did some cursed paintings to promote it. Mona Baz, Stormchaser Gothic, Mademoiselle Wellbelove, and Iconic Icon Simon.

A Prophesied Rivalry - Another dream come true was collaborating with @monbons for COTTA! I loved talking ideas with her, and she was so supportive when I hit road blocks, too. I love Ancient Egyptian art, and this was as much a love letter to that ancient art style as it was to my beloved Snowbaz. (I did a ridiculous amount of research to do this piece.) (And now I have Egyptian Baz and Simon in my new apartment. Extreme Bonus.)

Snow on Ice Illustration - Getting paired with @leithillustration for CORB was like winning the creative collaboration lottery. Not only did they grasp my concept from the get-go, but they've taken it in a creative and exciting direction. Also, we've become good friends, which is the very best possible outcome for a collaboration. (You should check out their story if you haven't already!)

(Snow-kitty also got very sick at the end of November, which halted a lot of my progress on some WIPs. It was scary for a bit, but I am so happy to say he has fully recovered.)

December:

Snowflake Exchange presents More Than a Footnote - I kind of love that I started the year illustrating one of @mooncello's stories, and ended it with an illustration from another! I was so excited to pull Heath's name from the proverbial hat for the exchange. I'd wanted to draw something from More Than a Footnote since the first time Heath told me about it. I completely love Dev and Niall at this point, so I hope to play with them some more in the future! (BTW Heath I think you're one of my muses hope that's okay XD)

SO. Yeah, the year was often a hard one, but a lot of good happened in spite of all the bad. The good was even more valuable for daring to happen in the midst of so much blah. (And boy howdy, did I get a lot of material to learn from.)

In 2025, I think I'm going to focus more on accepting my limits. Like, I can still work on improving my health and functionality, but I really need to try and determine when I need to stop. That has its own learning curve, but I have to start somewhere! I'm also working on vision therapy, which I'm doing on my own since I can't afford the out-of-pocket expense. Still... So far, so good. Fingers crossed!

Creatively, I think 2025 will be the year where I get to work on projects I started in 2023 and 2024, and I find that quite exciting because those are ideas I genuinely loved. I also hope to bring some other ideas I've had for a very long time to life. (Finally.) I hope, hope, hope! And hey, if I get to do more collabs? That would be awesome, too. (Carry On Through the Ages will be returning, as well!)

Thank you to these lovely people for tagging me in on this round-up, and for remembering me despite my frequent absence!

@emeryhall, @rimeswithpurple, @prettygoododds, @artsyunderstudy, @noblecorgi, @alexalexinii, @best--dress, @j-nipper-95, @roomwithanopenfire, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @imagineacoolusername, @mooncello, @whatevertheweather, @thewholelemon, @youarenevertooold, @monbons

And to everyone who is still tagging me on wipsday posts, other things, commented, any of that! Thank you. It means a lot to me. Hello's and How-Do's and general well-wishes to:

@drowninginships, @aristocratic-otter, @that-disabled-princess, @leithillustration, @bookish-bogwitch, @theimpossibledemon, @fiend-for-culture, @bazzybelle, @ic3-que3n, @blackberrysummerblog, @run-for-chamo-miles, @shrekgogurt, @confused-bi-queer, @hushed-chorus, @cutestkilla, @skeedelvee, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @wellbelesbian, @facewithoutheart, @ileadacharmedlife,, @raenestee, @supercutedinosaurs, @fatalfangirl, @palimpsessed, @martsonmars, @brilla-brilla-estrellita, @theearlgreymage

And anyone else who actually read my extremely long post. XD

[icewindandboringhorror]

I occasionally wish to reach out to old friends/acquaintances I haven't spoken to since high school/some other even earlier time in my life, but I have SOOO little social energy even for required tasks (like making dr phone calls or etc), I never have any leftover for extra ones, and it would be very odd to message someone I haven't spoken to in like 5 years out of the blue but then take 4 entire months to respond back lol.. My natural curiosity with nostalgia/collecting details of the past/etc. (literally if I were born a little earlier I would definitely do scrapbooking or something lol) is very strong, but, alas, not strong enough to beat out the Social Issues Demons apparently

[aquasoftware]

YOU GOT ME LOOKING FOR ATTENTION!!

Cw: Discord mod! Satoru, Kpop! fanboy satoru, fem! reader, fluff to smùt, Satoru lives with his parents, hcs, e-sēx/phone sēx, mūtual màsturbàtīon, long distance, lots of petnames, he calls you kitten (1), + ML

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who spends way too much time on discord servers, he’s got notifs consistently blowing up on his computer which drives his parents insane from having the racket memorized. 

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who joins a server for every group, and he’s a discord mod in four. He shoos his parents out of the basement when they advise him to get a real job.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who’s the guy who posts fancams with lovesick captions like “I’m on my knees for Chaeyoung again. 😍” 

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who has a custom emoji reaction for every mood. He owns lightsticks and photocards with them displayed on a glass shelf like prized possessions.

Bonus: He still brags about having McDonald’s BTS bags in general chat too.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who meets you through a kpop fan server he’s in, It started with a random reply to your message about the worst kpop songs. You clowned the instrumental ‘Sticker’ by nct 127 which led to him writing paragraphs on how it’s the best kpop songs to exist.

(of course he likes sticker it’s chatoic just like him.)

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who slides in your dms after the small banter, especially after seeing a picture of you in the selfies channel.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who sees the “Dms open!” Sticker In your bio and uses the stan list you posted in intros to his advantage hitting you with a “yo, u lowkey got taste” eventually ending up chatting for 4 hours about your ultimate biases, kdramas, and conspiracy theories about choreo symbolism. He calls you lovey dovey nicknames like “Pretty girl,” and “cutie,” but adds a lil winky face that seems very intentional…

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who sends you memes regularly, you wake up to 60 unread messages. All memes. All chaotic. Some are thirst traps of idols with stupid little “me when I see u” captions. 

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who flirts with you all the time at first it’s subtle—he calls you his “bias wrecker.” As a joke Then it’s voice notes of him humming your fave song in a deep voice that makes you question what his whimpers sound like.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who sends you packages of snacks he’d think you’d like from japan.

“This one always makes me think of you, probably tastes as sweet as you too.. wait, oh… not like that..”

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who eventually gets close enough to call you, it’s awkward at first. It doesn't last long with his typical charisma though, his voice is deeper than expected, teasing, alluring. He calls you ��Baby” jokingly, but your stomach flips. You both giggle the entire time, doing karaoke, watching different shows together and don’t sleep until your time zones force you to.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who one day hears your shaky breathing paired with small moans and stops mid sentence about a new group debut in confusion. He's talking fast, all excited until you go unusually quiet. Then he hears it. Soft, yet heavy breaths. The kind you don’t make unless you’re doing something intimate. His voice pauses mid-sentence. “Wait… are you okay?”

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who eventually catches on that his online bestfriend is playing with her sweet cunt, so he shoots the obvious question “You touchin’ yourself Y/n?” He’s shocked for half a second. Then smug, talking low. “Awh, I feel so flattered..” The teasing tone doesn’t hide how hard he’s breathing now too.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who gets cocky when you don’t answer and says “You can tell me, you don’t gotta be shy.” He’s biting back a moan, palming himself through his sweats. “You can admit it. You want me to talk you through it, don’t you?” He beams behind the screen already knowing the answer to his own question.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who when you admit it he finally takes his poor throbbing cock out of his sweats masturbating with you. The sound of your moans drives him crazy. He’s got one hand on his long veiny shaft, the other gripping the phone tighter every time your voice cracks. “Nghh, you sound so fucking pretty. Wish I could see that adorable face right now.” The call turns filthy fast—panting, loads of breathy praise, and crying out each other’s names.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who talks you through your orgasm He guides you with tender groans, “That’s it, kitten… rub your clit just like that… mmph, you close? Lemme hear it, you can be loud f’me..” And when you cum, he does too, shooting thick ribbons across his expensive keyboard; gasping your name like a prayer, hips stuttering into his fist.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who has the prettiest whimpers, so loud he hopes he doesn’t wake his parents he still lives with. His head falls back in the gaming chair, mouth parted with high-pitched whines and desperate curses he muffles himself with a hoodie sleeve. “Shittt, hahh—hope, no one heard me” But he’s a little too far gone to care anyway.

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who secretly craves having phone sex again with you. He replays your moans in his head like a broken record. Nearly texting “What are we?” But proceeds to play it cool, immediately deleting it, instead sending “Missed your voice, pretty girl. <3”

Kpop fanboy! Satoru who’s wrapped around your finger. ❤︎

Dividers/boarder creds | toastray

Note | Lmk if I should turn this into a full fic, or send a request based off of this.

I appreciate reblogs, comments, and likes, THANK YOU!!

[starlightrosess]

˚₊⋆｡°✩₊ /whisper: I love you

summary: You and your boyfriend Choso log into Sins of Valor for another raid night—only to stumble into a chaotic, endearing guild that might just become your new online home.

word count: 2.3k

tags: fluff, modern setting, mmorpg, raid mechanics, online friendships, light humor, voice chat banter, slice of life

notes: Lots of MMORPG/raid terminology is going to be used in this fic!! If you don’t have any idea what something means, feel free to ask and I can explain! Sins of Valor is heavily based on Final Fantasy XIV, so expect terms like “glamour,” “pull,” “tank buster,” “ready check,” and more.

credits: @strangergraphics-archive for dividers

➽ CHAPTER ONE

"Ready Check?"

‎‎‎‎➤ THE BUS RIDE HOME SMELLS LIKE BURNT OIL AND CHEAP COLOGNE. You lean your head against the window, watching the city fly past you as you listen to your favorite music in your earbuds. You're running on four hours of sleep and a half finished sandwich you had three hours ago. Soon, you'll be home and at your computer. Ready to log into your newest obsession, Sins of Valor.

Sins of Valor is a popular MMORPG known for its hard raids and welcoming community. Not to mention the story for the game is actually amazing, worth playing through unlike other MMOs. Ever since the servers of your last favorite MMO shut down, your boyfriend Choso and you have been trying to find a new one to sink your teeth into. That's when you came across Sins of Valor. Ever since you started playing it a few months ago, you haven't been able to stop. Somehow catching up to the endgame content within those short months.

Now it's all you can think about, while you work, while you cook dinner, while you hang out with irl friends. Sins of Valor has infected your brain, and honestly it feels like a problem with how much you think about it. You wonder what kind of outfits you can make to match with Choso, or watch videos on the newest raid's coming out, or try hunting down cool weapons or figure out the best gear for each class.

The bus stopping at that familiar stop takes you away from your thoughts. You quickly grab your stuff and leave the bus, giving the driver a quiet thank you as you do. You then walk into your apartment building and walk up the stairs to yours.

Your apartment greets you in silence. The same dark room. The same desk light, left on. Same hoodie tossed on the back of your chair and the pile of dirty clothes left on the floor that you have yet to get to. This used to feel so lonely a few years back, but knowing someone is already waiting for you makes it less so.

You boot up your PC, clicking through the login screen and watching as certain apps and programs boot up on start. Discord being one of them, you already have a few messages from your favorite person. You smile as you click on his DM's.

ch0s0: you home yet ch0s0: found a raid group that needs another person ch0s0: saved the spot for you, if you still wanna run it

You smile before typing away a reply.

you: be there in 5, work sucked. ch0s0: vc?

And before you know it, you hear the familiar ring of a discord call play through your headphones as you throw them on. You answer and then quickly start clicking away to load up the game and log in. You hear the soft background music of the main city play as you see Choso's character sitting on the edge of the fountain. The spot you always log out at and in. His character is wearing a matching outfit to yours, a fox-patterned kimono with a kitsune mask sitting at the side of his face. His character has pure white eyes and dark fluffy hair, two spike pigtails poke out at the top of his head. His character has light gray skin and long ears, he is an undead elf.

Your character was a fox race known as beastkin. There were tons of variants for it, cat people, dog people, bunny people, the list goes on. You were also wearing the same outfit as him, but your kitsune mask covered the face of your character instead.

"Hey," you say into the mic

"Hey," he replies softly. "You sound tired."

You chuckle softly, lord knows you are. Retail hell is real, and you find yourself wondering how common sense isn't as common every single day. You simply give him a hum in reply before Choso speaks up again.

"Let me send you that party invite for the raid."

You see the words "ch0so has invited you to a party!" pop up in the middle of the screen, you quickly accept and see the party list full of 8 peoples usernames pop up on the side of your HUD. The party chat is already going crazy with everyone tying there before one name in particular says something that catches your attention.

satoruwu: oh! satoruwu: is this the person you were waiting on ch0s0? ch0s0: yeah. satoruwu: perfect!! lets load into the raid then~

Your screen then darkens while the raid location loads in. Everyone is at the edge of a round battlefield, floating platforms and fractured sky pieces decorate the outside of the raid spot. The music softly transitions from the calm city music to the upbeat boss music. The boss is already standing in the middle of the battlefield, ready for the tank to force agro onto it. The chat then goes wild as you all load in.

[RAID: ★Tank★ Nanam1e has joined the party.] [RAID: ★DPS★ GetLowGeto has joined the party.] [RAID: ★Tank★ Dokt0rShok0 has joined the party.] [RAID: ★Healer★ Tea4T1me has joined the party.] [RAID: ★DPS★ OniBabe69 has joined the party.] [RAID: ★DPS★ satoruwu has joined the party.] [RAID: ★Healer★ ch0s0 has joined the party.] [RAID: ★DPS★ YOU have joined the party.]

satoruwu: hello helloooo~ 😘 you: o/ ch0s0: o7 GetLowGeto: oh we found replacements for milk and crit?👀 Nanam1e: Don’t scare them off in the first five seconds. Dokt0rShok0: LMAO too late satoruwu: actually forgot about this. satoruwu: would be easier if y’all join our discord—sending link now

A server invite pops up in party chat.

✧･ﾟ: Last Save Point :･ﾟ✧ — Join?

Choso hesitates, but you join immediately. Your eyes scanning the discord until you spot six people sitting in a VC titled "RAID OR DIE". You chuckle at the name before speaking to Choso.

"I'm going to join their VC, gonna be easier for call-outs on raid mechanics." Choso hums in reply, and you both join the VC.

Inside, it's loud.

Satoruwu's voice is unmistakable, he is already teasing someone else in the group about dying last pull. Dokt0rShok0 is already half asleep, you can hear her snoring a bit. Tea4T1me is yelling about food buffs, and GetLowGeto is explaining Phase 2 of the boss fight to everyone.

Your screen blinks, a ready check window pops up.

“Pulling in 5,” Nanam1e says.

"WAI-WAI-WAIT!!" Satoruwu shouts, causing you to immediately turn your headphones volume down.

"What." Nanam1e replies, clearing annoyed.. does he even like playing with these guys?

"Welllll, we don't know the newbies names! They don't know ours either! Might as well introduce ourselves to avoid confusion." He explains. Nanam1e lets out a sigh.

"I'll go first! I'm Satoruwu, but my real name is Satoru Gojo," he says, and you swear you can hear him wink behind the mic.

"Full name, just like that? Do you have no internet safety??" Nanam1e says. Gojo just laughs in reply. GetLowGeto also chuckles before going next.

"I'm GetLowGeto in game, but you'll either hear me called Suguru or Geto. Full name is just that" He replied, Nanam1e let out another annoyed groan. He goes next.

"Nanam1e in game. Call me Nanami, that's all you need to know. See, is that so hard?" He said, talking to the other two at the last sentence. You hear a yawn before the next person speaks up, a feminine voice.

"Dokt0rShok0 in game, you can just simply call me Shoko. I only raid for the cool tank drops." You chuckle, honestly glad to hear another female voice here. That's when the only other female speaks up after Shoko.

"I'm Tea4Time, you can call me Utahime though. I'm probably one of the few normal people in this guild.." she says. You hear a low chuckle before the last person introduces himself.

"OniBabe69. Im one of the not normal people she's referring too. You can call me Toji babes" He replies, and again.. you swear you hear another wink behind the mic. Choso lets out an annoyed grunt before speaking up,

"Choso, same as my username," he says

"That's your real name?" Geto asks

"Yeah." He replied. There are a few moments of silence before you speak up, telling the group your name!

"Now can we start the raid? I'd like to be done before midnight. Got work in the morning." Nanami says, annoyed.

"Sureee" Gojo replies, then that same ready check pops up on your screen again.

After hours of full party wipes, the boss finally goes down, exploding into a blaze of light (that honestly blinds you in your dark room). Text pops up onto your screen:

Victory! Raid Complete. Loot Unlocked.

There are a few moments of silence before a loud yell breaks out in the VC from Toji.

"LETS FUCKING GOOOO-"

"Andddd he's screaming again.." Shoko mutters. You let out a laugh at this. You then pan your camera, now actually being able to get a good look at everyone's characters as they all crowd around the chest in the middle, rolling on the loot inside.

Geto's avatar is a tall elven female, her long blonde hair and robes flowing behind her as she walks. She has bright, glowing golden tattoos that decorate her skin. She looks nothing like the guy calmly thanking everyone in the VC and checking the loot. Not that you know what Geto looks like, but from his personality and voice you never would have expected it.. But at the same time it also fits.

"You rollin' on the staff, Shoko? You mentioned you wanted it for your healer," He asks

Shoko, the secondary tank, lounges near the edge. Her character is a human and has slick black hair that's cut into a bob, piercings, and heavy armor that still somehow looks lazy. You think it's because of the smoking emote she is doing right now.. You didn't even know that was an emote in the game??

"I'm passing," she says, yawning. "Too much work to level that class when my tank is already max level."

Utahime's character looks like a cottagecore dream. She is a cat Beastkin. She wears a big sun hat, flower patterned dress, and she's currently useing her parasol emote while she waits for everyone to roll on the loot.

"You two did good," she says. "Fill in parties can be a mess, but you actually listened." You gave a shy chuckle.

"Unlike some people" Nanami cuts in. His character is a human and has short blonde hair thats slicked to the side. He wears these interesting looking glasses and has hazel eyes. His character is sporting some large but nice looking heavy armor. Little do you know but he looks almost exactly like his character in real life. Something the other guild members who know what he looks like tease him about.

"Look its not my fault you walked on top of me with your tank buster!" Toji shots back. His character is a demon, large horns sprout from the sides of his head and a long tail from his lower back. His outfit.. if you can even call it that is very minimal. He has a top that barly covers anything and looks like a ripped shirt and his pants are shorts that cling too his body tightly. His character is currently flexing right next to the loot chest.

"You where out of position and the reason we wiped that time." Nanami shot back.

Gojo slides up next to you. His character is a celestial, with small wings for ears and large white wings on his back. He has bright blue eyes and fluffy white hair. Now his outfit, doesnt feel like it belongs in this game but somehow still works. He is in a beach shirt, flip flops, white swim trunks and a lei. He also has round sunglasses sitting on top of his head.

"You two always match?" He asks.

"Sorta" You say with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I usually match my girlfriend," Choso says.

"Girlfriend?" Toji says, now distracted from his argument with Nanami.

"Yeah!" you respond happily.

"For real? For how long?" Gojo asks curiously.

"Hmm, about two years now? We met in another MMO before it shut down." You explain.

"Shiii, they even have matching discord bios and icons," Shoko says. Your cheeks heat up.

"Damn, that's cool. Have you met in real life yet?" Gojo asked.

"Yeah! A couple of times over the years," You respond, why where they so curious?

"Man, that's wild," Geto says, "MMO love story. Kinda jealous not gonna lie."

"Right?" Gojo chimes in, "Kinda wanna find myself a gamer girlfriend or something."

"You'd scare them off in less than five seconds." Utahime teases.

"HEY—Yeah no you're probably right.." Gojo laughs before he suddenly stops as he realizes something. "Wait, how long have you two even been playing? I don’t think I’ve seen you in any of the usual guild circles.”

You glance at Choso's character who is still just standing next to you.

"Well, we're not in one yet. Kinda just been playing solo and with each other til we found a group that fit." You explain.

"Wait for real? You two cleared this raid and don't even have a guild?" Toji asks

“That’s insane,” Shoko mutters. “Y’all are cracked for no reason.”

“Honestly,” Nanami adds, sounding actually impressed for once.

“You guys should just join ours,” Gojo says, suddenly very serious. “I mean, if you're vibing with us.”

“Toji can be a lot,” Utahime says immediately. “But we’re mostly normal.”

“Hey!” Toji yells.

“We could use more consistent raiders anyway,” Geto chimes in. “And it’d be cute having the first couple of Last Save Point in here.”

Choso chuckles softly. “First couple, huh?”

“Don’t act like you’re not into it,” Gojo teases.

You smile. This game didn’t just give you a new obsession—it might’ve just given you a new digital home.

You glance at Choso’s character. “What do you think?”

“I’m down if you are,” he says.

“Then it’s settled!” Gojo shouts. “Welcome to Last Save Point, newbies!”

And that’s how you found the group you’d end up playing with every night.

masterlist || next chapter

[floral-incantation]

Is the Sofia the First fandom… slipping away?

This fandom means the world to me. It’s more than just a place to share art or ships—it’s where I found friends, laughter, and a little corner of magic in the chaos of everyday life. But lately, the tags feel quieter. The Discord servers that used to buzz with chatter about Amber’s sharp wit or James’s clumsy charm now feel almost empty, like a castle after the celebrations have ended.

I miss the interactions with everyone. The late-night Discord chats that turned into mini celebrations whenever someone shared a new theory about Miranda’s past or posted another meme about Baileywick’s quiet heroism. I miss seeing the tags filled with debates over Amber’s redeeming moments, or people sharing how much James’s antics made them laugh. Those moments felt special because they brought us all together, and I really do miss that warmth and excitement.

I know people are busy, and things naturally fade—fandoms aren’t immune to time. Life happens, priorities change, friendships can drift. Still, the suddenness with which people disappeared and the way some friends blocked me without warning has left a kind of ache I never expected. Sometimes I wonder what happened—was it something I did or didn’t do? There haven’t been explanations, just the silence that settled in its place. Their absence feels like cracks running through stained glass: the colors are still beautiful, but the pieces don’t fit the same way anymore.

I’m not trying to center this on myself, though I know I’m sharing how it feels from here. I just want to speak for everyone who has ever felt that chill, who has come back to the tags and found less and less of the community that used to be there. This fandom isn’t just my story; it’s ours. It’s built on all the voices and friendships and wild ideas that made the Sofia the First world shine beyond the screen.

I’ve been doing everything I can to keep that spark alive. I post whatever I can—fan theories, edits, thoughts about the characters, anything that might help reawaken the connection we used to have. But sometimes I worry I’m just shouting into the void. Am I using the right tags? Is #sofiathefirst enough? Should I be adding more, like #amberofenchancia or #jamesdisasterprince, to reach the people who still care? Maybe my posts just aren’t reaching anyone anymore, lost in the flow of bigger fandoms and endless feeds. I honestly don’t know. I just want this space to feel alive again.

That’s why I created @floral-incantation—not to be a ship blog, but to add something new and fresh to the fandom. She’s an OC inspired by all the things I love about Sofia’s world. I hoped she could be a small spark, weaving together Amber’s golden fire and James’s wild sincerity, a gentle reminder that even as things get quieter, there are new stories waiting to be told. My hope was that this would give us, together, another reason to share, to interact, to imagine again instead of letting the silence win.

But sometimes, even that feels like tending a garden no one visits anymore. I think about the friends who once messaged about their favorite episode or who came up with wild alternate universe ideas late at night. I wonder if they’ll ever wander back through this garden, or if I’m just one voice in an empty kingdom. The blocks still sting.

The loneliness is real, and so is the longing for the kind of community that made this fandom so special.

I don’t want to go back in time—I want the Sofia the First fandom to be real now, for all of us. I want those connections back, the laughter, the chaos, the messiness, and 5 that made this feel like a family, even for just a little while. I want the tags to be filled with inside jokes, new memories, and shared appreciation for a show and a community that deserved so much more.

So if you’re still here—if you feel even a piece of this—please, say something. Reblog, reply, send an ask about your favorite episode, your wildest headcanon, a moment when the fandom made you smile. Tag a friend you miss. Let’s remind each other that this corner of the internet still has magic left in it. Let’s show that the Sofia the First fandom is still here, still together, and still worth holding on to.

Because without all of us—without the friendships and creativity and kindness—this isn’t really a fandom anymore. It’s just a story waiting to be forgotten. And I’m not ready to let that happen.

[tedlassobb]

Ted Lasso Big Bang Check In #1

For anyone who is not on the discord - due to unexpected business during the holiday I have decided to open Check In #1 a day early. This is a very casual check in just for our authors so I can excitedly squee over the amazing fics we are going to get to read at the end of this

For any prospective artists - we have had amazing sign ups so far but are still at least 6 works short! There is a massive range of potential fics and I will be able to share a more thorough list when this sign up closes but I can guarantee there is something for everyone. If you have any questions please message me or use the below link to join the discord

[dervampireprince]

Same anon as in the chatbot ask!

I appreciate and admire your stance on AI; I’m working on a research project highlighting the harmful impacts of CAI and was really hoping you weren’t in support of the platform.

I’m frankly disturbed by how many creators I found bots scraped from with a quick scroll. I’m so sorry it happened to you, and equally sorry to have to bring it to your attention. I hope this is more of a one-off than a recurring issue.

Have a lovely evening, keep being cool :]

/gen /p

honestly it makes me feel almost violated.

i remember seeing a reddit thread where someone was like 'i joined a vtubers patreon and got in vc and said i use cai and they all told me i shouldn't use it' and all the comments were like 'theyre so toxic' 'they just dont understand' and guys... yes they probably did understand. if someone is making fun of you for being lonely or 'cringe' by using cai yeah they're being an asshole, but you are in the wrong for using cai. how do you think it generates writing and voices? by stealing the writing and voices from people.

i've seen cai users say the voice feature does 'feel' wrong as it's taking from real people, but none of them seem to know or want to acknowledge that the writing also steals from real people. generative writing like cai, chatbots, chatgpt, etc, have to get trained on something. and that something is real writing by non-consenting authors, ficwriters, journalists, anyone who writes anything online even someone's personal blog or tweets. even if you're making a chatbot for your own oc, and not someone else's character, the chats it generates your oc is taken from stolen writing.

as far as i can see there is no way to get my characters removed from cai. you can report voices being used without consent, but not writing.

this is what i found of my characters on cai, and it makes me really upset and uncomfotable.

they also took some of my art of ambrose and arden to use as the thumbnail and didn't credit me as the artist. even if they had credited me, i do not allow reposting of my art. also, no one in their lives has ever described arden as "smiley" (i'm not policing anyone's headcannons or imagination with that one, just pointing out something silly to lighten the mood so i don't have a complete meltdown).

yes i censored out the cai users name who made these chabots. please do not go and hunt them down, please do not go and find them or message them. especially as we don't know if they're a minor.

it seems to me a lot of minors use cai which is worrying as who knows what the chatbot could spit out regardless of safety measures they have in place. and i'm sorry anyone's so lonely they have to turn to cai only.. you don't have too. fanfic exists, rp communities exist, various online communities whether tumblr groups, discord servers, subreddits, are people still using amino? i mean if you're a minor you should be extra careful getting into online communities and talking to others online (and if you're a minor you shouldn't be following this blog) but like... imagination exists. try getting into creative writing?

idk when we did get so bored with imaginations we had to do this. you know what i did as as kid and there was no access to anything like this? i would copy and paste fanfics into microsoft word, find and replace one characters name with my own and boom you got yourself a self insert fic (note: these edited files were only ever kept on my pc, i never posted them anywhere). and there's soooooo many reader insert fics out there now, hell i literally make my own reader/listener inserts of my own characters, i'm not starving you for content out here. and i'm okay with people writing fanfic about my ocs or commissioning others to write you fanfics (my commissions aren't open).

thankfully i don't think my voice has been uploaded on there? i clicked the 'call' button to see what would happen and nothing did so i think that means there's no voice? or perhaps it doesn't work unless you make an account i don't know.

yeah sorry that became a longer rant. i don't know if more of my ocs are on cai, these are just the ones i found by searching my username in there. there could be other copies of my characters on there that don't credit me.

also a lot of character uploads use ai 'art' as their pictures which you know is also terrible and steals from artists.

and you're right, there's so many more characters taken from small creators and other VAs. i searched yuurivoice on there and got 50+ results of chatbots of his ocs AND ALSO OF HIM. please do not making cai's of real people that is so much worse than someone's oc, it's equally as bad on the stealing front but also so paraosocial. you do not know yuurivoice, you cannot get a bot to act like him as you do not know him or how he acts. watching a creators videos or streams does not mean you know anything about the real them, and especially does not mean you know them or are friends with them. found at least 5 for cardlin audios, some of his ocs and some of him. 6 for dark and twisted whispers ocs.

and if a creator gives you permission to make their oc into a chatbot... that doesn't make the chatbot okay. a creator can consent all you like, but the writers who's work was stolen to train that chatbot still didn't get to consent.

in the rare chance any cai user who's made chatbots of my characters on there sees this post: please delete them. please. you didn't get my consent for this. and you didn't get the consent of all the writers your chatbot was trained on. i don't think you're stupid or cringe for using cai, but you are contributing to generating ai content which is stealing from real humans and harming the environment.

[madfantasy]

Dear blogging

Wish you peace, always. Considering all, it been extra rough. My guardians were sick, and my fragile of a stability was about to break— but it okay now, and the pendulum of consciousness returned swaying in my head.

Somehow in the middle of everything, I was starting to feel okay and accept that this is the best it can get for this non verbal Mani. I honestly I stopped living as if there was tomorrow maybe the majority of 2023, zero drive or hopefulness, and lately started to accept that there's no denying that I'm not made to survive this life, and dropped all pretence that I'm able, set a 5 years counter. Because if mere looking at people's faces distress me so much that I blank out &/or go mute, since childhood, no amount of me forcing myself to watch videos/ pictures over and over can fix that. That's simply how I'm made and I know that now, and in a way it's bringing me peace.

Because I thought I'm bratting when I wore my headphones to cancel out noise that were literally going to drive me insane, or when I couldn't respond to messages knowing that I can articulate deeply in writing but ignoring all the endless times when I simply couldn't, and have forced myself to eat many things that set me days in nausea and abdominal pain while I only enjoy liquids more and get high off of fruits, I love them so much half my OCs are named after some.. and drew.. drew even before I spoke because it was my only outlit to express because how much I'm told I'm like a robot, I'm so expressionless and non reactive and disgustingly literal, even when they actively beat me black Nd blue to stop drawing, I couldn't.. where do you free those emotions when U can, i needed emotion displays and heartfelt trimmers, thrilling or killing, I needed to do them as if my life depended on it, and I haven't realised it back then, but my life was dependent on them, even when I had 'no talent ' , as I have always been told.

(commissioned by precious Julia ♥️🖤)

And besides drawing my needs, I actually, physically, started to feel better when I didn't do what my body said it literally can't do, all my life:

-Walked away from my guardians arguments, my chest stabbing pains became less frequent.

Stopped "practicing" my voice &/or facial expressions, I talk for 2 minutes, immediately my whole face muscles hurt, voice is cracking and gone, I don't feel like my eyebrows hurt as much. I'm okay being the monotone no expresso train c:

-stopped eating what I "don't like" (I mean it's not like I have much choice, but stopped feeling guilty over refusing it cuz food be tight) Nd now I can actually drink more water, and my tummy aches are on lower levels now

-i stopped dealing with Discord, or group chats in general cuz I don't expect accommodation over things I can't deal with. Stopped stressing over doing engaging material that no body seems to care about, cuz I'm not a good judge of demand, or stressing over either I should be thanking everyone who spams me with likes or not, (while I appreciate it to the moon) 90% of the time they don't respond Nd Im forced to think like I've done something wrong. I'm now at more ease with posting — (literally I have to fight the urges to delete my socials daily) just with interacting with who addresses me (I lov U guys sm) and I've been more relaxed from it.

I returned to "speaking in riddles" cuz if I don't use the words my brain spews no matter how weird they R, a tire will pop somewhere on the other side of an AU- idk lo'

-i rock, hum and laugh OUT my maniacal laugh, hard and strong, continued loving and talking to my plushies as I used to do, the easiest thing I could do to feel calmer again. As everyone should do

.. I stopped saying the word sorry. It's a naughty Mani era.

Accepting these facts and many, even with having no will to live had me saner than I ever been, at least I hope so.

I just know that I have a few to be grateful of: that I'm still here somehow, even with my dwindling income, Nd my internet not worth costing 120$± I'm always grateful for the sudden one or two commissions that keeps me here and buys me coffee and pumpkins seeds..

I still struggle horrindously with sleep. But I'm grateful at least I'm at pure ease playing games. Games been my go to media for knowing basically all based on books they were made about, like Severus and Tintin, I still play their ps1 games! Tho I got stuck on this game & their sleep has given me so much ease lo

I'm at my happy place rn, heh.

Bonus panel: ye they R hungry for that SHI- lo 🙈

And an honorary appearance of my OC with Tintin hehe

Stay safe, don't feed the overconsumption machine, don't give up on your heartstrings's stringers, don't worry— there are people who think and feel like you always between the crowds, and I'm thankful that I share the same timeline with you♥️🖤

Sweet dreams 🌃 19.2.2024

[hollyand-writes]

Hello! Bit of a longshot here but you're one of the few DA blogs still standing that I can recall from before the Drama Debacle that tore through the fandom. Just wondering if you know of any discord servers that survived and are still active? With Veilguard being out I've fallen back into DA lol. I hope this finds you in better standing than you were at the beginning of the year (I think I remember mention your health wasn't doing too great?), and enjoying Veilguard if you're playing it 😁

Hello and thanks for your message (and sorry I’m so slow replying)! ❤️ Thank you for asking about my health – I had major surgery in the spring and spent a long time recovering from that, and while it hasn’t cleared up the health problem it was meant to resolve, I am definitely doing better 😁

I think most of the Discord servers I’m in aren’t very active anymore (although some I’m in are fandom-event-based and only come alive when the event is running), but one that I think is still reasonably active is the “Beyond The Veil” server – link here: https://discord.gg/Maa2zFs

I am in the server (although I don’t check it as often as I should) and I’m pretty sure they have channels for discussing Veilguard and your Rooks, so I hope this helps! ❤️

And I am absolutely LOVING Veilguard, thank you very much! As with other Dragon Age games, I watched my husband play through and complete it first before doing my own playthrough 😁 LOVED my husband’s Mourn Watch Rook (female Qunari rogue who romanced Taash) but thought I’d do something different on my own playthrough, which is still in progress! I am the default male mage human, and chose to be an Antivan Crow who will romance Lucanis… but I look forward to trying all factions and romances! If only us Xbox console players were able to make more than three saved characters… 😩

I am glad to hear you too are enjoying Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and thanks for reaching out! It was good to hear from you! ❤️

[xdesiress]

IT IS ABOUT TIME!!

I will be listing some byi and dnis here, besides some side informations. I'd highly appreciate you reading it if you're new to this blog!

So to not clog, everything will be under the cut.

Greetings you may refer to me as Desireè, Desires, or Galaxy, a Brazilian artist who's birthday is at the 9th of March :)

/I/ use mainly he/they pronouns. I do not mind what you refer to me as, but I'd appreciate these two most.

My Instagram account is mainly for cosplaying now, and SCPTale is used for an SCP x Undertale crossover project I'm working on with a very close friend of ours.

I also have a TikTok but only post MLP content there as of the moment. I DONT USE ANY OTHER SOCIALS. DO NOT TRUST ANY THAT ISNT LISTED HERE.

I like SCP, zombie media, Dark Deception, Skullgirls, Minecraft, Monster High, My Little Pony and more.

I have a Discord server for friends and moots that is SCP themed, anyone is free to join so long as you message me privately for a link! We tend to play games, watch movies/series or draw together in Voice Chats a lot, sometimes we just talk and info dump to each other.

⚠️ I don't mind my Art being used for PFPs BUT YOU MUST CREDIT ME. ⚠️

If I've known you or followed you for a longer while you are free to ask to just add me there and not join the server itself, I don't mind it either. I'd love more buddies to talk to.

Asks are likely to be always open as well as my PMs unless something dire happens, so feel free to shoot a message anytime! I don't bite!

At that.. feel free to ask these Alagadda goobers ;)

_______

DO NOT :

- Reblog my artwork with hate. (Ex; specific character praising and bashing another one involved. I deeply love all the characters I draw and it really saddens me when I see that happen.)

- Ship my Rubedo with Nigredo.

- Whitewash my characters.

- Tag my work with Br/ght. Refer to the BYI section for insight.

- 049-J hate. Just don't, please.

BYI :

- As someone with new access to psychiatrists and medications, I am still trying to figure out just what exactly affects us. It is important to note that the i take BPD and Depression meds and as well am on a list for possible ADHD and Autism. Mood outbursts and unintentional blindness to how I speak is bound to happen and not intentional. Please, let me know if I accidentally say something hurtful.

- Despite having taught myself English for 2 to 3 years it is still not the best and I don't know a lot. Have patience with my grammar and be polite. I am also learning French and Spanish and on the same page in those regards.

- People who still use Br/ight, I /gen won't block you or anything. You can talk to me and everything. But please do not tag my work with his name! Only THEN will I take any action, especially if it's under artwork I make of any of my friends' versions.

- I would likely prefer that people under 15 don't interact with my blog, unless I already know you and you already follow me for a longer time. Then you're chill! I won't block you or anything, it's moreso for your own good than anything, really.

- Talk to me about my hyperfixations and I'll love you for YEARS.

DO NOT INTERACT :

- If you think I owe you explanations about my personal life. What I want to speak of freely I will, what I don't, I won't.

- Basic DNI criteria.

- You hate on furries 'just because'. I'm not one, but I'm not ignorant to people just having fun.

- If you partake on discourse every second of your life and try to drag me into it. I don't have the emotional stability to deal with that type of stuff.

- If you plan on acting like a jerk and drastically change my character designs into something that erases their traits.

MORE TO BE ADDED SOON.

[kittycatherder]

Sorry for being so silent on here for a while but current hyper fixation update:

While looking at chat alternatives to discord and trying to focus on privacy I've tried simplex chat which does everything I want privacy wise but part how it's designed is that all your info is on your device (and can be backed up and moved to another phone if needed) which is cool and all but not sure all my friends would be up for that >.>...

Looked into Matrix Protocol and XMPP and if I want to do voice chat I'd need to use like the right clients on mobile and desktop for either though it may be easier to set that up for most of my friends on Matrix I prefer the encryption of XMPP via OMEMO due to it having future and forward secrecy which Matrix (from my understanding) can use forward secrecy but they don't implement it due to changing it can affect how other things run. Not like totally deal breaking especially since it may be easier to get more people to use Matrix clients than XMPP but I'll have to poke at it more

Oh I'm sorta bimbo at the moment but been thinking about these above two messengers because

they also have desktop clients unlike simplex and signal that require that your phone is connected to the desktop via an honestly neat system to be able to chat on my keyboard and mouse

speaking of phones those two above though really private and secure require that you use your phone though unlike signal simplex chat doesn't even need to use a phone number

and I've been looking at private chat messengers due to well wanting something that isn't discord for the sake of privacy of my communications with my dear friends and my god discord mobile app is so awful.

Sometimes I have to close and reopen the app multiple times in a row in hopes of getting to see a message someone sent me or got sent in a server and even then it can and has missed my messages and the messages of others <.<

Bleh

anyway have some videos about secret key exchanges :3c

PS!

For anyone following at home I'm

for XMPP client/servers I'm using

https://xmpp.earth/ for my home server and oomphies can add on at KittyCatHerder@xmpp.earth (if I have no clue who you are then I'll just not accept messages from ya. Those are my rules of engagement)

Gajim for my desktop client and will use Conversations for my android client due to looking them over and liking their features

and here's Simplex Chat I mentioned earlier. I may be a bimbo so I struggled to read thru the white paper but it not only keeps your messages secret and encrypted but also does effectively everything it can with it's protocol to hide what little metadata it uses and what kind of data your transmitting even from the servers it uses to send those messages around which is kinda fucking nuts but the exact kinda nuts I was hoping for when looking for private messengers to be honest.

also here's the address to contact me via Simplex Chat

the neat thing about that address link is that if after a while I get people trying to spam me or anything I can simply get rid of it and anyone who is also in my contacts will still connected to me anyway ;3c

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Annie Maheux

Published: Feb 28, 2025

“If my son didn’t play video games, he would never talk to his friends.”

I was sitting on an airplane, enjoying a lovely conversation with a stranger—something increasingly uncommon in the digital era. When she asked about my work, I said I was a psychology researcher about to start a new project on adolescent boys and gaming. My seatmate, the mother of a 13-year-old boy, had lots to teach me.

While gaming, she explained, her son chats with his friends via an Xbox headset. She overhears many groans, cheers, and expected exclamations about the game (“Oh, dude!”). But interspersed, her son and his friends also discuss school, friendships, and daily life. They even disclose rather intimate information—about their crushes and aspirations for the future—all while playing Call of Duty.

Game buds

In a recent commentary paper, my team summarized the current evidence on the social nature of online gaming, especially for teen boys. To many parents and teens, however, the pattern is clear through firsthand experience: for boys, gaming is often a primary space for social connection.

Gaming is too often seen as an activity that isolates, addicts, and even ruins young men’s lives. Of course, gaming, like any activity, has its risks and downsides. But many of the features of these platforms—especially how they allow people to interact—are inherently social. For example:

Built-in microphones, headsets, and voice or video chat make real-time conversations possible during gameplay.

Popular platforms like Discord and in-game chat features let players message friends individually or in small groups.

Competitive and team-based games (e.g., Super Smash Bros.) create opportunities for shared goals.

Open-world “sandbox” games (e.g., Minecraft) encourage creativity in collaboratively built digital spaces.

Shared persistent digital worlds in multiplayer games (e.g., Final Fantasy XIV, Roblox, or The Sims) provide a space where users can come and go freely as in real life, allowing for real-time interaction with both friends and new acquaintances, some of whom may become online-only friends.

Nearly all U.S. teens (85%) play video games and most of these (89%) do so with others. The gender differences are stark: 61% of boys play games every day compared to just 22% of girls. Boys are also more likely to use gaming for social connection: 94% of boys play with others, compared to 82% of girls.

Boys say gaming good for friendship

Among teens who play video games, % who say playing has helped their...

Connecting “shoulder to shoulder”

Long before social gaming existed, psychology researchers developed a simple way to explain differences in how boys and girls tend to form friendships and communicate. While girls often favor face-to-face interactions, emphasizing deep conversations and emotional intimacy, boys are more likely to bond “shoulder to shoulder” through shared activities.

Boys tend to gravitate more toward structured games or sports, group activities, and working toward shared goals. Of course, these are general trends—every individual is different, and teens vary from day to day or depending on the situation. It’s important to recognize that boys are fully capable of close, meaningful friendships, even if they sometimes express them differently than girls.

The way boys tend to form friendships suggests that social gaming may offer unique benefits, though research on this is still limited. Some studies show that both friendly competition and cooperation in games can strengthen peer relationships. Although gaming with existing friends may be most beneficial, more than half of U.S. youth have made a friend online. For many boys, gaming is a key way to do so—56% of boys, compared to 35% of girls, report making an online friend through gaming. Social gaming can help strengthen these online friendships, which in some cases provide valuable social support.

The social nature of gaming may also benefit boys in other important ways. For example:

Team-based games provide opportunities to practice social skills like teamwork, cooperation, generosity, and empathy.

By interacting in virtual worlds—through avatars and in-game experiences—boys can also see things from different perspectives, helping them build skills in understanding others.

Additionally, gaming provides a low-risk space for identity exploration, a key part of adolescence. Through usernames, avatars, and other customizable features, teens can experiment with different aspects of their identity, helping them discover what feels authentic and what they aspire to be.

It’s still unclear how these experiences transfer to real-world interactions. Some research suggests that while some online social skills carry over, they don’t necessarily translate to offline settings.

The darker side of gaming

Of course, it’s not all upside. The potential harms are important to consider. Gaming can be highly engaging and thus may lead to habitual or addictive-like use, which might displace healthy activities like in-person socializing, physical activity, or sleep. Some games contain age-inappropriate content that should be avoided for younger gamers. Importantly though, despite parents’ fears, research over the past 35 years has found little consistent evidence that video game violence causes long-term or substantial increases in youth aggression.

Another concern is that online gaming allows interactions with antagonistic peers or strangers, including adults. Many teens report that gaming cultures can promote hostility or harassment, through “flaming,” “trolling,” or “trash talking,” which teens may be developmentally more sensitive to than adults. Some interactions may also be hateful—promoting racism, homophobia, sexism, or xenophobia. Boys may be at risk of experiencing this form of harassment or being influenced by and socialized into harmful ideologies. In some rare cases, gaming communities have been used to spread extremist views, raising concerns about the potential for radicalization in these spaces.

Gaming is also associated with social skill deficits, although we don’t have strong causal evidence explaining why. It’s possible that youth with social skill problems are attracted to gaming or that gaming actively disrupts or displaces opportunities for social skill development. Boys with ADHD or autism may also find gaming particularly engaging and socially rewarding, but they could be at higher risk for gaming addiction or challenges in their offline relationships. Marginalized teens—including boys of color, LGBTQ+ boys, and those with disabilities—might find solace in online communities where they can meet others with shared experiences, but may also face more harassment and discrimination online.

A mixed picture, with much more to learn

Every teen is different, and so is the balance between risks and rewards. Understanding the tradeoffs is an important task for researchers.

Gaming to connect with existing friends, or to develop genuine friendships that have been formed online, is likely to offer the most benefit. Interactions with strangers likely offer fewer benefits and more risks. Boys may also differ in their sensitivity to social dynamics, making some more vulnerable to the negative effects of “trolling” or harassment. On the other hand, boys who struggle with social skills offline may find gaming a less threatening or stressful context to refine those skills.

More research is needed to fully understand boys’ experiences with gaming and the potential benefits of social gaming. Online social spaces vary widely, and teens have different ways of connecting with others. While social media platforms like Instagram have been studied extensively, we still know far less about how social gaming—a unique form of social media especially attractive to boys and young men—affects well-being. It’s time to fill that knowledge gap.

==

Note:

[backwaterheroics]

𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘞𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘖𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘌𝘙!

repost, don't reblog!

NAME : rowen

PRONOUNS : she/her/my liege; we is also common i.e. 'we here at strife industries' etc but it's really just for self-reference

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : carrier pigeon maybe? i'm really bad at all kinds of communication tbqh. we can get some walkietalkies tho & i promise i haven't ever forgotten about u /phil collins voice, u'll be in my heart

chatting on tumblr ims is fine & i do have a discord ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ u can even have my whatsapp if u want, but standard messaging & data rates may apply. talk to ur doctor if rowenix is right for u

NAME OF MUSE(s) : this here is my boy kuraudo sutoraifu-waifu but i've written a few other characters here and there; cloud is the only rp blog i have any semblance of presence on atm tho - he is my forevergirl, my homeslice, my big chalupa. for ffvii specifically, i've also written rp for elena and rufus

BEST EXPERIENCE : you! i've met all my best friends through rp which is probably why i'm still even around in the rps

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : i don't like it when ppl say they do not like the chara i am literally writing at that moment. so like, if you don't like cloud, why are you here..... we don't have any money... we've got nothin for ya.... pls smash that unfollow button and do not hit the notification bell....,other than that tho, i don't really care. it's the internet. i've seen 4chan

MUSE PREFERENCES : paris hilton voice; i'll take five more of these little blonde bitches; fr tho i like charas who have issues with the self/who have a man vs self literary conflict kinda thing going on. i also like side-chars who don't have a lot of lore coz then i don't have to start from scratch like with an oc, but i still have freedom in the preassembled sandbox u kno?? i don't have time for a rowenverse

PLOTS OR MEMES : spontaneous stuff is easier for me; plotted stuff can get too detailed and then i freak myself out about it bc of anxiety about quality & expectations. that aside, i'll do either. if we go plotted i'd rather go 'lightly plotted' as in we talk about an idea and then just run with it, with minor course corrections as we go should the plane not take off as expected

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : i personally tend to match length but sometimes the words just gotta come out and your one to three liner will have a 500 word reply. i have no preference from what i receive to what i give. it just is what it is and i'm grateful ur even taking the time to spend it with me

BEST TIME TO WRITE : when something else more important needs to get done. we love executive dysfunction. like right now, i should be finishing up a work project for tomorrow's meeting and yet....

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : our sense of humor is the same, or at least similar... cloud's social awareness is probably better than mine. neither of us talk a lot. is that good enough????

TAGGED BY: vctlan & then everyone i'm following who is still active has already done this i'm pretty sure... so if you haven't been tagged before and u see this, then i'm tagging u ok -- tell me abt u and be my friend

[lilac-hecox]

Green number 2 looks interesting if you want to do something with that 😊 (it's littlebitofglue here)

(Ty bb! <3)

2. "You're safe here, I promise." - Ianthony

--

TW: Panic attack

--

It has been months since Anthony has had a panic attack, right around the time he reconnected with Ian his anxiety, while ever present, seemed to take a back burner to the increase in work and just how much happier Anthony felt being back around his best friend.

Today he is in the Smosh office sitting quietly on the couch in Ian's office. He has yet to make his own office in the building and really, he isn't worried about it. Something feels better about being with Ian in his office, sharing a space.

In an hour he and Ian are going to film an episode of their joint podcast, going over an old Smosh episode and telling stories about that time in their lives and what it was like filming it. Currently, Ian is wrapping up an episode due for Smosh Games, some complicated board game that Anthony can't really follow along with. While he waits for his best friend, he scrolls on his phone.

Ever curious, Anthony can't help but lurk in the discord channel they had created for their channel members. Typically the chat is fine, humorous, complimentary, but today when Anthony joins in he sees a wealth of messages springing up on the general chat channel. As he clicks on it Anthony is overloaded with a spam of hate messages popping up before his eyes. The messages range from the typical 'Smosh sucks now' to ones targeted directly at he and Ian. 'Anthony is so pretentious'. 'Yeah, I miss the old Anthony'. In-between the hate messages are their fans telling off the subsection of rogue commenters and people alerting the mods about what is happening. A new message pops up 'I hope the boys don't see these :( '

But Anthony has and he sees several more, calling he and Ian every name in the book, slamming them for their sketches, calling them bad, saying their lost their magic. Hateful comments are nothing new and Anthony has learned to ignore them, but for some reason today each one feels like a punch to the gut, a twist to the heart, maybe because it meant someone was willing to pay actual money to complain about how much they hated him.

Either way Anthony's chest starts to feel tight. He sets his phone down and realizes his fingers feel a little numb.

"Shit," he murmurs, but his voice sounds far away to his own ears.

Anthony tries to stand from the couch. He's not sure where he would go, maybe to the bathroom to splash water on his face, but as soon as he stands his knees buckle, his legs trembling and he folds to the ground on the floor of Ian's office.

Then he can't quite breathe and he's got one hand bracing himself on the floor, fingers wide against the concrete while the other finds his heart, covering it over his sweater and feeling the intense racing.

Anthony tries to remember his breathing techniques, the things he always uses to calm himself down, but his mind is going too fast, too panicked to recall anything. He hates being alone during a panic attack. Nothing scares him more than that and the fear only amplifies all his other feelings of panic.

Then, distantly he hears the creek of the door and footsteps.

"Hey, sorry that- Anthony?"

Then, Anthony sees Ian's water bottle hit the ground.

Then Anthony sees Ian kneeling in front of him, he feels cold hands cupping his face, lifting his head from where it was staring at the ground.

"Anthony," Ian says, his clear blue eyes wide and somewhat afraid, his jaw tight with nerves of his own, "hey, can you look at me and try to breathe?"

Anthony gasps, feeling so dizzy, the hand over his heart seeking out Ian's shoulder, his fingers gripping tight in Ian's t-shirt.

"It's okay," Ian says, his voice calm, though to Anthony he still sounds so far away, like he's underwater. "Take a breath with me."

Ian takes a deep breath and Anthony does his best to mimic it. Before, when they were roommates, what feels like so many years ago, there were a couple of times where Anthony had panic attacks at the house and Ian had been there to guide him through it, pull him out of it. Now, he was falling into the role like old practice, like he never stopped.

"You're in my office," Ian says slowly, one hand leaving Anthony's face and skating down his back, rubbing a soft circle, "You're with me."

Anthony can feel his breathing beginning to fall back under his control, his head so heavy, so dizzy.

Ian shifts closer, wrapping his arms around Anthony in a tight hug. It feels warm, it feels like he's holding all of Anthony's pieces together even as Anthony trembles harder than he ever has in his life.

"You're safe here, I promise," Ian says, his chin over Anthony's shoulder and his hand patting Anthony's back.

To anyone else it might look ridiculous, the two of them on Ian's office floor, Ian's smaller body cradling Anthony's larger frame, but to Anthony it is everything. Ian, in many ways, has always been a touchstone, a point of reference, some base in which Anthony can explore away from and yet always find his way back home.

Slowly, slowly, slowly, Anthony can feel his senses returning. In Ian's sturdy arms, he can feel his body going lax.

Ian must feel it too because he rubs the back of Anthony's head, fingers skating over the shaved down sides of Anthony's scalp.

"You're good man, I got you," Ian breathes.

When Anthony has calmed enough and he is kneeling limply in Ian's arms, he starts to feel ridiculous, feels like a dumb kid who got freaked out over a stupid internet troll. He's been in therapy long enough to know you can't really predict what might set you off, and maybe those comments were prodding at some deep pockets of his psyche that housed fears that Anthony didn't want to face.

He pulls back a little, exhales a shaky breath. Ian's hands slide to his sides and hold him firmly as if he's keeping him upright, and in many ways, he is. Now, Ian's eyes are a gentler shade of blue, like the sea after a storm.

"You okay?" Ian asks, his voice a soft whisper, a gentleness and vulnerability that had never been there before.

Anthony nods, "I-I'm okay." his voice is hoarse to his own ears.

Ian doesn't ask what set Anthony off and it isn't like before, it isn't because he doesn't want to know, it's more like he's giving Anthony the space to present it to him if he wants to, an offer more than a request.

Ian pats Anthony's cheek one more time, fondly, before he pulls back and he's sitting on his office floor across from Anthony. He takes his own deep breath and rubs his eye under the frames of his glasses.

"Been a long time since I've done that."

"And you're still good at it," Anthony says, trying out a smile that only feels a little off for the moment.

Ian gives him one back, something small, something like a secret. He stands and he offers his hand out for Anthony to take.

Anthony does, their fingers holding each other tightly as Ian helps get Anthony to his feet.

[multiplicity-positivity]

I was wondering if you had advice on how to communicate when we have aphantasia? I know we have an inner world but most of us can't see it or hear anything in our head except for the person directly in front, occassionally we can hear one anotherz but very rarely, and we really struggle to communicate or remember much at all (we do generally have shared memory for certain things but things still slip through the cracks)? I don't know how to communicate when we can't see or hear each other, it makes me feel like obviously I can't be a system if I can't even see or hear them or communicate

Hi! So people with aphantasia can absolutely still be systems. You don’t have to see or hear them inside to know they’re there!

For you, we think that external communication is going to be your best bet for getting in touch with each other. We’ll go ahead and link our post on establishing contact with headmates (which may help!) and we’ll reiterate some ways you can attempt communicating externally with your system. None of these methods have to involve vivid thoughts or internal communication!

1) Written notes

Writing to other headmates in a journal, document, notebook, or note app can be an extremely effective form of communication. You can ask your headmates questions, leave them drawings, notes, or reminders, or just let them know you care about them! You can try to leave your notes or journal in an obvious place, or put sticky notes around to remind the current fronter to check your journal/document/etc to keep up with communication!

2) PluralKit

With PluralKit on Discord, you can set up your own server and then create separate “accounts” that function as bots when you post. In this way, you can attribute a separate profile and icon to different headmates and allow them to communicate with each other in your own server! PluralKit truly is an amazing resource for systems, and you can learn more about implementing it for yourself by clicking here (external link goes to PluralKit.me)

3) Simply Plural

Simply Plurak is an amazing app available on both iOS and Android designed by plurals for plurals! It allows you to record your fronting history, set up headmate profiles and a system map, and communicate with each other via chat! If everyone in the system can get on board with it, it could be a great way to figure out who has fronted in the past and to leave messages for each other.

4) Videos, recordings, and voice memos

We don’t really do this, but we’ve heard of other systems who do! You can use a voice recording app or the camera on your device to record spoken messages for each other. You can make little videos, or even use sound design apps to make songs for each other!

5) Other people

Finally, if there are others in your life who know about your system, maybe you can ask them to help pass messages along. Our wife and our therapist have been amazing at helping the alters in our system communicate with each other. If one alter tells someone something important, that person can tell another alter later! Asking other people to help us stay in touch with each other has been immensely beneficial for our system. However, we only do this with folks we trust 100%. You shouldn’t be vulnerable and rely on others for help if you don’t trust them, they’ve hurt you in the past, or your headmates are uncomfortable around them!

Sorry this is long winded, but we hope it can help! We promise that you absolutely still can be a system or plural even with aphantasia. It may take some extra work or a bit of creativity to set up a good system of communication, but it definitely is possible! Good luck with everything - we believe in you and are wishing you the very best!

🌸 Margo, 🐢 Kip, and 💫 Parker

[softsky-daily]

11/8/2023

The sky has been so blue lately - or maybe it just happens to be whenever I take a picture.

Positive thing: I got to play the new Yakuza game.

I played through the tutorial stuff and the first chapter and it's pretty fun so far. I had to adjust to the combat since it's back to the original beat-em-up style as the past games, plus Kiryu is all by himself and not with a big party like Ichiban is in Yakuza 7. It does give it a much lonelier feeling, but I think it suits the story. I'm playing in Japanese so I understand like 70% of it and the other 30% I'm trying to make out through context clues, but it's enough to enjoy it. Plus I'm learning a lot of new vocab which is always a plus.

There's this new gadget system thingy where you can use gadgets in combat and the first one you get is a wire that you can wrap around enemies and fling them around with. It's very Spiderman-esque. I think you unlock more which I'm curious about seeing.

Class was a big drag today. I straight up just kept the Zoom open and only tuned in when there was a mandatory discussion happening, and I was still tired by the end. Most of the time I was chatting with classmate friends on Discord on the side. It seems like a lot of us are going through it this semester. I guess I've also realized that there is just this strong atmosphere of... I don't know what to call it. Bootstrap mentality? Like that but much more subconscious I guess. My professor was sick and she opened the call with her groggy voice apologizing that she was sick, and said something along the lines of "You know, you have your clients and all these things you have to do, and when you get sick it's hard because you need rest and at the same time, everything is going to move on without you if you fall behind."

Which like, true I guess, but it never sits well with me when someone in my field says things like that. I know we live in a society that doesn't prioritize rest at all, and that it's basically being kept together by people who do do all that work, and someone has to do it and it's often thankless and difficult, but where do we strike that balance? What kinda message do we send others about mental health when we make the choice to do that? I know the answer is that a bunch of systems need to be reworked and better funded to allow for more rest, not just for counselors but everybody, but that won't happen so easily.

I see my friends doing the same things, both those in class with me or at their jobs or whatever, and it feels so harrowing that it's this ubiquitous. Just pushing through because it feels like there is no other choice. I've been doing that forever and it literally rots you away to be like that. I know there's a special kind of person who does genuinely thrive in that kind of pressure, but I am not them, and most people I know aren't either.

Oh well. I get to play more Yakuza tomorrow, and a friend is coming over to stay for the weekend as well. I'm mostly looking forward to Friday, where I'm having an end-of-running-group-counseling celebration lunch and then later going to my friend's birthday dinner. I bought him a present I think he'll really like so I hope I'm right. Then Sunday I'm volunteering at the Japanese Festival which I think will be fun too. I'm going to need to be pretty firm about having my own rest time though, because I have practicum Monday and if I don't get rest I think I'll literally be too out of patience with everything to function.