#a reference tumblr won't understand either!

[frazzledsoul]

Who else feels like the cryptkeeper right now?

[junebugzzz]

emergency commissions open!!!

hey everyone! so i've recently had to go no contact with my abusive family, and it's left me in a critical situation since i was financially dependent on them. i didn't have the chance to prepare for this, and there's a whole whirlwind of visa issues before I can safely be back in my country, but i don't wanna let up on it. because of this situation i'm opening up emergency commissions to help me sustain myself throughout this. this would help feed me, keep me under a roof and help my finances as I deal with shitty visa bureaucracy. i'm not entirely safe in my situation either and any commission i take improves my situation. even if you can't support me by buying my work, please reblog! please please reblog!! it helps me get to other people who can help me. i'm also working on opening nsfw commissions soon! keep an eye out for that on any of my tumblr accounts if you'd be interested. you could also dm me to be in a tag list. in the meantime, if you'd like to tip me, here's my Ko-Fi!

examples:

(i'm on a small time frame to get this post up and get some money in so excuse the bad examples, but i promise i can what you'd be paying for)

prices:

*PLEASE NOTE: i CAN charge full cost per added character - this is unless the additional character is a background character or a character with an otherwise lower amount of required effort. in that case the added character is billed according to the effort needed. In any case, just ask! i promise i don't bite :) we could discuss it and come up with what works for both of us.

how to commission me:

just send me a message with the following info:

a description of the artwork you'd like me to create. it could be ocs, fandom characters or real people. NOTE: i may have a couple limitations with fandom characters (if i dont know them) and real people - just ask!

any (good quality) reference images or inspiration that would help me understand what you want out of this piece.

your preferred communication method (tumblr, discord or email) for revisions and other related conversation.

i'll respond with a concept drawing and a quote, and we can discuss from there! depending on the complexity you'd want me to achieve in your commission, i could increase or decrease how much I ask for. dw, i won't charge you anything without discussing it with you first.

terms:

Payment is to be made via PayPal (preferably in USD) before work has begun.

I retain ownership of the art. Credit me when you use my work. For non-commercial use only.

I reserve the right to turn down or cancel a commission (with a refund in case of a cancelation) at any point if I see it fit.

Please send me clear references so I can better gauge what you want from my work.

Let me know in advance if you don't want your commission to be displayed on my social media, I'll respect it.

The finished commission will be sent via either discord or gmail (whichever you opt)

Commissions can take anywhere from 2 to 15 days to finish, depending on both the complexity of the work and any uncontrollable circumstances from my end.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Hello, friend. I really love all your works you post on Tumblr. How do you think Courier and his/her companions from Fallout: New Vegas would interact with Sole Survivor and his/her companions from Fallout 4?

FNV Companions Interacting With Fo4 Companions

➼ Word Count » 0.9k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ A/N » This is such a fun concept! I lost count after a while so I hope I included the pairings you were looking for!

Arcade finds Curie's synth body incredibly fascinating and the two will sit and question each other for the longest time.

Boone reminds MacCready of the toy soldier Lucy gave him and either can’t stop talking to him or avoids him entirely out of guilt.

Lily realizes how much more different she is compared to Strong, but it doesn’t stop her from listening to him ramble about Shakespeare or treat him any differently from her other grandchildren. She loves him and they hit it off quite well.

Raul and Nick are both grandpas who’ve got memories from before the war, so, unsurprisingly, they hit it off quite well. They’ll talk about their lives before the bombs and how it all compares to their current ones.

Cait and Cass hit it off almost immediately and leave the initial group to go drinking. The two of them will open up and talk about anything and everything.

Veronica ends up hanging around Danse as often as she can since they both stand for the same cause. It ends up just being Veronica rambling about how much fun she's had traveling with her group and Danse just awkwardly nodding and saying he hates his.

Codsworth will go and clean the rust off of ED-E. They'll end up forming a brother-like relationship since Codsworth can understand his beeping and ED-E likes how doting and friendly he is.

Dogmeat ends up being really scared of Rex because he won't stop chasing him around.

X6-88 thought Arcade talked too much and decided to just ignore all his questions about the Institute.

Deacon immediately disguises himself as Boone the second he notices that they look alike. Boone hates it but he can't seem to get the spy off his trail.

Old Longfellow and Lily argued like an old married couple, with Lily wanting him to quit his drinking habits and Old Longfellow saying she's "crazier than the people in the fog".

Hancock thinks Raul is great and will offer him a place in Goodneighbor. He might even end up referring to him as "Uncle Raul" if they stay together long enough.

Cass assumed Preston was NCR and he got incredibly flustered when she started hitting on him.

Piper and Veronica become best friends when they find out they both like scavenging and being everywhere except where they're supposed to be.

ED-E freaks MacCready out since it reminds him of the Enclave Eyebots in the Capital Wasteland. He'll try his best to avoid him, but the bot seemed to really like the comics he carried with him in his bag.

Old Longfellow loves Rex and gladly takes him to go hunt mole rats.

Hancock REALLY likes flirting with Arcade and does it whenever he sees the opportunity.

At first, Boone and Cait didn't seem to like each other, but then they started talking about how much they both despised slavers and suddenly became an incredibly reliable duo when it came to killing legionaries and raiders.

Lily and Codsworth really enjoy each other's company and will sit together in patio chairs and drink lemonade or something.

Try as he might, Raul doesn't fall for any of Deacon's lies and, instead, just laughs it right off.

Dogmeat really likes Cass and will follow her around until she finally relents and gives him her hat. (which won't be for a long while)

Gage thinks that Veronica's annoying and will either avoid her or will try and get her sold into the legion.

ED-E and Curie end up getting along really well due to their general innocence and curiosity.

Danse will probably end up washing off the legion marking on Rex's side and replacing it with either a Brotherhood or Minutemen logo (depending on where he's at in the story). He doesn't think it'd be right to just leave the markings of a society built off the backs of slaves and wants him to represent something better.

Veronica reminds Nick a lot of Piper, so he'll sit and listen to her ramble on about everything she wants to see, and he'll gladly do his best to keep her out of trouble.

Piper is constantly hitting Raul with questions because she's desperate to learn more about what Mexico is or how the world was before the bombs. She finds his story so interesting and will do anything to get more information out of him.

At some point, Preston will go up to Boone and start a conversation with him, saying that he really appreciates everything the NCR has done to help out on the west side. They could both talk about their respective factions for hours and they do.

Arcade teaches Strong all he knows about Macbeth and literature in general, and in turn, Strong shows Arcade how to stomp someone till they pop.

Lily will keep telling X6-88 to take his jacket off since it's "too hot out here to be in all that!" He'll eventually relent and will be handed a sweet little shirt completely out of character for him that she had stashed in her purse prior.

Gage and Cass get into a bar fight. It could honestly be for anything, their thoughts on slavery, how they treat strangers, their sense of family. These two just can't get along.

[tarnussy]

☹️

This whole situation of my posts getting stolen left and right is really making me sad and is extremely disheartening to create anything in the future. Not only that but it is making me not even want to play the DLC at all because I know I'd get excited about something, make either photos or gifs (anything really), god forbid a bigger multi-picture post and it would be stolen again immediately. And these accounts then, if it is a smaller one, keep yapping about how grateful they are for the new followers they gained via stealing, and big accounts just don't give a shit since they are getting sponsorships for stolen content because all that matters is follower count. It is infuriating that I spend a shit ton of time on posts, get nowhere, not even in the sense of having minimal amount of people interacting with my posts outside of tumblr, and then one of these absolute dipshits get all of the positive aspects of being a creator while they are not. The amount of time I spent on everything I posted in the last year and a half is wild and for what?

Small deroute about another thing that I don't understand: Even if I get new followers here, none of them actually check out what I made in the past. They follow then disappear forever, except for a very small amount of people. Why is that? I'm not sure where this mindset came from that you can't go and raid someones blog to reblog a bunch of shit, that is why tumblr was made. Whenever we followed someone in early tumblr days, we combed through the blog via the archive page (or even just the regular blog page) and drafted a ton of posts for later reblogs so we don't flood the dash all at once. What is this culture of never touching anything the person posts you just followed, why follow then? It's been getting gradually worse as time goes on. It must be this fucking instagram brainrot that over there if you like an older post, people will throw virtual tomatoes at you for it but I can assure you that is not a thing on tumblr. People will love if you follow someone then check out their posts they made in the past. Posts on here don't have an expiration date, I could literally go and pull up posts from 2011 to rotate them.

Back to the OG topic: so really what this teaches you is that creative work and ideas are punished, and if you are a thief, you get rewarded both with interactions and monetary compensations FOR FUCKING STEALING.

My recent Morgott reference post that could be useful for artists got a measly fucking 30 upvotes on reddit, vs when someone stole and removed my watermark on a different post got 23 000. You know how that feels? It's like getting constantly punished for wanting to connect with people who share the same interest with you.

So I absolutely have no idea what to do. Commenting on these stolen posts does nothing. They won't even bother with any reaction and keep stealing.

I've been having headaches because of this which is ridiculous because there are way more pressing issues. "Kim, there's people that are dying", as I usually say. And yet, I'm mentally fucking done. All of that combined with whatever the hell is going on in my real life, I just want to bash my head into a wall until my skull cracks.

[cuephrase]

robin poll conduct notice

hey!! so i didn't want to have to make a post like this and i'm not really thrilled at having to do this but i really hit my bullshit threshold so i feel like i need to establish some stuff before i continue sharing any data from the Robin Poll. apologies in advance, i swear i am not typically this aggressive and this is not the kind of post i tend to make.

allow me to preface this by saying that this is not me saying that you cannot have different opinions than me, or anything like that, okay, if that's what you take away from this i don't know how to help you.

also, i'm not super familiar with tumblr etiquette, but i just want to say that i have their @'s removed bc i have them blocked.

first of all, please do not make bad faith assumptions about me as a person, i understand that i cannot ask you to make zero assumptions about me, and to an extent i do not care what you think about me but like idk think before you fucking speak?

i'm just going to brush over the fact that hey, maybe if you don't like any of the characters on the questionnaire directed to their fans, then maybe don't participate, wild thought, because that's beside the point frankly.

i did not include Duke as a Robin, (the only characters I included were Dick, Jason, Steph, Tim, and Damian, hereafter referred to as The Five), because he does not count as a Robin by the metrics i was using.

the five Robins i included are the core characters who have carried the mantle for a significant period of time since Dick's entrance to canon-present. Carrie was not included because she's Robin in canon-future. Duke was not included because the only time he has canonically been Robin is in Batwheels.

"No, because in We Are Robin-" I'm going to stop you right there. I have read that series. I know what the fuck I'm talking about. If you've also read that series and somehow come to the conclusion that Duke is Robin in the same way that the The Five are, i'm glad i don't have your reading comprehension skills. i can't understand this for you either. Furthermore, if i was going to count Duke as a Robin because he was part of the We Are Robin movement, i would also include Dax, Dre, Izzy, Riko- you get the picture, i hope.

also lemme just-

not that this will convince anyone who firmly believes Duke is Robin the same way The Five are, but like when i say Duke's skin color has fuck all to do with why i did not include him- i mean that wholeheartedly.

and if you headcanon Duke as Robin, cool!! if you think he should've been Robin, cool!! there's nothing wrong with Duke being Robin- he just has not been Robin in comics!canon. (do not play the semantics game with me, you will lose.)

if it had been a Batkid/Batfam poll, Duke would've been on there!!

also, the poll was not a "which two characters that have worn a Robin/Robin-inspired suit do you like the most" poll. if you want that data, cool!! go do your own research.

second!! i have zero tolerance for this data being used to shame other Robin fans, this is not being shared so y'all can hop on your wank soapbox and jack off.

this kind of bullshit is not going to fucking fly. besides the fact that there is just so much that is...blatantly incorrect about this statement, this is "obnoxious conduct". i'm not going to waste my time getting into the weeds on this comment, mainly bc they're blocked so they won't see this so there's no point.

and to be clear, this did not upset me bc it was negative towards Tim stans and I'm a Tim stan- this comment could've been about any Robin and I would've been pissed. Tim might be my fave, but I deeply love all the Robins.

actually briefly, i'm going to say that i think it is beyond fucking stupid to bitch at fanon!Tim fans bc you think they're ruining comic!Tim's success. people who are invested primarily in fanon are probably not reading comics, and if they are, they're almost definitely not buying them so they're not impacting sales. you know who is? comic readers. if they cannot separate fanon!Tim from canon!Tim, that's a skill issue on their part. but like seriously, you think Tim Drake: Robin flopped bc of fanon!Tim? you do realize that the art was not well received, right? and that a lot of comics-buying fans are homophobic? and that oh, idk, a lot of comic!Tim fans disliked the run for valid reasons that had nothing to do with the art or being homophobic?

OR, hear me out, people are allowed to dislike characters and fans of that character are better off respecting that??

obviously stan behavior can be off-putting af. i'm not saying that stans should be able to do whatever- there's a lot of behavior from all stans that is just exhausting and pointless and benefits no one. but it's like...you do understand rage bait and hate gets engagement and social media algorithms don't differentiate between positive and negative, they just push whatever's getting interacted with. if you don't make an effort to avoid wank, you're going to drown in it. and if you're only ever in a handful of bubbles cycling the same opinions, that's all you're going to know. that doesn't mean that it's a real reflection of reality.

generalizing is so...i literally made the questionnaire because i believe that you can't generalize stan opinions based off who their #1 Robin is. stans are not a monolith.

what are the comic!Tim stans supposed to "take to heart" here? do you think we like woobie!Tim? do you think commenting about how OOC fanon!Tim is on a fanfic accomplishes anything than upsetting a fanfic author? do you think our posts about comic!Tim tend to break out of comic!Tim bubbles and impact fanon!Tim in any kind of controllable way?

and that goes for all stans, like it is no one's job/responsibility (or place quite frankly) to be policing how others interpret/enjoy characters. write your character analysis posts, share the fact-check panels, whatever, i'm not saying you can't discuss how you think a character should be interpreted. but like damn. save your energy for the people who want to have a conversation/learn. and be fucking nice about it- istg the attitudes of comics fans is probably one of the biggest turn offs for people who might otherwise be interested in comics, that and the sheer volume of content.

(if you're like, "okay hypocrite" bc i just angrily laid out why i didn't include Duke as Robin- i am allowed to not tolerate being called racist on my own post. i'm not stepping into Duke is Robin truther spaces and shitting on their fun.)

finally, and this is not strictly a continuation of the previous comment, i've been made aware that this data is being discussed elsewhere, which is fine, but i really cannot stress enough that this data is not generalizable. that's not an "excuse", it's a mathematical fact. the data isn't even reflective of only the opinions of people who follow my tumblr- my tumblr is super small, we got wayyyy more responders than i have followers, by a lot!! this data cannot be used to support any claims about fandom at large, nor was it intended to.

as i've stated multiple times, this questionnaire was not made to measure if someone was a "real" fan. meaning, it doesn't exist to grade fans or shame fans or do literally anything other than help me find out if knowing someone's top two fave Robins is significantly more informative than simply knowing who their number one favorite Robin is.

that's it. i literally just want to know "are X stans basically alike, or does it change depending on this specific factor", that factor being who their second favorite is.

tl;dr- this data was not collected to be turned into wank, it is not being shared to cultivate wank, and anyone that attaches wank to my posts directly will be blocked. i want to share this data with everyone who is interested, but no one is entitled to the results.

sorry if this was your introduction to me, i swear i am usually much happier and more diplomatic, but i hit my personal limit and i wanted to be really fucking clear about the boundaries i'm drawing. i will be using my block button as i see fit bc i want to enjoy the time i spend on this platform and put into this project. and you can block me too!!

[tendersky]

hiii, do you have sources for the whole ao3 situation? where the volunteer didnt actually get kicked out for being pro palestine?

Sure! I'm getting all my information from the "official" sources that everyone is sharing, which is this tumblr post and this Google Doc. (I believe there's a "new year" Dreamwidth post that people also reference but I haven't read it so won't reference it).

First, a direct quote from the Tumblr post: "I left because I was horrified by the org and all of the racism they promised to work on but never ever did." -> didn't get kicked out, suspended, or anything from AO3, the user (Bjorn) voluntarily left the organization.

The rest of the screenshots from the Google doc are from a Slack channel you have to opt into about I/P, which is a place you are most likely to find Zionists.

I'll break down the conversation here.

Here's the first included warning:

I'm writing to you on behalf of Tag Wrangling Chairs due to a few serious issues which have been brought to our attention.  A number of volunteers have approached us, either privately or through VolCom, to convey concerns regarding your behaviour in the #x-politics-society-current-events and #x-politics-israel-palestine-events Slack channels.

Our Code of Conduct,, which you agreed to in our most recent Still Willing to Wrangle, requires that all volunteers maintain a level of civility when interacting with one another.  Specifically, "We never lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect."

The language and tone that you have been using do not convey compassion or respect toward your fellow volunteers.  For example, you accused a fellow volunteer of defending murder and war crimes, and have referred to another as a "fucking asshole".

We understand that this is an emotionally charged situation, and that with so much death and destruction happening, it is easy to misdirect the anger and helplessness you might feel.  However, to the best of our ability, we need to assume that our fellow volunteers are well-intentioned and speaking in good faith, and not devolve to insults or name-calling.

Please understand that should we receive additional complaints or note that you have continued to violate the Code of Conduct in your treatment of other volunteers, we Chairs may step in and remove you from certain social Slack channels, either temporarily or permanently depending on the number and nature of the complaint(s).  We hope that this will not be necessary.

--> so, they're being warned for not following the Code of Conduct, which includes being civil to other people. Nothing is said about "from the river to the sea". Bjorn brings up "from the river to the sea" unprompted in their response:

Additionally, if me saying "from the river to the sea" is supposedly against the Code of Conduct and grounds for repeatedly removing me from the channel, when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org, I believe that reflects extremely poorly on the org as a whole. If this sentiment continues to be upheld by supervisors, that is extremely concerning. Especially since I was reported and warned for accusing someone of supporting genocide, but people are allowed to accuse me of the same thing with support from other people in the channel.

It looks like two days passed before staff responded to Bjorn, and we get this quote:

Okay. To be very clear. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion and to your beliefs, and we have zero issue with you expressing those opinions and beliefs in conversation so long as you do so while obeying both the letter and the spirit of the Code of Conduct.

Now, to the other side of this.  You have been removed from the room repeatedly within the past 24 hours for Code of Conduct violations as we told you might happen, and I am now going to go ahead and remove you from the room and ask that you do not return for one week while we discuss the room in general with the other chairs.

When we wrote to you two days ago, we specifically chose not to address your Slack status "Palestine will be free" with you even though several volunteers had mentioned to us that this phrase made them uncomfortable.  While the phrase did make some folks uncomfortable, it also wasn't obviously trying to be antagonistic.  We are not responsible for making sure everyone is comfortable all the time. It was an expression of your beliefs, and that wasn't an issue we felt was appropriate for us to address since it wasn't in and of itself a violation of the Code of Conduct.

So: Having your Slack status as "Palestine will be free" is not a violation of the Code of Conduct.

We go on with their response.

What is a violation of the Code of Conduct is that since we notified you that folks were having a hard time with your behaviour in that channel, the behaviour has gotten worse.  You've gotten into arguments repeatedly and called folks names; you've accused folks of defending murder. You've been abrasive and argumentative throughout your exchanges there.

Are you the only person who has done so? Clearly not. And you aren't the only person we've spoken to about this.  If it feels like you're being singled out, I'm very sorry for that, and you are correct that you are not the only one who has caused issues. However. We do not address the behavior of other volunteers with you the same way we do not address your behavior with them.

That said, when we let you know that others were uncomfortable, instead of discussing this with us or asking any questions, you gave us a dismissive "k", and instead began relentlessly posting articles to the room and occasionally leaving long tirades about your disgust for folks who do not agree with your specific point of view.  Within about an hour of our having spoken with you, you changed your status from "Palestine will be free" to "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free".  And this was after we let you know that you were making folks uncomfortable and specifically asked you to be more mindful of your language and not to lose sight of everyone's right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.

Basically, 'we talked to you about the code of conduct violations, you continued to specifically provoke people with your Slack status, you know how it affects people'.

You have been involved in enough conversations over the last month about that particular phrase that you knew or should have known the impact it would have on other volunteers to see that in your status given its fraught and controversial history. You were also aware of the impact it would have to use it in the room, repeatedly.

We are a volunteer organization and the use of Slack is, at its core, a way for us to be able to communicate with each other more easily to do our work. The social aspects are absolutely a lovely bonus, but they are not the point. If you can not have civil exchanges in those spaces and respect your fellow volunteers enough to stop when they ask you to stop, we expect you to remove yourself from those spaces. Just as we expect of every single other volunteer on our committee.

So: removed from the specific channel for violating the Code of Conduct and deliberately provoking other people.

I also want to address another part of Bjorn's accusation, as seen in their response to staff here:

when other people are allowed to deny genocide and defend war crimes on perceived technicalities with explicit defense from the org

if there was any explicit defense from ao3 about this I would expect to see screenshots, which I don't see

We don't know if other people in the channel also got reprimanded from AO3, because Bjorn doesn't know.

I'd love to see a comprehensive investigation, possibly with undercover volunteers, into Ao3's zionism and racism. Unfortunately, I find this to be shoddy, sensationalist journalism. Something else that puts me off of this statement is that @end-otw-racism refused to promote/work with Bjorn on this because Bjorn refused to redact names from the screenshots in the Slack, opening up volunteers to potentially being doxxed. With the past CSAM attacks happening to AO3 volunteers, I find this extremely off-putting.

[lichilly]

"It Will Come Back" — Hozier

Werewolf Joseph AU (Song Analysis)

I heavily encourage you to go listen to this song, either along with the analysis or by itself ! This post won't hold the same weight (in my opinion) if you go in blindly!

(tumblr hates me trying to upload my own mp3.. so I had to link to youtube instead..)

I’ve loved this song for a long time, and as I’ve delved into the Werewolf Joseph AU, I’ve noticed that it heavily relates to how I view werewolf Joseph. This song perfectly portrays the push and pull of Joseph’s internal struggle between his human side and his more feral, werewolf nature. Alright, let's dive in!!

You know better, babe, you know better, babe Than to look at it, look at it like that You know better, babe, you know better, babe Than to talk to it, talk to it like that

These opening lines reflect Joseph’s internal conflict. The “It” throughout the song refers to his werewolf side—a part of him he believes shouldn’t be acknowledged. By referring to it as “It,” Joseph distances himself from this aspect of his identity, as if it’s something separate, something dangerous that could easily latch onto the MC if provoked.

Don't give it a hand, offer it a soul Honey, make this easy Leave it to the land, this is what it knows Honey, that's how it sleeps

This verse speaks to Joseph’s primal nature, which is deeply rooted in him and exists beyond his human control. The line “Don’t give it a hand, offer it a soul” is a warning to the MC. Engaging with Joseph on a deeper level—offering more than just superficial affection—awakens something in him that he struggles to suppress. The "land" here symbolizes Joseph’s instinctual connection to his feral side, which only "sleeps" when left undisturbed.

Don't let it in with no intention to keep it Jesus Christ, don't be kind to it Honey, don't feed it, it will come back

This verse highlights the inevitability of Joseph’s return to the MC if they show him kindness or affection. His feral side cannot be ignored, and the MC’s kindness, fuels Joseph’s obsession. The warning “Don’t be kind to it/don’t feed it” suggests that even a small gesture of kindness has significant effects on Joseph. It awakens a hunger in him.

You know better, babe, you know better, babe Than to smile at me, smile at me like that You know better, babe, you know better, babe Than to hold me just, hold me just like that

This verse echoes the earlier warnings but with a more personal touch. By this point, Joseph and the MC have developed a closer bond. The MC’s smile, their touch—simple, human gestures—have a powerful effect on Joseph. Their growing closeness blurs the lines between affection and danger, making it harder for Joseph to maintain control over his instincts.

I know who I am when I'm alone I'm something else when I see you You don't understand, you should never know How easy you are to need

This verse is crucial in understanding Joseph’s internal struggle. When he’s alone, he has a sense of control over who he is, but the moment he sees the MC, his control begins to slip. He becomes “something else,” his feral nature taking over. The line “you should never know how easy you are to need” reveals how irresistible the MC is to Joseph, a fact that he knows the MC could never fully comprehend.

It can't be unlearned I've known the warmth of your doorways Through the cold, I'll find my way back to you

This lyric can be seen as both literal and symbolic. In the fanfiction I’m writing based around this song, the MC is staying in a cabin in the middle of winter. The cabin represents a warm, safe space, not just physically but emotionally—a place linked to the MC. Joseph feels a sense of warmth and safety in their presence, something he’s never experienced before.

Oh, please, give me mercy no more That's a kindness you can't afford I warn you, baby, each night, as sure as you're born You'll hear me howling outside your door

This verse marks a turning point for Joseph. Here, he fully succumbs to his true nature. The line “You’ll hear me howling outside your door” signifies his complete loss of control. Hozier’s almost growling delivery of this lyric emphasizes Joseph’s transformation—he’s no longer the man he once was, but something far more primal and dangerous. His howling outside the MC’s door is both a warning and a declaration that his obsession has taken over completely.

Don't you hear me howling, babe? Don't you hear me howling, babe? Don't you hear me howling, babe? Don't you hear me howling? Don't you hear me howling? Don't you hear me howling, babe?

This is my favorite part of the song ( no surprise there hehe). The repeated question, “Don’t you hear me howling?” serves as SUCH a haunting conclusion. The repetition, combined with the loud drumbeat that, to me, mimics knocking on a door, suggests desperation. The haunting, eerie nature of these lines reflects the idea that Joseph is no longer fully in control—he is now fully driven entirely by his feral nature and his obsession with the MC.

-

I hope you enjoyed this analysis! It was quite difficult trying to wrangle all my buzzing thoughts together but alas, I have done it. If you're interested in learning a little more about the werewolf AU you can find more about it over on my twitter linked at the top! Fair warning, most of it is incoherent rambles asdjldkfa

[suffarustuffaru]

Scrolling through your blog is such a fun experience, you bring an absolutely great vibe to this fandom and I love it SO MUCH. Could even say you restored my hope in it, since there has been some aspects that made me force myself to leave it, and I hope me bringing one of them up here won't upset anyone.

Now I completely understand if you wish to not answer my ask, but I figured it's worth a shot. So, one of said aspects was a controversy regarding one of the rezero characters that made me feel like you can't mention them without being called names (mostly on tiktok, but other social media also, tho not as much).

Yeah I'm talking about Felix. I'm not transphobic by any means, and I'm fine with people headcannoning whatever they want, but seeing thousands of people calling others transphobic for calling Felix a 'he' made me so unsafe I forced myself to look for other interest. Which is funny since most of the people saying this weren't even part of the fandom. I was wondering if anyone else here had similar situations and just.. how do you deal with it? It seems silly, I know, but feeling like I can't speak about a rather important character from a media I love made me so upset.

No matter how much I tried explaining it, they either dismiss it or say Tappei made him a trans girl without knowing.

Now, if you do decide to answer this and say that Felix indeed may have been 'trans coded' a little bit (Did I used that term correcly? Idk) I'll understand (hell, I would probably agree, you character analysis are great), I'm just upset at the absolute lack of respect for any other way of referring to Felix other then she/her.

(Also in case people don't know, their proof of Felix being a trans girl is the scene from EX1, with the whole calling himself a girl in front of a mirror thing)

Sorry for this is being long and probably messy I just had to get this off my chest.. also I hope I didn't came of as offensive in any way, if I did I'm really sorry.

hi there anon! first of all - aw thank you for your compliments about me and my blog. im super passionate about rezero (though thats probably super clear to anyone whos seen any content i make for a while aljsdlkf) and well. ive been lurking about in this fandom since summer 2020 so i definitely understand having to leave/distance yourself from this fandom because outside of tumblr, the rezero fandom is kind of . well. to put it simply, theres a lot of metaphorical landmines unfortunately!! T^T and admittedly i wouldve left this fandom a lot sooner if i didnt stick to my own corner and curate spaces with other people who were super chill (like lots of people lurking about here on tumblr + rz tumblr in general!!). so i totally understand how you feel anon (and youre not silly for being upset, i promise!), though admittedly im not super super familiar with some rezero spaces (such as rz twitter) bc i 1. dont speak japanese and 2. i try very hard to avoid the negativity whenever possible!! T^T

and also i apologize for taking a while to answer your ask!! you're one of my older asks that kinda got lost in my drafts hah but i also just wanted to like. take extra care with your ask bc its a super important topic. like not just to me (though its definitely important to me) but its important in general. and i really like felix so. <3

a quick disclaimer is that i myself am not transfem. i am however afab and most likely genderqueer!! (im winging it as i go hah.) felix is also not a character id say im as well-versed in yet, but i do like felix a lot and ex1 changed my entire brain chemistry. and ill also be defaulting to he/him pronouns in this post because thats what he uses in canon.

felix is - at the end of the day - a fictional character, and tappei is a cis man who doesnt Entirely write characters like felix through a queer lens. arguably tappei is Self-Aware when he writes characters who are into other characters of the same sex (though the Representation is arguably a little bit questionable at times depending on how you look at it), but when it comes to characters like felix or subaru who have some Gender Stuff going on, it's more nebulous there. i dont know if tappei 100% realizes he's made characters that could be read as Trans/Genderqueer (emphasis on "read as", because i support different interpretations of these characters), but tappei Definitely Is Very Aware that gender and gender presentation and gender roles are super important when it comes to characters like felix, subaru, and crusch.

i think tappeis own perceptions of gender and gender roles do bleed a bit into the text as much as tappei is pretty purposeful with themes surrounding gender in rezero, but rezero itself still has all sorts of identity issues to explore with a lot of its characters and gender is a big part of that!!

so first and foremost im gonna be examining felix the best i can Purely Off Of The Canon Text, though i do like viewing rezero from a queer lens myself (and it is arguably very queer). im gonna talk first about felix and then ill move onto talking about my personal feelings on rezero fandom stuff :o !!

so felix's relationship with his gender is complicated and he Absolutely does not fit into traditional gender roles or gender presentation right now. these are undeniable. and if people headcanon felix as transfem thats totally understandable and valid!! but to say a headcanon is 100% canon and that other interpretations of a character as complex as felix are invalid isnt exactly it. for sure. i mean i myself interpret him as nonbinary haah. but felix's relationship with gender is so so so So complicated that i dont think you could just say hes transfem and then Not Elaborate More.

but regardless of how Exactly you label felix, i think you could possibly say that hes trans coded. tappei, even if he probably doesnt entirely know hes made pretty genderqueer characters, is Aware and Purposeful of how gender affects felix and his perception of himself and his identity and other peoples perception of him and this is brought up Over and Over Again in canon—felix’s gender identity, at the moment, aligns more with femininity in his presentation in every way, though he still perceives himself as masculine. felix’s case is complicated, and while im not entirely sure on this i think you could argue that hes trans coded—“coding” suggests a level of intent when making these characters, and i think that intent is present in some way with tappei. because tappei Knows just how important gender is with felix’s character and you can tell with how often and how Integral it is to felix’s entire character.

(more under the cut) (i do have a habit of being rambley/wordy sometimes if. if you couldnt tell already. but i hope this response is up to your standards!!)

these three analysis posts on felix's relationship with gender have all discussed this topic in-depth before i have, and i 1. really like the rezero content i see from all three of these people and 2. they All have slightly different takes based on the canon we have but also some similar points. because felix is complicated!! of course our takes are probably gonna be a bit different - he's a multifaceted character with such a complex relationship with his gender that it's hard to tell what every single one of his personal feelings on it is (especially when at the moment he hasnt appeared in the main story since arc 5 and he still has a Lot of character development to do). and of course fiction is fiction, we can all take away any sort of meaning from a story like this.

but you know. this is my post so im gonna try to analyze felix right now and say my two cents on what i think of his relationship with gender.

so im gonna try not to retread too much on what liquidstar, sufferu, and gourmet of gluttony have already said about felix (and i think theyre all very smart people with interesting analysis posts and theyve all explained their thoughts pretty well) and instead add on with my own thoughts - theres this felix excerpt from arc 4 wn that i think about sometimes. im gonna put it down here!!

and also important to note—like other people have mentioned, crusch and felix made a “deal” of sorts in the past where crusch takes on felix’s masculinity and felix takes on crusch’s femininity. and also like other people have said—and i myself have said in the past—i do have some mixed feelings on this wkdndn and as i said before also i do wish tappeis feelings on gender bled a little less when theyre Not Integral To The Story. bc i dont think tappei 100% knows hes made trans coded characters, but. anyway yeah so thats the whole deal with crusch felix. and in its own right i think it has So Many Interesting Implications!!

i think when it comes down to it, gender presentation IS a bit of a performance, isn't it? like i love to wear dressses and skirts and i love to keep my hair short and wear suits, but you know - these sorts of things tend to be gendered. our gender is often perceived through how we present ourselves, but in recent years gender roles being attached to clothing has gotten a bit less Rigid. but these rigid roles associated with presentation are even more dialed up to Eleven in a medieval world like the rezero fantasy world. and i dont use the word "performance" in a negative way -

what i mean is that when it comes to felix's character, does felix think he's a boy because that's what he's been told? does he think he's a boy because he TRULY sees himself that way, or does he THINK he has to see himself as one? does felix try to present and perform femininity, ie as or like a traditionally feminine girl, purely ONLY for crusch's sake, or is it because felix ALSO WANTS to? what does felix think of gender outside of crusch? who is felix outside of crusch? who is felix outside of tying his entire personality to other people? does felix’s femininity show the “radiance of ferris’ soul” bc of the deal he made with crusch or bc this truly is felix’s soul? these are like the big questions behind his entire character and character arc that would determine in the end how felix identifies in both his gender and In General.

so what is felix's identity at the moment? bc right now, felix is stuck between his feminine self, tied to crusch, a symbol of crusch, tied to his own reliance on crusch and worship of her—and his masculine self, someone broken off from crusch. felix is tied to crusch right now to worrying extents with his obsessive devotion to the point of changing himself to mold into her image, and beyond that, hes still tied to guilt surrounding fourier’s death. gourmet of gluttony puts all of this way way more intelligently than i ever could, but at the end of the day, i think the best narrative decision here would be for felix to accept himself in ALL of his entirety.

healing in rezero is noted to be a kind power, specifically by fourier and fourier saying this right to felix when hes the most talented healer in lugunica, and healing itself is often stereotypically feminine activity. knighthood is stereotypically masculine, and on top of all this, we see in ex1 that biehn argyle twists the power of healing into something grotesque—trying to bring back the dead and revive what cant be revived, which is once again another reoccurring theme in rezero.

how far can “from zero” go? what HAS to stay dead and what can be revived? who is allowed to live? HOW do you live freely? felix is someone born from a horribly abusive and neglectful family who twisted healing magic’s kindness into cruelty, felix is someone who was taken into a family that showed him kindness and now hes desperate to pay them back with everything he has and everything he is, felix is a healer who lashes out when hes cornered and a healer who treasures life and a knight who cant physically fight like the others, felix is someone stuck with the horrible knowledge that he cant save everyone—that some things just Couldnt end better no matter how much he wished for it to.

felix is stuck between all kinds of worlds, and in terms of gender, hes quite literally still stuck between boyhood and manhood in the biological sense—hes purposefully made it so that he hasnt hit puberty yet so he can better pass as feminine. he hasnt Physically Grown past puberty—which is the mark of becoming an adult. and he hates himself in a number of ways, but he also hates himself for failing to be traditionally masculine. his abusive family stole ten years of his life and the torture left him physically weaker, so he cant be strong physically, which is something associated with traditional masculinity. felix is the best healer, a traditionally feminine job and skill, but he cant save everyone. felix becomes more feminine as part of his deal with crusch, but while crusch accepts her femininity and masculinity readily, and while crusch’s memory is erased by gluttony—felix is left behind, alone, still holding onto femininity while not entirely being able to hold onto it while he also cant entirely hold onto the traditional masculinity he expects out of himself. and with arc 3 on, felix feels hes failed both fourier and crusch. the two most important male and female figures in his life.

felix is basically stuck in this liminal space where hes not Enough for himself in literally every direction, and the only way out is to accept every part of himself and move forward by trying to define who he is without other people—his birth family and his found family dont define him. they can shape him, sure, but he has to stop shaping himself to meet them and figure out how to let himself just. Be. and take up a space thats firmly his. from a queer lens, this kind of thing is pretty queer—because to stop being in between worlds, you have to accept everything instead of splitting yourself into halves over and over again. killing or maiming yourself or parts of yourself is no way to live, and felix is Life itself.

and i think regardless of the Exact Labels you could give felix, i think his arc—which is perfectly in line with all of rezeros themes—is inherently about self acceptance and the bridging of the gap and combination of femininity and masculinity. felix is both and identifies, in one way or another, with both, similar to how he loves someone who identifies with both (crusch) and just as hes loved her and fourier. imo it wouldnt be right for felix to choose one or the other in terms of feminine vs masculine—he needs to be the one learning and navigating his honest feelings on both sides bc i think he Yearns to be both. hes a boy who dresses like a girl and its up to him to know if he wants to be a man and/or a woman due to his own internal desire or if parts of that is Only due to external pressures.

--

and alright now that ive said all my thoughts on felix atm im gonna address the other questions you had in your ask!! note that this is just my opinions and thoughts regarding my own experience in the english fandom, you dont have to agree or anything 👍

but i AM very sorry about your negative experiences in this fandom. T^T people calling other transphobic for using he/him for felix (and also people being transphobic about characters like felix or subaru/natsumi in general) is something ive seen as well. the rezero fandom is sadly very often toxic and Bigoted in a lot of ways (with the exception of rezero tumblr and certain segments of rezero ao3, from what ive seen), which is Ironic for a story thats so clearly about love and self-acceptance, which is also ironic because arguably tappei and otsuka and the rezero marketing team (i Love the female characters in rezero but theres just so much sexualized or vaguely sexist merch/moments that dont add to the story, you know? kind of just. misses the point of their characters sometimes.) sort of contribute to it a little bit as much as tappei does do some really great things with his writing.

rezero is the first fandom ive been active in but its definitely not the first ive ever been in, and ive been in some insane fandoms before. like i said earlier though, i think i just cope by curating my experience to what i like, yknow? liking posts i enjoy, looking at stuff i enjoy, etc :O !! fandom is a hobby so i try not to look at negative stuff when i can help it wkdnd. which im sure youre aware about already but i always have to keep reminding myself of this bc places like rezero reddit or twitter get pretty rough!! but its really helped me just following artists and creators i like, enjoying their content, chatting with cool people i vibe with, rezero tumblr being the chillest rezero space in the whole fandom, and its also helped me a lot making rezero content of my own—like this whole blog!! its really shocked me how much people seem to value my thoughts enough to ask me things frequently but i appreciate it pfft. and i hope you guys like reading my posts!!

but yeah like. curate, curate, curate. it helps a LOT and it gets me excited to experience rezero not only by myself you know? not that i didnt have fun by myself but its its own level of fun finally finding spaces to have fun with others!! and i LOVE finding beautiful fanart!! chef’s kiss. and trying to be the change i want to see is satisfying on its own :,) i want to post random shit about rezero, so i post it. i want to make fanart for fun and share it. i want to brute force people into loving otto more so i ottopost (dont worry, i still hate him bc true otto fans also hate him at the same time <3 /lh). i want more queer rezero content so i try to make some more!! brings more personal power i think and its very fun!! and it helps with lessening the quiet despair of fandom toxicity ;-;; (which is something ive done many times and will continue to do sometimes so i feel your pain 🫂) and i promise theres cool people in the fandom 👍 i may reply late to asks or dms but im ALWAYS down to talk about rezero things its so fun 👍👍

and its really really hard sometimes to deal with fandom toxicity especially if its forcefully knocking at your door—definitely dont force yourself to stay or look at things if you cant, bc thats totally understandable!! and i myself have been harassed a little in the past. but definitely having some sort of coping—the block button, backing out of things you dont agree with or like, lots and lots of curating, etc—helps me a lot. and i think mental health wise i feel much better trying to look on the bright side of things!! its MY hobby goddammit!! ill fight people subaru-style if they try to poison it!! and however long anyone reading this decides to spend with rezero and rezero tumblr—you are welcome here 👍

but yes my very Long rambling aside - i hope this post somewhat helped you!! felix is a very important character that i like very much and need to learn more about and i have Many Feelings on the english side of this fandom, but im very grateful to all the cool people ive met over the years here for sure!! :o

also ill probably post the finished version soon but if youve read this far here is a sneak peak of felix art i did recently (just as a reward for once again reading all of my Endless Yapping)👍👍

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Upd8 for 612 2024

This is long overdue, but it's been a bit of a rough week. Most of my activity on Tumblr this week has been from doctor's offices. Nothing really new or important to report there, just lots of doctor stuff.

While long overdue, I've mostly somehow been able to avoid spoilers. The only thing I've been spoiled on is what I kind of new was coming. Oh! And the plush! I know about the plush. Somehow in all the chaos though, my brain kinda didn't connect celebrating 612 with the idea there would be an upd8. Tells you how scatterbrained I've been.

So let's start with that news post.

Oh! James is going to be doing a stream? Cool! I hadn't heard of this. I wonder who with. I'll have to look that up next. James also goes into detail about revenue from the plush. From what I understand, this kind of deal is pretty common for when you supply a design/book/print but someone else does all the production work. Some never go beyond 10% unless you're doing a lot of business.

Looks like we've got apparel coming too! I bought a ton of shirts for 612 from one of the old retailers back in 2015. They are very beat up now. It would be nice to get some new ones.

It doesn't sound like the comic is self sustaining for this size team. I'm pretty sure James wouldn't carry through with his threat to actually put adds in Homestuck, but people deserve to be paid for the work they do.

Finally, this will be the first of two upd8s. Let's see what they have for us!

I think this is the first time we've seen the wings actually poof like that. Before, it was just outfit switches from God Robes to teen duds. We get a little reminder here of the increased age gap, as John has to stretch out the dad bod a bit.

Apparently, Immortals do still have to worry about aging and body degradation. Pretty lousy immortality . . .

Vriska ain't got time for that.

And I'm pretty sure Sollux doesn't have time for it either.

Nope! XD

Things still a bit awkward between John and Roxy. Can't expect things to be stable there yet. They may have had their heart to heart, but the war isn't giving them any time to reconnect. John is also trying to bury what he's feeling by just involving himself in another adventure. Hopefully Roxy will keep him from just getting caught up too much in Vriska's orbit. But I'm pretty sure Vriska won't be satisfied until all of the Candy Timeline revolves around her.

Suitably awesome with a frame break and everything.

So there's no chance this doesn't cross some kind of Universal barrier. The question is, what? The hour glass shape has a lot of people speculating that it's a time machine of some kind. But anything that allows you to cross from one Universe to another would inherently have built in time travel, since from your frame of reference one point in time is much the same as any. The question is, can this escape Calliope's black hole? I can't help but feel like that looks like a singularity there too.

Let me try and compile what I know about this thing.

It's called The Plot Point. Since Homestuck has always been about narrative manipulation, a device that directly impacts the narrative isn't just possible but already has precedence. In a story a Plot Point is something that greatly impacts the narrative. In a normal three act structure, plot points can be used to start or end acts, or in the middle of acts to mix things up or increase tension. They can even be used to change how the intended audience sees the story and its characters. There's basically no limit to what this thing might be intended to do and possibly no limit to what it can do.

This is supposedly the reason why everything got so extreme in the Candy Timeline, the reason why John and Vriska both feel this version of the Universe is fake, why a near full cast has congregated here, why Jane went from being a typical rich neo liberal to being an outright fascist, why Dave ended up fully ascending under such hilariously crazy circumstances. Whatever this thing can do, it's supposedly already doing something just sitting there.

3. While obviously this isn't the same device, it shares some traits with the device from Hiveswap. But they're obviously not the same. The previous device looks a little more ramshackle, more steam punk, where as this one looks more streamlined. In Hiveswap's device, the colors on the serpents are clear references to Calliope and Caliborn, who have dominion over the four Universes in Homestuck.

The colors on these serpents are different. They don't even share a color between their spirals. What they remind me of more are God Robes. Specifically, Roxy and Jade's robes. I think these represent . . .

Oh hell! I think a fan theory might have just been proven right!

Follow me here . . .

I think both of these serpent represent Calliope. The Black and White serpent represents Dead Tier Calliope. As Muse of Space, they have black and white for their God Robes. Additionally, they have been influencing the Meat Timeline through Jade's body. While Dirk may be trying to take full control of that narrative, it's technically Calliope's jurisdiction as now both Muse and Lord of the Alpha Timeline.

But why does the other serpent have Roxy's colors? Because our Calliope, our dear, sweet, fanfic writing Calliope, has been creating the stories of the Candy Timeline from Void. Somehow, through their deep connection with Roxy, Calliope has been manifesting their own narrative in the Candy Timeline. It may not even be this Calliope! It might actually be the Calliope in the Meat Timeline who stayed together with Roxy and grew closer to them. That Calliope is the one that was described as writing and drawing stories on their walls!

So what does this thing do? I think it can create any narrative Plot Point you want it to. I think it can steal the Void attribute of any idea, any character, any McGuffin you need it to! Need Gamzee back in the narrative? Bam! Gamzee's back! Want to bring Jane's dad back? Bam! Done! Need another life ring for dead trolls, or just a story that will eventually result in all the Homestuck trolls coming back to life in full? You got it! Want to write a peaceful resolution and dénouement to the war? Easy peasy!

Who the fuck's idea was it to put Vriska in the same room as that thing!

[the-californicationist]

Ask Guidelines

These are my guidelines for fic requests via tumblr asks. I truly adore receiving prompts or fic ideas, but please try to respect my boundaries. I do make an effort to answer almost all of my asks, but some of them are just outside of my comfort zone.

I will never write for or about minors as MCs. Minors are usually not included in my fics as side characters either. Asks for minors as MCs in fics will get you instantly blocked. I have a zero tolerance policy for this. My blog is adults only.

I mainly write for Price and Soap. I will write for Gaz, Alex, and Alejandro. I usually don't write for Ghost, Konig, or Laswell. I won't write for Makarov or Graves.

I will write for specific kinks, but if you want to see my full list, DM me. I don't enjoy writing about age-gaps, drugs, cruelty, CNC, baby-trapping, cheating, or cuckholding. I won't write for MC death, NC, DD/lg, unsafe sadism, blood play, scat/watersports, or any sort of body horror.

I usually write cis-female POV, but I feel comfortable writing for gender neutral or cis-male POV. I am willing to write for trans-m/f POV, but I may have questions about how you would like that character to be represented and referred to. I'm also happy to write slash like Ghoap or Gaz/Price.

Please understand that I usually have multiple projects going on, and I work full-time. It may take me more than a week to even read your ask much less fulfill it. Your patience is appreciated.

If you have any questions, please just DM me. I don't bite, but I may lick. 👁️👅👁️

✌️🩷 Cali

[ca-suffit]

Sorry this is long. I'm working through the thought as I write this.

There's a post with kinda a lot of notes going around that idk how jokey it is and it's like here's what you need to have read/seen before watching IWTV so you understand the abusive patriach.

And well, I feel like it's part of the pattern of ppl pushing the show's critique of the abuse family structures enable in a way where they won't have to talk about race. How does Revolutionary Girl Utena relate to IWTV? How does Succession? I've never seen Succession, but their cast is almost completely white, which is racial commentary all its own... In Utena neither race nor colorism ever figures into the narrative iirc. I haven't read the Cairo trilogy since uni but I don't remember race factoring into it either??

Like Lestat was the abusive patriach of their family bcuz he's white! His power is gendered bcuz race is gendered (becuz power is gendered and so on). I think the show is in greater dialogue with James Baldwin and bell hooks than Yoji Enokido and Jesse Armstrong! Baldwin outright, didn't Rolin Jones say in an interview once that Giovanni's Room was a direct inspiration?

It just bothers me. The omission of art by Black creators was so striking I felt like someone slapped me. And maybe if then the tone wasn't so condescending and the idea that you have to have read The Oresteia to understand patriarchal violence so classist, maybe I could shrug it off. But you couple both and I'm like damn we squeezed the Greek and the Japanese in but don't mention even one Black person. I'm not saying the OP did it on purpose cuz I don't know the OP, but it felt so so glaring to me the times I've seen the post. Especially ppl sharing it going yeah exactly!! 😐

Lestat As Patriach to me is just more about white supremacy than the cisheteropatriarchy, and how despite Lestat's promises to Louis (be all the beautiful things you are etc) vampirism could not and does not free Louis (+ Claudia) from anti-Blackness. Altho patriarchy and white supremacy are closely related and both relevant to the show, obvs, it just rubs me wrong when one is ignored in favour of the other. And of course it's always the critique of whiteness that ends up ignored 🤔

Why is everyone so scared of mentioning that Louis is Black? Ugh. Sorry. I'd like your thoughts this fandom makes me feel like I'm off my meds. - 🦁

sry it took me a min to get to this, I wanted to track down the post itself for context. I can't find OP's username now but I remember seeing it before and it not being familiar. so idk otherwise what they've said about this post for the tone and intention.

I can say tho that utena and succession have made rounds here in comparison to iwtv from black fans sometimes. but I've also seen this post otherwise criticized before this ask for not having any black references on it. I tried to find that rolin quote about giovanni's room too, cuz I remember it, but idk where it is or what the whole context was anymore.

from being around the tumblr fandom, what I can say about this kind of stuff is that....from the book ppl to show fandom, both sides usually want to "prove" they're rly smart? it's for diff reasons but sometimes the same references. fandom in general keeps moving towards if u can make ur argument about whatever thing sound deep then that means it is and more ppl will support it. there's a lot of constant misuse of social justice and psychological terms as well as connections to art and literature. look how often ppl never talk about anything critically bcuz "it's gothic romance, sweetie" or "stop looking for morality in stories about vampires" (that was anne rice's whole point tho?? but ok lol). it's a lot of words to say nothing.

ppl will basically always jump thru more hoops than is necessary to look smart in ways that ppl have a broad connection to. a lot of black creators aren't well known to ppl in the first place and mostly only prbly by black ppl too, so referencing anything doesn't get u the points that greek "classics" or pop references get. it also depends on the age range of where anything is posted. this fandom tends to be 20s to 40s but with more emphasis on 20s now, prbly, so lots of focus on proving ur worth and intelligence in the world. this post feeds that type of thing. it's kind of a pat on the head that ur engaging with "smart" stuff.

idk if the post *was* meant as a joke or not bcuz this is the kind of stuff the fandom *will* weaponize in defense of white fandom shit in rly racist ways, so. like u said, it's always kind of about all these other things except the most obvious.....which doesn't take much book smarts to see, u just look at the world around u on any given day. but I've noticed ppl tend to avoid topics that hit too close to home, so this is a way to give distance to things too, I think. If it's all fictional then it can't hurt u fr and also u don't have to care about being vocal about anything or doing any work otherwise.

[thelaurenshippen]

Can you tell me if Bridgewater is a struck show? Or could we ask Misha about it at a convention? I’ve had two people tell me different things so I’m unsure.

hey!! as far as I understand the SAG strike rules (as a SAG actor myself) I don't think Bridgewater counts as a struck show.

I've seen a lot of confusion/misinformation on tumblr about this, so I'm gonna take this opportunity to quickly explain the rules as they've been communicated to me as both a SAG actor and a producer of SAG podcasts.

the current SAG strike is for the TV/film contract, which means that struck work includes all television and film, whether on-camera or voice acting. there have been interim agreements issued to certain studios that allow actors to work and promote their work, but in general, actors are not allowed to do any TV or film work, including promotion!

however, this strike does not apply to other contracts that aren't TV/film. these contracts include: podcasts, video games, commercials, audiobooks, and others (though SAG is voting on striking video games at the end of this month). any work done under those contracts can be promoted!

SAG has great infographics on all of that here. now, there is a gray area that comes up when we consider struck companies. this is a term I've seen a lot in conversations around the WGA strike, where we use it to refer to companies like disney, netflix, paramount, etc. etc. - companies that we're striking against entirely, regardless of medium. that has been the spirit of solidarity in the wga audio alliance - even though fiction podcasts can be worked on during the strike, we're not working with companies that are being struck against, which includes even meeting with those people. though there hasn't been specific discussion around this from the union directly, I have personally extended this to the SAG strike - for instance, I made a show for netflix a few years back and have a tumblr ask sitting in my inbox about it and won't answer until the strike is over!

so, my logic: Bridgewater is under a SAG podcast contract and is a production of Grim & Mild and iHeart, neither of which are struck companies for either SAG or the WGA (unless I'm seriously out of the loop on something). I can't speak to what Misha will feel about it, but I'm certainly happy and comfortable to talk about Bridgewater.

I hope that answers (perhaps over answers!) your question! if you go to a convention, say hi to Misha for me!

[stromuprisahat]

(I only read TGT once so if I get any details wrong here, feel free to correct me. Same for the historical reference I'm discussing here). I never understood why Nikolai was considered to be a better character than the Darkling when it came to helping the Grisha. I know Leigh Bardugo presents him as the "nicer" option but Nikolai always kind of reminded me of Tsar Nicholas II, who, from what I remember learning in school, was considered to be a nice man who clearly loved his children, but a rather incompetent ruler. He didn't always make good decisions which made relations with the government worse, and increased hardships for civilians and soldiers. He also was really detached and out of touch with the plight of the Russian people and I believe some of his policies ended up alienating people from ethnic minority groups. I brought him up, because Nikolai is also kind of like this, he's not an exact parallel obviously but like, it's kind of there. The only reason really that he's considered effective in the books is because Leigh can't really write politics that well. Like, even the way the nobility would behave is something she didn't really write well, as well as how the public would react to the things that happen in the story. Idk. Did this make any sense? What do you think?

Absolutely.

I can't speak about the historical Nikolai- I've read very little about him, and it's been years-, but while book!Nikolai's ideas aren't bad per se, he's been greatly helped by gross simplification of politics and LB's clear favour.

Nobles are either supportive, or stupid and gullible.

Inclusion of Grisha works 100%. Sure, the soldiers for Nikolai's elite inventors would he handpicked, but either there is no longer hatred for Grisha among the First Army, or the Tsar's too high to see it.

The only peasants we meet are enlightened enough to immediately understand and ADMIT they're faring better (Read the link. OP's no longer on tumblr, but her posts are based on actual Russian history and literature.), which is... well, have you ever MET any real people, Leigh? RoW was published during fucking covid of all possible times! Huge chunk of population will rather die, than accept the unknown!

Making Nikolai visibly think with his cock leads to no trouble. No one's calling him weak, no one suddenly remembers rumors about Grisha girls "being able to put a spell on a man", Zoya's desired and respected, instead of being viewed as seductress or outright Witch Whore.

And one more about Grisha- there have been pogroms barely a few years back. First Army was slaughtering Second only because they've figured they're to blame for the Fold moving (and don't forget the only survivors aside from Malina were the Darkling's people). Am I to believe a new Tsar ascending with THREE Grisha publicly backing him up won't cause decent upheaval?

Sure, Kolya's nice, but he's too nice. Somewhere on his way from Sturmhond to Tsar Nikolai, he forgot how to cut fingers even though it might make him sick. And the situation should look accordingly.

[orange-orchard-system]

System reminder list by a sys inclus part 2, since the last reminder post is gaining traction yet again

New members are not a reflection of your worth. A lot of systems complain about getting new members as if it means they messed up, but here's the thing – someone new existing in your system does not mean you've done something wrong. New members do not mean that you made a mistake or are some kind of failure, it just means you have someone new to share your body with. They're probably nice and helpful, just give them a shot and some support! And moreover...

Don't treat new members as if they're inconveniences. New members are still members of your system, and it's important to treat them kindly like anyone else. Don't scare them into a shell by complaining about their existence, that helps nobody! If there's some aspects of having someone new around that bother you, that's perfectly understandable, just try not to let that ruin a possible working relationship with your new headmate. Communicate with them if you suspect your feelings might influence how you act and let them know that it's not their fault that you're feeling this way. Sooner or later, any issues regarding having a new member will be handled, and your new member won't be so new anymore.

You don't need to have a typical system name, or even a system name at all. If you choose to have a sys name, you can play with it and choose whatever words work best for you; don't limit yourself to just "x system" if you find something better. Plus, a system name isn't really necessary in a lot of settings, so if you'd prefer to refer to yourselves by a collective or body name, that's perfectly fine too!

There are many ways to communicate with your headmates. You don't have to rely purely on internal communication! Use sticky notes, journaling, video reports, powerpoints; whatever helps you communicate!

Factives can be [factives] of anyone. Occasionally, there's this misconception that factives can only be of abusive or toxic people. While it is common to have a factive of an abuser, it's not a definite truth! Factives can be of those you're close to, know well, or even just take an interest in! Not all factives are going to be of abusers, nor does having a factive of someone automatically mean they (either the factive or their counterpart) are an abuser. And even if a factive is of an abuser, it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be abusive as well.

You don't have to share everything about yourself if you want to be out/come out as a system. No matter who you're coming out to, whether it's a close family member in person or the wide expanse of the internet from your Tumblr blog, you do not have to share every little detail about your system if you don't want to. If there's some things you'd rather keep private for whatever reason, you're entitled to that privacy.

It's okay to want some sort of individuality and privacy from your system. One of the hardest things to accept about being a system is that your life is not just your own anymore. If you feel like you need some time to yourself or something specific that you can claim as your own, let your fellow system members know! You can probably work something out such as having some specific objects (a coat, a stuffed animal, etc) to call your own, or a specific time frame wherein you'll be able to do what you want while fronting alone. It's alright to want individuality and privacy while being a system, it just might take some work to balance those things.

It's okay to not know things about your system. You don't have to know exactly what caused you to be this way, how many headmates you have, what every corner of your innerworld looks like, etcetera. If there's some things you just don't know, that's perfectly fine! Most people don't know everything about themselves. If you haven't figured everything out yet or you don't think you want to pin down everything about yourself, then that's okay – you don't have to know your system inside and out.

[blackdollette]

hii! omg okay so i absolutely love your works and your writing style and i wanted to know how you started up writing on here because i’ve been wanting to for a while but have no idea how to start 😣

thank you so much for this question! I'm gonna answer it in detail and feel free to dm me if ur confused abt anything!

OLIVIA'S (almost) COMPLETE WRITING GUIDE!

the basics.

i'll start off really easy. to begin, find someone (preferably famous). if this person is in any films, watch a few to get a taste of a couple different characters. this will help you form a hyperfixation to a character. this will be who you write for. for me, it's rory culkin & spencer reid. from here, now we can get to the fun part.

your aesthetic.

your theme is the next thing that will draw in an audience. I'm completely aware of the trillions of different aesthetics in the world, but more popular ones tend to draw a larger audience (odd, I know.) currently trending aesthetics include 2014 grunge (shades of black, pink, and lots of soft filters), coquette (pastel pinks and soft cremes, can be followed with slightly disturbing content), and my favourite, gothic. (falls into 2014 a little. i include themes from my favourite album. music will draw in a crowd too.) but this part is extremely flexible, so choose any style that you want!

friends & your fandom.

one of the best things you can do to give your account a kick start before even starting is to make friends in a fandom. reblog fics you like, leave kind comments, "sneak" into dms and leave encouraging messages. this'll earn you some followers and supporters right off the bat. if you're comfy with it, tell your friends outside of tumblr to follow you too (but I totally understand where that can get messy, so no pressure.)

writing + visuals.

now we're getting to the good part. fanfics are categorized into 3 main parts: smut, fluff, and angst (all I'm sure you've seen on my page.) smut is sexual stuff, fluff usually has a more cozy atmosphere around it, and angst is all the gut-wrenching stuff that really tugs at your heartstrings. as you write for either one of these things, keep in mind that your visual should support whatever the theme of the fic is. idk how long you've been supporting me, but ever since the start (august 2023) I have included some sort of visual in my content. first I only used gifs and ordinary fonts, then I branched out and began putting together my own photos and making the title match. your visual will reflect the quality of your writing.

when writing for anything, second person is usually my go-to (you went to the store, you took a walk, etc). it is the most commonly used perspective and prevent any confusion for the readers. when writing smut, there are certain words and phrases that'll be good with readers, and some that won't. when referring to the vagina, "cunt" and "pussy" will do better than "coochie" or "bearded clam" (yes, I've actually seen that used in a fic). when writing angst or fluff, create a mood by using sensory words that paint a picture in the reader's mind. practice this by googling good descriptive words and weaving them into your fics. this'll boost your writing by a ton, trust me.

conclusion.

this was a lot to take in, I know. when I first started publishing fics on this account, my content was far from good, but I promise you will improve as you go. remember to pace yourself, don't force yourself to write if you just don't feel like it. any writer on this app will understand that feeling. leave your inbox open most of the time to receive good ideas from your supporters, but let them know if you ever need to close it because of an excessive workload. i don't know if you're in school, but finding a good balance between schoolwork and writing fics is a huge part of this whole thing too. thank you so much for the wonderful ask, and my dms are open if you have any more questions.

xoxo, olivia.

[asteracaea]

Hello! This ask is way too long, I apologize 🥲

This is about your post regarding the albatross, and @bettyshoweduptotheparty’s addition (I wanted to send this ask to both of you but I prefer being anonymous, sorry I’m shy); if either of you (or anyone else) want to talk about this song, please do, here’s your excuse to do it. Mainly 2 things I wanted to talk about / ask.

1. So, I didn’t know the original line from romeo and juliet, and I hadn’t understood the line “a rose by any other name is a scandal”, and now I’m wondering if the reason I don’t understand many lyrics is that I’m missing the reference. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the only reason, my interpretation skills are rather limited, but I would love to find out. So if anyone wants to make a list off the top of their head of taylor lyrics that reference something, I would love that so much. If anyone would like to do it, please include the obvious ones, good chance of me not knowing it (wish I could blame it on english not being my first language but, again, probably not the only reason). But anything from english literature, and references to popular sayings, I probably won’t know even if it seems obvious. Of course this would be an extremely long list and very time consuming to make, that’s why I’m asking if anyone can add some that they remember off the top of their head. I would absolutely not oppose if someone wanted to make a complete list, though.

2. After gaining some insight on the rose line, I wanted to understand it in the context of the song etc etc and once again my (lack of) interpretation skills are failing me, so if anyone can help me out with the meaning of some other lyrics in this song. “Wild winds are death to the candle”, I figure it’s a popular saying (like “one bad seed kills the garden” in the next part), but I don’t really understand what point it’s trying to make. Next we have “one less temptress, one less dagger to sharpen”, “only liquor anoints you”, and the one I’d like to know the most: “devils that you know raise worse hell than a stranger”. Also the whole bridge (😭 look, I said the interpretation skills were poor) “and when that that sky rains fire on you, and you’re persona non grata, I’ll tell you how I’ve been there too, and that none of it matters”.

Okay, I guess this is it, I’m sorry it’s so long, I really won’t hold it against you if you just delete it.

Goodbye <3

oh dear sweet anon, your ask is not too long and i am very happy to respond! i'm sure @bettyshoweduptotheparty will be as well! thank you for writing!

taylor references so many things in her lyrics, and they often have multiple layers and interpretations, and that's what makes it so fun for me to contemplate and discuss them - i'm always discovering new meanings, even years down the road! and our wonderful brilliant mutuals here on tumblr are constantly discovering new meanings and drawing parallels that really deepen and enrich my experience of taylor's songs. i've been here 4 years now and i won't be leaving because i'm constantly learning about linguistics and art and symbolism and (lgbtq) history.

her music is amazing because it can be enjoyed on a surface level of fun and beautiful music, but you can also dive down the rabbit hole and learn things that are so much more complex and nuanced and universal than just what people she's dated or who she's writing about. imo, she is so much more brilliant than most people realize rn. it's funny because she's like the most popular successful beloved artist in history and yet i don't think most people even begin to know how brilliant she is, or appreciate the art she's been making!

i'm not sure if a comprehensive list of references exists yet, but that's definitely something i would love to do someday! can you imagine the tome... but i think tumblr is a living evolving compilation of references like that. taylor herself has said that she puts easter eggs into her art that people won't understand for years (as we have seen with things in rep, now knowing her conflicts with BMR and SB) and things about her private life that we cannot know now that she may or may not share with the world at a later date.

but i think you may be asking about literary and idiom/phrase/language poetical references? some people may have already created masterposts and analyses of individual songs and lyrics, and if anyone has or knows of any offhand please send them my way and i'll reblog them! but yeah, we're all collectively constantly finding new references which is why i can never leave this hellsite 😂 i'm constantly learning! and especially with this heavily poetic and linguistically dense new album, i'm sure we'll be mining it for YEARS! and that is just so fun and exciting and beautiful to me.

i hope i didn't go off on too many tangents! and you've inspired me to want to start an intensive comprehensive analysis of ttpd and all her music! so yeah in conclusión, that's a great goal, to make a compilation!