#all this to say thank you to the 3-5 people who regularly interact with my posts 😂 you guys are great

[alltimefail-sims]

Not to be a negative nelly on main BUT this is a reminder that interaction on simblr is encouraged otherwise people lose their motivation to post 😬. Like I didn't want to be the one to say it... but I'm gonna.

The "boops" made it clear that interactions have always been possible, people are just choosing not to. Which of course is your right... it just stings a little 🙃

[bookwormbynight]

the take that lawlight and other ships involving Light and an older character are not problematic because “Light Yagami is incapable of being groomed” is doing rounds on dntwt again and holy shit it drives me insane every time i see it because

(“you” below refers to people with this take, not you)

1. what the hell is this victim-blaming logic when you’re literally talking about it as something applicable to the real world. no one is immune to being groomed.

2. to speak of the idea in-universe, I’m pretty sure that is just factually untrue. Light can definitely be groomed and has many traits that make him susceptible

3. no one is immune to being groomed. Light being manipulative, “evil”, intelligent or ““mature for his age”” (oh boy) does not prevent him from grooming in any capacity. in fact those traits combined with his arrogance make him a easy target as long as the perpetrator knows what to say

4. if you’re uncomfortable with the idea that lawlight is grooming, you can just think and say that you do not view lawlight’s dynamic as grooming. that would be reasonable, at least in comparison to fucking “light is immune to being groomed”

5. (pardon my language but) why in the fuck would you phrase it like “I’m sorry but if you can *insert a bunch of things that don’t prevent anyone from being groomed* then I’m NOT gonna believe you got groomed” like do you know how you sound right now????

6. have I mentioned that no one is immune to being groomed.

frankly, as someone who doesn’t usually prefer to view lawlight as full-on “adult grooming child” (I do think the existing age gap is a very intriguing factor but generally it is not my top preference to take it to the extreme in my own conception of it; it is very interesting to see as an alternative though, I respect it), I feel MUCH safer around everyone in this dn tumblr circle than people who say that shit. respect and salute to you all 🫡

Oh, ick!! Thank you for sharing!

Dude I am so afraid of dntwt I refuse. Of course the drawback to that is Tumblr doesn't allow the kind of images that Twitter does so I miss out on that but with the combination of Elon Musk and the nazis and whatever nutcase discourse that regularly happens over there, I'm not touching that shit with a ten foot pole even for the sake of porn 😭

Yeah no the solution to something that makes you uncomfortable is never ever to blame the victim. (Honestly, and I'm psychoanalyzing again, I think part of what makes this circle so safe is that we treat this shit with the gravity it deserves, even when we're sexualizing it. Because what we're sexualizing IS the horror. The horror is what's hot about it, but the horror reaction implies that it's something terrible and serious. It's not normal or okay or impossible.)

I'd like to explore the mention of discomfort with the topic. That shit is normal and human. Not everyone likes sexualizing horror, not everyone understands everything you need for it to feel safe, AND, and this is a wildly different but still important factor in fandom interaction, not everyone DOES think it's plausible for the universe. You can think things don't match your headcanon for how you interpreted the work! I made a post yesterday along those lines about a fanfic I was reading! The thing is, don't attack real people (if you think someone's handling a subject in fiction in a way that does real harm, like E.L. James for my example, you don't send hate mail, you tell people why it's harmful and boycott the work); be aware that canon is subjective even if you have some textual evidence to back your view up - feel free to present said evidence, but nobody has to take it to heart and you can't make them; and above all, if it's pertaining to these types of topics, DO NOT USE THE VICTIM TO CONTRADICT IT. USE THE SUPPOSED PERPETRATOR. If you don't think L is a groomer, say so, if you don't think lawlight involves grooming, go for it, but Light Yagami better not fucking be a pillar of your argument because victims are never the reason something happened to them, which means they are also never the reason something didn't happen. People astound me.

Be kind everybody ❤️

[facewithoutheart]

Ten Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tags @shrekgogurt, @artsyunderstudy, @youarenevertooold, & @roomwithanopenfire I’m enjoying all this navel-gazing a whole bunch actually & I’ve done this before but it’s been awhile… sooo

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 169 (niiiice)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? ~950k (yikes) although some of that is Birthday Man and collabs with people from WIP fest. Don’t ask me to do the math tho; that’s mean.

3. What fandoms do you write for? I’ve written for HP, Check Please, and RWRB although right now I’m mostly a CO writer with a toe dipping into 9-1-1. I have one Captain America fic posted and some WIPs I don’t know if I’ll finish. Nobody look at that AFTG fic; it’s pure crack.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Whoo boy do I have thoughts here. I want to be the kind of writer who replies to comments and I harbor so much guilt that I’m not; I know I miss out on opportunities to connect with readers, and I genuinely appreciate comments so much; I hoard them in my inbox like a greedy lil affirmation dragon. I write to engage and connect. So, like, I know I should but at the same time I hate forcing interactions. I like them to spawn organically. I keep my circle small because I get really emotionally overwhelmed and then I feel guilty when I can’t give people what they deserve. And I’ve also never been comfortable with compliments or gratitude, I don’t trust them. So here’s a bulk of emotional trauma no one asked for to say: I don’t reply to comments as often as I feel I should and I’m trying to release the guilt I feel about this while also recognizing that not commenting probably has a direct negative affect on my ability to meet my goal of connecting through writing and at the same time my mental health probably couldn’t withstand the pressure I would need to place on it to get to where I’m replying to comments regularly. Hi I’m a mess who’s trying to love herself and often falls short of that goal; aren’t we all?

5. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No.

6. Have you ever co-written a fic before? So many actually! I didn’t think I’d ever get to a place where I trust someone else to the level this would take but I’ve been really lucky to work with some amazing writers even if not all of those works went anywhere. I actually don’t even think I could realistically tag all the people I’ve collabed with bc I’m afraid I’ll miss someone and isn’t that amazing? Personal growth; we love to see her.

7. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Oh man. I want to just be lame and say it’s me and Mr. Face 🤣 I shipped us when no one else did. Um! Snowbaz is always going to have a special place in my heart, but I’m really leaning into Buddie right now because of age and wanting to explore people in their 30’s still figuring out their lives while battling PTSD and late-in-life sexuality realizations. For, um. Reasons.

8. What are your writing strengths? I do like my dialogue a lot; dialogue is often where I start my scenes and I develop from there. I think I’ve done a good job of honing my ability to vary action/dialogue/internality a lot. I also think I keep people engaged or maybe I just keep myself engaged which is good enough for me. Sometimes I’m funny although sadly not as much recently.

9. What are your writing weaknesses? I struggle with remembering to add in physical descriptors. (Like oh shit have I ever mentioned this character has eyes?) Logistics are a frequent source of pain. (Wait, where were their hands?) I think my plots are kind of basic and boring; I don’t come up with really vivid and detailed concepts. I use the wrong words for things. I really hate detailing out backstory. I have to reread my fics a million times to maintain character consistency. Etc.

10. First fandom you wrote for? Hey Arnold. I wish I could find those fics; I bet they suck.

Tagging 10 peeps @sillyunicorn @mostlymaudlin @martsonmars @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @thewholelemon @palimpsessed @aristocratic-otter & @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

[naruto--imagines]

Sasuke X Reader [Best Friend] [Part 2]

[A/N] I do not own any of the characters present in this story, nor do I own the GIF that is featured. I do hold ownership over the story itself, please do not re-post it anywhere. Thanks! <3

It’s been 5 years since you broke up with Itachi and started dating Sasuke. You two have graduated from school (Sasuke received a degree in criminal justice and you double majored in forensic investigation and in communications). You two have been living together and you both applied to the National Police Agency. Sasuke was hired as an investigator and you as a liaison for the department. It was while you were out celebrating your new jobs with your friends that Sasuke ended up proposing to you. It wasn’t a big fancy ring, but you thought it was perfect. 

The two of you decide to have your wedding in 2 years time. That gives you enough time to comfortably plan, save money, and accumulate time off. The first thing you decided to work on was the guest list. After work one night you and Sasuke sat on the sofa. You have a legal pad in your lap and are chewing on a pen. You both decide that you want a small ceremony and a small wedding party. Sasuke selected Naruto as his man-of-honor and you chose one of your closest friends. 

The two of you decide to invite your friends from school, that’s about 24 people between the 2 of you. Then family, you quickly made a list of all your family members that you want to invite conferring with your fiance along the way. Then you start on the Uchiha family. You quickly scribble down Mikoto and Fugaku, then you write an ‘I’ before stopping your pen. You pause and look at the legal pad. Then you look up at Sasuke. He looks back at you with a head tilt. He leans over to see what you were writing before he lets out a sigh. Sasuke pulls the legal pad from your hands and shifts so the two of you are sitting side by side. 

“We should talk about that huh.” He states wrapping his arm around you. Things between the two brothers had been tense for the first year after you and Itachi broke up. Sasuke was pissed for so long, and the rage resurfaced every time your feelings of insecurity were brought up. Obviously not at you. But you weren’t quite the same after Itachi cheated on you. Things started to look to be on the mend after all three of you started working at the same place. It was big enough that interacting regularly was out of the question, but you often had to work with Itachi and his team to prepare public statements. Sasuke saw him on a more regular basis. The two would be called in for their opinions on the harder cases their father was handed, and Mikoto frequently demanded family dinners. So while the relationships were improving, your heart still had a scar on it. 

“Do you want him there?” You ask him keeping your voice neutral. He rolls his eyes,

“This isn’t about me-”

“He is your brother Sasuke, and this is our wedding.” You emphasize turning toward him more. “If you want him there, then I want him there.” You place your hands on his face and press your forehead against his. “I don’t want what happened to still be a problem. We have moved on with our lives. I love you with all of my heart and I want to marry you no matter who is at our wedding.” You finish by pressing your lips to Sasukes. He presses into you, wrapping his arms around you and drawing you in to straddle his lap. You let out a hearty laugh at the action and smile down at him.

“I want to invite Itachi,” Sasuke says. You smile at him then lean back towards the table, Sasuke stabilizing you as you do so. You messily scribble Itachi’s name on to the growing list. You drop the pen back on the table and wrap your arms around Sasuke’s neck again. 

That was almost a month ago. The plans were steadily made, month by month. Currently, you are sitting at a bakery with Mikoto and Sakura sipping coffee and tasting cakes. Since Sasuke is practically repulsed by anything that is branded as a sweet, you brought the two ladies with to help you decide. Sakura and you are talking about the pros and cons of ordering flowers through the Yamanaka shop compared to others (presently you have more pros than cons). Mikoto was silently sipping on her coffee, she carefully set the cup down and cleared her throat sending a smile your way. 

“Have you decided on the guest list? Sasuke says you were working on it the last time I saw him.” She asks with a gentle smile on her face.

“We have, but the problem I’m having is,” You recap the last conversation you had with your fiance, the two girls listen in a rapt manner. “I really don’t want to dwell on the past. But sometimes when I see Itachi my breath still catches and my heart skips, in a bad way. The worst part is that I still struggle with what happened.” You tell them. The two of them sat quietly thinking over what you had said.

“Have you considered seeking counseling?” Mikoto asked setting her cup down.

“What, like, get my head shrunk?’ You asked confused by her question.

“No no. You and Itachi going to couples counseling. Most divorce couples seek it out, it could be beneficial to you.” She explained. 

“Hm.” You took her suggestion into consideration, you’d have to talk to Sasuke about it, but if it would help alleviate the tension between you and Itachi, it might be worth it. 

“Well, what cake do you guys like?” You ask your guests in front of you, hoping to switch topics. 

---

That day when you got home, Sasuke was already working on dinner. You walked into the kitchen and stepped up behind him wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your face into his back. He stirred the food in the pan he was working with. Sasuke placed one hand over both of yours and soothingly rub his fingers over yours. 

“How was cake testing?” He asked going back to cooking. 

“Hn.” You responded drawing a laugh from him. 

“That bad huh?” Sasuke questioned.

“Hmmmmm. Well, it wasn’t bad per se, we chose a cake flavor. But, your mom made a suggestion.” You trailed off, still thinking about what she said. 

“What’s that?”

“She suggested that Itachi and I go to couples counseling to resolve what happened before.” You explain tightening your grip on Sasuke, pressing your nose between his should blades. Sasuke let out a sigh before turning the burner off. With you still ‘attached’ to him he maneuvered to grab two bowls to serve dinner. He grabs the now full bowls and starts to walk to the living room, you’re still holding on to him and awkwardly walk with him. Sasuke sets the bowls down on the kotatsu, then sits on the floor pulling you down into his lap. 

“Tell me what you think about it.” Sasuke says, keeping his voice neutral, indicating he wants to genuinely hear your thoughts. He begins to eat the noodles he prepared waiting for you to speak. You sit silently thinking about your response while also slowly eating the food he prepared. When you were halfway through your food you had your thoughts in order. You place your bowl down and tuck yourself back into Sasuke with a sigh.

“Your mom suggested that Itachi and I see a therapist that specializes in divorce counseling. I think if it can help mend the relationship between us and him, then we should consider it. I- I’m still struggling with what happened. And I don’ know how to make it any better.” You confess feeling your throat tighten. “And I don’t say this to make you feel bad, or anything like that.” The tears are now pooling in your eyes. “You are so amazing and supportive, and Sasuke, I love you so much.” Sobs have broken through fully acknowledging what you hadn’t before. Sasuke set his bowl down and wrapped you up in his arms, firmly squeezing you. 

“Whatever we need to do to assure you feel the best, we will do it.” He says pressing his lips to the top of your head. You turn fully into Sasuke wrapping your arms around him and crying into his chest while he soothingly rubs your back. 

---

The next day at work you approach Itachi on your lunch break.

“Can I talk to you for a minute.” You ask him, there are a few other people standing around in his office. And he looks slightly surprised to see you. 

“Yes, please everyone if you will excuse us.” The others left the room and you took a seat in front of Itachi’s desk while he closed the door. Once closed he sat down in front of you. The tension is thick in the air. 

 “What’s up?” He hesitantly asks you. You watch as he fidgets with the ring on his finger. The ring he had since highschool when he was hanging out with those kids that Fugaku hated. If you remember correctly the group called themselves Akatsuki, or something like that. Itachi developed this nervous tick early on. He would spin the ring around his finger, and on the days he tried to hide it from his dad, he wore it on a chain around his neck and he would drag the chain up and down. One week he needed your help hiding the ring, his dad said if he saw said item again, he would throw the ring away and send Itachi to the boonies of Japan. It had been a bad week for Fugaku, the office was getting ready to try a massive case, and he had been more than tense. So Itachi placed the chain with the ring on it around your neck and asked you to keep it safe. You were insanely giddy. Honestly, you secretly hoped he would eventually propose the same way. A shot dream. 

The thought made you smile and you were brought back to reality when Itachi shifted forward, resting his forearms on his desk (still fidgeting with his ring). You took a large shuddered breath, looking down at your hands as you laced them together glancing at your new favorite ring. 

“Sasuke and I would like it if you attend our wedding.” You state, your eyes moving up to look in his. Itachi’s eyes widened slightly at your statement. “Um, but before that, I kinda need … something from … you.” You tinker off, the nerves back tenfold. Your gaze drops away from his once more, and you begin ringing your hands together tightly squeezing one then the other. 

“If I can help you in any way, I would be glad to.” Itachi softly murmurs, but it felt loud in the quiet office. Engulfed in the silence once more you struggled to find your words. Itachi was using that work tone on you. Just like Sasuke, he was keeping his voice in a neutral tone. Gauging you without influencing you with his tone.

“I-I, need you to go to therapy with me.” You tell him. Your hands in a vice grip of each other. You heart beating fast and breath coming short. 

Suddenly two chilled hands are pressed against yours and Itachi is kneeling next to you. Carefully he pried your hands apart, he hated when you did this explaining that he didn’t like that you inadvertently caused yourself harm, and he held them in his. You look over into his eyes and realize that tears had flooded your own and you were holding your breath attempting to suppress the sobs bubbling in your chest. 

“Breath,” He cooed, using his thumbs to rub the back of your hands. A shuddered breath rips its way through your throat and the next thing you know you are full blown sobbing in your ex-boyfriend-soon-to-be-brother-in-law’s office. For a few moments the two of you sit there, Itachi doing his best to soothe you and you crying. Eventually, you calm down, Itachi grabs a kleenex from his desk and hands it to you. You clean up your face, and take a few calming breaths. 

“What did you have in mind for therapy?” Itachi asked, looking up at you from his kneeling position. You take a few breaths and explain to him what you had been researching. By the end, you and Itachi decide that next Saturday you will go together to check some counselor offices.

---

On Saturday, the two of you shopped around until you found a counseling office that you both liked. The two of you set up a time to come back for your first appointment. It is as you are leaving that the therapist comes back out to greet the two of you. 

“I forgot! I have some homework that the two of you need to do before next week.” She explains. She hands each of you a sheet with instructions on it and tells the two of you not to let the other see it. Afterwards, the two of you head to a tea shop located near by and sit down for a drink. 

The two of you sit down at one of the tables while you wait for your tea. Both of you fingering the papers you were handed. You glance over at Itachi as a familiar sweet smell permeates the air, dango. You see his nose twitch as a display is set on the counter where everyone was ordering. Itachi has a longing gaze in his eyes, you know it is his favorite snack, but he was frequently reprimanded for enjoying sweets so much. With a laugh to yourself you stand from your seat mentioning that you will be right back. You walk up to the counter and order a plate of dango for the two of you to share. When you get back to the table Itachi has unfolded his paper and is looking it over. You see a furrow to his brow that lifts when you set the plate down. He smiles at the trat and you sit down once more. 

“What’s it say?” You ask him, curious to know if he will give in to your prodding. Instead he smiles at you and folds his paper up.

“You know I can’t tell you. You’ll find out next week.” He tells you grabbing one of the sticks from the plate between you too. You smile at him, knowing there is no way he will tell you anything until next week.

The two of you enjoy your tea and treats. Reveling in the conversations you have and laughing like you two hadn’t for a number of years. At the end of your time together you both say goodbye and head your separate ways. On the bus back to your apartment you find yourself  crying silently remembering how things used to be. 

---

During work the next week you were tasked to assist Itachi and his team to prepare evidence that will help the prosecutor convict an at large criminal. It seemed easier to work with everyone now that some of the tension was alleviated between you and Itachi. During your lunch breaks you would pop into Sasuke’s office to hang out with him, providing the two of you a break from the gruesum elements of your jobs. Then it was back to work for the rest of the day before you went home with your finance for dinner. 

On Friday you and Sasuke ordered takeout and sat at the kotatsu to eat. Dinner was put away and you pulled out the homework you were given. You had been putting it off for the whole week, but seeing as you were going to the office tomorrow you should probably fill it out. Sasuke came back in and sat down behind you wrapping his arms around you.

“What are you doing?” He asked, resting his head against your shoulder.

“Homework,” You tell him. Sasuke gives a confused grunt in return and you explained it to him. Sasuke sat up and read the paper over your shoulder.

“At this mediation office we work on positive separations. To do this, your first task is to write a letter to the person you are separating from about all the positive attributes they possess.” Sasuke read outloud. “Hn.” was his response as he tucked his head into your shoulder and closed his eyes. The two of you sat in silence momentarily before he broke it once more. “You better start writing, I want to go to bed soon.” Sasuke said, pulling you tighter to him and snuggling into your back drawing a laugh from you. So you started writing. 

---

The next day found you and Itachi sitting side by side across from the councilor in her office. She told the two of you to call her Koi, a nickname she gained from childhood due to her soothing mannerisms. Koi sat there smiling at the two of you, a notepad in hand, and waited. She asked you to read your letter and upon her request your throat grew dry and tight. You took a shuddering breath, drank a sip of tea set in front of you and clutched your papers in your hand. 

“Dear Itachi,” You started a quiver to your voice. “You and I have known one another for almost 20 years, and because of this I have come to know you inside and out. Every expression your eyes make, even when you think no one else knows what they mean, I do. I have been in love with you since I was 7 years old,” You say with a laugh, in turn getting Itachi to laugh as well. “ Because of this, there are a few things that I want you to know about yourself that you often neglect. First of all, I love how sure of yourself you are. You have always been comfortable with who you are even when the world has pushed back against you. Being with you made me grow in my own confidence. Second, you have so much love in your heart, and I am glad to witness it nearly every day. From the care and hard work you put into your job every day. You make sure that the people who deserve justice get it, and I am so proud of you for that. I also see the love you have for your family-” Your voice breaks at this point forcing you to take a breath before you continue “You were the pillar of support for Sasuke and I when we were growing up, and you still are to both of us. I see the love you have for your mother and father, the way you keep the Uchiha house together makes this blatantly obvious. Finally, the security that you offer. You have always been someone that I could confide in, in my life. I am thankful for the love you showed me for nearly 5 years, and although it isn’t the same type of love now I still feel it.” Again you have to stop to compose yourself through the tears. “Itachi Uchiha, you were the love of my life for so many years and I am grateful for all the time we spent together. With love, Me.” You finish folding the paper up and sitting back in your seat with your arms crossed. Koi leans forward and hand you a tissue, which you use to wipe your face. 

“Thank you,” Koi says with a smile, “Okay, Itachi, would you please read your letter now.” She says turning her gaze to him. You also turn to look at the Uchiha seated next to you and his eyes are locked on you with one of the saddest expressions you have ever seen him wear.

“My dearest love,” He starts, and immediately you are clutching your shirt with the hand not holding the kleenex. He hadn’t called you that in nearly 5 years. “I feel as though there is so much to say, and only a little time to say it all. You are the first person to have so much of my heart. One of the earliest memories I have of us is when you were about 8 years old, the first time you told me you loved me. And the first time you said you were going to marry me.” Itachi said with a smile, the memory made you grin as well. “You came into my life because of your outgoing personality and your convictions and those same qualities made me want to keep you in my life. My favorite thing about you is that you are a great friend. You are always there to offer a hand to whoever needs it regardless of the cost to you. You are as selfless as they come, frequently giving up your happiness in favor of others. You are the kindest human being I have ever known, but you don’t let people take you for granted.  You work hard every day to prove your worth to those around you, personally I think you work too hard some days.” Itachi pauses to clear his throat, you continue to watch him, tears fully streaming down your face. “My dearest, you shine brighter than any observable star in our galaxy. And everyday I am proud of the progress you have made. I believe that I am a lucky man because I was given the chance to love you and have you love me in return. There is not one thing that I like about you above any other trait. I love everything about you, because it all makes you who you are. Sincerely, Itachi” He finishes and tears are officially brimming in his eyes as well. 

Itachi sat back in his chair, gently resting his letter in his lap, his hand rose quickly and brushed any tears that may have accumulated from his eyes. 

“I am glad to see that the two of you still have positive feelings for one another.” Koi said “That will make this process easier moving forward.” Your meeting wrapped up, and the two of you quickly parted ways after the fact. You got home and found Sasuke resting on the couch with a book. 

“Welcome back,” He lazily drawled, “How did it go?” You simply smiled and walked over to him. Sasuke sat up a little straighter when he saw that your eyes were red. “What happened?” He barely managed to ask before you threw yourself down on top of him. You laid with your chest pressed to his and your legs in between his. You wrap your arms around his neck and press your face into his shoulder. 

“It went well,” You tell him. Sasuke deposits the book to the side and wraps his arms around your waist. His hands rub soothingly up and down your back as you two snuggle. “I love you.” You whisper into his shoulder. 

“I love you too.” Sasuke replies, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

---

It's been about four months since you and Itachi started seeking counseling. Youtwo go the first Saturday of every month and you have already noticed vast improvements in your relationship. The two of you are back to being friends and you can see that it has brought ease to those around you, especially your fiance. Things continue to look up for everyone, and you are excited for your upcoming wedding.  

[campgender]

So I say this with all the love and respect in my heart- I understand you feeling isolated or othered by people saying “men dni” on posts/blogs that you relate to, but fairly regularly complaining about it publicly from the standpoint of the man who is being asked to not interact, has a very “not all men” smell to it that makes it hard to like, empathize with the very real issues underneath this particular phenomenon. Also, in a very real moment of honesty, I think you know that you- tme bigender high femme fagdyke- are not the man in question that women don’t want to interact with. I don’t mean for this to come across aggressive or insincere, I just think it might be beneficial for you to reframe how you’ve been thinking about this issue, and it might help you feel less targeted by other queer people who are not trying to attack you.

wait, so i am a real man when it’s sexist of me to complain, but i’m not the real man they mean so the exclusionism i’m complaining about isn’t actually affecting me anyway? okay, got it: my gender is whatever gets me to shut up fastest.

speaking of my silence i’m very fascinated by your definition of ‘fairly regular’ since to my knowledge i’ve made 5 posts in the past 3 months that even reference this phenomenon, all of which except the ask meme response i posted yesterday are & have been unrebloggable due to my rampant fear of being accused of this very bullshit for so much as glancing in the direction of my own experiences!

if you last read those posts when they were made then it makes sense why you wouldn’t remember what i said in the longest of those, back on march 10 (link):

To Be Clear. my issue is not with people having certain boundaries, even when i disagree with the political implications! but i have had the tags “#men dni” and “#men do not interact” and “#men don’t interact” filtered for years, and i have the text “men dni” and “men do not interact” and “men don’t interact” filtered even though tumblr’s filtering system means that also blocks posts that are specifying something like “cishet men” (or even, occasionally, “i’m a man, men dni blogs don’t rb”), unnecessarily blocking posts people would’ve been fine with / happy about me engaging with, out of an abundance of goddamn fucking caution but apparently the burden remains on me to check individual bios before liking + reblogging a post every time i think the op might potentially be expecting me to self-gatekeep out of it.

but of course as you’ve so kindly pointed out the expectation to self-gatekeep is all in my head! never mind how many people reblog my femme posts with a cool url or insightful tags whose blog when i check it out specifically says something to the effect of “trans men this means you too” after their men dni policy. but since i obviously haven’t been thorough enough in my brief sporadic generally filter-tagged vent posts, let me be perfectly clear:

while i may feel a twinge of disappointment over a femme gender meme & frustration over a butch positivity post created by blogs with ‘men dni’ policies, my core issue here is blogs that self-brand as femme/queer/dyke/whatever archivists who are expecting me to gatekeep my access to my own history. that is why i started reading full texts myself & that is why i post excerpts anyone can reblog & that is why my tumblr has been left to run her queue for days at a time while i try to resolidify myself in the arguments of four decades ago instead.

so thank you for the reminder that no amount of self-censorship is enough 💖 i’ll try harder to stop playing this rigged game 💖

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

Red Peafowl - Assumptions and Theories

Now that I am semi-confident that there won't be any more important announcement for Red Peafowl until the 25th (because I think the last two mystery announcement were the Main Character and Main Love Interest) I am ready to write up my Red Peafowl assumptions/theories/wishes post.

Edit: There has been another update with the plot and some images of either the pilot trailer or the actual series link here. Once again thanks to @mysterygrl20 for putting the post with the google trnaslation here on tumbrl.

Going to use as basis for my information @blmpff post here; @mysterygrl20 individual posts tag here; and the mdl plot synopsis here; along with the synopsis I read on cast announcment articles that goes like this: The drama tells the story of Lu Yi Peng, a former police officer who decides to live with Shuai on an island, raising birds. However, he realizes that the person he once had a relationship with is a powerful mafia boss.

Also going to tag @respectthepetty for helping me narrowing down the leads (YinWar/MossBank) and for sharing my madness over this crazy ass BL already.

Going to start by saying that I think the three mystery characters are the villain, the hero and the love interest. I am also going to work under the assumption that while the last two will be revealed on the 25th (I am leaning on YinWar at the present thanks to a comment made by @amos-reviews-main [hope you don't mind the tag] under the last announcment) the third one our villain will stay a mystery.

Let's beging

ASSUMPTION N#1

Given that there seems to be a significant event in the past we are either getting two timelines (similar to kiseki dear to me but more evenly split between past and present) or the events from the past will be a mystery to the viewers to be slowly revealed using flashbacks.

Both of the plots hint at this, the character description for the hero and the fact that some of the stuff in other character description also seem to hint that they were part of what happen in the past.

If the second non mdl plot is more accurate something brings our hero back to town and into dealing with the mafia. Which leads me to

ASSUMPTION N#2

Cooheart character will be intrumental to bringing his brother our hero back into the fold. His character description hints at him being the biggest point of the contention between our main couple and that he has some kind of accident.

Another character that has an accident is Gun's character.

Also there is a doctor nurse in the cast list.

Edit: Cooheart's character accident is the past, and it has left him with a disability. I do still believe that he will get someone involved in all of this.

Either Gun's accident involves Cooheart's character (not on purpouse) in the present or Cooheart's character had an accident in the past and is now seeing a doctor regularly.

ASSUMPTION N#3

Like I mention earlier I think our third mystery character is the villain. His body dissapeared = No body no murder = he is still alive. That is just the biggest writing rule ever.

If the actor for that character doesn't get revelead it means that one of the other actor is actually that character pretending to be someone else (probably one of the cops or a character that doesn't interact with the love interest for obvious reasons). If they do have a seperate actor that probably means that at least one if not more of our big cast is secretely working for him.

ASSUMPTION N#4

There are only two genres that benift from having such a big cast and making sure they all have identifiable characteristics and fan anticipation: Mysteries or Something with a high body count.

It means that our cast of characters are either Suspects or Victims or Both.

EDIT: It's a mystery. I do still believe some of the people from the big cast are going to die.

Either way I do think that a lot of the new people will end up dying at some point during the series.

ASSUMPTION N#5

Themes. If this show has decent writing I can already ID 3 themes.

The new tendency in bl fandom to romanticize the mafia. See Lee's character being a human trafficker and our lead being potentially not that great either.

The cops, and how they are not there to protect and serve and how much the crime fight is really a sham. See Frank's character being an undercover cop (a plot line that usually has a the undercover cop come out on the other side with a semi-broken relationship to his job)

Toxic Ships (a la: Kinnporsche, Hannibal and Interview with the Vampire)

About the last one: I have a personal metric on wether or not I enjoy a toxic "problematic" ship

Do you get the sense/vibe from the writing that the creator/writers of the show knows this is fucked. And I don't mean a lampshade comment with someone saying "This is not healty" and everything resuming as normal.

Is there a point in which the dynamic becomes more equal. As in no matter which character is objectively "worse" is there a point where it feels like the characters are on equal footing, on the same side, Hannibal does this really well for example.

Some ships that don't pass the test are: Twilight, 50 Shades, R*ylo; TharnType and every ship on Love Syndrome (do not ever watch that BL I am serious)

ASSUMPTION N#6

Ships.

FrankLee are obviously our second couple. They are both super relevant to the potential themes, they are obviously trying to pair braind (this is their third BL) and they were also announced first.

Boun and the Doctor are giving me crumbs ship vibe. They are both potentially important chartacters. But I feel like with all of this their relationship might have the least ammount of dedicated screen time.

Now the last one is less of an assumption and more of a wish really.

Max-Coohearth > now listen I know that Cooheart has a love interest already, Rome one of the first new guys announced in the cast. But Listen the fact they are already dating doesn't bode well for them. Cooheart is a super important character and it makes sense that his "proper" love interest would be someone in the mafia proper.

Plus Cooheart deserves it ok. I loved both of his major roles (uwma and my only 12%), but he wasn't allowed to be a proper sexy queer guy in either of them. Have you seen his instagram feed? It's picture after picture of him in sexy outfits. Let this man be in a high heat realtionship, put in a skirt. He deserves it and so do we.

Also Max from iconic pair MaxTul pair with Cooheart will heal people. It would totally fix me. And if they give this to me I will forgive anything and everything this show does wrong seriously I will be like: I was wrong on everything and the plot is not that good, but they give me MaxCooheart so 10/10.

Also the character description for Max's character makes me think that catchphrase they mention might be something similar to the English phrase: "Who's Your Daddy?" and [this is @respectthepetty's fault, I didn't use to have such glee about a possibly daddy kink] seeing Max Nattapol uttering the phrase Who's Your Daddy and potentially having a DaddyKink relationship with Cooheart is something I didn't know I needed but now I desperately desire.

[borom1r]

1-25 choose violence ask game ❤️

ALL OF THEM?????? you’re so real for this ty snfnsnbfns. doing LotR bc of course I am

1. the character everyone gets wrong

PIPPIN I HATE TO SAY IT BUT PIPPIN. all those incorrect quote polls that have been posted where pippin keeps fucking winning YALL REALIZE HES AN ACTUAL CHARACTER RIGHT?? with like depth?? and bonds?? and a personality. yall realize that right?????? right??? ik we all love 2 joke but he would not say half of those things

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

ok I personally enjoy both for Boromir BUT if he IS topping. he is a service top. I will die on this hill

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I block ppl for these takes so no screenshots but everyone who thinks Boromir is a villain. if you think Boromir is a villain I will key your car.

4. what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

there is one singular straw and it is bad Boromir takes in the Boromir tag

5. worst discord server and why

I don’t join fandom discord servers bc I love myself too much for that 💗

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

ummm idk? most of my lotr mutuals have different ships from me and it’s all chill. but tbf I’m very selective abt who I interact with now lmao.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

no one yet thank fuck.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Aragorn/Arwen isn’t actually romantic sorry I think it’s fucked up actually. the vibes are off there for SURE

9. worst part of canon

FARAMIR’S “yeah I’m gonna take you from your home and tame you. haha wdym. you don’t need a blade during times of peace.” SHTICK WITH ÉOWYN IN THE BOOKS. UNPACK YOUR BIASES YOU LITTLE FREAK!!!!!!!!

10. worst part of fanon

HM. I will stick with “people who horrifically misinterpret Boromir’s character”

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

at the moment I only have rings of power blocked but I’ve had that blocked since it came out bc if I look at the armor in that show I will commit crimes.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

MOVIE!FARAMIR MY SPECIALEST LITTLE GUY OOOOOOOOOO MOVIE!FARAMIR I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUU he’s so handsome and special and I love him and you WILL all look at him and clap and cheer. it makes me insane that his temptation by the ring mirror’s Boromir’s and he’s actually fucking normal abt the Rohirrim AND I just love him very much :)

13. worst blorboficiation

ummm idk… maybe Frodo

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

HMMM exposing myself but I basically only read Aragorn/Boromir fics lmao + since we’re Choosing Violence the most annoying thing is Boromir just being A Brute. like damn I love the surface level reading of the text maybe try engaging with it above a 1st grade analysis next time 💗

15. that one thing you see in fanart all the time

hmmmmm idk cuz again I don’t interact w a lot of fanartists so there’s nothing like. annoying. all th ✨motifs✨ I do see r very fun + I like them :)

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

ummm for Serious, portraying Pippin as Stupid. for Silly, uhhhh Trans Faramir is so real to me I completely forgot cis people both 1) exist in the real world and 2) probably interpret Fara as cis too. i don’t get it :(

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

trans Faramir 🩵💗🤍

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

HM idk. trans Faramir again. also bc I love it, utilizing Old Norse culture for the Rohirrim teehee

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

OK IM MAD THAT FINNISH BOROMIR IS JUST ME. THATS ME. THATS AN OUTFIT I WEAR REGULARLY MINUS THE LONG HAIR. I DRESS LIKE THAT TO BUY GROCERIES. i love him for that tho. I’m also mad that MtG Boromir’s stupid pointy muttonchops have grown on me. freak behavior, keeping his facial hair trimmed in those stupid little points

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

I’m fighting for my life reading the histories rn 😑 I find them very dry for the most part

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

idk? I think there is an appropriate level of hype. but idk if Rings of Power had a lot of hype. if it did, then Rings of Power is my answer

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

idk if it’s IGNORED necessarily but the fact that Boromir carries a Rohirric shield in the films does actually genuinely make me insane 💞 I love that sm

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

UNWILLINGLY?????? idk?? ummmm I think it’s all fine for the most part I’m just A Fag so I don’t write het ships. it’s like a moral thing. Éowyn/Faramir gets a pass conceptually bc they’re T4T to me tho

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

idkkkkkkk I don’t engage w discourse bc I want this fandom to remain pleasanttttt

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

again idk.. I block on sight if I see a Bad Take + then I erase it from my memory so I can continue to live in a beautiful blissful world where I. forgor abt cis people ☺️

[opinated-user]

indeed, anon. i'm sure it means a lot for LO that you're willing to lie so blatantly. 1. that user they mentioned? not one of my followers or regular users who interact with my content. if you go to their blog, literally the only one that reblogued from any of us was this post. for the record, it was the post where i posted the screenshot of LO using the r-slur against her critics and Brittany commenting that LO later changed it to "crackhead".

i can't speak for the other blogs though. at least they didn't ring any bells for me. just in case it's needed too: i'm stubbornly clear about how i don't want anyone reading my blog to go interact with LO in any sort of way. the goal here is deplatforming and you can't deplatform someone if you just keep validating their platform with more social interactions. not to mention that anything you say to her is just more for her victim narrative. 2. one reblog post. zero likes. the rest of their interaction are miscelanious posts that have nothing to do with either LO or our blogs. is that what "regularly interact with" means now? but even if they did "regularly" interacted with any of us... again, we're all pretty adamant about not harassing or bothering LO because it'll always be useless. so clearly this person is not listening to us either and went out of their way to go against what we try to do. i'm not happy about this person going off on LO like they did either. 3. let me get this straight. when we say that some anons write the exact same as LO does and we can recognize the tone, or it's just pathetically obvious in some other way, that's us building conspiracy theories because we can't accept that someone might actually like LO. those two things have nothing to do with each other in the first place, LO is capable of using sockpuppet accounts and also there being people who for some reason think they like her, those are not mutually exclusive, but that's what LO has said before. but when this unconfirmed anon that nobody know who they are say that they recognize the writing style of some of the anon messages we get with this other random tumblr user who only wrote something by themselves once, oh, now that's a valid thought process. to clarify, they might be right for all i know. i have no clue. i just know that this user went against LO in the most unnecessary way possible and it did nothing but anyone, so i hope at least it was worth it for them because certainly it wasn't for us. they might have also send us some anons for all i care. i just question the double standard here. when we do it, it's a conspiracy. when other people to it to defend LO, no, that's just being a smart person who just notices this kind of things. 4. "showing people 5+ instances of you being directly contacted by the blog"... what is this even talking about? what other 5+ instances are they refering to? i only just found out about this one user going on their own. this one user i might have seen once in my activity notifications and never again. where are those other blogs who are part of this side of tumblr doing this? 5. "everything going on with Poppy last month has also been very helpful." i'm so glad, anon, that you're able to be so honest and say that you're glad that Poppy violated the consent of a survivor of CSA to the point that she destroyed his trust. i almost respect that. or do you mean the multiple allegations of abuse against her that have nothing to do with us or LO? the ones that LO has majorly ignored? while treating Poppy like a potential victim only after she put the testimony of Courtney behind a paywall? truly, i'm fascinated with how you see a sex pest harming people, using them and discarding them as "helpful" to keep the good reputation of your favorite youtuber. indeed, the sign of a well adjusted and moral person with their priorities in the right places. thank god that all those people were negatively affected by Poppy so it could serve you to keep protecting a proven groomer. i bet all those victims will be delighted to know that their experiences were useful for you. but really, what i can expect from a fan of the woman who has said more victim blaming things that are more aboherrent than that? you two truly deserve each other.

[redley-of-many-noodles]

Hello there,

Welcome to my blog.

I’m Redley. Relatively new to Tumblr still, but I’ve been finding that I’m comfy here. Though it still feels awkward (thanks, dysphoria), I prefer she/her pronouns. I don’t mind they/them, but… meh. Note that Redley is neither my legal or chosen name; it is solely a handle, and I will only tell you my chosen name if I feel comfortable with you. If I extend that trust, please treat it with respect. If you don’t, I will remember.

Here’s the main stuff I’m comfortable sharing or want you to know about me:

1) I’m transfem, but haven’t had an opportunity to do much actual transitioning yet. Dislike my voice, adore my hair. My luscious, glorious, flowing hair.

1.5) I am likely pansexual, but I haven’t done enough research to know for sure. All I know is, people are… well, people are hot.

2) I live in Florida, but was not raised here. The climate and scenery are nice; the local government sucks ass though. Also, I miss snow.

3) I’m a diagnosed autistic, falling somewhere on the high-functioning end of the spectrum. I’m on prescribed antidepressants, but have not been able to find a psychologist/psychiatrist yet because it’s fucking Florida.

4) There are a lot of things and people I don’t understand, but I’m always open to learning. Trying new food is a special passion of mine, and I’ve met some quite fascinating new people since starting this blog. (*eoughck* @potentially-a-poser *aucghk* @analogue-system *ahem*)

5) I will not tolerate hateful behavior. You will be immediately blocked for shit like denying any of the shades of aro/ace individuals as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. If you see me spreading misinformation or saying something that excludes members of the community, please tell me. I’ll research the matter, as well as review any sources you send me.

5.5) okay so I think I’m demiromantic

6) I do not mind being tagged or sent asks or otherwise brought into conversations. People who abuse that will likely get blocked, but whatever your social anxiety is telling you probably comes nowhere near ‘abuse’ in my book. Anonymous asks are enabled, but that can likewise change if the feature is abused. Hate asks will be blocked, naturally.

7) I would prefer being asked before you directly message me. If you don’t, there is a possibility you’ll be blocked, but it’s not a guarantee. I don’t want me and my friends’ conversations getting buried by anything.

8) If you consistently and frequently post tiktok/reddit memes with little to no commentary, I may block you simply out of annoyance should you repeatedly show up on my dash. It’s not personal. If something about you makes me suspicious or uncomfortable, but not outright offended, I’ll most likely notify you of my reason before I block you.

9) Age: pick a number between 1 and 100 because it’s none of your fucking business. None of you are entitled to any of my personal information, regardless of the reason. I will share only what I want.

My Behaviors

There are certain things I gravitate towards or away from on this site. Here’s some:

1) I am most likely to follow people who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, are mentally ill, or are dealing with some variety of personality disorder. This is mostly just due to the fact that I find the most common ground with those people. But even those who I have little common ground with, I’ll tend to find very interesting.

2) I don’t mind things like roleplay and hornyposting on my dash, but will almost certainly not interact myself, or make original posts in that category. More extreme examples won’t necessarily get you blocked or unfollowed, but… well, my filtered tags list may grow.

3) I don’t always tag reblogs. This may mean that my followers will see random things that caught my interest. It could be art, shitposting, tender affirmations, politics, or just goofy-ass Tumblr shit. If something I regularly reblog/post about bothers you and isn’t properly tagged, let me know.

4) I am discovering that maybe, I might, perhaps, be a little bit nosy. When I see someone receiving hate or suffering and stressed, I am likely to take it upon myself to do or say something to try to make them feel better. If I bother you with this, I will not be hurt or offended if you block me. In general, I will do my best to be respectful of it when people draw boundaries, so don’t hesitate to draw any you feel necessary.

5) If your intentions are pure, you will likely find that I try to be forgiving and/or understanding of your mistakes, at least in regards to interacting with me. (The /or is a very important distinction.)

6) I will often be attracted to dark, tragic, or dystopic works of art/fiction. I get a form of catharsis from such media, and some of my writing will reflect that.

That’s about it.

That’s all the important stuff I can think of, aside from tags which are at the end. Still, this post may be updated or rewritten in the future. In general, just be kind and open-minded, and we’ll get along fine. Even if you disagree with me, as long as you are civil and rational about things, I’ll likely have no problem interacting with you.

Be safe, and be yourself! <3

🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

My Tags:

#redley’s playlist - Some of my favorite songs!

#redley’s photos - Photos taken by/of me!

#writing - Writing related things and occasionally stuff I’ve made! (#poetry will also contain some of my work)

#let me just frame this one - My personal favorite posts by others. Put that right up on the wall!

#cw/tw: [content] - I will tag posts that I recognize may be disturbing to others with content warnings and/or trigger warnings. This way, you can filter content that may be harmful to your mental health to view. If a post is missing an important one, let me know.

[tendoujo]

SHIPPING INFO. answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

i've been a r.ankane defender since day one so the answer might be pretty obvious 🫡. yet they are that one ship that requires so much effort and development to work as endgame. their love story is a chaotic one filled with ups and downs, lots of miscommunication as well, so it still got a long way to go. yet if rumiko was clear on something, it was that ranma and akane were made for one another. i could make an essay about their duo but to sum it up, i do believe that akane has grown to be the only person in the whole series that has accepted ranma for who he is regardless of his strength or gender.

besides that, i'm fond of any akane dynamic that truly shows the other person appreciating her. maybe that's why i wouldn't have minded ryo.kane as a possibility.

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

i'm open to almost anything as long as: 1. it makes sense. 2. there's clear interest between the two parties. 3. both muns have taked about it beforehand. but i have to say that when i play a female muse, i have a bit of trouble doing m / f ships ( except for r.ankane or r.yokae ), so it will be a little hard to romance akane with male muses ( very in character lol ).

how large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

for her highschool verse, 2 years at most. for the other verses where she's around 19 - 20 ( aus and the main verse ), i'll say that 5 maybe ? puppy crushes are acceptable but if they are not in the gap then it won't happen.

are you selective when shipping?

actually, yeah a bit. i don't just jump straight to shipping nowadays so i do ask for either some plotting beforehand or various interactions for things to happen.

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

when hands are where they aren't supposed to be lol. the moment clothes start being mentioned regularly in a new context, you know what's up.

how does one have to ask to ship with you?

most of the times, yeah. either it happens naturally in threads where certain nudges are thrown or it's all about plotting behind the scene.

how often do you like to ship?

when it happens, it happens i guess ??

are you multiship?

yes 👍

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

with shipping i like to match energies. if the other person is just as excited and wants to throw interactions, musings, fanart, 6+ paragraphs of plotting, then i'll get just as excited. when i REALLY like a ship and the other person is in the "more-or-less" area or isn't as "obsessed" i'll try to contain myself cause i sure don't like it when the excitement is one sided ( i don't want to b annoying in that sense lol ).

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

it's me and r.ankane against the world. manga r.ankane, especially the one in the latter chapters where both are more mature and sure with themselves.

finally, how does one ship with you?

ask, tackle my dms, that's the easiest way to get me to plot or talk about a possible ship between our muses ( tho i suck at continuous messaging sometimes tbh ). ofc interactions are a good option too.

tagged by: @2isms ( thank you sm ❤️ ! ).

tagging: @hogarsis, @shrapnelsong, @glamwish, @ednaeflowers, @anemxvisions, @batoushoujo + anyone else who wants to do it.

[jayspaceinc]

15 Lines of Dialogue: Celia 💜

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

1. “Mami,” She waved her hands off her hair. “I like my hair like this. Our hair is pretty just like this, naturally. If I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know.”

2. “What can I say? I live for gossip, continue. But while we’re in a store so people can think we have interesting lives. Plus, Skater Chick Outfitters is having a sale,”

3. “We’re on the third floor, pendejo.”

“Hey! I speak Spanish too. Don’t try to treat me like a no sabo kid and just call me shit on the sly.”

“Who said it was on the sly? I said it right to your face.”

4. “There’s a lake. No sealife and it gets regularly cleaned,” Celia started grabbing their bags, handing Kori her backpack.

“How would you know it gets regularly cleaned?”

“I asked the ranger when we came in.”

“The one you were flirting with?”

“I wasn’t flirting. I was being… friendly? Something like that.” No surprise she couldn’t tell the difference between platonic and romantic interactions.

5. “Did we figure out dinner?”

Greyson held up the grocery bags he had on his arms. “We’re making ramen.”

“And s’mores!”

“The second one was his idea. Not mine.”

“S’mores sound great though.” Celia hummed as she took a peek into the bags. “Thank you for getting all this, Greyson. You’re such a strong man, aren’t you?” She pushed his glasses that were starting to slip back up

“Celia,” Greyson choked, as his face turned pink.

6. Girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend. Shut up. What do you know about being a boyfriend? Celia gripped onto the fork and plate she’d been holding in her lap, the fork slowly folding back on itself as her thumb pressed it down without even realising.

“Do you want another fork?” Kori offered her own, her plate finally clear. At least she had eaten.

“Why do you say that?”

She pointed to the completely bent fork in her hand.

“Oh. This. It’s fine,” Celia straightened the fork back out as much as she could. “See? All good,” She shoved the rest of the eggs down and gave the plate back to Greyson.

7. “I have a loose idea but I’d rather enjoy breakfast right now. What are you making?”

“Huevos rancheros.”

She snorted and covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, say that again for me please?”

“Huevos rancheros?” He repeated, this time a bit confused.

“God, you’re cute but boy do you know how to butcher some Spanish. It’s huevos rancheros not huevos rancheros.”

“Is that not what I said?” He asked, still lost on what the difference was in how she said it versus how he did or how he had said it incorrectly.

8. C: ding dong. mission control to kori: what’s ur coordinates?

C: that means how soon r u guys going to b here?

9. He dialed Celia’s number, almost in fear of what she would say.

“Yes?”

“I’m at the hotel but.. I can’t afford any of this. At all. In my defence! They hit me with a bunch of crazy charges! I mean 240 credits for roses? Just get some plant power person and regrow them.”

There was static on the other end for a long while before Celia sighed, “If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Okay. Sit tight and try not to cause any more trouble than you already have.” She hung up the phone and left him to his lonesome.

10. “The moment a charmspeaker leaves, the effect wears off. Enchantment is well..” She looked over at the clerk that was still staring at her and waved. “It's much easier to get what you want, let’s just say that.”

“That’s because you flirt with them till they’ve just about ruined their shorts.”

“I have a process, Kori. You know this,” Celia popped a piece of gum in her mouth to rinse out the hotel clerk taste. “Alright, moving on, we officially have a place to sleep for the night which brings me to our next task–”

11. “What’s wrong with just being with one person? You’ve done it before.”

“But that’s not who I am.. There’s a reason it didn’t work out between us,” Celia said, pushing the food on her plate as she became uninterested in what would shortly become another monogamy lecture.

“Because you weren’t willing to make the commitment.”

“That is not what happened,” She snapped. He looked up from his tablet and her angry expression immediately softened. “Perdon.. it’s.. still a sore spot for me. I just don’t have what you and Mommy have where I can see myself with just that one person for my whole life.”

12. Celia closed her eyes for a moment and sighed as she looked in the distance once more. “I’m glad some people are happy and in love today. That couple over there has been there since I got off the elevator. It’s like I can hear their love.. Soft bells.. a violin to pair.. a hint of piano in the background, and is that a light harp i hear being plucked?”

13. “And if something should happen?”

“If something should happen..” Max let out a light chuckle. “You're the co-leader, use your wit and I’ll see you on the other side. Take that however you’d like,” He gave a dog whistle for Ayden to come to his becking, walking off down the hallway opposite to them.

“‘Take that however you’d like’,” Celia mocked before angrily spewing off a slew of Spanish curses.

“He didn’t mean it like that,” Summer said, jumping to Max’s defence for once.

“Oh whatever. You’re on his side because the barrel isn’t pointed at you. Let’s just look through the stupid fucking rooms.”

14. “Psychics are the last people you want to piss off.”

“Is that a jab?”

“It’s a warning,” Celia flicked him in the ear and went back to her seat.

15. “Hm. Do you wanna hang out for a little bit then?” He asked as they approached her door.

Celia sighed to herself, her hand resting on the doorknob. “Honestly, not really.”

Ayden pouted and his shoulders slumped in.

“Not tonight at least, I’m a bit tired.”

“From earlier today?”

“From all of my life. Goodnight, Ace,”

Bonus:

More art!

[merlinemrys]

20 QUESTIONS FOR FIC WRITERS

tagged : @queerofthedagger ty mona this was sooooo fun 🫶 tagging : @adhd-merlin | @bellamyblakru | @s0mmerspr0ssen | @groundbreakingdot872 | @lightasthesun | @flight-of-fantasy | @nextstopparis | and anyone else who wants to do this (sorry if you've already been tagged and done it) !!!

1. HOW MANY WORKS DO YOU HAVE ON AO3?

129 . . . i write exclusively short oneshots so take that with a grain of salt.

2. WHAT'S YOUR TOTAL AO3 WORD COUNT?

362,664 which is a feat for ME!

3. WHAT FANDOMS DO YOU WRITE FOR?

semi-regularly:

bbc merlin

marvel (spider-man)

percy jackson

dc (batman and superman)

have written and posted for:

doctor who

house md

grishaverse (the grisha trilogy and six of crows)

alex stern series

the raven cycle / the dreamer trilogy

goncharov (😭)

harry potter

the 100

the magicians

anne with an e

to all the boys i've loved before

4. TOP 5 FICS BY KUDOS?

ACCIDENTAL HEROISM / the batman (2022)

THE JONES-WATSON-PARKERS / mcu spider-man

MYTH CALLS ME LEGEND / bbc merlin

BRING ME HOME / percy jackson

YOU'RE THERE WITH OPEN ARMS / bbc merlin

merlin fandom . . . you will always be famous to ME!

5. DO YOU RESPOND TO COMMENTS?

yes, always (or at least i try).

6. WHAT'S THE FIC YOU WROTE WITH THE ANGSTIEST ENDING?

hmmm . . . WAIT. LAFF. this is so funny because i think it's FINAL GOODBYE, my sole goncharov fic because goncharov dies at the end. fr though, maybe WE CAN MEET AGAIN SOMEWHERE which is a pjo fic where i killed percy off lmao. i have since realized that i apparently don't write a lot of angst . . . an interesting to note about myself for sure!

7. WHAT'S THE FIC YOU WROTE WITH THE HAPPIEST ENDING?

due to the nature of my writing—short oneshots—they all mostly end happily! maybe IN THE NIGHT (mergwenthur with platonic merthur and merwen and romantic arwen) because it was just soft all the way down!

8. DO YOU GET HATE ON FICS?

no, i don't think so.

9. DO YOU WRITE SMUT?

sometimes. the mood just has to strike yk <3

10. DO YOU WRITE CROSSOVERS?

uhh if you mean characters from Fandom A meet and interact with characters from Fandom B then no? i have written fic inspired by other fandoms, but those would be AUs then . . . i'll go with no.

11. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A FIC STOLEN?

not to my knowledge!

12. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A FIC TRANSLATED?

nope. some people have asked though! i was deeply honoured but i like to keep my fics on ao3 instead of any other site and they wanted to post elsewhere.

13. HAVE YOU EVER CO-WRITTEN A FIC BEFORE?

wait. i just remembered, oh my god. SCREAM. does 13 year old me's rp count? because that would retroactively change my answer to the crossover question since i DID do that. it was so godawful and was probably 100k—started out as bbc sherlock fic and then bbc merlin got in there along with doctor who and supernatural and probably every fandom under the sun after that. we never posted that anywhere (thank GOD) but what a time. i don't co-write now. not for any particular reason, but i don't think it's come up.

14. WHAT'S YOUR ALL TIME-FAVOURITE SHIP?

see, this question is so hard because i write and consume so much different media. at the moment, in my current doctor who phase, i'll say tenrose! ask me during a different phase and you will get a different answer hehehe <3

15. WHAT'S A WIP YOU WANT TO FINISH BUT DOUBT YOU WILL?

all of four of them 😭 one reason i write oneshots is because my interests wanes so fast. you'll be hard pressed to find me in the same hyperfixation for longer than a few months, but i always come back eventually. specifically, RENEGADE'S RETURN (dc dick grayson-centric) would be the WIP imo because i posted that with no intention to finish it. all the other ones i had hopes, but this one . . . no </3

16. WHAT ARE YOUR WRITING STRENGTHS?

prose and characterisation. i think i'm getting pretty good at writing in the pov character's voice. like if you take my house md fic and compare it to . . . i don't know my raven cycle fic, i think the voices are distinct enough even with my same writing style:

HOUSE MD: New Orleans sticks to House’s skin. It reminds him of the Philippines. Long days baking under the sun, oppressive heat blanketing his entire body, sweat pooling at the top of his lip. At least when he was in the Philippines, he wore shorts and a tank top to cool down. Currently, there are about three layers on his chest—undershirt, button-up, blazer—and the AC in this place wheezes and puffs out mildly cold air like an overweight asthmatic kid attempting to run a marathon. THE RAVEN CYCLE: Adam Parrish does not have many things. A bare IKEA mattress, various pieces of makeshift furniture made out of cardboard, and a three-dollar rug he found at a sale. It’s not much, but it’s his and he’s proud of it. Sometimes, though, pride doesn’t discount how hot Virginia summers are. His skin is sticky with it, the light cotton of his shirt clinging to him, restlessness twisting under his skin.

i tried to pick two snippets that are generally about the same thing (summer heat!). at least to Me, this seems different enough in tone, but you know. vibes!

17. WHAT ARE YOUR WRITING WEAKNESSES?

my inability to write long form is genuinely not only a weakness but so so so detrimental to me fr. every fic i have written can EASILY be at least 25k EACH. probably more (definitely more) because i write the moments in between or . . . [sigh] let me say this instead. with longfic, there's usually a moment or a scene that you want to get to, the whole fic is culminating to that scene so you write thousands upon thousands of words to get to where the that scene would make sense in context, yes? well. for Me . . . i just write The Scene��

18. THOUGHTS ON WRITING DIALOGUE IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE?

i'd fuck up google translate so fast (and have), so something like "they speak in spanish" or "'hi, how are you?' they ask in spanish" would be preferable to me.

19. FIRST FANDOM YOU WROTE FOR?

definitely pjo percabeth fic at the age of like . . . ten (10). i posted it on ffnet and have since scrubbed from the internet.

20. FAVOURITE FIC YOU'VE EVER WRITTEN?

funnily enough i created a series which is just fav fics that i've written which sounds so egotistical, but whatever. there are 13 works in there, i believe, and most of them are merlin lol. but in recent memory it has to be a tie between JUDAS KISS and THREAD OF GOLD (both arwen fic !!!) because i experimented with my writing sooooo much there, JUDAS KISS being first person and THREAD OF GOLD being second person. i typically write a close third person pov especially for fic. my prose is wired for that, but it was so fun to try to do that for first and second anddddd i got some banger lines out of it so a win's a win!

THREAD OF GOLD: Your father’s presence is larger than life. Larger than love. It looms. It casts shadows long enough to hide every hope and dream you’ve ever had for yourself. JUDAS KISS: All I can think about is Arthur. His rage is fine as a blade, sharpened by the betrayal I have dealt him.

[sandsoftide]

Ooooo I love your responses! I personally prefer numbers just because it’s easier for me to remember but I do respect noxcrew’s decision to make the event less sweaty lol. I realised after I sent the ask you had a post about missing buildmart (the beloved).

The question about players like Sapnap came as the reddit had a small discussion on if he would return. Most people agree that there’s no reason for why he can’t play unlike certain people (cough cough Punz) but if he does return that’s a different question. He doesn’t have many close friends who play regularly, he hasn’t been playing minecraft since Punz and George were called out and it’s well known that Sapnap is hard to put into a team. He can’t be PG, he only wants to play with some friends and Scott himself said that Sapnap is hard to put into a team because of said reasons. But I wanted to see an opinion outside of reddit lol.

Anyway more questions:

1, what do you think the new game is?

2, how do you feel about people claiming that the event is better because lots of ex dsmp members aren’t playing as much? Not counting the ones who were called out for horrible things, just former dsmp members not playing Eg, Philza, Tommyinnit, Foolish (Which is a wild take as Hbomb and CPK are ex-dsmp players and 3/4 of blue this mcc were so…)

3, what’s better, the new or old parkour warrior?

4, do you think someone in modern mcc could break Techno’s coin record?

5, the most difficult question yet, because Joel was playing mcc before becoming a hermit, should Hbomb have to play with Joel again to add him to his hermit list or do we add Joel to H’s hermit list without them playing together again?

That's a fair point about numbers, but for me I actually feel like most of the mccs in the late 20s/30s sort of blend together for me? although that could just be how season 3 was

Yeah, those are all also good reasons why he wouldn't. I could see trying to bring him back for like, hype/views, but I hadn't thought about how many of his viable teammates have quit the event LMAO. Probably for the best with the way noxcrew is trying to make things less competitive anyways. If nothing else I will miss having someone to root against, I guess

New questions :D thanks!!

for 1) i have absolutely NO idea. I REALLY hope its a team game, a redstone game would be fun but there's no way they actually would do that so. eh. Maybe something with players on different tracks going through a puzzle course, kind of like that one grid runners room with the pistons? Seems like minecarts are involved, anyways. I'd love to hear any theories you have!

2) People are saying that? that's dumb, lmao. I'm glad to see dt leave, but beyond them? Most of the dsmp crew were great sports and I think one of the best parts of mcc was getting to see different communities interact! I mean, a lot of them are moving past mc as a whole and mcc *has* been running for a very long time now, so I don't blame them for leaving, but I am sad to see them go. Although making room for newcomers is great too, and I love the variety of players we're seeing already for s4

3) new 100% old pkw SUCKED. it wasn't even fun to watch the good players, honestly. I hate old pkw but new pkw is actually really enjoyable! Lot more strategy, a lot more room for players to not feel like deadweight. still not my favorite game but it is honestly one of my favorite movement games

4) I mean, it's theoretically possible, but I don't think it'll ever happen. I mean it's been ages since someone's even broken 4k. I also just don't think we'll see a game lineup with the most high-scoring games, it'd make for a pretty unbalanced roster with basically no team games and that's no fun! but 4k maybe, especially if sg ever returns and the new game is point heavy.

5) woah, heavy hitter. I hadn't thought of that... I wanna say it should count. joel's always been so hermit adjacent anyways, so actually I'm checking now and they haven't teamed since SEASON 1???? No it doesn't count. solely because they should team again

[heavenlyhoundoom]

Willy's Wonderland incorrect quotes.

1.Willy: You are a solid 11/10. Ozzie: Aw, thank- Willy: Which is 1.1 because you look like shit.

2.Cammy: What is the one thing I told you not to do? Sara: Burn the house down. Cammy: And what did you do? Sara: I made dinner. Cammy: Sara: Cammy: Sara: And burnt the house down.

3.Willy: Do not come over to my house. If the house is on fire you may knock once, if I don’t answer assume I set the fire and I want to burn to death.

4.Cammy: Adults are the most insanely stupid people I have the displeasure of interacting with. Tito, referring to himself and Sara: Even us? Cammy: Especially you guys. Sara: Tito: Sara: Petition to kick Cammy out so she stops insulting us. Tito: Seconded.

5.Knighty: Do you ever wonder why you're still single? Gus, eating mayonnaise straight out of the jar with a spoon: Yeah… I mean, I'm perfect! Who wouldn't want to date me? Knighty, sighing: I can name a few people…

6.Tito: Why shouldn't you put a toaster in a bathtub full of water!? Gus: Because your toast would get soggy!

7.Willy: Don't worry, I've got a few knives up my sleeve. Sara: I think you mean cards. Arty: He did not. Willy, pulling out knives: I did not.

8.Arty: Oh, fiddlesticks! That really ruffles my feathers! Tito: Please, just say fuck!

9.Knighty: You spent all our money on THIS?? Sara, putting tiny raincoats on ducklings: They live outside. They need this.

10.Knighty: I’ve never been in a snowball fight before. I don’t know the rules. Willy: What? Knighty: Is there a point system, or is it to the death?

11.Gus: Hello friends! The Squad: Gus: You might be wondering why I’m taped to the ceiling.

12.Knighty: I only have two emotions: exhaustion and stress. And I’m somehow always feeling both simultaneously.

13.Willy: Ozzie, when’s your birthday? Ozzie: Why? So you can look up my natal chart? So you can figure out my weaknesses? So you can destroy me? Willy: …So I know when to wish you a happy birthday.

14.at a zoo Willy: What are they in for? Cammy: Willy, this isn't prison. Willy: So they can leave? Cammy: No, but- Willy, pointing at a meerkat: I bet that one murdered someone.

15.The Squad with cigarettes Willy: I smoke regularly. Tito: I smoke sparingly. Knighty: I smoked once, but I didn't care for it. Sara: I've never smoked, but the idea intrigues me. Arty: I've never smoked, and I refuse to do so. Ozzie: What's a cigarette?

[shahronak47]

Thank you, Malaysia!

A 26 year old boy who has stayed in the one city all his life, one day decides to leave not only his city but his country all together to embark upon a journey in a completely new country where he knows no one. All he has is this new job and flight ticket to a country he has only heard of. He has so many questions on his mind.

Is this company genuine ?

I have heard stories of foreign worker exploitation. What if this company takes away my passport on the first day and make me their slave?

Being vegetarian, will I get decent vegetarian food to eat there?

Where will I stay?

Will I like this new job?

....and so many other questions.

Yes, you guessed it right. This boy is no other than me.

Now looking back, I find myself a bit naive to come to a new country without doing any kind of research. But that naivety and blind trust really has helped me a lot.

My first impression of Malaysia was very good as I was impressed with tall buildings, wide roads, clean surroundings and discipline in traffic. It was a very good learning experience working at a place where there were people from 30 different nationality. Before coming here, I didn't interact much with people from different country and what little I did was very awkward and low in confidence. This was the company where I was regularly interacting with foreigners. I went from being awkward and shy, to talking regularly with them and also making friendships with so many of them. We all exchanged our cultures and traditions with each other and learned a lot from each other.

Since I was very new to this place and had no friends and family I got a lot of time to be with myself. I started to know myself a bit more. I started understanding what I like, what I don't like, how I like etc. It was a truly a defining moment for me. I was discovering myself and it is this phase which actually also defined my career at large. It also gave me the confidence to follow and do things that I love.

I did lot of things on my own like cooking, washing utensils, washing clothes etc. I had never done these things but now since I am staying alone I have to do all of these. Two years in Malaysia and I got married with the love of my life and it was also made possible because I had came to Malaysia. This is a story of it's own which I may or may not share on a public platform.

In these 7 years, I worked with two companies and they have shaped me in different ways. It was also during these 7 years I got an opportunity to work with World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank (WB) which is an achievement of it's own.

I made some wonderful friends here. Friends that are as good as family and some of them will stay with us forever.

So many things that I owe to Malaysia. Now that I am ending my journey here, I want to say thank you to Malaysia for being so kind and patient with me. Truly, thank you so much. Now to summarize I just want to include some highlights of my 7 years here. All of these observations are compared to my home country India.

Unique Malaysian Things :

Malaysia consists of 3 races majorly. Malaysian, Chinese and Indian (Tamil) and all of them live with peace and harmony.

Malaysian are very patient in general. In an intersection, they will allow other cars to pass first, allowing pedestrians to cross, patiently waiting for someone to pay their parking ticket while in queue and so many other examples.

They are very disciplined drivers as well. They do follow traffic rules.

Malaysia is very safe. You can forget something somewhere and most of the times you will find that thing at same place even after 24 hours.

Food choices of various range. I have had lunch/dinner for 5 RM with a drink and also 100 RM. You can get food according to your budget.

Random Acts of Kindness :

Driver who returned my mobile after I forgot it in the cab.

Stranger who payed for pay and use toilet fee for my mom when my parents were visiting us in Malaysia and I wasn't around to pay.

Two random girls who helped my parents to self check-in their luggage at the airport when they were returning back.

Things Malaysia can improve upon :

Quality of things are not that up-to the mark. We had 5 Gas Lighters in 5 years whereas in India home we are still using a single lighter for 20 years. Toilet jet spray was replaced 4 times in 5 years, whereas in India we haven't changed the jet spray in 15 years.

Too much of single-use plastic. Most of the grocery store charge 0.20 RM for the bags and some of them still give free of charge but still it is too much of plastic and should be banned.

If I had to start over in Malaysia what would I do differently?

Driving - I started driving in Malaysia in my last year but it would have been very helpful if I had learned it earlier. There were few places that we didn't go because there was no reliable way to reach there using public transport or by cab.

Learning Malay - It would have really helped me in various situations to communicate with locals in the language that they are comfortable in.

As my journey ends here and the new one resumes in India I want to say Terima Kasih, Malaysia. See you again!

[carlyraejcpsen]

alright, i’ve tried to keep quiet because i truly believe in karma and wanted this rp to close through the admin’s own actions and not give them any opportunities to blame it on me instead. it also felt like beating a dead horse, because i was sure they’d close the rp after losing a huge proportion of their active members and the majority of their diversity. however, after seeing multiple people sharing their experiences today, they are still posting promo posts and starting their event. so yeah, here’s my experience with @thevillagerp​​

NOTE: i no longer have screenshots from my conversations with the admins, as i blocked them when i left the rp for the sake of my own mental health, but i did save the text in my drafts, so the messages below are copy pasted. i have not edited them in any way. They also deleted my original anonymous messages off of their blog.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: racism, very vague allusions to homophobia and transphobia

so i was a member of this roleplay for around two months. during my time there, it was startlingly obvious that white fcs were preferred and prioritised, both from the fact that they got more plots and interactions in general and from the fact that admins never promoted diversity on the main. even now, they repeatedly say they “would still love to receive some more male and non-binary apps” while ignoring that they currently have a ratio of 8 fcs of colour to 24 white fcs. their diversity rules at the time were that 1/3 of a mun’s characters had to be played by an fcoc. so people could easily just play one or two white characters.

a while ago, i sent an anonymous message to the main asking if they had considered perhaps changing this rule to be 2/3 characters instead of 1/3, since there were so few muses of colour in the roleplay (as i said before, they’ve since deleted this from their blog so i cannot provide a screenshot). they responded that they had been thinking of upping the character limit to four instead of three, with a rule that 2/4 must be played by an fcoc. i gave them the benefit of the doubt and the time to enact this change, but nothing happened.

so a few weeks later, i sent them this message on anonymous:

I was wondering if you had thought any more about the diversity rules here? I know you said before that you were considering increasing the character limit, but I noticed that hasn’t happened and I wanted to know if that was a change we’re going to see or if you would consider changing the rules in another way? I’m really disheartened by the lack of diversity in the roleplay

at the time there were 18 characters of colour out of a total of over 60. they responded (again, i’m sorry i don’t have the actual wording since they’ve deleted the messages) that they had thought about it and decided against upping the character limit, but instead would be having a weekly “poc acceptance day,” where they would only be accepting apps with fcs of colour. they also said they were doing this “now that the waitlist was mostly cleared,” which meant that the rp was mostly at capacity anyway, so they needed to look more at how to encourage their existing members to promote diversity, since there weren’t spaces open for new people to bring them in.

i responded with another anon expressing my disappointment and pointing out that they had done more to prevent having too many celebrity characters than too few muses of colour, as at the time they had a ban on celebrity muses. i wouldn’t usually suggest a ban on certain fcs, but as it was something they had done for celebrity characters, then i supposed it was a reasonable option.

they didn’t even respond to this message and instead posted on the main asking me to come off anon to discuss it. so i did, and i sent them the following dm:

i didn’t want to come off anon because i honestly feel really ostracised in this group and didn’t want to make it worse, but i don’t want to drop this issue and you aren’t comfortable addressing it publicly so here we are i guess. like i said in my previous message, i really don’t see how a “poc acceptance day” is going to make anywhere near enough of a difference. people will just wait for the opportunity to play their white characters. there are only 18 characters of colour in a roleplay with over 60 characters. that’s less than a third, which is obviously concerning. what’s even more concerning for me is that these characters are more often than not overlooked. i am often ghosted when plotting, or people don’t even reach out at all when i like plotting calls or intro posts. and then i have to watch characters like leo almost exclusively interact with white women (i’m sure that’s not the only example, but it is the first that comes to mind as he is one of the more active characters).

so this issue goes so much deeper than there just not being adequate representation in the rp. i really tried to help, i suggested making it a rule that 2/3 characters need to be poc in my original ask and you mentioned upping the character limit in response. i was worried that my concerns were being brushed aside, but i waited a while to give you the benefit of the doubt and the space to discuss the issue. so you can understand why it was really upsetting today to learn that the one thing you suggested was dropped and instead replaced with something that is barely scratching the surface of the problem. and i don’t know if it was your intention, but by saying that you were waiting for the waitlist to clear, it comes across as not wanting to receive any backlash from people who would want to join with only white characters. and even if people did want to join with faceclaims of colour, they can’t because the waitlist is cleared. like i suggested, you could change the rules so that 2 out of 3 characters must be people of colour. or, as was your proposed idea, up the character limit to four. you could also put a temporary ban on white faceclaims until the ratio evens out. as i mentioned, it’s really distressing that this was something you were willing to do for celebrity characters, but not to aid diversity.

i also just want to make it clear that these have been the only anons i’ve sent, i know you’ve been getting other ones, but those weren’t from me!!

( for context, they were receiving anons from someone else claiming that they felt left out in the rp ).

i had hoped that coming off anon would show them that this was a very real issue which was affecting their members, as well as giving them a space to discuss it privately instead of on the main. they responded with:

Hi Em, thank you for coming forward. We really, really appreciate it and we understand it’s not an easy thing to do. We also appreciate you flying the flag for diversity so strongly. We can always strive to be better, we are on the same page with you here.

Let us just explain our decision making. Firstly, just to address the waitlist, that was certainly not at all our intention when we brought it up. It was a logistical decision with 5+ applicants having already waited a week for acceptance and aware of their position on a waitlist.

When we decided against upping the character limit (and therefore the 2/4 POC character rule), we thought a POC acceptance day could be a good alternative course of action. In our eyes, this was something that would probably bring more POC characters to the group than the 2/4 rule because we knew there weren’t going to be many muns taking up an additional fourth character. This was a rule we’ve seen other groups enjoy success from so we wanted to try it out here. Plus, we think a day that explicitly highlights diversity every week would bring the message to the forefront of everyone’s minds. As we said, we’re going to monitor this over the next couple of weeks to see if it brings any improvement because we’d really like to have it as an ongoing rule.

The non-POC ban is actually a measure we’ve spoken about too and we are considering putting one in place should this fail. Thank you for raising your concerns, know that we’ve taken them very seriously and we hope that you’ll trust our judgement in trying this rule out first to see where it leads.

first of all, i don’t think i even have to mention the wording of “flying the flag for diversity.” but the real crux of the issue here is that they supposedly wanted me to come off anon to discuss the issue, but instead just explained their idea further and didn’t take anything i said on board. they didn’t even say a single word about how i told them i felt ostracised and regularly got ignored. i knew from speaking to other muns in the rp who played muses of colour (and just from looking at the dash) that they felt the same way too, but of course was only speaking from my own experience.

i thought long and hard about how to respond to this, as i was so disheartened by their unwillingness to listen to their members and the fact that they didn’t care that i felt left out. it felt like they had asked me to come off anon just so they knew who was messaging them and therefore put a target on my back, so honestly the thought of being on the dash or talking to the admins made me incredibly anxious. before i had a chance, however, they responded again with:

Hi hun, we’ve continued discussing this issue over the last couple of days and we wanted to let you know that we’ve decided to put in place a non-POC ban instead. Thank you again for holding a mirror up to the group. We do hope that this will recorrect the balance.

so i waited to see how things would play out. they posted about this new ban here and pinned the post to the top of the main:

[ IMAGE ID: a screenshot from thevillagehq of an admin update, which reads: in the interest of keeping the village a diverse space, we are currently only accepting applications for POCs. please note that any apps or reserves submitted to us for faceclaims that are not POCs will be deleted. we will lift this rule once we see fit.

thank you for your understanding and your efforts in making this group a brighter, more inclusive and diverse place for all. /END ID ]

this rule remained in place for around two weeks, during which time they made almost no effort to promote it. the above post was pinned to the main page, but that was the only mention of the ban anywhere on their page, they didn’t update the rules page or even put a note on the application page about it. during this two week period, the admins posted 10 promo posts, none of which suggested fcs or even mentioned the ban or diversity at all. the ban was then lifted suddenly when the pinned post was removed and the admins just went back to accepting apps with white fcs. the ratio had only evened out in those two weeks (from 18 out of 65 to 24/50) because of people going inactive or leaving, and there was nothing put into place to continue to promote diversity after the lift of the ban. in the three days after the ban was lifted, the admins posted over 10 promo posts, the same amount they had posted during the entirety of the ban. it was clear that they had no intention of actually making changes in their rp and had only done so because i refused to drop the issue.

again, i thought a lot about what i wanted to message them. i knew at this point that they didn’t want to make any real changes, but i still felt like i had to make it clear to them how disappointing their actions were. once again, i was messaged before i even had a chance, this time for bubbling.

as you can see in the above correspondence, i had told the admins point blank that i felt left out and ignored in the rp because of the characters i played (aubrey plaza, mj rodriguez and keiynan lonsdale fcs. all of my characters were queer and used either she/they or they/them pronouns). as a general rule, the only people who wanted to write with me and have interesting plots with me were people who played other muses of colour. the rp had a rule that you must reply to 3+ muns on every character, which i had been doing. i had only been back from my hiatus for a few days at this point and had responded to 6 different open starters the day prior. their message to me read:

Hi hun. There’s something we wanted to address to you directly. It’s been expressed to us by multiple members during these last few weeks that they have felt excluded by your character within the group, especially when it comes to the friend bubble that has formed between Mars, Bowie, Luvena, Asher and others. 

While we encourage the development of friendships and trust that this isn’t intentional, we have a zero tolerance for bubble roleplaying at The Village. We are aware that our three mun activity rules have been met by all parties involved, however, bubbling is usually a little more nuanced than that and it seems it has unfortunately begun to create a bit of a divide within the group. 

We have already issued individual warnings to a few people within the bubble, however with multiple members still expressing their concerns to us, we decided it would be better to address the group as a whole. We hope that by pointing this out to you, you will try and branch out to your fellow members a little more from now on - and try and be a little more inclusive when it comes to everyone else in the group. 

We take such matters very seriously as admins, and while we hope it won’t have to come to this, there will be consequential steps taken should we not see any changes in your interactions in the weeks to come.

as you can imagine, i was incredibly upset to receive this message after already telling them i didn’t get plots from many of their members and they had done nothing. even people who i had previously messaged continued to only write with the same few white characters. i don’t deny that we definitely had a friendship group between our characters, but there were multiple people in that roleplay, including the admins, who only cared about ship plots or plots with the same few muns. me and other people who received the same message had all previously told the admins that people aren’t plotting with us and gotten ignored, so receiving this message made it clear that they neither cared about us nor wanted us in their rp. and so i responded as below:

yeah i literally told you i felt left out because there are multiple people only writing with white characters and you never addressed it, so this message is honestly insulting. i have reached out to almost every new member, responded to multiple open starters and have tried to plot with as many people as possible. like i told you, i am often left on read or people don’t even message me at all. if people do message me, i am usually expected to put in all of the effort and if people aren’t interested in actually developing plots with me then i am obviously not going to force my characters on them. all of my characters are queer, non binary people of colour and the harsh truth of this roleplay is that people don’t care about them. i even wrote out a whole list of 20 detailed suggested connections in an attempt to get more plots and nothing came from that either. i’ve even gotten anonymous hate saying that offering to explain my characters’ pronouns was “patronising,” which i didn’t feel like i could approach you about because, when i told you about how i’m feeling excluded, you didn’t care.

so if i only have actual plots with the people who actually care about my characters, i make no apologies. i also don’t even have threads with half of the characters you named, asher being the only one, and have literally only just come off hiatus. so please explain how i am bubbling, because this really just feels targeted at this point.

you’ve made it endlessly clear that this rp isn’t a safe space for people who want to play diverse characters. the main was practically silent while you had a ban on white faceclaims, which you never actively promoted, and then you dropped that suddenly without putting anything else in place. you also deleted my initial anonymous messages asking about diversity as if you were trying to hide that there was ever an issue. you turned anonymous messages off, so that no one can safely criticise you. because i did that off anon and ever since it has felt like there is a massive target on my back. my characters have been “accidentally” on the activity checks multiple times despite me being on hiatus (people get a notification that they were tagged even if you remove their name from the list btw). plus when i asked for an extension on my hiatus, you said that you would allow it “just this once” which now makes me feel like i can’t come to you if i’m busy. right now, for example, i am in the middle of moving house, but i’m also stressed about trying to stay active because you have made yourselves completely unapproachable.

the ratio only evened out slightly because members left. then suddenly after the ban you’re posting multiple promo posts a day??? you couldn’t get more obvious. i came to you about diversity in good faith, hoping that it was something you were unaware of, but you have made it abundantly clear that you actively do not want to promote diversity in your roleplay, we are just here to be witnesses to your ship. there are multiple members who are actually bubbling who have been brought to your attention, but nothing has been done. leo continues to only write with the same three white and white passing characters. charlotte pretty much only appears to write with leo and post a vague “message me for plots” post that wasn’t even tagged. both of you only put effort into your ship threads with each other and the occasional text threads. even with something like group events: while i’ve been here, there’s been a pride event that neither of your characters were even in new york for (an event where i was the only one reaching out and posting multiple starters, by the way); there was no event last month, and this month all you’re talking about is this housewarming party.

i’m really disheartened that it’s come to this, but i can’t be here anymore. please post unfollows for all my characters. you’ve said multiple times that we should trust you as admins, but this message shows again that i simply can’t do that. from the disregard of trigger warnings, to the way you treated being held accountable for the lack of diversity, to how you respond to people asking for hiatuses, this isn’t a safe space. even if i stayed, the target you have placed on me is making it insufferable to just write my characters in peace.

the other muns who received the same bubbling message (copy pasted btw, we all got the same one word for word) all responded with their own concerns and criticisms in responses of a similar length to mine. none of us received a reply, our unfollows were just posted the next day without any further responses from the admins. a few of the other members who had written and plotted with us chose to leave as well, which the admins wrote off as us just dragging them with us as opposed to them being able to make their own decisions and being aware of the situation (which was incredibly obvious. no promotion of a white fc ban, suddenly being active on the main once they try to stealthily drop the ban, then the majority of their muses of colour leaving???)

i haven’t paid the rp much attention since i left, as i mentioned above i blocked the main and the majority of the members just for my own mental health. but from a quick scroll through today i can see that the only change in diversity rules is that now instead of your third character having to be a poc, it is now your second. however, you still only have to have 1 character out of 3 have a fc of colour. so very little has been done, but of course i’m not surprised in the slightist.

these admins don’t want diversity in their roleplay. if you play any character who isn’t a rich, white, cishet neurotypical, please avoid it at all costs. it’s not in any way a safe environment.