#also ppl in the us only because its a lot easier to give an answer if you dont actually have to think abt the consequences

[meruz]

hi!! im sure ppl have asked this b4, but i scoured your asks tag for an hour or so looking to see if you answered anything abt it and couldnt find anything, so i was just wondering if youve made any posts on your process for making n selling merch b4? and how you know which franchises you can make merch for w/o getting into trouble w copyright n trademark stuff (hopefully that makes sense, im not sure,,,)

hi! got a bunch of asks abt merch stuff lately im gonna put it under a cut.

preface: i don't know if i'm the best person to ask about all this stuff because I'm doing merch on a strictly hobby basis LOL. I have a fulltime job which takes care of the bulk of my finances, I don't really make big quantities of anything and my main priority at cons is to just make enough money to see my friends in different cities at minimal expense. i pretty much always get a refund when i file my con taxes because my profit after all the deductions is like fucking..nothing.. lmao. So if you ultimately lose money following my advice don't blame me. OK NOW lets get into it

my process for making merch: when I have an event scheduled that I want to make merch for I start by brainstorming a bunch of stuff I wanna make. for mgscon this is what I wrote down in my sketchbook lol

i made a legend to denote which ones are actually just reprints. it gets easier to plan out merch when you already have merch. out of the new merch ideas here i actually only made like 4 of them. and out of the reprints i only reprinted like three. i also came up with like 4-5 other merch ideas after writing out this list that i actually did do. LMAOO UM. my point here is that nothing rly goes as planned.

when i get a merch idea i start with thumbnails what i want it to look like (sometimes this is based off merch ive seen before so its very realized and sometimes its really vague bc im kind of pulling it out of my ass)

then BEFORE i go into making the final art I research how I'm going to make the merch. whether its printing/constructing it myself or looking for a manufacturer. There's a lot of different places that you can get custom merch made, i used to go shopping around at local printing shops but nowadays it's really common to do it all online. For both these jet tags and the washi tape I did some of my own research into manufacturers and also asked friends for their contacts/referrals/recommendations etc. most manufacturers either have their specs/template publicly available or will give them to you when you ask. so once I've locked into a manu and gotten the specs I'll start designing the final art.

then it's sending it off and waiting! easier said than done.

i will say this process is a lot lengthier for some types of merch than others LOL. for prints... I've been doing prints for like a million years and I plan out almost none of it. I draw everything at print resolution so a week before I have a con scheduled I'll simply go through all the files I've accumulated since my last con, squeeze whatever drawings I want into standard print sizes lol (ie. 8.5x11, 11x17, 4x6 etc), and print them at a local shop. takes like a couple hours max.

how you know which franchises you can make merch for w/o getting into trouble w copyright n trademark stuff?

I mean. honestly I don't know. selling fanart is the kind of thing that IP holders kind of just let slide as long as they don't think they're losing a substantial amt of money on it. there ARE a couple franchises people avoid because they've been known to send IP lawyers after fanartists... disney is the big one and they're known for being pretty petty abt it... that's why you don't really see people selling fanart of the disney princesses at cons. ive heard pokemon will also crack down if your project seems to be making a lot of money lol, part of why i think a lot of pokemon fanzines operate on a charity basis. I do feel like the pokemon company has bigger fish to fry than someones artist alley table though so i wouldn't sweat it too much.

it's also generally considered impolite/bad taste to sell fanart of small franchises. webcomics and indie games especially if they only have like 1-2 devs who rely on the income that game makes.

I'm not a lawyer so you shouldn't consider this legal advice BUT I will say... I don't think you should let IP law stop you from selling fanart lol. especially if it's low quantities/not mass produced and you're not making crazy amts of money I think you kind of have a leg to stand on. Besides, most cases it seems like the worst you'll get is a cease and desist.

you Will notice that when people start turning their artist alley endeavors into a real business they'll generally ease up on selling fanart (the case most prominent in my mind is omocat lol). but i love fanart and thats why i will never make money and thats a promise [snake saluting gif]

SORRY IDK IF ANY OF THIS WAS HELPFUL. I've been doing merch and cons for a long time (10+ years lmao, you can find record of this on this very blog) and i think im kind of old fashioned about it. i recognize the artist alley/merch scene is a lot more demanding now than it used to be but start small at local low-risk events, online sales etc and work your way up and remember to have fun and itll be ok i believe this wholeheartedly.

its literally just layers of acrylic like any other dinky charm. I'm sure pretty much any manu that does acrylic charms could do it but this specific charm/template i did order through a group order server. they're pretty well known! heres a link to their twitter

@wheatormeat sorry for taking a full month to answer this... anyways. This is tricky because I've actually been changing up my sticker manu everytime LOL IDK if I've found one I actually love.

these ones i ordered thru an alibaba manu because I was jumping on a friend's group order to save on shipping. it was ok. they arrived a liiiitle late and printed a lil dark but i think thats kind of my fault LOL I use dark colors i always need to lighten things before i get them printed and i think i just didnt lighten these enough. otherwise i rly love the quality!

i realized i never posted these online and also this is not a good picture (the lighting in my living room sucks rn) but i printed these tmnt stickers thru stickerninja they feel really solid but they needed kind of a lot of space for the cutline. but their customer service was very nice and helpful!

these ones i got printed at washimill and i was so impressed with how fine their cutline is... pricing and quality of the sticker itself is alright they feel a lil flimsy? idk. but i do like the printing. i kind of elected to go with them solely because i was already ordering washi tape. A LOT of my manufacturing decisions are made based on how much money i can save on shipping tbh.

and thats my sticker manu reviews dont forget to like comment subscribe idk if i have one im gonna stick with forever or anything im rly indecisive. ideally id like a manu based in the u.s...? because im based in the u.s. and international shipping is pricey. but idk if i keep ordering washi tape maybe ill keep using washimill. who knows...

[3-aem]

I love how you capture gojo through your artwork and the way you paint! You’re my favorite gojo artist. How do you pick your color palettes and how color your art from grayscale? I’m trying to change my rendering techniques but am struggling big time. Do you have any tips? 💜💜💜

sorry this was a tough ask to answer i know its old😭

so what i can recommend is to first: have a folder of pieces you like the color palette of and study how the colors are laid out. try to tie your observations back to color theory as well.

next the best hacks i learned were the hsb and gradient tools. some ppl may consider gradients a cheat but hey if it works it works. hsb allows you to slap any color as ur best guess and then keep adjusting until it hits The Spot.

you can also use the curve tool at the very end (or during if you want, it’s your journey) to make final tweaks to contrast and saturation. Sometimes i just go wild on it to see if anything cool happens.

to go from gray scale to color you want to learn the color blending layers and what they do. But most important I recommend learning what Overlay can do for you and your loved ones.

Color blending layers are how you apply color.

When working with overlay in a grayscale to color setting you want to remember that your base is literally 100% desaturated. So the color you apply over that needs to be as saturated as possible! Try to stick to bright saturated colors for the most part and avoid dark and desaturated colors on the overlay layer unless working in shadows (dark) or highlights (desaturated).

Tbh I think practice a lot even if its a struggle. Don’t give up. And you don’t have to get there immediately. what i did in the beginning was heavily rely on gradients and color blending. As i got more comfortable with the color blending layers I started doing my rendering in an off red pinkish color. This was easier for me than direct transition to grayscale because the bit of color allowed me to color parts like skin with less struggle.

experiment!! i only talked about overlay bc in my understanding its what’s used by most grayscale artists. but literally every color blending layer has something to offer and you should take the time to find what works for you.

[raytorosaurus]

bit of a weird ask but I saw a twitter post saying they were 'devastated' over what frank said in an interview about performing/writing in ls dunes compared to some other bands (theyre assuming that the 'other bands' means mcr because they cant think of the 20+ other bands that hes been in) and after reading it a second time it doesn't even seem that negative?? it just talks about different processes and his excitement for dunes, but I still feel down anyway now because of that reaction, and it really makes me doubt that part of the fandom's faith in the band and its members im kinda close to quitting the fandom because of this and idk how the tumblr/twitter gang here survives it y'all are troopers, im unsure how to avoid that kind of doomposting

sorry i totally forgot to answer this the other day, i hope you see this!

but yeah, i see the same thing and it is. pretty irritating haha. it speaks to the unrealistic traits and behaviours fandom has applied to these ppl over the years/decades - which are harmless enough on the surface, but left unchecked you end up with doomposting or disproportionate levels of discourse when one of them doesn't behave the way their textpostified personalities would have you believe hahaha. if frank isn't anything but reverential towards mcr then he must hate it. if gerard puts time and work into his artistic and career pursuits that aren't related to mcr he must be giving up on the band like he supposedly did in 2012. if ray, who hasn't done a single interview since 2016, isn't on stage showing frank public affection or admiring him on twitter, he must be bossy and arrogantly taking all the glory for mcr's guitar parts and musicality. if mikey does anything it's gotta have something to do with gerard or mcr because obvs he doesn't exist outside the band etc etc. again none of these things are like. problematic or bad**, just kind of. annoying to engage with as an adult in the space i go to enjoy myself hahaha.

but this specific discussion abt frank implicitly dissing mcr also cropped up after that podcast frank did with travis, where he discussed writing music with ls dunes vs every other band/project he's been involved in. which, let's remember, is a fucking lot. how many albums has frank made or been part of? too many to easily count. only about four or five of those were with my chemical romance. ls dunes is only set apart from the rest because they're currently active after mcr's huge reunion, and they're a supergroup so they're getting a lot of press attention. people have never batted an eye in the past when frank has discussed how great it is to be working with this or that musician on this or that album - it's just the timing of ls dunes and our own high hopes for new mcr music that make people take this one in particular so personally.

on top of that... we've always known mcr has a fraught and stressful writing process??? that is like. a major part of the lore? we're all compelled by the insane amount of unlikely success mcr achieved in their careers, and by the fact that they were always controversial. we reblog quotes about gerard saying mcr's purpose was always to be against something, to undermine expectations, to infiltrate, contaminate etc. i thought this was something we were all drawn to about mcr? so i'll never understand the shock and disappointment when frank makes the simple statement that writing with ls dunes is easier, less stressful, and more lighthearted than writing with mcr. like...duh it is? mcr have always been open about how much they put into writing albums - and also about how they're proud of what they created, and that they consider each other cherished family.

the most annoying part for me is when people take quotes about frank working with travis and twist them into some kind of dig at/criticism of ray. i can only assume these people aren't used to working with others in a creative capacity, especially long term, because i just totally can't understand where it comes from lol. as someone who's read/watched every guitar-related mcr interview i've ever been able to get my hands on: ray and frank have literally never been anything other than fully complimentary of, respectful to, and affectionate with one another. ray was far from the first guitarist frank ever worked with and leagues from the only one. also, creative partnerships are extremely complex and every one is completely unique, with it's own strengths and difficulties. if ray and frank didn't love playing with each other they wouldn't have done it for years and years. that doesn't mean frank can't vocally love playing with other guitarists??? these things are not contradictory and appreciating aspects of one creative partnership is not equivalent to bad-mouthing a different one? like that is just not how it works skdkdjd

anyway i think a lot of it comes down to the fact that, for us, we see these people as parts of my chemical romance. naturally, because that's the reason we know they exist! but all of these people live rich and full and complex lives like any other person. the only parts of those lives that we generally see much of are the my chemical romance parts. we look for mcr in everything they say, which is understandable but unrealistic. all we need to do it keep that in mind imo

**(tho ppl's tendency to pit ray and frank against each other for some reason, which used to be a way common but is unfortunately a sentiment i'm starting to see crop up again in some places, definitely can get. suspicious and uncomfortable. especially considering that frank is the fan favourite so these pointless comparisons tend to err in his favour, and in either direction they tend to be very shallow and uninformed anyway. but that's a separate conversation)

wow i literally did not intend to turn this into a giant essay im so sorry. kudos if you made it this far lol. and i feel you anon, it's discouraging and puts a bad taste in my mouth when i come to this fandom for fun and fulfillment. i wish i had better advice because im feeling a little similar but just try to remind yourself that other people's opinions are just that. i find it helps if you can curate your own dash/feed or make friends in more discussion-friendly spaces like dms or gcs or discord servers. or even a priv twitter account with a few like-minded mutuals where you can vent ur shared frustrations over things without making it a whole big deal HAHAHA. the less time you spend scrolling thru ppl's public posts and the more time you spend diving into interviews, podcasts, videos, the web archive etc to detach yourself a little from group fandom-think the better you'll probably feel about mcr tbh! also long as you have friends or close mutuals that's all that matters imo <3

[junkissed]

hihi im starting a writing blog for svt but im relatively new to tumblr and its mechanics and all the etiquette and things like that. also im a jun biased and im weird in the way where i don't usually have inspo for other members? if that makes sense? so like idk is there anything i need to know or is it relatively acceptable to mostly only write for one or two members?

also sidenote but i really love some of your writings ahaha match of the season is my favourite :D thank you so much if you ever reply!

no that totally makes sense! i would say most authors on here will write for ot13 but they definitely write more for their bias than any other member. i feel the same way, for me it's easier to write for jun than for other members (and also i love him lol) so my writing ends up being like 90% jun and 10% other members. which is completely fine! at the end of the day it's your blog and your writing, and you should write for whoever you feel comfortable writing for and whoever gives you the most motivation. there are hundreds of writers on this site so if one writer only writes for a couple of members, it doesn't mean the other members won't get written :) nobody says you're required to write certain things or for certain members!

if you intentionally leave out one member but write for all the rest (i've seen writers who write ot12 and exclude jun because they aren't attracted to him), you might get some side eyes but again that is your choice. i personally wouldn't say a hard no to any members and i'll give them all my best shot, but that's my blog, and your blog is up to you.

as for things you'd need to know, i'd say the number one thing is interact with people! the best way to get interaction on your own work is to reblog and comment on other fics. as i'm sure you've heard me say before, reblogs are the most important feature on this site! it basically boils down to, treat others how you would want to be treated by reblogging their works and leaving feedback, even if it's just a simple "i really loved this!!!". it makes you stand out in our notifs and if you're also a writer it might even get you a new mutual.

other tips off the top of my head:

have a masterlist post (helps people find all your fics in one place) and have a guidelines post (makes it clear what you're comfy with)

DO NOT PLAGIARIZE AND DO NOT STEAL ANYONE ELSE'S WRITING (this one is in caps bc super super important!!! you can take ideas or inspiration from someone else but you cannot take their words or their writing. you'd think this one would be obvious but plagiarism happens a lot more than you'd think)

if you're inspired by someone else, tag them in your fic! it shows respect to the original author, and you should tag them whether it was from a fic you read or if they helped you brainstorm ideas. it doesn't have to be a super long thing, just a little "inspired by @onlyhuis's fic!!" is more than enough, but it goes a long way :)

like i said, you can write for whoever you want, whenever you want! when ppl start interacting you it's gonna be stressful because you want to make them happy and put out new fics often, but just remember that it's your blog and you get the final say on everything. don't put pressure on yourself to write constantly because you will get burned out and i promise it will not be fun!

if people send things that make you uncomfy, don't be afraid to delete (or block) them. it's your blog and your boundaries so don't feel guilty for standing up for yourself. also, ignore answer hate asks because they're just looking for attention so don't give it to them

trigger things properly! this is the little section before the fic that says "warnings". don't censor any words (using punctuation like bl00d or d3ath instead of typing blood or death) because it defeats the purpose of ppl who have those keywords filtered, so type out the whole word uncensored. this is a courtesy for people so they can choose to avoid content that may be harmful to them. (this also counts towards visual works, a lot of ppl use tags like "tw flashing" on gifsets)

speaking of tags, when you post be sure to put tags on it! it's the section at the bottom of your post with all the #'s. if you click on any of my fics you can see that i use tags like "jun smut", "seventeen scenarios", etc. these tags help people find what they want to read (but only tag relevant things; don't put "mingyu smut" on a jeonghan fic unless mingyu is actually in the fic). if you aren't sure which tags to use or how to format things, feel free to look at other fics for examples. if you read a lot of fics you might see there's a pretty standard way of doing it

the tags i use like "june.txt" and "june writes" are organizational tags. when you click on, for example, my "june writes" tag, the results are only my fics that have that tag. it basically organizes things into categories (which imo is the best part of tumblr) and it makes it easier to find different types of posts. it also allows people to filter those tags so posts with that tag don't show up (for example, i require minors on my blog to block the tag "minors dni" so that nothing nsfw is shown to them)

again like i said, don't be shy! make friends, join networks, send asks to people, reblog fics, etc etc. interacting with others is the #1 way to make writer friends :)

just a general tumblr tip: no one can see how many followers you have except you, so don't try to make it a competition of who has the most. it's what makes tumblr different from tw*tter and insta and it makes the social media experience a lot more casual because there's no influencers here. it's like a diary where you scream into the void and sometimes ppl scream back. a lot of writers do milestone events (i recently had one for hitting 1k followers) but you aren't required to do those either

if you have any questions about tags, filtering keywords, and other tumblr stuff like that, don't be afraid to ask! any tumblr veteran is more than willing to help break down our weird system to new bloggers

be proud of your work! even if it doesn't get many notes or feedback it doesn't mean you're a bad writer. writing should be fun and something you can enjoy doing, so don't make it seem like a chore by focusing too hard on numbers

i can't think of any more but here's my tag for important posts & info for new tumblrs users that you can look thru for more! i hope this helps :) and when you start your blog send me another ask!! i would love to be your first follower <3

[codeform]

I just saw your posts about gender for that Clu person, and based on their responses, I think this is someone who is dealing with a lot of uncertainty and they were hoping for a certain answer for their question. Maybe not a permanent one, but a springboard or starting point. They are probably looking for a starting point that's a little more specific than 'whatever u want' because I think they might've said (or suggested) they aren't sure what they want.

Your answers are correct, of course, but speaking from personal experience on other topics, it can be frustrating asking for a simple yet specific answer (in this case, that would be an answer like 'cis male' or 'transfem') and getting only broad generalities. Might I suggest supplying them with some terms that seem to be a pretty close fit to what they described? You wouldn't be labeling them, you'd just be giving them some things to Google so they can see if it fits them. A place to start their gender identity journey from (because some people do feel more secure when they have that 'label' and this person might be one of those. And that's completely okay if they need that.)

Hope this helps you and them!

i Absolutely agree w u anon! but (and i am speaking as sm1 whose early exploration was almost entirely based off of discussions w highschool friends— all 2nd hand information. which is its own can of worms hsdfjkjs) i do think its important to like. do that initial footwork yourself?

bc (n im glad u agree!) there is just no neat answer!! esp not w nonbinary genders!! I (a man who has a very weird gender itself) am still constantly learning!! and i did edit one of my rbs but idk if Hal saw, but i think a very good place to start is less "what is upsetting me abt my gender" but rather "what is making me happy" — this is just generally a less painful jumping-off point too, bc its usually easier to work through when you're confused (its a lot to unpack upset/pain/confusion at the SAME TIME!!! not fun)

i will stick by honestly wikipedia as a genuinely useful surface level resource. install shinigami eyes so u dont wind up on transphobic sites and it has a solid rundown of both your "basic" terms and the history of the community, especially bc it is very hard if impossible to get an answer when youre asking sm1 else "heres what i feel now what am i." skhsdhf

and no hate!!! genuinely!!! thats a very easy place to wind up in, where u just WANT a clear-cut answer from sm1 else, but like i said b4: nobody knows you better than YOU!! i think theres like. this idea that we all just Knew and the truth is no, i promise we did not. we have all googled "nonbinary definition" "demigender definition" "neopronouns definition" i went thru 2 whole entire genders b4 i settled on Man and MORE AFTER THAT before settling on Man But Weird

AND ALSO. i am open to questions!!!!!!! but i am A WEIRD DUDE W AUTISM AND I AM NOT BUILT FOR MAKING SENSE!!!!! i promise i AM trying!!! and will continue to try!!! but it is abt to be June and pride is this month and wholeheartedly go to your local pride events if you are confused!!!!!! take to queer ppl who are both prepared to answer questions AND can provide much more relevant, local(!!!) resources — and talk to queer elders!!!! meet the coolest people in the world forever!!!!

but yea to circle back 2 th point i was like. Trying to make. doing that initial footwork yrself is the easiest i think bc you know you. i promise even tho it seems daunting it WILL ultimately be less confusing than trying 2 play 2nd hand telephone even if yr playing w friends (like i did. not ideal — wasnt safe for me to research myself but still Not Ideal)

[fuckityshitbang]

hi have a clumsy thought essay from the (irl) local "very cool" socially popular autist

i think what this question really is internalized more accurately to the autistic person is: "what am i like SOCIALLY when i don't mask?" especially since we for the MOST part are only not masking when...we're...alone. lol.

if you gradually analyze your mask and its nuanced triggers and expressions you can actually willfully NOT mask when interacting, which because of the reasons WHY we mask is equally as unbearable as masking is lol. especially because it's less familiar.

i say this however to demonstrate that if this is something you feel you can't answer, and it genuinely gives you panic from disconnect/existential uncertainty, it can be a useful skill to learn and exercise.

i didnt exactly have the same reaction (eg crisis) as this when i was first struck with the "DAMN, that's a good question." my reaction was like "well, i KNOW what my real personality is like--it does show through my masks. it's PART of me, if filtered and tweaked (and a lot NOT me)." it made me realize i just don't know myself in the context of other people without masking... for the most part. i then thought about how i act with my other friends who are ND... even there, i still mask, because their autism/ADHD sometimes expresses differently, but it's inherently a lot more genuine and a lot less altered/fictional.

thinking of it this way ("well, i act like this with Humans In The Wild Who I Assume Are Allistic And Typically Are, and i act like this with my Fellow Au/DHD Folk") kind of gave me an idea of what traits i specifically stifle more clearly, besides the obvious like stimming or fighting for my life to not infodump etc.

so with at least THAT much data, i began to sometimes...just...not mask, or try to. i experimented a little. i noticed when i was really tired or burnt out (i am unfortunately suffering from chronic autistic burnout but can still mask most days comfortably/instinctively/unconsciously/whatever), those strains were not only more apparent singularly, but also WAY HEAVIER. so i just don't.

people are weirded out by it for sure - they have the person they "know," then the person when i am tired. i don't really make eyecontact, though my affectation is essentially the same; i do other things to show im listening like furrow a brow and nod or hold my chin, so i guess that's still some iota of masking oops lol. i still dont infodump bc when im that worn out i can only rly get stimulation and endorphins from likeminded ppl (not as in autistic, but similar deep interest/passion that may get REAL eyecontact here and there), but i use different language/vernacular since i typically try to sound less "snobby" and more "cool" and "relatable." i kind of ignore small talk or engage it minimally, but will be responsive to things that are generally interesting. i twirl my hair and twist my ankle around while i talk, staring nowhere. maybe i'll draw while we're talking, or i'll do things like organize my items, line up the drinks on the table so theyre on the same "grid" to diminish visual stress, etc etc etc. i do still try to not pick my lips.

so, still not a PERFECT picture to answer that question, but pretty dang close. being aware of when you recede into reflexive masking does make it more exhausting though, as a warning. ime it doesn't stop being reflexive, but i'll admit it was a little easier on me to not really be aware lol. emphasis on "a little," though - i'd still recommend doing it to any who struggle with this existential social anxiety!

this repels/confuses some ppl bc idk they either find it weird or assume im in a bad mood, but a lot of my friends who had long before been friends with that first version of myself (if i was too burnt out to mask before, i just wouldnt see people) act no different and will approach me/hang out w me anyway! it's nice. and it doesn't offend me when people don't react that way, since i was advertising a different product and that product was what they were into. the ppl who approach and hang anyway just happen to be a fan of the product and also its creator.

Trying to explain how I mask to others:

Me: so essentially I copy your behaviour and base my personality on how you act when I’m with you and when I’m with other people I then do the same to them. How act changes depending on who I’m around.

Them: oh so what’s your real personality like?

Me: *has an exsistential crisis*

Rinse, wash, repeat

[femboyclownpierce]

:0 i would love to hear how you write etho!

after making that post and going to bed i've realized that it's so hard for me to describe all the thoughts that go into it so

tl;dr: i have consumed an ungodly amount of ethoslab content to the point that writing him is kind of second nature

you could also probably go thru my archive for etho text posts i've rb'd, cuz those have also influenced me a lot and i'll link a few at the end. i also sincerely recommend watching and rewatching his hc7 because that is like, everything i love about etho in 40-smth episodes.

long and kind of complicated/messy answer under the cut. i tried to go as in-depth as i could w/o being overly rambly

when you think of etho, what do you think of? you probably think "mysterious cryptid redstone guy who is scary." that is the devil talking. he is not mysterious, a cryptid, or scary at all. he is just a guy who's reputation is bigger than him.

here's some (very basic) traits i'd assign to etho before any of those:

humble

reflective*

confident

competitive

friendly

mischievous

avoidant

*reflective in the sense that he mirrors other people's energy.

originally i had a whole rant typed up explaining these personality traits, but i realize you are probably a fellow ethogirl and a lot of these need no explanation. if you want an explanation/to better understand why i chose those personality traits, i am going to once again recommend his hc7, as well as checking out anything he's done with team canada (pick a series and just start watching. if you dont know where to start, one of my beloved mutuals has a neat little guide for ppl new to etho's content that includes some staple team canada content.)

some things i apply to my etho that make sense to me that might go overlooked by the casual enjoyer:

he is so incredibly neurodivergent coded. i am not going to make any assumptions on etho's brain structure, i dont think its my place, but seriously. give your etho some silly thing to be super passionate about on the side. make him easily distracted/get off topic easily. make his storage system start out well but quickly descent into chaos as he gets too lazy to use it.

he goes with the flow! this goes along with me describing him as a reflective person. he "yes, and"'s stuff like there's no tomorrow. he takes whatever energy is thrown his way, and he chucks it right back at you. he gets dragged into shenanigans and goes "oh this might as well happen! let's see how far we can take it."

he likes to avoid problems he doesn't see as immediately his own/aren't immediately affecting him. his response to moon big was literally "i'll let the other hermits deal with it. look this low gravity makes not having elytra so much easier! lets go build a bee farm." if it doesn't affect him right this instant, or there's nothing he can do about it, he will worry about it later (and probably forget to worry about it.)

he prioritizes the "fun" factor above all else. if you know what the bamboozler is, you understand this. also, the bee farm i just mentioned. if there is a very efficient/straight-forward way to do something or a very fun way to do something, he will go with the fun way most of the time. if the only option is boring, he'll find a way to make it fun.

his reputation precedes him, but his reputation is a little inaccurate to modern times. someone who doesn't know him very well might think he's menacing or scary, but the reality is that he's just a silly little guy. don't get me wrong, there is a reason he's seen as menacing, and if he wants to be he can be, but most of the time he's just here to chill.

his humor is very roundabout. he tells a very long story to get to the punchline, or he tells something that plays into stereotypes so much it's ridiculous. here are some examples. he is also a professional "your mom" joker, like i literally cannot link enough examples his staple joke is "your mom."

most importantly, i think, is that etho doesn't take himself too seriously. i think a lot about the quote from cleo that goes like, "etho doesnt say he's a grownup, he giggles and runs away." so dont make etho too serious!

HE IS LITERALLY JUST SOME GUY. i cant stress this point enough. he should have "just some guy" energy. tiny voice he's doing the best he can. things happen to him and he is mildly bewildered. something goes wrong and he needs like, one second dedicated to panicking before he does anything about it.

just for bonus content, some of my favorite posts/clips that heavily influence the way i interpret/write etho. he is so ^-^ | he calls food poisoning an adventure | evidence that etho's a former scene kid | obviously your mother never loved you 'cause you're some sorta monster :) | "you jerk" compilation | etho teasing scar in among us

[callmearcturus]

Pregnant Dave? :O

lmao lemme tell you the whole story since i don't think i'm gonna write the actual chapter, there's too many other stories ppl are waiting for updates to. so i'll spell this out.

(lol this wound up being long enough to almost be a chapter so for context: this is a summary that functions as the epilogue to out here the good girls die. that fic is explicit, DaveKat but also very strong nonsexual KarkatRose vibes. content includes a trans man getting pregnant, no in depth discussion of the physical aspects of that but he does so willingly.)

for context: this takes place maybe a year after the end of the fic. by now, Karkat is a councilor for Vineyard because of course he got into local politics. Rose works as his secretary and basically works on her own political agenda from her desk. Rose has ambitions to make Karkat governor someday. Karkat is loudly adverse to this, but Rose is building quite a coalition of her sex workers' union, small business owners, hospitality workers, etc. so, give her five or ten years.

in Vineyard, Karkat and the Twins are a common topic of the proverbial grapevine. a handsome former Ranger who brought twins back from Vegas? my god.

No one quite knows what is going on there. Is Karkat fucking his secretary? or wait is he cheating on his secretary with her brother? or wait is he sleeping with both of them? also sometimes its hard to tell them apart.... they come from back east, are they manipulating Karkat? what the fuck is going on there? this is all encouraged by Rose, who says its a benign way to keep Karkat in the local news and that helps come election time.

dave is mostly relaxing, decompressing from a long life in a high stress job, and hanging out with karkat's dad and learning to cook and tend to crops. he tries out hobbies. it's nice. unlike rose, he doesn't really have an ambitious bone in his body.

ANYWAY: but like. the reality of being sex workers, rose and dave have gotten pregnant before, but by now they know the signs and they probably keep an exact cocktail of medicine to either Plan B themselves or medically abort as needed. like that just.... seems logical for the setting? not a huge deal.

in Vineyard-by-Navarro though, I think it eventually happens to Dave again and Rose is first to notice and is like "mmkay lemme run to the pharmacy" and dave's like "hm." and keeps going "hm" for a while and thinking a lot. like, a lot.

rose gets kind of impatient with him and they have a minor fight in the living room. karkat comes home and is like "do you guys need a mediator or should i just wait outside until you're done" and dave is like "actually. i think we could use a third opinion here." and rose is just like "kldsjalksdjf SHHH"

but dave and karkat talk and are game to give it (baby) a shot. so rose changes on a dime and shifts into a mindset not unlike a bomb defusal expert. she makes plans and shit and sets up for an expansion to be put on the house, all that.

the only thing that adds a wrinkle; dave is pretty okay with the whole "dude having a baby" thing but he doesn't want it to get out around town, he just doesn't want to deal with Other People's opinions on the matter, right? so. obviously. rose and dave need to swap places. that's just logic.

that's how Karkat learns that Rose and Dave purposefully keep their hair approximately the same length, and with a little work, they can mimick each other. when Dave drops his drawl and puts on Rose's posture, Karkat is lowkey freaked out, but Dave always is quick to drop it when no one is around, discard it with the casualness of tossing out a balled up paper.

still, the fact they can fucking just swap gives Karkat a reminder of his first impression of them, that a pair of New Vegas twins were dangerous.

anyway, Dave goes to the office with Karkat and answers to "Rose" and-- okay he's not as good at Rose's actual job but when word gets out that "Rose" is pregnant, everyone goes easier on him anyway, it's fine. and it makes lunch breaks a lot more interesting; dave gets bored, finds a gap in the schedule, and has a locked-door meeting with Karkat. the rumor mill is having a ball with it.

Rose, on the other hand, is SO FUCKING BORED. she's so bored. every night she grills Dave on what he DOES all day. Dave's answer does not impress her. so Rose eventually gets so bored, she goes out as Dave and looks for a job, and settles on an open afternoon position at the Vineyard radio station.

which in turn leads to another hysterical fight that goes a bit like

ROSE: Perhaps I became concerned about my dear brother, sitting around at home with nothing to enrich his life, wilting like a cactus bloom. DAVE: aw no fuck that and fuck you, I entrusted you with my identity and you go and get me EMPLOYED? you got me a JOB? ROSE: You know there are many who would be extremely blessed to have such a service. In fact, you may find that you are already very popular at Radio Wine. DAVE: you are playin with some fire, sis, given who is wearing your stupid fucking heels and sitting at your stupid fucking desk for the next few months. ROSE: That threat is more than a little uncalled for. Did you not notice I went out of my way to select a job I thought you would be amenable to? KARKAT: [silently eats dinner, shaking his head to himself. how the fuck is this his life. how.]

so that's life for a while until Dave is far enough along it's reasonable for him to prep for having a baby. "Dave" conveniently informs her new employer at the radio station that she's gonna be the midwife and needs to be on-call to run home. everything is set.

Karkat is like "Are you two both addicted to, like... complexity? I feel like you made this whole situation much more complicated." Rose is like, "Well, yes. We are still con artists, and one of the techniques for controlling a mark is to make things just complicated enough that they are spending too much time trying to understand the situation." Dave nods. "Yeah, they're too busy keeping the dominoes lined up, so they have less time to catch you." Karkat points out, "Yeah but who are you conning here." And the twins change the subject because they don't want to admit they might've done all this out of habit.

anyway, the twins decide the baby should definitely be named Vantas so if in the future there is legal trouble and the NCR tries to deport them back to Nevada, either of them can claim to be the parent for legal protection. Rose says she'll use her connections to get them each a fake ID to back up the story. Karkat feels a headache coming on.

but baby is born! everyone takes some some time off, and dave and rose swap back. rose also notes aloud that being a family man looks good to karkat's future constituents. karkat tells her no.

the rumor mill spins up again when Karkat and Dave and Rose and new baby Vantas go on an outing to the broadwalk. eventually, Rose will start winding up karkat's mayoral campaign behind his back, and they'll all be happy. 8)

[raptorladylover6969]

ough i sense bbg wifey Raptor Lady theories ive been summoned

I think the current theories about her are definitely very farfetched. Especially the whole dino x human hybrid…like sure its a POSSIBILITY judging by the scientific breakthroughs in the Jurassic universe, but it doesn’t make much sense. As you said before, in order for her to be a hybrid, she has to retain some dino like features. The only reasoning ppl have for her being part dino is cuz she just behaves weird, which I sort of don’t like because lots of ppl behave weird…it doesnt automatically make them “not human”. 💀

In terms of her behaviour, my guess is she mightve went through something so tragic and traumatizing that its completely switched her demeanour, and why she always looks like shes suffering from shell shock.

I like the idea that she grew up with the atrociraptors tho‼️ It seems to make the most sense because with Owen Grady, he raised Blue, and treats her like a pet (in a good way) but for The Handler, she treats the atrociraptors as if they’re her own siblings, her own blood. (Definitely younger siblings since in the atroci pack, she’s considered the “alpha”). And the way it correlates to her behaviour (im srry i jus luv yapping abt Raptor Lady’s psychology cuz its so fascinating) I think the possibility of her being autistic could be true. With spending a lot of time, or majority of her life with the atrociraptors, their behaviours start to rub off on her, and she begins to mimic them, but she definitely shows many signs of echopraxia. (which is technically an autistic trait).

I also saw one theory that The Handler could be posing as Ben’s long distance gf, but that just gives me the ick 😭 Like I get it couldve been a strategy of hers to try and find out more abt the Camp Fam and their lives to make hunting them down more easier, but omfg the idea of her catfishing Ben this entire time is so funny but also gross 💀

A question I do have is where the hell did she even get atrociraptors from? Like Darius said he doesn’t think any were released from the Lockwood estate, so…where did they come from? I don’t think they were on Nublar, or Mantah Corp island, maybe they could be from Sorna? Sorna hasn’t really been used as a plot device at all since the third Jurassic Park movie, but I’m prayingggggg that they use it for something cuz like wasn’t there some typa lab on Sorna if I recall? That theory you mentioned that The Handler at a young age was used as some type of experiment when it came to training atrociraptors could’ve taken place on that lab on Sorna!! I think that would be a cool concept.

Also, she gotta be filthy rich jus saying. Them atrocis have to be expensive to take care of…so yeah im guessing she did come from a special family and inherited the wealth, otherwise how would she be able to keep these raptors? Unless she has help, but I highly doubt that, shes more of the “I work alone, my raptor babies being the only exception” type.

So many unanswered questions…hopefully some of them will be answered in season 2‼️‼️ Live laugh love Raptor Lady 🙏🙏

‼️🚨Jurassic World Chaos Theory Spoilers🚨‼️

Just so y'all know I'm not shitting on anyone's theories and such and saying that they're 100% not true, because theories are for fun, predicting what might happen. This is just me sharing my opinions on theories. All of these theories are good theories and I love all of them, this is just me sharing my opinion, I mean no harm. All of this is gonna be under the cut as to not clutter people's screens

So like, The Handler. Ms Microbangs herself. The FUCK is up with her? Like, why in the hell does she jus have a trio of trained atrocaraptors at her beck and call? Clearly she has an attachment to them. Did she, perchance, grow up with them? If she was introduced to them as a child when they were hatchlings and they grew up together it makes sense they would have a close bond and be able to communicate like they do in the warehouse in the final (I think) episode. We can't exactly use Blue as a starting point for this thinking because we're talking about Microbangs being raised with raptors, not Microbangs raising the raptors.

I have multiple theories for this woman. One I haven't seen others talk about, is that she is a Dino Nerd. Perchance the daughter of someone important or special, who decided their dino nerd kid could have the chance to see the dinos she oh so loves up and personal. Basically, this theory is Microbangs being a normal human, but used as a sort of experiment for training raptors in a way. She grew up with them, and they grew up with her, creating the bond they share. And being raised with and/or by non-humans can explain some of her behaviors too. Or she's autistic. Or both! Why not both!

I've seen people say she's maybe a dino-human hybrid, but I don't think that's true. Yes it gives an explanation to WHY she acts the way she does and now she has such a deep connection to these raptors and can communicate with them, but she's still quite human. If she were a hybrid wouldn't she have more dino qualities? Yes her wide unblinking eyes aren't the most human of traits, but that could simply be a character choice to make her seem creepier. Shes still seemingly human. We know Dino-Human experimentation was a topic touched for a new Jurassic movie. We know it's likely they would have tried at least. Though a dino-human hybrid seems bad fucking ass dude.

Another theory we see floating around is she's perchance a robot. This one is kinda iffy for me. It's a good idea, but a robot? It does explain quite a bit, especially her tendency to not blink. Though we've seen before that the robots in this series are kind of totally incompetent (then again the redditor made them so we can't be too harsh on the robots). Though I don't see much evidence for this theory, I still enjoy it and think there's a lot of potential in it.

Pls pls pls share your theories or talk to me about the ones I talked about here plsplspls I'm begging I need people to yap about The Handler with plsplspslspslslslslslsl

[versadies]

I feel like you're a smart kid in class. Any tips on note taking and how to reduce anxiety?

i dont rlly consider myself as academically smart bcuz of how my comprehension is lacking as hell, tho i can say i do have good grades (got dem 95+ as my average grade 💪💪😎😎) thanks to the activities and projects. if anything tho, i consider myself as that one girlie who got like, cute aesthetic notes with highlighters, calligraphy, and everything so i can give you some tips on that !!

tips on note taking:

is your teacher a rapper? focus on writing the details b4 designing dem details 👊👊👊👊💥💥💥💥 i suggest writing phrases and bulleted points instead of full sentences 🙏🙏🙏

does your hand hurt from writing so damn much? go through google/yt for some hand massage to get that ache away 💅💅💅💥💥💥💥💥

if youre taking notes for yourself and not for your teacher, go for acronyms, shortcut words (gov = government, edu = educational, eco = economy, etc.), common words (etc. = and the rest, e.g. = for example, p = page, etc.), and more. it’ll be easier for you to not only keep up with the discussions but also not have a hard time writing long words and all that.

dont write everything, just important parts 💨💨💨💨

highlighters and colors are your besties, use that to note important keywords on your notes.

use pens that makes your handwriting good !! its just not satisfying to use a pen that makes your handwriting look weird or not pleasing in your eyes and doesn’t work well with your hand, so be sure to know what pens youre using that you like a lot so that you can buy replicas.

look for a format that you like on your notes and KEEP IT, u dont have to change it on every single page unless it’s necessary.

recognize whats important to take note of. listen to teachers doing those signal phrases like “a major reason why…” “to sum it up…” etc., look at the way theyre gesturing their discussions, check if theyre repeating certain concepts or words because sometimes theyre acc important, etc.

tips on reducing anxiety in school: (p.s. everyone has their own ways of coping and reducing anxiety from school. i can’t exactly guarantee that this will help you, but these did help me <33)

dont think about what bad things ppl will say about you, think about what good things they’ll say instead.

when presenting in front of class, look at something that isnt your classmate, look at an object that makes it look like youre looking at them (or u can look at the teacher) the whole time and just think of finishing this presentation all the way, dont think about what others think because what matters is that you want to finish work.

play songs in ur head that makes u happy or confident.

talk to yourself in ur head. give yourself the peptalk of a lifetime, act as if youre a friend whos backing up someone whos gonna fight or something.

its ok if u don’t know the answer in a recitation. its not the end of the world and its surely not gonna end you. there are 7 billion people in this world and youre definitely not the only one who doesn’t know the answer.

[socialwriter]

Make no mistake, she’s mine

**Not my gif, credit to owner**

Based on this song

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Female reader, Ex!Rafe Cameron x Female Reader

Summary: You may be with JJ now, but that doesn’t mean that Rafe can’t confront him and give him a piece of his mind

TW: Mentions of drinking, mentions of drugs, like a half curse word maybe

1.4k+ words

A/n: I’ve been wanting to write this song fic ever since I heard it Omg. Bolded words are song lyrics and Italicized words are flashbacks. Also, did I link the glee version instead of the Streisand or Kenny Rogers version? Maybe. 

A/n pt 2: okok so I got over excited and posted this at a time when ppl aren’t on and now I’m worried no one see this so I’m tagging some mutuals. Oops. :@blueeyedbesson​ @softstarkey​ @girlsru1eboysdroo1​ @adoreyoudrews​ @tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar​ @queenk00k​ @shawnssongs​ @summerintheobx​ @sortagaysortahigh​ @lefthandwritings​ @heliopvth​ @summerintheobx​ 

Despite his party going ways, Rafe had grown to hate going to keggers at the boneyard. Sure, there was a bunch of cheap, free beers that he and his friends could snag to get wasted on, tourons to sleep with, and pogues to make fun of. But Rafe knew that at every kegger you would be there, dancing with him. At first when Topper had told him th.at you had moved on and were currently in a relationship with JJ Maybank, he thought that Top was pulling a fast one on him. Sure, he had eventually expected you to get a new guy eventually, he just hadn’t expected it to be the person that he hated the most on the entire island.

Through grumbled protests on Rafe’s behalf, Topper and Kelce had dragged him out of the house to what was supposed to be the biggest party on the boneyard in months, since it was the Friday of Spring Break. The boys arrived an hour late, Rafe dragging his feet the entire way. He stayed in the area that was mainly populated by kooks, asking Kelce to get him his drink for him so that he wouldn’t have to accidentally bump into you, or worse, JJ. Rafe stared at the ground,not wanting to catch sight of you, which would inevitably send him into a downward spiral.

Kelce eventually came back, a funny look on his face which made both Topper and Rafe furrow their eyebrows in confusion. “Dude, what's up with you?” Topper questioned Kelce, which elicited a ‘shut it’ look from the kook. That look, however, told Rafe all that he needed to know. 

“It’s about Y/n, isn’t it?”

Kelce frowned, knowing that his best friend had caught on. “Yeah, her and JJ...just don’t go where people are dancing anytime soon, okay dude?” But it was too late. Rafe had already glanced in that direction, your arms around his neck, his hands on your waist, and a look of pure adoration on your face. You used to look at him with that glint in your eyes, but throughout your relationship it seemed to have faded. Eventually, you walk away from JJ, needing another drink, your gaze lingering on his as long as possible before heading off to the keg. 

Rafe doesn’t even know what he’s really doing, his feet just carry him over to JJ. He doesn’t even hear Topper and Kelce’s protests behind him of ‘its not worth it’ ‘leave it alone’, and ‘let’s just have a good time tonight’.

As soon as Rafe reaches JJ, both boys puff out their chests, a habit both boys had developed after countless fights riddled with testosterone. “Listen Maybank, I don’t know what you think you’re doing with my girl, but you better stop.” Rafe growls lowly, speaking so that only JJ could hear despite the crowd of people forming around the two of them.

JJ scoffs before glaring at Rafe, venom in his voice, “She’s not yours anymore, Rafe.” JJ muttered, shoving Rafe when he said his name. “You weren’t good for her, so you better forget about whatever you two had and leave. Oh, and don’t call her up anymore.”

Your phone buzzed against the wooden night stand, pulling you away from tracing shapes on JJ’s bare chest. You reach over him, looking at the caller id, rolling your eyes and wanting to chuck your phone across the room. JJ senses your shift in mood, moving so he’s sitting up slightly and looking at you. “Who is it?” JJ questions, trying to grab for your phone which you hold away from him. You don’t want to tell him who it is, because you know he’ll get worked up as soon as he finds out. “Rafe” you mumble, half hoping he doesn’t hear the name. When you timidly look up at JJ, he’s practically fuming, moving to get up and no doubt head down to Figure 8 and give Rafe a piece of his mind. 

Before he gets much further, you place your hand on his shoulder, and he eases almost instantly under your touch. “Remember what you told me whenever I would come to you crying and broken over that dickwad?” You question, placing a soft his on his neck.

He sighs, realizing where you’re going with it. “Rafe Cameron is not worth a second of your time sweetheart.” You smile against his skin, nodding. “So listen to your own advice J, and come back to bed and cuddle with me.”

Rafe rolls his eyes at the Pogue, stepping closer so that the two were chest to chest. “You may be in her bed, pogue, but I don't want to see your face answer her door. Make no mistake she's mine.” 

JJ was fuming at this point. How dare Rafe say that you were his? You were JJ’s girl. No shouts from John B, Pope, or Kie would be able to dissuade him at this point. “She’s mine. I only know what she's like when she needs me.Oh how she needs me deep in the night.” 

JJ is awoken by your tossing and turning, a slew of murmurs resembling words leaving you lips. He can’t stand to see the pained expression on your face, so he gently shakes you awake. “W-what?” You mumble, rubbing your eyes. “What happened?”

“You were having a nightmare angel.”

“Oh.” 

JJ frowns, placing a strand of hair behind your ear that had gotten tousled with all your tossing and turning. “What was it about.”

You shift uncomfortably, having a clear memory of the nightmare but feeling embarrassed to tell JJ. “I, um-” you look down, suddenly finding a stray thread in the blanket very interesting to play with. JJ places his hands over yours, causing you to stop playing with the thread and look up at him. “You know how you make me tell you about whats on my mind even if I don’t always want to?” You nod in response to his question. “Well I’m gonna hold you up to that same standard right now doll.”

You sigh, knowing that JJ just wanted you to be able to talk to him and lean on him in the way he’d leaned on you many times before. “It was a memory of Rafe on one of his highs. He saw me talking to Topper, and he went mad. He beat up Topper and he just wouldn’t let up. It was terrifying I-I thought..” You choke up, tears falling from your eyes. JJ pulls you into his chest, whispering sweet nothings to you while stroking your hair all in an effort to calm you. From that night onwards, he vowed to try and pick up the pieces that Rafe Cameron had left behind.

Rafe is taken aback by the blond in front of him telling him off instead of going to jab at him. Rafe supposed it would have been easier to get into a physical fight with JJ, because then his thoughts about you could be held close to his heart, unchallenged by the pogue. JJ’s words were hurting Rafe anymore than a physical blow ever could. Before Rafe could respond, your shouts could be heard. As soon as Sarah had told you that Rafe and JJ were in the middle of a crowd of people, looking ready to fight, you rushed over, elbowing your way through the crowd until you had reached your boyfriend, grabbing his hand to pull him out of his daze. “J, babe, look at me,” you say firmly, squeezing his hand so that he’ll look at you. When he finally glances your way, his gaze softens, and you can see some of his tensed muscles relax. “He’s not worth it.” You shake your head, glancing over at Rafe with only distaste in your gaze. You could no longer recall the fondness or love that you once had for the kook, your only memories left were ones of pain and heartache. It had been a toxic relationship for you, and you were lucky that you had left and fell in love with JJ. 

You pull JJ away from Rafe, backing up step by step before Rafe’s voice fills your ears. “JJ, she’s a lot to lose so just..Don't get too close when you dance. Cause I don't want to hear from my friends you were out ... with her in your arms.”

JJ nodded, and a silent understanding seemed to pass between the two men. You were a lot to lose, and JJ would be damned if he was going to do anything to let you go. 

[calangkoh]

What do you think is the difference in Al’s characterization/development in 03 vs. BH? Which Al do you prefer?

i could be totally wrong about everything im about to say. this is all my takeaway, and its going to differ from other people’s.

i think the main difference is in 03 al is the deuteragonist and in bh al is just a few steps above side character. In 03 al is as important as ed and has a lot more say on things. he acts more like an actual brother by butting heads with ed and speaking up more. bh al most of the time comes across as a sidekick. bh al’s character development isnt a big thing because theres not much TO develop when he’s more of a supporting role vs in 03 where he has many established flaws to be expanded on.

i am not criticizing bh here, and its not something im mad about in the slightest. but it is why i prefer 03, because the appeal of fma for me was always the brothers, and 03 focuses way more on the brothers (their growth, their struggles, their relationship, etc), ironically, more than brotherhood which has a wider cast and world it divides its attention on (and i like a wide cast and big world as much as an intimate character study, it just so happens in fma’s case it was always the brothers that captivated me over the world, so naturally the show that zeroes in on the brothers as opposed to zooming away from them more and more is the one i prefer).

03 al is rougher around the edges, has more obvious flaws, and his development seems to be about becoming more decisive and proactive and less passive, with a heavy emphasis on survivors guilt and the effects the armor has on his psyche. it spends more time giving al the attention his horrific situation deserves.

in bh, al is a sweet and supportive brother who serves to motivate ed and be useful to the plot when he can with his body. his development seems to center around accepting how useful his body is? which good for him, but illustrates my point of bh having its characters be more like set pieces. al only gets development in scenes where he can move the plot forward.

i love both als. bh al is easier to love because he’s very “nonoffensive” and “unobstrusive.” hes sweet and kind and has funny moments and is just an endearing boy. its impossible not to love al. 03 has the same qualities but with more of a challenge because 03 actually gives him substantial flaws to overcome. 03 al can be harder to love sometimes because of his flaws, because he makes mistakes and acts like an idiot and gets angry and is wrong sometimes. but he’s a much more deeply-written, well rounded, dimensional character for it.

but yknow sometimes a simpler and more clean cut character like bh al is what a story needs, and what the audience needs. a black and white wholly Good character who inspires us and simplifies things for us in impactful ways is just as valuable as a flawed and complicated one that makes us question ourselves. i love both als, i think they are both fantastic. obviously i prefer 03, though.

i think in terms of personality differences, and this is just my interpreation of their characters (and my interpretion of bh al could always be way off since i dont remember details of bh as well as 03), if they met youd be able to quickly see that 03 al is more outspoken. Even if 03 al is still the rational calm and observant one to eds impulsivity, he still has opinions and is attempting to broaden them. hes more inclined to question things, offer new possibilities, reach out to other people for connections, all for the purpose of understanding things, in my interpretation. Bh al is more strictly an observer. both are introverts, but 03 al comes across more extraverted because he reaches out more to find answers and will also actively converse and discuss with people, while bh al is almost all quietly thinking to himself.

03 al at the end of his journey is also noticibly rougher. bh al is still the big idealist and softie. hes smily, always beaming, always excited to indulge in life. 03 al is like that too but more often feels fake, because it partially is. theres more sadness behind the same smile thats on bh al’s face. bh al’s smile is bright and happy and cheerful but 03’s masks longing and regret. bh al is much less confrontational but he is much more sassy and snarky, now confident enough to embrace that inner snark and “dam im real done with ppls bullshit but im still a nice person so im not afraid to throw some shade.” 03 al is actually confrontational. he actually is able to get up in your face and tell you off (or if youre someone he cares about, lecture you to take better care of yourself because dammit life is too fragile and he wont stand idly by letting shit happen in front of him any more—hes very much like winry in this sense). hes snarky, yes, but his snark is more strictly for joking and when it comes to conflict he’s straightforward and direct.

Edit: not to say 03 al IS confrontational—hes still a sweet boy who will avoid it, but just by comparison to bh al he’s less afraid of conflict when its necessary. like “i hate conflict and will avoid it because i dont like to hurt other people but i WILL confront people if its necessary, even if i dont like doing it” while bh al is “i will avoid conflict at all costs but you WILL endure my snarky tongue if youre getting on my nerves, but if it actually bothers you and could potentially start a legit fight ill obviously keep my sassy comments to myself.” important to note they both still give everyone the benefit of the doubt and trust everyone is good at heart and no one wants to do any harm, and always have that assumption in their interactions. altho again, 03 al is more inclined to be paranoid “yes i will give everyone the benefit of the doubt but doesnt mean im not watching my back cause i dont trust so easily anymore and i dont want to be manipulated or taken advantage of ever again”

[kindofwriter]

Hey there! My group of friends have been hardcore considering turning a passion project of ours into a real podcast, and I was wondering if you had any advice for newbies putting together a show. We’re a small, young team, but we have a lot of passion for our concept and some writing/sound experience under our belts. Do you have any tips regarding finding actors, the process of plotting, sensitivity readers, or anything else you’ve had experience with in your projects? Thanks for reading!

Ok, finally ready with this! Thank you so much for the question, I will try to share my ~wisdom~ in the following post, but feel free to ask any further questions!

How to start a podcast: 1. when you’re new and/or 2. when you have money!

1. It’s easier than you think! My first advice is to just go for it! Even if it doesn’t quite go as planned you’ll have fun, and it’ll give you great experience for whatever you want to work on next!

Casting:

I’m going to assume this is an unpaid project (hence the former part of this advice being for free podcasting!) but if that’s not the case please skip to section two!

When I can’t offer any form of payment for a project I like to use friends as a cast. Not because my friends deserve any less payment! But because I can pay them in free chips and credentials for their portfolios, and it makes me feel slightly less bad!

Ways to go about deciding which friends to cast: I was lucky enough to do a lot of theatre work in my first year of uni, so I already knew a lot of people who were interested in both acting and production work. You’ll probably come across several actors who think voice acting is beneath them, but who wants to be friends with those people? What I’m trying to say is: if you have friends who are interested in theatre they’ll probably be interested in this! Especially given the past year.

I also poached people from my DnD group, because I could already gauge their acting specialities from that, and I knew what kinds of things they were interested in based on which DnD campaigns they enjoyed best.

If you know anyone who is interested in public speaking, whatever you all those reading awards where you read aloud dramatically, or something like radio and TV presenting then they’ll probably also be interested and do a great job! The great thing about podcasts is that all you really need is someone with a good voice - they’re free to do whatever they like with the rest of their face as long as they’re reading the lines!

You can, of course, also put out a casting call. It’s very important that you make it clear that it would be unpaid work. Even if you plan to set up a kofi, patreon, or kickstarter (info in the money section!), if you don’t have the money to begin with you shouldn’t promise it to people.

There are up and downsides to both. Casting people you know means you’re more likely to be comfortable working with them, there’s less pressure to offer payment, and your cast are more likely to have free time specifically for this project. However, you won’t have the draw of casting known industry voices, and (like I found!) your cast may not have any social media engagement whatsoever!

If you put out a casting call you’re more likely to get a pool of diverse voices, it will likely be people invested (even if not plugged in) to the industry, and you can request that they have their own equipment! However, you then have to work with people you don’t know, a level of professionalism that isn’t usually present on first time projects may be expected, and unpaid casting calls are not wildly well received.

Personally, for your first show, I’d try to use as many friends, or even friends-of-friends as possible. That being said, if you want advice on putting together an audition pack let me know!

Plotting:

It depends on what kind of show you’re aiming to write, but in general plotting a podcast is kind of like plotting a TV show. First of all you should plot out what’s going to happen in a season. Then plot out what’s going to happen in each episode. Ideally each episode will have its own arc, but things don’t always work out like that.

I like to plan things out in a fair amount of detail beforehand (this is especially helpful if you’re writing collaboratively.) Start with what’s going to happen in each episode. Once I know that, I then like to write how it starts and finishes, then the content in bullet points. If you ever can’t think of anything then don’t worry! A lot of things really come together when you’re actually writing.

The most important thing is to not worry at all about the first draft. Just get it down, editing is much easier and more fun once you have something to work with!

There are definitely much more qualified people than me out there giving advice about writing and plotting though; even if it’s directed at prose and script writers it’s still more than applicable!

Sensitivity readers:

If you have the option of sensitivity readers they’re always a great idea! But asking someone to read your work (usually for free) is both time consuming and potentially risky if you don’t know and trust them.

Tumblr, the writeblr community specifically, is a good place to find a sensitivity reader. A lot of people want the practise and are willing to do it for free if you put a call out.

One of the best ways to get feedback on your work is to cast/find people who are appropriate for the roles and then ask for feedback. Obviously they don’t have to, but you’ll find that usually they want to. You can aid in this by giving them some way to give feedback anonymously - maybe a google form - as no matter how chill and friendly you are as the prod team you will always be seen as In Charge.

If you don’t feel right asking someone, especially from a marginalised group, to read and comment on your work for free, you can always just ask general questions in forums or on social media. This isn’t as reliable, as people can lie online, but if you find the right communities and explain you just want to portray characters as accurately as possible there will always be people willing to offer some help. Reddit, for all its flaws, builds great communities, though remember to check the rules to make sure people outside of whatever group they’re aiming to support are allowed to post.

Of course, the first step to writing anything outside of your own experience is a tonne of research. The sensitivity reader should be picking up on small things, not telling you the basics of their experiences. And everyone’s experiences are different, which makes this even tougher! You can get things so spot on for a handful of people whilst inadvertently offending others. Be prepared to be adaptable and take on criticism, but also remember that you don’t have to bend to everyone’s whim; one person saying ‘but this wasn’t my experience!!’ doesn’t mean you’ve done a bad job.

Equipment:

I know you didn’t ask, but this was what I found scariest when I was Brand New.

If you have the money and you’re very serious about this I haven’t encountered a single person who wouldn’t recommend a Blue Yeti mic. However when you’re just starting out, and especially if you’re not planning to have all of your cast together record together/separately but with the same mic, blowing over $100 on a mic is huge, scary, and not always feasible.

I have three small desk mics that I loan out to my cast when needed. They cost ~£30 ($40) from (ew, I know) Amazon. You don’t need a mic for each cast member - you don’t even need a mic for the max number of character speaking in a scene at once. You could probably do it all with one mic, but the time that would take and the affect it would have on scenes may be worth the extra cost! These obviously don’t produce the crisp quality a professional recording mic would, but they have a pop filter and a windscreen and seem to do a good job at reducing background static.

Further noise reduction: Mr Alexander Jalexander Newall, when starting his podcast empire half a decade ago, got it in one: blanket forts.

If you can build a little fabric den for your cast to record in: perfect! If not, tell them just to stick a duvet over their head. This increases the risk of moving duvet sounds, but reduces everything else! And if they shift under the blanket you can always ask them to get comfortable then read the lines again.

And, info courtesy of the McElroys: you can also record in a wardrobe or a room with plenty of bookshelves if you don’t want to build the world’s most bangin’ blanket fort.

The most important advice you will ever receive:

Don’t be scared to ask for help! Join Facebook groups and ask questions! Join discord servers! Message people on Twitter and ask for advice (certain ppl are much more amenable to this than others, but this is pretty clear from their Vibe)! Heck, you can message me on Twitter (or here. Or send another anon. And if I don’t know the answer I’ll ask someone who does!) Everyone just wants to help everyone else, and if they don’t they’re probably not the kind of people you want to associate with. Good luck! And let me know once you socials are up, so I can follow and get excited!

Now, onto 2. Money stuff!

A lot of the info stays the same, but money kind of raises the stakes. Once money’s involved, especially once money and people you don’t know so well are involved, suddenly you have to operate like a business.

Casting:

If you’re planning to pay actors proper wages from the get-go you probably want to put out a casting call. Paid work will attract professionals, and professionals will not only do a great job, but will also help you gain an audience (and have their own equipment!)

You get to decide what the hourly rate is, but usually, depending on where you’re from, there is an average hourly rate voice actors get paid, and if you’re nowhere close to that people will be put off.

You should also make clear what the hourly rate includes: whether it is just recorded audio hours, or includes table reads and directorial time. A lot of people just have every actor record their lines separately, sometimes without direction, then edit them all together. This certainly saves on cost, and makes for a quick turnaround, but it’s no fun, and sometimes makes the show kind of soulless.

Kickstarters:

You can run a kickstarter on an unpaid project, in the hopes of eventually paying the cast and maybe funding future seasons. But I’m going to assume this is advice for ‘I can pay the cast, but what is a kickstarter for?’

Well, that’s up to you! It can be for equipment, for better editing, for podcast music, for podcast art, for a pay rise for the team, for bonus content. Depending on how many stretch goals you have, it can be for all of these things!

In short: backers give money, and get things in return, for example $5 might get you a pin badge, while $100 might get you a signed poster. When the kickstarter reaches a certain goal, maybe $5,000, then the team may then have enough money to produce a holiday special, for example. At $10,000 everyone on the team may get a 10% pay rise.

This is a great way to get people invested in the show, and a great way to make money! But if you want a really great kickstarter you’ll probably want to hire someone with experience in this area.

Contracts:

Money means contracts! Usually two will suffice, they just need edited for each individual team member:

An NDA, to prevent people from discussing the show in any inappropriate situations.

And a literal workplace contract.

You’ll be able to search how to draft these online, but it’s useful to have the help of a lawyer. There are people who do this specifically for podcasts who’ll be able to help you out, but again: you have to pay them!

Equipment:

As I said, actors will probably have their own equipment, but if you want them all recording together: you can rent a studio! They’ll already have all the equipment for you, which is The Dream!

Or you can convert a room into your own studio! Get some soundproof panelling on the walls and invest in a good mixer. I’m afraid I don’t have much advice on this, as I cannot afford anything close to a good mixer! But there are plenty of articles online with helpful information.

I wouldn’t recommend making a paid podcast as your first project, as it’s a lot of pressure, and would almost definitely mean bringing new people onto even the production side of things. There’s always the option to work on another project first, something smaller-scale, to work out any roadblocks you may run into during the paid show. But I’m not telling anyone what to do: if you’re ready, go for it!

Anyway, this was very long and quite rambly, and is probably filled with things you don't actually need to know! But I hope at least some of it was useful! Please feel free to ask any other questions - now or in future, PM or anon - and again: best of luck! I'm so excited for you!

[muwur]

do u think u could write something fluffy for atsumu? :D (if not, bc he just showed up in the anime, futakuchi?) nd they/them pronouns pls :3 ty ty!!!

dating headcanons

✧ hc’s ✧ for atsumu and futakuchi

❧ gn reader

✎ 1.6k words

a/n: oml my first request fgrinffej thank u anon <3 been doing sum ~research~ and brainstorming snaccing and i hope this is okay ! >:) for u i shall do both ppl hehe. feel free to lmk if you would like me to redo or add anything, i wanna do my requests justice :*)

also i find myself gettin inspo at 4 am ofhfuohf i hope this is a bit fluffy, tho its a bit playful n snarky as well fnoggrefjf. also this took me so long bc i literaly got this whole other idea LMAOOOO but i find it more suitable as a separate piece so be on the lookout for that (nudge nudge itll feature atsumu ;) i got a bit carried away AAHA). here u goo

atsumu

✧ boi’s a tease

✧ on days he stays really late to practice so like?? most days LOL  you drop by a nearby eatery and pick up some fatty tuna (or something else, you like to change it up sometimes even if fatty tuna is his fave)  for him to munch on (gotta replenish your body!!)

✧ even though it’s for him, he’ll make you share the food with him as you both sit on a field nearby the gym

✧ likes to feed you but exaggerates it just to mess with you

✧ “say ahh, y/n” he coos with a smirk when he holds out some food from his chopsticks

✧ and just to mess with him back, you close your mouth around the piece, taking it from the chopsticks slowly and never breaking eye contact with him until after you chew and swallow

✧ “ah, that was delicious, honey” you smile cheekily

✧ rip atsumu, he malfuncc inside

✧ however

✧ fights you for the last piece of any food or snack you’re sharing

✧ “why even offer sharing if you’re just gonna hog it all”

✧ “you were just slower than me, that’s not my problem”

✧ in the end, he would definitely just let you have it. Only fights you when hes bored and wants to provoke you, which is often

✧ pretty affectionate in public. likes to ruffle your hair or place a head on your hand, no matter what height you are

✧ especially likes to do this when you’re annoyed at him, which kinda makes it not cute anymore and you just wanna punch him in the face

✧ as annoying as he could be tho you had to admit that your bickering could be quite fun he was definitely a caring partner

✧ is quick to take notice how youre feeling, liek:

✧  “hey, are you feeling okay?”

✧ “yeah im fine, why?”

✧ “you know you dont have to lie, right? you cant hide these things, anyways, i can just tell if something’s up. what’s wrong, babe?”

✧ pulls you aside to talk things out a little, then offers to spend some time together after practice  

✧ squeezes your hand as he walks you home, plants a soft kiss to your forehead before parting ways, and says goodnight

✧ he also notices any changes, no matter how small, in your appearances:

✧ *scrutinizing you* “what do you want, atsumu?”

✧ “did you do something different today? maybe like with your hair or uniform or something?”

✧ “o-oh, yeah, i did.”

✧ “hm. it really suits you, actually.”

✧ “oh, thanks. it’s such a small change, i didnt think anyone would notice--”

✧  “dont get too ahead of yourself, i didnt say it looked nice-- im kidding, im kidding!” he has to say in order to defend himself from your piercing glare

✧ lowkey highkey cant go long without seeing you

✧ so when he finally gets to spend some time with you, he’s even more touchy than usual

✧ you eye him suspiciously before saying, “you’re acting like you missed me or something”

✧  “yeah, i did miss you. something wrong with that?” he asks, burying his face in your neck as he hugs you from behind

✧ “yes, because its been two days”

✧ expect lots of kisses and hugs, though. mans is deprived and he gets what he wants (with consent, of course)

✧ makes sure everyone knows he’s there to stand up for you if necessary, which can be pretty intimidating

✧ loves it when you fall asleep on his shoulder. will take selfies with your sleeping face and show you later

✧  “you look cute even when you’re drooling all over my arm”

✧ doesn’t talk about how he sniffed or kissed your head when you were asleep. definitely doesn’t admit how he was whispering about how lucky he was to be in love with you asdfghjk

✧ was the first to admit he loved you

✧ it occurred after his team won a game to qualify for nationals. excitedly, you raced your way to meet him and tackled him in a hug. who cares if he was sweaty. “i knew you guys would win, and im so proud, atsumu.”

✧ he stumbled a bit and hugged back. he pulled away shortly to look you in the eye

✧  “y/n, i love you.”

✧ and all you could do was blush before he pulled you into a soft, yet passionate kiss

✧ surrounded by like. literally everyone lol

✧ osamu just fake gags in the background

✧ later that day:

✧  “sooooo do I get a reward for winning ? ;)”

✧  “dont push your luck”

✧ but you do spend the night just chilling at his place, watching a movie and cuddling, unwinding from a long day

futakuchi

✧ you met each other in class, bonding over how bored and sleepy you both were

✧ one day he started passing you notes and you went with along it until this class’s purpose in y’alls lives was just for goofing off and totally not to see each other’s smiles or be a bit flirty

✧ loves to mess around with you, but also thinks highly of you

✧ shortly after you started dating and met the boy’s volleyball team, moniwa asks you to please keep futakuchi in line

✧  “babe, please, you’re driving your seniors crazy”

✧ but ever since he became captain, you could sense that futakuchi seemed more responsible

✧ but poor bby was also wayyyy more tired than usual

✧ you poked his back with your pencil whenever you found him dozing off in class, just in time before he risked getting caught by the teacher

✧ you also nagged him about getting more rest and maintaining his health, doing things to help him out until he gave in and made a better attempt at taking care of himself

✧ unless you have other activities going on, you’d usually come by the gym to watch practice and then walk home with futakuchi

✧ you always bring him and his team snacks. they all love you, especially koganegawa

✧ “how are you and y/n dating, they’re so much nicer than futaku--”

✧ cant even finish his sentence before the captain smacks his head and poor kogane chokes on his snacc

✧ but les be real you also go to admire your manz

✧ on the walk home one day:

✧  “you hit a really good spike today”

✧ sheepishly scratches the back of his head, “oh, thanks. kogane’s sets are improving, so it’s getting easier to hit the ball”

✧ secretly loves and craves your praise

✧ futakuchi’s pretty down for pda. you two can often be seen walking down the aisles, hand in hand

✧ will also give you lots of pecks, especially on your cheeks and lips

✧ he also insists on helping you carry your things

✧ wants you to rely on him

✧ saw you shivering once and took his jacket off, draping it around you like nbd

✧ lets just say he wishes he coulda thought of that sooner dhqnwxhgergk  youre not allowed to look this cute

✧ but now you literally keep half his closet in your house cuz he always tells you to return it whenever you want

✧ could go on dates anywhere and literally have such a good time. the night market? y’all will share foods and play games the whole time. the park? he could go for a nice, relaxing walk, or if it’s at night, he’d love to lie in the grass and admire the night sky with you (as long as you hold hands lol). at home? would totally binge some shows or movies with you, has sour gummies n a blanket ready to share hog

✧ can be a tease, but will protect you at all costs

✧ glares at anyone who looks at you with interest (boi gets jealous)

✧ had to pull you into his arms and give you a kiss to save you from getting hit on by someone from a rival school. “hey babe, i’ve been looking for you. let’s head back, everyone’s waiting.”

✧ you happily follow him, not noticing how futakuchi looks back at his now sworn-enemy and sticks his tongue out at them

✧ he will fIGHT anyone who hurts you, is very overprotective to say the least

✧ always makes sure he knows where you’re at, starts to worry a bit if you’ve gone mia

✧ got reallly worried one time when he called you like 5 times and you didnt pick up!

✧ 20 minutes later his phone rings and he picks it up immediately. “hello? y/n? are you okay?? you haven’t been answering me for a while.”

✧  “ahh, yes, im sorry about that, my phone died :P”

✧ thinks the best cuddles are the ones in which you both end up falling asleep. also likes to admire your sleeping face totes not a creeper

✧ also loveloveloves to snuggle you from behind and bury his face in your neck and loves to just smELL you

✧ you told him you loved him first

✧ you were having a rough day when you heard a knock on your door

✧ opening it, you found a futakuchi giving you a small smile and carrying a plastic bag full of goodies. “i, uh, didn’t want you to be alone, so i thought we could hang out for a bit? just us two, your favorite snacks, and whatever else you want to do”

✧ touched by his gesture, you pulled him in by his jacket’s collar and gave him a long kiss

✧ after separating, you looked into his eyes as you cupped his face gently. “thank you, kenji. i love you. this means a lot to me”

✧ ejiufnicenjfdhksujsk he nearly melted in place

✧ later tries playing the pocky game with you, but then y’all forget about the pocky after your first round and stick to the smooching

[clarz-cc-archive]

answered April 11, 2020

Q: I was pretty sad when j//ngkook cut his hair. The selfish part of me was i loved it, it was hot and (pretty cute in bv in those pigtails :( But the tatts/hair , i felt he wS growing into his own person and he got a lot of hate for it. (Esp w the c*r incident) it was so bad, and still is. what i understood from a big update acc, is that the antis who were on a forum (where they bash lots of artists) moved to twt bc that forum got shut down. So now its easier to trend and spew their hate. (They trended a nasty hashtag on j**ins bday too) I feel like that mini break j//k was really growing into his own person, and i feel when he cut his hair, it wasn’t an aesthetic reason, but bc antis / ppl felt like he was out of control.

A: i agree with you that him growing his hair out and getting the tattoos felt to me like him taking ownership of his own image and doing what he wanted to, and i was really happy that he made that choice! but i think when we're so deeply embedded in fandom and we see fandom commentary constantly, it can start to feel like every decision the boys make is directly the result of fandom when the only evidence we really have for that is a narrative that we've put onto it entirely from the outside? sure, he cut his hair after the car accident, but he also cut his hair after they finished their break and right before they'd be doing awards shows and stuff, so it could just as easily have been a decision based on making things more convenient for the stylists or to fit a more polished image for official appearances! ultimately, the way i see it is that jungkook didn't give us any explanation for why he cut his hair, so for me to assume that he did it because of mean comments online (which is something that they've all had to deal with for the entirety of their careers, just like any public figure) feels like giving fandom more power over his decisions than it deserves (tbh i'm counting antis as part of fandom here, bc their obsession is exactly the same as fandom, just in a negative rather than positive direction).

obviously the fandom response is very important to their careers, and it's taken into consideration on a professional level, and i understand people feeling protective of the boys and not wanting them to be exposed to criticism, but to automatically assume that criticism is all they focus on and that it has the power to guide their life decisions feels, to me, like taking away their agency and personhood and turning them into someone whose choices are made solely in reaction to the opinions of masses of strangers, and that feels bleak and sad to me! i like to think that bts are bigger and stronger than that.

part of what bothers me about making these assumptions too is just that army has a tendency to go above and beyond in the name of bts bc we assume that certain things bother them (for example, the Fansite Discourse.) it always comes from a place of "we just don't want them to feel bad!" but i've seen that kind of protective impulse get twisted SO quickly into an excuse to disseminate hate online, or to police the opinions of people who disagree with you, and i like to think that bts trust us enough that if they want our help they will ask for it.

i just want to be EXTRA clear here that i don't think worrying about them makes you bad or means that you would participate in the kind of behavior i just talked about! i think it's natural to worry about them! but all we can do is to be loving and supportive of them and hope that they focus on our voices and not on the voices of people who want to bring them down!

asks in response to this one: #1, #2