#and on that art? yeah. i want people to reblog and share and compliment. because i spent time on it. i wanted people to notice

[iminyourbookshelf]

QSMP community positivity because the streamer awards made me so happy

(under the cut because it's going to be A LOT)

QSMP Digital Artist - Ate and left NO crumbs ever omg. The amount of detail, varying styles, and epic scenes are my favorite. The variety of art styles for QSMP artist is like just going to a buffet to browse and they're all special little dishes made with so much love.

QSMP Tradtional Artist - HOW CAN YOU DRAW/PAINT SOME OF THIS STUFF?? Watercolor paintings of QSMP bulids, notebook spreads with cute little details, the fact that you can draw traditionally at all. All so talented.

QSMP Beginner Artist - NEVER GET DISCOURAGED <33. Everyone was a beginner at some point and seeing people improve over time with their art is so cool. I consider myself still a beginner even though I've been drawing for a couple years now lol. There is still so much for me to learn, and the fact how kind the qsmp art community is makes me so happy. Keep improving, your art looks great <3

QSMP Fanfiction Authors - I don't know whether to compliment you or ask for my therapy payment (/lh). So many authors have ripped my heart out and left it out to dry and others are like a bucket of fluff and joy. I love both of these. The writing quality is genuinely amazing on so many of these. I love to visualize when reading and with all the details it's basically just watching a movie.

QSMP Web Weavers - You guys are AMAZING. Finding so many quotes, transcripts, fanarts, aesthetic photos, and being able to combine them in a way that represents characters so well is beautiful. Not to mention the fact how your able to put credits for everything in an easy to find way??? Perfect.

QSMP Moodboards/Stimboard makers - These are so cute aaaa. I love seeing them, all the little collections of photos or gifs of characters I like is very fun.

QSMP Poll Accounts - I LIVE for taking polls. It's just fun to have a place to put an opinion you had for yourself that you didn't know how to put unprompted on your own post. Seeing results after a while also makes me happy to see what as a general consensus the fandom is on.

QSMBLR and QSMPTWT users - Transferring information from one hellsite to the other, I admire anyone who can survive in the discourse trenches and come back with account updates.

QSMP Clip accounts - I love seeing silly clips of cubitos, and especially those with transcripts and translations. It's a lot of effort and I admire that. Gives me so much info I would've missed otherwise.

QSMP translators - As someone still currently learning the other languages, it is so helpful when people translate it. Sometimes your brain just hurts and you can only read your native language. Also anyone who translates things from English to other languages, yes please make it for other speakers.

QSMP Multi-Shippers - It's so fun to see these, yes give your cubito 7 different romantic/platonic partners. You guys collect ships like Pokémon and it is inspiring

QSMP Cosplayers - I respect cosplayers so much. The wigs, the makeup, the costume, the PROPS?? All take so much work it's amazing to see final products. I reccently tried making a scythe for one I want to do, and I was struggling. Y'all are so cool.

QSMP Character Analysis Posts - Keeping fanfiction accuracy and my personal view on characters as close to canon as possible. These help so much when I need to look for a character I haven't watched much and easy to read.

QSMP Livebloggers - Save me from losing track of lore when I'm busy. I swear some of you just never sleep (please do but thank you for information). The amount of stuff I can figure out from vague post of combined livebloggers makes it much easier to know what's happening. Most of my mutual liveblog a lot and it saves me so much time <3

QSMP Rebloggers - KEEPING THIS FANDOM ALIVE‼️‼️ Tumblrs algorithm is based on reblogs, accounts that are just lurkers rb stuff ily. Hell yeah man, take all the cool stuff and share it.

QSMP Animatics - Movie night exists because of you guys!! Sometimes you all make me want to sob violently or laugh till I can't breathe. The differences in each video is so fun to see. The effort in each one is just beautiful too, animatics are NOT easy.

QSMP Editors - The fact that people can take a cube game and turn into epic/sad/cute edits with a few clips, transitions, and audios astounds me. You guys are so cool and I love seeing them. Also the fanart edits are so sick, finding the best ones to match.

QSMP Fan Video Creators - Stuff like the Federation Welcoming Workers Video, that one cucrucho cereal video, things like that. Quality is usually amazing and all the unique takes or camera work is epic. Idk what else fits in this genre but I just wanted to mention it.

QSMP RP Accounts - Seeing other people's takes on characters are so interesting and fun to see. RP is a skill I need to work on and it's done pretty well with these accounts. The amount of detail y'all can put is insane.

QSMP OC creators - Cringe culture is dead, I love seeing people make their little characters interact with eachother based on the QSMP. Keep it up and pls share it.

QSMP 3D Animators/Modelers - I never expirence more joy than when I see a 3D model of a qsmp rat spinning around. Also any 3D animators your dedication is insane. I tried learning 3D animation once and that was a STRUGGLE.

QSMP Vod savers/YT summaries -Actual lifesavers, there is no way I could've been apart of this community without them. Watching a few videos a day about what happened on the server makes it easier for me to actually do other things. Also that one person who made a QSMP2023 summary in UNDER 10 minutes, you are insane and did such a great job.

QSMP Accounts in Different Languages - QSMPBLR is heavily more English speaking than other languages, and when people main tag with post in different languages it makes me so happy. This was the point of the server, to let people post in whatever language they wanted. It's also fun for me to practice and try to translate it for myself.

I tried to get everything but please add if you have anything <3

[abimee]

ive also long since walked on from that fanartist mentality of ''people should support me rather than just lurking in the shadows cause i need validity to keep going''. you know those posts asking people to reblog and like peoples art or else theyll leave the fandom and all the content will disappear because like

i sort of fundamentally understand thats not true. because the reason my art isnt liked much at all is because theres just an oversaturation of content (fanart) because its thousands of people making art for a shared interest, and so theres people whove been doing what im doing for long mucher, much better, much quicker, and more interestingly than me. i aint going to get much engagement because my art is low quality repeat of years old content, and people already have their favorite artists and fics that have tread this ground, theyre not going to give a shit if i make it again because im not that artist who effected them first, so im always going to be a low barrel smuckers artist churning out content for myself in a cave and maybe like a handful of people will throw me a chance but i know deep down im never going to be good enough, because im lazy and not skilled and not as good at envoking emotion or intrigue like those artists who do have the followers and stuff

and i dont really give a shit, i used to eat myself alive when i was younger and being made fun of and compared to better artists as the ''worse version of them'' but at this point i see no reason to immolate myself or cry out ''reblogs over likes!!" because ive stepped back, looked at what i was making, and genuinely asked ''who would give a shit about this besides me?". and that answer is nebulous and far reaching, and maybe some unknown entities out there do love all my work and follow me with an intense gaze of respect, but im not going to shoot arrows at a flying target and then cry when it doesnt land, because why just poison myself with self hatred and basing my emotional state on how many reblogs i get on a drawing, when i can recognize im one fanartist in a big freaking ocean of people whove long since gone and more coming in who will always swim faster than me. and does it matter to me??? should i truly base all my worth over the images i make for a piece of video game media thats not going to exist in maybe 40 years? did god really give me life on this planet just to cry myself to sleep at night because my art isnt getting the attention i think he deserves?

like yeah it hurts to know when your shit doesnt do well! it makes me really sad! i miss the engagement being semi known in the utdr community brought but what i realize im missing isnt the attention on my art but meeting people and engaging with them, having conversations over anonymous messages over a shared interest, learning other peoples headcanons and surprising them with a drawing! i miss the sociality of fandom and getting to fuck around, i dont care about compliments or notes, i miss being en extrovert talking to people about the video game, not my goddamn ego getting fanned by strangers!

so will i ever care if my 50 hour art piece failed in getting attention? no, because thats not what i want, what i want is to meet people and talk to them and have fun with the connection something like a video game can bring us, and when i first tried for those connections in utdr i was met with people so blinded by their fascination and love with my art that trying to just fuck around and be friends with them felt like i was at a wall of having to be the artist they appreciate me as rather than just some bum online making headcanons, so leaving utdr behind was both very good because i no longer had to deal with that wall when talking to people, but it also means i now lose a ton of social communication that came with being well liked amongst a group of nerds and now jumping into a new group of nerds as a nerd who hasnt been around for long. so i guess i just miss that. its why i enjoyed going to sacanime as just a random cosplayer and getting to talk to the cooler artists and random cosplayers, i love the community that comes with fandom and not at all the ''attention'' or what have you of fanartist. if that makes sense

[udnergecko]

reblogging because i don't think i understand how much my art is worth to other people. i mean like it's not worth like even 100 dollars but i don't think it's healthy of me to think that i'm just making art that people don't actually care about

gonna rant under the cut be ready some of this might not be related to the original post

but yeah

like a couple of days ago i wasn't able to find any gifts for my friend so i ended up drawing angel dust for her and she was really happy but still part of me feels like it was just a cheap gift and i should have spent more time on something else rather than just a simple sketch

and i can't share any of the art that i've been doing because it's mostly in my sketchbook and my camera is shit so that makes me sad :[

idk though something about the chaggie drawing i did looked off i just cant figure out what hm

if you do read this, it's really just that i want to spew out my random thoughts, i'm not begging for sympathy or compliments or anything just

still thinking about the brainrot that fast fashion has caused in people, like i made this pair of pants that are black and white with a cool flowery design, and an acquaintance saw them and said "wow i'd pay like 20 dollars for you to make me a pair" and i could barely think with how utterly horrified i was at that; i told them that 20 dollars wouldn't even cover the materials, let alone the hours of work that went into cutting, sewing, ironing, hemming, altering, etc. they just had this look on their face when i told them that, when i said i wouldn't make them a pair for even 100 dollars because that was still way too low of an amount, a look that said "you're crazy for thinking that those cost 100 dollars" and maybe i am crazy but holy shit, 20 dollars for a pair of handmade, durable, lined pants fitted specifically to your measurements? 20 dollars for upwards of 60 hours of work? 20 dollars for several yards of high-quality fabric, thread, and buttons? 20 dollars???

[rainbowdelicsunshine]

I’m a bastard so I dare you to do All of the questions on the most recent ask list you reblog he’s. It’s also because I want to learn more about you but shhhhh

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG RIDE MY FRIEND, HOLD ON TIGHT!!!!

----------------------------------

rose: what makes you feel beautiful?

MAN!!!!! THATS A TOUGH ONE!!!!

But basically, if you compliment any part of my physical appearance, no matter how small, I will feel beautiful for that moment and will last for a long time for me!

lace: how would you describe your best friend(s)?

At this moment, the only way I can describe my best friend is.... They're You! Lololol, hope that makes you happy Beetle!

wish: what are your favourite memories?

The parts of my childhood where I was just ENGULFED in my maladaptive dreamworld where I had used to talk to and interact with my "imaginary friends" in (they were fictional characters from all my favorite things but whatever)

Now I wish that my DreamWorld took over my senses to the point where I was in a different world more often like I used to as a child

I mean, I still have maladaptive daydreaming, it's just not as intense unless I'm spinning for my stim!

heaven: describe your ideal date

I've discussed this before but I can't find any asks where I talked about it before so imma say it here!

I actually would want to have my dates be pretty simple, either be have it be going out to eat, going to the theatre to see a movie, go sightseeing if we're in a fun place, or just chill at home and watch movies and shows and just talk!

I don't really like to make things too complicated, as long as it's something fun with my partner, I'd be pretty happy!

angel: what is your dream aesthetic?

All of the aesthetics and vibes I like being mushed into one horrifying Aesthetic Homunculus would be perfect for me since I can't pick which is best for me since I love all the aesthetics I like all equally!

wings: list five things you love about yourself

My Nose

My Eyes

My Skin

My Ability for Multitalent

How I've been able to stay myself

marble: what do you look for in a partner?

Honestly, I'm not really that picky these days, as long as they share my interests, are kind, compassionate, caring, and able to be the healthy partner I need with proper communication between the both of us

Also it would be great if they were autistic like I am too, just so we could be able to understand each other more, and we need to have the same life goals and ideas in mind

(like we need to both want kids since I want kids and a family one day and we need to have most of our politics be the same)

Basically, I just want the opposite relationship that my parents had: which is two people who actually love each other, don't fight and yell at each other constantly, we don't abuse substances like alcohol and tobacco (basically I'm only gonna be ok with tolerating weed and psychedelics, drinking, tobacco smoking and vaping are deal breakers for me), and we actually can show each other affection (like loving words and hugging each other) in front of our kids and we don't have to pretend we don't hate each other cuz of the kids,

velvet: describe your dream home

Talked about it right here!

pearl: what is your favourite: scent, flavour, sound, texture?

Scent: Fruity smells (ex. Apples, Cherry Blossoms, Citrus) and Sweet smells (ex. Cotton Candy, Birthday Cake, Pop Rocks)

Flavour: Sweet and Savory (and Umami)

Sound: Any kind of music made with a acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, or a synthesizer

Texture: Anything that's Soft and Fluffy!!

sunlight: list five things you find to be beautiful

Art

Music

Animals

Nature/Plants (esp from woodlands and forests)

Human Compassion and Kindness

cherry: what words of advice would you give to a stranger?

Honestly, it would be the same thing that Meet the Robinsons told me:

"Keep Moving Forward"!

blush: describe your ideal future

Answer to that question is here my friend!

Very cliche and basic, but it's really nice to think about so yeah!

sea: what music, art and/or literature brings you peace?

Honestly, anything that's from a previous place of time (like the 70s or 90s for example) that gives off that nostalgic and warm feeling in your chest and head are the best things that give me peace

Milo and Otis is a big example of a movie that sets off the peaceful vibe I long for in my life longterm!

wine: talk about something you are looking forward to

I'm basically just looking forward to the holidays and the new year in general, I'm hoping that the new year when it comes around will feel like a clean start for at least a little bit!

Also am looking forward to finishing up and putting up the clayface plush I'm making for a family friend's store to sell there so yay!

honey: what do you do to relax?

Gosh,,,,, I have such a hard time making myself wind down enough to relax since I'm always trying to make myself busy so I can make myself feel like I actually do things around the house and not a lazy fuck (from doing chores like cleaning dishes or throwing out garbage to drawing or other art projects)

But one way I do relax when I stim! The way I stim is that I spin around in circles with my feet while I listen to music for hours on end if I desire to (and because I've been doing this for so long, I lack the ability to get dizzy)!

silk: describe your most recent dream

Well I don't remember any specific ones

But I have recently started having reoccurring dreams/nightmares(??) where all I can remember about it is that I start having a much harder time breathing (I think a couple times I wasn't even able to breath at all) and I seem to actually feel dull aching pain all over my body in said dream (I think I actually died in one of this once, but I could be wrong)

So that's been weirding me out as of late!

matte: what is something you are proud of?

One thing I can think of is that we were all able to get the house we were all living in right now since we took back from my abusive aunt that stole it from us with dirty legal means years ago

We were living in a trailer across town from when I was 18-19) until we got the house back! I think it's gonna be 3 years that we lived here by next year so I'm proud of that!

gloss: list ten songs you love right now

FNF VS Mickey, Satan & Donald (Mix) Accelerant V2 Slowed + Reverb - VS Wednesday's Infidelity V2 + Daxy

Keyboard V3 - Friday Night Funkin' vs Dave and Bambi Golden Apple

In My Car - The Pack

Streets (Slowed + Reverb + Lofi Aesthetic) - Doja Cat

Santa Monica - EverClear

Slaughter Beach - Clutch

Mexico - Butthole Surfers

Hypnotize - System of a Down

If I Wasn't So Small (The Piglet Song) - Carly Simon

Close Eyes - DVRST

satin: what never fails to make you happy?

My special interests and my maladaptive daydreaming (when it's about fun and positive things at least lol)! Whenever I think about those or maladaptive daydream, I almost always seem to cheer up eventually!

opal: talk about your interests and passions

Uhhhhh,,,,,, I feel like I've been talking on here for so long I don't wanna make this any longer than it should lol

Besides, I can't pick a topic to talk about to save my life at this moment, sorry about that!

kiss: what do you want from life right now?

Well, as of right now, I'm just wanting to save up enough money to buy myself my own up-to-date and working laptop or PC and to move out

Maybe I'll take up my Mom's offer of moving in with her in her apartment sometime in the new year once I get the courage to actually ask and talk to her about that idea, so we'll just have to see where that goes in time

Right now, I'm just waiting for the holidays to come lol!

----------------------------

WOOOOOO THANK YOU SOSO VERY VERY MUCH FOR SENDING EVERY SINGLE QUESTION FROM THE ASK GAME IN HERE IT WAS SO MUCH TUBULAR FUN WAHHHH!!!!!!

I'm soso happy that you wanted to learn more about me this much, it makes me feel that people can actually be interested in me as a human being and what I'm like in personality and in my life in general!

I hope that you show back up here again and that you have a fun time reading all of this! Have a fantastic evening my shiny Beetle friendo!!

[theminecraftbee]

hello you seem to know whats going on help what is tumblr ettiquette and how do i tumblr

oh, uh, howdy! i will do my best to answer this, but i was joking yesterday about how i'm bad at answering questions about knowledge i've known for a while because i am bad at divining what details other people need to know when i already know them. but here's some tips that might help!

turn off best posts first, anything that tumblr recommends you, visible likes, and visible following. you should be able to do all of these things in your settings i just recommend doing them to make your life much easier.

don't use tags that aren't relevant to your post. for example, don't tag an intro post "hermitcraft". however, it's also worth noting: don't use tags with words that aren't relevant to your post, either, because tumblr's search is bad and will pick up those too. (so don't tag "and i really like hermitcraft" in a post that has nothing to do with it, either.) this only matters for... i think it's the first ten tags? after that, tumblr doesn't care anyway. (it might even be as few as the first five i don't. optimize my tags for discoverability anyway so i don't know.)

have a profile picture and a blog title that isn't just your name. some people's blog titles are their name? but you don't see those unless they click on your blog so most people's are like, jokes or things they want to title their blog. your url is also only sort of your name - it's what people know you by but it isn't usually your actual name (for example, my name is second, but this url has nothing to do with time).

reblog stuff! i know you've been hearing about this a lot, and i'm actually gonna say "yeah some people are really super aggressive about it and it's probably not necessary", but know that on tumblr, it is normal to reblog way, WAY more than you post as original content! if you have commentary to add on that reblog, you can put it in the tags if it's stuff that doesn't add to the post (like compliments, random anecdotes, answers to tag games) or, if you're feeling spicy, add a comment on the reblog - although etiquette suggests you only do this if you have a comment that adds to the original post, and most people don't do that often. if your tags are good enough (or you see someone's tags in your notes or while reblogging that you like enough!), it's normal to copy/paste or screenshot them into a comment on the reblog to share them with other people.

the queue exists! this is a way to put posts to post or reblog into a waiting list that tumblr will post at regular intervals. i largely use it to stick art and other things into so i don't completely spam my dash. ...then i spam my dash anyway. use of a queue is entirely optional, but is a way you can use tumblr if you like it!

it’s perfectly fine to reblog old stuff, and in fact treated as normal to have certain old posts circulating. don’t worry about it!

generally, it is better to, if you see stuff in the tag you dislike, figure out what tag or words to block and move on. (for example, i have the phrase "stim board", "stims", and "mood board" blocked, and i know many people have the phrase "x reader" blocked. people who don't like shipping can block the relevant shipping tag, etc.) if you don't like a specific person's content, block them and move on. i am not gonna sit here like some people are and pretend tumblr is a perfect place without discourse; hermitblr was literally just having the world's stupidest discourse last week. however, generally, we try not to do callout posts and have a much more "tolerant of things we don't like" attitude than what i've seen of mcyttwt. we also, generally, have had fewer discourses lately, i just like, don't want to give the impression i think we're immune or something. so just... try to keep that going!

treat ccs as any other user. follow, don't follow, or block as you want, but they aren't why we're here. we're why we're here. so don't treat them as any different from any other tumblr user, yeah? tends to work out better for all of us.

additionally, i'm gonna recommend: i leave anons on. you can block anons that send you stuff you don't like. you can also just... ignore anons or off-anon asks that send you stuff that annoys you. "tumblr may have eaten your ask" basically isn't true anymore, but it could be, and it's like, not that rude or anything to ignore people you don't like.

like okay i cannot recommend the merits enough of ignoring people you don't like. it works SO WELL. if you need to like, link or screenshot them in private with other people you know who will ignore it in public, vent, and then just... ignore them. oh my god does it make your life so much easier.

finally, it can be hard to find new friends at first. i honestly followed a lot of people who reblogged my stuff early on, as well as artists i saw that i liked and writers i saw that i liked. then, as time went on and i saw certain names around, that's who i followed, too. (plus i think i rooted out some joe stream regulars to follow, haha.) you'll build up a circle of the kinds of people you wanna follow. most people don't notice that much when people follow or unfollow. (some people do??? those people baffle me.) so it's not a big deal if you do that. have the experience you like!

hopefully any of this actually helps you!! good luck out there - i know it's scary getting used to a new place!!!

[spacebell]

so i've fallen for block people aka minecraft streamers/youtubers *cough*my sideblog @tubboxsoot *cough*. They have built such an interesting storyline and when they are not roleplaying but still streaming in the same server is still very entertaining, and its so nice when someone makes fan art and they post it on twt and the ccs retweets it/likes it or replies to it, it makes me so happy that their art is been appreciated by someone they look up to. I just get so excited for them and it makes me so happy

[katerinaaqu]

For real! I remember seeing some old cartoon movie too, which I am desperate to find again, it almost feels like a dream of my childhood at this point! Oftentimes I wonder if it happened! Hahaha! But yeah out of all the adaptations I have seen I think this RAI series does it the most justice out of anything! Oh that is up to you really! ^_^ You can always enjoy the series and then read the original and compare or the other way around for sure! Oh You are so sweet for saying that! Well if it is light reading you seek I would definitely recommend the smaller tragedies by Sophocles that you can literally read and enjoy in one sitting but it is up to you really! ^_^ But you really honoring me for saying that!

I couldn't agree more! I still fail to see how you help someone understand the source when you do not follow that said source but yeah as you said we covered it perfectly so far! ^_^ Yeah unfortunately and history is already a blur as it is! We do not need to add even more to it! (you are being very sweet again!)

Your answers are just fine!

(Hahaha fair! And to be honest I think it is getting worse and worse...which is a fucking achievement! XD)

For real! I feel like people connect kind with bubbly and innocent and that is just not the case for me! One can be powerful, hotheaded even and still be kind and honest and compassionate! Patroclus in Homer is a classical example of that! And I couldn't have said it better! I absolutely agree!

Indeed! I am actually surprised how Odysseus is literally one of the most talked about hero after Achilles and still I do not see as much cover on his religious beliefs! He basically is part of most sacrifices, many he performs himself, he is also often seen praying, Zeus calls him one of the most faithful and the best when offering sacrificies and respect to the gods...the dude didn't even go to help Diomedes in rhapsody 8 of Iliad because Diomedes was defying the gods and Odysseus didn't want to offend them! Yes the whole heart vs brain thing again (which ironically STILL doesn't fit Odysseus) but also because the gods were not as prominient in the musical so I supposed they wanted to introduce a familiar trope to the audience

I see. That is an interesting plot! Because to be fair even if Pyrrhus is in love with Andromache in the end he still can keep her as his concubine while being married to Hermione (which he does according to some myths and depctions) but it is an interesting trope to use ancient mythology for

Hahahahaha are you going full Menelaus mode on Odysseus me now my firend! Hahaha! Using so many compliments on me! ^_^ But honestly it's fine. I mean I can understand why it was such a turn off for many to come to my profile after I kept on repeatedly expressing my dislike for the musical. I understand that people on the Internet wanna talk more with people that share interests with them. Does it hurt sometimes to lose people you felt honored from because of the comments and amazing reblogs? Absolutely. Do they have the right to stop doing it? Again ABSOLUTELY. It's fine really. My art and stories are here. Whoever wishes to comment or reblog and share opinions thoughts etc is more than welcome. Gosh I couldn't have said it better! You are absolutely right. Unfortunately also as romans said "scripta manet" writing stays. So yeah many things also remain online so people do judge that and all especially since we have the pseudonyms so people feel safer to do so. That is both the blessing and the curse of internet. Oh well! ^_^

My friend I said before you do not need to have knowledge or whatever. We can even speak on what you experience through Epic the Musical and I can pitch in from the Odyssey. Like I said ironically I found Eurylochus much more solid character development than Odysseus as the musical continued lol! I will be glad to elaborate with parts of the Odyssey on him if you have an ask or something about him or just wish to talk about him more! ^_^ Your conversations are not just decent so far. They are amazingly insightful!

Hello!!

Since I've seen that you've listened to both Epic and Paris the musical, I was curious to know what are your toughts on them! Did you like how the myths and characters where handled? What do you like best and worst? (If you'd like to share, what's your favourite song/moment in each?)

Thanks :]

My my you really wanna get me have an even bigger target on my back than the one I put already! Hahaha! Ok so be it! Hahaha If this gets waaaaaay too long or too runty forgive me! ^_^

You have noticed from many of my comments and my notifications, memes or jokes. I am not a fan of EPIC. Not at all. I believe I am one of the most disliked people on Tumblr on mythology matters because I so openly speak my dislike against EPIC and being annoying about it! Hahaha! XD The thing I absolutely love about it is of course the guy's passion with the project, the way the music works and all (undoubtedly the guy is a very talented composer and can combine the scene with music and emotions and the tricks he uses with music are great) but the way the plot of Odyssey was twisted beyond recognition and to the point that to me you can literally change the names of the characters to anything else and still have the story he presents with the Musical. Maybe that was his goal but in my head that is not what a retelling or an adaptation is about. A retelling to me is not something that seeks to change literally as much as possible from the plot to fit the modern standards or the fanbase. A retelling is something as the word says that "retells the story" aka adapts the story as loyally as possible and adapts it to the audinece by taking creative liberties that are still generic to the story as it was originally told so that it will fit more to the modern standards or ear.

I believe we have so much twisted the word "retelling" that nowadays "retelling" seems to be equivalent to "let's change the hell out of the story because the original plot is not even THAT important to be salvaged and no modern person would watch it anyways" which in my opinion is not the case at all. Unless of course one writes satire. Then it doesn't matter, as I mentioned to another ask of mine.

I lost interest and was massively disappointed from the end of second saga and the song "Storm". The first two sagas were a masterpiece. The creative liberties were amazing to make sense with the plot and give the characters motivation (for example "I'm just a man" was FANTASTIC! The way the myth from Iliou Persis that gave us only one phrase "Odysseus kills Astyanax by throwing him off the wall" is now transformed into a marvelous emotional dilemma and a painful decision). In this case the creative liberty work WITH the plot and not against it. I didn't mind it as much that they made Polites a fluffy guy for no reason to fit that stereotypical "innocence of the team" plot because Polites is a clean slate character in Odyssey. However after Storm I started seeing your typical "Hollywood film 'adaptation' logic with changing stuff at the plot". I was intrigued at how they decided to give Polyphemus an excuse to kill like the guys enter a cave that is obviously habitable and kill an animal that is obviously domesticated and they do not know someone lives there? In the original it was clear someone lived there which made Odysseus curious to interract with them. I was willing to ignore that because ok creative liberties but then Athena was there!? And she gave Odysseus every opportunity to kill him while Odysseus was just "TOO NICE?!" like since when? Odysseus was all about killing him but he had no guarantee he would plus he needed him to open the cave. And the way he revealed his name in the musical was so rush and almost "out of spite" for Athena not a result of a secclusion in a cave for days and days and then his pride speaking up when Polyphemus called him a coward (which I tried to capture to my fic, not sure if I succeeded but still). So anyways at that point I was sure we wouldn't see the last of it with the changes. Poseidon destroys the ships instead of the Laestrygonians (no surprise there, rarely ever see anyone even mention the Laestrygonians yet alone show their contribution to the Odyssey) but then Circe happened and I just knew that we would have to derail from the original more and more

Circe's role was incredibly diminished for the sakes of making her actions more mellow and pass the message of loyalty and kindness. Circe in the original gives Odysseus valid information for his trip provisions and much more. In Epic not only we do not see the importance of Odysseus selling himself to Circe and we have Circe for some reason seducing him to kill him (removing her humanity from when she got scared that her magic won't work on him, potentially thinking he is some kind of god, begging for her safety to then suggesting her bed as Hermes predicts) I mean she had lions and wolves to her disposal she doesn't need to seduce him to kill him. Then of course Jorge realized that a big chunk of plot is missing and so he made Odysseus find out about Skylla by the sirens?! Like...okay... Even Tiresias gives him almost nothing (in the original he also tells him how to break the curse) Which seems interesting how Odysseus breaks down with "Monster" in Tiresias when he has received an act of kindess before. Wouldn't it be more amazing if he had that breakdown AFTER he paid the price with Circe with his own body? That even kindess has a terrible price? Of course the most iconic scene of the Odyssey after the murder of the suitors and Cyclops, the Sirens were twisted to whatever we had there; Odysseus listening to their song was of massive importance to his natural curiocity and we didn't get that (not to mention how would the sirens spell work on him and have Penelope there if he didn't hear their song in the first place?) and of course the fact that he kills them?! Like...how that even works I have no idea and like in the original people were running for their lives. Didn't even look back. Apparently they had all the time in the world to capture them, they knew apparently exactly how many they were and then they kill them?! Like I won't even say that they used the medieval mermaid instead of the sirens and then they "leave them drown" (how you drown fish people is beyond me! Maybe they are sharks that need to keep moving lol) and of course again that scene seemed to me that it was there only to show that "Odysseus is a monster" which makes no sense Odyssey-wise for many reasons. and then of course again Skylla; Odysseus doesn't gear up to protect his men, he is the one who chooses the sacrifice out of spite etc etc

Many others got sped up like the Helios cattle but ok I guess that is expected up to one point even if it could be handled differently but of course then we have also Zeus being a jerk and again making Odysseus choose? The storm that took the lives of his men was a natural consequence, not some twisted thing to prove how "monstrous" Odysseus is. In fact Odysseus tried till the last moment to sail away and save the lives he could (see my other analysis here) and of course again as many people said on God Games and all how Zeus was twisted yet another time although in Odyssey he had zero reasons to object apart from the natural hubris nemesis sequence. He never called Odysseus "shameful" either. In fact he says he agrees with Athena that calls him the most pious.

I think the massive change that I believe is abused by modern retellings is the whole "monster to man" trope. Odysseus losing his moral compass and "becoming the monster" and the plot around revolving to it. That was never the pont of Odyssey in my opinion. Odysseus never really lost his moral compass it is just his morality was not all pure and lovey in the first place. Was he changed by his experiences to be more ruthless in general? Absolutely but he was never changed to a monster according to Homeric version (because post-homeric versions already treat him as a villain from the get-go)

As for the things I liked about it, I had made a post you can see here:

I do love the harmonies and the music in it and I love the passion and the talents of the people in it. It is just that the whole plot for me is just not it. Also maybe I am also mostly annoyed with how the "fandom logic" has taken over it. Like internet getting swarmed by it. Epic quotes or facts getting literally mixed up or associated with the original or the fact we can no longer speak on the original unless someone brings up Epic the Musical... This annoys me to no ends. Of course I recognize the passion of the fans of the musical. Is just a personal thing to me. I felt the same when people were using Percy Jackson or Miller's books to talk on mythology before. Is the same here.

Of course I need to say this all the above is my PERSONAL OPINION. I have literally NOTHING against people who love the musical and the original equally. I am just NOT one of them. Also i have nothing against the artist either. I just do not agree with his outtake. Still appreciate his hard work. However when I saw the firsttwo sagas I knew this guy KNEW his mythology which is why I feel so disappointed that his later sagas felt like "Hmm...let me use that knowledge I definitely have on Odyssey just to change the hell out of it!" And that had me very sad and lowkey annoyed because I think this guy had some real stuff to create an actual Odyssey adaptation and yet again we had your average hollywood film plot where you barely see any of the plot he ellegedly adapts

Now on Paris the Musical I had answered another ask you can see here

I will not take more space on this already huge and runty post that probably made me more annoying and irritating around Tumblr! XD Generally again has little to nothing to do with Iliad but I loved the music (it was arguably one of the most original choices for music for a musical) and the songs I mention to the ask. Apart from that I am ot ecstatic by it either (arguably stage musicals do not seem to work for me when it comes to the ancient classics to a large degree because of how much the plots need to be overly simplified to fit the time frame) but I am more happy that it din't get blasted out of proportions like Epic was so the plot of it doesn't even need to be pointed out that it is not accurate and all. It is self-evident. The fact that the creator of Epic needed to "warn the fans" on how inaccurate his work is, speaks volumes to me.

I will close this runt now because is already too long. I think both Epic and Paris musicals have little to nothing to do with the things they adapt but Ironically Paris the Musical changed less stuff than Epic in comparison to magnitude. Both are passionate projects with great potential and very good music but plot wise I am not anymore surprised that they do not follow the actual plots or character developments. I am surprised that Epic was more accurate to the character development of Eurylochus than the main protagonist Odysseus! Made me focus more on Eurylochus than Odysseus! Hahaha!

I am glad that the musicals make more people willing to read the originals though. For that I am grateful.

And if I have to pick one song from each musical I would say "Just a Man" and "Business" respectably but of course I like others as well especially from Epic such as "Horse and the Infant", "Will of the gods" and "Storm".

I hope this answers your questions! I will elaborate further on some of the points I make here if you want! ^_^

[olderthannetfic]

HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS ON DISCORD ("That's The Point" discord anon here)

I saw a bunch of folks in the notes expressing some confusion about how you find servers in the first place, how it feels weird to interact, and I saw your addition about how its harder to teach than do, but I thought I might give it a try in case ppl find it helpful! (No pressure to post this or anything if you find it long or unnecessary)

I basically did not have any major internet friends until the last year or so. I first started really having a social media presence in 2013- so its not the LONGEST stretch but yeah, basically took me 7-8 years to start really making friends online. Part of this was just I was in school and had real life acquaintances, but I also was terribly awkward online. I made a lot of missteps! Personally though, I have found discord to actually be a much easier place to make actual friends than twitter or tumblr; the truth is that reblogging/commenting on social media is not usually going to make you friendships unless you make the leap from reblogging/commenting to 'convos in dms'

Discord makes this easier because inherently the main way to interact is by conversing in the first place.

If you want to find discords: you can search for fandom or interest related ones, or ask to join ones you hear about on tumblr. Disboard provides a good way to search and find servers based on your interest: https://disboard.org/search If you are in a discord and want to make friends: Talk to people. Conversation does take practice and I can't cover all the basics here; there are resources online for how to practice conversation, and a lot of the rules for real life interaction will transfer to online. Remember that people cannot read tone and that certain forms of humor require familiarity, so try to be polite and direct.

Compliment people's art or input, reply to people you agree with- focus on agreement over argument if you can. It's a REALLY good idea to learn to frame discussions in the "Yes, and" format because this lets you build off of other people's points instead of seeming like you are interrupting or disagreeing.

Be patient- conversations themselves do not make friendships. Your goal is not to lie or convince people to like you but rather to find people who are like you that you enjoy talking and spending time with. Hop in voice chat when people are there and don't force yourself to interact; you are allowed to just say 'hi' and listen, especially if there are multiple people chatting.

Don't force yourself to constantly interact, but try to improve the conversations you are in. Thank people for chatting with you! say good morning and good night. If you had a good convo, tell them 'I really enjoyed talking about this with you.' Moving to other discords: This is a tricky one because like the ones above there's not a magic way this happens; it is often organic. In many of the big servers I'll be in, sometimes people will mention that they have another server. If it is a server that has an interest you share, like pokemon, or comics, you could say "Oh cool, you're in a pokemon server? is it big?" or something else prompting them to share info or invite you.

Generally people who have servers that are open to new folks are happy to invite you and you don't need to prod. If it is a server more for them and close friends, they may not want to invite you, and that's ok.

I've been in servers that branched off from main servers because I made some friends who wanted to hang but didn't want to remain in the big server any more so they made their own server and invited me, and then that server also branched off. It happens!

DM Sliding (For Fun and Friendship) Again this is not something that has hard and fast rules, and some people are easier to interact with in DMs while others will prefer to chat in servers. Also! Not everyone you DM with is gonna keep up conversations. People are different!

One of my oldest discord friends I made because I started watching a show they recommended and popped in their dms to let them know, giving some reactions to the show (which I enjoyed) thus far. I asked them if they were ok with sharing my reactions with them, and they were delighted to basically experience a live reaction from me. This then prompted long convos to the point where now i feel comfortable just dropping random things I find in their DMs; I know their interests and they know mine, and we chat all the time.

In general, telling someone you watched/tried/read/ something they clearly like a lot is a really good way to start a convo on or off dms. If you are in a server where people like to chat about media, you could begin a convo there, then if the convo is going well, is mostly with one other person, and seems like it could continue, you can offer to move it into DMs to not clog the chat.

Other people i've befriended are often people who do something similar to a thing I do within the server; artists make friends with artists, fanfic writers with fanfic writers, etc. If you don't really DO anything this will be harder. I don't have much advice for that but basically try to see if you share hobbies with other people and chat about that if it's appropriate.

Sometimes the purpose of a DM is not to start a convo or a friendship specifically but just to express something that might not fit with the larger server.

Remember that not everyone you are friendly with is required to be your friend. The best way to make friends is to be friendly with a LOT of people and have different levels of interaction with them; if you are friendly with 10-20 people on a regular basis but only chat with one of them that is a good thing! It is normal to have a wider circle of people you interact with casually and only a few you interact with on a friendship basis.

Finally, be patient. Friendships take time, especially friendships online. The two people I am closest friends with on Discord I knew casually for YEARS before we started being DM buddies. Sometimes you will try to strike up friendships and they just won't click or they won't be available to hang online. But also! not everyone is on discord all the time and uses it to chat and hang. A friendship where you just say hi once in a while can still be an enjoyable thing <3

--

"Long and unnecessary" is my signature style. LOL.

the truth is that reblogging/commenting on social media is not usually going to make you friendships unless you make the leap from reblogging/commenting to 'convos in dms'

Agreed.

For me, a key factor in discord dms is how easy the person is to communicate with. If someone misuses words a lot or has sentence structure that's very hard to follow or if they often need me to rephrase something I've said, they're not relaxing to chat with. If we think radically differently, the same issue could arise. We need some shared interests and a similar level of interest in the conversation, but communication style and verbal skills are a big part of it for me.

[faggo-tron-prime]

I know what i reblog on here but I'm honestly a bit tired of only seeing fit/body builder type guys. I want to see more average guys, guys with muffin tops, guys with chunk, skinny guys and fat guys feeling themselves and flaunting what they've got. It's so monotone and boring now. And everything looks semi-professional and like products instead of art or a private moment shared. I don't dare posting stuff on Twitter cause it's so saturated and it feels like there's expectations to something that's so private and can be so personal - and this feeling is kind of seeping into nsfw tumblr content too. Especially when some of the few porn/lewd blogs that survive moderation here focusing on men are almost exclusively posting uncredited pics often taken from Twitter.

If there is focus on bodies diverging from twunks that think they're twinks with big asses, jocks, or muscle bears it's almost always some shit like feeder/gainers or diaper fetish blogs. Not berating kinks or people for having these kinks, but as someone who's been working to lose weight and accept my own body it's personally grating to only see any appreciation for similar body types to mine, or previously similar ones, are extremes exclusively showed in a fetish setting where it's also common to see degrading comments or strange warped views of what constitutes to "thicc/fat/chunky/dadbod" type bodies. Not to say that the gainers i see on here seem do an incredibly fucked up and dangerous deviation of body builder bulk season diets with the intent of getting fat as fast as possible.

I know some of my issues here are where i look, but it's also that there aren't many other places to look. And I'm not particularly enjoying that everything has to be so extreme one way or another. I'm tempted to cut the rising popularity of feeder/gainer blogs is a counter culture to the fit/lean hunk machine culture i mentioned earlier. And that social media is incapable of nuance because it's shaped by user interactions/algorithms that further push extremes in these detrimental positive feedback loops.

I'm just tired and disenfranchised with the state of things. My sense of worth and body image is mostly removed from social media engagement and trends now, but it's still affected by it. My own body type isn't wholly within my body type preferences (if i can even call it that) and that i accept and are ok with. But i keep catching myself thinking "yeah i look good, I'm a snack! Who wouldn't want me??" And then immediately brush off any compliment or advance on me. Like. "Yeah i look good, but not that good. Why do you think you want me, silly?" And i can say with confidence it is in part that there's very little popularity online for varied and "average" body types i.e a bit big, somewhat small, a little soft, a little hard - without it immediately being followed by either a "progress update: omg i can't believe i used to be so XYZ then!?" Or sort of mourning and self-begrudging selfberatement over not having achieved this feat.

I'm sad and frustrated. I'm discontent with just about the whole goddamn thing.

[parkersroses]

are you taking requests ? if you are could you write something about y/n’s dad being a musician who’s helping harry write his album and he wants to take y/n on a date but she has a rule about not going out with musicians, you can choose the ending or change whatever you want !

music in me. | harry styles.

summary: Harry and Y/N are both pining for each other but don't know how to tell the other.

pairing: harry styles x fem!reader

wc: 2.9k

warning(s): fluff <3

a/n: heyyy! to the anon who requested this, i hope you like it! i wasn't planning on doing requests but this was a cute concept and i couldn't help but write it. i tweaked it a bit but it's still the same concept. hope everyone likes it too! reblog (!!) and comment if you do, here's my ko-fi! all my love <3

—

He’s the only one in the room, sitting on the piano bench with his lyric journal out. Lyrics to a song are written messily on the pages with annotations. Piano notes scribbled along the lines, some are crossed out because he didn’t think it sounded right.

While everyone else were out for a break, Harry insisted on staying in the studio to try and finish a song, telling them he’s okay as long as they get him some black coffee or a snack. He quite enjoys the quietness of it and it helps him focus. Well, most of the time.

Sometimes, a pretty girl would pass by and Harry would get distracted by said girl. He’s known her for a while now, having to be the daughter of one of the producers he was working with.

When he met her for the first time, Harry swore that he was entranced by her beauty and sweetness that she exuded before him. She had a voice as sweet as honey and a lot of kindness to share around the room. She stops by the studio once in a while to help out her father, most times she’d come in bringing homemade sandwiches and some pastries from a nearby bakery. Harry once kept telling her how he was a cashier at a bakery one time and she laughed as she told him she knew. Besides, no one forgets that the Harry Styles worked at a bakery.

Harry very much likes her; he guesses that he might have developed a small crush on her. She’s stayed a couple of times with him in the studio and even gave him some of her thoughts which he never knew meant a lot to him. He enjoys her company and finds it lovely to have formed a friendship with her. The fact that he was working with her father didn’t really phase them. They were good friends.

Yeah, good friends.

Except he wishes he wasn’t afraid to ask for more.

He’s playing around with the keys, eyes closed as he envisions what the song would best sound like. Occasionally, he’d cringe if he hits the wrong key or the order was just off. He’s so into working on the piano that he doesn’t realise a familiar face walking into the room.

Y/N smiles at the picture laid out in front of her. She’s carrying a drink carrier with both her drink and Harry’s; she might have heard that he would be in here. She almost doesn’t want to disturb him as he seems so tranquil in his own world, creating art for the whole world to hear.

She contemplates on calling his name by doesn’t as he snaps out of his world and sees her. “Oh! Hi!” He smiles at the sight of her. She returns the smile and walks over to him by the piano.

“Hey. Got you some things. Thought you might be hungry so I got food too,” she lifts the bag and drinks in front of him and sets it on top of the piano. He thanks her and takes his cup, his name clearly written in black sharpie on it. He blows the steam of his coffee as she takes out the food she got for them, some seafood pasta. Something in him seems to lighten up when he sees this, knowing he had mentioned to her once about his pestacarian diet. So, it warms his heart that she would get something he’s able to eat.

“Have to be honest, I was actually getting a bit hungry just sitting here, waiting for the others.” He chuckles as he takes the packed container and reaches for the wooden utensils she brought. “Well, why didn’t you just go with them?” She asks as she twists her fork onto the pasta.

He shrugs at this. “Just thought I’d work on this. Besides, you got me food now and I didn’t even ask,” he teases her. Both of them laugh as she nudges his shoulder.

The two of them settle on their meals, making small talk in between bites. Harry almost feels a bit shy having to sit alone in the studio next to a pretty girl he’s been crushing. It’s not like he doesn’t want to tell her. He’s gotten the hint that she might like him too. From the way her eyes are always focused on him whenever he has to say something to the remembrance of the little things he mentioned to her. She looks at him the way he thinks he looks at her, full of awe and adoration.

He so desperately wants to take her out, but a lot of things might get in the way of that. The big elephant in the room is her father. He doesn’t want people to think he only likes her because Harry is working with her father and he certainly doesn’t want him to think that way either. And he knows how mean people can be sometimes.

But Harry doesn’t care all that much about what people would say. He’d protect her with everything in him. Question is whether she would want to do this with him too.

“How’s the song coming along?” She nods towards the book in front of him as she swallows her food. He stares at her for a second, admiring how lovely she looks today before averting his gaze. “It’s alright, I guess. Just figuring out the keys and all. Might not even make the album with how it’s sounding.” He shrugs like it’s not a big deal.

She stifles a laugh as she studies the messy annotations on this page. “Oh no. Doesn’t sound good enough for the next amazing Harry Styles album?” She jokes, nudging his shoulder again. He laughs at this, his cheeks warming up at the compliment.

“Well, some songs don’t end up in the album anyway. This is probably for fun.” He tells her as he sips on his coffee. She nods at him and gestures to the book again. “May I?”

He nods and gives her his book without a question. He trusts her and her judgement enough and really cares about her opinion on whether a song is good. Her eyes skim over the words written on the pages and she even turns to the other pages to what else he’s written down.

“These songs are amazing, Harry.” She tells him, smiling as she reads the lyrics. Harry blushes at the compliment. He’s had many people compliment his songwriting, from his mother to his band to the fans he meets; but there is something about knowing it’s good in her eyes that makes him feel proud of his songwriting abilities.

Maybe it’s because he’s whipped for her. It’s a good thing she won’t know that most of the songs he’s written for this album were inspired by her; that’d save him from a bit of embarrassment.

“Thank you, darlin’,” he says, taking back the book and setting it on the piano.

“So, which one is about me?”

“What?” His eyes are suddenly wide open as he looks at her with a panicked expression.

She stares at him for a minute before giggling. “I’m kidding! Gosh, should’ve seen the look on your face. That was gold,” she stifles in her laughter at him. He huffs, rolling his eyes at her as his cheeks are flaming up.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me, you little minx,” he says as he pokes on his side, making her squeal at the ticklish feeling.

The laughter in the room simmers down into comfortable silence. Harry looks over at her, his eyes running over her features, studying her. She seems to sense this because she looks up at him. They stare at each other in silence until she smiles at him, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder.

“Play something for me?” She mumbles. He grins and lays his head on top of hers. His fingers lay on the keys and he starts to play a familiar tune from one of his songs from his last album. The two sit together, listening to the sounds of the piano filling the room.

When the rest of the team comes back, Y/N’s father is looking around for her. He knew she somehow stayed behind to keep Harry some company. He doesn’t think too much of it; he’s seen the way they both interacted and he was more than glad they got along. Maybe a little too much.

He somehow could sense a mutual liking between the two. It was sweet to be fair. It was like seeing his little girl talking to a guy she likes in school all over again. He’s not one to be a strict parent; all he wants is to look after her. There were too many guys in the industry who’d try to take advantage of her because of him, which is why he would always get cautious of them.

But he sees the way Harry and Y/N look at each other like they’re the only ones in the room. For a moment, he begins to think that maybe this is the guy for her. Someone who genuinely likes her and would sometimes go out of his way to spend time with her, even if it wasn’t work-related. Harry is generally a respectable man, but it truly warms his heart to see the way he treats Y/N the way he knows she deserves to be treated.

Then, he stumbles upon the two in the same studio room Harry said he would be. He sees the two sitting close to each other as Harry plays the piano. Occasionally, they would both giggle at each other for reasons he’s sure it’s something between just them. He stands by the door for a while as he watches them, a smile graces on his face. He sees the smiles and happiness radiating on their faces.

And he thinks to himself that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

As the session for the day ends, Harry and everyone else are ready to pack it up and go home. As he puts his water bottle and journal into his tote bag, he steals a few glances at Y/N in which she returns, leaving both of their faces flushing in warmth. He approaches her nervously while she plays around with her fingers.

“Um,” he starts. “Thanks for today.” She chuckles at his words and shakes her head.

“I didn’t really do anything, but you’re welcome,” she jokes. They both let out a laugh.

“Well, uh, take care,” he says and she gives him a small smile. She was hoping he’d say more but she doesn’t push it. “You too,” she points out.

He nods as he slowly walks backwards to the door. He stops in his tracks for a moment before opening his mouth again. “I, uh,” he begins again and she waits for his next words nervously. “I’ll see you in the next session, yeah?”

Her heart deflates a bit but she hides her tiny disappointment with a smile. “Definitely, Harry.”

They awkwardly bid each other goodbye before parting their ways. Unbeknownst to them, her father watched the whole scene and he shakes his head at the silly adults.

He calls for Y/N and tells her to sit with him for a minute. “Yeah, dad?” She questions him as she sits on the couch. “Want to tell me why you and Styles look like nervous teenagers, wishing the other would ask them on a date?”

Y/N is shocked to say the least as she stumbles on her words and tries to pretend she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He chuckles at his daughter’s act. “Think you should put him out of his misery and let him ask you out. Or better yet, you should ask him out.”

“But dad, what about you?”

He cocks an eyebrow at her question. “What about me, sweetie?”

She chews on her bottom lip gently before speaking. “It’s just, I know he has a lot of respect for you and he doesn’t want to make things weird if anything did happen between us. Plus, what if he’s like those other guys that try to kiss up to you through me? I really like him, dad.” She mumbles out the last part under her breath. Her father sees the slight dilemma his daughter has and shakes his head at her, smiling.

He lifts her chin up so she could look at you. “I know he’s not one of those guys. While the rest of those boys can try and fool me, he’s a man with a lot of heart and respect towards others. And I can tell you that he really likes you too. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. Don’t think you guys are so slick with that.”

Y/N giggles at her father’s words. “Thanks, dad,” she tells him, kissing his hand and holding it tightly. It somehow reminds him of the first time her tiny baby hands tried to hold his hand. It makes him choke up, knowing his little girl isn’t so little anymore.

But if it’s Harry who’d be the man that’ll make her happy, then he’s completely fine with that.

He kisses her head lovingly and pats her shoulder. “Now, you better go after him before you come home sulking because you didn’t catch him. I’ll go wait in the car for you,” he suggests. Y/N’s face beams with joy as she stands and runs out of the room.

The sun is setting by the time she reaches the front door of the studio building. She looks around to see if Harry has left yet. She doesn’t see him and she starts to frown at this. She’s about to sulk on her way to her father before she hears a familiar deep voice calling her name.

“Y/N?” She turns around and grins as she sees Harry walking over to her.

“Hey! You’re still here,” she beams at him. Harry smiles at her, noting how adorable she looks. “Yeah, had a chat with Mitch and Sarah before they left.” He points behind him for her to see their car driving past them, honking at them as if to say goodbye.

“Anyways, you alright? Saw you ran out here,” he asks concerned. It truly makes her heart flutter knowing how much he even cares. Not to mention, he’s a very handsome and beautiful young man, especially under the golden hour lighting they’re getting.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something,” she tells him. She’s playing with her fingers, something she does when she’s nervous. He hums in response.

“Would you wanna go on a date with me?” She rushes out her words.

But Harry hears her clear enough. He’s surprised at first. He always thought he’d ask her out but she beat him to it. He lets it sink in; the fact that the girl he really likes, likes him back and wants to go on a date with him.

A smile breaks out onto his face and he nods. “Yeah, yeah, I’d love to!” He exclaims.

Y/N lets out a breath of relief as she hears this. “Really?”

“Really! I really like you, Y/N. Been meaning to ask you out but I guess you beat me to it,” he chuckles as he steps closer to her. His hands reach out to grab her hands and she lets him, liking the warmth he gives.

“I really like you too,” she smiles at him. He grins as his eyes run over her face, loving how pretty she looks with the sunlight hitting her complexion.

She’s not sure whether it’s too soon to kiss him but he slowly leans in, as if he’s waiting to see if she’ll reject him. But she doesn’t and immediately leans into him, letting lips finally touch.

She feels him smile into the kiss, their lips move in sync. She breathes in his scent of cologne he wears through her nose and tastes the sweetness of his lips. The feeling they both get is almost overriding their senses and all they can think of is each other.

They break away as they catch their breath. Harry sneakily leans in again to steal a peck which makes her giggle. They’re smiling so hard that their cheeks are starting to hurt.

“That was nice,” he grins at her. She nods as she looks at him with dazed eyes.

“I should probably head back now,” she points out behind her. Harry nods understandingly. “I’ll call you later, alright? Let me know when you and your dad get home safe,” he says, his thumb stroking over her knuckles gently.

She nods in agreement. “Goodnight, Harry,” she bids him.

“Goodnight, darling,” he gently says back.

They don’t move apart from each other until Harry leans in again. “One more kiss,” he mumbles as his lips press against hers. She doesn’t object as she moans lightly at the feeling of his lips again. They break away, giggling as they bid each other goodnight again.

As soon as they part away, Y/N waits until she sees him getting in his car before squealing in delight as she skips back to her car. While this happens, Harry is shouting in his car, letting it sink in that he finally has the girl who inspired most of the songs he wrote for his new album.

[veenxys]

Just saw your post about how writers have to beg for interaction and I just want to say, from one Tumblr writer to another, that your feelings are absolutely valid and, yes, interaction is nice but I do have to point out: we, as writers, are not obligated to get any sort of interaction. We chose to join Tumblr and write and release content for free. The readers did not make us - it was our choice - and they did not sign some contract when we made our writing blogs to give us interactions. Again, yes, it's nice to get interaction but they don't have to give us likes, comments, reblogs, asks - none of it.

And, yes, we don't have to give them content - we could very much keep the things we write, the things we create, to ourselves and have no obligation to post it. We choose to, just like they get to choose to interact or not. So, yeah, it sucks to have to beg for interaction but I feel like the fandom writer community as a whole - I'm saying this to specify that it's not just any one person, not just you because I'm sending this to you in response to your comment on that reblog - has forgotten we chose to be here and do this for free and gotten it in our heads that readers have to give us interaction because we decided to write and release content for free, which makes it sad and upsetting when we don't get it.

They're not obligated to our content but we're not obligated to interaction from them. I wish you luck on your writing journey and hope this can benefit the fandom writer community as a whole.

hi there! so i understand your point of view, but i think it’s kinda... wrong? idk if i can call it that... because of course we writers are not obligated to share content (even more for free), but we do it because we want someone to see it! like artists who publish their art, or singers who produce their music; it’s wanting people to appreciate it as much as they did. many writers write to better people’s day, not out of 'fame'. but having interaction is something that motivates us even more, it’s like someone complimenting you when you do something you are passionate about; that cheers you up in a way that you can’t even explain. what i said was just about people who don’t interact with writers but then get sad when they deactivate. so in summary: a person who praises your work, regardless of what it is = increases your self-esteem and you will definitely want to produce more content because of a comment that brightened your day. a person who does not interact and does nothing on your blog: leaves you unmotivated, which often leads people to deactivate. i think that’s it, i hope you understand my point of view :)

[jewish-space-laser]

Could Be Lethal - Epilogue

“I'm scared to death that she might be it, That the love is real, that the shoe might fit, She might just be my everything and beyond...”

-Beyond, Leon Bridges

Hello friends! I’m honestly a little choked up posting this. CBL has meant so much to me over this past year, and all I can think about right now is how appreciative for every single person who has supported me, whether you sent me messages, reblogged with nice tags, or gave it any kind of love. None of it went unnoticed, I promise. Special shout out to @for-fucks-sake-h @oh-honey-styles @andwhenshesays @real-work-of-art @haute-romance-quotidienne for hyping me up and proofreading and just being all-around incredible. Okay, this got kind of long, so I’ll end it here, but as always please tell me what you think. I love chatting with you all <3 xoxox Tile (3.3k, she’s a short one!)

You and Harry were friends, with a capital ‘F’. Yeah, you’ve been sleeping in his bed for the past two months, and maybe your entire nervous system goes into hyperdrive when you’re in the same room, but that’s normal, right?

or

The one where you and Harry have an arrangement… of the cuddling sort.

Catch up here!

You were so, so late. 

It was half an hour past the time your friends were set to meet at Slim’s, and you hadn’t even left your flat yet. Meredith had texted you twice asking where you were, but you ignored her. 

You and Harry had decided to keep your relationship on the down-low, just for a little while. It wasn’t that you wanted to keep secrets from your friends, you just wanted a little bit of time to adjust to your new normal before having questions fired at you left and right. They were a curious bunch, after all. 

 “Shit,” you heard Harry mutter from your bedroom. You lowered your mascara wand to peek through the doorway, seeing him frowning at his phone. His jeans were unbuttoned, shirt nowhere to be found, and he only had one sock on. “Nick is calling me.”

 “Well, don’t answer!” You laughed. Leaning back towards the bathroom mirror, you continued trying to rush through your makeup. 

 You absolutely hated rushing, but you hadn’t been able to deny Harry’s suggestion that he should join you in the shower. It had been less than a week since you made things official, but you already knew you were in a world of trouble. You’d never be able to say no to him. 

 “I think I have to answer,” he sighed, “this is the third time he’s called me, I’m pretty sure he’s getting worried.”

 “Okay,” you snorted, “but don’t tell him you’re here.”

 “I’ll make something up,” he assured you. 

 Giggles bubbled up in your throat as you listened to him tell Nick that he’d accidentally taken an extra long nap, and that he’d be on his way shortly. He didn’t sound all that convincing, but it would have to do. 

 You hadn’t heard him get off the phone, so you jumped a bit when you felt his arms wrap around your waist from behind. You set down the makeup brush you had been using, catching his eye in the mirror. He smiled softly, pressing a little kiss to your shoulder. 

 “You look really nice,” he told you. At first, it seemed innocent, but then he pressed another kiss to your shoulder, and another to your neck. “Like, really nice.”

 You couldn’t help the sigh that blew out of your lips as your head lolled to the side. He was entirely too charming, but you were already late. 

 “We need to finish getting ready,” you managed to breathe. It was always harder to string sentences together when his lips were on you. “You’re not even dressed.”

 He only hummed, closing his eyes as he moved his lips up to your jaw. His hands had moved lower, sliding over your hips and down to the tops of your thighs. You felt like you were on fire. 

 “Harry, please, we need to....” you gulped when his left hand slide just under the hem of your skirt, “we need to go.”

 “Do we?” He teased. “I was thinking maybe we could just… stay here….”

 Temptation crept up your spine, but you pushed it down. The two of you had been stuck together like magnets for the past five days, you should be able to get through one night without being all over each other. 

 “You already, um,” you gulped, feeling Harry’s lips turn up against your skin, “you told Nick you were on your way.”

 He pulled back with a sigh, letting the hand under your skirt fall to his side. You watched in the mirror as he rolled his eyes, resting his chin on your shoulder as you finished up with your makeup. 

 “I don’t know why you’re so stressed about this,” Harry mused, following you as you broke away from him to throw the tube of lipstick into your purse, “it’s just our friends. We see them all the time.”

 He was right, of course, but part of you really needed this night to go well, without a single hiccup. Because of you and your inability to express emotions, your entire friend group had suffered. Things were weird when you and Harry had stopped talking, and it was undoubtedly felt by the lot of them. You just wanted the dynamic to feel easy again.

 “I guess you’re not wrong,” you admitted, “I just hate lying to them. I’m so bad at it.”

 “You are,” he snickered, pulling you into his chest, “it was your idea, though. I personally don’t care if they know.”

 You groaned, twisting out of his arms once again to slip your shoes on. Harry followed suit, kneeling down to lace up his vans. The way he was gazing up at you made you squirm a bit, the concern and admiration he felt for you more apparent than usual. 

 “Babe…” he sighed out, rising to his feet, “you make things so hard for yourself, I swear. You’re always thinking about things that could go wrong. What about the things that have already gone right?”

 You sucked your lips into your mouth, not entirely sure how to respond. Maybe you were a pessimist, maybe it was your anxiety, or maybe it was just the way your brain was wired, but you’d always had a tendency to think of the worst possible scenario. Harry had a point though; there was a fine line between self preservation and self sabotage. Perhaps the world wouldn’t end if you gave your anxious brain a breather and allowed yourself to relax. 

 Getting together with Harry had been hell, but all of the obstacles you’d created were just in your head. Pulling excuses out of thin air was truly your specialty, anything to keep yourself from taking risks, but eventually it had been exhausting holding yourself back from the things you wanted. You didn’t want your anxiety to ruin your happiness anymore. 

 So you took a deep breath, and then you shifted your focus. Sure, it was going to be uncomfortable fielding questions from your rowdy group of friends, but Harry would be sitting right next to you. And he would stay next to you. And he was in front of you, right now, just inches away, loving you. Suddenly, your concerns regarding your friends weren’t worth dwelling on. 

 “That’s true,” you rolled your shoulders, letting go of some tension, “lots of things are going right.”

 “Like what?” He smirked, swiping his car keys off the little table in your foyer.

 “Let’s see,” you said playfully, pretending to be deep in thought as you locked up your flat, “I’ve got a decent job.”

 “That you do,” he agreed, “and?”

 “I quite like my neighborhood,” you remarked, tilting your head, “my flat is small but I’m proud of it.”

 “Okay,” his grin widened, “anything else?”

 He was fishing for compliments, but you refused to give in. He faked offense when you just rolled your eyes, and bumped his hip into yours before tangling his fingers with yours. You walked in hand-in-hand until you reached his car.

 “I’m lucky to have you,” you said quietly as he buckled his seatbelt. He paused, lips pulled up into a sweet smile.

 “Yeah?”

 “Yeah,” you nodded, meeting him halfway as you shared a short kiss, “having you in my life is very, very right.”

 He kissed you quickly once more before settling into his seat, fiddling with the rearview mirror until he was satisfied. He’d let you borrow his car the other day, and made a huge fuss about the way you readjusted his seat. You loved him anyway.

 In fact, you loved him so much, you weren’t sure you were going to be able to hide it. Maybe Harry was right… you were just creating barriers for yourself. How nice would it be if you could slide into the regular booth at Slim’s, next to Harry, and hold his hand? When you were trying to be secretive about your sleepovers, you’d barely even interacted in front of other people, too paranoid that you’d give yourselves away immediately.

 It was a scary thing to be thinking about, especially as you were on your on way there already, so you twisted a knob on Harry’s dash to change the radio station. After a few moments of searching for a song to distract you, you gave up and turned the entire thing off. 

 “Maybe we should just tell them,” you blurted, biting your lip nervously.

 Harry’s eyebrows shot up, and he glanced at you for just a moment before returning his focus to the road. “We can do whatever you want, babe.”

 “What do you want?” You asked.

 He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “Well, I mean… I get wanting to keep this to ourselves because it’s so… new, you know?” He looked over at you once he was stopped at a red light, a sheepish smile painted over his cheeks. “But at the same time… I’m excited. Like, really excited, and I want to tell my friends. They’ll be excited for us, I know it.”

 Them being excited was what you were afraid of, in a way. You knew your friends well, so you knew that Meredith would ask too many questions, Thomas would say something inappropriate, Grimmy would accidentally talk about it on air, and Jessie would probably just silently sit in the corner. The image you’d created in your head was chaotic and overwhelming. 

 But maybe it wouldn’t be like that. Maybe it was worth finding out. 

 “You’re overthinking, I can tell,” Harry frowned, “listen, like I said, we’ll do whatever you want. Tonight is meant to be fun.”

 “No,” you shook your head, “let’s tell them.”

 “Really? That’s what you want?”

 “Yes.” 

 And you meant it. As terrifying as it would be, keeping more secrets from your friends wasn’t the answer. Plus, they would likely ask a bunch of intrusive questions, anyway. Meredith was nosy long before you ever spent a single night in Harry’s bed. 

Not to mention that Harry was excited, about you. It warmed your heart in a way you’d never felt before, like you were floating and sinking at the same time. He was proud to be able to call you his, and you understood because you felt the same way. If giving them the news about your relationship would make him happy, then it was a no-brainer. His happiness would always win over your fear.

 Your own happiness, too.

Harry ended up being right, of course. The moment the two of you walked through the door together, hands interlocked, the group was ecstatic. 

 “Holy shit!” Nick had shouted, loud enough that people at other tables were looking over. “Fucking finally!”

 Meredith had let out the most grating, nails-on-a-chalkboard squeal, but you’d barely had time to grimace before she was throwing her arms around you. Just like you’d predicted, it was loud, over the top, and even a bit embarrassing… but it was also a celebration. Even though they made a scene, it wasn’t awkward, or overwhelming. They just wanted to support you. 

 And being the center of attention wasn’t as difficult when you had a partner. Harry was more than willing to take the lead on answering questions, allowing you to sit back and just process everything. 

 “Next round is on me,” Jessie announced. Harry had just finished explaining to Thomas that the cuddling had been going on for months. Nick and Meredith hadn’t looked shocked, and Jessie had just looked amused.

 “Cheers, friend,” you smiled, “need help carrying?”

 They nodded at you, so you slid out of your seat, giving Harry’s arm a soft squeeze before making your way to the bar. Jessie caught the attention of the bartender right away, listing off the drink orders that everyone had become familiar with. 

 “How are you doing?” You asked them, leaning your back against the wooden bar. 

 “Me?” They scoffed, mirroring your position. “I should be asking how you are. Last time I saw you, you were a total mess. Well, figuratively. Your apartment was ridiculous, I can literally still smell Clorox.”

 You laughed, shaking your head. “Sorry you had to witness my panic induced cleaning. That talk we had ended up being really helpful.”

 “Good. It sounds like things are going well, then,” they said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, “I’m really happy for you.”

 “Thanks,” you rested your head on their shoulder, “I am sorry though, for making things weird for everyone.”

 “Whatever,” Jessie waved a hand through the air, “it’s over now. We just didn’t like seeing the both of you in so much pain, especially when it wasn’t really our place to do anything about it.”

 Just then, the bartender tapped your shoulders, pointing to the six drinks lined up on the counter. You grabbed four while Jessie grabbed two, and together you headed back to the table.

 “Oh good, you’re back,” Meredith said, plucking her drink from your hand, “Harry was just telling us about the time he got blackout drunk at some pub in Hackney, weren’t you Harry?”

 “No,” he said drily, “I wasn’t.”

 You passed him his water, which he promptly took a large gulp of. The woes of being a designated driver.

 This went on for a while longer, and eventually your friends stopped grilling you, satisfied with the information they’d pried out of you. Now, it just felt like a normal night, where everybody chatted and gossipped and caught up. So familiar, that you weren’t even phased when a text from Harry popped up on your lock screen. 

 From: Harry Styles 9:56PM

Are we sleeping at mine tonight?

 “Yeah,” you giggled, locking your phone and glancing up at Harry. He was already looking at you with bright eyes and a gentle smile. 

 He leaned down and quickly pressed his lips to your forehead. “Perfect.”

 Just weeks ago, you were secretly texting under the table and making up excuses to leave at the same time, a stark contrast to tonight, where you both hugged your friends goodbye and left together, hand-in-hand and drama free. It was refreshing to be able to fully relax together, no longer tethered to the weight that comes with keeping a secret. Harry seemed especially carefree tonight, running his hands up and down your sides as he walked behind you, only letting go once you reached his car.

 “I had fun tonight,” he remarked, twisting to look over his shoulder as he reversed from the parking spot. His arm was stretched out behind your headrest, and you had to resist the urge to lean into him.

 “Me too,” you hummed, crossing your legs, “it was nice being able to sit next to you for a change.”

 “I agree,” he nodded, looking straight ahead out the windshield, “although that skirt has been driving me crazy all evening. In this case it might have been easier having you all the way across the table from me.”

 You only giggled, rolling down the car window. You needed some cool air on your skin, which was suddenly feeling flushed all over at the thought of Harry checking you out.

 “I’m not kidding,” his lips were in a straight line, but you knew him well enough to recognize the twinkle in his eye, “that thing is coming off the moment we get home.”

 You soon found out that he was quite serious, pinning you against the door the moment it closed behind you. He pressed the front of his body fully against yours, not a single inch of space between your chests as he dipped down to slot your lips together. 

 You gasped for air when he pulled back, throwing your head back against the door as he slowly dragged his palms down your body, stopping to squeeze the flesh of your hips and finally resting on the curve of your ass.

 “How do you do it?” Harry wondered out loud, bunching the fabric of your skirt in his fists as he pulled it upwards. “It’s like you don’t even try.”

 “Do what?” You breathed, lifting up a leg and looping it around his hip.

 He let out an appreciative grunt, grinding his hips into the flimsy lace of your underwear.

 “Like… you just make me want you so much,” he wheezed, arching back slightly as you fiddled with the fly on his jeans, “you’re not even trying to be sexy, like tonight, just fucking sitting and chatting shit with our mates, I wanted to- oh, fuck me!”

 He let out a shaky breath when you reached inside his boxers, rubbing along his length until you could grasp your fingers around him and tug him free from his boxers. After just a few slow pumps, he was swatting your hands away, pulling the crotch of your panties to the side and pushing into you with a slow buck of his hips. He pushed slowly, in and out, until he was as deep as he could be, and you revelled in the feeling of his hipbones pressed against your pelvis.

 “Good?” He nuzzled his nose into the crook of your neck.

 “Mhm,” you managed, sliding a hand up his back under his shirt.

 It wasn’t long before he rendered you a moaning mess, one hand gripping your leg under the knee and the other looped behind the small of your back. He was hitting the deepest, most perfect spots inside of you, and even though the doorknob was digging into your ass, and you still hadn’t taken off your heels, you wouldn’t change a thing.

 He was so good at finding creative ways to fuck you, whether it was a spontanious quickie over the desk in his office, or the slow, sultry sex you’d had in his home studio. It was fun, and exciting, and unique, and you couldn’t get enough.

 His thrusts became faster and harder the moment you reached your hand down to play with your clit. He was watching your fingers like a hawk, not blinking as he watched you pleasure yourself while he fucked into you. Soon enough, your thighs were shaking, cries escaping your mouth as your orgasm thundered through your veins, sending tingles to the tips of your toes and  a warmth throughout your belly.

 Harry followed suit soon after, driving his cock into you once more before spilling inside of you. Neither of you moved, simply standing against the door.

 “You didn’t even take my skirt off,” you eventually broke the silence, dropping your leg. Your hip was definitely going to be sore in the morning. 

 “Would you like me to remove it?” He snickered, digging his fingers into your sides. “I’d be happy to rid you of it, right here, right now.”

 As you and your boyfriend chased each other around the house, teasingly undressing each other as you went, you didn’t spare a single thought on your worries, anxieties, or fears. No, they weren’t even on the radar. 

 Instead, all you could focus on was how unbelievably happy you were right now. 

 You felt high, but this time you weren’t afraid of falling because Harry would be there to catch you. There could be pits of lava, fields of thorns, pointy rocks, rivers full of piranhas… and you’d still take the blind leap if it meant being in his arms. In a way, you’d already been through hell to get here, plagued by your own mind, the most torturous kind of self sabotage. 

 It didn’t matter what the future held. Hypotheticals were no longer important; what mattered was what you had right now, right in front of you. 

 And that was enough.

~~~

Thank you for reading! I’m so sad that their story has come to an end, but it’s not over! We’ll definitely be seeing more of them. I love you all xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxox Tile

[dee-the-red-witch]

OK, I’m gonna take a minute here while getting my brain re-set to sit back down and start in on the manuscript again. And I want to preface this all with a BIGASS disclaimer: I DO NOT THINK OR CONSIDER THAT THE POSTER WHO PUT THESE TAGS ON A REBLOG FROM ME WISHED ME ANY KIND OF ILL WHATSOEVER. IN FACT, I’M PRETTY SURE THEY WERE TRYING TO PAY ME A COMPLIMENT.

That said, I’ve been seeing this more and more. On here, on twitter, on Fb, everywhere. And it’s happening more and more as I post about more than just part of what I do as a dayjob, and as I’m trying to leverage back into doing more than just leather. ...y’all do get that my leatherwork and maskmaking is not the sum and total of me as a person, right? I mean, this is not meant as a humblebrag, or any kind of brag, just a resume list, because I’m all over the fucking map: In high school, it was debate and drama. Even ended up at State and Nationals for those to some degree.

After that, in between and during college, it was working haunted houses, studying english, history, and theatre, and then putting together a theatresports team that ran for two years (we were groaningly terrible, exactly the kind of humor geeky/nerdy theatre kids put together and it was awesome and these days I cringe at some of the jokes we used to do. I think our biggest audience was maybe thirty people.) Then it was moving here, going to Cornish for theatre, summarily dropping out of Cornish after a semester of realizing there was no way I could afford to stay in school and survive without being homeless on part time minimum wage, not to mention lots of disagreement with the whole program. Cue being a twentysomething in seattle in the early aughts- doing lots of small theatre, joining a Rocky Horror troupe, weird citylife adventures and a lot of shite underpaid jobs. Also figuring out I was queer in there. Leather didn’t happen until after I’d met my fiancee and we’d moved in together, when I got hit with a seven-month stint of unemployment, and with loads of boredom on my hands, decided I’d try and figure out how to make a leather mask or two from some spare hide she had lying around from making her own armor for the SCA. Which took a lot of attempts. Fast forward a couple of years, I was still working shit-paying jobs, we had a kid on the way, and couldn’t afford early daycare so we could both work. so I stayed home with the kids since I made less out of the two of us. Still don’t regret that. Also meant I launched a website and started slowly getting more and more professional and doing cons and stuff. Of course, doing a site means you have to do images, which meant learning photoshop, and, well, I also went ahead and learned how to draw, collage, etc in there. After a few years of photoshop, leather, and websites at home, and after going back to work at a bank doing image archival work on documents, I ended up working in a gallery as a dayjob, scanning and archiving paintings and photos for reproduction. which meant learning repro, art, art history, and putting it all together meant I was suddenly making digital art in my off time as well. And then kid number two and the ‘08 real estate crash happened almost simultaneously in reverse order. I was home with new kid again, because my job, and my entire department type, information services, pretty much ceased to exist from the corporate world. And since then it’s been working on self promoting and doing my own business since because fuck working for other people, its never worked well.

So yeah, I do leather, it’s a big part of my life,because anything is when you’ve done it for 15+ years. But that said, I’ve been fighting burnout with it for two years now, and been trying to leverage myself out of it the whole time. Which means fighting with the “but you’re the leather guy!” thing in my own head a LOT. I am not just a leatherworks guy. I write. A bunch. Next book’s almost done, and I skipped the history bit where I was freelancing for a few rpg designers- no, probably not anything you’ve seen. I DO VISUAL ART which you’ve all seen like mad if you’ve been following for any amount of time. I’d act if there were enough spoons, time and energy in the day. There isn’t, and I’m a cheesey fuckin’ actor anyways. I tattoo- that’s a new one picked up since quarantine, but I’v ebeen trying to make both of my hands less dumb, so picking up actual physical drawing and tattooing has been a thing. I still also craft all sorts of props and other bits when I want/get hired to. Because WHY NOT. But I’m a lot more than a leather guy, and I fight with myself every time I see stuff about me being just the leather guy. Jeebus, that was a wall of text. OK, I’m maybe also needing to vent a lot more, find time to get into therapy, and deal with issues on a healthy basis. Maybe find time and people irl who see me as a whole-ass person now that my vaccine’s almost finished marinating. Yeesh. Sorry for the screed, folks, but the ‘don’t fucking delete shit’ rule applies. It’s here, so I may as well share. But yes, your friend who does more than leather is trying to get seen as your friend who does more than just leather. Make sense?

[the-sleuthy-one-a]

Before 2021 ends... T POSES (affectionately) hELLOOOO owo/ Jas you absolutely beautiful human-being, you! (though I suppose I'm assuming things. Maybe ur a cat or an alien or something idk??) I'm so happy we're not only mutuals—legit catch me sobbing when you followed me bc i was just i'M NOT WORTHY OF THIS HERE GOOD BOY AND AMAZING WRITER T~T—but also have had a chance to write together because I'm just in love with your sokka and am always just thrilled to see any of your content on the dash! (Legit even just your reblogging art and stuff? I see you and I'm like HEART EYES) You understand this good boy so intimately and i have such a deep love for ATLA in general that anything you bless us with, I'm ??? chef kiss. A++++ quality 10000000/10 would recommend. u.u And I know we haven't written too much yet—which is totally fine, btw!! ;w; Reminder that you never need to apologize for taking your time OR dropping a thread, so it's 100% gucci!—but I already am so excited about these two and just so honored to have any interaction at all! I really do believe Leo and Sokka share a lot more in common than they realize (inferiority complex, anyone ??? never thinking they're special or "good enough"? END ME), and I could definitely see a friendship between them being interesting when and IF they ever figure that out. >.> honestly, i just adore them so much and want them BOTH to be happy PLEASE JUST LOVE YOURSELVES, KIDS TTOTT STOP THIS. You also are just such a fun and kind person from the small chats we've had? ;~; I'm just floored that you love my idiot boy so much despite never reading the books—thank you for that compliment and for giving him a chance! You've been so sweet to both of us, and we really do owe you so much for that! I hope we get to write and chat more as we go into 2022, but as always: no pressure ;3 Regardless, I'll always be over here giving so much love and support, and my IMs are ALWAYS open to chat about anything! MUCH LOVE!! Happy New Year!

god i wish i was a cat. but OGDHFUIDGHGFUGUHUGFD SAMMY!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH I!!! AUGH I'm so glad that you like my writing for Sokka! Sometimes i start going in circles wondering if i'm getting his voice right or if i'm properly communicating how he's feeling or if i'm just dumping info and i get stumped!! so it's really reassuring to know people think i'm doing a good job :')

AND YEAH THEY DO!! SELF-DEPRECATING KINGS. THEY'D UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER WELL! And I know you said you try and mimic Rick Riordian but i still wanna compliment you BACK because you can really see in every reply you write that you just love Leo so much and you put a lot of care into his inner feelings even though he hides them a lot!

and PLEASE you're always so welcoming and sweet! I always get soo nervous messaging people even when we're mutuals but you instantly relaxed me dude! Even though i am slow at replying i absolutely wanna write more with and chat with you!!! I'm so glad we met this year sdjhkdgsf !! <3

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Since you’re promoting Zelda OCs I would like to share this thing that happened to me with you and if you want you can also tell me what you think. There is this botw artist who had her Zelda OC whom I liked very much. Her art is beautiful but she’s been very mean. It's true: “never meet your heroes”. One day she shared a post about her OC asking others if they had ocs as well. I shared my OC in the comment section saying I made my OC based of myself. She immediately DM me saying I should delete the comment because to her it looked like I wanted to use her ‘popularity’ to promote my art (dude wtf she isn’t even THAT famous lmao). I ofc told her I was ashamed by it and deleted it... I complimented her and she didn’t even give a shit about it. I told her I wanted to let her see my OC to not make her feel ‘alone’ and she told me “uhm okay I don’t need your approval, I’m quite happy with that I make”. And last but not least when I said I’d been following her since 2018 she said “but I don’t see you among my followers”. What do you think? It made me so depressed I quit drawing my OC for three days.

Well, obviously I have no context for the whole extent of this situation, so very well could be misunderstand and tone and other stuff factored in there, but going off what you’ve said overall sounds like she’s a BITCH. Not very poggers of her if I do say so myself. 

There’s maybe an argument and point to made there about not putting art in another person’s art post because I guess it could be seen as derailing. But like, if she asked for people to share their ocs then people are gonna share their ocs lmao. Also, and this is just my personal opinion and I’m no artist myself so take this as you will, if someone posts art, and then someone reblogs that with their art that’s related/inspired by the original topic, 90% I’m able to appreciate both art separately. Welp, I guess she’s op so she gets some semblance onto how she wants people to interact so. Good for her for not needing people’s approval to enjoy the things she makes

But that shit about “using popularity” and questioning your follow time...wow that’s bitchy sldkjfs apologies I can’t think of the proper synonym for it but it just is. Gonna call the cops? Gonna report me? “Oh how scandalous that this person who follows me and likes my content has been following for only 200 days and not a YEAR like they said smh” boi shut the fuck up no one cares. I don’t care, and you shouldn’t care. If you’ve followed since 100 followers, sweet. If you’re here from just this month, welcome. What is this gatekeeping obsession with how long you follow people for like I get it if you’re friends or mutuals but literally what is there to gain by saying shit like “only REAL ones have been here since 1k subscribers” or “only my TRUE fans are the ones from 2017″ like fucking shut up, since when has follow time constituted for how much you enjoy and appreciate something 

“Using my popularity to your advantage” arguments have also grinded my Ancient gears. Like yes, there are assholes who only want to talk with you or be friends just so they can use your position or whatever for their benefit. They totally exist don’t get me wrong. People who are like that, you have my approval to punt them. But also, the entire idea that just because someone is benefitting from someone else’s popularity they are a bad person is really wrong. Not to bash capitalism on the Zelda sideblog, but the entire idea that the rich and “famous” (heavy heavy quotation marks there considering we are on tumblr) are only successful because of their hard work is just blatantly false. Sure it’s important, it gets you like 50-70% of the way there, but the rest of that very significant percentage is just luck, or just factors in user engagement, or current trends or maybe they’re related to someone influential. It’s a roll of the dice. You don’t own popularity, you just don’t. That is completely owed to the people that follow and engage with you, so who are you to insult them.

Now, I’m not saying that you owe your followers anything, in fact, yeah I’d agree blatantly: You don’t owe your followers anything. You make the thing, they get the thing, they follow/like/share, the transaction is over. But at the same time, don’t act like a high and mighty bitch about it, fucking “using her popularity,” how much of your precious and popular time do you waste to give a nice comment, or even sharing something made by someone else, someone that could very well be the reason you’re in the position you’re in right now. Yeah bitch how about you use your “popularity” to give attention to someone talented, what do you have to lose by sharing something good with people. And no one better give me that shit about “OhhhHhhHHhhhh but if you share it then they didn’t eaarrnnnn anything and they can’t leaaaAAARnn and growww” cause first of all no, shut the fuck up, bash your capitalism brain into the earth and stop thinking that all success and growth has to be born out of pain and sacrifice. Secondly, just because someone popular shares something, it that doesn’t mean all that engagement instantly gets passed on to another person. That engagement would only get passes if the person was skill/talented/created something great AKA they worked in that regard to earn it. Idk about you, but if someone I like promotes another person, I don’t just automatically follow them, I look at them, and if I like them and what they do, then I follow. Such an incredibly stupid argument to me when people say that people are leeching off of popularity like it’s some finite resource, anyone can get a couple hundred likes and views, but if the stuff you make is quality and good, that’s when people stick around.

If you’re “popular” you should also share the work of other people that you like. Now THAT’S JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION cause there are other reasons that you might not mass reblog shit to keep yourself organized or you purely just focus on your account for sharing and nothing else or whatever other reasons there are that are probably valid, but it’s how I feel. So if you share, don’t share because someone asked or begged you, or because you want the nice guy clout, just fucking share the stuff that you like because you like it, because those 5 seconds it takes to click a few buttons could mean a world of change to someone who very well could have been in your position had the stars of the social media algorithm aligned a bit differently.  

Wow I wrote a lot, I guess this was something I really wanted to rant about huh. I guess I just really want you to know that, yeah, that person sounds like a bitch, and you shouldn’t let that experience stop you from making the things that make you happy. TL;DR be nice to your nice followers, popularity is a made up currency so just fucking spend it wildly, OCs are pretty rad

[rjalker]

Related I don't understand why people get SO MAD about people liking art but not reblogging it.

Like??? Take the compliment??? Sometimes I walk past cool clothes it doesn't mean I'd actuslly wear them.

Reblogging art can be a lot more than simply hitting the reblog button. What is your art of?? Something that will require trigger warnings? Something the viewer doesn't fully understand the context of? I know I'm always hesitant to reblog art for fandom I'm not in, because I have NO context for the character. For all I know I could be reblogging cutesy art of the protagonist's abuser!!!

Like!!! There are so many reasons people might not want to reblog art! Someone liking your art is a compliment! It means they LIKE YOUR ART. Just because they don't reblog it doesn't mean they don't like it!

No one owes you reblogs! They don't even owe you likes! It doesn't matter if you slaved over that peice for ten hours straight--unless it was literally a comission, no one owes you anything for it.

Not likes, not reblogs.

If you choose create fan art or writing for free, you need to accept the fact that you are doing it for free.

Unless it's a commission, or you literally put it on patreon, or something else that requires that people pay you before they get to see the art, literally nobody owes you anything. They don't owe likes, they don't owe you reblogs, they don't owe you reviews or comments.

People liking your art but not reblogging it does not mean they hate you. And furthermore, it is not the job of random strangers to bolster your self esteem by reblogging your art.

Yeah, of course people like it when their stuff gets comments or reblogs or whatever. But you are not owed them. You are choosing to do this for free, you are choosing to put this into the world for free, you don't suddenly get to turn around and start demanding that people pay for it afterward. That's not how this works. If you demand payment for your art, then say that up front. Put it only on patreon. Only draw for commissions.

I'm just really tired of people acting like people not commenting on their fix or reblogging their art is a fucking crime against humanity and something that they are owed. Let you know that fucking stupid strike on Archive of Our Own because people weren't getting fucking reviews??

Literally what is the difference between that and people on Tumblr moaning and complaining that everybody hates them and wants them to stop drawing forever because there aren't only gets likes? There is no fucking difference.

I love it when people like my art. I also love it when they read love it. But I'm not going to be offended when people only like it. I draw for me. By the time I post it, I've already had my fun. I am choosing to share it with other people, because they might also enjoy it.

I don't remember where I'm going this but stop basing your self-worth on how many comments you get on your fix or how many reblogs you get on your art.

Stop acting like getting likes on your art is the same thing as people fucking ... I don't even know. Throwing fucking rotten tomatoes at you.

If you demand payment for your art, as in, you require money, reblogs, or reviews, then put your stuff on patreon or do something else. If you want to be paid, then make that clear up front and get payment before you even create the art.

If you want to create art for free, then accept the fact that you are doing it for free. It isn't your choice. Nobody is forcing you to spend your free time drawing or writing. That is something you choose to do. You are doing it for free. You don't get to demand payment.

If drawing and writing doesn't make you happy, then find something else. Stop demanding that random strangers on the internet be held personally responsible for your self-worth and confidence.

Yeah I don't remember where I'm going with this besides, I see you everybody liking my art for Charley and the Eighth Doctor, and I love you.