#and people don’t generally read the bio of others anyway

[straightlightyagami]

I think it’s funny how people on some sites will assume by default you are male unless stated otherwise but someone here just seemingly assumed I am a woman on one of my posts (???)

[jerichomere]

Oh great. One of my professors is brand new.

[kyra45]

How to spot a scam blog

A very simple guide to figuring out if the blog messaging you is a scam:

Was you sent an ask within some time of sharing a specific type of post such as a trending topic or subject? - Usually scam accounts target particular posts and will spam asks to everyone who shared it. The ask may relate to certain events going on or more. These asks are always sent to many users all at once so it’s suggested to tumblr search part of the ask and see if its been sent by other accounts labeled as a scam or accounts with similar style.

Is the account relatively new? - More often than not, the accounts sending the asks are about a week old or even newer. They haven’t been made too long ago and often send asks within hours of being made. If you have timestamps turned on, you’ll be able to see the date something was posted. A fresher account is usually not going to be one who’s finding you unless they are searching tags and saw your blog.

How many posts are on the account? - Scam accounts rarely have many posts on their blogs beyond the initial pinned post. All their posts, being very few are very little, are most often just posts from a trending topic they looked up or a popular tag they decided to look through. They will share only a few and then make no further posts. This is to pad out their blog to make it look used but it’s easy to see how new the blog is if you scroll to the end.

Are the shared posts fitting a theme? - Scam accounts try to share posts based on the scam they’re trying to run. This means they’ll share posts related to the topic of their choosing and then stop once they’ve shared a few. Most of these posts come from the OP themselves and not from someone the blog is following though in rare cases they’ll find a person to reblog from so they don’t look suspicious.

Are the reblog dates accurate? - If you use timestamps, find a post the blog shared and check ‘Other notes’ and see if the reblog date matches the date that is listed on the blog itself. Often, scammers will backdate posts to make them look much older then they really are in an attempt to deceive people into thinking they’ve used tumblr for months or years.

Is the url auto-generated? - Not always seen from a scam account, but scammers often just use auto-generated usernames because it’s quick and easy to do. But real accounts may have these too. It’s just a thing to keep in mind.

Is the url familiar or similar to one you’ve seen before? - Scammers often try to copy their older accounts by using usernames based around previous scam attempts. It becomes obvious after about a while and usually makes it easy to figure out the scammer is back again. This isn’t always from scam accounts as regular accounts may do this for reasons.

How often do you get asks? - If you barely get asks and suddenly keep getting mutual aid asks it’s very likely you’re just a scammers latest target and they’ll keep spamming asks. This means you’ll consistently get the same style of asks from a brand new account that shouldn’t know you unless they found you in tags. You will keep getting these asks on a daily basis. You will eventually always get these asks.

Did they request you to message them directly? - On rare occasions a scam account will want you to send them a direct message and then they’ll just ask you for thousands of dollars on the spot.

Does your bio say no mutual aid asks? - Scammers don’t read/don’t care they will ignore that and send you asks anyway that won’t stop them.

Short version: More often than not the blog asking you for money is a scam if you don’t usually get asks for money from brand new accounts.

[valyrfia]

We talk a lot about weird shippers behavior and all that fandom etiquette and all that, which is right. But not enough about the people that get borderline violent towards lestappen. Because why are people on twitter lowkey having a meltdown over that meme video. Saying stuff like "omg he's so done with that already 😭" like yeah of course, it's an overused meme. But like it's not that deep, I'm sure he just, sighs and moves on?? And people get lowkey weird about it like "He's tired, he's angry 😡". Idk. Or the typical "lestappies are so delusional, they don't even talk to each other" like okay?? what's the problem then? If it's SO delusional, why don't you just, ignore it? But anyways, some people that are so fervently against it are kinda weird too. Because, me for example don't see why people would like Landoscar so much, it's one of the most rancid ships for me, yet I would never be so loud about it because what do I care??. Idk. Also you should see the quotes in some post that could be just a picture of them two, is like people get triggered or something (???

Twitter for me generally is something to avoid because it’s so ill-suited to fandom. Stuff that’s considered more controversial is always going to get more interactions because of the algorithm so people tend to cry about RPF being “morally wrong” and then use ships to interaction bait anyway. Don’t get me wrong RPF is definitely a grey area but tumblr in general has always been slightly more adult about it because it’s its own self-contained ecosystem. None of you know my real name or my face and we’re going to keep it that way. None of you know my follower count and we’re going to keep it that way. None of this is done for interactions it’s all done because we LIKE being here and know this is a safe space for something that yeah, is a little weird, but the self-containment means that the chance of us doing any sort of harm is practically zero.

I saw a tweet the other day being like “omg im so scared to have 16 and 33 in my bio because I just like them I don’t want people thinking I want them to fuck nasty because that’s gross” and I’m just—I would be willing to bet an extraordinary amount of money that person reads RPF. I would be willing to bet similar for a huge amount of people leaving lestappen “hate”. It comes from some misplaced sense of justice to “police” RPF and it being more important for an individual to be seen to be “morally correct” than protecting a community who really, isn’t harming anyone and just trying to keep to ourselves. I’m definitely not walking around in my everyday life telling everybody about how I think Max and Charles are #truesoulmates, in fact I have friends who are very chronically offline who I often chat about F1 with and I would never DREAM of telling them about this blog or expressing anything I say here because I know the only time and place for that remains either with my friends I’ve met through here or on here.

TLDR: Twitter is filled with people who need to be seen as morally right and for some reason have decided that Lestappen is their current crusade of choice, despite the fact all that really does is increase visibility of the ship to people who may be involved. I would just try your best to ignore it.

[devine-fem]

I wanna hear you talk about JonJay. I just need to hear someone else’s dislike for it from someone that also actually reads comics and I’ve noticed you had JonJay DNI in ur bio.

WHEW. Listen disclaimer: If you like Jonjay. Do not read this. Also, do not interact with me because if you like Jonjay, you will not like me.

My issue is that I kind of like Jay’s fight against colonization but that is it. THAT IS IT. My problem is that it came about in such an awful way… like it’s like Representation 101 that you don’t do what Tom Taylor did with Jonjay… he created a character for another character to be queer and not only that made the characters boring…

The thing about Jonjay shippers is that a lot of the time the shippers enjoy the racist/bad writing version of Damian… they always weirdly speak like they hate Damian… Also, people who are an apologist for older!Jon… HAVE TO BE ILLITERATE… like there’s no way…

My friend was telling me that they’ve never met a Jonjay shipper who had good takes and good taste in media… it just doesn’t exist… and how hostile they are with young jon and damijon in general… I’m not going to lie… hating damijon and liking jonjay never made mathmatical sense to me… even if its not damijon… I’d prefer ANYTHING over jonjay… I trust that any other ship has plenty more substance… and no, it just… jay’s character exists to put down Jon’s… as long as Jay exists… Jon will never be able to grow and shine… read SSOKE and take a second to realize that the focus there is Jay and not Jon!! THAT IS WHY SSOKE IS SO BORING! like jonjay shippers only really care about jay anyway which makes no sense ???! thank you for telling me to rant because i dont get those people at all

AND PEOPLE WHO SHIP JONJAY AND HATE JON? it just makes no sense like wtf?? i guess it kinda makes sense because theres no way you like jonjay and actually gaf about jons character… you probably just like gay superman and thats it like… tom taylor hates good romance… its like dickbabs hurting babs… jonjay hurts jon…

im rambling but yeah, i hate jonjay… its the only ship i hate besides like obviously incest ships or tim x anyone LMAO but like its not about getting in the way of my ship, its about being a bad ship that is associated with the character assassination of my favorite character… i guess i kind of think of it the same way roy fans think of jayroy but also i like daminika (or my idea of daminika) so like its really not about “getting in the way of my ship” i really could care less… ships are fanon

dude. dude. listen. i saw a jonjay shipper say that damijon has no chemistry because they barely have chemistry as friends… talking about chemistry and bring a jonjay shipper is crazy? CHEMISTRY SALES BABE? adventures of jon kent couldn’t break 6 issues and you wanna talk about chemistry? the proof is in the pudding… the people dont like mid. dude. listen. jonjay shippers are just idiots… they have to be 😭 your brain cant be braining in order to like that bro. they be like “i love you 😐” LMAO LIKE JUST NO EMOTION LIKE WHO CAN ENJOY THAT. thank you jonjay for reminding us youre dating because honestly we could NOT tell. cant wait for you to disappear all year then reappear during june 😭

[yarnprism]

Just realized I’ve been here for nearly 3 years and never made a damn intro lmao anyway hiiiiii

Welcome to this Mess!!

HALLO.

My name is Tank as you already know but I go by a couple of other names like:

• Amari

• Goon

Personally though I don’t care which one you use!!

I’m 17 years old and go by any pronouns (I chronically can’t give a fuck)

I like tickles only in an SFW manner!! It’s a thing I’ve liked since I was very young and continues to be an interest now. I see it as a way to bond and show affection to people you love. :]

Now that introductions are out of the way let’s get to the

DNI LIST

• Basic DNI criteria (proship, darkship, terf, racist, etc)

• NSFW tickle blogs (That should be common knowledge already as I am a minor but apparently some people can’t take the time to read the bio 💀)

• Vore blogs, both nsfw and sfw (I know this sounds oddly specific but dawg there a couple vore blogs following me and like. I dunno it makes me uncomfortable)

• Anyone below the age of 14 and above the age of 20 (With the exception of mutuals I already know)

• NSFW blogs in general (HEAVY on NSFW agere blogs)

• Obikin and BeetleBabes shippers (I just don’t like the ships ngl they makes me uncomfortable as fuck 😭)

Extra Stuff That Isn’t Vital is below the cut!!!

Made with tender love and care with these two idiots (/pos) @secret-laughs 🩷 & @neppy-34 💚

Current Interests!!

Subject to change so be wary!

𖤓 = Currently Interested in

☆ = Not as Interested but it’s still there

☾ = Mostly Dorment

• Doctor Doom (Do not mention him to me I will explode /pos) 𖤓

• ULTRAKILL 𖤓

• Faith the Unholy Trinity 𖤓

• Winx Club ☆

• Star Wars 𖤓

• Into/Across The Spiderverse ☆

• Yaelokre ☆

• Dungeon Meshi 𖤓

• Devil May Cry ☆

• Splatoon 𖤓

• I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream 𖤓

• The Boys 𖤓

• Beetlejuice (Cartoon, Movie, and Musical) 𖤓

[rise-my-angel]

I appreciate your takes a lot and think you are quite respectful. I am a Dany fan and would enjoy Jon and Dany together in the books if it was healthy and they were interested in each other and blah blah basically it would have to be a very specific scenario for me to enjoy it but anyway I don’t consider myself a stan of any character or ship and I’m a bit perplexed by that type of fan. I enjoy reading posts by people who disagree with me and have different interpretations of characters. I get so disappointed when I find that I’m blocked by someone just because maybe they hate Dany or they ship a ship I don’t like even though we otherwise have similar opinions and even if we don’t, isn’t it nice to see what other people think sometimes? It’s refreshing I think. I’m a big Jon fan and I’m going to enjoy posts by other true Jon fans even if they don’t like Dany. I just have a hard time seeing why everyone is so bothered. Some fans are very rude and toxic when people disagree (I have been accused by other Dany fans of secretly being a Sansa and Jonsa stan just because I said I think Dany COULD be a villain in the books and I’d be okay with it as long as it’s well written which is silly. I’d be okay with so many different outcomes as long as they’re well written because it’s not my story and I trust George to tell a good one if he ever finishes it at all). I just wish we as fans could focus on celebrating the things we do agree on and ignore it when we disagree or have respectful and thought provoking conversations instead of just blocking or being hostile

I genuinely like dissecting what about characters or ships I dislike and why. I love analyzing fiction in ways that explore what works or doesn't work about something for a story in my personal opinion and how framing certain characters can have adverse effects on fan point of views.

People talk about "hating on things" when really, I love discussing why I think Rhaegar is a peice of shit. I love explaining what about Dany I think is a tyrant. But that is very difficult with a very specific subset of this fandom.

Mostly Dany stans and Sansa stans, but this also bleeds into the general discussion of targ stans. The fact of the matter is, they are fine with trashing the other character, but as soon as I make a post that is anti that character they stan, I am hating unjustifiably. I am hating just to hate and I am looking for things to hate.

And unfortunately, that means I am always on the defensive about my Jon opinions. This fandom has an issue with discussing Jon without attaching a ship to that narrative, especially Jonsa and Jonerys stans. I do not ship him with anyone, therefore I want to discuss him as a singular character and that includes exploring what I think are problematic and toxic characters towards him. Which in my analysis, includes Dany and Sansa. But because to a lot of these people, Jon is seen as an extension of Dany or Sansa in a ship, I am clearly one or the other.

I cannot tell you how silly it is to have "Anti Jonsa, Anti Jonerys, Anti Jonrya, Anti Jongritte" in my bio, and every single one of my anti jonerys posts gets passed around as pro jonsa evidence or my anti jonsa posts gets passed around as pro jonerys evidence.

It is a subset of this fandom I hate because it has shown how impossible it is to discuss Jon as a complete individual character outside of romantic ships and it is exhausting.

It is a very persistent problem. I don't care who personally ships these things, but the fandom has made it's mark by declaring that either your with them or your their enemy and any disagreeing opinions are seen as attacks instead of discussion of media I enjoy.

People can like Dany and Jonerys, or Sansa and Jonsa, but it is the persistent screaming that opinions like mine are being unfairly hateful or delusional that piss me off. I'd rather not have such negative opinions about certain shippers, but it is the angry mob mentality they have that make me so against it.

I want to just discuss Jon as a character on his own, they only want to discuss Jon as a side companion romantic interest to their favourite female character. And I get blocked for speaking against their sacred cow, whereas I go looking through their blogs just to see what their side says so I can make a fair argument to their points when engaging in critical discussion on my own personal posts.

Me and them are not the same.

[campgender]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[starlightkun]

buzzer beater ❧ teaser [sungchan]

❧ word count: 1028 | full fic: 22.0k ❧ warnings: just cursing for the teaser, everything i know about hockey is from internet research for this fic i’m sorry for any inaccuracies i tried not to put in a lot of specifics lmao ❧ genre: fluff, gets quite suggestive (a heavy makeout scene/near sex scene) but no actual smut, college au, hockey captain sungchan, chronically ill reader (chronic migraines), halloween-themed at the beginning, sungchan’s not a frat boy but he’s like... a frat boy by association ❧ extra info: the ages/relative ages of the members in here are whatever i want them to be, don’t read into it too much. this is a very usamerican-centric take on a college au (greek life, collegiate sports, etc.) btw. also i call kunhang ‘hendery’ in here like it’s his government name for a one-line gag bc i think i’m hilarious (and i am <;3) the reader in this has chronic migraines, which i also have. when the reader’s migraines, experiences as a chronically ill person, and thoughts about being chronically ill are described, that is me writing directly from my own life. i am not a spokesperson for chronic migraines (lol) and am not generalizing the lives of all people with chronic migraines and chronic illness, as we are all different. but i am sending all my love to any readers out there living with a chronic illness, and here’s a reminder to go take your meds!! ❧ estimate release: saturday, october 14, 2023 2:00 p.m. eastern time

“Anyway, your turn,” you tapped his knee with your book before putting it back in your bag.

“For what?”

“To expand my horizons of you. All I know about you is that you’re the hockey captain, and a Bio major who took a gothic fiction class one time like three years ago. Show me you’re a multifaceted individual, too.”

“Uhm, that’s about it.”

“Oh come on, Sungchan.”

“No really, if I’m not on the ice, I’m in class; if I’m not in class, I’m with my team; and if I’m not with my team, I’m studying.”

“You’re here, right now,” you pointed out. “Last I checked I’m not on your hockey team, and we’re not studying. You have to do one thing that’s not for school or hockey. My thing was just watching Pacific Rim this one time, remember?”

“Alright…” he paused to think, fingers tapping along his thighs. “I used to play the piano.”

“Past tense, but I’ll accept it. When did you stop?”

“High school? Around when piano lessons and hockey practice started conflicting.”

“And you chose hockey?” You asked, hoping it didn’t sound judgmental. You really were just curious, trying to understand him.

“Actually, the choice was made for me.” He held his right hand out in front of you, and it was then that you saw his pinky finger was unnaturally crooked as he pointed to the digit. “I broke it in a game without even realizing it. Bruises and stiffness sometimes are normal so me and my parents didn’t know anything was up until weeks later when I was fucking up all the notes at my piano lessons because it still hurt. By the time I finally saw a doctor and got a splint on it, it set up wrong. All dexterity for piano out the window. Hockey on the other hand… guys have done a lot more with a lot less.”

You couldn’t help but curiously run a gentle fingertip over the crook in his pinky. “Does it hurt at all? Now?”

“Not really.” He went to bend and flex the fingers of his right hand, and you saw how the fifth finger didn’t curl up as much as the others. “It’s just a lot stiffer. Doesn’t bother me all that much.”

He brought his left hand up and wiggled the fingers on that hand. “Besides, I’m a lefty anyway.”

“So—apologies if this sounds like a stupid question to you, I don’t know anything about hockey—are there like, different hockey sticks for left-handed and right-handed players?”

Sungchan immediately broke into snickers, and you set down your mug to cross your arms over your chest indignantly.

“Hey, I didn’t laugh at you for not knowing what death of the author was—”

“I wasn’t making fun of you, I’m sorry,” he covered his mouth. “That was just… too cute. Uhm yes, there are lefty and righty sticks.”

You had to bite down your bottom lip to not smile at him calling you cute, and instead keep up your ruse of being offended. “I feel patronized.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” There was still a hint of a giggle in his tone, and you felt your self-righteous façade slip away as he continued, “You should come to a game, then, if you really want to broaden your horizons. The season just started. First home game is this Thursday, actually. 7:00 p.m. and students get free admission with your student ID.”

“Thursday?”

“Fridays are for basketball, Saturdays are for football.”

“Oh. Right.”

“You don’t go to those games either, do you?”

“Oh no, did I make it obvious?” You asked sarcastically.

“A bit,” Sungchan jested back.

Outside the window visible past Sungchan, the rain had let up a few minutes ago, and you briefly glanced over at your laptop for the time. Shit, your next alarm was going to be going off soon. If you left now, you should be home at roughly the right time for your next dose.

Clicking your tongue, you started packing up your things, “Well, looks like the rain’s finally let up enough to allow me safe passage. That’s my cue.”

“Oh.” The hockey player with you looked over his shoulder at the newly sunny day outside before turning back to watch you put your things away.

“Are you heading out too?” You nodded to his empty cup.

“I’ve uh, got some homework to do.”

“Guess this is where we part ways then.”

“Um, you didn’t say if you were going. To the game.”

You tucked your chin to your chest to hide your smitten smile as you put your laptop in your bag. Typically just asking for the details would’ve been taken for a yes, but Sungchan wanted extra confirmation. This boy wasn’t good for your heart, truly.

Turning back to him, you gave him a firm and nearly business-like nod. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

A bright grin lit up his features. “Okay! Great! Uhm, feel free to bring some friends, I know just sitting in the stands by yourself might be lonely.”

“I’ll see if I can drag somebody else out. It’ll be a tall order, though. Literature majors, you know, we prefer our Shakesperean poetry readings.”

“Oh, well—”

“I’m kidding,” you laughed and stood then, slinging your tote onto your shoulder. “Honestly, have you seen Chenle at a rager? Boy can drink twice his body weight I swear. He shouldn’t, but he can.”

Before you could reach for your cup and saucer to buss your place, the hockey captain spoke up, “I’ll take care of your mug, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thanks, Sungchan! I’ll see you Thursday then.”

“Bye…” Sungchan trailed off, watching the door long after it had closed behind you.

He didn’t actually have any homework to do, and scrolled on his phone for a few minutes to make sure you were out of the area before leaving himself. He grabbed his long-empty plastic cup and your mug. His went in the trash, and as he went to put yours up with the other dishes and trays, his eyes were caught by the iridescent glitters left behind on the rim by your lip gloss.

⤷ blog masterlist

[jeannereames]

Why is it that certain sensationalist trivias, still get peddled by professional historians as absolute truths? Like the Caranus debacle. PG's Alexander of Macedon, despite being an excellent account, still mentions the Caranus + Europa double alleged BBQfication. Even though, the timeline&Caranus' unicorn name, reek of myth? Or Stateira getting long distance impregnated by Darius (though Green suggests in fine print that Alexander raped her). What makes a historical tale more or less credible?

A Brief Summary of Important Modern Alexander Scholars

First, I’d caution that we look at when some of these books and articles were written. While the more recent version of Green’s Alexander of Macedon (U. Cal, Berkeley) is 1991, it’s a reprint of his much earlier Thames-and-Hudson bio from 1974, sans pictures. (Also, Green—who’s still alive and kicking!—is 97 this year, so that contextualizes his age.) A general critique of Peter for a while now (as far back as From Alexander to Actium) is that he’s not on top of the more recent publications in the field, which causes some of his conclusions to be dated. Many older scholars can be guilty of that. I can’t even keep up with everything coming out on Alexander and/or Philip and/or Macedonia each year, especially as more and more are in languages I don’t read, such as Italian or Spanish. Even my German is shaky.

OTOH, the proliferation of academic publications in various languages is great, as it signals a healthy field. OTOH, it’s problematic, as most people just don’t read multiple languages, and what languages might have been fashionable back in grad school has shifted since. Additionally, Americans are at a real disadvantage due to our very poor education system here when it comes to learning languages (Spanish aside)—unless one is wealthy enough to attend private schools. And that’s a topic for a different post about elite education in Classics, and the language barrier.

But the upshot is that, while older scholars often gain real breadth of knowledge that allows connections and conclusions younger scholars just can’t make yet, it can become harder to keep up with everything coming out, on top of teaching and service requirements at universities. I’d love to have more time to read the latest—but I can’t and get all my student papers graded, attend all the meetings I have to go to, prep new classes, learn online platforms, etc., etc.

One reason we try to protect pre-tenure faculty from undue service IS so they can write/publish (and do the reading required). Post-tenure, All That Other Stuff starts demanding our time. Way back in grad school, Gene Borza told me, “You will never have read so widely and know as much about a particular slice of the field than you do right now.” I thought he was joking. I know a lot more now than I knew then, to be sure—but feel perpetually behind on recent research.

Anyway, I mention the publication date because history is an ever-developing field. We can talk about Alexander studies as a series of “waves,” if you will. The initial wave viewed Alexander very positively, starting with Droysen (late 1800s), through Tarn, Burns, Milns, Robinson, some others, down into the 1960s and early ‘70s. Hammond was kinda the last of them, who published well into the ‘90s, also arguably Hamilton (although I see him as less forgiving). But this was the Great Man approach. Sources were taken mostly at face value, including Greek views of the Macedonians, with a distinct taste for colonialist narratives such as Plutarch (the Greek “civilizing” of the Barbarian East, etc.). Hammond, however, was among those who seriously questioned Greek views of Macedonians…even while he accepted other things uncritically.

So, in short, these are not absolutely separate buckets. Just general trends.

The next wave brought the Skeptics, engendered by Badian, Schachermeyer, Fredericksmeyer, Green, etc. It still had a fair bit of unconscious colonialist (and misogynistic) taint but began to do much more rigorous source criticism. Maybe ol’ Alexander wasn’t so great, after all. I think of Ian Worthington as still in that vein—Hammond’s flip side. Ha. (Which is funny as Ian edited Nick’s festschrift [a collection of papers in honor of a person]. But Hammond was a legend in his lifetime. Regardless of whether one agrees with everything he wrote, his impact on Macedonian history simply can’t be overestimated. I don’t think anybody, ever again, will [or can] have that sort of influence, given how the field has grown.)

Anyway, around the same time, Macedonian studies (and Philip) were opening as a field in their own right, thanks to Edson and Dell—and Hammond—followed by Borza, Errington, Ellis, Cawkwell, Walbank (Hellenistic), and Greeks like Hatzopoulos and Palagia, then Greenwalt, Anson, Adams, Heckel, Carney, Baynham, Atkinson, etc.

(I’m leaving out names, I’m sure, as I’m doing this on the fly without my library at hand, so apologies.)

Anyway, these things dovetailed to give us some new perspectives, including an attempt to detangle Macedonia from S. Greece, and to spot the misogyny behind texts (thank you, Carney and MacCurdy, et al.), and generally to think further about matters of culture and textual context.

I was a grad student at the back end of that wave, btw.

The “new”(-ish) wave(s?) have been to further contextualize our sources, not just to separate Greek from Macedonian, or to seek the sources behind our extant biographies, but to better recognize the Roman (imperial) overlay. It’s not that earlier historians didn’t know our existing sources were Roman era, but that the focus had been on trying to determine the sources behind our surviving sources: e.g., Kallisthenes, Kleitarchos, Ptolemy, Aristobulos, etc. Lionel Pearson’s The Lost Historians of Alexander the Great was the classic text of that type. What Pearson (and others) did less was talk about contemporary (Roman) influences on our surviving authors.

This new wave includes scholars like Asirvatham, Müller, Ogden, Bowden, Spencer, Pownall, Howe, Finn, etc., etc. There’s also good work being done on military stuff, following Heckel. They’re very much into the textual evidence. Also Carney still, and Baynham. So these are new trends in Alexander historiography.

A feature of this third/fourth wave has been to pick apart some heretofore accepted stories—such as, say, proskynesis. Or the story of Statiera mentioned in the Ask. You’ll see that new take in the forthcoming Netflix docudrama. Alexander isn’t so hands-off. Although I don’t think it was rape so much as Realpolitik, once it became clear Darius had abandoned his family to their fate. And maybe not even Alexander’s idea. 😉

We saw such questioning even in the second/early third wave. Take Karanos. That’s been questioned by Borza, Carney, Greenwalt, et al. BUT Greenwalt has really interesting things to say about the evolving genealogy of the Argead house across time, with morphing forefathers, depending on who the king was. So we get Perdikkas under Alexandros I and Perdikkas “II,” then an Archelaos under Archelaos (Euripides’ lost play), and finally, Karanos under Philip II (or post-Philip). Jonathan Hall in (et al.) Hellenicities talks about the creation of these falsified genealogies in ancient Greece as a means to build and (re-)affirm bonds for political, military, and trade purposes. These things don’t stay the same across time.

The upshot remains that it’s important to check the publication date for any particular book or article, and be sure it’s the original publication, too. Again, the 1991 Univ. of Cal, Berkeley edition of Alexander of Macedon = the 1974 Thames and Hudson’s book of the same title. (If you Google it, you’ll find the “originally published” date, btw.) In short, he wrote it before most people had begun to question the finer points of Kleopatra-Eurydike’s murder by Olympias. OR before so much doubt had been thrown on Justin as a source. (Just wait for the chapter by Carney in the work I’m currently editing. She’s going to trash and burn OH, so much of Trogus/Justin. I’ll give no more spoilers, but yeah. It’s a long, but very good chapter on historiography.)

So publishing date is one thing to look at.

The other is WHO did the writing.

There’s always been a small cottage industry in publishing on Alexander, but quite a few bios have come out recently by people who aren’t Macedonian specialists, or even (sometimes) trained Greek historians (Everitt, I’m looking at you).* Even Goldsworthy’s dual bio, which formed the basis of the recent History Channel episode, was written by a Romanist, albeit he’s known for his military topics. Paul Cartledge, who also wrote a popular bio on ATG, is a specialist on Sparta. Some scholars are one-foot-in, like Carol Thomas, who did Alexander and His World (2006). She knows more about Macedonia due to personal contacts, but her area of serious scholarship is the Dark Age/Early Archaic Age (= Early Iron Age).

So, yes, it’s really important to ask, Who wrote the book/article I’m reading? How deep are they into scholarship on ancient Macedonia/Alexander/Philip II, etc.

The latest bios of Alexander by actual Alexander specialists are Sabine Müller’s Alexander Der Grosse: Eroberungen - Politik – Rezeption (2019), Franca Landucci’s Alessandro Magno (2019), Hugh Bowden’s Alexander the Great, a very short introduction (2014), Edward Anson’s Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues (2013), Lindsay Adams Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror (2005), and Ian Worthington’s Alexander the Great: Man and God (2004) and the later By the Spear, which includes Phil, too (2016). (Ed Anson also did Philip II, Father of Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues, 2020.) I've probably missed one, so apologize in advance. Again...library is in my office.

If you want to read a biography of Alexander, read a couple of those.

I’ve thought more seriously of late about writing my own biography, intended for non-specialists (e.g., without footnotes but with “for further reading”). Many of these by my colleagues have been textbooks, like Lindsay’s and Ed’s. I’d be more inclined to write it for the interested non-specialist. But I’d have to find a publisher, and I wouldn’t even seriously consider it until this Hephaistion & Krateros book is done.

Also, I might have a hard time selling “yet another” biography on Alexander, especially if it’s not dripping with drama and/or cherished myth and/or doesn’t try to paint Alexander as either a god or a monster.

Or maybe THAT could be the selling point. “This is the biography by a specialist that brings the interested reader up to date on the latest scholarship regarding Alexander, Philip, and Argead Macedonia, but does it in layman’s language, and isn’t a college textbook.”

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

*You may wonder why publishers buy books from historians who aren’t Macedonian specialists? Well, sometimes they want that. Carol wrote hers precisely because she’s not a specialist, but had contacts who were, and therefore was thought to be better at breaking it all down for students. Other publishers want the sensationalist stuff, or a “new angle” (which is rarely actually new).

[theaustralianginger]

My dumbass just realised I’ve never made a damn intro for this account….whoops-

Anyways names is Steam or Kirby, Idm which ones you use! :)

On this blog I post about the fandoms I’m in, sometimes my TikTok edits, artwork (my main thing I think) and gacha! (My TikTok is in my bio at the top)

I AM A MINOR so that means…I am underage and also won’t be posting much due to school n shit so yeah (idm speaking to people who are older, just don’t be a creep :3)

I also will take drawing requests! Not for money tho, I just wanna do it for fun :3

Other things about me!

I am a Ginger (the name says it all really)

My fav foods are noodles and chicken

I have autism

I’ve been drawing people since the end of 2021, so don’t expect much from me :’)

The fandoms that I’m into are..

SMG4

The Walten Files

Holes

Kirby

TF2

TADC

TWOMP

Mouthwashing

Baldis Basics

PLEASE DO INTERACT IF YOURE IN ANY OF THESE FANDOMS!! :D (and also if you like art or gacha)

DNI LIST!! (Trigger warning for people reading this)

SA or 🍇 jokes or comments (grape without the g)

People hating beginner artists / not experienced artists

Jokes about world tragedy’s such as 9/11 and others (the jokes make me uncomfy)

Racism / ableism / just negative and harmful things towards others in general

Uncomfy drawing requests such as r34

There’s probably more that I’ve also forgotten :’)

I HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE A LOVELY DAY / NIGHT, CYA! :3

[gladiatorcunt]

# RULES - ♱ ♱ ♱

“They're angelic symbols, passed on to mankind by the archangel Gabriel.”

+ general ::

♱ 18+ , no minors may interact. ageless blogs will be blocked. for blank blogs: if you have an age in your bio and you don’t seem like a bot, i’ll let it slide. tws will be tagged accordingly but lmk if i’ve missed any. requests are open and if you’re not sure if i write for a fandom/character, just ask. do not copy, repost, or translate my work anywhere. all writing is my own. dm’s and asks are also open

♱ dark fic & non dark fic topics welcome (specifics below but since i’ll definitely forget stuff, feel free to ask. will be more dark content focused overall though)

♱ no ultra specific requests (reader’s full appearance or background, basically outlining an entire fic that you should maybe write yourself, etc.)

♱ mainly smut reader inserts including those that vaginas and/or dicks w/ different terminology for specific parts being used on occasion (please understand that my readers won’t be neurotypical or all that extroverted as it’s hard for me to get in the headspace to write that. and also that having a certain style of dress, feminine or masculine, doesn’t mean that that reader is a man or a woman. & gn pronouns doesn’t always mean nb it just means a general they/them that anyone can read and imagine themselves in.)

♱ plus sized reader is the only physical trait i will typically involve (other than glasses sometimes) bc i’m plus sized (no hate to people who aren’t plus sized, i’m just tired, and i write for myself at the end of the day)

♱ i can’t shut up so requesting other parts is fine but please do so respectfully and with the understanding that it might not be a priority or that it might not happen

♱ trying to work and go to school so i don’t have a posting schedule. i also do not take requests atm but ideas/thirsts/suggestions are fine with the understanding that they may never see the light of day

♱ i reserve the right to not fulfill a request or write something i said i was going to if life gets in the way, i’m just not feeling it, or it’s a topic/fandom/character i don’t write for

# REQUESTING & ASKS - ♱ ♱ ♱

“One for every sin. So quite a few.”

[dune, the boys, elden ring, wuwa, & original content]

+ i won’t write ::

♱ extreme physical abuse (character enjoys hurting reader in whatever non sexual way or vice versa), cnc (triggering for me and not how i personally cope), scat, degradation, hardcore humiliation, whipping, exhibitionism where people are actually watching, cheating (character on reader), torture, hardcore bdsm, choking to the point someone passes out, anything involving frogs (same reason), child abuse/csa (reader can have a past that involves those things but no explicit descriptions), love triangles (they’re either poly by the end or not, i’m not into the tsitp type drama), pornstar au (not for me), blindfolds/object gags, pegging, unrequited love (let me be delusional), characters or reader making the other(s) jealous on purpose or because it’s funny (just a personal pet peeve), orgasm delay/denial, dom reader (will write this on occasion but it’s never a sure thing), only character x character

+ i will write ::

♱ pregnancy (either in the baby trapping way or otherwise), non dark fic topics, dub con, toxicity aside from cheating & physical abuse & bullying, obsessive/possessive behavior, oviposition, yandere, manipulation, kidnapping, gentle & slightly harder non con, wax play, psuedo-incest, rpf (no underage people obviously), knifeplay, face slapping, incest (ONLY WHEN IT COMES TO HOTD/ANY TARGARYEN YALL PLEASE-), omegaverse, vomit, pain play, monster/creature stuff, bondage/leashes, characters or reader as hybrids, age gap (no underage stuff anyway between minors but also no age gaps involving minors), au/s, female characters, oc x reader, etc.

+ don’t send messages about ::

♱ the crow remake & bill skarsgård (i’m 50/50 on him objectively but don’t push it, messages that focus more on him are fine i guess. it’s more the remake itself.)

♱ hades game spoilers, god of war ragnarok spoilers, honkai star rail spoilers, arkham knight trilogy spoilers, baldurs gate 3 spoilers, gotham knights spoiler, assassins creed odyssey and origins spoilers, borderlands presequel spoilers, persona 5 spoilers (or anything i mention currently reading or watching or playing

♱ deeply personal trauma/info that can doxx you (asking for advice is fine), i’m sympathetic but i’m a stranger on the internet. also nothing about hating kids or marriage or people in relationships, at my core i’m an obsessive romantic that wants to get married and have kids someday.

♱ asks that pretend to know me irl or be one of my mutuals, i am paranoid and i will believe you. anything about drugs (other than weed) and mental health medication/anti psychotics unless i’m asking for advice. no selfship stuff unless you’re my mutual, (you can interact obviously i just don’t wanna be messaged about it too heavily). and no hate towards subliminals or reality shifting

♱ any nightwing ship (and the dickbabs cheating thing) that’s not dickkory or him x me, i do not play about that man. so therefore, no nw slander unless i started it lmao.

♱ any anti spirituality or predatory/bigoted christian behavior (those spam sounding ‘you’re going to hell but jesus can save you’ youtube comments) . also no fear mongering when it comes to politics, and no ‘but voting for kamala won’t do anything’ (if you’re in the us just don’t vote for trump idgaf).

♱ meeting my faves irl (esp hayden christensen), i’m so happy for you objectively but my eyes will twitch out of my head.

♱ lewd things directed at me, no strong flirting if you’re not a mutual i’ve known for a bit, any vagueness that my ND brain could not pick up on (say what you mean and i’d appreciate tone tags).

♱ cw dc shows (other than smallville) & disney star wars (check my about me for the shows i like), any strong love for han solo (he’s just a guy to me and also atton rand clears).

♱ eddie munson, tengen uzui from demon slayer, or eren yaeger (sorry, also don’t ask about stranger things or attack on titan in general). also no drake meat riding (i’m a kendrick fan)

♱ the stereotype that southern people are dumb/etc. any hate towards people in extremely rural areas specifically (don’t call me a redneck that gives me the biggest ick)

♱ the whole scott/logan/jean/her clone/emma thing. my main x-men ships are cherik, scott/logan, logan/nightcrawler/storm, mystique/hank, logan/storm, jean/storm, logan/nightcrawler, rogue/gambit, & bobby drake/johnny storm.

♱ anything overtly negative and pessimistic, including sui ideation and/or you having a GENUINE psychotic break or mental breakdown. (i wouldn’t recommend a hotline immediately but if you don’t have a trusted person in you’re circle to talk to they can maybe get you through that moment.)

♱ a demand for a follow4follow type relationship, ‘i’ll reblog your fic ONLY if you’llreblog mine’, any obviously conditional support for example: don’t follow and then once i’ve followed back or reblogged with your posts, unfollow me.

♱ batman being an abusive dad & damien slander, anything having to do with slade or trigon (teen titans trauma, also don’t ask about teen titans go), the ric grayson plot, dc live action movie flash & aquaman (justice league 2004 aquaman is my fav aquaman)

♱ anti anakin/hayden’s acting slander or overtly pro jedi opinions, DO ask me about star wars lore & it’s universe in general bc it’s my number one interest.

♱ larian studios meat riding, hate towards ascended astarion and the people that like him, any mention of that one writer who’s name starts with a w, durgetash/gortash, any astarion ship that’s not him x tav or x reader (esp him x gale), downplaying wyll’s treatment, hate towards evil route players.

♱ pro daemon targaryen sentiments (or disrespectful hotd fandom war behavior of any kind). i’m team green but i love characters from both sides and also it’s not a real war!

if you’re uncomfortable with any of the above topics, filter the tag/content so you won’t have to see it from me

- gladiatorcunt 2023 ++ intro.

[kyra45]

Important things to think about when getting mutual aid asks

Did you get an ask for mutual aid from a random blogger? Now most of the time there is nothing wrong with getting these asks. This is tumblr after all, the website of artists who take commissions and users who currently need support getting through a tough time. Unfortunately, as it has been since 2021 or even earlier, scammers have used asks as one way to get money off unsuspecting users. While it is generally understood that not all asks you get are from scammers, it is necessary to consider some options when you have received such an ask from someone. I am by no means an expert in busting scams! All the information I will give is some insights and things to look out for if you got an ask for money. If you are a legitimate person sending asks, please read the bio/pinned post of those you send asks to as they may not want those in their inbox. Sending them asks anyway is likely to make it seem like you are just spamming asks and some of those users are minors who do not have bank accounts or credit cards to send you anything.

1. The account itself is often relatively new when you have timestamps enabled. The posts they have may only be a few hours old or even a week old at best if you scroll more than just a glance. Please note that most accounts will have only one original post and then just reblogs of trending topics and popular posts. Their only other original posts are just answering asks. This isn’t always a sign of a scam account, sometimes it’s someone new to tumblr. But more often than not the account is already under suspicion because they may have backdated their posts to look older than they really are.

2. While backdating posts may have some uses outside of tumblr scams, this tactic is often seen if you check the reblog date of the post against the notes. The date is often set to months before it was actually shared and often the user will state someone told them to do this. However, no one is telling you to do that. You don’t do it unless you’re trying to be funny. But these accounts won’t say they did it publicly and then accuse people of attacking them when the date is brought up. I have seen scammers do this quite often, because they don’t think anyone notices.

3. You was sent the ask only after sharing posts about certain topics or certain events. This would imply someone is scrolling the notes of a post looking for accounts they can send asks to. They may have found the post while searching as well but regardless they almost always follow you them immediately send you asks for money despite no prior interactions with any of your content. They do not like your posts, share your posts, or even comment on them. Meaning they did not go beyond the top part of your profile. If you have asks off, they may DM you the same contents of their ask. I feel like there should be more interactions than just a follow and an ask. Legitimate accounts may do this as well, so please try to pay attention to who gets your asks.

4. Something about the ask is familiar if you often get the same ask from differing accounts. Often you’ll get multiple asks all at once from several blogs all saying their someone in need of mutual aid but their all from the same time all at once with a theme that is the same as the rest. A sort of pattern, if you consider it. Why would all those blogs come to you within minutes of a previous one that you already had answered saying you can’t help them? If they saw your account, the askers would know to leave you be since you’re unable to help them. But they don’t. They don’t care. They will keep asking you.

5. When searching the ask you was sent, pay attention to who has been sending it. There is usually a clear repeat of the same pfp across multiple accounts who sent the ask to multiple users over the course of months or even years. I’ve seen ages old asks reused for other scams so I know searching an ask is usually the best way to see if someone’s spamming it. Often very little changes between the asks but they may alter it for more urgency if they didn’t just copy it from a legitimate fundraiser and change up the names to make it less obvious. Usually the edit is adding extra text or asking you to answer privately so people don’t see the ask was being sent to other users. Legitimate accounts may do this as well, and that’s why I try to advise them to limit how often they send out asks since it might lead to false assumptions.

6. The images used may look alright, but have you tried to see if they’re from somewhere else? Most accounts who use images will often credit the source or the content is theirs from another platform. They will usually post videos that come from their other socials which they often have already mentioned. Such as Twitter/X or TikTok and Instagram and maybe even Facebook and YouTube. If someone claims the posted images is their family, but the image has been seen from other suspicious accounts who said it was their family too, it is reasonable to assume those images are stolen if there’s a watermark that the account doesn’t address or if they’ve edited an image that was publicly accessible. It’s hard to really explain it, but some are taking news images and passing them off as their own. Sometimes this can be the same way for those who ask for help paying vet bills; The images are edited to remove details that would point out poster stole it from someone else. Please keep in mind that this isn’t intended to say everyone is doing this. It’s just a reminder. Most of the time, images used are from actual people who aren’t aware that the content was stolen.

7. Unfortunately, some accounts will pretend to be part of a minority. They will also claim to have health issues that need immediate attention such as running out of insulin, needing medication to prevent their lungs from collapsing, having nose freezes too often, or needing more insulin because it’s expensive. There’s even more than that, but this is just the most common occurrences I’ve seen over the years I’ve been documenting scams. There are resources out there that can make insulin more affordable for those who do need it and ways to get it if you are unable to afford it otherwise.

8. Asks to help you after tagging certain things are rarely legitimate accounts wanting to support you. They are often just blogs who offer a digital check for you to cash in your banking app and you don’t scam the scammer by cashing it. Those who send asks claiming to know a person who can boost your fundraiser are generally just users who want you to pay the person a fee for something that’s free to do and doesn’t require paying someone for it. Don’t give out your personal information to these accounts they are not helping you.

Please keep in mind that this is just a general idea on what to look out for when getting asks for mutual aid. There are other things that are useful, things I’ve already noted across my blog is other posts that I didn’t feel like retyping yet again since it would get redundant after a bit. And be aware that not all asks for aid is from scam accounts! Some may be new users who haven’t used tumblr before and are still learning it. It’s important to bring awareness to scams so they can be avoided and to warn those who may have fell for the scam without being aware it was a scam. Everyone falls for a scam sometimes, it’s ok. It happens.

If you found this post useful or just like what I do, I use Ko-Fi.

[literaticat]

I live in a deep red state, chose to be a stay at home mom, and generally look as though I believe like every white person around me. However, I don’t. I am just wondering how I write my bio in order for agents to not immediately label me a certain way. I write humor MG and YA with some progressive themes, but they aren’t the focus of the story.

I do appreciate your sensitivity and not wanting to be labeled in a certain way -- but I also think you're overthinking it a hair.

Lots of agents are white, and/or have lots of white clients. Lots of agents are from places other than NYC, and rep clients all over the US and the world. So I don't think most of us would automatically assume anything negative about an author just based on where they live or what they do or what they look like.

After all, why should we, when we can base negative feelings on things a person actually says and the books they've actually written! I promise you that people who have uh... extremely divisive views... can't help but say so in their queries or in the kinds of books they choose to write. It's QUITE CLEAR when a book is coming from somebody who, you know, hates books, or despises "woke ideology", or whatever other weirdo stance -- they say it right out loud and there are no assumptions or guessing games necessary!

If anything, unless you tell me differently, my automatic assumption would be the opposite. I'd be more likely to think, if you are querying me with a fun kids book with mildly progressive themes, and your query is well-written, and your bio doesn't mention "Guns, God and American Values!" or something like that, and you seem affable and not-bonkers, that you are probably liberal-leaning (or "fiscally/politically moderate-to-liberal but socially very liberal") regardless of where you live.

That's because a) most people who want to read and write great books for kids LOVE AND RESPECT KIDS BOOKS, and kids books is, frankly, a 'snowflake' kind of field to be in; and b) If you seem to have read the guidelines and targeted the book correctly, you must be smart; and thus c) you must know that I rep a lot of queer and other kinds of diverse and "woke" kinds of books, and I would think that most very conservative people wouldn't WANT to be repped by me!

BUT ANYWAY. If you want to make that even more clear in your bio, you can. It's short, but there's space for you to put a kind of "mission statement." There's no need to say you are a SAHM if you feel like that pigeonholes you. You don't even need to say exactly where you live if you feel like THAT pigeonholes you, just say something general about the region.

"I'm Mindy Smith, and I am passionate about writing fun, accessible stories for kids and teens that also touch on themes that are important to them and their future, such as climate change and environmental activism. I live near a swamp, and when I'm not writing children's books, I get my heart rate up by chasing alligators off the porch while wrangling two toddlers and an unruly dog."

"I'm Dorothy Gale-Belvedere. I grew up in Kansas and still live nearby with my family, and yes, I've heard all the Wizard of Oz jokes, and yes, I am skittish about tornados, and also yes, as the light and fun books I write can attest, I do love rainbows and glittery shoes and all things magical! But no, I don't have a dog named Toto, just a cat named Gretchen."

"I'm Deborah Candleflame, and I'm a former elementary school English Language Arts teacher who still loves sharing stories with kids -- particularly stories of grand adventure tinged with fantasy and folklore elements that can show them the limitless bounds of their own imagination! I live in a holler in the beautiful Appalachian mountains and, in addition to writing, I am raising three spoiled kids* as well as two fairly well-adjusted human children."

*(that was a goat joke!)

See how all those people sound pretty nice and not unhinged, and you'd never think "yikes, they sound like they might want to put gay people in jail"? Just do something like that!

[dovveri]

ughhh hope you found that minor and unfollowed them lol, i don’t get why kids are on here interacting with people. they probably purposely lied about their age too. who was it anyway?

😭😭i mean i read lots of stuff as a minor asw skksjskkxak

i dont wanna go on a nerd science rant but covid and quarrantines have done a lot of damage especially on children and development, the effects of which will not be clear until this affected generation grows older - in my personal experience, adults are trying to gain back their childhood by reliving experiences, finding joy in ‘vintage’ activities like playgrounds, camps, etc. while younger people are trying to prove theyre older and more mature w things like illegal drinking, drugs and sex, even dressing a lot more mature (i have a lot of young cousins), and distincly, a lot more online usage than any other generation and in turn, a lot more access to things we’d rarely have growing up like porn

anyway im just saying that kids are a lot more knowledgeable w tech and being online these days and its kind of our fault for developing tech faster than we can come up with barriers, laws, and identify problems and come up w solutions w new tech eg a big one recently being ai

theyre trying to find spaces to belong online bcs thats what they grew up with in their crucial development stages where they had zero social contact with other people their age during covid and had to resort to the big scary world online so i dont blame them for being here, we all want to feel included somewhere. our norm is physical contact with real life friends (and that norm is changing), their norm is online contact with online friends

ANYWAY regarding the actual ask the person did dm me and we had a talk and ive decided to stop interacting with their content but i wont stop them from interacting with mine which is hypocritical considering my bio ik and im gonna change that to be more accurate soon - but after all this minor stuff in my asks and me responding as thoughtfully as i can, its lwk more hypocritical of me bcs ive been a minor whos accessed nsfw stuff and bcs sex ed is actually terrible in the education system ESPECIALLY sex ed that isnt heterosexual (its practically non existent) ive learnt a lot and ik lots of irl friends my age have also learnt a lot from reading fics and thinking abt my younger cousins who are minors but are also sexually active, id also hope that they have the information that school doesnt provide them to be having safe sex bcs rly, u cant stop them from doing that

[where-fading-princesses-live]

People don't create for money (or shouldn't)

This has been bugging me.

I guess there's been a misconception here about why people write books.

I am not an author, but I have friends who are writers, some published (like Denny Reese), and others are just starting out and never been published before like Sarah Rose and Catharine. Some of my friends even make fancomics like Gabi and Kayla but they're darn good fancomics at that!

But here's the thing.

If you think people are writing books or making art for the sole purpose of making money that's a wrong assumption and here's why.

I follow a ''Writers helping Writers'' Facebook group and all these struggling writers get advice from published authors. And I've read their posts and I've listened to what Denny has had to say, having been through it, and according to most people, realistically, most writers don't generate a big income no matter if it's a bestseller or not. Sure, *certain* authors make millions, like JK Rowling, but she is a rare exception. Very few authors become millionaires off their work alone even if they're moderately successful. Most writers take other jobs to make a living. Most lecture at colleges or teach English because publishing books doesn't really bring in a lot of money and I guess according to some who work in the publishing world, royalties are not what they used to be either. According to Denny (and this is something I didn't know beforehand) but especially for writers who sell on Amazon, I guess Amazon takes most of the profit anyway and Denny has said most writers don't push Amazon sales because they don't make much! He has even said ''Other people have made more money on my book than I have.''

Did he do it for the money? NO. And he has other businesses to pay the bills. His books are selling and successful but he is not rich, and he has two books out and another one on its way. So if it doesn't make money why do people do it?

Because they genuinely enjoy writing!

They want to tell stories. They want to share with the world a subject they're passionate about. Most writers are writing from the bottom of their heart, and in Denny's case, he's written a book about the Gomer Pyle series as a fan for fans! There weren't any other books about it and so he put one out for us! He didn't do it for the money.

And my friend sarah Rose is writing a Jim Nabors bio. She has no book deal, she has no agent, she's never published before and she makes no money as an English tutor but she's been funding research out of pocket just because it's something she really enjoys doing! And no one is paying her to do it! she probably won't make back half of what she spent on the project but she's doing it anyway NOT FOR THE MONEY but because she has a story she wants to tell, as a fan for the fans! It comes from a place of love, in honoring this man's life, not profiting from it, and yes, a lot of fans want to read the book and a lot of friends of Jim want to read it too! Ruth Buzzi wants to read it, Karen Morrow wants to read it... and it's not for the money. Even Hollywood bios don't make a lot of money these days unless you're an A-list Hollywood director or actor... the agent will probably take so much percent of it and the publisher will take the other the other half of the cut I guess? (I'm not exactly sure how that works but that's the gist of what I've heard).

So many people have written books about Mayberry and most of them didn't make money, and most of them are out of print these days but they were created with love and were by fans for fans, to preserve the humanity and the spirit of the show. It didn't make anybody rich!

So people who think that writers write for the money, you're dead wrong and have unrealistic expectations when it comes to publishing!

If there are writers out there wanting to make a fast buck then writing is NOT the way to do it ... it is NOT a money making field (or at least it's not the most money making field) unless you're a cult leader who writes a self-help book or something. You'd be better off becoming a dentist because writing takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, skill, and the most dedicated ones pour all their sweat blood and tears into their work and may NEVER see their work on a bookstore shelf. But they do it anyway and they keep trying and pushing through the rejection! even if it slowly kills them, they keep writing because writing for them is like breathing. It's a way of life. It's a way they express themselves. A writer is not what they are it's WHO they are and they know nothing else.

So I read a post from a guy who wrote 6 books so far. He said: ''All of them were written in those times when I wasn’t seeing patients, kids are in bed, and my wife fell asleep. I turn on the gentle light, and I write. The books take up the time and energy that I can’t spare. And they bring really no income to speak of. Retire on them? I don’t see how.

But, I write them. It organizes my mind. Writing regularly creates order in my mind. Some people meditate. Some pray. I write.''

I think that perfectly sums it up. This guys has a day job and he raises a family and he still writes even if it doesn't support him financially. He writes because it's a passion of his.

Most writers don't get rich and famous, that's just the reality, but that's not why most people do it.

There are so many other jobs and career options out there that will make more money than becoming a writer.

So anyway, just to clear the air, for most writers, the motivation for writing a book has never been money (or shouldn't be).

Sure, it would be nice to be able to support yourself off your art, and it doesn't make you a bad person if you do make some money from it, because let's face it, that's almost like saying, ''Oh that singer shouldn't make an album to make money'' or ''That actor shouldn't do that TV series to make money!'' Well yeah and most don't it FOR the money, they do it because they enjoy creating, but you know, artists gotta eat, too, and even they can't be putting on concerts or making movies for free, they gotta support themselves! But they don't do it FOR the money. It's not the only reason. It's a job, yes, but it's also their sentiment and if we're gonna fault people for selling commissions of their work, then you clearly are just horrible and judgemental for no reason who obviously isn't a starving artist.

Here's a quote from Mike Awoyinfa, journalist, publisher and author:

''It’s not about riches. It is about having a good, original story,  carrying it in your head like pregnancy, nurturing it and giving birth  to it in the labour room of solitude, passion and persistence.''

Azubuike Ishiekwene: journalist, author:

''Riches and fame are, in a sense, relative. I think contentment and purpose are the key things.''

Artists feel fulfilled when we create something even if nothing comes from it. I went to art school to be an animator. For Disney or Pixar or something... Did I? No. Will I ever? Probably not. I've been working retail since I've been out of school and I was rejected from Cal Arts.  I don't draw as much as I used to and I've never sold my art, but I doodle occasionally because it's still fun for me even if it didn't end up paying my rent.

But we're content, right? Most of us are living in poverty, but we're rich in the soul because we love to create and make things that make us happy, even if the rest of the world doesn't like it, it doesn't matter because it's our own personal accomplishment and self fulfillment.

Anyway it just irks me when people think writers or artists do it for the money because no you're wrong and you're obviously not a writer or an artist if you think that way. You should see how empty my bank account is and my friends, always looking for work, never knowing where our next pay check is going to be coming from and none of us got rich and famous from our creations but hey we still do it in our spare time because we love it!