#anyway these shows are all so dear to me!

[scentedluminarysoul]

Yeah, gotta say as well, I'm not super excited to post new chapters sometimes. Like, I get comments, and it's great, some frequent flyers. But only on day one or two, rarely later. And then I just. Tend to forget honestly. Life goes on. And I think, maybe people just don't care.

But then I get a new comment, whether it be a newcomer or "an old friend" who's rereading, and I immediately want to publish more to get their opinions

But man. Even when I ask what people thought? Barely anyone says. I want to hear what you loved, what you didn't, what theories you have!

And I think this is in part due to creative work being reduced to "content". It's content people consume and then go to the next piece of content. People don't engage with fandom anymore. I'm old, I've been in fandom for 20 years, and it was so different back then. Now I have people just telling me to update, or asking why character X did Y. Dear readers: that's for you to ponder.

So I think in part it's also the erosion of good TV shows, actually. Used to be we had 22-24 episodes and the story unfolded slowly, questions left unanswered. Now? Shows drop all episodes at once, and only 6 of them, so we gotta speedrun, and we better explain everything every five minutes for the people on their phones.

Anyway, sorry, rambling.

Point is:

Tell an author that you liked their story!

If you're shy, or don't speak the language, that's fine! I have regulars who only comment emojis, or who comment in their native language (Spanish, Russian), or run their comment through translate to post in English.

It's fine! Emojis show emotion. And translators exist!

Just please, as a writer, I beg of you:

Comment.

Don't lock yourselves away, discussing a fic. If you like it, let the author know!

A friend of mine also spent so much time and effort plotting out a huge event in their fic, the grand finale, 30k+ words over multiple chapters, and they received barely any feedback. They were so bummed out and almost quit and deleted. They were depressed about it. And it was so good! You could tell they put so much soul into it to make it perfect. It just sucks when people don't say anything.

I often lack the energy for a long comment, so I'll just drop a short one. "I loved it! Thank you for writing!" and sometimes I go back later and leave a longer one when I have the spoons. But I want to leave something, because I know how it is

Because here's the other thing: fanfics aren't social media. You can still comment on fics that are finished and years old. I've seen people write new chapters on abandoned fics because of a single new comment!

Fandom creators provide fanworks for free. We put our heart and soul and whole pussy into it. And all we ask for in return is a little bit of appreciation

I apologize again for the rant

A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

[awriternamedart]

"How do you do it, gambler?"

Aventurine glanced up from the drink in his hand, an identical one clutched tightly in Dr. Ratio's.

"Do what?"

"Maintain a relationship."

Aventurine blinked, before his head shot up again to look at the doctor. Veritas didn't even spare him a glance, eyes glued to the scene in front of them— a grand IPC ball, held for investors and connections to be made. It was always a busy and grand event, one the Intellegensia Guild had to attend to maintain the IPC's investment.

It really wasn't Dr. Ratio's scene, but he had been chosen as their representative anyway.

"I'm not particularly adept at that, my dear doctor." Aventurine chuckled, watching the alcohol swirl in his glass.

"You are far more able then I am. Even upon falsities and fake promises, you managed to chat and converse with people in a sort of ease," Ratio slowly tore his eyes away from the crowd, glancing back to Aventurine before his eyes dropped to the floor in front of him. "..Its admirable."

Aventurine could just barely process what Dr. Ratio was exactly saying— direct praise?? From the good doctor himself???— before Veritas set down his now-empty drink on a bypassing waiters tray.

"Do you ever feel.. second-rate?"

Aventurine paused, taking another languid drink as he contemplated. It wasn't often the dear doctor opened up— he should tread carefully.

"I can't say for sure. Why?" He kept his tone even, trying not to distract from Veritas' thoughts. It was hard enough to get to know him in the first place, to squander his trust like this would be a waste.

The Doctor took a deep breath, practically hiding himself in the shadows of one of the many grand pillars decorating the room.

"I am not adept at conversation."

Aventurine could agree with that. Something about the doctor made it difficult to respond in kind— he was dry, a vague bit brutish, and if Aventurine dared, a little bullheaded. He seemed so sure of himself, founded confidence that was backed up by his many achievements. It was a little intimidating for the average person, he supposed. But as he looked on, that sort of Dr. Ratio seemed to fade ever so slightly, leaving behind someone who was still sure in his knowledge and discoveries— but struggled nonetheless.

"I find people.. grating, sometimes. But connection is one of the few necessities of livelihood, and so I try to converse with my peers as often as possible. It is.. difficult. It often feels as if they have no interest in what I am saying, neither asking questions nor inquiring further, and when I try to do so to show interest in their research, they often retreat back, saying it is not finished or the such. Offering to help only ever seems to drive them further away." Taking out the laurel clip in his hair, Veritas' thumb drifted over the gilded leaves, the polish in the finish reflecting his face back at him. "Despite my best efforts, I rarely ever follow up because I fear I intimidate them. I have seen them recoil at the mere sight of me."

Aventurine could just watch on in surprise— Veritas had never shown an inkling of this before. When he had first gotten to know the doctor, he had assumed Veritas simply didn't work with his peers due to a difference in dedication, or perhaps view. He was among the brightest and best in the Intellegensia Guild, always praised behind his back for being one of their stars.

Perhaps that wasn't the front Veritas had put up at all. Perhaps it was what Veritas was forced to wear in the face of his peers, forced to be seen as the cold unobtainable, the pinnacle of what they should be.

Being on a pedestal like that, it must be lonely.

"Do you not go drinking with your coworkers or something?" Aventurine leaned against the wall, cold of the stone seeping through his suit. Veritas glanced up at him, before looking back down.

"..I was never invited. It is against social convention to come along if you aren't invited, isn't it? I'd rather not strain and worry them more. It could impact them negatively if I were to come along and invite stress to what is supposed to be a time they unwind." He turned the laurel over in his hand. "..perhaps I missed my opportunity."

The light of the pedestal Dr. Ratio sat on seemed to blind all those who looked at it from underneath. They couldn't see his face, only his back— but as Aventurine leaned against the wall, gazing at the doctor in front of him, he got that different perspective.

There was.. resignation, in his eyes.

"Perhaps I am just doomed to be a looming figure above many. And yet, I'll still never be enough." His voice tapered off slightly, head dropping even just that hint bit more. "I am fully aware how much others are compared to me, and I hear them speak of my achievements behind my back. I wish they would stop, if I am being honest. Or at least tell me of my praise directly."

That surprised Aventurine.

"What, do people not give you a compliment or two? For someone so easy on the eyes and as esteemed as you, doctor, I find that hard to believe!" He chuckled— but it quickly faded out as Veritas looked to the side.

"Not often do I get comments directly on my achievements, no. Nor on my appearance, before you came along." He sighed. "You are.. the only person who does so."

The only one who's tried.

-

The Only One Whos Tried - awriternamedart

[tossawary]

I can't remember if I've posted about this before, but the logistical nightmare of their situation twigs / squicks me out every time that I try to watch "Star Trek: Voyager". They have apparently lost the ENTIRE medical crew of their ship or something??? So all they have is the Hologram Doctor! The only in-universe nod to this at first is to apparently train Tom Paris in first aid as a backup???

And there's this one early episode where something goes wrong with the hologram projector, causing the Hologram Doctor to slowly physically shrink, which limits his ability to do anything. And the rest of the crew and the writing treats this as very funny and not at all urgent. And, to be fair, it IS kind of funny. He gets pretty tiny! It's funny!

But also, HOLY SHIT, your medical bay is essentially nonfunctional now, what the hell is the matter with you people??? Early "Voyager" has the crew going eagerly full-steam ahead into incredibly dangerous situations with a medical bay that has a single point of failure and no real backups, unable to contact Starfleet or reliably resupply ANYWHERE if anything goes horribly wrong. Which seems so irresponsible that it stresses me out a little, which I don't think was intentional on the part of the writers! It's a pet peeve in fiction for me that activates all my ungenerous nitpicky feelings.

And yes, of course, I understand that they want to write "Exciting Space Adventure Show!!!" and not "People Behave Extremely Cautiously: The Series". I get that.

But if I'm meant to believe that these people are space exploration professionals, I would expect... I don't know... the entire crew to be forced to undergo first aid training under the Hologram Doctor ASAP on their off-shifts due to the state of emergency??? (He would hate that. It would be so funny.) If I was on this ship and I understood that my only options for medical care in case of injury or illness were 1) a hologram whose software and hardware could be easily irreparably broken and 2) Tom Fucking Paris, then I would be stressed! That doesn't seem like good preparation for worst-case scenarios when trapped in an entirely different quadrant of the galaxy!

Like, I think someone should have been reassigned immediately FULL-TIME to undergo training as a nurse and field medic. And even if you're going to rely entirely on the Hologram Doctor, there should probably be at least one not-a-hologram person in the medical bay at all times, so they can either 1) fix the hardware or software if anything goes wrong, or 2) physically run for help in case the hardware or software breaks. Apply Murphy's Law to your procedures!

I know that the show quickly puts Kes part-time in the medical bay as well, but I think it would have seemed more responsible and could have been funny if Janeway had immediately reassigned a few ensigns to the Hologram Doctor. She could have given him some ducklings to train up!

Hologram Doctor: "Fine. It seems I have no choice but to go along with the captain's demand that I step outside my programming and... teach. What previous medical training do you have?"

Duckling #1: "I got good marks in the first aid courses at the Academy? I'm an engineer, though..."

Hologram Doctor: "Dear god. And you?"

Duckling #2: "Xenobiologist."

Hologram Doctor: "Well, that's better-"

Duckling #2: "I study plants."

Hologram Doctor: "..."

Duckling #2: "Sorry."

Hologram Doctor: "And you? I suppose you're a communications specialist or something similar, with my luck-"

Duckling #3: "I was a terrorist."

Hologram Doctor: "..."

Duckling #3: "According to Starfleet, anyway. I like 'freedom fighter'."

Hologram Doctor: "Oh. You're one of the... newcomers to the ship. Did you gain a lot of medical experience in... terrorism?"

Duckling #3: "Well, before that, I was a nurse. So, yes."

Hologram Doctor: "...I see."

Hologram Doctor: (flatly, sarcastically) "Wonderful. Just... wonderful."

You could have had some really entertaining (and potentially heartwarming) scenarios by adding in some medical interns! You'd only need one of them in the room on-shift at any given time most times (to save on actors), you could switch out ducklings with the easy excuse that one had quit or been reassigned (if actors leave or whatever), and other junior medical personnel could have given Kes some young friends. You could also have some angsty scenario where the assigned human gets injured and the broken Hologram Doctor can't help for some reason.

I think that the Hologram Doctor is a fun character and he's better when he has other people to play against, rather than being left to lonely devices in an empty medical bay.

It would also help my suspension of disbelief for it not to look like the captain doesn't really care about one of the most crucial departments of the ship, when they're stranded like this. (Tom Paris??? YOUR BACKUP PLAN IS JUST TOM PARIS??? You're going to fly into some potentially dangerous nebula in the hopes of getting stuff for coffee, when your medical bay has a single point of failure before then resting entirely on part-time field medic Tom Paris???) I feel like I'm blowing this out of proportion sometimes, all ST shows tend to have bad logistical arrangements and unsafe operating procedures, but... a fully functional medical bay seems like something that should be one of your foremost concerns after 1) life support systems, 2) food and water, 3) the engines, and so on. It seems important to have it working well before going anywhere!

This small detail twigs me EVERY time I try to watch "Voyager" and the show tries to get me to laugh at no one paying any attention to the Hologram Doctor's requests for attention and alternative arrangements. It is kind of funny! But it's funny in a "oh shit, that situation could really blow up in everyone's face" kind of way. In-universe, as one of the crew I think it would be funny in a "I have to laugh because otherwise I will cry" kind of way.

[will80sbyers]

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for all your posts. You’re a soldier Dani. Whenever I’m having doubts and scrolling through the tag, I see your posts and they kinda smack me upside the head and make me remember that I don’t really have any reasons to doubt something that has clearly been built up from the beginning and was left on an unresolved high note in season 4.

Although, in my defense, the reason I get doubts is because was a k/ance shipper when I was a dumb teenager, but now as a dumb adult, I can say k/ance didn’t even have 2% of the proof Byler does, but yknow sometimes there’s that voice in the back of my head that sounds like Theadore from Alvin and the chipmunks telling me that I’m just getting queerbaited again.

ANYWAY I appreciate you so much and just wanted to send you a nice ask, since I know you get a lot of hate!

Thank you dear!! ❤️❤️

Honestly I get why people have doubts, we queer people have had to deal with so much queerbaiting or just our queer shows being all cancelled, you really never know even against all logic... there's always that 1% of possibility that straight people are being intentionally or mindlessly cruel writing about our experiences and don't give them as much care as they do with the storylines of straight characters

so I get it, it's probably usually healthier to not trust in it so you don't get heartbroken again, but in this case I'm really convinced there's TOO MUCH stuff and it has surpassed the "it could be a coincidence" option wayyyyyyy too long ago! It would be a level of intentional cruelty I would have never seen before if Byler didn't happen

Lucky for us, I believe we have nothing to worry about and they are good writers that have been building this story and this slow burn romance between Will and Mike and also have been planning for El to become her own person at the end of the show, the narrative is really telling us that and we have so many parallels that would be a complete waste of time and resources if it didn't mean anything for the story + if you look at all the other seasons they are ALWAYS foreshadowing things that happen in the season after and imagine putting this intentional ass COUPLE framing in the show and then doing absolutely nothing about it I would be flying to the Duffers house and knocking on their door asking for ANSWERS because WHY WOULD ANY DIRECTOR DO THIS IF THEY DIDN'T MEAN A ROMANTIC PAIRING WHEN ONE OF THEM IS CONFIRMED IN LOVE WITH THE OTHER!!!!

Anyway sorry I started rambling about them again lmfaooooo but as you know we have SOOOO MANY reasons to logically believe in Byler, it's not crazy to believe in it at all and there's so many people that literally STUDY cinema that said the same thing we are saying 🤷

Byler will be endgame! 🌈🌈🌈

[bleue-flora]

Ya know… I just realized, what if this book titled Dream that says “dear technoblade” is actually that letter Quackity forces Dream to write in prison. Like hear me out, that torture scene ends after Quackity says “Dear Technoblade.” [clip]. Maybe that’s as far as he got? (lore wise or maybe just recording wise, like how Dream’s diary that just says “Techno admitted have a house” and “Steve is your polar bear” and nothing else) Techno never does receive this supposed letter as @elmhat pointed out [post] and I always did think it was weird that Dream would give him a book with his own name on it… so maybe Dream didn’t finish that letter after all. Maybe he refused and we didn’t see it because things got too gory like how the first visit torture scene cuts to Quackity covered in blood [clip]. Maybe in prison Dream gives Techno this unfinished letter as a show of - see I didn’t betray you or something. I don’t know, all kinda wild speculation but fun to think about anyways… the missing letter has always bothered me to be honest.

On another note (ha ha literally XD), I should also mention that after getting access to Techno’s inventory and ender chest, I did discovery what is in the other books (again no idea if anyone else has posted about this) and it is equally as profound lol.

In the one titled Secret it says “do not read this book”, the one titled Quackity says “quackity” and the one title Sam says “sam”. I know riveting stuff. ;D

Though to be fair, the lower case names are kinda funny to me. Like from a lore perspective, can you imagine if some guy you spent months in prison with was just like - Here, protect these books. This is all the info I have. Don’t share them with anyone - and it just says “sam” and you try not to offend him but like man’s clearly lost it.

Or maybe, we could reason that Dream’s hands are so fucked up he can’t write much anymore so he couldn’t write a legible version of the letter so thats why Techno never received one and that’s why all these books are mostly empty. Maybe all he manages to write is just “dear technoblade” and “quackity”. And Techno after watching him painstaking write it is like - Hey man, why don’t you just tell me orally and I’ll remember - because it physically pains him to watch him struggle. Perhaps as some have suggested, it’s why the signs on his wall don’t make much sense [post], because his handwriting is really just that bad. Perhaps if he takes his time he can write a little so Quackity and Purpled are spelled right and readable (or maybe Punz wrote it for him :0)…

Oh and on a rivals duo note, (not sure if anyone has talked about this yet either but) I found a couple of those books Dream gave to Techno in prison in a hidden chest in his house. One has the title information and that one just has the coords for their meeting place where the blueprints were buried, but the one labeled Dream just says this

and that’s it… I know, very exciting lol… though to be fair they told us the books were blank because they were going to fill them in later, but technically they lied lol. ;)

[california-112]

The rules: Without naming them, post 10 gifs of your favorite TV shows, then tag people.

I was tagged on the original post by the wonderful @autistic-crypt1d, but I'm making a separate post because all of these GIFs are mine! :D I love games like this and this was very fun to do, thank you for tagging me :)

I'm no-pressure tagging @azure-firecracker @hogans-heroes @crowwithacomputer @exuberantocean and anyone else who wants to join the fun! :D

[ruporas]

captain's warm hugs! (id in alt)

[wandixx]

I've seen a lot of different takes on Fear Toxin/other fear causing stuff (Yellow Lanterns Ring or something)(later just called Fear Toxin cause I'm lazy) but here is another one.

Danny seems like he isn't affected by Fear Toxin because his biggest fear is that his accident changed him so much he is no longer human, he can no longer truly experience human things.

So when he gets lungful of fear Toxin, he feels normal. He was antsy before, because c'mon, it's a rogue attack but it's not worse. Or so he thought. Because the anxiety lingers. Not enough to register as abnormal just this slight hypervigilance that makes you see things about yourself and your surroundings that you'd never realize otherwise. He'd realize he doesn't blink as often. He'd realize that if he doesn't consciously focus, he sometimes seems to not touch the ground. Forgets to breathe. He can't feel his own pulse at time. He'd realize people will miss him when he's walking down the street as if he was invisible (people just don't care about everyone they pass by). When he'd look straight into his reflection, he'd look slightly to the left. Not enough to actually name anything that was wrong but just stretched enough to fall on the wrong side of the uncanny valley. If he just caught his reflection in the peripheral vision, it'd be vaguely shadowy creature with glowing green eyes and white smoke instead of hair. Overall he'd be just wrong enough to be distinctly not human.

For everyone else, he'd be just a dude. Literally couldn't find more normal dude than this dude. Will pass as absolutely normal human unless someone is specifically looking for ecto-ghost stuff. Even most magic users wouldn't clock him at the glance

Tldr: Fear Toxin makes Danny perceive himself as some sort of eldritch horror but not enough to make him believe he'd actually be affected, while from outside perspective he's Just A Dude™

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

thinking about Eddie & hyacinths again

[casualavocados]

"我們是兄弟..."

Chiang Tien as AI DI KISEKI: DEAR TO ME Ep. 9

[random-lil-illing]

who you gonna call?

THE DEAD POETS!

This is inspired by a post from @blakenation1 , where they talked about modern! dead poets dressing up together for halloween :] i hope you like this!

no speedpaint this time, unfortunately, since the video of it is too big to upload :(

[vegaseatsass]

You know, these past two episodes I was thinking to myself, Su Yin is almost perfect in every way, simply the ideal devoted, protective, loyal, dedicated sworn brother, call him Da-ge indeed!!!, but my one piece of constructive criticism is that he needs to learn how to give real hugs - he does a lot of manful shoulder clasping, but Xiaobao is a shivering chihuahua desperately in need of cuddles and body heat, you gotta HUG THAT BOY - but now I see that Su Yin's hugs are simply reserved for his horrible little gremlin of an imperial cousinwife.

[teratomatica]

and if you are loved by many people, i'm sure that everyone will be able to see you someday

[meraarts]

*sports commentator voice* Brennan Lee Mulligan, reigning champion of creating mom-characters, gets it done, once again. Was it ever really in doubt? I mean after such feats as Sandra Lynn Faeth and Caramelinda Rocks nobody would have expected less.

*second commentator voice* Though let us not forget, Erika Ishii brought him a real fight. Her “bringing up man to set her daughter up with” move was expertly executed. A truly worthy second place.

[isinuyasha-art]

[bicheetopuff]

Happy birthday to this nerd i guess