#because that kind of people usually have cash many cash they just want the other end of the bargain and that's why they just go puppy

[bouroboros]

Dumb people seeing addicts in the street: weird and scary.

Me: you can't snif, well you can sniff, but my hands are clean, but it feels funny when people do that so. Oh ok you don't want the illusion, aight.

[maxwellatoms]

In one of your last answers, you said “series reboots are usually pretty gross and sad”, and I was wondering if you could expand on that? Assuming “reboot” covers any kind of continuation of a currently cancelled or finished show (and maybe that’s the wrong assumption!), from the outside looking in it feels like a pretty mixed bag. On one hand, if I love XYZ Show, it’s cool that I get more stories with these characters and another chance to support XYZ Show and its creators. On the other, it definitely feels like a lot of ideas can only get funding if they’re tied to something already, meaning creatives are having to now tie whatever cool idea they have to some reboot/relaunch/retread, which can feel pretty disheartening if you don’t want to do a reboot/relaunch/retread. Is that a similar feeling from your side of the industry?

Thank you so much for all your answers and insight!

Usually reboots and spin-offs are just cash grabs. It happens a lot in animation. In fact, I would argue that the entire industry is just one big cash grab now. In the 80s, everyone complained that cartoons were just half-hour commercials for toys. And they were right. And we're right back there, but now that you can't legally push toys all day, it's just general "IP". Mugs, posters, more spinoffs, whatever.

I was offered three show running gigs over the pandemic. All reboots that I would consider unwise to pursue because they were "of a different time" and didn't (in my opinion) have anything more to say. Two of them were properties created by notorious sex pests, so there's also that. The animation industry loves to prop up its sex pests.

I turned all of them down, partially because I didn't respect the original creators but also because none of them had anything going for them except just being "more of the same".

I don't think any of those projects survived the intervening years, so in retrospect I maybe should've taken the job. I'd probably feel a bit gross, but at least I'd have floors in my house.

The entertainment industry is in a bad spot. The whole thing. I've had I don't know how many pitch meetings in the last few years, and they all start the same way:

"Hey! Before we start, we just want to let you know that we're not actively producing anything right now. We think maybe soon, but we won't be picking anything up today..."

And then later:

"The little we are doing is IP, so if you have a new take on our IP or a new IP you're connected to that you can bring in, that'd be great."

I always wanted to make original stuff. There came a time when I'd had my fill of Billy & Mandy and wanted to do something else new and original. That never manifested, and I was constantly being offered IP to produce. I turned too many of those down, maybe, before deciding that it was probably better that I run the IPs that mean something to me rather than having some hack do it.

But now those jobs have all gone to celebrities and fallen live-action writers, who are also slowly being eaten by the system. WB was hot for Scooby stuff a few years back, so I pitched some ideas. A few of them were turned down for being "off-brand" in a variety of ways. WB has now made (I think) all of those off-brand shows (or something close) with celebrity show runners.

I was going through a whole Midlife Impostor Syndrome thing recently where I was wondering if maybe I don't just suck. Like, it's weird that for a couple of decades I'd have people calling me trying to get me to run shows, and now nobody will call me back about the possibility of a design job.

Talking to some friends and realizing that they were in a similar situation helped me feel like I wasn't alone. That was nice. Talking to some of the most talented colleagues in my industry made me made me realize that those people weren't getting jobs either. That was unnerving. Talking to complete strangers in other parts of the entertainment industry now has me thinking that the whole house of cards is coming down. That's real concerning, yo.

It's hard not to think it's purposeful, when deranged billionaires own the entirety of our media and want to shape a society where they can't be criticized. We're letting wealthy tech bros firebomb the very heart of our culture, and it's weird that no one is talking about it. Because (for now) we still have that capability.

[imaginaryttowns]

sevika heacanons because i'm insane abt her (general and romance-related)

(mention of sex/aftercare but no smut/nsfw/lemon/whatever here)

the card games and the cards themselves have been with Sevika since she was a little girl. she has nebulous memories of a childhood that once was, where her and her mother are playing solitaire at a small table together. she doesn't seem to talk about much from that time in her life other than that. she will get defensive if you press her about these memories.

the gambling, however, started when she was a pit fighter, in her early teens. Sevika's father was the well-known heel of a pit fighting ring, who entertained crowds of wealthier Zaunites and even more corrupt Piltovans with a suave demeanor that Sevika envied, despised, and attempted to emulate all at the same time, following in her father's footsteps for those formative years of her life. needless to say many of Sevika's current habits started during those years. in that world, one had to blend in just enough to gain social favor yet stick out enough to maintain power, and she learned the name of the game quite early in life.

she has a missing molar from those days that she somehow recovered from the fight she lost it in. she now wears it on a pendant around her neck, always tucked underneath her shirts for safekeeping.

the first time you fiddle with it was while you were sitting her lap, most likely during aftercare. she's perturbed, almost offended. but as much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to put you in your place. she decided silently that she didn't want to remove the warmth of your body from hers, and quickly got used to you fiddling with it. low-key doesn't even want to tell you it bothered her to begin with.

while moonshine and whiskey are her usual drinks of choice, this is only because they are the cheapest, most readily available alcoholic drinks in Zaun. they are by no means her favorite ones. no, her favorite drink is the bottle of imported habushu stowed away in the farthest corner of her kitchen cabinets, that she is fiercely protective over, only ever opening it for new year's day and anniversaries.

will never admit to anyone how much the habushu cost -- she is broke with expensive tastes, and this is the only splurge she allows herself regularly.

while Sevika is a regular at the brothel post-arm loss, she is not a John as most would expect. she's there to watch - watch the dancers, watch for any workers who need help with particularly invasive clients, always watching. the silent and strong sentinel. she does this without letting Silco know what she's up to. she knows how he feels about giving Babette any kind of business, but really could not care less.

"These people need protection. Enforcers ain't exactly kind to them," she tells him unapologetically the one time he caught her. he glared at her for a moment, grumbled something, waved her away dismissively, but knew better than to interfere. Deep down, he respected her reasoning and decided she was just so good at her job that her extracurricular activities were no business of his.

with all that mushy shit being said, brothels are also great places to gamble. people there are distracted, since they have their minds occupied with the 'merchandise' so brazenly advertised there. more distracted hedonists meant more wins for her, and more wins meant more cash, more notoriety, more fun. she likes to call these little visits her "bonuses" for good reason.

now back to the mushy shit. it is a common occurrence for her to show off her "bonuses" to you and only you, sometimes showering you in paper money if she's really feeling herself that time, smarmy grin always present. nothing makes her feel better than a big win.

"Mama's rich for now, baby. Anything you want, name it and it's yours." she says while making it rain on you one day. she won't take no for an answer. she enjoys being a provider, even in shallow ways. she'll take you to the jeweler's, clothing stores, pawn shops, and buy you whatever you point to if she has enough to justify the purchase.

loves, positively adores watching you get excited over a necklace or tchotchke you'd been eyeing for weeks finally become your personal property. it makes her feel proud, makes her so happy to see your eyes light up. won't say that part aloud, but you can tell she loves it by the way she keeps giving you these shopping trips and the way she looks at you in these moments with uncharacteristically soft eyes and a wide smile.

while she was not really big on PDA when the two of you first started dating, she warmed up to it over time. and boy, did she. now she was the main initiator for such displays. you practically live in her lap, and she would not have it any other way. she loves how warm your body is, and when you're cold she loves being the one to warm you up, often letting her arm activate just so the heat of the metal can warm her poncho cape before she drapes it over your shivering shoulders.

& that's all i got for nowwww!!! hello sevika nation pls lmk if y'all would be interested in more in the near future :))

[slowlyoats]

The Lost Boys: What they like in other people

Marko

- creativity

- Absolutely HATES the idea of blending in

- Hence why his jacket is so different from his brother’s jackets

- He’s drawn to creative people who outwardly express their creativity with their appearance

- This is why he loves the board walk!! There are TONS of people who dress originally and In an unapologetic way

- I think one of his biggest struggles with being a vampire is that he can’t be outside during the day, and it’s not because he misses the sun or the warmth, it’s because thats the time of day people are usually outside creating wall murals, doing chalk art, painting landscapes.

- He misses interacting with those artists

- So, if he is at the board walk and just so happens to see someone set up with an easel, painting the lights of carnival rides, you BET that boy is going to introduce himself

- And find out everything there is to know about you

- And try to convince you to stay in Santa Carla forever with him

Paul

- Music taste

- Paul is a music snob

- He will totally judge a person based off the music they listen to, and will, on many occasions, choose his victims based off their poor music taste

- His favorite place on the Boardwalk is the record store

- It’s run by this older lady who shares Paul’s love for music

- He goes in at least once a week to say hi, and discuss music with her

- I feel like her name is Gretchen, but Paul insists on calling her Gretch

- He usually sits behind the cash register and talks to her in between customers

- And if it’s one of those nights where Paul can’t sit still, Gretchen makes him unload boxes in the back room and set up any new displays

- She LOVES to play matchmaker with Paul

- Because she is the only record store around, she knows the music taste of most people who live in Santa Carla

- So she try’s to find Paul a date, by matching up his music taste with a regular’s

- This usually doesn’t work out, but she LOVES to try

- *whispers* “look at her Paul! Isn’t she lovely?? And she listens to Motley Crüe!”

- He went on one date that Gretchen set him up on, and it didn’t end too well….so he swore he would never do it again.

- Let’s just say that the girl smelled a little TOO good and he couldn’t stop himself from having a taste

- He cares too much about Gretchen’s companionship to ruin it with him loosing control and eating all her customers

Dwayne

- kindness

- The boys don’t get shown a lot of kindness because…you know…they kill people and stuff

- But that doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings!!

- Dwayne might be the silent, stern type, BUT if anyone shows him the tiniest bit of kindness this man will become your devoted follower

- He may be a vampire, but he remembers what it was like to be human, and how easy it is to be selfish and just plain mean

- He also remembers that kindness is a choice

- And the kindest people tend to be the strongest

- Being kind to him is one thing, he might keep an eye out for you on the boardwalk in case you find yourself in trouble, or change your tire if you get a flat.

- But

- If your kind to Laddie?

- Maybe he got lost and you helped him find his way back to the boys? Or bought him a ice cream? Or maybe even helped him reach an arcade game he so desperately wanted to play?

- Oh boy.

- You just found your self a guardian watch dog angel. Trust me when I saw NO ONE will lay a hand on you or look at you the wrong way EVER and live to tell the tale

- And if you just so happen to be his type?

- Well, I hope you like Santa Carla because you won’t be leaving

David

- courage

- He admires someone who can stand there ground

- Who can get in the face of a surfer nazi and tell them where they can stick it

- Who won’t put up with Paul and Marko teasing them, and will dish it right back to them!

- Who won’t be intimidated and has no problem telling him and the boys “no” with a smile on their face

- Someone who doesn’t give a flying you-know-what about what anyone has to say to them about hanging around him and his boys

- Their confident in their decisions, even the bad ones

- When offered a drink from that sparkly bottle they give him a wink, and take a huge swig!

- And PROMPTLY spit it out all over their prized poster, because like HELL will you be tricked into doing anything you don’t want to do

[strnilolover]

adhd!reader with Matt or Chris when overstimulated

Matt …

There weren’t many time that you easily got overstimulated, they were usually more subtle — easier to deal with right away with some easy fixes.

But, there were other times that every little trigger played into it — and today was that kind of day. You and Matt needed to go to the store for dinner items and other food necessitated and the grocery store was packed when you arrived. People were everywhere — bumping into carts, clogging the aisles, and standing way too close for comfort.

You weren’t one for crowded places — never have been. It made you feel suffocated and stuck in a place you couldn’t escape from. The chatter, the beeping of cash registers, and the squeaking of cart wheels were all blending into a chaotic mess. You had thought this would be a quick trip with Matt, but now it felt like the walls were closing in the longer you were there for.

Your breathing had started to quicken as you scanned the crowded aisle, gripping the cart tightly. You tried to calm your nerves yourself, but it ultimately felt like the walls were closing in on you and there was no room to move. “Do we have everything? Can we just go?” you asked, your voice sharper than you meant it to be.

Matt glanced at you, immediately noticing the tension in your face and the way your hands were clutching the cart. “Hey,” he said gently, stepping closer but not touching you. “What’s wrong?”

Your teeth gritted together which — just made your brain cringe more at the sound and feeling. An unsettling feeling creeping through your bones. “I just — I hate crowded places,” you muttered, avoiding his eyes. “It’s too much. I just want to leave.”

“Okay,” Matt said, his voice calm. “We’ll leave. But first, let’s just breathe for a second, alright?” trying his best to not set you off any further.

“I don’t need to breathe; I need to get out of here,” you snapped, feeling a mix of irritation and panic bubbling up deep in your chest. Your brain was rattling, that gross feeling still coursing through your veins from gritting your teeth together.

Matt didn’t take your tone personally. Instead, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s head toward the checkout now. You don’t have to do anything else — I’ll handle it, okay baby?”

You hesitated, still feeling anxious, but you nodded and started moving toward the front of the store. He walked slightly ahead of you, creating a subtle barrier between you and the crowd, giving you space without making it obvious. At the self-checkout, he took over completely, scanning items quickly and efficiently while keeping an eye on you.

When you finally got outside, the fresh air hit you like a wave of relief. You took a deep breath, your chest finally loosening. Matt turned to you, his expression soft.

“Better?” he asked, keeping his tone low and calm. You nodded, your voice quiet. “Yeah. I’m sorry I got snappy.” you muttered.

Matt shook his head. “Don’t apologize,” he said with a small smile. “Crowds suck. I get it.” You managed a faint smile. “Can we…can we go home now? please?” you asked softly, still feeling the urge to get home to the peace and quiet.

“Of course,” Matt said, unlocking the car. “No more crowded places for the rest of the day. We’ll watch your favorite show when we got home, deal?.”

A faint smile spread across your face — “Deal.”

Chris …

The party had been a mistake. You’d known it from the second you walked in. The music was loud, the crowd was thick, and the energy of the room was chaotic in a way that immediately set your nerves on edge. But you’d pushed yourself to go because Chris had been excited about it, and part of you had wanted to believe you could handle it.

You couldn’t.

By the time the house was packed and the bass thumped relentlessly in your chest, you felt like you were vibrating with tension. Every laugh, every shout, every clang of glass was grating against your nerves, and you couldn’t think straight. You stood near Chris while he chatted with friends, but the words blurred together, and all you could focus on was the overwhelming noise.

“Hey,” Chris said, nudging your arm gently. “You good?” he asked, concern written along his features. He knew something was off — he could sense it in the way your body language had quickly changed.

“I’m fine,” you muttered quickly, pulling away from his touch. Your tone was sharper than you intended, and you immediately hated yourself for it. “I just — I need a second,” you mumbled, already turning and walking off toward the kitchen. You found a quiet spot, a part of the kitchen that seemed to be off limits but you didn’t care.

You leaned against the counter, crossing your arms tightly over your chest. Your breathing was shallow, and your irritation was boiling over into full shutdown mode. You didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to explain. You just wanted everyone, including Chris, to leave you alone.

You were so lost in your head, that you didn’t hear footsteps approaching the doorway. “Hey,” Chris’s voice cut through the fog. You glanced up to see him standing in the doorway, his eyes soft and his hands tucked into his pockets. He stayed where he was, not coming any closer. “What’s going on?”

Your eyes squinted. “Nothing,” you snapped, your voice clipped. “I’m fine. Jus’ go back to the party.” and Chris tilted his head slightly, studying you. “You don’t seem fine,” he said gently, his tone calm and steady. “It’s okay if you’re not.”

You shook your head, your teeth gnawing on your lower lip. “I don’t want to talk about it,” you muttered, turning your gaze back to the counter. “Alright,” Chris said, his voice still soft. “We don’t have to talk. But I’m staying here.”

You frowned, irritation bubbling up again. “I don’t need you to babysit me.” you mumbled. “I know,” he said easily. “I’m not babysitting. Just… being here.”

His calmness started to chip away at your frustration, and after a long silence, he spoke again, his tone even gentler. “Can I help? You don’t have to say anything, but… would it help if we did some breathing? Just to settle a bit.”

You hesitated, still caught between irritation and desperation for relief. Finally, you nodded once, stiffly. Chris smiled softly, staying where he was to give you space. “Alright. In through your nose, nice and slow.” He inhaled deeply, exaggerating it slightly so you could follow. “And out through your mouth.”

You mirrored him, your first breath shaky but slowly steadying with each repetition. He kept his pace slow and easy, his voice a low hum guiding you through it. “That’s it,” he said after a few rounds. “You’re doing great baby.”

And — your chest loosened slightly, letting out a shaky sigh. Chris didn’t move closer, but he tilted his head, his eyes meeting yours. “Would it be okay if I touched you?” he asked gently. He knew sometimes when you were like this, you didn’t like physical touch — so it was important that he asked first.

You hesitated, but you felt as though it would help more… so you nodded again, this time more confidently than before. He smiled, approaching carefully, his movements slow and deliberate. When he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you gently into his chest. “You’re safe,” he murmured softly. “I’ve got you. Just focus on my breathing, okay?”

His warmth and the steady rise and fall of his chest against yours helped pull you out of the haze. You rested your forehead against his shoulder, letting yourself melt into the hug as the tension in your body slowly unwound.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled after a moment, your voice muffled against his shirt. “I didn’t mean to snap.” Chris shook his head, his hand gently rubbing circles on your back. “Don’t apologize. I get it. It’s a lot.” You stayed there for a while, his steady presence grounding you more with each passing second. When you finally pulled back, his hands stayed on your shoulders, his eyes scanning your face carefully.

“Better?” he asked softly. You nodded faintly. “Yeah,” you said, your voice steadier now. “Thank you..”

“Anytime,” Chris said, his lips curving into a soft smile. “Let’s get out of here, yeah? We can grab food, sit somewhere quiet. Just you and me.” You nodded once more, feeling lighter already. “That sounds good.”

Chris dropped one arm to his side but kept the other resting gently on your back as he led you toward the back door in the kitchen. “No more parties for a while,” he teased lightly, his voice warm. “Just peace and quiet.”

a/n : If this doesn’t seem the best i apologize..i don’t have ADHD myself (at least i don’t think, i’ve never been diagnosed) but i do get overstimulated so i’m going to write based off of how i get overstimulated (i tend to get irritated or shut down and become avoidant) ik there are many many other things ppl do when they become overstimulated, but idk if i could portray them well enough.

[alexanderwales]

I've been trying to get a good overview of communist art, and it's difficult, partly because of the language barrier, but also partly because I think what I want isn't the art itself, it's a comparison of how the landscape of art-making shifts.

Movie-making, in particular, is a massive undertaking that requires a fair amount of time and money if you want to do it right. You need someone to write it, someone to direct it, someone to act in it, a cinematographer, some lighting, sound and music ... under a communist model, none of this would actually change. You would still need to acquire the personnel and make sure they were housed and fed. You would still need sets to be built and artists to devote their time and energy.

So one of the common criticisms of capitalism is that it produces Bad Art, that everyone is just trying to make a buck and they don't care about the product unless it finds consumers who will pay out cash. Everything is geared for the lowest common denominator. This gets worse as you involve more and more capital.

But I've always wondered: is this not also true under communism?

I don't mean in practice, that question is simple, all you have to do is read up on the film production processes from a number of different communist and formerly communist countries, whose source materials are often not accessible in English, mired in propaganda and disputes, and cover many decades. Easy peasy. I did what I think is a surface skim, but the common threads were that film studios were state-owned, scripts were approved by party officials, there were regular reviews during production, and a final review before release. You usually have to promote socialist values, or at least not criticize the current regime, and you have reviews for "ideological content". In spite of all this, some good movies got made, some bad movies got made, and some movies were banned for lack of ideological conformity or "frivolity". There are different eras to filmmaking in every country, times when the industry was thriving and times that it crashed to the ground in spectacular fashion as the government involved itself. A lot depended on who was in power and what the then-current ideology was. I think it's tempting to say that the widely agreed upon "great films" got made in spite of having ideological overview, but it's hard for me to evaluate that claim, and if someone said "the great American films were made in spite of capitalism" I think that also would be a difficult claim to evaluate, even though I've actually seen a pretty substantial amount of the canon and speak the language most often used in analysis of production processes.

No, what I mean is that in theory there's someone that has to be running the numbers. The film studio is state-run, sure, everyone is in state housing or whatever, they're getting food somehow ... but someone, somewhere, is authorizing all this. You don't make a film without a plan, so those plans have to be submitted to someone, or a committee, and that committee has to decide which films will get made and which will remain a dream. And if they're doing that, then they're either trying to make the film that they think benefits the country the most, or they're applying their own taste and judgment, but probably both.

And if you're under some kind of model where no one runs the numbers, where film-making is entirely volunteer work, then you still have problems, because you need this large volunteer organization, and you need to bring them in on your vision, and if they can just walk away, you need to maintain that energy and vision through the whole process.

I guess what I'm saying is that yes, capitalism presents problems when it comes to this specific artform, but I feel like as soon as you're out from under the yoke of the dollar, you're immediately under some other yoke. And I do wish that when people saw a bad film and said "the problem is capitalism" they would take a moment to consider that maybe there is always necessarily going to be oversight and compromise, just because of the nature of the enterprise.

This does not apply nearly so much to other forms of art, like those that can be done by a single person sitting in a room all alone.

[thebibliosphere]

I saw your post about ingram, and out of curiosity, is there some advantage to going through the whole self-publishing thing with retailers when you're just starting out? like I mean the way that fandom zines work is that they don't even bother going through ingram or amazon or whatever. they just set up a social media site (usually twitter) to gain followers, open preorders (usually 1-2 months in length) to generate the costs of printing upfront, and then sell anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred copies of their books (usually artbooks, but anthologies exist too). I've seen some zines generate over a thousand orders. they're kind of like pop-up shops, except for books. maybe the sales numbers aren't so impressive to a real author, but the profit generated is typically waaaay more than the $75+ apparently needed for Ingram Spark, so I still feel like new authors could benefit from this method too, especially if they just need some start-up cash to eventually move to ingram if they want to for subsequent runs of their book. I think authors would also have to set aside some of the pre-order money to buy an ISBN number to have printed on their book, and I'm not really sure what other differences there are, but I just wanted to ask about it in case there's some huge disadvantage I'm missing!

So, popup zines work well for some people, and I know some authors who kickstart their work successfully. But for a lot, it's just not feasible as a long-term stratedy. Or even as a means to get off the ground.

Fanzines succeed primarily because an existing fanbase is willing and ready to throw money at something they love. They’ve got a favorite writer or artist they want to support. Supporting all the others is just a happy by-product. They also take a HUGE amount of short-term but intense planning that just doesn’t always jive with how some of us work.

I, for one, would never offer to organize a fanzine. I’ll take part in them as a creator, but I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than subject myself to wrangling that many people and dealing with the legal logistics.

When it comes to authors doing anthologies, it'svery much the same. The success of the funding often hinges on having other big-name authors involved whose existing fans will prop up the project. Or having a huge marketing budget.

Most self-pub authors have zero marketing budget. I’m one of them, and I’m under no illusions that my work would not be as popular and self-sustaining as it is if I didn’t have a large Tumblr blog.

When I thank Tumblr in my forewards, I am utterly sincere. Tumblr brought fandom levels of enthusiasm to an unknown work and broke the Amazon algorithm so hard, that Amazon thought I was bot sniping my way to multiple #1 spots and froze my sales rankings.

That’s not the norm. And while I could probably kickstart my own work as an indie creator, that’s because I’ve put literal decades into building up a readership. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and realized people thought I was funny. I didn’t know what to do with it or if I’d ever actually write anything, but it meant the groundwork was already there (thank you, past-me). I basically fell upward into my success by virtue of never being able to shut the fuck up and wanting to make people laugh. Clown instincts too strong.

New or first-time authors trying to sell their work without that will find it infinitely harder.

All of that aside, even if an unknown author somehow gets lucky and manages to fund their work, there’s still the question of shipping and distribution logistics. Are you shipping everything yourself? Better hope you’re able-bodied and have the time for it. (for reference, it took me months to ship out 300 patreon hardbacks because of my disabilites. It damaged my back and hands. I couldn’t type for several weeks after I was done.)

Are you going to sell primarily at conventions? Better hope you’re able-bodied, have the time and don’t have cripling anxiety about being in large groups...

Also, will selling a dozen to a few thousand copies in one burst be sustainable in the long run as a career? Not for me. Doing things via Ingram and Amazon means I earn a steady trickle of sales for the rest of my life provided the platforms remain and so long as I keep working and can generate interest in the series, not just when I have funds to pay for physical copies to sell. The one-time (in theory) cost of $75 to distribute through Ingram gets paid off pretty quick that way. And it doesn't require the same logistics as doing the popup/crowdfund.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are capable of but also the type of work you’re doing. If you’ve got an extended network of fellow creatives who will back you or you’ve got a large following elsewhere, doing it like a popup might work for you.

If you’re an exhausted burnout who can’t fathom the short but intense amount of organization that sort of thing requires, not to mention doing it over and over and over... Ehhhhh. No thank you.

[togglesbloggle]

In Defense of Bad Things

'Bad' here meaning mostly 'amateur'; stuff made enthusiastically by people at an unprofessional level. Art with visible gaps between what the artist imagined and what they achieved, products of flawed craftsmanship. I suppose everybody can appreciate them to some extent, it's a rare parent that doesn't put up their kid's drawings on the fridge in one way or another. But it turns out to be a fully general skill you can cultivate, and the more I do, the more I'm glad I did.

Partly, it's the teacher thing; finding delight in amateur work is one of the ways to find delight in the process of learning. Cultivating a love of striving-qua-striving can help make you a force for good in the world, as people start to feel safe trying to do things when you're around, even when their efforts are wobbly. You get to participate a little more in the process of atoms spinning themselves into ideas, even when there aren't any illusions about whether you're helping cultivate some revolutionary genius in the field.

And partly it's a fabulous way to build community. By necessity, our professional-level skills tend to be at the service of other people, performed for economic benefit; that's kind of how you get professionally good at something in the first place. When we're acting for our own sake, and among friends, most of what we do with one another is amateurish. I only cook middling-okay, I can't hold a tune that well, I'll never be a speed runner for anything. If you can only enjoy singing from the hundred best singers in the whole world, manufactured and polished by major studios, then you and your friends will sit shoulder-to-shoulder and passively listen to music. But it's so much richer an experience to sit face-to-face, actually singing together, even badly; you expose yourself to so many new ways to appreciate and respect one another, building relationships on what you've accomplished and not just by witty criticism or liking the same things.

And partly it's because some of the most powerful and innovative artistic experiences are in high-churn environments with low expectations and low barriers to entry, if only because those catch the passionate and driven young people that have been otherwise overlooked by our systems. The golden age of webcomics meant that a ton of the actual art involved was pretty lousy, but it also produced work that people still talk about today. D&D began as a profoundly unpolished collection of handmade rulebooks sold at cons in a plastic baggie. By the time these products of enthusiastic amateurs filter themselves through various levels of popularity and absorb mainstream cash influx, they're often risk-averse and missing a lot of the bold spark that inspired their fans in the first place; others will simply never drift towards the mainstream at all. I'm not saying you should be the person who goes out to dig through the slush piles of the internet looking for overlooked art, unless you want to be-- but sometimes a work of actual staggering genius also happens to be a Supernatural fanfic by a first-time author who's a little hazy on commas, and if that's a dealbreaker, you're going to miss out on some profoundly valuable experiences.

And hiding behind all of these things is, like...

Our appreciation of beauty has an odd structure, right? When things are done very skillfully, by brilliant artists with years of training, we can usually appreciate those accomplishments. And when we're looking at nature without human influence, and especially when we think very deeply about natural processes and understand them in context, we often rediscover that sense of beauty. There's just this bizarre hole in the middle where we declare things 'ugly'; as if a little skill is worse than none at all.

I really don't trust that gap. It feels like a trick my brain is playing on me, you know? It has me suspicious that a lot of what I consider 'ugly' or 'bad' is not a very direct experience of the world at all, or an informed judgment. That it is, rather, a declaration of (self-, social-) identity; a desire to be seen as a person of good taste, or as somebody who does things well, or just more primitively as one of the monkeys who is in the good-stuff-tribe and not one of the monkeys who is in the bad-stuff-tribe.

[lennadanvers]

Pure Imagination: going to parties with him

Pairing: Eddie Munson x female!reader

Eddie Munson doesn’t like parties.

He doesn’t mind the loud music, even though he doesn’t love pop. And having a place to be on a Saturday night is not bad, either. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep if he hasn’t burned all his energy. Plus, sales are pretty good.

What he hates about parties is being alone.

Sometimes, Steve will go with him. And Robin will tag along, of course. But they just drink, and even though the first thirty minutes are fun, after that he’s alone. Harrington always finds some old friend or a pretty girl and disappears. When Robin doesn’t follow him, she ends up falling asleep somewhere or calling Vickie because she misses her.

Eddie drinks a beer, maybe two, but can’t afford to get too tipsy if he wants to make cash.

Instead, he stands in a corner. Looks around the room. He’s always been a bit of a voyeur. Eddie likes analizing watching people. He used to call them sheep, all of them wanting to be part of a group, looking for guidance, ready to be one among many. In high school, he had tried. He soon realized he simply didn’t fit, and decided to take it as a sign that he was destined to be on the other side: a shepherd.

Now, older and more experienced, Eddie knows people aren’t that easy to classify. Take King Steve as an example. How come he can be popular, Hawkin’s golden boy, and, at the same time, a decent human being, willing to protect the whole town- including oblivious pricks like local psychopath Jason Carver?

Still, he likes to try. At parties, there are little groups. The drinkers. The dancers. The kissers- the ones who have drunk sex in a stranger’s house. The ones who are there with one goal in mind: revenge, seduction, letting loose.

And then there’s him, ready to provide with any kind of substance to any kind of person.

If he was there to have fun, he thinks he’d be part of the dancers. Usually, his exaggerated movements catch the attention of the people around. But in a dim lit room packed of drunks? He’d be part of the crowd. Eddie wonders how that feels like.

Must be a simple feeling. Not having weird looks his way. Being just another body existing there, a nobody.

But the Munsons aren’t nobodies.

So he’ll have to settle for imagining he’s dancing. Like he belongs at parties. Like he could walk up to you- who belong everywhere, like a magical puzzle piece that completes everything- and ask you to dance.

You were in Eddie’s first party. He had finally managed to get into one- not with a formal invitation, but he was there, nonetheless. The lunchbox in his hand was like a free pass. The proof he had earned to be there. That they needed him wanted him to be there.

He was wearing his usual attire; his hair particularly rebellious due to the heat of way too many people in a limited space. His hands were sweating, surely because of the same reason. Eddie hadn’t been able to convince Jeff to come- he used the words “not going into the dragon’s den”. He took a couple of slow steps, full of false confidence. Fake it till you make it, he mumbled to himself.

That’s when he saw you. Your hair down, surrounded by friends, laughing. Enjoying yourself. That short, pretty dress you looked so comfortable in. Your sneakers. Eddie dried his hands on his jeans.

He spent the night selling, looking awkward and stealing glances at you. It looked like you were having a great time. Your smile helped Eddie breathe, kept him at ease. You liked to dance with your friends. You weren’t particularly good at it, which made it even better.

Now, that night felt like ages ago. Eddie had learned how to move in parties: where to stand, what to say, who to flash a smile to. How to look for you without missing customers. How to handle the disappointment when he didn’t find you.

How to fill that void picturing you there. Your heat next to him, against the wall, between his body and the people. Your arm chained with his, your lovely perfume over the smell of sweat and alcohol. Your excited look when he asks you to dance. The way your hand fists the back of his jacket as to not lose him in the crowd. How you get even closer, moving with him. How you laugh at his silly movements and blush at the confident ones.

In his mind, you like how much taller than you he is. Not that he’s ridiculously tall, but he’d look down at you- if you were close enough. He imagines you like the way he holds your hand and makes you spin on your feet- not at all the kind of movement appropriate for this music. But you enjoy being dramatic with him. You giggle when he bows, asking for your next dance- even though you’re already on the dance floor.

When it’s too much- too many drinks, too much noise, people, heat- you hold his hand and walk with him outside. You leave the party with him; Eddie puts his arm on your shoulders and kisses your head. Whenever you’re with him, sales are good. They’re never the best thing of the night, though. Not when you exist.

Actually, Eddie Munson doesn’t like real parties. Only fantasy ones.

Pure Imagination Masterlist

General Masterlist

Taglist: @whataboutbibi @hellfirenacht @daisyridleyss

[itsallmouthwashing]

For your consideration: Crime Boss/Heist Team AU (Feel free to do whatever with your own thoughts. (my) AUs are communist)

- Curly is the head honcho (I kinda imagine a reverse-Curly? Mean Curly, come into my apartment there's something we need to do-). He's the one making deals, making plans, making friends, making enemies.

-Curly's mom was in a biker gang when she met her husband and father of her child, the local sheriff :) She gets him involved in her antics, baby happens, and suddenly she is on the run from her sheriff boyfriend and has to run away. She steals and cheats to get by, and somehow makes a name for herself in the local crime circles. She's hitting all of their spots (stealing from a jewelry store before a big heist they had planned. She just wants to pawn the necklace for some cash and get a hotel room for that night, but she's essentially ruined the heist this group has had planned for months), raising suspicion before anyone can get there to do what they've planned to, etc

-Curly is known for being ruthless. Apathetic to other's causes and only does what needs doing for his people.

-UH I have many thoughts rn so I'll probably make Curly's parents a whole different post if people want more of this

- Daisuke is brought in when he's caught trying to steal some of their stash. He gets halfway down to street before they notice and even has time to buckle his seat belt before Curly, Jimmy, and Anya catch up to him (Swansea watches cameras). Curly, not usually impressed by this sort of thing, surprises everyone when he says as 'punishment' he's having Daisuke join up with them (idk man, but think about that kind of trope)

-Curly simply notices that Daisuke is living out of the van he's using to get away and suddenly his late mother is looking him in the eyes, terrified of what she's done and could be doing for the rest of her life. No direction, no support, no one but herself. And that's the only reason Daisuke 'got away' with it (Curly defo makes him make it up to them. Because of the skill Dai showed when he almost pulled-off stealing from them, Dai is point on their next job and remains that way until he makes back what he was planning to steal)

- Anya is the sniper/lookout on jobs. Everyone has basic medical knowledge but only she has studied up on how to treat serious wounds. She used to be a nurse until student-loan debt crushed her so hard she was forced to turn to a life of crime (here's the capitalist agenda plot point!)

-Curly and Anya often get into spats because she wants more action like he's suddenly giving the new guy and he doesn't want to risk their only 'medic' getting in more danger than necessary ("then train everyone else up! What the fuck do you think will happen to me if I am hurt?" "Anya you literally went to medical school, what the fuck do you think will happen when the only medical professional on our side goes down.")

- Swansea is demolition and scout. He used to be point on operations, taking the lead in his hay-day, but nowadays if he's even brought on any jobs, he's usually the one taking out walls and giving directions over comms (if destruction is needed, which is rarely is.)

-Swansea is actually a family friend of Curly's, having been there for that boys birth and given the opportunity to baby-sit often (key-word is offered. lmao). He's the only one left over from his original crew, and Curly is technically just the new head of Swansea's operation.

- Jimmy is the distraction and hates it. He wants to be part of the action, part of the decision making, part of everything. But Curly keeps him as a tool and likes seeing Jimmy beg for more opportunities :)

-Jimmy was low-key brought on the same way Daisuke was, so it stings a little when he's no longer special having joined by Curly being so impressed by attempting to steal

Please let me know if you want more, cause I have more :)

[jadevine]

Deadpool and Wolverine musings, Part 1 - On Deadpool knowing he’s Deadpool, the Worst Wolverine, and a Hero That Never Was: How the theme of failure in "Deadpool And Wolverine" hits too close to home for another would-be actor.

--- So now that I've processed Deadpool and Wolverine, it really hurts to see the theme of failure and being “the one who’s WATCHING people be awesome” woven through the story. You probably know someone like me, dear readers. I have big dreams, but no big friends or big bank account to pull them off.

The Deadpool franchise’s nature as a self-aware side of the Marvel Universe folds painfully into my own experiences as an artist.

As usual for Deadpool, the start of the movie is a wild ride: We open on him desperately digging up Wolverine’s grave from the end of “Logan,” because Deadpool needs Wolverine’s help--and he’s in serious denial that Wolverine died. Turns out that yes, he did. And Deadpool ends up fighting some furious Time Variance Authority soldiers… with Logan’s decaying skeleton. To the hilariously unfitting song of “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC.

Millennials, we can feel old now. I remember when NSYNC was rolling out their CDs in the early 2000s, and when I decided I was too cool for NSYNC anymore, I threw that shit away. Apple is now laughing at me for buying this one song again, twenty years later.

We then get plunged into an explanation of why Deadpool is desperate for Logan’s help, and boy howdy, does he need HELP.

--

Wade and Vanessa started having relationship issues between Deadpool 2 and this movie, so he tried to sign up for the Avengers to give his life purpose. In his interview with Happy Hogan (HELLO, SIR, IT’S GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!! WADE, SHUT UP ABOUT HAPPY BEING A CHAUFFEUR!!!), Wade says he wants to be an Avenger because “he needs it.” Why? Deadpool sure loves the battles that the Avengers are known for, but I don’t think he wants to be an Avenger JUST for violence or glory. There’s one MORE thing that the Avengers are known for: Being friends. And with it, being LOVED.

The running theme in Deadpool’s movies is his nagging insecurity and loneliness. In the comics and movies alike, he is constantly trying to join the X-Men or the Avengers, but his main problem is… Deadpool himself! You are your own worst enemy, as the saying goes.

He’s ruthlessly good at killing, loves his gallows humor, and he’s reckless as hell. The usual expression that someone’s weird/crazy is “having a wire (or a few wires) loose,” but Deadpool’s like an electric rat-king of jumbled wires. (A cash register at my work has one of those bad boys. I am constantly worried if it’s okay.) Later in the movie, Wolverine thinks Deadpool has ADHD because of how insufferably chatty he is, and while Deadpool’s constantly called “crazy” because other characters just don’t like him, fan speculations and writer depictions abound on what KIND of mental disorder he might have.

As TV Tropes would put it, Deadpool is “The Friend Nobody Likes.” Other heroes tolerate him because he’s skilled, but not many LIKE HIM. And he is all too aware of it, especially in the films, so by the time of Deadpool and Wolverine, he WANTS to be a hero.

As I mentioned before, he says to Happy that he NEEDS to be an Avenger.

But Happy tells him, “The Avengers don’t do the job because they need it, they do the job because people need THEM. Understand the difference?”

Many Avengers fans understand the core of the Avengers, and of the superhero genre as a whole.

I did not miss the shots in Happy’s office of notable objects in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe--and maybe Wade was looking at them, too. We call those “Easter eggs” because people will scour the film for them.

-Tony’s very first heart reactor, with the engraving of “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.”

-One of Captain America’s old shields.

-Old pieces of Iron Man’s armor.

-A photo of Tony himself and Peter Parker.

Then comes the hurt-y part: “Please, Mr. Hogan, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like an annoying one-trick pony.” Ouch, Wade. I am all too familiar with the sense of failure, and feeling like I annoy everyone by existing.

So Happy says to Wade, “The problem might be that you’re reaching a little too high. Aim for the middle and you’ll never miss. I think you got a good heart, I believe what you’re saying, but not everyone’s the world-saving type. Shoot for the middle and you’ll never miss.”

And after he’s rejected, Wade officially breaks up with Vanessa. WHY, motherfuckers?! THEY ARE MY POWER COUPLE!

So with no Vanessa and no Avengers, Wade becomes increasingly insecure/depressed, and he leaves the Deadpool work behind and takes a car-sales job with his former X-Force teammate Peter to pay the bills. If that is not an allegory for the constant misery of being an artist who doesn’t know anyone important, and doesn’t have the money to make knowing important people EASIER, I don’t know what is.

I spent years trying to get people to read my novel drafts on Wattpad so I can get them cleaned up and published for real, and then I could be a REAL FUCKING WRITER. And that wore me out, because I’m not a marketer and I’m already introverted. I spent years not being able to afford updated headshots to audition for shows, so I could finally be a REAL FUCKING ACTOR and do something that wasn’t a college production… but after I finally got new headshots, guess what happened? I’M STUCK AT MY DAY-JOB TO GET MONEY.

While I’m trying to be a real fucking actor and a real fucking novel writer, I’ve combined them into an unholy sandwich, by writing a superhero story that deconstructs the idea of “who gets to be called a hero, and who’s just a gangster/vigilante?” It involves the Tagalog deities being stuck in California as undocumented immigrants.

I feel like I asked every Filipino theater I know of about workshopping this script or giving it a reading or two when the draft is done. Like, I’m Filipino-American and I’m writing about Filipino mythology and Asian-American superheroes--I don’t expect people to spring a whole production onto the stage when I say go, but surely people would want to check my script out or keep tabs on me? Something to get the ball rolling?

But that involves having GOOD luck, and I don’t seem to have any. The theaters who bothered to answer me say it sounds cool, but they don’t have the resources, or how this script is expensive to pull off, so I’ll need to find someone willing to take a risk and fund my production.

I wanted to fucking laugh at those folks, because that means THEY’RE not willing to risk things for me. I want to laugh because if I don’t, I’m gonna murder something.

As Deadpool said in his very first movie: "Fake laugh, hiding real pain."

PEOPLE SAY THEY CAN’T AFFORD ME? WHEN I SPENT YEARS HUMILIATING MYSELF, ASKING IF SELFIES WERE OKAY TO USE FOR AUDITIONS, BECAUSE I COULDN’T AFFORD TO UPDATE MY THEATER HEADSHOTS?

This one time, I could have gone to Canada for a writing conference. It was about how Filipinos and the Filipino diaspora use their culture and spirituality as inspiration for their work. I sent them an email about my poetry and writing, and I didn’t really think they’d answer me, so I was pleasantly surprised when someone DID answer, and they thought my work sounded beautiful!

But then they said I’d have to get to Canada, pay the attendance fee, find a hotel and get from a city (either Toronto or Ottawa) to the buttfuck wilderness of a regional park, where the conference was actually being HELD.

So I said (politely), “Oh, I didn’t realize you wanted to hold a conference in Canada, but had no way to… GET NON-LOCAL SPEAKERS TO THE CONFERENCE. I figured you’d be handling at least some of the costs. I won’t be able to go, then.”

One of my friends, bless her heart, started a GoFundMe on my behalf. It went nowhere, so neither did I, but she tried. Another of my friends said it felt really messed up that they wanted me to pay the attendance fee AS A SPEAKER.

In my only bout of less-bad luck, I submitted some angry decolonizing poetry about the Tagalog gods to a show halfway across the state, and the team absolutely loved it… but that was before I had updated headshots. When the recent Facebook memories with a photo of the brochure showed up, I got to see my fucking Facebook selfie smack in the middle of everyone else’s nice, professional headshots, and that really stings.

I wish I was like Deadpool, and I had some time-traveling friends to go back and replace it with one of my REAL headshots. But I can’t spend all my time cringing, so I’m not only writing my stories, but saving up to pay 50-100 actors for a table reading.

I GET ONE SHOT AT GETTING MY SCRIPT OFF MY LAPTOP AND INTO THE WORLD. ONE SHOT THAT’S GONNA HURT MY BANK ACCOUNT. MAXIMUM EFFORT IS MY STATE’S MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE, MOTHERFUCKERS.

And that’s probably going to be my only shot. I don’t know anyone in theater professionally, because I never got a chance to WORK WITH anyone professionally.

For my script, I have three or five Filipino actor “friends” (more like acquaintances) whose shows I’ve watched a few times, so I told them how I have a superhero script that I’d love to get a reading for when the first draft’s finished, and I will pay everyone for a table reading in a couple months. And if they have ten or fifteen more friends of varying ethnicities, please ask them if they think my script sounds cool as well.

I hope I didn’t sound too desperate.

I try not to outwardly beg, but I don’t have a good gauge on that. I was the only Filipino in my theater class for years, so I never knew how to TALK about my extremely Filipino-oriented urban-fantasy, or if my stuff was ACTUALLY good or just weird. I went to open mics for a short but lovely few months, before I had to stop.

I couldn’t even afford MONTHLY TRIPS to read my work. Not only for no pay, but I had to pay AN ENTRY FEE and deal with the parking in this driving hellhole of a state. And then being a BROKE Filipino who still lives with my mom and works in food service? I always feel like I’m begging for scraps of attention.

I love art.

I love making art.

But with so many things depending on who you know--whether you can afford to go to shows, or go to school, or go to parties so you can FIND people to know--art really makes you feel shitty and poor sometimes.

My friends and about twenty or so Wattpad reviewers like my work, and they say I’m a great writer. It always makes me feel nice.

But when I try to get someone IN POWER, someone with MONEY, to check out my work and say the same things, that’s where I start feeling like Wade in the Avengers Tower--so close to the heroes I’ve heard about my whole life, seeing the things they use, the photos of people they love--and begging the doorman to let me be a hero, too.

[haileyywrites]

hi!! how are you? i adore your writing and i was wondering if you could please write a bit of fluff! in which the reader gets overwhelmed and starts crying because their boyfriend is too sweet, nice, caring and cute. with anyone from genshin of your choice!

Summary: You become overwhelmed and cry from your boyfriend being too sweet, nice, caring and cute!

Pairings: Kaveh x Gn!reader

Notes/Warnings: Reader is completely gender neutral and not described in any way! Poc friendly! Just pure fluff! Reader cries but it's sweet and fluffy! Possible grammar errors!

You had always known Kaveh to be an incredibly kind human being; from the very first moment you met. Someone had rudely bumped into you which caused your items to fall from your hands, the person didn't even bother apologizing before continuing on their way. Kaveh happened to see the interaction and rushed over to help you - he even tried shouting after the person to apologize to you, but they didn't listen.

You appreciated the effort and his kindness nonetheless; he even offered to buy you some food to cheer you up! Though you protested against it, he managed to win you over in the end and he took you to a nice nearby cafe. You could see him eyeing at the prices with worried eyes and a strained smile, you could obviously tell he had some financial problems making his kind offer even more touching. You decided to order the cheapest item you liked and spent the afternoon with him just talking, god you could talk for hours with him!

Falling for Kaveh was the easiest thing you did in your life, but sometimes you wondered how it is you managed to get with him? With his looks and heart of gold you would think him to be more popular with suitors all over him; but no. The people in the Academia you understood as they were usually solely focused in their research, but he was so kind to everyone! Excluding his roommate whom he talked to you about, but didn't let you meet. Somehow Kaveh was a simple rock with gems hidden within, but others didn't seem to look deep enough to get to know him.

He may have not been that good with money, but he always finds other ways to treat you. One of his favorite things to do together is to go for a walk outside of Sumeru city and go sightseeing with you; he always finds the best spots too! Whether you're a morning person who he would go watch the sunrise with or a night owl who preferred the sunset, he will do whatever to make you happy. Seeing you be happy makes him beyond happy and it absolutely melts your heart!

There were many times in the past that almost caused you to burst into tears from him being too kind and sweet or too cute for you to handle! His tendency to draw in animals was strange, but so incredibly adorable. Stray cats would show up whenever you were sitting around and dogs would run up to greet you two - even birds would come closer to him than anyone else! Seeing him give in and pet or play with them was beyond cute!

He was also always so sweet and caring, he would never forget things you liked or cared about! If you needed space when upset he would give it to you; but if you wanted comfort he would be there in an instant with food or snacks he knew you loved. His kindness was also a bit of a flaw as he didn't want to think people would be terrible enough to use charity as a cash grab - which is why he often fell for them. This especially made you upset, but it didn't make you cry like today did.

Seeing the sky becoming darker and darker as your shift was beginning to end worried you, you had neglected to bring an umbrella as it had been clear all day before now. You would have to make your way to the other side of the city while getting completely soaked from the rain; not an ideal scenario. You though about staying until the rain stopped, but you had made plans with Kaveh today right after work and hated the thought of leaving him to wait for you without warning.

You sighed heavily as you changed back into your everyday clothes and prepared yourself for the downpour waiting for you outside, you said a quick goodbye to your colleague before heading for the door with a sad expression. The rain was as heavy as a shower or a bucket of water that was being emptied over you, you shivered as the cold outside air made contact with your skin. This was just your luck...

Out in the rain you could see a figure running full speed towards you, you wondered what kind of maniac was outside in this weather - until you recognized him. It was Kaveh! He held a red umbrella to shield him from the rain and wore a jacket that he usually didn't; it was one of your favorite clothing that he owned, but it was usually only on him during colder days like today. Seeing you he ran faster and almost bumped into you as he came to a halt!

“Thank the Archon's! I'm so glad I cought you before you left!” He said with a relieved smile.

“You came to get me?” You asked in a surprised tone.

He nodded his head as he handed you the umbrella he was holding and stripped off the jacket he was wearing; which he quickly handed to you. He had specifically brought it for you...

“Of course! I thought you probably didn't think to bring an umbrella with you today, so I couldn't possibly let you walk home and get yourself sick from this weather!” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kaveh helpped you put on his jacket before smiling proudly when seeing you in his clothing; it was warm and smelled like him, the fabric was also incredibly comfortable. Everything about it made you feel so incredibly touched... The fact that he came to get you to make sure you didn't get soaked from the rain to bringing you his jacket and looking so proud when you wore it. You couldn't help, but to burst into tears from the sheer kindness and sweetness - the love and thoughtfulness.

Seeing you cry made Kaveh panic and instantly ask if you were okay, he asked if he did something that made you upset and if there was anything he could do to help you while still keeping the umbrella over you to cover you from the rain. It probably made you cry harder seeing him be so frantic and stumble over himself trying to calm you down - he was too cute for his own good! He was just too kind and caring of a human being that it was bound to make you burst into tears one day.

“I'm sorry, you're just too sweet!” You sobbed.

“Wha... What?” Kaveh asked in confusion.

“You're so sweet and kind! It's making me feel so loved!” You cried louder.

“Honey, I don't know what to say...” Kaveh laughed lightly while looking a bit bashful.

“You're also too cute!” You covered your eyes with your hands and continued to cry.

Kaveh stepped closer and pulled you in for tight hug, his hand was wrapped around your back, while the other was steadily holding his umbrella over you both. He let you cry your fill against his shoulder; with his hand running up and down along your back in a comforting manner. By the time you were finished crying rain had calmed down a bit to a pleasant soft shower.

Kaveh let go of you gently and wiped away the remaining tear stains from your cheeks, you both lightly laughed about the situation. Being this close you noticed how his eyes sparkled with so much love that you couldn't help, but lean in for a short yet sweet kiss. After you separated Kaveh held up the umbrella between you and encouraged you to place your hand over his; not only to adjust the umbrella so that it was comfortable for you, but also to hold your hand as he walked you home.

A/N: Hii, I'm doing well and thank you for asking Anon <3 Hope you're doing well too; remember to stay hydrated! Thank you so much for the request btw, your words are so kind! I really hoped you liked this, but if you didn't feel free to request again ^-^ I spent a lot of timing thinking which character to pick, but in the end Kaveh felt like the obvious choice lol I will soon be posting request rules - incase you or anyone else would like to request something in the future!

[Feel free to like, comment and or reblog! Any interaction with this post is greatly appreciated <3]

[yandere-fics]

How would they react to a darling that used to have a crush on them, but then move on after never gaining their interest for so long?

Like maybe they move away, or just don't give as much attention to the oc's like they used to?

♡ How They React To A Darling Who Used To Like Them ♡

♡ It makes sense that you gave up on Theanna after so many years of pining and no response. Theanna was very popular when she was still in the fight for the throne and had no time for romance so there were many people who had their hopes crushed and eventually gave up. Still you stayed by her side the whole fight, only wanting to help her survive and give her comfort on the hard days when the assassins simply would not stop coming. She appreciated the company even if she was bad at expressing that and she had hoped that you would continue to be a dear friend after she took the throne but sadly that was not what happened. ♡

♡ As soon as she claimed the throne you had given up on ever being by her side that way so you had to stop devoting your affections towards her all the time if you ever wanted a chance of having a relationship. This is extremely upsetting to Theanna however, she already lost her other closest friends the moment she became their boss, she can't lose what she gets from you. That's also when she realize the affection you used to give her wasn't strictly platonic and now that you aren't giving it to her, she's panicking that someone else is receiving your love the same way she used to. She really can't tolerate that so she pops into action, surely announcing your engagement at the next ball will get the notion of moving on from her out of your poor sweet dumb head. ♡

♡ You traveled with Elisha when she first appeared in the world, it was a scary time for her and she didn't have time to pay attention to all the people around her, she had to slay an elder dragon so while the company while travelling was pleasant, she didn't have time to wait around for you so eventually you wound up getting left behind at a town while you were recovering from the scars of a previous battle. It wasn't that she didn't feel bad but the kingdom needed to be saved, the chosen one cannot spend two weeks in some random town when the enemy is actively ravaging the countryside. She left behind more than your fair share of her cash when she left but she didn't even bother to say goodbye. ♡

♡ You meanwhile were devastated that your longtime companion had up and left without another word, especially when you had been in love with her and would have done anything to stay by her side. Still eventually you did start to move on, you made a life in the town she had stranded you in meanwhile Elisha continued to travel even after the big danger had been dealt with and well... she was lonely. She remembered she used to have a travelling companion but she was sure she had ruined any chance of that but when she returned to the village to find some clue for if you were okay, she found you were still as lovely as kind as ever and well she really needed that on the road with her. You don't have a choice in coming with her, if the chosen one says they need someone to travel with them, you have to listen to her, don't worry she will never leave your side again baby. ♡

♡ Pauline has had quite a few people confess their love to her over the years and she usually tears up their letters and embarrasses them in front of everyone. You were the most persistent of all of them though, always leaving little gifts on her desk at the academy and not giving up even when she insulted you in front of all her followers. Eventually you did give up which did bother her slightly mainly because you had become part of her routine but she went about her days normally for the most part afterwards. ♡

♡ When she needed someone to fake pretend to be her darling you were the first to come to mind. You hadn't tried asking her out in awhile but you had really liked her so surely you must still like her even if you've been quiet about it, but she's upset when your answer is no. Had it been a year prior you would have agreed and hoped it would turn into something more but now you just didn't really care. She needed you for this though, she could make you love her again, she just needed to put in a bit of effort which is how your roles became reversed with her leaving big expensive gifts at your doorstep constantly and serenading you any chance she gets. By the time you relent and say yes it's no longer a fake relationship. ♡

♡ Abigail did not have a lot of time for dating in her youth and she was always so caught up in the idea that in the future she would find her duchess so she never considered her future duchess might be around her in the present. Beyond that well... she had a very bad self esteem, who would be attracted to her, she gutted someone in front of the court for trying to poison her so surely she would need to fix her reputation before anyone could even consider being attracted to her. Needless to say your feelings went unnoticed by her even as you watched in the crowd wishing you could use your handkerchief to clean the blood off her face. ♡

♡ Later on you joined her squad of knights and once you did any feelings were basically killed just with how strict her training was. She liked you which is why she was going a bit hard on you because she had hoped you would give up on training quickly. She even gave you alternatives for similar jobs that would allow you to stay close to her but you had taken those suggestions as an insult which only made you grow further and further from her. She was very upset when she felt you pull away from her when you had always been so kind in the past, she thought once you joined her squad you two could have something and she would do anything to get it back that way but everything she tried failed. ♡

♡ Ainsley believes in love at first sight which is why she looked past your crush the first times you met, she didn't have that spark the first time so you were only ever going to be someone who she made out with occasionally. You were enjoyable to talk to but the spark was not there. Maybe it was because of the tumultuous time in the kingdom but she was just sort of scatterbrained at the time and eventually she had to leave to go find the chosen one, so your feelings faded and you forgot about her until she returned to court after a year or two gone. ♡

♡ When she sees you for the first time after awhile once she's finally not under constant stress, the spark is instantly there. She doesn't know how she didn't see the spark before but unfortunately for her, you don't feel it anymore which is devastating that she messed up her chance with her true love by not noticing it at first but it's okay, she will salvage this, she's sure if she just forces you to be in her tower all day then eventually being in close proximity will reignite it. You poor thing, you likely are just angry she left are are suppressing your feelings, she'll remedy this quickly. ♡

[taoistyuri]

kichihime and family and friends

by the way, this is set in the real world but with furries, they live in milwaukee

this is kichihime, a maneki neko. she has a bratty personality and a rude attitude. due to her species she is extremely lucky. she is able to transfer her luck to other people, though she asks for payment first of course. despite many people wanting her to be a scammer, unfortunately her luck is true and it really can come to you.

this is shaniya, kichihime's friend and girlfriend. she is a shishi lion who goes to the art school kichihime loiters around (MIAD). she does art commissions in her spare time. she likes kichihime a lot.

yeong-mi is shaniya's friend from college. they are actually small sized because they are a bug (insect furries in this world are small). (don't worry, this world accommodates for smalls) yeong-mi doesn't really know kichihime that well but she seems fine despite her personality so it's okay.

this is shiro, kichihimes mom. a very... "unique" lady. shes the type who get involved in pyramid schemes and MLM scams. she would say "have you tried yoga?" in response to someone feeling sad. shes a very kind person, but her actual "understanding" of why people feel the way they do isnt so good. hence the hypothetical yoga comments.

also, due to her luck inherent of being a maneki neko, those scams she tends to join out of her own old lady foolishness usually end up benefitting her, therefore she sees no problem with them. she would unironically say that the lottery is a good way to make quick cash. what luck!

finally, there is tama and momo, kichihime's grandparents. they came to Wisconsin to be proficient and have suspiciously good luck in fishing and selling their fish. they made a business out of it and that's how they got all their money

the business is closed now but locals will tell you they had the freshest and best fish they ever tasted

tama speaks English fine but momo isn't very good, speaks Japanese at home and only English when needed or for emphasis. tama is sort of the stoic 'family man' type, momo is a bit strict but fun with kids

they have a good relationship with kichi, and always treat as a kid even though she's a grown ass woman. shes their baby of the family. also, kichi was nicknamed Maru when she was little by them because she is Round

--

shaniya is a little jealous of kichihimes relationship with her grandparents. her own maternal grandparents were never met (they died) and her paternal grandparents live in a different state, and aren't very nice people. they would not be accepting of her being trans, if they knew.

also, shaniya is jealous of kichihime having her culture be with her....shaniya is half Chinese but feels little connection to the culture due to not being taught the language or growing up around it.

shes more connected to her black half, but even then, she feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere, culturely

also, kichihimes grandparents are like, innocently insensitive. like when kichihime reveals shaniya is her girlfriend, they're both like 'eh? so those boyfriends (read: any boy she played with as a kid) were a lie?' 'you are with someone who used to be a boy?' etc

they don't mean any harm they are just old and it's new to them

and so that's kichihime and pals!

[stereax]

is there a reason why Carolina is losing all their affiliates???

Other than being assholes to Erik Haula?

Okay, but in all seriousness, there's a short answer and a long one.

The short answer is two words long: Pyotr Kochetkov.

The long answer? Meet me under the cut.

Alright, hi there. So to answer this question fully, we need to talk about the AHL in depth. The AHL, or American Hockey League, is the second-highest league of North American pro hockey, under the NHL. Most people tend to believe it's just "where prospects play before they hit the NHL". This is... only a part of the story.

There are 32 teams in the AHL to match 32 NHL teams. The idea there is that every NHL team would have an AHL affiliate - the most recent expansion, for example, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, is the AHL affiliate for the newest NHL team, the Seattle Kraken. Many of these teams are owned by the same group as owns the NHL team - Harris Blitzer, for example, owns both the New Jersey Devils and the Utica Comets. Others don't - the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, for instance, are owned by Michael Kahn, whereas their NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers, is owned by Sunrise Sports (aka Vincent Viola).

Why is this important? Well, if you're an NHL team that owns your AHL team, you can let that AHL team leak money. You're turning a good profit on the NHL team, so you don't have to make your AHL team economically viable on its own - you just put it in as a massive tax write-off and go on with your day. Thus, you can put all of your AHL team's resources into developing your AHL players to get ready to play at the NHL level. Of course you sign some vets and such of your own, maybe get a few undrafted guys for the AHL team too, but generally, an NHL-owned AHL team's sole purpose is to develop NHL players. Winning the Calder Cup (the AHL equivalent to the Stanley Cup, not to be confused with the Calder Memorial Trophy given to the best NHL rookie) is just gravy on top.

Contrast this to independently-owned AHL teams, where this is not the case. For these teams, making money is paramount. How do you make money? When you win. Fun fact - the Chicago Wolves, incidentally, used to be televised on main channels partially as a fuck you to Bill Wirtz, who didn't let the Chicago Blackhawks' home games be televised, presumably to drive ticket sales. The Wolves saw that and pounced on the opportunity to make some cash. So if nothing else, love them for sticking it to the Hawks. You can still watch Wolves games on My50, it seems, if you've got that channel, as well as AHL streaming options.

But back to independently-owned AHL teams before I go on my daily anti-Hawks crusade. You want to make money. You do that when you win. When you make the postseason. When you win in the postseason. Independently-owned AHL teams want to win, not necessarily develop for the NHL. So when your NHL team keeps taking your best player away for weeks and then giving him back... you get annoyed.

Now let's play Chicago Wolves Simulator. You are Don Levin and Buddy Meyers, the Wolves' owners. Your goal is to win the Calder Cup or at least come pretty damn close so you can pay the bills. You have a good team - hell, you won the Calder last year! - but your best asset is this star goaltender named Pyotr Kochetkov. When Koochie's in net, you usually win because he bails out your team. When he isn't there to help you win, you kind of don't. Now, Carolina's going through its own issues in net, so they keep calling Koochie up and down. And, as previously mentioned, you kind of suck without Koochie. To be fair, you're not all that great with him, but you suck without him. And you have no control over when he goes up to Carolina, even just to sit on the bench.

You miss the playoffs by one point. One. And your three-year contract with the Canes is up. What do you do?

Waddell Young, GM of the Wolves, says their philosophy and the Canes' fundamentally differed. The Wolves develop and win. Winning develops, to them. The Canes wanted the Wolves to focus solely on development. Not winning. So, when their deal with the Canes was up, the Wolves said "no thanks, we're not going to continue this, we're going independent". This decision makes them the first non-NHL affiliated team in almost 30 years. Now, this isn't to say all independently-owned AHL teams are doomed to fail in partnerships because of divergent philosophies. Look at the Hershey Bears and the Washington Capitals for a prime example of that - the Bears are one of the best teams in the AHL and have won four Calder Cups with the Caps as their affiliates since their affiliation began in 2005. But the Wolves were quite unhappy with the Canes, and so the two split. Also notable is that the Canes have also poisoned the waters with who should be their local AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, to the point where the Checkers affiliated with the Panthers instead. So... there's that.

So what can the Canes now do with non-roster players? They can affiliate with another AHL team (co-affiliation); one instance of this was when the Seattle Kraken affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers in 21-22 because the Coachella Valley Firebirds weren't yet ready. Supposedly the plan is to get an affiliate for 24-25. But what do they do this year? Especially if they can't find an affiliate to share, which seems more and more likely as the summer drags on? Well, you can't sign players to two-way deals with the Wolves anymore, so you can't really keep veterans around in the AHL to call up if needed. So you... sign nine defensemen to NHL contracts and carry them on the roster at all times. Yep. Don Waddell, Canes GM, has basically stated outright that his roster is probably going to have to carry 22 or 23 players at all times to be sure to have replacements in case of injury. And your prospects? They either go to Europe, where they're basically inaccessible for the whole year, or you loan them to other AHL clubs. Waddell has said plans are in place with several teams to send 2 or 3 players each to several different AHL clubs. For your youngest, they go back to major junior in the CHL and related leagues. Same for your veterans - if you want to keep them, you'll have to sign them one-way (I believe) and then loan them down to scattered AHL teams across the league. Prospects who you could have signed to play in the AHL and develop? You're probably going to have to let them go to free agency (see: Kevin Wall, leading player for Penn State and Carolina draft pick, who just inked a deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators). And then you can send your worse prospects to your ECHL tea- wait. Oops. They just lost that too. Can't do that either. Well, shit.

And remember, one of the Canes' biggest assets is their system of play (with strong defense) that they execute well. The Wolves needed to teach their players the Canes' system and prepare them so the jump from AHL to NHL wouldn't be that tough. The Canes put their coaches on the Wolves for that purpose (the Wolves have since cleaned house and instated their own). Loaning your players to another AHL team? Why would that team be incentivized to teach your player(s) the system? So now even when you're calling up someone to play for the Canes, you have no idea how well they know the system and no idea how well they can play in it.

This now begs the other question - how will the Wolves fill their roster? Well, they've got options. Generally, an AHL team takes the prospects of its NHL affiliate and then fills the rest of the roster with AHL veteran free agents that the AHL team signs to AHL-only deals. But without an NHL team, it's a smidge more complicated, or perhaps easier. Firstly, other NHL teams can loan their prospects to the Wolves instead of their own AHL teams if they consider the Wolves better at developing them, for instance. The Wolves can now also sign whatever free agent players they find roaming around that could be a good fit for their team - undrafted college players, good ECHL players that can't seem to get called up enough, AHL veterans, players on European teams (especially Russians who might want the chance to get the fuck out of Russia) and so on. These free agent players could see the Wolves as a stable AHL team that can pay solid money (the AHL doesn't have a cap) with a strong chance at contending for the Calder as well as a possible stepping stone to an NHL contract. The Wolves also don't have to worry about these free agents taking ice time away from the Canes' prospects, who would need to be prioritized under an affiliation, which would also be a strong incentive for AHL free agent veterans to sign with them - they'd be able to get a truly fair chance, unlike under an affiliate system where prospects are the priority and free agents are generally playing fewer (and worse) minutes.

And remember - Chicago just drafted Bedard. The city's getting back into hockey and Hawks tickets are expensive. Want to watch some quality hockey on the cheap? Why not come to Wolves games! They're only 18 miles away from the Hawks, too!

Let's now talk about the ECHL and the Norfolk Admirals. Thankfully, this is going to be a lot simpler. The ECHL, unlike the AHL, has only 28 teams. This means 4 NHL teams don't have an ECHL team. In addition, very few, if any, ECHL teams are owned by their NHL affiliates. This further incentivizes them to play for profit (winning the Kelly Cup, the ECHL version of the Stanley Cup) instead of development. On top of this, relatively few ECHL players actually make it to the NHL. ECHL affiliates change fairly frequently, especially due to many of the teams folding because of financial issues (most recently the Brampton Beast, Manchester Monarchs, and Quad City Mallards). So if an ECHL team decides to drop its NHL affiliate, or vice versa, there are four other suitors, all of whom would probably want to pay the ECHL team decent money to be their associate. For the Admirals, it's easy - they see the Canes lose their AHL affiliate and decide they'd rather take the Jets' offer instead, whether it be for the money (Carolina's supposedly notoriously stingy) or for the security. It's just really fucking funny that it happens at the same time Carolina loses their AHL team. Get fucked lol.

TL;DR stan the Wolves for rejecting the system. Canes Suck.

[leahsflwer]

Nicholas Jackson dating headcanons 🩵🤍

Warnings: SMUT! Adult content, couple things, breeding kink, gambling, the usual

Nicholas Jackson x Reader

Nicholas Jackson Masterlist || AEW Masterlist || Requests

: ̗̀➛ He is the complete opposite of you and that meant you both hated each other at the start, but slowly fell for the heated tension you both had, the first kiss being so intense and passionate, that you couldn’t help but fall for each other even harder

: ̗̀➛ This man is generally obsessed with you, in the best kind of way, he’s loyal as hell. In his eyes you’re a god. He loves you when you just woke up and have messy hair or when you are dressed up all fancy, he adores you no matter what

: ̗̀➛ Sometimes people think he is your sugar daddy because of how rich he is and how he always buys you things, but Nick does it out of love, wanting to spoil you even if you ask him not to buy you anything, he will do it anyway

: ̗̀➛ You will have to get used to his gambling addiction, but also find it attractive as he is good at it and always comes out with stacks of cash

: ̗̀➛ Nicholas is the luckiest man on earth, he wins games all the time, he wins in slots, he wins dares, so you will have to be the unlucky one. But he will find your bad luck and clumsiness cute

: ̗̀➛ But he still calls you his good luck charm

: ̗̀➛ He could listen to you all day, your voice and how you talk is just soothing to him and he could spend all day listening to you and only randomly but in when it’s something interesting

: ̗̀➛ This man will not take his chain necklace off, so he is the type to have the chain hanging down as he is deep inside of you

: ̗̀➛ Straightforward man, if he has an opinion he will speak it freely (in a kind matter). If he’s in the mood he will say it, or look into your eyes with his blue pair and have you weak in the knees, wanting him just as much as he wants you

: ̗̀➛ He glares whenever he is jealous and just gets all silent. He’s not the type to fight or yell and someone. More the type to pull you onto his lap or wrap an arm around you and have a full conversation with the person who was making him jealous, not letting you go

: ̗̀➛ Would never judge you, ever! If you’re scared to wear a bikini, he won’t force you, if you don’t like a certain outfit, he will get you another, he’s a caring man and would love you even with scars, birth marks, freckles, he loves it, cherishing you in what makes you feel comfortable

: ̗̀➛ Might get some custom clothes made for you both to match in the ring, letting fans put it together and cheer you both on

: ̗̀➛ The only time you guys fight was before you both admitted to having feelings for each others, considering you were both enemies in a way, afterwards you both stopped the bickering and only have mini arguments like you telling him to stop gambling and get some sleep

: ̗̀➛ You both act like an old married couple

: ̗̀➛ With how much Nicholas talks about “filling things up” and his love for kids. I’d have to say Nick has a breeding kink and can’t deny how much he wants to fill you up… iykyk

: ̗̀➛ Back before you two were dating or in the early stages, he thought you were in love with Matthew, until you reminded him over and over again that his brother was just a close friend and nothing else, then he eventually saw it and accepted it as you were just close to Matt considering you loved his brother, Nicholas.

: ̗̀➛ Nicholas lets you wear his hats often and gets you matching Nike shoes (he has so many)