#but i want to be able to talk about them to a wider audience and get a larger set of opinions on them because i barely get asks and...

[batxcastlesociety]

does anyone have any genuine tips on how to make your OCs popular because i've been working for days on arts about them but they still just aren't popular 💀

[bioethicists]

Come chat about Psych Abolition!

For a while now, I've wanted to create more spaces to talk about psych abolition + specifically talk with people to understand what sort of information and resources would be meaningful for them. The forum has been a lovely place, though I think a lot of us (including me) are very busy and not always able to check up on it. I have a bit of extra time this summer now that I'm not doing coursework, so I'd like to take that time to work on writing + talking about psychiatric abolition!

So, if you want to just chat about psych abilition/psychiatric survivorship, yell at me, or collaborate on works which convey these themes to a wider audience, please drop in! A reminder to anyone who wants to attend that under no circumstances may anyone contact the authorities as a result of anything spoken about during the Zoom. Free discussion of self-injury + suicidality + substance use are expected without fear of being "crisis" intervened upon. That being said, the goal of these chats is not necessarily to be a support group but more to talk about psychiatric abolition, build community, + increase knowledge.

I will be doing 3 weekday evening sessions + two midday Sunday sessions, hoping to accommodate people with different work schedules + different time zones. They will be via Zoom, with a passcode (I'm not super hip on how to prevent ppl from fucking up Zoom meetings so uhhh if you are + there's something about the structure of this post that is compromising, please let me know!)

Each link goes to the respective meeting- the password for each one is "frogs". Anyone is welcome, so long as they are able to honor the space as one where anything can be spoken about.

First Meeting Recap Post

Second Meeting Recap Post

Third Meeting Recap Post

Fourth Meeting Recap Post

Monday July 29 @ 9pm EST | 1am UTC

[yuurivoice]

Saw a goofball post about ASMR Roleplay, romantic plots, narratives, etc. and so on.

Let me share some of my philosophy with you as someone in this game for 7 years, 150k subs on YouTube, and who turned this into a lucrative business for himself. I say all that not to flex, but to assure you that maybe I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.

Audio Roleplays, ASMR Roleplay, etc and so forth is not some sort of rigid, strict thing. If you believe that content in this niche has to adhere to strict rules, structure, and expectations, you've already entered into this with strange expectations because there is such a vast array of ways you can go about presenting this content.

Some of it is slice of life moments in time with an assumed relationships between character and listener. Before narrative audios started to pick up steam, or rather, a handful of folks (myself included) developed followings centered on original characters and stories, the vast majority of creators in this space were just doing snippets of experiences. And, in case you were unaware, that approach is wildly successful. Boyfriend Experiences, audio smut, etc. has a much wider appeal at this time because a listener can drop right in and enjoy it.

If you have somehow deluded yourself into thinking that every audio has to adhere to strict narrative rules, be defined by conflict, or things happening beyond whatever the vibe calls for, you're willfully putting yourself and the niche in a box. Which is fine, but seeing people piss and moan about it is strange.

My approach has been to blend narrative series along with one-shots. One-shots serve as super self indulgent audios that aren't tied to the narrative and allow listeners to engage with some of their favorite characters they fell in love with in the narrative without furthering the plot.

Sometimes I play the game, explore tropes and clichés that are popular for the sake of taking a crack at it. Because it brings in new listeners who then become fans of my narrative work and creates genuine supporters of my passion projects.

And ya know? It fucking works. It works really well. I can drop a very straightforward, stripped down comfort audio with Alphonse like I did today and move listeners to tears. And then we can continue on with BitterSweet when I'm good and ready. It keeps the channel running, keeps the audience engaged, and keeps me working.

The bigger point here is that creators should be able to approach their work as they see fit, without concerns about goofballs with strange expectations and standards dictating to them what is and is not valid. You wanna know what's valid? Creating shit that you like, that the people who support you like. However you achieve that is all good in my book.

Having some goofy ass superiority complex about how people play pretend with pretty voices is strange behavior. I'm proud that my community has never flung that kind of nonsense around, and I'm speaking on it to affirm that kind of stance for the folks who rock with me.

If you're a listener who has recently stumbled into this niche, I implore you to explore, listen to others, find what you like and enjoy it because you enjoy it. There are countless people making audio content these days and there's no wrong way to do it, never has been. There's something for everyone, and if someone tries to tell you otherwise, be wary.

I'm not about negative nonsense, not about tribalism or putting down one person over another. Lift up your faves and share why you appreciate them and their style. But petulant bickering and shitting on others because of something as trivial as audio content? Nahhhh. If I catch anyone spouting nonsense like that in my name, I try and snuff it out as fast as possible because that's not how my shit is built.

If you are someone who fucks with me and my work but has had some opinions like that, I implore you to chill because none of this has ever been that serious. I want people to enjoy what they want to enjoy because for the love of fuck, life is too short to try and grandstand over this silly little niche. Or please get all the way away from me and my people.

Deuces. ✌️

[cherrirui-official]

Friendlocke Violet Gijinkas (Part 5/7)

Like i said previously im gonna try to finish these before the end of the year so expect to see the rest of these guys very soon (hopefully)

I plan on posting them in order by groups of three, so there’s gonna be seven parts in total, all of which I’ll be linking here when done vvv

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Six) (Part Seven)

!! These will contain personal headcanons I have for the cast, little fun facts, and also spoilers for Friendlocke Violet (for both the edited vids and the streams) !!

@saltydkart-reblogs

Designs under the cut!

JAYWEED:

Jayweed used to be part of the Sprigatito line before death, as evident by his cat-like features and his vague association with plants.

His arms are transparent, and can't really come into contact with anything besides Jayweed himself.

Can see spirits and talk to them, but chooses not to. He doesn't want to "waste his time" with the dead.

The creepiest thing about Jayweed is that his pupils aren't attached to his eyes... I...don't know what to do with that information but hey! It's info!

Somehow able to escape the friendbox without any outside interference. We don't know how he manages to do that.

He knows where you are. Start running.

LUKE:

Despite popular belief, Luke is not affiliated with Tulip in any way, shape, or form. They have done a collaboration at one point though.

He started his cult after growing bored of his mundane life as a simple model. He knows all the stuff he says is completely fake, but his followers still eat it up anyways. Pests, the lot of them.

Luke often goes on different podcasts in order to preach his word to a wider audience. Most of them seem to be outputted by him... well except for Braidy and Mykyie.

Luke is the only one to know about Cookie's past, but he never brought it up to anyone else for some reason...

He isn't afraid to put himself in danger, in fact he seems to enjoy the thrill of it.

It takes approximately 45 minutes for Luke to do his hair.

GERBICYCLE 2:

Gerbicycle 2 was made by Turo after being commissioned by Iono to make a delivery bot for her.

He met both Grace and 4est before the events of friendlocke, as they were all in Area Zero at some point in the past

It is scarily easy to convince him to go through even the most ridiculous of plans, as Gerbicycle doesn't exactly put much thought into consequences and stuff like that. It seems that somebody took advantage of that.

He initially wasn't programmed to feel emotions, though he is slowly learning how to.

When he's not in his work attire he likes to wear hawaiian shirts... it is unknown when or why he started to wear them.

Gerbicycle 1 died of food poisoning... how that happened to a robot is unbeknownst to me.

That's it for now! Uhmm... disintegrates

[writing-for-life]

Right, okay, I’ve thought long and hard whether to write this:

A squick (even a strong one) is not the same as a trigger.

Emotional discomfort, even emotional discomfort that leads to low-level physical symptoms like e.g. mild nausea, is not trauma. Unfortunately, TikTok pop psych has done nothing to help people understand the difference, because the trend to perceive (even strong) emotional discomfort as equivalent to a trauma response is worrying and neither helps people with nor without PTSD. I don’t wish it on anyone to actually find out the difference if they haven’t yet (disclaimer, since this is unfortunately necessary these days because everything gets misconstrued: I am not talking about individual experiences, because only you can know about those. I’m talking about wider trends in an often young audience with not enough background info to be able to tell apart sound medical/psychological info and viral BS created by “influencers” for some kind of personal gain).

What people in the current fandom spat want to have tagged as “triggers” are overwhelmingly squicks. And we’re probably all guilty of quickly saying “that triggered me”, myself included (and I’m a licensed psychotherapist, shame on me). It has become somewhat of a shorthand for “extremely annoyed or grossed out”. But when it gets used in the context of tagging, it’s good to remember that no one owes us a tag list the length of our arm just because we don’t like certain things. Even if we strongly dislike them.

And even on the occasion someone else’s yuck or yum is an actual trigger for us, it is impossible to cover for every possible trigger, because in theory, EVERYTHING has the possibility to trigger someone somewhere.

E.g., a certain smell in a supermarket holds the rare possibility of triggering someone, but do you see disclaimers at the supermarket door that say, “May smell of 484 different things, which are in detail [list of 484 things] and might be different tomorrow. Plus, we might have a customer today who smells of that perfume that brings up your triggering childhood memories. Or maybe we won’t, but just on the odd chance we do, we thought we’d rather cover it”.

There might be one person with a very specific trigger that does literally nothing to the vast majority of people. Do we expect everyone on Tumblr to tag for “eyebrows” or “white T-Shirt” because of that? How about that person just puts “eyebrows” or “white T-Shirt” in their content filter instead?

Do we really suggest to put that type of responsibility on creators? More importantly: Who are we protecting that way? All we do is put people into bubble wrap and shift responsibility for our mental wellbeing away from ourselves to others.

We are trying to tell other people what to do for our own comfort. That’s controlling.

If we’re squicked out by something, there is a simple solution: we can stop looking or reading. We can use content (not tag) filters. In the worst case, we can block. We don’t have to put that type of responsibility for our personal sensitivities on creators (or people who reblog, for that matter).

We can tag for certain things as a courtesy, I’m all for it. I love being able to filter out stuff I’m not into, and I sometimes wish people would tag better or not tag a certain way (getting ship tags for a ship you’re not into slapped on your character-metas is annoying 🤣). But I don’t die, neither does it cause me unbearable distress, if I see cows where I don’t expect them. Scroll past or block. And if I’m worried about mature topics like nudity or violence: Tumblr has a community label for mature themes you can (and in my view should) use if in doubt. Funnily enough, many people don’t do that though—maybe because they worry about reach?

Of course we should include content warnings where they are due, no one says we shouldn’t. It’s also fair if a creator doesn’t wish to do that beyond general warnings (no specifics) though because they might give away, say, major plot points that way. In that case, general disclaimers like “contains depictions of violence”, or whatever it might be individually, are a good idea. And if that’s not specific enough for us despite knowing that “violence” in general might also contain our personal trigger, we might need to make the decision not to read it to stay safe, but we shouldn’t have a go at the writer for not tagging very specific things that might be considered spoilers.

Long story short: If we assume people are “triggered” by werewolves with vulvas or non-human characters, it might be worth thinking about whether we’re just talking about squicks that very much fall into the category of “personal responsibility”. And there are plenty solutions to that at our end—we don’t need to put that on creators…

[cherrytimemachine]

Can I have a breakdown of Prima? :3

Finally, I have an excuse to talk about the Thirteen. Thank you, anon. >:)

How I feel about this character: Strict and unyielding, Prima was the ever vigilant leader of the Thirteen. Raised from a young age to be the guiding force behind her team (yes my Prima is a girl, though she does use she/they), she developed a rigid standard for rules and was quite stubborn in the face of criticism against her. She was committed to fulfilling her destiny as given to her by Primus, who she considers a father to her, and she would do anything to make him proud. After the downfall of the Guiding Hand, she became colder and distrustful of others. She took over as the leader of Crystal City (Cybertron's original capital until it was changed to Iacon by Nova Prime) and claimed it as her territory. She'd always been more independent from the others, but her judgements of them could at times be quite harsh, especially towards Megatronus, who she deemed a reckless liability. She wouldn't realize how much of a role she played in the Schism (the downfall of the Thirteen) until it was too late.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: I don't think she'd touch romance with a 10 foot pole. She preferred being alone more than anything, as she felt security in being able to have total control over her own decisions. She'd be pretty difficult to have a relationship with anyway. She's a control freak and refuses to do anything that isn't by her standards. You might as well try migrating to a new planet, because Prima ain't budging.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Despite the popular belief among the Thirteen, Prima does in fact care about them, in her own way. Her criticism is justified in her mind, because she thinks she's trying to show them the right way. Really, only Vector, Alpha Trion, and the Thirteenth understand her point of view. She doesn't explain her thought process unless it's about strategy or debating, so her personal motives are a mystery to most people.

She gets along most with Vector and Alpha Trion. They take their positions seriously and don't engage in much tomfoolery, so they're a more mature and favorable company in her book.

Out of all of them, she's the most protective of Thirteen. Thirteen is shy and hates it when their friends argue, and Prima's impression of them is a naive optimist. They're more knowledgeable and aware than Prima gives them credit for. The two still have a nice relationship though. Prima is a guiding force for Thirteen, and Thirteen has been known to convince Prima to soften her position on more than one occasion.

The last person she's really affiliated with is Onyx. They both share an appreciation for spiritually and the nature of treating sparks, both born and dead, with utmost care. Their tribes made an alliance a long time ago, and the mutual respect persists to the present day among their descendants.

My unpopular opinion about this character: The Thirteen needs to be in more stuff. Not just in books or in flashbacks or vague murals, I want them in a story with actual interactions. I want to see them battle Unicron, that would be lit. I want to see her flaws showcased to a wider audience. Megatronus gets the most negative attention out of all of them, followed closely by Liege Maximo, and Megatronus hadn't done anything to initially give Prima a reason to dislike him. She considered him the most like Unicron, and it shows how judgemental she is and how her biases affect the way she treats her team.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: If she was even present in canon aside from being a legend. I wouldn't bank on it, but since there seems to be more focus on Quintus with the Earthspark series, it's possible that we will be able to see all of the Thirteen in all their demi god glory one day.

Also: let there be more gender variety in the Thirteen, for the love of god. I love Solus, don't get me wrong, but I feel like they did her dirty by making her the only girl for the sake of the angsty love triangle thing with Megatronus, Liege, and also Nexus for some reason. You cannot tell me that wasn't the reason for her being female. Just- let there be more women. Gender expression and its fluidity is a vital part of the Transformers species, and it should show in the early creation period.

I have many thoughts on the Thirteen and the Guiding Hand, so please feel free to ask about them!

[lambsonburn]

TAG Analysis Ep 1 part 2

Hey guys it’s me again - I was meant to do another analysis much sooner but got distracted after Xmas.

This relates to the first episode - first part is on the characters and second is on little details I noticed.

Analysis is under the cut :)

A few things I want to point out first is the introduction of the characters. They are introduced one by one, which is such a good way to understand who is who particularly to a newer younger audience. Furthermore, the way in which they are introduced further add to their characterisation. We see John as head of communications and responds to calls which, compared to the original, is a much more defined role with him now appearing in every episode. Brains is busy doing technical stuff, Penelope and Parker still have their air of aristocracy which is enhanced by the music. Alan is shown to be the youngest (even though we know he is) through a mission which is basically baby sitting. And Grandma Tracy being a terrible cook is such a funny little addition to the show which really furthers the characters personalities and interactions compared to the original where it was more of a “we must save them” and end it there.

As a little tangent, I would like to say that Kayo being given her own craft is such a good implementation for her character, since in the original as Tin Tin she has a much wider, less defined role and was basically one of the few women Sylvia had managed to put in (which was quite significant since the original was incredibly male heavy). But since Kayo has her own ship, the possibilities for her characters became so much more and I think definitely a character that really helped the series since her personality is much tougher than the brothers. Moreover, having her be such a change from Tin Tin is generally just a really good touch since it leans away from the casually misogyny of the original and really brings her into her own.

Anyway on to details !! One of THE most astounding things I’ve seen in the shown (which I know also happens in the last ep of s1 but done by the Hood) and it’s when Virgil moves the chair. For those who are missing out on the incredibleness of this lays in the fact that this is CGI flawlessly interacting with a miniature element. And it’s the fact that it stops so abruptly just makes me think that absolutely everything was done purposefully - since, in my mind, having the chair go from A to B like it does allows them to animate the CG to blend better with the environment and any little mistakes you see from the chair are overlooked because you focus back on the movement. This all happens 5:57 mins into the episode btw :3.

The puppetry! The puppetry! The submersible rig is an actual miniature (or “bigature” as Weta puts it). By having it be a miniature you can capture the janky movements as it falls apart and not have it feel uncanny as what we are seeing can be recognised as real and not CG. (This goes for all the little bits of rocks and dust we see kick up too)

Now one of the major drawbacks I can see from the CGI miniature mix is that it doesn’t always fit quite well. I’ve mainly noticed it with TB2 (I have a fav ok babes?) and how the shadows interacts around it. During its launch sequence, the shadow underneath the craft looks a bit weird and the bottom of TB2 doesn’t quite blend with the environment. Other moments I’ve seen of similar things happening is in Breakdown when it lands (has the same weird shadow goings on) but also when it flies by the camera where it looks unbearably CG. Idk if I mentioned in the last post, but the main reason why the show is able to mix the media’s so well is bc of the interaction with one another - the ships are usually around dust, smoke whatnot so looks less like a sticker slapped on to it but is instead integrated.

Another fun little detail is the music that plays when Gordon goes to find the seismic device (10:25) which is near always played when they talk about their father. Someone in the reblogs of the post (linked at end) mentioned that it always cuts halfway through, never fully playing (which changes when they get their Dad back)

Talking about their dad, even though it’s not said he’s missing we know he is from Virgil’s words from the beginning “no one’s losing their dad today.” In one sentence we hear what has happened to their dad but has see a glimpse into the underlying trauma that came with his “death.”

I did want to do this more analytically but I can’t help but ramble TuT

[theredkennedys]

my au my rules. this au is literally called Chucker Spiderverse AU in the archived discord thread so be warned oooOoOOoooOo . gay men OoooooOo

writing out the backstory that me and my friend Donut have been working on for the better part of a year, most of it was inspired by the new itsv movie that was released then. and because I don't plan on writing anything huge for this I'd like my brainstorming to have a wider audience.

All art posted is most likely @franklindonuts , aka Donut the cocreator of this shit,,,hey buddy😆 go show him some love pleeeease

you can see my art of this au here

this will 100% be somewhat incomprehensive but hey I'm just a fag having fun and I was born yesterday🧚‍♀️

**

Tucker is the spiderman in his universe with Church as his "guy in the chair". (Putting it out there that this Church is Alpha, which is significant later on.)

They both share an apartment, I don't think I ever specified why but probably for school reasons. They're both young adults, I want to say around 19-21, similar to their Blood Gulch years.

Tucker loves being spiderman. He loves helping people, being almost an idol for people- a lot of jokes were thrown around about that:

Imagine Tucker after he got his sword. He has a genuine purpose now and he's going to be good at it.

but goddd Tucker is Tucker and is stupid and reckless. being spiderman doesn't make him invincible but he loves to think otherwise. he pushes himself too far too often because he knows if he doesn't he wouldn't be able to sleep at night if someone got hurt when he was taking it "easy". Church knows this but he's still pissed off when Tucker comes back bloodied and bruised from a Villain of the Week that he shouldn't have taken on :/

(Donut art)

mental illness

It's literally just the Spiderman Effect. No one will Ever be able to understand what it's like to be spiderman but other spiders, regardless of how much you tell them or show them, they won't get it. and Church doesn't Get it. He's not stupid, he understands WiTh GrEaT PoWeR y'know but there's a mental toll that can't be communicated in a way that makes sense :/

regardless, Church hates it but he also hates how much he cares about Tucker. Cocreator said that he figured they were both close and willing to become A Thing but the time was never right, and Tucker was scared of liking a dude, etc. Normal stuff between these two. But they're insanely close, I'd like to think even moreso after Tucker's whole spiderman thing and the fact that Church also has to realize that Tucker is not invincible.

(despite them not being A Thing, Donut art of The Spiderman kiss and other gay shit)

Now this is the kicker of why I said to take note of the fact this is Alpha Church specifically.

Now I'm aware of the clowning on the whole "canon event" thing and some people's opinion on it (mostly that it's dumb and cliche), but I find it a very unique and convenient way to give a character a significant plot boost.

That being said, Tucker's "canon event" is Church's death.

I don't ever think I solidified how/why he dies, moreso that it's just a wrong-place wrong-time type of thing. Some brainstorming from Donut about it:

but i never asked him for elaboration so I don't know what the fuck he's talking about. anyway

Tucker finds Church similar to how Miles found Peter in the first Spiderverse movie. He doesn't know what to do. He's frantic and scared and horrified that his best friend is coughing up blood with raspy breaths.

(Alpha s10 parallel with tex lalalala)

Obviously. Obbbviousllyy Tucker is distraught and inconsolable. Something something he has the Worst depression of his life. He doesn't know what to do with himself, the one person who knew about everything is gone, and I'm sorry (not) lol but it's not like in rvb where Church revives 8 times before dying like a normal person.

Church was always there for Tucker and he's at a loss of what to do now because, despite the threat of it, he should've never died. It wasn't even a concern in his head ever because it seemed so unlikely.

Tucker doesn't know what to do with himself, he wouldn't have gotten this far without Church. But really, it was All Tucker. All Church did was give him little tech bits to help him function better but it was All Tucker. But he isn't able to realize that through everything and it ruins him.

I will have to make a continuation post because I love adding images and Just hit the mobile limit🧚‍♀️

thanks for reading if you got this far

[pedropascalito]

Pedro at Santa Fe GoT Premiere

Author Ty Franck, on the podcast "Ty and That Guy", shared the story of going to a Game of Thrones premiere in Santa Fe with his sister and meeting Pedro. Pedro ending up chatting with his sister for about 30 minutes, and Ty mentioned how many celebrities are always looking for an exit when you talk to them at events, but Pedro was present and engaged talking with his sister, who isn't in the industry, and Ty shared he was so impressed with Pedro as a person after that experience.

It's behind a Patreon paywall so I don't want to share the audio snippet, but I was able to find that a few GoT premiere events were held in Santa Fe, including S4. I can't find any pictures, though, and I wonder if it's because he was still pretty unknown to a wider audience before Oberyn captivated everyone in S4.

If you know more about Pedro attending this event, I'd love to hear more about it! But I thought it was a lovely interaction to share and speaks so much to the person Pedro is (or was, but I hope is).

(I also note it was a work event, not his personal time!)

The podcast did a deep dive into TLOU by episode and it was fascinating hearing their perspectives as a screenwriter and an actor in the industry. (Actor Wes Chatham is 'That Guy' of the podcast name.) This TLOU episode deep dive got me through multiple cross-country plane trips over the last month or so. I loved it and recommend it if you are looking for a good Patreon podcast experience.

[a-specoftheday]

Baker Thief review

soooo, i finished my first a-spec book !! yay !! (i will continue with the suggestions in the inbox as soon as possible)

now, in terms of a short review i can personally say that the book is a nice and easy read, with some french sprinkled in, it is something that you could easily get done in a couple of days (if you're not an old man like me and you're more used to digital books).

when talking about the book in itself, without spoilers, it is a queer fantasy, with trans and other queer identities specifically discussed in it and with a very diverse queer cast. centering more on trans identities out of the binary and aromanticism.

it is also a more a-spec twist on a classic enemies-to-lovers, but don't expect it to be too slow-burn (which is fine, whatever tickles your fancy). but be mindful that the relationship is a key element of the plot if that is something that you may or may not be interested about.

the more action-based plot is very attention-grabbing, painting a world of steampunk and magic and tackling themes of police corruption and discrimination. the author is able to create a very elaborate and clearly thought-out world that the reader ends up just wanting to know even more about.

if you couldn't tell already: relationship-based stories aren't my strong point (and that part of this book wasn't my favourite), so my review of those parts might need some polishing for future posts, but i do hold the importance that the telling of those stories has. i hope more authors are able to fill their worlds with queer characters and themes and i will always do my part in trying for these stories to reach a wider audience and let someone find comfort in them.

i hope for my reviews to improve with practice so any book, comic, manga, show, film, etc recommendation is always welcomed on this blog and if any of the subjects i talked about in this review grabbed your attention at all, please check out Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault.

[keepmeinmind-01]

wip wednesday 23/10

hi everyone and hope you're having a good week! here are my lines for this week :D

from "all i need", for @wizisbored @stonemaskedtaliesin:

CW: mentions of period-typical racism

Newt had no grand theory, no hypothesis about the roles of creatures or wixen—he only wanted the public to be less afraid and more appreciative, with his academic works simple and illustrative, his books comprehensive and designed for a wider audience.  With every letter, he felt the doubt return. He dared not to ask Theseus, as much as he wanted to, because the Auror Office had been specifically barred from the intel of the Department of Mysteries, and he worried his brother’s head might find some irrecoverable chopping block. In strict confidence, Leta had told him to release a statement, if he so wanted, positioning himself against the magical scientists drawing on the growing trend of Muggle eugenics. Tina had gone a little pale and admitted that she’d never been allowed in any of New York’s resorts, because of her being Jewish.  That, at last, had made him want to release something. The Ministry had posted it for him in a copy of the Prophet; that same week, a Muggle police officer had stopped Theseus and Leta as they’d come out of a riverside restaurant; and new intelligence Albus had given about Grindelwald’s tactical propensities had averted another planned massacre. 

from "never love an anchor 1908 part 4" (which weirdly is part 5, great job me in doing my file names), for @aparticularbandit @oriharaizayadividesintoslytherin @tamsinswriting @lizhly @kallisto-k @enigma-the-mysterious @loyal-house-of-lupin:

CW: referenced infertility

"Well," she said finally, letting the diagnostic spell fade, "it's certainly an unusual curse. Dark magic, without question, but with an interesting temporal component. Were you planning on having children, Mr Scamander?" Theseus's throat tightened. He'd never really thought about it before—or rather, he had carefully avoided thinking about it, the way he avoided thinking about most futures that didn't involve the Ministry. "I suppose that's not relevant now," he said quietly. "Not necessarily. There are treatments we can try. A regimen of specialised potions might be able to counteract the worst effects, though I should warn you they're not pleasant, and success isn't guaranteed." She pulled a piece of parchment from her desk and began writing out instructions in a neat, cramped hand. "Three times daily, with meals. The side effects can be...significant. Nausea, fatigue, occasional magical instability. And even if the treatment is successful, there may be lasting effects we can't predict." Theseus took the prescription, folding it precisely along its creases. His hands didn't shake—he was proud of that—but he could feel the tremors building under his skin, like the precursor to an earthquake. "Thank you," he said, his voice steady. "About the records—" "They'll be sealed, of course. Patient confidentiality." She hesitated. "Though given the nature of the curse, and who cast it..."

from "kmim thesleta flashbacks" for @sourb0i @auburnlaughter @whimsicalmeerkat:

CW a fight in which someone throws a vase

He knew he should stop, knew he was only making things worse, but the words kept coming, propelled by exhaustion and lingering alcohol and the image of that little girl's body that wouldn't leave his mind. "You want to talk about draining? Try walking on eggshells every day, never knowing if you're going to get the woman I fell in love with or someone who looks at me like she's measuring the best place to stick the knife. You bottle everything up, push people away, test them until they break—" The crystal vase sailed past his head before he could finish, missing him by inches. It shattered against the wall in an explosion of glass and early spring daffodils, water running down the wallpaper. Leta stood with her arm still extended, chest heaving, her eyes wild both a mixture of fury and horror. Theseus didn't flinch. If anything, his racing pulse began to slow, settling into an eerily familiar calm. His body remembered old lessons: when things started breaking, it was time to be still. Stay quiet. Don't provoke. Weather the storm. "Are you going to hit me next?" he asked, his voice perfectly neutral. "Go ahead." Instead, she turned and fled the kitchen, leaving him standing amid the glittering shards of broken crystal. Theseus didn't move for a long time. The coffee percolator bubbled and hissed, filling the kitchen with its rich aroma. Water continued to drip down the wall, the daffodils lying broken and scattered across the floor. His mother had given them that vase as a housewarming gift, he remembered distantly. She'd been so pleased to see him settling down, building a proper home with someone. From somewhere upstairs came the sound of drawers being yanked open, things being thrown around. The familiar sounds of packing, of leaving. His feet felt rooted to the floor, even as part of him screamed to go after her, to fix this. But he'd learned that lesson too—sometimes chasing only made them run faster. The morning sunlight caught the broken glass, sending rainbow refractions dancing across the kitchen walls. Beautiful, in its way. Destructive things often were.

and as part of the 2-for-1, from "kmim celebration/sudan" for @sourb0i @auburnlaughter @whimsicalmeerkat:

Rocking back and forth on his heels, he examined the vast range of jars the others had produced and started selecting a few, trying to ignore how discombobulated the sight of his hands reaching out to touch something solid made him feel. Pickled fronds of green cabbage, sesame seeds and grated carrot, bamboo shoots and broccoli stems, and a promising looking pair of jars that contained cucumber and chillies respectively. Leta had loved spicy food; he’d adapted his childhood’s bland palate of basic meals and skipped dinners for her.  This he could do. Cooking had always been a straightforward task for him—following steps, achieving results.  "That large jar is pickled radishes," Newt said. "But the red one next to it is actually preserved specimens of a rather fascinating fungus that grows on the Qilins' preferred grazing grounds. Best not to mix those up." Tina, who had been reaching for the red jar, quickly withdrew her hand. She moved to the sink instead, accidentally knocking the tap and spraying water in several unexpected directions.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

i think this is where best practice for personal internet safety butts up against best practice for actual organizing--common wisdom internet safety is to never give your money to an individual unless you know them personally, because on the internet nobody knows you're a dog etc, but best practice for actual organizing involves not sharing identifying information for vulnerable populations. i don't have any ideas for fix that and i don't really think it's fixable, i just wanted to articulate something about how everyone is talking past each other here. i think its part of a wider problem where some people use their blogs like they're a myspace network for talking to their friends and some people use their blogs like they're a public platform for speaking to an audience of mostly strangers, which require fundamentally different social norms and expectations. caveats that everyone who has pointed out material harm is correct im not trying to make any claims there tbc.

This is a very good point!

That said, this is actually really easy to address in social etiquette and I have literally made the comparison before, so it frustrates me a lot when people act and speak as if this gap is in any way new or unique.

What is your approach to giving cash to homeless people and panhandlers? Whatever that personal approach is, consider treating online fundraisers as the same functional interaction. In both cases, a stranger in an open commons asked you for money and told you why [ostensibly] they need it. You can choose to take their word or not, you can choose to give them money or not, but what you CANNOT DO is stand next to them loudly yelling at anyone who passes that "giving your money to strangers is a bad idea because they might be lying to you" in an effort to belittle and undermine the person as they move on to other potential donors.

I do agree that "common internet safety" is part of the issue here, but so is "people assuming that common internet safety recommendations are actually legitimately helpful advice vs scare mongering and stranger danger [aka known systems whereupon oppression acts to criminalize, harm, and even kill marginalized people]"

You'd think people who proclaim their commitment to mutual aid and progressive praxis would be able to make that relatively straightforward step forward when indicated that the step was available. It's deeply enraging to instead watch those very people double and triple down on "authoritarian social dynamics are actually good when they empower me at the cost of others"

[rainbowsky]

Sunshine By My Side - a few answers

I've gotten quite a few questions about Sunshine By My Side. People want to know what it's about, what I think of it, whether I recommend it, etc. so here's some info related to the questions I've been getting. I apologize for not answering your asks individually.

About the Series

Sunshine By My Side is currently available on iQIYI with English subtitles. The first several episodes are available for free at 720p, while VIP subscribers are able to access more episodes earlier, at 1080p.

It hasn't yet appeared on WeTV international.

While there is a romantic storyline, this series is considered a 'life drama', not an idol romance like Oath of Love. It covers major life and workplace issues in a serious way and is intended to appeal to a much broader audience from a wider age range.

Contrary to popular belief, it isn't based on an original screenplay. It is an adaptation of a 2017 Taiwanese drama called My Dear Boy (this is confirmed in the credits of Sunshine By My Side).

Here is a synopsis of Sunshine By My Side (from MyDramaList):

Of course, the two stories will not be identical. There will have been some changes made to adapt it to the approach this new series wants to take.

Jian Bing (Bai Baihe), a well-known advertising director, and Sheng Yang (Xiao Zhan), a newcomer in the industry, randomly crossed paths inside a restaurant one day. One has just ended a marriage, while the other was waiting for a love to finally fall apart. These two strangers eventually developed a bond and began embarking on a journey of sublime growth and budding romance. With the company of Sheng Yang, Jian Bing was able to gain her confidence back both in life and in love whereas Sheng Yang grew up from a young and carefree youth to one with a keen edge under the guidance and encouragement of Jian Bing. The two healed each other, grew up together, and overtime learned to love one another.

However, challenges in life are inevitable. Faced with their differences both in their identities and experiences, objections towards their relationship within their families, and rumors in the workplace escalating, Jian Bing and Sheng Yang finally decided to let their future play out through the course of time. Three years passed, allowing them to grow and change for the better. A lot of their firsts were spent with each other, and this trust they held and the experiences they shared back then went around and finally found them, making them gravitate towards each other again.

Here's a trailer:

My Thoughts

As for whether I recommend it or not, I haven't actually seen any of it yet so I can't give you an informed recommendation. However, I have been really looking forward to this series because the story looks good, the female lead is a well known and well respected actor with real talent, and the script writers and director are also well respected.

I have a feeling this is going to be a good series. The feedback I've heard so far from people who are watching it has been solidly positive. So yes, I would recommend it based on all of that.

And ultimately I think it's worthwhile to watch as many projects of theirs as we can - even the bad ones *coughoathoflovecough* - because even when a story totally sucks and is poorly told, we still get to see how they approach certain roles, we learn more about their experiences and growth as actors, and we can talk about their projects from a well-informed perspective.

Nothing annoys me more than when fans shit-talk shows they haven't even seen. If you haven't seen it, you haven't yet earned that privilege, my friend. 😅

Anyway, I hope you all get a chance to see it, and that you enjoy it. I will be watching it eventually, when I have time. I will also be writing a review of it once I'm finished.

I hope this answers most of your questions. If I missed anything, please feel free to send in another ask.

[mc-tummy-blur]

AND ANOTHER THING it's obvious Ballisters questioning/judgemental statements of Nimonas shape-shifting abilities is suppose to mirror how in real life people who fall under the transgender/nonbinary umbrellas are constantly questioned and judged about their gender identity/sex like can you be normal for a second i think it would be easier if you were a girl because he cant comprehend how she can constantly changes how she presents herself and one of his firsts questions is asking her how she is able to shape-shift in the first place being under the impression that she was cursed in some way so Nimona begins to tell him a story that leads him to think he is going to get a answer that satisfies and in turn the audience thinks they are going to get that too because honestly now a days when it comes to unanswered questions/mysteries in media there's a loud group of people that get all mad that their questions weren't answered or were answered but not in the way that they wanted but much to Ballisters disappointment as well as probably an amount of the audience that wants to be spoonfed information her story is just basically it's none of your damn business how and why I am able to shape-shift which is the exact reasoning that I and many people people who are trans/nonbinary/ whatever use because really it isn't anyone's business how we present ourselves or how we transition it's something that you have to respect and of course as the story goes on Ballister begins to respect/accept Nimonas shape-shifting abilities which hopefully at this point the audience does too and while this in itself is a lovely progression and message to take away about queer people and queer acceptance the main reason why I am bringing this up first was to talk about a detail that I needed a minute to realize it was there when it cuts to Nimonas traumatic flashback to the past with Gloreth 1000 years ago we see that Nimona has been shape-shifting for that long so to me at least it's heavily implied/ that Nimonas shape-shifting abilities have just always been there and that she was born with them because we as the audience don't get an origin story for how she got the shape-shifting abilities and in a typical story fashion people are expecting to get in a flashback/exposition to explain why something is like that so if the movie wanted to confirm that she got her powers from a curse or a wish or what have you that flashback wouldve been the perfect time to explain it but they didn't and so it's very likely that the general audience can only draw the conclusion that she was born with them considering she's had them for 1000 years and that is just such an important thing for queer people in general because it's not some type of curse that we are gay or trans nothing has happened to us that changed who we were we were just born that way and figured it out at some point during our lives like how Nimona was born that way and probably realized what she could shape-shift into as she got older and its just it's so I have never felt more seen with a movie why the fuck isn't it in more theatres Netflix please you'll make more money releasing it to a wider range of theatres instead of a few select ones COME ON

[tomorrowxtogether]

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Unpack the “Story of Growth” in New Album The Name Chapter: FREEFALL

"I thought about how far we’ve come," says Beomgyu

In the music video for TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s new single, “Chasing That Feeling,” Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai quite literally crash-land back on earth. It’s an apt visual for the focus track off their latest project, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL, which brings the boys back to reality after their spring EPfeatured a dreamy stint in a Neverland setting.

While TXT’s discography has explored young love and other narratives, so much of the group’s music hovers around themes of growing up in an increasingly complicated world. “We want to talk about the experiences that are unique to our generation,” Hueningkai tells Consequence. The Name Chapter: FREEFALL is the group’s first LP in over two years, and their longest collection of new music since 2021’s The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE. There are a few new angles to this project — a harder commitment to rock along with playing around with Jersey club hallmarks — but it’s a TOMORROW X TOGETHER project through and through.

“Happily Ever After,” like 2021’s “Ice Cream,”sounds bright but contains more serious themes in the lyrics . There’s also a song dedicated specifically from the members to their beloved fan base, MOA, titled “Blue Spring.” With more lyrical contributions than ever before from the members themselves, it’s exciting seeing TXT continue to develop as artists and creatives, and Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai are back to reflect on the process. Read the full interview with the members below, and catch the music video for “Chasing That Feeling.”

I feel like this album goes bigger with ideas you’ve played with before. Where “Good Boy Gone Bad” and “0X1 LOVESONG” played with rock sounds, “Growing Pain” dives all the way in. Meanwhile, “Chasing That Feeling” is straight-up 80s synth. What are some words you guys would use to describe this project as a whole?

Soobin: I’d call it a story of growth. It looks at the growing pains of our generation and picks up where we left off in our previous album. The main backdrop for the previous album was this beautiful but irresponsible Neverland. This album is about leaving this Neverland and facing the real world. Growing pains are inevitable in this process, and we wanted to delve into that in this album.

Yeonjun: I’d say a soundtrack for today’s youth. We wanted to talk about the courage and determination of today’s youth to face reality head-on.

I feel like you guys have accomplished so many goals we’ve talked about over the past few years. In 2022, you told me you hoped to perform at bigger venues, and to do well at your first appearance at Lollapalooza. You’ve since crushed a stadium tour, dome concerts in Japan, and headlined Lolla! How does it feel to see those things happen in real time? 

Taehyun: As you said, this year has been a really big year for us with our Lollapalooza headliner set, first U.S. stadium tour, and most recently the “Back For More” (with Anitta) performance at the MTV VMAs. It’s an incredible honor to perform at such iconic venues and events and be able to share our music to connect with a wider audience. I’m very proud of the hard work we put in, but we won’t be able to do this without our fans’ support, so we are truly thankful for them.

To that point, now that you’ve accomplished a few really huge goals, what do some immediate next steps look like for you? What are some smaller goals you have for finishing out 2023?

Hueningkai: The new album is another opportunity for us to connect with MOA, so I just want to enjoy myself and cherish each moment. As it’s our first studio album in a little over two years, we really gave our all into it. I hope that the album resonates with as many people as possible around the world.

I’m obsessed with “Deep Down,” it’s easily my favorite on the album. The synth-pop direction is so fun. Do any of you have special memories from being in the studio, for this song or others on the album?

Beomgyu: It was a lot of fun recording “Deep Down.” “Deep Down” talks about how a “horn,” something that you try to keep hidden, can actually be a crown, or a source of hope that represents who you are. There’s a clear connection to our debut single, “CROWN,” so while recording, I was reminded by those times as a lot of different emotions came to mind. I thought about how far we’ve come, both as individuals as well as artists.

Which song on the record do you feel is the most quintessentially TOMORROW X TOGETHER?

Hueningkai: I’d say “Happily Ever After.” It’s a song about coming to terms with the fact that there are no fairytale endings in reality. And with that realization, instead of giving into despair, you can decide to write your own story. That’s something that we as a group have tried to do with our music over the years. We want to talk about the experiences that are unique to our generation. I’d say that it’s a song that really speaks to our DNA as a group.

I know how much you guys love the song “Blue Spring,” and it’s so different from some of your other songs dedicated to MOA, like “Sweat” or “MOA Diary.” Why do you think the song fit with the concept of The Name Chapter: FREEFALL?

Beomgyu: This album looks at the pain and challenges of reality, but within this reality, there are still magical moments that we share with one another. On “Blue Spring,” we compare our fans to spring that brightens up a blue world. Our fans have always been part of our magical moments that fuel our spirit, so it felt right that this song was included in the album.

I love seeing you all becoming more and more involved with lyric writing with each project. Do any of you have something you’ve learned about your songwriting process during the making of this album that you’d like to share?

Taehyun: I think we have become better at putting our honest thoughts and emotions into our lyrics. This comes as a result of many hours of writing that we put in over the years, but I think it also has to do with the fact that we have become more confident in the kind of message and music we want to share with the world. I hope many people can feel that when they listen to our music.

All five of you wrote for the lyrics in “Blue Spring.” Do you have any dreams of someday sharing an entirely self-written project?

Yeonjun: That’d be amazing. Manifesting that for the future! I do love working with other songwriters. I’m always learning a lot from them. We also feed off each other’s creativity, so it’s an experience I very much enjoy.

Is there anything else we haven’t touched on that you’d like to share?

Soobin: This album talks about reality as it is, which is also reflected in our visuals for the album. We shot the music video for our lead single at Universal Studios, but it looks as if we land somewhere in a real city like New York or London. We wanted to show a world seen without a filter, so I think that’s another element that our fans can enjoy along with the music.

[trans-axolotl]

I'm a psych survivor & want to find community in general or join conversations on here but it seems like no one really cares what I have to say & a lot of the conversations on here about mad liberation etc. are so academic that I feel alienated & shut out by them, and afraid of being talked down to & made fun of, even though I was (barely) able to master's degree and thought I was fairly intelligent. it seems like the academics mainly want to talk amongst themselves. idk. it's like the more I try to connect the worse I feel. I guess you probably don't have an answer to this but I appreciate your blog & how accessible your writing is

💜💜💜anon i think you have SUCH an important point. for me, the most meaningful mad community that i've found has always been when I've been institutionalized and just talking with other mad people, where most of them don't have any experience with mad liberation politics or antipsychiatry or any of that vocabulary. But like--time and time again those are the people who just get it the most, and are some of the most insightful people I've met. And I know that if some of my psych survivor friends came on tumblr, I think they would be judged for not having the "right" language or not communicating clearly enough or whatever. Which makes me so fucking mad, especially considering how many of us are disabled in ways that impact our communication, processing, and language. and how to me, it feels like such an important value of mad liberation to celebrate different styles of communication and all the different ways we're going to show up and exist as mad people! I'm sorry that you haven't been able to find a lot of welcoming community on tumblr--I know how exhausting and isolating it feels to not be able to connect with the people that are Supposed to actually understand and support you.

and it's not that I hate academic stuff about madness--I'm currently at university studying disability studies and really appreciate disability scholars. I think it's super fucking important + there's a lot of really talented people doing cool work. But I think that especially in disability studies, there needs to be a LOT more of an effort put in to actually make research + writing accessible. If half our community can't access any of the writing about our community, that's fucked up, you know? I'm always getting into arguments at university lmao when I talk about how we should do more to translate academic work into plain language. especially since i think it's a form of injustice when we are kept away from resources and knowledge that would let us build a political understanding of our experiences. it just feels super important to me to think about accessibility and what that means in mad spaces and psych survivor spaces, and who feels welcome to participate in our spaces and who feels left out of them.

and i also don't really have answers or solutions for How to Make That Happen on Tumblr--if you or any followers have any suggestions i would def love to hear them. i know that a lot of people are going to come on tumblr to do a lot of different things and that some people see this mostly as an academic space for them, where some people just come on here to talk or create art or a million different things.

For me, I use tumblr as a space where I want to talk and connect with a lot of people about all kinds of topics and hear psych survivors opinions on a ton of stuff. a lot of my posts are pretty casual, but when i make longer educational and political posts i spend a lot of time thinking about the best ways to translate really academic concepts to a wider audience. when i sit down to write out a long post i try to incorporate as many accessibility features as possible like using bullet points, putting in summaries/ Tl;DR sections at ends of posts, adding in real life examples when I'm defining complicated technical concepts, adding content notes, and more. Before I post, I read through my posts and highlight every time I use a more academic or technical term. Then, I think through whether that vocab is necessary for people to understand the post, or if there's better language I could replace it with. A lot of times I do end up keeping in some technical terms in my posts because it is honestly the most direct way to explain some of the stuff I want to talk about, but it's been super valuable for me to go through and really think about it, even when some terms stay in my writing. that's just my process and what works for me and I really don't think that other people need to write the same way I do lmao, but if anyone ever wants to talk about writing in plain language & easy read PLEASE come into my inbox bc i love talking about this and want to chat about it with more people.

other things i'll say is that i've found that virtual/in person psych survivor/antipsych support groups are often times a lot more welcoming and accessible and are just like, people talking about things and hanging out together. I've heard really good things about Wildflower Alliance's support groups, and also recommend the Hearing Voices Network. Project LETS has been running an exceptional psychiatric survivor support group for almost a year that is more casual and is a really great community, I'm hoping that they're going to open up availability again in the spring so that might also be worth checking out in the next couple months. Campaign for Psych Abolition in the UK runs a mad art space that seems super fun. i wish there were a lot more existing groups cause it sucks how few things there are tbh.

anyway, know that you + anyone else are always welcome to chat in my inbox or on any of my posts and you will not face any judgement from me. i genuinely love talking to other psych survivors so much and want to hear what people have to say. the only people i get annoyed at on my posts are psych students and other mental health professionals who leave really bullshit stuff on there lmfao.

sending you all the solidarity, anon <3