#but the experience of liking a popular thing and liking a niche thing is absolutely different

[silent-partner-412]

i watched a video about what it means to be “basic” or “unique” regarding consumption and it was a good video and it had me thinking about my relationship with media and it’s popularity. cuz i gotta be honest, popularity is almost necessary for a story or game to have longevity for me cuz the community becomes a HUGE aspect of it for me.

to illustrate this: 13 sentinels aegis rim. this was a phenomenal game i played this august. i liked basically everything about it; it was absolutely engrossing. it had all the pieces in place to become a big hyperfixation for me, and it didn’t. and i gotta be honest, it’s cuz there was nobody to talk about it to!! the game didn’t sell well at launch, and even though it’s doing a bit better now, it’s also been years, and most people that were super into it have moved on. posting about it felt like shouting into a void, you go into the tags here or the subreddit for it and there ARE fans, but not a lot of them. i found a handful of videos about the game on youtube and i enjoyed them, i tried to find fan art and fanfiction, but it just wasn’t enough. within days i moved on, and i kinda feel sad about that.

compare that to stardew valley, which i’m still posting about to the point where i feel like i should be exhausted by this point. but i’m not! this game is massive, it has sold millions of copies and has dedicated communities all over the internet. there is a copious amount of activity and love for this game that in turn becomes all kinds of fan creations and discussions, meaning i can be invested in basically just this game for weeks and not even have to play the game itself. and honestly? i vastly prefer this type of relationship to a game or piece of media, i just have more fun with it. i can say the same with most things with big passionate fanbases; as aggravating as i can find fanbases for games like fire emblem or xenoblade there is always activity within those fanbases which is way more sustainable for my attention.

this is why i find it funny that being into popular or “basic” things is mocked, cuz honestly i like being into popular things more than niche things. it doesn’t necessarily make popular things better than niche things, but there’s a certain aspect of community to it that feels nice, and you just don’t get that as much with more niche stuff.

[thydungeongal]

With regards to the idea of "5e as containment", while it is absolutely true that 5e does attract a lot of bad players, I'd argue that it's not to do with any particular feature of the system, or indeed of its popularity per se.

My personal theory on why 5e People (TM) are often The Worst (TM) is thus:

If you go looking for public-facing TTRPG games (advertised on an LGS website, etc.), the vast majority of them are going to be 5e

Most people would prefer to be in a long-term campaign with people they know (either pre-existing friends or a new group that forms around a campaign)

Despite the Everything, a substantial majority of people who play 5E regularly are at least above the minimum acceptable threshold of rules engagement and cooperativeness

Engaged, cooperative players will naturally have more luck finding and (importantly) staying in a long-term campaign

Thus, a great number of engaged, cooperative players do successfully find a group. For most people, one game a week (or every two weeks, as the case may be) is going to be enough to meet their TTRPG fix, so there's no need to be in a lot of groups

On account of (5), a great number of engaged and cooperative players disappear into private campaigns of which the outside world hears nothing

The remaining players therefore tend to be less engaged and less cooperative, rendering the public games on average lower in quality of engagement and thus play

Thus, public-facing games have two categories of people in them: engaged, cooperative players who have yet to be sorted into private campaigns, and Bad Players who fail to successfully sort into any group, and thus remain stuck at the public table. This increases the desire of the engaged, cooperative players to find a private campaign

People quietly enjoying private campaigns with their friends don't really talk about it (guilty as charged); they certainly don't complain

Thus, the Bad Players, though substantially in the minority, are the only public-facing players left.

As I see it, there is always going to be some fraction of the player base of any system that will not want to/be able to learn the rules and be cooperative. As somebody who's both run and played a fair amount of Pathfinder, I'd say the fraction of players who Refuse to Engage with the Rules is... perhaps marginally less, but not greatly so. My hometown's LGS's weekly public game happens to be Pathfinder, and they definitely still get some People.

Now, granted, Pathfinder is certainly the most similar game to D&D, and definitely the system people are most likely to randomly fall into aside from 5e. But even so, my experience with more exotic systems is that the fraction varies but is never as low as anyone would like it to be.

This is an interesting perspective and I do think there is a lot of truth to it (for an example, my own experiences playing D&D 5e mirror the idea that things that are true of the public-facing player culture don't necessarily apply in private games), but my own experience also suggests that on some level more niche games already act on some level to discourage unengaged players. Like, if a player is already not interested in games on a deeper level beyond what's available, they're less likely to find a game of, say, Monsterhearts than a game of D&D 5e.

But it might be as you say that the proportion of bad players might be similar, and that the sheer volume of D&D players out there makes it seem bigger.

[cemeteryspider]

Disco Inferno

Alastor x Hippie! Reader

Summary: Your carefree soul learns how to navigate your friendships and a budding relationship in the Hazbin Hotel

Trigger Warnings: Drug use, mature themes, violence, party atmosphere, alcohol consumption

Word Count: 1699

Maybe the years of drugs, protests, and sexual acts were what did you in. After all, good people don't end up in Hell you suppose. You lived as a relative nobody in Hell, except for the people you raised hell with.

Your best friend Cherri Bomb, adorned with fiery hair and exuding leather-clad confidence, sported a rebellious flair. Her devil-may-care attitude made her the perfect partner in crime.

You were casually talking it up with some big shot when out of nowhere a pink bomb landed on the table in front of you. Quickly, you jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the blast. However, the shrapnel struck the Overlord you were engaged in conversation with, sealing Cherri Bomb's claim to his territory.

In addition, you encountered Angel Dust, revealing a shared passion for drugs that strengthened your connection. While you may not have the same drug of choice it doesn't mean getting high together was any less fun.

You navigated a niche between Angel's popularity and Cherri's intimidation, finding your place as their intriguing and adventurous companion.

This is how you ended up being the Happy Hotel's second patron.

~~~

Although smoking became off limits, in the hotel at least, you were still swaying around to music and dancing through the day.

You almost felt better when you weren't smoking but that wasn't something you wanted to admit to Angel or especially Charlie. You knew there would be a party thrown as soon as you said it.

The now Hazbin Hotel, was home to quite a few demons, not all there to rehabilitate but it made it feel more at home. The more people around the more you felt reminded of your friends topside, now they were almost certainly dead or "double dead" as Angel might say.

Charlie and Vaggie were stern but friendly towards you. They told you to stay sober if you wanted to stay at the hotel and you happily obliged. Although sometimes you still snuck a blunt, why did they have to know?

Husk was always able to talk you down and put a drink in your hand. He heard your troubles with Cherri and how she didn't want to talk to you anymore, and heard you talk about your worries with Angel. You and Husker, bonded by shared experiences and unspoken understanding, found solace in each other's company. Often, you sat around doing absolutely nothing, reveling in the comfort of a companion who needed no words.

Sir Pentious, Hazbin's third rehabilitant, was just the sweetest. Again you two often sat around talking, usually about his inventions and sometimes about Cherri. You gave him subtle hints about what she liked and how to win her over, but usually he got too nervous to act on these. This never stopped you from trying to help, and frequently having sleep-over with him and his sweet Egg Bois.

Alastor's enigmatic presence left you with a lingering curiosity, a puzzle you were determined to put together with every passing day. However, this didn't stop you from trying to become his friend. You listened to his radio show to try to find out things he liked and often accompanied him to Cannibal Town, not for its namesake but for amazing chats with Rosie. Alastor was the one piece of the puzzle you just couldn't figure out, and the more time you spent with him the more about him you wanted to know.

~~~

So when Charlie and Vaggie went on their trip to Heaven, you decided to invite Alastor out. You decided not to call it a date, but hoped the message would get across well to him. You and Alastor left shortly after everyone else when to a club nearby.

Wanting to bridge the gap between your worlds, you chose to bring him to your favorite disco joint, even if the music wasn't his usual taste. If you wanted him to like you, he did have to get to know you.

Studio 666, with pulsating neon lights casting an otherworldly glow and a bass so deep it reverberated through your very soul, stood as Hell's most renowned disco club. Though Alastor's smile didn't fade, a twitch betrayed his discomfort amidst the crowd and physical contact. The music was nothing like what he was used to and so far away from his favorite dance tunes.

Alastor was well aware of hippie culture as he had talked with many people who died and how they lived on his radio show. He had been to a club like this once with Rosie and he did not think that he would ever be back to one. Let alone with a beautiful dame like yourself.

He stood frozen for a moment and felt very out of place in his coat and slacks. You were dressed impeccably for the occasion wearing a halter top jumpsuit adorned with red rhinestones and sparkles. Platform boots make you just a hair taller than your usual height.

You had decided to match Alastor on your night out, trying to make others notice you were with him and maybe have them be more friendly. Well as friendly as some sinners were willing to be.

Gently you took his hand and led him to the bar.

"Yo, Y/n, where have you been? The Studio's been missin' you"

"Oh you know Flower, I've just been truckin' on"

"Wearin' some groovy threads"

"When am I not, ya goof"

Alastor noticed you fall into a rhythm with the bartender, Flower you called them. Again he felt sorely out of place, even though before this, you had always made him feel right at home.

"Anyways, what can I get you and Casanova here?"

A small chuckle escaped your lips.

"You know me," you grinned, "a tequila sunrise, and Alastor will have a-"

"I'll have a Greyhound"

With that, a playful grin graced your lips as you looked up at him. For you, he would try to embrace this night of loud disco festivities with a drink he normally would never try.

Once Flower had served the two drinks Alastor saw them whisper in your ear. Despite the attempt at secrecy he heard exactly what was said.

"I got primo grass and mushrooms if you're interested, foxy"

Alastor saw the glance you gave him and quirked his eyebrow. You moved away from Flower.

"Nah, we best keep on steppin', peace, Flower"

With a smile and a nod of their head they went to serve the next customer.

~~~

You were able to find a table a little ways away from the ruckus to talk with Alastor about anything and everything that came to your mind. The hotel and its apparent success, things Alastor spoke about on his last radio broadcast, and your favorite color.

However, the smooth flow of the night was interrupted when a small group of demons approached the table where you were chatting.

"My my, here's a brick house I'd never I'd see again"

Your smile instantly turned into a scowl. You turned toward the short stubby man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Psych, the bug I thought I squished a long time ago", you practically snarled at them.

"Hold up, Dollface, no need to freak out. We just wanna talk. Why don't you take a chill pill and come boogie with us. We sure do have lots to catch up on"

Alastor appeared between the two of them before Psych could make a move to grab her.

"Why gentlemen, that is no way to treat a lady, now scurry along, u̵̪̓n̶̲̋l̶̑͜e̷͉̊s̶̜̽š̸̙ ̷̞̑y̵̪̅ơ̵̞ṳ̴̕ ̶̪̓n̴͇͂o̷̮͑ ̵͎̆l̵̫͒o̶̥̕ň̵̗g̸̠̓e̶͍̊r̴͓̉ ̵̹̋ẅ̴̳ḭ̵͠s̸̮̅h̶̛̩ ̷͈̈t̴̬͒o̶̜̔ ̴͔̿u̴͍͝s̵̗͂ē̸͎ ̴͓͝y̴̻̕o̴̮͊u̵̟͒r̵̗̈ ̸̥͂h̵a̸n̴d̶s̴"

"Snaps man, were goin'"

They stalked off, and Alastor returned to his seat.

"So, Cher, do you wish to, how did they say it, boogie?"

"Al, we don't have to dance if it's not to your liking," you suggested tentatively, concerned about Alastor's comfort.

"Nonsense, I did not learn to disco for nothing." Alastor's response carried a hint of excitement. In an instant, you found yourself on the dance floor, the disco ball casting a dazzling display of lights above your heads.

The dance floor pulsed with neon lights, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the room. The infectious rhythm reverberated through the air, prompting everyone to move in synchronized harmony. Happily you take Alastor's hand and his overcoat disappears leaving him in his black button-up.

The bassline kicks in and you synchronize your movements, letting the music guide you.

The dance floor ignited with a playful series of twirls and spins. Your sequined jumpsuit scattered sparks across its surface, catching the neon lights in a dazzling display. Your bodies moving in harmony.

The tempo rises and soon a transition into sensual and intricate dance moves. Your fluidity contrasts Alastors strong and controlled movements. You playfully tease him with every step. The crowd soon had all of their eyes on the two of you.

A continued show of trust and chemistry flowed through every dip, lift, and spin. The disco lights danced in their eyes, mirroring the euphoria of the music that surrounded them showcasing laughter and glances, you were completely lost in the magic of the moment,

The music reaches its peak, and you lock eyes with Alastor. His usual smile was replaced with a lovesick grin.

As the song concluded, your heart still pounding with the rhythm, the world slowly came back into focus. The applause of the entertained crowd echoed, and you couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment and joy. Alastor's expression, a lovesick grin, reveals a side you hadn't seen before, deepening the connection between you two.

Leading the way, Alastor guided you from the dance floor to the exit. As you stepped outside, his coat materialized on your shoulders, a protective gesture in the crisp night air.

"Wow, Alastor, I didn't know you could dance like that" The revelation left you pleasantly surprised and craving more insights into this mysterious demon.

"Mon Cherie, next time we'll go to a jazz club and you'll see how well I can dance"

Still breathless from the dance, you sighed contentedly as you continued the walk back to the hotel, the night filled with the echoes of joy and music.

[luminologism]

Sky Cotl Skytober 2024: A retrospective by ME!

All of my skytober pieces in chronological order! -> here The song I set it too! -> here

This year, I participated in an Inktober adjacent drawing event. I did the Sky Cotl version of Inktober, Skytober. Now that it's November 1st, I have thoughts and feelings about the experience, what I learned, what I did right, and what I can improve on! This post is very much for me to reconcile and reflect on the art I did this month, but please feel read and enjoy my raw thoughts as well. I feel like everybody can learn from or relate to what I'm gonna chatter on about below, so take a read if you're so inclined! I'll be touching on relatability, popularity vs niche, effort vs efficiency, and passion vs honing skill.

WHY I DID SKYTOBER

So, as I said above, I participated in Skytober! It's my first Inktober adjacent event EVER! I've done similar projects in the past related to other arts (NaNoWriMo for example) but ultimately failed! Why? Well, I just didn't see that stuff through. I did not have a strong goal, and thus the past projects inevitably failed.

This year, however, I was DETERMINED to finish this project! This is because I have been meaning to make my inevitable swap from Paint Tool Sai 2 to Clip Studio Paint for AGES. I've had this program since forever (and even had the old version Manga Studio as a kid!), but it was far too robust at the time for me to want to learn it. However, it's been sitting on my computer for ages, and I have a massive commission in the works currently! I felt many of CSP's tools would be useful for that commission, so I took a bit of a detour and decided that Skytober would help me sit down and actually spend time learning this damn program.

Needless to say, I think my attempts at learning at least a bit of the program was successful. I learned a lot of the basic functions and where I liked tools and functions placed, I learned how to fiddle with some interesting brushes, and I also spent a LOT of time learning how to (roughly) paint backgrounds! These are all skills I was desperately trying to learn anyways, so having some solid and strict direction very much helped. I still have a lot to learn program wise, but drawing (nearly) every day has definitely given me a solid foothold in this program. As a diehard SAI2 user, the jump is difficult! But I think I did alright.

MY CREATIVE MINDSET AND DIRECTION

Now, the art itself. There are favorites I have, and there are absolute duds as well. In my eyes, to be specific. Drawing (nearly) every day is bound to run you dry for some mental and creative resources, but I did a few things to help mitigate that and keep the train chugging. For a long time, I had been meaning to make a Sky Cotl animatic using the song Virtual Angel by ARTMS. That's a recent release from that music group, but it's been one of my favorites recently. I think it's a beautiful song, and with lyrics like 'for the sin of swallowing up the sun' and 'fly me to your eden, this is eden' and 'i'll be there for you when your wings break', I thought the song fit Sky Cotl's vibe perfectly. However, I know absolutely nothing about animatics, so I decided to repurpose the idea into assigning a lyric to each Skytober piece instead. This massively helped with direction of ideas. It wasn't perfect, but it still significantly helped. Another thing I did to keep myself inspired was I actually wrote out a significant number of my ideas beforehand. They were not super fleshed out at times, and often they changed if I got inspired in another way. And other times, I just completely gave up on any ideas and decided the goal was just to finish SOMETHING, if just to keep the ball rolling. Either way, at least planning some things ahead of time helped eliminate a majority of the 'idk what to draaaaw!' woes down. It also helped me stay efficient, and having the song as direct inspiration sort of kept stoking the fires of my passion and helped me keep going! Raaah! Even so, I still ended up with duds, and you can absolutely see that reflected in each pieces notes.

RECEPTION OF MY WORK

I've never had this much attention on my work before. I used to run a pretty popular twitter before restarting it (and then deleting that second one just recently due to twitter being twitter), but I've never surpassed 1000 notes on anything before. Please understand, while I know that's not really all that much, for me that is! It's like imagining 1000 people standing in the same room as me giving me a thumbs up on my silly picture. It was amazing!! I would look at my notes all day at the start of the month with a smile on my face. It was surreal seeing people's thoughts coming in in real time. Seeing everybody's thoughts and feelings and interpretations of my works was amazing and so interesting to see. There would be people simply screaming at my work with glee, giving me genuine and sincere compliments, giving me their interpretations of how my works made them feel, and so much more! The most jarring thing for me was seeing a few people tag their friends in my work. I would sit there like 'huh, this person liked this piece so much that they had to show their friend directly!'. And it made me smile.

I also got to see in real time how my efforts can directly correlate with the interactions I got. And that swung both ways. There are some pieces I posted that barely had eyes on them, and it wasn't because I did poorly. It was because I think people can very much see when something is low effort or if you post something without confidence. Meanwhile, there were some pieces I posted that I sort of just threw together, and people LOVED? My picture for the prompt 'Mural' went absolutely bonkers, and I don't even really think it's all that good! On that piece I was just testing out manga stone wall brushes and fussing with glowing layer modes. It's by far my most popular Skytober piece as of posting this retrospective though, so it's interesting to see!

Another thing I saw that was interesting and I picked up very quickly on was my own OC content sees less eyes! Not because my OCs are bad or anything, but strangers can't relate to it! Even if the art is baller, my OC content had less interest than my more vague pieces. The pieces where I posted random moths (the closer to base game look, the better) were the ones people liked the best! That, or if I posted in game characters.

OVERALL

All in all, it was a very enlightening experience! If I do another event like this again, I will not pigeonhole myself to the square little paint stamp vibe I had going on. That made it hard to branch out or many images look wider. I will also put less effort in. Funny that I word it like that, but I actually think I put TOO MUCH effort in on some pieces! That made my inspiration (and other pieces) suffer. I also think that while I enjoyed posting my works with song lyrics, I won't do that again. Or if I do, I'm choosing a shorter song. I might also combine prompt days next time.

[highlordofkrypton]

What is this "proshippers" stuff that I have been seeing all over the internet? Is it a bad thing?

Good morning, anon!

I just gotta say before I start, your timing 😭 I absolutely love this question because you're making me research and I have a lot to say, but I just finished the gym so please picture a trembling T-Rex over the keyboard as you read this.

Short answer: Proshippers are people who believe in 'ship and let ship', even if the ships can be viewed as problematic, but not all proshippers ship problematic ships. It is not a bad thing, if you take into account the whole picture and not just specific problematic examples. BUT over time, people have come to use proshipper as 'problematic shipper' so it depends who you're talking to?

I'm not an authority on what is bad or good, the best I can do is give you the different points, and let you decide how you feel about the topic.

WHEW, THIS GOT LONG AND PERSONAL SO BUCKLE UP!!

This Reddit thread sums up what proshipping is really nicely, and I'm just going to add onto what's already said there.

CONTEXT

As an older fandom member myself, and back in my day, proshipping and a lot of the labels you see floating around wasn't a thing. At least, not to me. Back when I was active on Tumblr over a decade ago, everyone just kinda stuck in their own corners, doing their own thing with their niche group of people.

Then, as time shifted, the fandom became more popularized and acceptable, you have more people coming in to engage with the culture. As I mentioned in my ACOTAR fandom analysis (which can be applied more broadly), fandom really started as the weirdos being weird together on our weird little site (and I say this with the utmost affection). With more people participating, you have more opinions coming into the mix with more discussions happening. Not to mention, how the pandemic brought fandom to the eyes of the general public making it a lot easier for them to shame and comment on something they don't necessarily understand.

One thing that you'll see me repeating on this blog is that art is a form of expression, exploration and therapy. Art can be problematic and it can be harmful to some people, but the beauty of fandom is that tags are a form of etiquette to help cater your experience and I do see most people trying to do it. You are in control when you are in fandom. You do not need to engage with anything you do not like, but the responsibility is on you (not others) to manage your experience.

TWO WAYS TO LOOK AT PROSHIPPING

As mentioned above, at its core, to be pro-ship means that you are all for people shipping whatever the hell they want because it's none of your business. By that definition, you could look at it more as a movement or a belief system, rather than a 'label'. It's a belief of freedom of expression and being anti-censorship rather than focusing on problematic ships.

As of late, and with my return to Tumblr after an eternity (it feels like a whole new place, btw), proshipping has morphed into meaning 'problematic-shipping'. I see people tagging their blogs as 'proshippers DNI' and then list that they are anti-incest or underage content. This is a totally fair request, but it lumps the idea that you have the right to ship anything as you're specifically pro those two things or anything that is specifically problematic.

THE PROBLEM WITH 'PROSHIPPING' READ AS 'PROBLEMATIC SHIPPING'

If you're someone who stands by the second definition and that proshippers are all, by default, people who stand by problematic ships, you may risk falling into the trap of extremes, generalizations and censorship in a way that I find is harmful to people who use fandom as an escape.

Where do you draw the line about what's problematic? Some people say that age gaps are problematic, but as an adult, I think that a 30 year old dating a 50 year old is not inherently problematic. At 30, your brain chemistry changes and you are mature enough to make these kinds of decisions. There is a certain age where the ages start to blur and you don't really feel the difference between generations. Then, there's a hundred other questions you can ask. Did those two people start dating now at those big old ages? Or did it start younger? What was the context?

Speaking of context, there are a lot of people who will see a tag or a ship and immediately deem that work as problematic. It's important to remember that there is so much more at play than just the text itself, and you can't always make a direct moral correlation between the art, artist and perceiver. All three of these present a different perspective. The art is the finished product, the artist comes with their own set of experiences and so does the perceiver.

SOME EXAMPLES & DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

(tw: abuse)

Two more things I'd like to add.

I haven't yet read the Death of the Author which a theory that says you shouldn't take into account the author when you are reading a text, but rather how the text or the art makes you feel, but fandom is so tightly knitted with creators that this is a tricky approach to take. With larger more traditionally published works, there's a separation between you, the perceiver, and the author. It's easier and better for discourse to disassociate so you can discuss with your peers what you got from the text.

In fandom, you are among peers and you are already in the community. I am not absolving any problematic ships and I do have personal hard boundaries that I enforce (and do not engage with), but I will say that there are things I can empathize with. There's a reason in fandom that we always so 'don't like, don't read', or why we don't leave critical reviews or why some people think it's bad form to censor/police others.

In fandom, you are creating for you or directly for your community.

Now, I'm gonna get into more personal examples.

As someone who has been neglected, abused (every version under the sun -- physically, sexually, verbally, emotionally, financially, etc.) and other stuff I don't want to get into, writing is my outlet. I don't personally claim the label of victim for personal reasons, but for all intents and purposes, I am one. I am someone who has spent most of my life alone, with my emotions (alone) and my thoughts (alone) because any form of vulnerability or imperfection was punished. When I look back at my life, sometimes I wonder why it feels like I lived the Murphy's Law of abuse.

That said, I only had writing. From the age of 11 to my big old age now, it's the number one way for me to work through emotions without ever having to put my name on it. I didn't have to be the victim and if I needed it, I could write myself a hero. It's a question of reliving experiences or exploring themes in a setting that I can control.

What if my character is assaulted? But what if someone came to comfort them afterwards? Made them feel seen and didn't diminish that pain? Or what if they did take away that pain so the main character doesn't have to carry it for as long as I did? What if I write about power dynamics because having someone you can inherently trust with everything brings me peace?

What if the violence I portray is my way of feeling in control of a situation like that? What if I support women being violent in my work because they deserve to stand up for themselves with the same force of the violence committed against them?

What if I write about ugly things because I see myself as an ugly thing and I want to celebrate that? I love villains. In the eyes of my abusers, I am the villain. (Have you ever been under the thumb of a narcissist? Many narcissists? They are always right, and you are always wrong.) Did you know that as a woman of colour (depending where you are), the more your stand up for yourself and the more you maintain firm boundaries, the more you're treated as a bitch? Or some kind of poison to the world around you? Some men will go out of their way to make you submit, even professionally.

All that said, I do not wish any bad thing on anyone and when I'm done writing my silly little work, the only reason I share it is because I hope someone sees a part of them in this and feels a little less alone. When I finish writing, I log off and live my life bringing as much positivity as I can to every person I interact with because I don't know what they are going through.

I never shared my writing before this year, and let me tell you, the number of people who have told me that they cried, they felt sadness and felt seen by the way trauma was depicted in some of my work -- THIS is why I share. The world is so big, and everyone is so focused on fitting in, or hell, just surviving, and it's easy to feel alone.

So, I can't imagine taking that label of anti-proshipping, or bringing that whole energy of trying to silence and police people when some of the 'problematic' content you see might actually help someone work through some things in a way that works for them without harming real people. (These are works of fiction, and art.)

Would you prefer wiping the entire board because there are some people, yes, who glorify problematic things, but there are more people than you know who see themselves in seemingly 'problematic things' and it heals a little part of them? I'm not saying everyone has a 'valid' excuse, but who am I to play judge and jury? That's not a task I'm personally willing to undertake in a fictional sandbox. I block and move on, that's it.

If, after everything I've said, I do fall under proshipper, please keep in mind that I am fighting for the people who find community, the people who are healing and the people who just want to get away from the performance that is our daily lives.

[laniusbignaturals]

I genuinely confused about the whole drama fuss is all about. All fandom always at least have that one toxic ship, it's inevitable. And master/slave trope is not a new concept either, heck people seems fine about the trope as long as two party are attractive i suppose (shrug).

Plus dead dove do not eat also is a thing. It's unavoidable, if someone really didn't like a content there's literally a mute or filter

TLDR: It was always gonna go this way.

The long version: people originally started arguing about Caesar/Arcade because bickering over how to write characters’ romantic lives is time honored fandom tradition. This has been happening since the days of Star Trek and Harry Potter, it’s nothing new. These scuffles become especially aggro & self-serious when related back to a popular blorbo - those (usually male, almost always white) characters that are kinned, stanned and projected onto moreso than others. Arcade is absolutely that guy, right? He's a lot of people's favorite. He's special.

This spat featured casual racism, offensive name-calling and some brazen, truly nonsensical appropriations of AAVE, because those are also time honored fandom traditions. (Even if you niggas are cagey about acknowledging that.) Art in western culture is heavily influenced by white supremacy, and fandom, including the FNV fandom, is just one niche within that culture. White people, especially the young n cool™ ones, value their position as consumers & beneficiaries of black culture more than they value black people. They are known for selecting parts of our identity, language music clothes hairstyles etc, removing them from the original context, and bastardizing them so they can be used as a cultural commodity for nonblacks. Something that is put on and taken off for funsies, cosplay style. That FD Signifier video I was hyping up over the summer had a whole section about this. He also just released a new video on black cops which is worth checking out.

Now, tumblr's userbase generally believe themselves to be more enlightened than fandoms as you see them on reddit and twitter. And this is true, on a superficial level; you are much more likely to be met with slurs and open hostility on those sites than on this one. I also believe that, because the demographics which form the majority of tumblr's userbase - white gays and white women - have traditionally been marginalized & subjected to mistreatment within mainstream pop culture, they are especially resistant to identifying and dealing with the ways in which they fall short of their own progressive ideals. No one wants to see themself in the same light as their own bullies.

The problem is that, when it comes to their behavior, tumblr's FNV fandom can be pretty damn regressive, especially on the topic of race. They tend to have an excellent grasp on liberal terminology and identity politics, so they are comparatively much better at keeping these misgivings covert. But in practice, you will find them to be no less self-centered, entitled and anti-black than the FNV fanboys you would expect to find on reddit and twitter. I got into this game right around the time it was revealed that some white users were producing extreme anti-native content behind closed doors, an experience which has fostered an increased sense of isolation and paranoia among the remaining people of color in the community, as far as I can tell.

Okay, so, some white users start doing the ~Oooh Chile You'sa Lame Ass Homeskillet~ routine characteristic of digital blackface. They go out of their way to be as disrespectful and verbally abusive as they can in the process, because atp they're still on the offensive. And they misuse the black words they're "borrowing" because they don't know what they actually mean. When myself and a few others respond in kind, they double down, carrying on with the nastiness and the bizarrely racialized talking points. (Unironically calling people you don't like "degenerates??" Really?? School failed some of y'all smh)

A couple days go by and, instead of moving on and finding something else to do, they press the proverbial self-destruct button and engage in civility politics. The malignant tone of the original posts is abandoned, and instead, the people who once adopted it become… shocked and confused and wounded. They start talking about how, instead of matching their energy, their contemporaries should've just been "nice" and "civilized." They start complaining about being “canceled” just for having “opinions,” going back and forth between making half-assed apologies and insisting that the original issue wasn’t that big of a deal because they didn’t have “the intention of being racist” as if “having the intention of being racist” is something people ever do.

You would never guess that 1.these were the people all but outright referring to their peers as unwashed subhumans not last week, or 2. that they did so while identifying as left wing. Because rhetoric like this is borne from a place of privilege. Expecting that no one you’re denigrating will be allowed to meet you with an equal level of vitriol, because your space considers doing so to be taboo, is the kind of behavior that arises from too long spent insulated from the nonwhites who created the language they were mimicking. Nonwhites who might take umbrage with their broken attempts to use it while in the same breath calling them & theirs a bitch.

And if theres anything I would like people to take away from this, it's that the parts of fandom culture which they might have expected to have evolved in the past decade or so have, by and large, not evolved. Even some predominantly queer spaces will readily adopt the talking points of the right wing and prove themselves to be every bit as hostile to poc if you don't abide by their rules and center their perspective. So you should think before you speak and make an effort to not throw rocks and hide your hands, as is the parlance of our time.

Lastly, please do not go find these people and bother them on my behalf. I'm gonna take the poor english language comprehension between the both of them to indicate that they’re probably all, if not minors, young adults, which means they’ll likely learn not to act like this on their own. Or not! Maybe they'll be like this forever. Maybe one day I’ll see their names in the news after getting their shit rocked for saying a slur on campus & crying to the press about how they’re the real victims here. I can't influence whether or not that happens, because I’m not their counselor or their mom, even if they expect me to act like it.

[not-goldy]

Errr... we can like Jungkook and not like the music he releases.

Same for Jimin and all the members.

Just because we like the artist doesn't mean we must like everything they put out as music.

Iam sure if Hybe had allowed Jk time, his debut album would have been different.

Iam sure you heard Jk. He liked Seven. He didn't like Snty much but he went with it coz of scooter and bang pd. The rest of the songs were just scooter's collection. Iam not going to fight for a list of songs that SCOOTER THOUGHT is right for JK.

When Jungkook returns, he'll make his own album. And that will be special.

Absolutely

same goes to those of us who genuinely like every single song on the Albums too 😁

He as the Artist can hate any song he doesn't like, but it wouldn't negate how WE feel about the song if we in fact do like it.

I've said this once and I will say it again, given how this is everyone's first solo attempts THEY ALL GET A PASS IN MY BOOKS. I don't care who wrote what and who didn't, what I care about is them making the effort to Kickstart their solo careers without overthinking it.

Ive seen many artists disappear into obscurity for fear to try.

I personally haven't had enough songs from them to even begin to determine their unique voices their unique genres and niche. They are allowed to experiment with different types of songs and not everyone of them will be to the taste of their audience and that's okay.

Art is art. I personally dont judge music based on whether or not it is well received by an audience- many songs rise to popularity years after they are released and even sometimes long after the artist is gone. Case in point Lizzo.

Audience reaction isn't the determiner of good music. As long as they are happy with it, it is art. It is their truth. It may succeed it may blow up it is what it is.

But also isn't making songs just to please fans the very same thing yall are even accusing Jungkook of?? You are criticizing him of making trendy songs just for the sake of it but also expecting him to make songs yall will like and deem acceptable. 😬

I think they are doing well. It will take many tries for some, some will get it the first time- but that is the beauty of music.

I am not a critic I am a consumer and a supporter. I support their career I do want to see them thrive. They all have so much potential I will be more than happy to see them achieve their full potential

But I am not going to be the one to berate them, bombard them with negative reviews hate on them under the disguise of being objective when I genuinely enjoy what they do.

And I do enjoy all the songs they've released so far. Yall can't force me not to like them 🤣

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Seven days a week

[lopez-richter-fangirl]

Starkid innit: the most magical experience

It took me a full day to even begin to know where to start with this post and then took me all day yesterday to type out. Normally to do one of these posts after a show I frantically note down everything I can remember in the interval and as soon as I can afterwards, but I was too overwhelmed by this show to even do that. And thank god so many people filmed so much of the show so I don’t have to rely on memory for all the little things. This will be kind of stream of consciousness thought dump of everything that made this experience so incredible, feat. a lot of Feelings. It’s much too long! Over 2500 words - you’ve been warned!

Looking at all the pictures and videos from the show, it feels surreal that I was there in a way that I don’t think any other shows I’ve gone to have. Maybe because I can’t believe we finally got a full UK Starkid show. Maybe because it was Starkid selling out the fucking London Palladium, twice (and the added production value that came with that). Maybe because we got the concert premiere of new stuff alongside iconic moments included from previous concerts that I’ve watched a hundred times and now got to see live. Whatever it was, I still can’t quite believe it and I’m so grateful I got to be there. And my GOD was luck on my side getting a front row centre seat in that ticket hell 🙏😭

Right from the staple sing-along outside the theatre before the show the excitement was as palpable as you’d expect from a crowd where so many people had been waiting such a long time to see these people live. And I think a lot of Starkid fans but especially international fans have had the feeling of isolation that comes with being a fan of a relatively “niche” group (though their popularity is only growing), so to get to be in a room full of people who understand the references and scream as soon as the opening notes of a song play is the best thing

Starting with tgwdlm feels like an excellent choice being from the show that created a new wave of fans while still catching some of the people who might not be caught up with the newest shows. And I know we had it at jangle ball too but love love getting to see Brian and Meredith be part of the hatchetfield stuff

And having NPMD songs performed live for the first time was just as exciting and special as I was expecting!! Was not expecting HSIKM WITH some OG choreo but I am grateful for it. Jaime messing up the Literal Monster lyrics at the matinee is 100% understandable and I thank her for that because Lauren cracking up at the complete nonsense lyrics she made up was too good. Love the OG choreo there including Lauren grabbing Joey for no reason whatsoever 😌 Slay of Lauren to bring out the Ruth voice too. Jeff gave a killer performance of NPMD and we understood the assignment with the Richie part

And Together 😭 TOGETHER 😭😭 I said that was a song I’d absolutely love but was definitely not at all expecting them to play so I got UNBELIEVABLY excited seeing it on Mere’s playlist and it was EVEN better than I imagined 😭 Angelic!!!! I love women!!!! Seeing their friendship shine through on stage is so special and Lauren supporting Mere through the lyric mess up in the matinee and also her laugh were the cutest things. And then from the front row at the evening show I don’t think I even breathed. They sounded amazing in the OG show but EVEN better now and I truly could not be more grateful to them for putting that on the setlist. A literal dream that I will be thinking about for the rest of my life. I still can’t believe it. AHHHHHH!!!!!!

Happy we got Our Doors are Open cause I love that song!

Jaime singing Harry but dedicated to Nori was very cute and making that a flashlight moment is one of the sillier things we’ve done

So glad Clark got his moment with I Was where we all sat in enraptured silence listening to his magical voice and some never before heard lyrics

I will be so honest and say there was the tiiiiiiiiiniest part of me sad when Joey started introducing Sidekick because I knew that meant my Status Quo hopes were dashed. However had I not seen it at homecoming I probably would have been rooting for Sidekick because it is the better *performance* for Joey, he absolutely owns the stage and it was still a delight to hear it again, and with his continued vocal improvement. Audience participation on point too of course. And when I saw Lauren standing in the wings before he started I knew I could not let myself keep looking over there but shoutout to everyone who did get footage of her being the proudest wife there is

Oh lordddd the Rogues Medley update we’ve been praying for (even if not in the way I expected). I had a feeling that’s what was coming when they started Not Over Yet based on the interview Brian did but to hear that transition into Feast or Famine was crazyyyyyy. Rogues Medley is such an iconic piece of Starkid history and it’s so cool that they gave us that. Fucking of course Brian fucked up the verses in Not Over Yet but he is a master at styling it out and him making Lauren laugh with that song feels like time honoured tradition (okay I’m just thinking of that leaky 2017 performance). First Feast or Famine in concert was so good although Joey and Lauren leaning on each other at EVERY little duet bit… relax babes. And Rogues, I knew if we got it we’d have Lauren doing the harlots and the hussies bit and I still did not adequately prepare myself

Brian calling Meredith wifey in We Got Work to Do was gold. SO so so happy to hear climate change, they did that because I stopped myself from spending a stupid amount of money to go to jangle ball. Still obsessed with Lauren’s little riff. And her moves? HOT. And we LOVE Meredith’s music getting so much love as it SHOULD

The forgotten songs section was hilarious but could have been about 20% shorter Brian was not wrong about them milking that bit Biggest of shout outs to the person who yelled Boy Toy for Lauren to respond “don’t make me do that” and I believe the same person who yelled fucking Airport 4 Birds and had her momentarily stunned. Her rendition of Hideous Creatures was heavenly no joke. Brian doing his soundcheck song did not read so well at the matinee lmao but I personally thought it was perfect. And Lauren joked about the open vibe but genuinely I love that they were confident enough they could do some obscure songs and not have an absolutely dead audience. Can’t believe we got TWO MAMD songs although they really should have let Joey sing Even Though (I know it wouldn’t have been *funny* okay)

What did not need to be even one second shorter was the shirt bit. No notes. Especially Brian trolling Lauren with “roll on the floor like Draco”

Back on top was amazing, they all sounded so good and again, love to see the Ani music getting recognition. And at the evening show I was watching Lauren do the choreo in the wings which was absolutely adorable

What if I now write the entire length of this post just about Granger Danger lol. Didn’t even realise until this post that they had the two OG Starkid couples back to back (at least I’m going off the order of the setlist I saw on twitter I do not actually remember the order lmao) Their whole “brand new song” bit was everything to me, I really could watch them riff off each other for hours. And honestly it was the perfect thing to do KNOWING what the reaction would be to the two of them coming out because what fucking else would they be singing. Apart from the person who genuinely thought we were getting Priceless because they forgot Granger Danger existed, you know who you are. As in my other post, I had said I wouldn’t mind if, as long as I got to see one married Granger Danger live (which I then did), they stopped singing Granger Danger, but that was only if they were getting sick of it and on the condition they did in fact replace it with Priceless. But I will NEVER get sick of watching them do it (even if the heart eyes on stage continue to make me a little sick) and I love that they do still have fun with it. The universal excitement with those opening notes is the best thing. Continuing to say “it gets different” was funnier than it should have been, they are comedians. And how far back she leaned on him at that evening show was truly insane and I thank them for giving me one of my new favourite pics (even if Lauren laughing and Joey’s hand going back to make sure she wouldn’t fall made me want to sobbbbb). 15 years of this song and it’s still getting more iconic and you all know how deeply special it is to me and I’m so happy to have gotten to see it again. King and queen of Starkid for real for real

Corey Show Stoppin Number was CRAZY he killed it

Jaime’s speech before Not Alone was incredibly special and I think Darren would agree that the song actually ended up exactly where it needed to be. But her saying she’s been singing it for 15 years of course had me thinking about the same thing for granger danger which is absolutely not something I was emotionally strong enough for in that moment!!! But blessed to get the beautiful harmonies and as always the audience singing Darren’s parts is the best

Superfriends is ofc so fun and Jeff nailed the Robin parts (unlike someone else there might have done (sorry Joey)). And again, there’s something so nostalgic about seeing it with that classic choreo too

And mashing it up with WANNABE oh my god. I did see someone say they didn’t know why they did that song and I’m like,, do you know how to have fun?? I get it we’re there to hear Starkid songs but this isn’t like a once in a lifetime situation (love that performance but it was a song for them not the audience and they knew it lmao), it’s actually perfect for Starkid. “Friendship never ends” you’re fucking right it doesn’t, 15 years of making stuff with your friends. And I’m being so serious when I say it’s one of my favourite performances they’ve ever done. I also might never get it out of my head and I’m fine with that. The accents? The boys in the back? The dancing? Brian? And then Brian and Joey?? (and ofc the evening performance where Lauren was touching Joey after “if you wanna be my lover” and where he put his hand on her back as she was stepping up on the stage and I once again wanted to sob) It was JOYFUL

And then GBTH as the encore we all knew was coming because no way were they leaving without singing that one. Whatever some people might have to say about it, it is SUCH a special song to hear in a room full of Starkid fans, and especially this version where we sang the beginning. No doubt they couldn’t have imagined performing that song on a stage like this when they were singing it in Studio 1, but it’s so deserved because they’re all absolute superstars. And their friendship and the fun they have onstage together has remained so integral to what makes them work and it never gets any less special to witness. I love that after over a decade of singing this song they STILL get the words wrong and it doesn’t even matter because we’re singing it so loudly. I love the sheer power Lauren radiates every time she sings her part and her happiness when we scream ours. And then I watched her smile looking out at the audience during the train part and I’m just so proud we were part of making this show so incredible for them and proud of them for doing it 😭 Singing happy birthday to Jeff in the middle was really cute too

Also, can’t believe we got to witness the most INSANE shirt pic happen live??!!? A shirt pic in front of a crowd of 2000 people, I keep looking at it and I’m like how is that not photoshopped?? But it’s real!! I was there!! And it’s honestly the most Starkid move of all time to perform their sold out Palladium concerts in matching pyjama shirts. Ngl there was a tiny part of me that didn’t want the matching shirts because I wanted to see the Concert Fits but I didn’t even need to worry because Lauren still came to serve. Hottest girl I’ve ever seen but also just the cutest human. And her hair looked so good too. (Jaime was also serving with the sparkly tights and cowboy boots)

Clearly they’re such a well oiled machine and the show ran SO smoothly that they were ahead of schedule and ended up doing a little more vamping in the evening than at the matinee. Why they chose Together (Lauren and Meredith are “too old” to want solos), Clark’s explanation of I Was originally being a solo (thank god because I felt insane at the matinee thinking ‘I’ve never heard these lyrics before’), even more references to Brian’s lack of solos. But the fuck ups in spite of that rehearsal really are just part of the Starkid charm. We love it, they know we love it, there’s no pressure to make it perfect which means all of us are just having *fun* together. But none of that takes away from how genuinely talented each and every one of them is

I do also think there’s something to be said for Brian and Lauren being the producers. They’ve really been through it all with the company and they know what works and how to serve people’s strengths. And of course we can trust Clark to put together an incredible setlist (yes there was a distinct lack of certain shows but I do think all the songs they did were a really good showcase for them and everyone had an opportunity to shine)

And Lauren of COURSE nailed the choreo for the whole show, it would be impossible for her not to. Honestly cannot reiterate enough how much of a queen she was in every aspect of this show. So fucking proud of her!!!!!!!!!!

And because this post wouldn’t be complete without mention of the M&G, Joey remembering my nameeee bearing in mind this is only the second time I’ve met him in person where he’d actually know me and yes the first time was only 7 months ago but I still don’t know how he recognised me there either. He seemed so proud to remember it too. And I knowww it’s not special to me he just has a good memory for that but the fact is he DOES make you feel special and I love him!! The best man. And I’m glad I got to give them the bracelets I made, Lauren’s reaction to seeing hers said precious angel was the sweetest and I really am trying to be normal about Joey only wearing the one from me (but it said Diane’s dad and was in michigan colours so… I think I nailed it) It was the sweetest thing seeing how many bracelets some of them were wearing during the show though

All this to say I fucking love Starkid and I love the community they’ve created. As soon as I saw the crowd outside the theatre (which was phenomenal!!) I knew it was just gonna be one of those days it was too overwhelming to talk to many people and while the people I did talk to were lovely I think I gave out a grand total of 8 bracelets which is my second biggest regret. But @pazazzalil and @laurenlpz, meeting up with you was like being with old friends even though we hadn’t met in person in 5/6 years. Love you both (and maybe we can actually get seats together next time)

And as one last little note, while it did feel extra special having people who have been with the company for all/the majority of these last 15 years, I have loved seeing the newer Starkids being so proud of their friends 🥺

I don’t know how I’m ever getting over this show. There was no way it was going to be bad with how highly anticipated a UK show was but it went way beyond my expectations. Pure magic. And I really do believe that after that it won’t be long before they’re back here, and I can’t wait

[shinelikethunder]

Hello there! I hope you don’t mind me just dropping into your asks like this, but by all means def feel free to just delete this if so, it is kind of a weird ask.

This is the anon from the computer blog asking about a private laptop for collage! After doing (a small amount of) research into Linux, one thing that’s super confusing to me, is… how does one know which distro to use? You mentioned in the replies of the post that you use Ubuntu Linux, which seems to be one of the more popular ones. Would you recommend — and if so, why? Is it good for privacy, do you think? The best? Does the user need to have a good deal of experience with computers to keep it running? (I’ve never used a laptop before but I don’t mind trying to learn stuff)

Also this is an EXTREMELY stupid question my apologies, but how….. exactly do you put Linux on a laptop? OP from my ask said to buy a laptop with no OS but is that something you can do? I’d think so, since 0P works with computer and stuff as their job, but Reddit says that it’s not really possible and that you should just “buy like a Windows laptop and scrap the software”??? Is that… correct? How did you install Linux on your laptop — did y ou have to remove software off it or did you, as OP says, manage to find a laptop with no OS?

Again, feel free to ignore if you don’t wanna put in the time/effort to reply to this, I absolutely don’t mind — it’s a lot of stuff I’m asking and you didn’t invite it all, so ofc feel free to delete the ask if you’d like!

ha, you've zeroed in on one of the big reasons Linux is kind of a contrarian choice for me to recommend: the wild proliferation of distros, many of them hideously complex to work with. luckily, the fact that most of them are niche offshoots created by and for overly-technical nerds makes the choice easier: you don't want those. you want one of the largest, best-supported, most popular ones, with a reputation for being beginner-friendly. the two biggies are Ubuntu and Linux Mint; i'd recommend focusing your research there.

this isn't JUST a popularity-contest thing: the more people use it, the more likely you are to find answers if you're having trouble or plugging a weird error message into google, and the greater the variety of software you'll find packaged for easy install in that distro. some combination of professional and broad-based community support means you'll find better documentation and tutorials, glitches will be rarer and get fixed faster, and the OS is less likely to be finicky about what hardware it'll play nice with. the newbie-friendly ones are designed to be a breeze to install and to not require technical fiddling to run them for everyday tasks like web browsing, document editing, media viewing, file management, and such.

info on installation, privacy, personal endorsement, etc under the cut. tl;dr: most computers can make you a magic Linux-installing USB stick, most Linuces are blessedly not part of the problem on privacy, Ubuntu i can firsthand recommend but Mint is probably also good.

almost all Linux distros can be assumed to be better for privacy than Windows or MacOS, because they are working from a baseline of Not Being One Of The Things Spying On You; some are managed by corporations (Ubuntu is one of them), but even those corporations have to cater to a notoriously cantankerous userbase, so most phoning-home with usage data tends to be easy to turn off and sponsored bullshit kept minimally intrusive. the one big exception i know of is Google's bastard stepchild ChromeOS, which you really don't want to be using, for a wide variety of reasons. do NOT let someone talk you into installing fucking Qubes or something on claims that it's the "most private" or "most secure" OS; that's total user-unfriendly overkill unless you have like a nation-state spy agency or something targeting you, specifically.

how to install Linux is also not a dumb question! back in the day, if you wanted to, say, upgrade a desktop computer from Windows 95 to Windows 98, you'd receive a physical CD-ROM disc whose contents were formatted to tell the computer "hey, i'm not a music CD or a random pile of backup data or a piece of software for the OS to run, i want you to run me as the OS next time you boot up," and then that startup version would walk you through the install.

nowadays almost anyone with a computer can create a USB stick that'll do the same thing: you download an Ubuntu installer and a program that can perform that kind of formatting, plug in the USB stick, tell the program to put the installer on it and make it bootable, and then once it's done, plug the USB stick into the computer you want to Linuxify and turn it on.

Ubuntu has an excellent tutorial for every step of the install process, and an option to do a temporary test install so you can poke around and see how you like it without pulling the trigger irreversibly: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop

having a way to create a bootable USB stick is one reason to just get a Windows computer and then let the Linux installer nuke everything (which i think is the most common workflow), but in a pinch you can also create the USB on a borrowed/shared computer and uninstall the formatter program when you're done. i don't have strong opinions on what kind of laptop to get, except "if you do go for Linux, be sure to research in advance whether the distro is known to play nice with your hardware." i'm partial to ThinkPads but that's just, like, my opinion, man. lots of distros' installers also make it dead simple to create a dual-boot setup where you can pick between Windows and Linux at every startup, which is useful if you know you might have to use Windows-only software for school or something. keep in mind, though, that this creates two little fiefdoms whose files and hard-disk space aren't shared at all, and it is not a beginner-friendly task to go in later and change how much storage each OS has access to.

i've been using the distro i'm most familiar with as my go-to example throughout, but i don't really have a strong opinion on Ubuntu vs Mint, simply because i haven't played around with Mint enough to form one. Ubuntu i'll happily recommend as a beginner-friendly version of Linux that's reasonably private by default. (i think there's like one install step where Canonical offers paid options, telemetry, connecting online accounts, etc, and then respects your "fuck off" and doesn't bug you about it again.) by reputation, Mint has a friendlier UI, especially for people who are used to Windows, and its built-in app library/"store" is slicker but offers a slightly more limited ecosystem of point-and-click installs.

(unlike Apple and Google, there are zero standard Linux distros that give a shit if you manually install software from outside the app store, it's just a notoriously finicky process that could take two clicks or could have you tearing your hair out at 3am. worth trying if the need arises, but not worth stressing over if you can't get it to work.)

basic software starter-pack recommendations for any laptop (all available on Windows and Mac too): Firefox with the uBlock Origin and container tab add-ons, VLC media player, LibreOffice for document editing. the closest thing to a dealbreaking pain in the ass about Linux these days (imo) is that all the image and video editing software i know of is kinda janky in some way, so if that's non-negotiable you may have to dual-boot... GIMP is the godawfully-clunky-but-powerful Photoshop knockoff, and i've heard decent things about Pinta as a mid-weight image editor roughly equivalent to Paint.net for Windows.

[magellanicclouds]

On another tales from my father: his first reaction to seeing Fred’s halo 5 armor was “his helmet looks like the back of a jet.” Lol bro was a pilot for most of his life

X D The back of a jet, huh? Can't say that I see it, but I will defer to dad's judgement as he's got much more historical experience to draw from. > w < I do always appreciate hearing about his Halo input; thank you for providing. But. Ah. You've got me thinking about my lost love: the Centurion. I know it is not a popular opinion at all, but I actually really liked the Halo 4 and 5 armours. I had been a big fan of Gabriel Garza's work prior, so his design approach to things was something I was familiar with and appreciated. Fred's Centurion helmet though was my absolute favourite. The look and shape of it suited him, and the faceplate had the uncanny ability to pass on "expressions" based on the angle it was tilted or viewed from. It gave off some of the best concerned and anxious looks, which really worked for Fred. It just felt 'him' to me, right down to the name of it. (As an aside: my highest opinion is that I preferred when Blue Team all wore the same armour, in the same colour, just with various attachable favoured modifications. I liked when they were strapped with gear and wore packs. I don't like the endlessly growing list of niche MJOLNIR variants. But: video game. So. : \ ) Just my own opinion, and I don't mean to challenge or upset anyone who feels differently, but the new Cohort helmet is so ugly to me. Not a single redeeming quality. Repellent if I'm being honest. It's clunky-in-a-bad-way and looks like a poorly executed attempt to make something that straddles the line of retro and modern - failing from both ends. All I see in it is a rejected overdesigned concept made by a vacuum cleaner company in the early 90s. It doesn't match in visual tone or era to anything else and the hyperblue house paint they covered the rest of him in? Please. ; n ; I genuinely avoid seeking out anything with him in or on it anymore because A) I think he looks terrible, and B) I don't like the character archetype he's been moulded into these days. Just not appealing to me at all. Sorry for the sad Fred words. With regards to Halo 5 though, it sure did...a lot of things. There is more than enough to say about the very many choices that were made for what was Blue Team's video game debut. But for me at least, their physical appearance is not on that list of problems.

[laurasbailey]

your open convo about cr things... i keep thinking and experiencing that is not an isolated cr thing either. as an example, this is from the most recent George RR Martin's blog: "In films and television shows… though even there, toxicity is growing.  It used to be fun talking about our favorite books and films, and having spirited debates with fans who saw things different… but somehow in this age of social media, it is no longer enough to say “I did not like book X or film Y, and here’s why.”  Now social media is ruled by anti-fans who would rather talk about the stuff they hate than the stuff they love, and delight in dancing on the graves of anyone whose film has flopped."

since 2020, i think, being negative is like... a brand on itself? and hating the popular thing? well, you can build a whole online persona and following on that.

cr is the biggest thing in a niche space, so u can throw a few buzzwords and a "well written and explained criticism" done by a person that expends a good 8 hours a day online, and boom, your numbers, your likes, and your serotonin go up up and up. easy work. but this is poisoning everything.... bit of a bummer really

you’re absolutely right and it’s the kind of thing that swings back around every once in a while where a bunch of people in a fandom will gain a following just by being self-proclaimed “haters” and it’s always the strangest self-own lmao

i’ve definitely experienced it in other fandoms over the years and it’s just wild to intentionally aspire to be that guy at the party who makes the conscious decision to ruin everyone else’s night simply bc he’s having a bad time. like if you do that you need a therapist idk what to tell you

there was a discussion about this a while back but the rise of social media and the death of the forum as a way to communicate with other fans has absolutely fucked with the fandom experience. when forums to dedicated topics were The Social Media, you could only find hate if you were actively looking for it, otherwise you’d just hang around in the thread dedicated to whatever character/ship/whatever you were into. now you’ll be jumpscared by a moron’s misogynistic essay disguised as an ‘opinion’ on a tuesday afternoon just by logging in to your account bc everything is communal and dictated by algorithms

[peachjagiya]

“His career goals and music style are highly marketable” sounds like a reformed way of saying only certain genres will do well which is what the comp has been pushing since it branched out into the US and what the fandom repeats to justify their clear bias towards being ot2.

Ok I'm not sure on your tone here. I think you're being salty.

There's a lot of assumption in this ask.

You're assuming I am basing my opinion on what the company pushes.

Not to be this guy but I've mentioned before I have 35 years experience in UK radio. Bear in mind UK radio which has it's own set of rules but that's where I'm based, that's where my opinion comes from. And if the company is saying only certain genres will do well, uhhhh... they are right, sadly. The actual problem would be if they said only certain ARTISTS would do well.

From my experience with playlisting very mainstream commercial radio, Jungkook's music is highly marketable for mainstream play. I got Standing Next To You added to my primarily 70s, 80s and 90s radio stations rotation by playing it to the SM who had never heard of Jungkook and only vaguely knew of BTS and he just loved what it sounded like.

Jimin also has a very commercial sound. As does The Astronaut. Namjoon's Still Life absolutely definitely has marketability but I'd say maybe Change Pt 2 doesn't, for example.

Fri[end]s has viability too but Layover might be a touch too experimental and chilled for mainstream play. For Us could be the exception. Think about how many pop songs you hear with that pitched up vocal. It's a very commercial sound. But then it gets very laid back after that and laid back sounds are a hard sell on radio when sometimes you have to keep the energy up (breakfast radio and drive time radio for example.) These aren't fandom opinions. They're just tried and tested principles of commercial airplay.

Rap like AgustD and Hope would usually probably end up on a genre show or in a "spice" playlist (which is like very limited play over a month to add a bit of interest) which is by definition a niche.

(Side note: and I think any of them would be happy to accept these truths if it means they're making music they love that feels authentic?!)

And almost every single by BTS has marketability. It's not an illegal word or a stick to beat anyone with. It's not a criticism. It's not an indicator of selling out or whatever stupid shit people want to throw at Jungkook. It just happens he loves to make pop music which is called popular music for a REASON.

You're also assuming I'm active in fandom and have a single clue what anyone says - Nah. It's just me on tumblr with a small circle of follows, occasionally seeing the odd tweet and sending my wife stupid BTS memes on Instagram.

You're also assuming I recognise OT2 as a thing. I don't even know what that means, if I'm honest. I'm Tae-biased OT7. I certainly don't recognise any two members as being better musicians or more valuable than others and my personal musical preference actually favours Hope, Yoongi and Tae so...

A side effect of doing this for many years is that I have to be realistic in how I listen to music and recognise where it will fit. It's not about who I like more.

If you were being nice and I just misunderstood, send me another ask and tell me off. :D

Boo anon/Thanks anon, depending on your intent. But have a heart regardless 💜

[altocat]

A really niche Hc of mine is that Tseng is actually terrified of Sephiroth- not in a run away screaming kind of way, but I always got the vibe from him that he knows what’s up with Sephiroth and fears him in a “that is one very powerful, unstable man - something isn’t fully human about him” kinda way. I also assume he probably knows quite a lot about Sephiroth’s orgin, because, yk, Turks(tm).

Do you have any thoughts on their relationship? I love hearing your take on these kind of things :)

I think Sephiroth and Tseng don't like each other, but there's also a lot of mutual respect there.

Tseng probably understands Sephiroth better than most. And, yes, knows full well what Sephiroth is capable of doing and becoming. He would warn people, but Sephiroth's just too beloved and popular and he knows it would just fall on deaf ears. So he stays silent about it. They collaborate together on occasion, though they're always very cold and curt with each other. Tseng has some level of sympathy for how truly tragic and solitary Sephiroth's life really is. But it goes hand in hand with his immense sense of caution. He doesn't want to be here on the day Sephiroth inevitably snaps.

Sephiroth, for his part, admires Tseng's efficiency and intelligence, even finds him attractive. But he also associates Tseng with President Shinra's close inner circle and thus, he doesn't really trust or like him. While he knows he's stronger than Tseng in almost every way, he doesn't trust anyone who carries a gun, especially after years of being dragged around by armed guards in the lab. He can also instinctively sense that Tseng is afraid of him, something that he finds both satisfying and also disconcerting, considering it only adds to his feeling of "otherness". Maybe part of him wanted Tseng's acceptance, even if he didn't like or trust him. Feelings are complicated that way. He did hold him in some esteem though, since Tseng's skills are definitely something to admire. And there was a hidden understanding of Sephiroth's feelings for Angeal and Genesis shared between them, even if they never spoke of it.

While his memories of Tseng are hazy when they encounter each other in the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth has just enough recollection to take pleasure in severely wounding the Turk, looming over his crumpled body and gloating, scaring the absolute sanity out of him before moving ahead. Tseng recovers, of course, but suffers intense nightmares from the experience for years to come.

[bluebudgie]

So... what's up with these two?

(I love recycling old pictures.png)

You may or may not have seen me draw these rats repeatedly and you may or may not care what's up with them.

Well, in case you do... buckle up, we'll be here for a while.

Just in case: very vague ableism mention. I'm cutting down on pretty much all details, but just so you know the general topic comes up at some point. Don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

Unrelated disclaimer: words are difficult.

It's probably smart to start with a general character introduction so you get an idea of who you're dealing with.

So, Petthri.

(Shared most of this stuff about him before, now it's gathered in one place at least.)

The outgoing guy, grew up in a supportive family, always been the popular kid among peers, and later a pretty popular professor with his students (less so with some other colleagues, but hey). Very passionate about animal bioacoustics. Very hands-on when it comes to research and teaching. Infodumps a lot.

He's got his heart in the right place, but he's obviously not flawless. Has his thoughts constantly drifting in twelve different directions at once, can definitely not read the room, and has absolutely said and done things that hurt others just because he didn't think (and probably never realized). Likely to nervously laugh his way through most dangerous situations, but does manage to pull himself together and get things done if things turn really bad.

He got – at some point (precise date TBA, sometime around PoF events) – kidnapped by the Inquest because they wanted some of his research but didn't manage to sort through his mess. So they just took the entire man to the CoE and decided to keep him. Niche knowledge could always be useful after all. They were even kind enough to gift him an additional facial scar during the welcome interrogation! (The other one was a field trip accident). True hospitality.

Not sure if it's incredible optimism or naivety, but he's generally been doing alright during this whole prisoner situation. He's not locked up, they let him work on things he actually cares about (albeit not for the right cause), and overall he's had enough hope to believe he'll get out of there one day. Make the best out of the present, it'll be fine somehow.

I'm sure if you were to dig deep enough he'd find out he's actually less alright than he thinks he is. Oh well.

Let's talk about the other guy. Lahpp.

Me. I created you. (I've said barely anything about this man on here so far bc while I could fill the 20k essay with him alone, writing about him intimidates me lol. Also in case you're ever asking yourself this, no I did not realize his name sounds like 'lab' until weeks after I created him. Unfortunate coincidence. So, anyway...)

Obedient Inquest scientist, questions but doesn't oppose orders, has been doing the same work for the better part of the last two decades. Day in, day out, getting up early and staying up late. Somewhere in the middle of the pyramid scheme, he's definitely got a bunch of heads above him but he's nowhere near the bottom end of the chain. Got his own little lab space. Enjoys music theory in the little free time he allocates. Assertive, lets people know when not to bother him, but very polite nonetheless. Has mastered the art of superficial small talk. The guy who holds open doors and pulls your chair back for you with an acted but convincing smile. Truly employee of the month material.

He's never known anything but this perfectly ordered working drone life so he's fairly content with his current position.

....

Yeeaah you guessed there's more below the surface.

So this man's life started with being the subject of a failed genetic dragon magic experiment, first one in a handful of infants that actually lived, but ultimately he got nothing out of it but a fair share of various health conditions and disabilities. The initial project was dropped after a few years of surveillance with no results, and instead he got handed over to one of the medical departments so they could "at least make use of him" and test some cutting-edge medical tech. No wasting ressources, am I right? (:

Fastforward some years, a miserable childhood full of abuse and ableism (and by extension just as much of it internalized) essentially left him with the obsession of wanting to fit in with everyone else, wanting to be like everyone else, never having anyone find out anything about his conditions and his past. Worked his ass off in college so it wouldn't be apparent he struggled when others didn't. Created a work environment for himself that he knew would be accommodating to him while not raising any possible questions.

He's been doing fine for some time now; while he definitely hasn't gotten rid of his insecurities he has somewhat accepted that he just... is who he is. Some days are worse and some days are better. His brain has done a very thorough job suppressing pretty much all his early childhood memories. He has also convinced himself that being a perfectly exploitable asset to the corporation that abused him for years is definitely the right way to stick it to the system. They said he'd never be useful for anything and die an early death? Ha, showed 'em! (I am saying this with a lot of sarcasm. He is genuine.)

He's definitely a product of the environment he grew up in, which is a shame because if he hadn't been indoctrinated by the Inquest since birth he would have probably turned out a pretty decent person. He doesn't have the absolute worst inner moral compass. Alas, as it is he has contributed to [some fucked up things] and has [some fucked up views]. And he's not about to change that.

So... at what point do the stories of these two actually connect?

Petthri and Lahpp first met within a larger group of mostly scientists from mixed divisions that were sent on a trip to Rata Primus.

I won't go into the full details of The Rata Primus Odyssey now because that is a whole different story arc involving a total of six of my characters, but the relevant information is that they arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time (A Bug In The System says hello!), and got trapped in the main complex together (alongside Phlish and my charr engineer Leto) when Awakened shit hit the fan.

In short, the following escape mission lasted way too long, and made for an incredibly exhausting 0/10 experience for everyone involved. Cooperation between our two relevant asura actually went surprisingly smooth for the most part, at least way better than with the rest of the small group.

(Bringing that old edit back. Two criminals actually getting shit done in the back while the others are about to snap each other's head off.)

I did once offhandedly mention that Lahpp held Petthri at gunpoint exactly one time – that was here. He was not going to risk getting onto HQ's watch list for letting a prisoner slip away while he's even remotely involved.

Ultimately exhaustion and having no access to important medication for a prolonged amount of time got the better end of Lahpp, and while the other two would have probably just left the "dead weight" behind, Petthri made sure he made it out with them. Not a great time for the little Inquest criminal, both physically and mentally given his inclination for secrecy regarding certain topics.

A few days after they returned to the CoE Petthri checked up on Lahpp to make sure he's recovering, but afterwards... radio silence from both sides for the next few years.

–

Fastforward, it's now Cantha time!

If Lahpp had a piece of gold for everytime HQ sent him away on a "business trip" that'll end up nearly killing him, and likewise Petthri had one for everytime he'd be witness to that, they'd both have... two pieces of gold, which isn't much, but it's still weird it happened twice.

Once again as part of a larger group, our criminals find themselves in New Kaineng City. And because I am a mere human being that is not above resorting to overused tropes, they do of course end up having to share the same room for the time of their stay. I never claimed to be a mastermind storywriter.

At least this time the trip starts out fairly unspectacular, with mostly guided group tours through the city and its labs. Lahpp is not feeling too great (understatement) during all of this for reasons he can't quite grasp, but he's got a really bad gut feeling. Petthri actually notices he's lingering a lot and falling behind, so he suggests they split off from the rest of the group and go back to their room early. Get some rest, the journey to Cantha was long after all.

The next days are pretty calm, the Inquest is snooping around while our two heroes actually have some time to talk and get to know each other a little more. Petthri finally gets to tell someone his whole 'and this is how I was kidnapped!' story. Petthri's questions are getting a little too personal for Lahpp's taste, but overall they get along alright. It's almost like two people that have been way too lonely for several years are actually finding a bit of comfort for a moment. (Side note: Petthri warms up to people very quickly, and he might be (without realizing it) getting a little too comfortable with the idea of having found someone "redeemable".)

Now wouldn't it be great if a nearby reactor blew up and an elder dragon escaped?

The event itself isn't really affecting them (yet) but I do think Lahpp must be questioning the Eternal Alchemy at this point. Thaumanova. Multiple near-meltdowns in the Crucible. Rata Primus. Now this. Seriously, at some point it's just ridiculous.

With each new information surfacing, the "bad gut feeling" is slowly but surely turning into mild but continuous panic. Something is off and it clearly has something to do with dragons. Now, Lahpp never really cared about the whole elder dragon business. Whatever sort of magic experiment he was used for, it's the outcome that affected his life, not the source of it. Still, the thoughts are starting to occupy his mind more than he'd like to admit. Petthri is entirely unaware of any of this.

Oh wait – what's this? A new unknown form of raw magic rapidly spreading and threatening to destroy Tyria? Obviously this is something to be investigated, so the larger group coordinates an excursion to Dragon's End. And obviously they end up getting into the battle for the jade sea.

I guess at this point you see where my art is coming from.

Petthri and Lahpp never get to fight Soo-Won herself (no canon meta participation alas), but they are busy enough fending off Void creatures on ground level anyway. It's unclear (to me) if or how much the Void actually affects Lahpp on a physical level, but regardless he is not having the best time being confronted with something that is so unknown to him and yet so closely connected to his very being.

Some resurfacing traumatic memories combined with a not-so-pretty panic attack (and the physical stress of fighting) later, it's poor Petthri's task to once again take a blacked out criminal to safety. Meanwhile he's got absolutely no idea what is going on, but he's definitely going to demand some explanations.

For some days after this Petthri's playing bedside vigil in a New Kaineng medical facility. The two have a lot of time to talk. Personal topics. Uncomfortable topics. Lahpp does tell Petthri to go back to Rata Sum, he's beyond caring at this point. Quite frankly he thinks HQ won't care either. Petthri refuses to leave just like that. Asks Lahpp to come with him, he'll be better off away from the Inquest. Obviously Lahpp is not having any of it, he's very well aware the Inquest is as corrupt as it gets, but so is Rata Sum. That's just how the world functions. The Inquest has the meds and tech he needs to survive. He's not leaving. And he certainly doesn't need anyone acting self-sacrificial out of pity. It's degrading.

He tells Petthri to sleep on it and make up his mind the next day.

–

Aaand that is pretty much where the somewhat coherently planned part of my current rat-timeline ends. A glimpse into vague concepts for the future:

Enter a third character to the roster! It's Luqqah, Inquest medic-turned-biochemist. She happened to be in Cantha for a while now, doing her own research. She gets involved treating the injured after the whole Void mess. Naturally she ends up finding Petthri and Lahpp. Lucky for the latter, because she obviously has better knowledge dealing with asura than any of the human medics. And... in fact... she has pretty detailed knowledge about what's up with Lahpp specifically. Dealt with his medical papers in the past. Oh, also... they're exes. Don't worry, parted on good terms. Haven't seen each other since shortly after the Thaumanova meltdown. What a reunion.

So... yeah. It's gonna be trio time from now on. I don't know yet for how long the three of them stay in Cantha, or if they're going to get involved with the whole Gyala Delve storyline (or whatever comes out of it). Lahpp's not doing great, he'll need a while recovering. If he ever fully recovers. Petthri has a few of his own inner demons to fight. Time will tell.

As a conclusion... Petthri's saviour complex sets him on a good path towards a corruption arc while Lahpp's as close to a redemption arc as he'll get. They're both questioning their life and views a lot. Spoiler from the Omniscient Narrator: Both of them will be back in the Crucible. But with more thoughts to think than before. And more time to spend together.

And that's what's currently up with the rats.

[dnangelic]

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

biting the bullet and saying why not! i usually avoid protagonist types because i get intimidated by the amount of detail and canon i feel like i have to memorize in order to properly do them justice, same with more 'popular' charas/muses giving me more personal pressure to be a portrayal worth.... something?? respect and validity?? attention and friendship from my mutuals lmao 😭 but considering dnangel was painfully niche (despite the way everybody and their mom at least recognizes it) and about half the series was only in japanese anyways, (let's see you try to find full-length dnangel LN translations that aren't mine) AND it's been like 30 years since the series started, i figured i'd have nothing to lose if my tried my best with daisuke. dai's always basically been my first magical girl (boy-) exposure and for that i'm very grateful. i still remember how beautiful sugisaki's art was to me even while being shook that dai was falling off a cliff in vol 2. my whole life might as well have led up to this point is basically what i'm saying-

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

nothing much beyond the obvious taboos/what's in my rules. although, i don't really like if it a muse relationship doesn't go anywhere and stagnates at something like making fun of dark or daisuke nonstop. yeah they can be your funny guys, but don't suddenly ditch me or go off in an ooc post rant if that funny stuff takes an actual serious turn. i try to incorporate a lot of facets into dark and daisuke both, so i get frustrated when people solely try to force them into shallow facades of themselves. humor's great, but there's a point where people have to take daisuke and dark's feelings seriously too, or else i won't feel reciprocated, and i'll start losing respect for portrayals and muses.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

i just like writing in general really. if you write with me i really enjoy it. thank u so much💐✨. being able to take dark and daisuke out of their somewhat limited canon and put them through certain experiences or in front of certain personalities that i'd otherwise never ever get to see is very fulfilling for me, especially since the series probably won't get anymore updates in the future (holding out for an anime revival but for now i'll take the brand new 2024 drama cd.) if we're talking deepest indulgences... off the top of my head, i really like it when dark gets to be actually intimate with others without worrying over the curse or keeping any secrets for daisuke, which includes him being with even younger muses who just kind of marvel at him and look up to him be it as an older brother type figure or not. on daisuke's side of things, i'm just like sugisaki lmfao- i like it when he gets to do things and actually prove to muses that he's a) capable and unstoppable when he tries and b) actually kind of an impulsive hothead underneath all the anxiety dkjfkgjk.

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

i wish i was the sort of person to spitball silly little headcanons out one after another but i'm not. most headcanons i have usually fulfill some kind of thematic or relate directly to canon; dark's skin being ice-cold and marble-smooth is all headcanon, him having fangs (sharp teeth) and claws is very very arguably headcanon, (as in, canon never comments on either or, but let it me known my dark absolutely does have these features,) all to better suit and exaggerate his role as 'the beast' and something inhuman, on the scarier and supernatural side of things. daisuke tumbling locks as a (quite telling to the perceptive) habit with his hands is headcanon, and so is his and dark's shared appreciation for fruits/sweets --- it's part of the fractured fairy-tale motif, but also the biblical, which both often have overlapping dealings and warnings in regards to sins, temptations, and pride, a la eating the apple / the gingerbread house. dark and dai are both the tempers and the ones tempted, but they're also thieves and possessive saviors; their eyes are kind but covet, their hands are cold but their smiles are warm, they clutch at and take anything that isn't theirs but often for the sole sake of keeping and protecting it. most of my headcanons end up revolving around that sort of thing.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

my surroundings are endlessly noisy so i usually have something playing. it's also why i write better at night during dead hours because it's quietest, but by then i'm usually worn out and just want to sleep 😂

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

i'm a winger. if i focus too long on quality for literally every single interaction i'd never get any replies out, but i do enjoy writing more complex/dramatic replies for mutuals whose styles better suit it. this is why my writing style shifts around between asks/responses/mutuals sometimes, although sometimes it's on purpose. dark's responses can seem far more complex and grandiose than daisuke's at times, but that's because mentally, daisuke's much younger and simpler and much more emotional/energetic. if i'm really inspired by a response but don't have the immediate time to sit and focus on a full length reply, sometimes i'll just jot down a sentence or two i want to use so i don't forget into my notes app, and it's usually smooth sailing from there.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

romantic? it's not my priority, especially since my standards are very strict. i refuse to get into a ship that feels empty because forcing something i don't actually feel for is the fastest way to kill off my muse. idc about kisses and i sure as hell don't do smut, my muse (both of them, dark included at least physically) is a minor, but if something happens naturally (which isn't at all impossible, this is daisuke i'm writing here,) then i'll roll with it and see where it goes. really it's not daisuke developing an attraction to another muse that i'm afraid of, just annoying muns or getting a negative reaction to potentially introducing any kind of narrative conflict. i like some drama. i like some figuring it out. i like depth touching depth. daisuke's entire life/series begins with him literally being rejected by his first crush on his birthday and he's part of a buy one boyfriend get one free package alongside dark; he's always got a lot to figure out. so i guess my advice is really don't ask me to ship unless you're fully prepared to understand what exactly that means with daisuke.

romance aside? i love daisuke having mentors. or rivals. or people he attaches to as a sibling or some kind, given he's a lonely single child already used to being immensely responsible. or i like seeing him being stuck in complicated situations and putting other people into complicated dilemmas because his alignments are all over the place. he works with criminal muses, law-enforcement related muses, magical-related muses, inter-dimensional related muses, art-related muses, older or younger, nobility, there's sm you can do with him, he can go just about anywhere. i enjoy this.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

tsun

ᴀɢᴇ?

💀 im getting older....

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

mar 20th

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

black, red, hey wait a minute-

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

i'll talk about for dark and daisuke specifically - dark is always those moody, weepy sounding vkei or jrock (duh) songs while daisuke gets all the cutesy, lovey-dovey, high-energy jpop music. throw in the occasional mix of the two (like metal covers of high energy pop songs) and i've got all the vibes i need. go into my audio tag and maybe then you will Understand

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

half of sonic 2 (i didn't get to finish it because it was on a plane flight ---)

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

i haven't watched any shows in FOREVER 😭

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

halyosy's snowman (the rerec ver) (thank you project sekai)

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

p...pizza....

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

fall right when it's riiiiiight before winter.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

mutuals that have stuck with me for yrs are all my best friends. mutuals that are nice to me now are also my best friends

tagged by @primordyalsoul ty sumin!!!!!!

[sarahowritesostucky]

Hi! don't know if you answer asks like this but just curious as a fic writer do you feel different fandoms have cliques where some writers only comment or promote writers they're friends with and not all? and in relation to this, do you think stats are the most important thing to a writers success in a fandom? I know this might seem random but just admire your writing and wanted to hear your thoughts

Interesting ask. Okay well, first off, I squee whenever somebody says they ADMIRE my writing *fans self with nearest flat object, in a flattered, flustered, and ego-inflated emotional state*

second off, I'm fairly new to Tumblr, so I am not the most knowledgeable about this

that said, I think that people on Tumblr do a pretty pitiful job overall of promoting content with reblogs, and comments are even rarer!

I have a core group of people whom I've noticed will always reblog my fics, and I absolutely have friendship-y feelings for them even though they're internet strangers, lol. (I love you guys! 💗)

I think that if you're creating quality content and you aren't an asshat, people will eventually catch on and wind up flocking to you. It's the quality of the content you're putting out there that matters most.

But also be smart and try to post regularly, try to write things you know people love (certain tropes, pairings, kinks, etc). Post at peak times of day, make sure your queue is full and set to post at least several times per day. Stuff like that.

If your OTP/fandom is less popular, commit to writing some micro fics about more popular pairings/fandoms/tropes, just to draw more readers in--They will then be more likely to give your niche stuff a try!

As your followers # grows, you'll get more promotion, just because of sheer numbers. So yes, I think having more followers is important if you want to see more engagement with your content overall. (but again, that follows smart posting and quality content)

However, it only takes a handful of awesome supporters to make for a great fandom experience on Tumblr!

As to cliques, I have experienced some pretty hateful bullying and exclusion on the platform, related to an incident where I was abrasive and made a point about free speech, censorship, being willing to discuss vs cancel, and people who are reactive instead of rational (antis).

long story short, my old account was sent death threats, constant harassing, and vile anons, before being vindictively deleted by a rogue staff member (yes, I've gotten confirmation that this is abuse from other Tumblr representatives)

Antis and trolls definitely flock together in cliques, so exclusion can happen there. Cliques can be helpful in that they weed out the nasties fast.

For example: on my new account, I have noticed that perhaps 20 or so accounts have me blocked--most of them are smalltime/not so great bloggers, but about five of them are very popular Chris Evans or Sebastian Stan authors whose content I would probably otherwise be reading and commenting/re-blogging.

I don't think I interacted with most of them directly on my old account, but they are in the cliques that the antis were in, so they hopped on the block-Sarah train based off of whatever their mutuals said.

I don't read other people's fics on Tumblr so much as I do on Ao3, and I'm more about posting my own stuff on Tumblr, so the blocking isn't really an issue with me (mostly they're the ones losing out on the content promotion I would be doing for them, lol).

I think if people are going to be nasty, negative, reactive-not-rational, not willing to discuss, and just generally mean spirited, do you really want them promoting you anyway? Probably not.

As to the people who are not that way, I'd say: PEOPLE NOTICE WHEN YOU REBLOG AND COMMENT on their stuff.

so the more YOU promote other content creators whose stuff you like, the more they will feel affinity for you and promote your stuff!!

I suggest following TONs of people who are in your fandom--many of them will notice and follow you back. That's the best way to get started if you want to grow your account. But also like I said: put out quality content--honey draws bees; and promote other people's content to create good relationships with mutuals.