#creator getting a feel for tumblr rp

[kowalskilaska]

I’m out of cigarettes?? Ohmygod. This throws my WHOLE schedule off. I’m supposed to take a smoke break tomorrow at 2pm but I won’t be able to and that will push everything forward. Unless I go to purchase them during the smoke break? No— it’s not even a smoke break anymore if I don’t have a cigarette!! I don’t even get that anymore. I could go get some now but— eurghhh! I already have Uno on my ass about ‘slacking off’— it it really slacking off if I need these? Besides, I get the work done! ( Piece of shit. )

I could wake up early and get them in the morning? NO! Then I won’t have time to do my daily skincare! I wasn’t supposed to buy more cigarettes until Saturday! Did I miss count? There’s no way I did!

ˢʰⁱᵗˢʰⁱᵗˢʰⁱᵗ maybe i'll just jump out the window.

. . .

Oh. they were in my back pocket. Ha.

[seventh-district]

LET’S FUCKING GOOOOOO

[sanzaibian]

Which writers do you recommend ? What stories did you like?

I follow quite a bit of creators, so it would be quite overwhelming to include all of them ! So I'll only include those I especially like and have things to say about.

I'll of course shoutout @joshslater, he's honestly a bit of an idol to me, since his stories are always so imaginative - and well-written ! In that category I also add @salmonskinrolltf of which I especially like the multi-parters, and how he explores a gimmick very thoroughly, @maletfsstories who always write great stories that hook me up even on kinks I don't have, and @rozza22365 who basically was the one to introduce me to the guilty pleasure of gay to straight by his thrilling prose !

I'll also shoutout the very prolific @papermoon357 (because, let's be honest, who wouldn't !), whose skill really shines in the stories he posts between captions, @fredwkong and @octuscle who both have a similar style of reader-driven posting that brings a ton of varied content, with each their own spin (thinking about it, it might very well be in the continuation of the style of feu collegenerdtojock, whose tumblr has been taken over by pastry for some reason), as well as @coyotes-rules-of-change who always nails down perfectly what I find hot in tf !

And for newer writers, I'll shoutout @occamstfs who does an extremely good job, @tidetfs who seems to have pretty similar interests as me, and @alphajocklover who kinda does have that old tumblr tf community vibe to his stories !

Finally, a few mentions that I don't know how to group, I shoutout @dreamingtf and his stories that very often make me feel good, @idesofrevolution who has a nack of writing immersive stories, and @nonotnolan who writes some really sweet love stories ^^ (and I'll add an honorable mention to Programming Prince, who was banned multiple times from Tumblr, and since quit writing stories, but was very impactful in my introduction to the community ^^)

As for stories, well, you make me dig deeper, the list has already been so long to write ! But here are some of my all-time favorites, of which I link through my likes/main blog (so that if the link perishes, it perishes with that account ^^') :

@fullfriendnerdpurse's trio of alpha car, forced imposter and how to make a douchebag (not the actual title), all are great concepts of which I love to throw myself inside, and I think could all make a thrilling longer story, @rozza22365's Brotherly Changes, that one story that convinced me to follow him, @alphajocklover's Unmoved, which resonates with my personnal experiences a lot, feu tyranitartf's I'm a dumb jock, very hypnotic and thrilling, @anomanlyarchives' text message swap (not the actual title), of which I love the love story, I-don't-remember-whom's Chess Rival, republished by @marcoh1234, a good all classic that just doesn't get old, @erogenousmind's Turing, one of those stories that just scratches my existential horror erotica itch, @0ng0ingw0rk's To Love and to Cherish..., a great love story, @joshslater's Wet Dreams, the story I blame for my diaper fetish, Happy Endings' The Mind Palace (gayspiralstories), honestly my favorite story of all times, I love the concept, love the execution, the sweetness and the corruption. I do an RP on it (or at least did until I took a break), and I think that's the one concept I won't be bored of ^^'

There's a buch of other stories I love and would love to show off better, but that list is already long enough, so I focused on the most impactful stories ^^'

[straycalamities]

xposting from twitter but

kinda related to my other post, but guys can we please be more considerate about camp entre fanworks? i’ve seen people be unhappy with this or that being focused on (swagtre. it’s swagtre.) and wanting this or that but like

1. there’s /plenty/ of old art (and some new! i’ve drawn some!) where they’re solo

2. be the change you wish to see in the world

i don’t wanna be a dick but like i can see what you guys say pretty easily. im not some huge media producer who doesn’t pay attention. im a small creator who draws his oc kissing another oc 😭 (im not even indie!!! i’m even smaller than that!!! i don’t make ANY money from truffula flu or anything like that!! to some of you guys i might feel like a big deal but im just some guy in a niche fandom of a niche fandom of a niche fandom. i’m an absolute nobody outside this teeny tiny corner of the internet!!)

be polite, please

ever since camp entre picked back up last year i’ve seen ppl get more and more uh…bold i guess..with what they say and i just want to nip that behavior right there in the bud bc camp entre (or any truffula flu story for that matter) is not Big Media

none of us get or have gotten royalties or whatever from it. camp entre was a former-friend group’s public rp. keep that in mind when you say stuff in tumblr tags or use searchable words/phrases please. any one of us could be looking at any time

if you want more solo entre stuff, you can find it in my #entre tag (it’s all entres but there’s that truffula flu guy is in there) or #swag for that guy

yes there’s still a lot of ship art in there but it’s how i tag so…my bad

OR you can head to this old blog where the whole point was to be a place for me to reblog ALL the stuff that had entre in it and i even avoided reblogging most swagtre (because, go figure, there were ppl complaining about the amount of swagtre back then too) so it’s entre-focused stuff, check it out if you haven’t:

also if anyone dislikes swagtre so much i got bad news for them abt what was canon & continues to be canon 😭)

but either way let’s kinda…lay off the people creating things for fun and for love because we aren’t seeing what we, personally, want to see

and i especially won’t let anyone make ME feel bad for drawing something that brings me joy. i got enough misery in my life as it is

i got reasons and such for why i only draw/reshare/talk abt what i do but it’s nobody’s business tbqh. like i know it’s rough when im basically the only one of the original group that’s available because most (if not all) of the rest want to lay it to rest (as is their right) and so im the only one making “canon” stuff for camp entre anymore and i have a very loud muse for swagtre

but like idk i just want ppl to have fun so like

if you aren’t seeing your fav/ship enough then draw, write, or commission it! more stuff is always good stuff!! do macaroni art, edits, cosplay! whatever u want! it’s all cool!

[qprsmackdown]

welcome to the qpr smackdown!

Do you like headcanoning queerplatonic relationships between characters? have you ever wanted to watch those headcanons fight it out to see who has the most powerful unquantifiable levels of friendship? Well, this may just be the poll for you!

SUBMISSION RULES:

Please submit 2-character QPRs, preferably both from the same media. (However, if it's funny enough, or your propaganda convincing enough, we will allow the council to decide their fate (and by the council we mean a tumblr poll)) go nuts. submit whoever you want, however many characters. if you look at characters and go “oh they’re in a qpr fr” they’re eligible!

that being said, please no submissions from Harry Potter.

Real people ARE ALLOWED to be submitted! (Regardless of whether or not you consider MCYT characters to be real people they are definitely and unambiguously allowed.)

OCs are also allowed, feel free to submit them!

In the interest of fairness, please do not resubmit the same QPR multiple times.

Submissions will be closing on July 30th!

cr!Starfire (RP but also Real Life) are auto submitted bc one of our mods is part of that qpr and also theyre super cute <3

Please do not submit tumblr posts as propaganda, unless they are your own post or you have direct and explicit permission from the post's creator. We don't want to use other people's posts without their permission, and it creates extra work for the mods to ask.

TOURNAMENT RULES:

Hating on Any tournament participants, or fellow voters, will get you an instant block. Life is short, and we don't have time for this shit.

We will be reblogging/publishing positive propaganda posts/asks, but not anti-character propaganda.

Ties will be counted as long as they're within 1 percent of each other.

These rules are subject to change as changes become needed.

Here's the submission link!

Tags for visibility: @tournamentdirectory @catboy-showdown @transgenderswagcompetition @meanpurplepoll @top-fictional-unhinged-women @judge-and-justice-bracket @tournament-of-the-twinks

[vellichorom]

let's talk for a moment. if you're so hellbent on having an AI chatbot, then for the love of god please think about the characters you're using & what the creators intentions with them are / how they want them to be used.

i don't think anybody's going to bat an eye if you make a mickey mouse or winnie the pooh chatbot, for instance. those characters are practically public domain by this point, EVERYBODY knows who they are, they're the furthest from their original creators by this point, such & such, that's one thing.

but you do not apply that free logic to ANY character ever. you do not go to some little tumblr blog with their niche character design / interpretation, or even their OC, & decide- without the creator's permission, that you can then use their creation to feed into an AI chatbot for your entertainment.

that's how we end up with, in so many words, situations like Welcome Home, where one creator's passion project gets ripped from their hands & made into ANYTHING the fans want. it gets fandomized before it even becomes more of a public creation, or even fully fleshed out.

that's sickening to me. & you're doing this with AI, no less. to smaller creators with smaller creations they'd much rather keep close to home.

don't do that. get EXPLICIT permission if you feel you NEED something like that.

better yet, if a creator welcomes questions or interaction with their character(s), ENGAGE IN THAT! see about askblogs / rp blogs, send asks, engage with a creator puppeting their creations FOR you.

& if they don't welcome that? if they're not the kind to do that? maybe they haven't gotten around to interacting with you yet?

oh well. that's life. move on.

if you care any about your favorite creators & what they make, you'll respect the boundaries they put out. & i realize there's some that DON'T care, & will do these things out of spite or disregarding a creator's words.

but for those who mean well & just want some harmless fun? please just think about what you're doing. consider my words & others's words, & prioritize CONSENT.

thank you.

[theohshit-r-official]

Long-as-hell OOC post incoming

So, I feel I should probably clarify this, on account of shit going on in the zeitgeist re: Lancer RP on here, and because I and this blog am not an entrenched figure in the community here, so it pays to be as clear as possible what I am here for:

First, let me clarify: this is not about anyone in particular, and god knows I'm guilty of not doing some of the shit I'm going to recommend here. Second, this is, in addition to not being about any one person but instead the different microcultural elements I've noticed on here, mostly a post to explain what *I* am going for with this blog so that *YOU* can decide if or how you want to engage with it and me.

The primary purpose of this blog is as follows and as I will elaborate on here:

To serve as a place for people to dump their shitposts, serious opinions, and in-world takes they don't necessarily want to put out via an established character blog or their main in a more centralized place. This means I WILL publish most shit people send, even if some of the implications are not so great, though I won't publish some of the more egregious shit on account of it sucks. See this article [LINK HERE] for an example of something similar being done by a real world political figure (notably, a known inspiration for the Ungratefuls' Tyrannocleave) for a much better purpose than mine.

This ALSO means I will likely be publishing from people not immersed in the community or party to your established norms. I understand that online spaces largely run on reputation, but I, out of character as well as to some extent in, am an academic and I'm pretty well informed of both positive and negative consequences of this, and this is an intentional choice. DM me or send an ask labeled as OOC if you want to talk about this, I'm happy to discuss it, I'm just not likely to change my stance on it on account of "This is a heavily established, pretty well-researched concept in human social dynamics" so don't expect me to change what I'm doing from the jump. With that being said, let's lay out the motivation a bit:

Part of the appeal of LANCER that was explicitly intentionally designed by its creators is that there are both large structures of recalcitrant, sticky politics (see: Albatross hunts pirates, a group known to exist largely due to economic suffering, for a megacorp that sells weapons to pirates; the KTB is required to maintain an absurd level of extractive industry by Union, which favors their most abjectly fucking awful major house politically; etc) that serve as a shared bedrock for engagement and are pointedly shitty as hell *AND* large swathes of space where you can largely do pretty much whatever you want and have things be as good or as bad as you want so long as you avoid having them be run directly and heavy-handedly by the major players (as a brief sidebar, if you want an example of someone doing an excellent job of navigating the intersection of the larger players and the open, freer space and a damn good homebrew module, I highly recommend Vex Werewolf's In Golden Flame Act 1 [LINK HERE]). LANCER is a game where both the narrative impetus and mechanics are intrinsically tied to political context and dynamics, and the way LANCER allows for space from that for players and GMs is to have a lot of literal space unaccounted for.

The implication of this, of course, is that it is intended to be an equally valid mode of enjoyment to get really into the weeds of the established politics (hello, Siren Song, cannot WAIT to play an idiot in you and see how you break her) OR to not do that and avoid it entirely, but, and this is key, you cannot really feasibly do both at once reliably at scale without a lot of care and awareness, and I do not think that that is a reasonable expectation to have of total strangers on Tumblr. The official Discord community for this game has a rule to the effect of "Do not use your comfort to stifle political discussion unless ABSOLUTELY necessary" (very, very roughly paraphrased), and instead encourages disengaging from shit you do not want to deal with. To give an example of how that translates to practical domains, in the context of the game, if you didn't want to have to deal with Harrison culture, you wouldn't play a game on Ras Shamra, so why would you choose to pursue a conversation with someone playing a proud character from Ras Shamra on here if you don't want to hear what that character would say?

A lot of the conflict on here seems to stem from people being frustrated with people from one side of the aisle or the other interacting with them without establishing rules of engagement and/or where they stand on "I want to enjoy a sci-fi power fantasy without thinking too much about the implications" versus "I really want to dig in on the psyche of a proud Harrison soldier," both of which are equally valid ways to engage with the setting and the game. They come into conflict in no small part because many people in the prior category are expressly interested in using the mechanics of a mecha setting to tell a mostly feel-good story without the political meat and grit of the original setting materials, which, I'll especially note, is not something people coming from other mecha contexts are likely to expect. This means that you have a conflict between people interested in one mode of engagement (which, if I had to guess, comes more frequently from a general tabletop gaming background) and others interested in a very different mode of engagement coming from differing backgrounds, including but not limited to the broader world of mecha fans.

(NOTE: I am not saying that these groups are totally distinct or that this is the sole reason conflict happens, I'm just trying to give a more fleshed out example for people who are less familiar with the draw of the grit. I think the mecha community is a good example for this, as it is both something that a lot of people are peripheral to AND a cultural context a lot of people really don't understand from the outside)

Let me elaborate a little here on where the mecha side of things is coming from, for those of you less familiar. The arguable single most influential piece of mecha media in much of the world (Neon Genesis Evangelion) is in part an express exploration of the ethics of military recruitment and the use of child soldiers. The fact that this piece of media has recently been used to sell McDonald's does not change that weight in the culture of mecha media, nor does it change that, historically, mecha is a genre about war. The most prolific mecha series by far is Gundam, whose villains famously have a point and whose protagonists infamously tend to develop through deeply traumatic realizations that they may not be the unambiguous good guys they thought they were. Mecha media, on the whole, pointedly cultivates a strong sense of engagement in setting geopolitics, the ethics and process of war, and the role of individuals as vehicles of violence, and people coming from a heavy mecha background are likely to be invested in exploring these themes.

That being said, I totally respect wanting to engage with it from another angle, but you can see how people wanting a more free-form, canon-lite experience and people who are coming from a mecha background looking for the nitty gritty of the established, shared setting could come into conflict, particularly when it comes to making claims about established parts of the setting. Of course, in character conflict is fine and well and dandy if that's what you're going for, no shame in that, this is more to do with the out of character aspects, including how you respond to and handle in character conflict.

Here's the thing: this dichotomy of interest does not favor a single, fully connected network of people heavily interacting. It does not favor a community with a single set of hard norms. It favors a lot of individual level variation, it favors many smaller sets of norms between individuals, and it favors good communication about those differences. I am aligned with the creators of LANCER in that I think both approaches to engaging with the material have value, and I want there to be space for both here, and I agree with them that the two are not always compatible. To preserve space for both, we need to prioritize curating our own experience over policing others', which, I know, shocking that the person who linked Anarchists Welcome would make a statement about taking an anarchistic approach to maintaining a stable, healthy social context which allows for conflict.

This is one of the reasons that I, in running this blog, have consciously chosen to almost exclusively respond to other people's posts who I actually have spoken to out of character, despite Umommiest being an extremely vocal HORUS shitposter, because I often cannot tell from character blogs what their relationship to the shared text is and their interest in different modes of interaction. This is ALSO why I'm going to be fairly indiscriminate in publishing asks and submissions, and only have Umommiest respond to what gets sent in when either prompted directly by the material or when it is plainly a shitpost that allows for some play (see also: the 8 year old seeking liberation via artillery platform and soft target elimination frames). As is quite well known in the kink community, consent does not occur in character, and personal norms and interests should be established outside of them. If there is a character blog on here that you have concerns about or want to interact with but are unsure how to proceed, DM them and check in, the same way that you would talk to someone if you wanted to join a game of pickup basketball or something. This is a social activity, social activities have fairly well established means by which to initiate them in a more intentional manner, let's make a point to start using them more consistently.

With that being said, if there is a character blog that you do not want to see, block them. There will be characters that people choose to play that you personally A will not like and B may not wish to engage with. Use the curation tools you have rather than relying on norms all the time, as norms develop from consensus and require other people to change to work. You don't have to put it on others to tailor your experience. I will go somewhere else rather than deal with somebody I don't want to talk to at a bar, and this is a similar sort of interaction. Blocking is not a condemnation, it is a choice to not engage with someone or something you do not want to. On my end, I will be doing my best to consistently tag in-character posts, reblogs, etc with ohshitumommiest going forward so you can block the tag as described here [LINK HERE] if you want to see what people are submitting without any of Umommiest's commentary, responses, etc. I'm also thinking I'll move towards initially publishing even the shitpostier things without commentary and then following up with a reblog with the commentary (so if you want to see just what other people make and not her bullshit, that's cool, too).

For the record, I *am* personally interested in the politics of the setting and Umommiest is a character that is heavily written based on the canon. She is also, frankly, a HORUS shitposter of the highest and worst degree, if you can't tell from her demeanor, and will engage with people who comment in character on posts here as would reflect a highly informed, terminally online political agitator with no formal affiliation to anyone who sees all of her speech as largely without personal consequence. Part of the purpose of the ohshitumommiest tag is to allow you to engage with the submitted material without having to see if and how she replies to you if you are not interested in that. If you are, hey! Looking forward to having some fun together with this horrible girl I've made!

Frankly, I don't care where you fall on the spectrum/split of hard text engagement versus loose text as inspiration, but I do care that everyone has an outlet for shitposts and other art/thought pieces on the setting that they think are gold or at least fun but don't have a place for personally. I think Lancer fucking rules, and people have a lot of cool, funny, and beautiful thoughts and ideas on it regardless of affiliation on these grounds, and I want to make this a place to share them without too much worry of how they fit a given blog.

If that nondiscriminatory approach to publishing is unacceptable to you, cool, I don't care, block this blog. Maybe read the linked article first and see if that helps you see a different perspective a little, but, please, use the basic curation tools available to you on this site to help maintain a diverse community that reflects the varied appeal of LANCER's setting.

With that said, play ball, and I'm looking forward to continuing to see the awesome, wild, wonky, and frankly unhinged shit this community continues to create!

PS: if you want to anonymously publish something with a link or an image via this blog, please DM me and I will effectively spoof a submission so your blog does not have to be attached. You run the risk of me knowing that you sent it, but it doesn't get broadcast to the world.

PPS I know that there are some other folks on here who engage with other LANCER online communities (e.g., the official Discord) who share much of the opinions I expressed here, particularly the "Hey there are different, conflicting way to enjoy the setting, and having some understanding around that is healthy for the community" stance, so feel free to share this around as you like.

[tilskkarishma]

Welcome to my corner of the internet! I'm glad you're here. ♥

I create traditional handmade music, singing and playing the guitar, but nowadays I mostly produce music using my computer and at the moment I write music especially for Bungou Stray Dogs. I also have SPOTIFY and SOUNDCLOUD:

► open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/6TT9oqSm28YyFivqfj5Nf2

► https://soundcloud.com/tilsk-karishma

I want to clarify that I’m not making any money from this → in fact, it costs me quite a bit! So to the grudger, I say: please keep your opinions to yourselves. I'm doing this purely for my own enjoyment and for my small family on YouTube, and I answer to no one. ;)

I’m a not only a musician but also a creator of AMVs, which you can check out on my YouTube channel:

► https://www.youtube.com/TilskKarishma

This is one of my AMVs, but I also did one for Fyodor, Sigma, Nikolai, Tachihara, Chuuya, Hirotsu, Mori, Fukuzawa, Kunikida, etc.

→ Also have shippings like skk, zskk, sskk...

In addition to my musical adventures, I also enjoy writing

→ mostly in German but I have a few fanfics in english on wattpad and finally an Ao3 account too! 🥳

WATTPAD:

AO3:

I have one fanfic even here:

For those who love role play, I have a few Bungou Stray Dogs role play blogs. If you're into that, I’d love to connect! ♥

My main RP blog:

His organisation:

He also has an orphanage like in Beast!:

Other RP blogs:

BSD:

Elise: @cakesandchaos

Gin: @pm-assassin

Higuchi: @girlinmafia

Fyodor: @leaderofthedecayoftheangel

15!Chuuya: @leaderofthesheep

war!Mori: @leaderoftheinfantryunit356

VtM:

Holiciana: @holya-the-tremere

For people who annoy me because they believe still the worst of Mori → read this first:

P.S.: I also said from the very beginning that it is obvious that Tanizaki and Naomi are not really siblings. I got hate for it and now it is canon... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I am from Austria (not Australia!). My mother language is German and my English is not that good. But hey, I try my best! ^^;

I am really strange sometimes. Often I get too deep into things and then it is like an addiction. I love daydreams and I think I was never awake.

I am an adult. If you have a problem with it, please leave and don't be mean and save us both time. Thanks. ^^

I work a full-time-job. If I do not answer that quick it is because I have a stressful real life. I am not a person who ghosts people. :3

I also drew much when I was younger. But sadly I don't find time anymore for it. :(

I ♥ LaCroix although I am Tremere:

My Tremere-character (Holiciana) I use in P&P:

I am a practitioner of magic and embrace the path of Luciferianism.

I love Yu-Gi-Oh! and these (Bakura and Seto) were the first characters I simped for in my life:

Currently, I'm simping for these two (Hirotsu and Mori):

This space is dedicated to fun and creativity, and everyone is invited to participate. However, I want to emphasize that I do not tolerate any form of hate! This means that everyone is welcome. I don’t care about your identity, beliefs, or background.

What matters is that you are here to enjoy and contribute. As long as you don't try to impose your beliefs on me, we will have no issues.

(Especially since I use this during my limited free time, I'm not interested in drama, witch hunts, or anything of that nature!)

So please let's keep this community friendly and supportive! 🌈💖

Thanks for stopping by, and I can't wait to connect with all of you! ♥♥♥ Tilsk

[thescarletkiller]

Introduction 🩸🔪

Ordinary milkman by day, cold-hearted killer at night.🔪

As you all can tell, this is an ask/RP blog for Serial Killer Francis. Feel free to ask SK Francis anything as long as it doesn’t break any of the guidelines for this blog. You can also ask the mod questions about headcanons and more lore about the SK Francis AU.

Remember, this Francis is part of an AU. He’s not gonna be like how regular Francis is usually depicted. Try not to take this seriously and have fun.

Obviously, this version of Francis is NOT a good person AT ALL. He’s very unassuming on the outside but once he’s free to kill, he’s cold hearted, cruel, violent, manipulative, sadistic, remorseless and mentally insane misantrope. So please expect him to say the most morbid crap possible.

This Francis is very quiet and secretive so he won’t reveal a lot about himself to you.

Keep in mind that the mod is over 20 years old so it’s best to keep everything SFW but mentions of gore, violence and disturbing topics are fine.

Francis has a life outside of this blog such as his milkman job and murdering people so he won’t have all the time to respond to your questions. The same goes with the mod, who also has a life outside of tumblr so try to be patient and don’t spam.

For roleplay purposes, I would love to play with horror, angst, fluff, romance (especially dark romance) and gore. OC and canon character interactions are allowed, including Nacha.

What I wouldn’t allow are underaged roleplays (yuck), rape, any form of bigotry (racism, homophobia, transphobia,etc), pedophilia, beastiality and necrophilia. If I see any asks related to those, they’ll be deleted and YOU WILL BE BLOCKED.

Hate asks will also be blocked.

Anons will be treated platonically (I say this loosely because Francis hates everyone). When it comes to romance roleplays however, let’s just say Francis tends to get… obsessive.

Francis’s whole lore will be explained here.

All the sketches I’ll make about the AU will be here.

I’m Onyx, the admin of this blog and the original creator of the serial killer Francis AU. I won’t only be using this blog as an ask/RP blog for SK Francis, I will also be uploading original content such as headcanons and concept art for my AU if I have the time. I know this AU doesn’t appeal to everyone but I’m just telling a story here and I love writing for SK Francis. If you don’t like it, fine. Just don’t send any hate asks. If you like it, great.

Status: ACTIVE

Ask Box: ALWAYS OPEN

“Mmm? Where are you going? You’re not leaving, are you? You haven’t even bled yet. Let me help you with that.”

[tom-keifer]

How does it feel being such a small rp creator, u talk to all these other big rp accounts, but it never last long for u. Every other rp account has friends and connections in their intro and follows, but you literally only have yourself. Get off the app ong

Looks like someone's insecure, is this all u do? Pick on small creators? Great a life fuckin' weirdo, did u rlly think u did smth? Get off your lazy ass and do something with your life. You're a waste to humanity, the government should've killed you off a lot sooner, but for some reason the government only wants to kill the famous people who actually talk about things needing to be done, and saying fuck the system. You're going to die one day and the only thing you had ever been good for was helping the world spin. You probably stay in your room and hardly interact with your parents, you little shit. Are your parents even still together? Having a kid like you would make me want to kill myself. The cherry ontop is that you sent this anonymously, that's fucking sad. You're not tough shit. Your dad probably dosent even love you, that or he's dead. Get off my tumblr or pull up and suck this cunt.

(I ate that 😻), Have a merry Christmas

[raisin-shell]

Reminiscing on the old years of tumblr especially in this fandom. I’ll admit, the rose coloured glasses have definitely tinted my vision but for some reason all I can really remember were the fun times here. Especially now seeing your blog and it makes me so nostalgic, remembering both the good and bad but the community was amazing. I never thought it would die but life moves on and people come and go. Your blog feels like visiting an old familiar building, the years have grown and with that so have people. But I won’t forget the safety I had felt when I was going through a rough time all those years ago and there you were, holding me strong with yourself and the turtles and I could never repay you for that. When all I felt was judgement and pain from those around me irl and there you were, helping me forget in the world of tmnt where the bad things couldn’t reach us. And we were safe. I was safe

It feels like a lifetime between the time I was last on here and now, everything has changed but nothing really did.

But hey I do miss you, I don’t know if you’ll get this but I just want to thank you for being the most kindest and gentle friend I could have ever had. You were gracious and patient with me even when I probably didn’t deserve it. You were loving and kind and there were incidents but you never let it drag you under. I hope your dog salon is going well, I hope you find your place in this life. I hope everything is going well for you, I really do hope you find all that you want and more.

I can’t believe I found your blog again, makes my heart ache with so much love at the old memories 💞💞

Ohhh I wish this wasn’t anonymous! I would thank you a million times for this ask. Truly. This has warmed my heart this morning and such a wonderful message to wake up to. Alas… I fear the community has all but dissipated. There’s only a handful of Bayverse creators left. I think what possibly happened is the amount of drama and bullying that went on turned people away from Tumblr all together. I can’t tell you how many friends I have that have just deleted the entire app and their accounts. Slowly everyone just began to grow out of the Bayverse world. I also believe that there’s only so much creativity out there. We’ve exhausted every scenario the boys could possibly be in. It’s quite difficult to come up with fresh material these days. You know, the “it’s already been done” factor. I stay here because as long as there’s one of us, it never truly dies and I will never delete my account. I’ve done that twice before and it’s been nothing but a regret since. So I keep this one so if anything people can come back and read their favorite stories. Oh what fun we had! And remember RP’s?! Those are all but gone now but oh my gosh they were so fun and exciting. I definitely miss how the community used to be but that time has moved on. Thank you so much for your words of kindness my friend. This has touched my heart and I thank and love for this. Thank you so much once again!

[dervampireprince]

Same anon as in the chatbot ask!

I appreciate and admire your stance on AI; I’m working on a research project highlighting the harmful impacts of CAI and was really hoping you weren’t in support of the platform.

I’m frankly disturbed by how many creators I found bots scraped from with a quick scroll. I’m so sorry it happened to you, and equally sorry to have to bring it to your attention. I hope this is more of a one-off than a recurring issue.

Have a lovely evening, keep being cool :]

/gen /p

honestly it makes me feel almost violated.

i remember seeing a reddit thread where someone was like 'i joined a vtubers patreon and got in vc and said i use cai and they all told me i shouldn't use it' and all the comments were like 'theyre so toxic' 'they just dont understand' and guys... yes they probably did understand. if someone is making fun of you for being lonely or 'cringe' by using cai yeah they're being an asshole, but you are in the wrong for using cai. how do you think it generates writing and voices? by stealing the writing and voices from people.

i've seen cai users say the voice feature does 'feel' wrong as it's taking from real people, but none of them seem to know or want to acknowledge that the writing also steals from real people. generative writing like cai, chatbots, chatgpt, etc, have to get trained on something. and that something is real writing by non-consenting authors, ficwriters, journalists, anyone who writes anything online even someone's personal blog or tweets. even if you're making a chatbot for your own oc, and not someone else's character, the chats it generates your oc is taken from stolen writing.

as far as i can see there is no way to get my characters removed from cai. you can report voices being used without consent, but not writing.

this is what i found of my characters on cai, and it makes me really upset and uncomfotable.

they also took some of my art of ambrose and arden to use as the thumbnail and didn't credit me as the artist. even if they had credited me, i do not allow reposting of my art. also, no one in their lives has ever described arden as "smiley" (i'm not policing anyone's headcannons or imagination with that one, just pointing out something silly to lighten the mood so i don't have a complete meltdown).

yes i censored out the cai users name who made these chabots. please do not go and hunt them down, please do not go and find them or message them. especially as we don't know if they're a minor.

it seems to me a lot of minors use cai which is worrying as who knows what the chatbot could spit out regardless of safety measures they have in place. and i'm sorry anyone's so lonely they have to turn to cai only.. you don't have too. fanfic exists, rp communities exist, various online communities whether tumblr groups, discord servers, subreddits, are people still using amino? i mean if you're a minor you should be extra careful getting into online communities and talking to others online (and if you're a minor you shouldn't be following this blog) but like... imagination exists. try getting into creative writing?

idk when we did get so bored with imaginations we had to do this. you know what i did as as kid and there was no access to anything like this? i would copy and paste fanfics into microsoft word, find and replace one characters name with my own and boom you got yourself a self insert fic (note: these edited files were only ever kept on my pc, i never posted them anywhere). and there's soooooo many reader insert fics out there now, hell i literally make my own reader/listener inserts of my own characters, i'm not starving you for content out here. and i'm okay with people writing fanfic about my ocs or commissioning others to write you fanfics (my commissions aren't open).

thankfully i don't think my voice has been uploaded on there? i clicked the 'call' button to see what would happen and nothing did so i think that means there's no voice? or perhaps it doesn't work unless you make an account i don't know.

yeah sorry that became a longer rant. i don't know if more of my ocs are on cai, these are just the ones i found by searching my username in there. there could be other copies of my characters on there that don't credit me.

also a lot of character uploads use ai 'art' as their pictures which you know is also terrible and steals from artists.

and you're right, there's so many more characters taken from small creators and other VAs. i searched yuurivoice on there and got 50+ results of chatbots of his ocs AND ALSO OF HIM. please do not making cai's of real people that is so much worse than someone's oc, it's equally as bad on the stealing front but also so paraosocial. you do not know yuurivoice, you cannot get a bot to act like him as you do not know him or how he acts. watching a creators videos or streams does not mean you know anything about the real them, and especially does not mean you know them or are friends with them. found at least 5 for cardlin audios, some of his ocs and some of him. 6 for dark and twisted whispers ocs.

and if a creator gives you permission to make their oc into a chatbot... that doesn't make the chatbot okay. a creator can consent all you like, but the writers who's work was stolen to train that chatbot still didn't get to consent.

in the rare chance any cai user who's made chatbots of my characters on there sees this post: please delete them. please. you didn't get my consent for this. and you didn't get the consent of all the writers your chatbot was trained on. i don't think you're stupid or cringe for using cai, but you are contributing to generating ai content which is stealing from real humans and harming the environment.

[all-that-is-gold-is-now-gone]

The Walking Dead Universe Roleplay! 🧟‍♀️

𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝔹𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 is a new group RP for the Walking Dead Universe!  I’m Venus (F24 years old), one of the Admins and creators of the server, and I am looking for people who might be interested in joining!

Quick Info: - The RP takes place on Discord - The server/RP is 18+ only.  - Mature and violent themes will be present - Canon characters are open, and OCs are welcome!  - Although if you wish to use an OC it has to be approved and you also need to claim a canon character as well, just to keep everything well-rounded in the RP.

This server is friendly and very laid back! We do our best to be welcoming and understanding when motivation to write is low, or when real life takes control, so even if you can’t get a reply in, always feel free to hop on and just chat 🙂

In-depth info:  Six months after the events of Fear The Walking Dead's last episode, a nuclear event occurred that terminated 89% of life as it is, most settlements didn't survive, nor did the animals and the plants, The blast is pushing all living life to the East Coast, which is more viable. At the moment two of the most viable locations are: The Haven led by the Ottos and Alexandria led by The Grimes and said settlements were in a constant fight for resources and survival. Further details about the plot can be found on the server. 

Changes in the shows' stroylines depend on how it would affect the overall plot and whether it would make sense or not. The changes must be permitted by the admins and yes, we encourage creative world-building!

Since there are so many shows and moving parts within The Walking Dead Universe, we meshed the timelines a bit for the server, so we can get as many characters active as we can! 🙂 

My co Admin and I really love the idea of group RPs, so within the RP there will be a big main plot that we construct and help guide the RP a bit, so everyone can join in! But as always the writers are free to branch off and have their own threads and you know side quests and all that! But the Admins will also be initiating group threads that anyone can choose to join like going on runs, or a large conflict, and so on! If you have any question, my co-admin and I would be more than happy to answer!

Contact Info: 

If you would like to join or have questions you can message either myself or my co-admin! Or interact with this post and we will reach out!

Venus contact info:  Tumblr: @all-that-is-gold-is-now-gone Discord: venus228

Museless contact info:  Tumblr: @themuselesswriter Discord: muselessroleplay

[zsakuva]

Hello! My name is Grim, and I fancy myself a bit of a researcher. Now, this is not for anything important or extremely serious. Instead, this is mostly for my own pure enjoyment and something I have in the works that is to be posted on Tumblr. You are not obligated to answer any or all of these questions I have posed. I know it’s a bit much. Take your time, but don’t feel obligated to do anything. Feel free to add any additional input! Thanks for your consideration!

1. How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium thats not Audio RP?

2. How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

3. How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

4. You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

5. Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

6. Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

7. As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

8. Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

9. How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

10. Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally? (very optional)

Hello, and thank you for the questions!

How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium that's not Audio RP?

If I were to create similar storylines in another medium, I think my work would be very different. The major element that all my stories are based around is the Listener. Everything is crafted from their perspective, so I need to always keep this in mind when scripting and editing. The best ways to handle the narrative and dialogue are through implications with other characters and SFX; to keep audios sounding as authentic as possible, this must always be considered when I work. Much of it is filled with the Listener's imagination, but to convey a point with only audio cues can be a difficult task.

2. How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

I'd allow the story to breathe and marinate due to the platform it's on and the medium the story is told in.

The genre of audio RP, especially on YouTube is already limited because creators are told that in order to keep an audience, we must hook them within the first 10-30 seconds. Due to this, we develop our audios with that in mind; it can come as a detriment to our creativity and desire to show a story in a particular way. We're confined by parameters that value immediate views and responses in order for our creations to be deemed successful, and when many use YouTube as their primary source of income, this manner of thinking can become the norm. In order to stay relevant, we must research what's trendy, what tropes are no longer popular, and though it's not necessary, online demand can change on a dime. Exploring different topics and themes are also limited due to this; creators must work within the platform's restrictions, and that has impeded many stories with how deep I can dive and what it could've become.

As a visual medium—particularly movies and TV shows—my stories would be far better. Viewers can perceive them the way I want them to and with far more understanding. Although SFX and a wonderful soundscape can teleport consumers to another place, the nuances that I love and appreciate slip through the cracks. On a larger scale, visualising the settings, fashions, and people can elevate a story as it gives a plainer context everyone can draw from. On a smaller scale, facial expressions and body language are paramount for communication, something that audio RP cannot do.

An example of this would be my newest series, The Noble Trials. It's a high fantasy world which, in itself, is difficult to show because in that kind of setting, anything goes. I want the audience to experience the extravagant events, the opulent locations, the embellished fashion. Of course, as I depend heavily on sound design, I have faith in the listeners to imagine that for themselves, but they'll never imagine it the way I do. The only option is to write it through dialogue, and sometimes, this can feel unnatural. I'm one to sprinkle in details, so if I decide to create a new fantasy creature, I must show it through SFX and characters describing it. That's not to say it can't be done, but that requires more time and effort; it depends on if a creator is willing to go the extra mile for a little more immersion.

3. How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

I find it extremely important! If I want my audience to be transported, then all elements of the story must be convincing, and the character I voice is no exception. Voice acting is the primary driver of it all; though dialogue can certainly tell the audience something, the way it's expressed is vital to adding a layer of realism. As I can't rely on faces and movement to show a particular feeling, it must be emoted through speech, and that can elevate a story to the next level.

4. You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

I've thought about it but I don't believe it to be a possibility. Most of my community listen to my works because I'm voicing the characters, so it's something I must continue doing. However, writing is my strength and passion. It gives me true joy, so if I was guaranteed my career would be retained and someone else voiced the main character, I would consider it. At this point however, it's not an option.

5. Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

Though I'd say I'm okay at what I do in terms of voice acting, I know there are others that are far better than I am, and I believe they could take my stories much further. My projects are made with audio dramas in mind, so I think that someone more skilled in voice acting could easily transform a character of mine.

Also, my vocal range is pretty good, but voicing all characters (I've created 18 so far with many more to come) is very difficult. Although the audience know it's one man behind all these characters, as a creator I'm compelled to separate everyone so they don't sound similar. Of course, it's impossible to take note of every modulation the voice makes and consistently use certain intonations where necessary, but there will always be similarities between the characters which, to me, hurts the story if the voice is comparable to another and the audience notice. It makes me want to develop my acting more, but it's quite saddening despite what I must do to make characters sound different (pitch, accent, tone, etc). In this case, I am my own limitation.

6. Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

The short answer is no, I do not enjoy the idea of a Listener character. As a writer, it limits what a story can convey.

In the beginning, it was a great challenge because I could experiment with how to tell stories through the perspective of someone who doesn't talk. It allowed me to develop different means of showing a narrative through SFX and one-sided dialogue, and to understand the limitations and liberties I could make. However, there's a massive downside: everyone is different. Some creators like the Listener being a blank slate for the audience to fill, and that's absolutely fine; I started out like this too!

But as I sank deeper into adding dimension and story to my characters, I realised that I needed to do the same for the Listeners. They need personality, and desires, and struggles that will inevitably clash with other characters. A blank slate cannot drive a story, nor can they transform it in any way because there's nothing to challenge or change. For my stories, the Listener's personality and interests must have something of substance in order to interact with characters.

However, this also proves to be inconvenient because the audience may not be able to relate. Some listeners like to insert themselves into an audio while others enjoy it from a third-person perspective. Those who listen in the former way can have difficulties with what the Listeners do because it's a stark contrast to who they are, and that can break immersion. Additionally, they can develop characteristics about the Listener depending on their own beliefs of them—by their own reflection or other means.

The most recent example would be Alex's series. Tl;dr of the story: Alex and Gremlin (the Listener's petname) have been together for four years. One day, Gremlin accused Alex of cheating, they were wrong, tensions arose, both were stupid, they broke up, and Gremlin left to who knows where. The latest episode is a dream sequence that explores Gremlin's thoughts about what happened, what they think of themselves, and it reveals other questionable things they've done. As a character, Gremlin suffers from trauma, and this drives them to act in unfavourable ways similarly to Alex. The purpose of this audio was to show that Gremlin is not as good as they seem. Everyone is flawed, and I make sure my characters are no different. But many listeners likely can't imagine themselves screaming accusations at their long-time partner, stalking them, and living with crippling trust issues and anxiety; therefore, in their mind, that doesn't happen in the audio.

If the Listener character was voiced, I think their views would be different, but this is the main factor: No matter how detailed I am, the audience will never see the Listener the way I do. And as I want to write narratives in a specific way to convey a specific idea, that can get lost in translation. That means a Listener character must be predetermined in order to write a compelling story and explore themes and situations I can't do with a blank slate.

7. As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

Having been doing this for a few years, I think I have a comfortable grasp on how to write Listener characters. The main challenge is natural dialogue between them and other characters, as well as staying true to the personality I've given them. Different Listener characters would notice or mention certain things depending on who they are, and I must always keep that in mind. But for the most part, it's pretty enjoyable!

8. Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

Absolutely not. My favoured form of art has always been audio-visual in nature because that's what I respond best to. Films and TV shows are where my heart truly lies, but expressing myself through this medium is a privilege I cannot take for granted. It can evoke just as much emotion as other arts, and I find that amazing. Although I love watching things, storytelling keeps me sane, and I always have something to share or create. Audio RP gives me the opportunity to challenge my ideas, expand my knowledge, experiment with characters, and develop other skills such as audio engineering (which I love). But most of all, it lets me offer my stories to the world, and I'm so happy I'm able to do so.

9. How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

It's an interesting art form in its own right because although there are certain elements of story set in stone, for the most part it's personalised. Drawing from the way I create audios, the audience—even if they aren't projecting themselves onto them—is experiencing a story through the Listener. It's a limited perspective, and the only things that belong to the consumer are their thoughts, though it might not necessarily be canon to the plot. Most narratives are told through a camera, and what the viewer sees is carefully crafted for the purpose of the story. However, as Audio RP is told from a second-person POV, curating an experience is far more immersive, and I think there is still room to innovate with this medium!

10. Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally?

Without a doubt! Many characters share parts of me, whether that be likes, dislikes, ideologies, experiences, or even direct memories. It's easy to use yourself or people you know as a basis for characters, then build upon that to make them their own individual with their own journey.

Niall is the best example of this. At school, he was closeted but was outed against his will and bullied for being gay, and his crush (the Listener) at the time stood by and watched it happen. In the present timeline, Niall is a creative with a job that keeps him occupied, but those traumas shaped him into who he is: a socially awkward and wary man without love for the part of him he refuses to show. His fears of trust and making friends governed him, but above it all, he was afraid to accept who he is. His story explores that deep fracture: navigating what it means to forgive, changing a once rigid and cold outlook on the world, and in the end, permitting a chance for healing and closure, and realising that living without love is no way to live.

Though I didn't experience most of what he did, writing Niall was a way for me to also have hope in similar thoughts that I carry. It was somewhat therapeutic—more-so knowing that his story resonated with other people and helped them find some form of catharsis.

Thank you so much for these questions! I'm so sorry I wrote so much omg

[ladyloveandjustice]

I have to speak up about Gideon Nav of the Locked Tomb series losing to Katya from the slightly overrated film Goncharov (1973) in the Tumblrwoman poll. What I say may be hard to hear. Some will say I’m too harsh. But I REFUSE to be silenced. Gideon’s loss is truly the essence of tumblr. Katya is a slim, white femme character who sits safely in the realm of subtext and who are created for cis straight consumption by cis straight men. Meanwhile, Gideon is butch, Gideon is mixed Maori, Gideon is muscular, Gideon is horny, Gideon is messy and flawed and unapologetic, Gideon is created by a lesbian and is very much for the gays. All these things are what Tumblr claims to want, claims to crave, yet they don’t turn out to support her when it counts. They only have room in their hearts for the Katyas.

We venerate men like Matteo JWHJ0715 and Scorsese for throwing us a bone, talk about how ‘brave’ and against the mainstream they were (ignoring any of the textually queer stories from their era in the meantime) yet with modern queer creators we don’t turn up to support them. (I know some like to believe Matteo is gay and/or trans but we have no idea if that’s not wishful thinking, and yes I know I have privilege he doesn’t thanks to his license plate parentage too but please focus on my point). Instead creators like Muir get harassed, dissected, and even have their characters lose niche polls that ultimately don’t matter. I love Katya, but I have to acknowledge she wouldn’t be as popular if she were like Gideon. Just look at all the final eight, they are all pale, or even worse, homestuck (yes i know about tlt and homestuck don’t @ me unless you want a very long essay about why I’m right). Note the lack of butches.

We cling to nostalgia, to the subtext of the 70s and deify the straight men…meanwhile we crucify and ignore queer creators. The femme who dies prettily with barely a bloodstain will always be more palatable than the butch who [SPOILERS THAT ARE GROSS AND MUCH COOLER]. What’s more tumblr than that, truly.

Wait what do you mean Katya was defeated by Vr

(feel free to mock/play debate about this, rp is fun, i probs won’t respond, but please don’t actually get aggressive with me or message me thanks. Also see the post that started it all here! )

[yuurivoice]

Hello! My name is Grim, and I fancy myself a bit of a researcher. Now, this is not for anything important or extremely serious. Instead, this is mostly for my own pure enjoyment and something I have in the works that is to be posted on Tumblr. You are not obligated to answer any or all of these questions I have posed. I know it’s a bit much. Take your time, but don’t feel obligated to do anything. Feel free to add any additional input! Thanks for your consideration!

1. How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium thats not Audio RP?

2. How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

3. How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

4. You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

5. Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

6. Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

7. As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

8. Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

9. How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

10. Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally? (very optional)

How different do you think your work would be, in terms of getting across a point, in a different medium thats not Audio RP?

Not all that different, I gather. I have never sunk my teeth so deep into the sound design and art of it being an audio based medium that it is fundamental to my storytelling. My strengths have always leaned more into the writing and characterization specifically. The actual difference would be the immediate proposition of inviting the listener to be an active participant, which alters the experience more than anything.

How do you think your work would be different if it more reflected main stream industry forms of storytelling where you as a creator would be more separate? (ex. movies, tv shows, games, etc.)

I would probably be less inclined to beat the point into the audience with an extra degree or two of separation. There have been a handful of cases where I have intentionally doubled back to reiterate a point or respond to community reactions in real time through the text itself. See: BitterSweet Ch1 where Seth calls out potential insecurity about his appearance with a "if you have that little faith in Alphonse, you don't deserve him at all" type beat, or later on where there was an additional installment post-cinnamon roll where Al and Boo clear the air. Because this is all so much more personal and I'm right here on the frontlines, I'm inclined to really hammer home certain points because that sort of shit can start planting roots in your community if left unpruned. I don't love it, but it's part of the gig. In a less personal setting, I think artists just gotta let that shit float out into the ether and people are gonna feel how they're gonna feel. It's a double edged sword, and one I'll probably always be learning how to wield.

How important do you find the voice acting in your work?

Very important! This is where I think a distinction should be made for me in particular. I got into this making lewd noises with vague plots and scenarios attached. My passion has always been storytelling and writing, but my BUSINESS has been selling pretty boys with alluring voices. Given that my ass was broke when I started, this became work almost immediately. While I ain't thrilled about participating in a capitalistic society...I will get my motherfuckin' hustle on. Thankfully, I'm a filthy bastard and I don't really feel I've ever had to compromise my aRtIsTiC iNtEgRiTy for the sake of making a dollar, because of my origin. Saying all that to say, if I didn't have the goods vocally, people are less inclined to listen. Leveraging my voice acting to get people interested in my dreams of writing and sharing stories has been nothing short of a dream come true. I recognize how important it has been to try and improve and develop my acting as I've grown, because it all falls apart otherwise.

You are the primary voice of your works. Would you consider taking a step back from voice acting in your work to focus on narrative work?

Creating a hypothetical scenario where my livelihood isn't in the equation, I absolutely think I'd have fun purely writing/directing/producing a thing! My hesitation in that regard has much less to do with finding talent and removing my own voice, and more so managing people. I've had multiple occasions where my trust has been betrayed by close collaborators. It's one thing to have regular ol' interpersonal conflicts. It's another to have to manage the fallout of business partners getting hurt by one bad actor. Shit ain't rosy. People wonder why I'm slow to collaborate might not know the history, but those who do get where I'm coming from. All that being said, wounds heal and time marches on, and I have plans for projects that aren't entirely removed from me being at the forefront but definitely incorporate more talent!

Do you believe your own individual ability to voice characters enhances the story overall?

I don't personally feel my performances elevate my work on MOST cases. There are a few times where I know I gave a part of myself that most people could not have tapped into, but that's due to me being the writer and the subjects being deeply entwined with my personal experiences. Multiple Seth moments specifically were raw and real. The script didn't call for tears but they came, and I worked through it and was able to come out with some of the rawest, most honest performances I could dream of having in my own work. In general though, I don't particularly view myself as so talented that my vocal performances are transformative to the work itself. Not even trying to be humble, I just think people gravitate more towards the sum of the parts of my work and my voice isn't necessarily a force multiplier.

Do you enjoy the idea of a “Listener character” or would you better prefer to not have one?

I might have a polarizing take on this, because over recent years there has been a bit of a shift. Short answer: I'm kinda fucking over it. That might be blasphemous to some, so let me explain. When I kicked things off and really got started in the ASMR Roleplay scene, it was just understood with my content in particular that "listener" is just the listener, or whoever they'd like to imagine inserted into that POV role. As plot driven series started to become more popular, it became very clear that unless you want your story tied to some sort of ambiguous blob of clay with no agency, character, or fucks to give, you needed to give the listener character some sort of structure. That's natural and good and necessary if you don't want your listeners to feel like a dog getting dragged on a leash, being treated like they're in tow vs. participating. HOWEVER! I think you can also lose sight of the point of leaving enough of a slate for people to project onto. It's tricky, and sometimes burdensome, and not everyone can pull it off without somehow being exclusionary or somehow alienating portions of the audience. If it's due to a creative choice the artist feels confident about, then so be it, but sometimes it just happens due to lack of experience and practice. I think where I feel friction is that I appreciate the simplicity of a blank slate with a few key traits, introduced early, and built upon logically as to not jerk around your listeners. What I've gathered from the way people talk to me about listeners, is that they are accustomed to that sort of development and project those anxieties onto my work because of what they've heard before. To put a bow on this, I think listener insert audios are a very fun and unique way to tell a story, but require a great deal of care and consideration. Expectations have shifted over time, and maybe I'm just a stubborn old prick.

As a writer, how does the writing of the Listener take you out of your comfort zone? (ie their effect in relationships, plot movements, etc.)

I don't know if any of my listeners have quite taken me out of my comfort zone, save for a few bold choices I've made before involving a gun and a greasy bastard. I think the closest I've come to experiencing something like that was with Vampire Auron's finale, and specifically the spicy bits. It was kind of magical, actually. I did not realize it at the time, but it came to the surface that the listener might have been dealing with some heavy inner turmoil. Particularly the way they were careless with their wellbeing, seemingly comfortable bleeding out. I have avoided heavy topics pretty regularly, but in the booth I had a few epiphanies that this listener intended to confront him and meet their end. Death by Sexy Vampire is awesome and everything, but it turned into a really touching "I want you to live" right in the middle of my smut. So that in particular was a time where the listener really took me somewhere I not only didn't plan on going, but have actively avoided in the past.

Is Audio RP your favored form of art?

I don't know if this will be a polarizing answer either, but man, you couldn't pay me to consume Audio RP content. I am not comfortable listening to voices talking at me, or not having control of a thing that assumes I'm an active participant in. It's not a personal beef against the medium, I avoid ANYTHING that encourages you to put headphones on because I don't like isolated noises directly in my ear holes. I avoid traditional ASMR for that same reason. So for my personal consumption, it isn't even on my list of favorite art forms. In terms of art I create, it's interesting. I hated my voice all my life, thought it was horrible. I had fallen out of love with writing, the one thing I ever felt like I was any good at. I didn't even know what I was doing had a NAME throughout the first year of making audios. It started as a means to an end, and has become something I have an interesting relationship with. It's the only way I've been able to consistently connect with that dead love for writing. The only way I get to dance with the ghost of something I lost a long time ago when I was an entirely different human being. So I love her, but she can't ever be my first love. I don't know if I'd ever want her to be. If one day I get to explore other avenues with my creativity, nothing will ever change that it was this lovely niche that got me to remember who I was when I was one foot in the grave and ready to forget I ever had a creative bone in my body.

How do you believe Audio RP differs from main stream forms of art/entertainment?

It's terribly difficult to pitch to those who are unfamiliar with it. Most potential audience members are looking for some sort of visual engagement. The rise of ASMR and recognition for audible content has helped, but there will continue to be an uphill climb for recognition. I don't necessarily feel that's a bad thing. Not to mention, the stigma around self insert content is a hurdle in its own right. Ironically, when I was young and dumb I thought the very concept of Y/N Fanfiction was juvenile at best. Ohhhhh how the universe has a sense of irony. Needless to say, sticking your nose up to things you don't "get" can be more of an impedance than a statement on the quality of what you consume lol. That being said, that stigma is still there, but not nearly as prevalent as it was a few years ago. The proposition is a much more difficult sell even outside of that because you're telling the listener they're going to have to be a more active participant with their imagination. That takes more work and for some people is a deterrent, for others it's a perk!

Do you believe that your work has over arching themes that relate to you personally?

Unequivocally, yes. Sometimes to my own detriment, because creating something for public consumption that can be so personal and precious is a great recipe for taking things personally.

BitterSweet started as a straightforward excuse to create a "rival" for Alphonse, and immediately took a different shape as the story revealed itself to me. Now it is a statement on love in ALL OF ITS FORMS, which leads to friction with those who want it to explicitly be a polyamory story because it quite literally is meant for the listener to engage with this love in the way they feel comfortable with. People who reject that notion and believe it's some sort of cop out can choke. See? I don't want to tell people to go fuck themselves, but I most certainly will over this and their dipshit takes.

Throw in the parental shenanigans of BitterSweet, untapped themes of grief and guilt, so on and so on and you've got me sorting through a lot of my trauma. Despite the occasional frustration I've felt with the intellectually disingenuous, the payoff is also much more intense when I see people react to Seth and Jessie's relationship, or appreciate the deep care that the trio has for each other. So I take the good with the bad.

Auron is a great example as well with his need for control, him being a real "I'm not a VICTIM" type while also lowkey wanting a pat on the back. His fear of connection, and ego stroking self sacrifice. A lot of unenviable things I'm using my art to analyze, deconstruct, laugh at, etc.

So yeah. A lot of what I do hits close to home, and it usually wasn't part of the plan when I started writing. I've had many magical moments at the keyboard where a character or story starts to reveal a path I didn't plan on taking and it holds a mirror up to me. Despite some of the downsides of being so attached personally to my work, getting a hit of that drug will always bring me back. If I've gotta tear a few heads off along the way, frankly, I don't give a shit and I'll keep it moving.

Thank you for the wonderful questions, I love digging a little deeper and seeing what comes up! Hopefully my perspective was insightful, or at least a fun read.