#did i forget any tags uhhhhh

[jem-does-sims-stuff]

(Updated) Jem's Eyes - Download

So! I haven't put anything up for download in aaages, so here we go. Apologies if this post is a mess, I'm doin my best. (I only had good pics of vampires in my screenshots folder so that’s what you get lol) These are Jem's Eyes, cause I'm Jem and they're literally my eyes, like, I took a photo of my own iris and edited it to hell and back and turned it into these eyes. The idea was to make something I could use for my more alpha/maxis mix sims as well as my maxis match and gameplay ones, and I think I did an okay job. Tag me if you use em! Please! I wanna seeeeee!!!

Default eyes for all the things, plus 120 addon swatches including a blind swatch and a falien one (a truly stupid number of swatches, sorry bout that), also in addons and occult swatches in the facepaint section. HD textures too, obv. (No animal replacements cause I don't really play with em, and that's a lot of extra work lol)

Let me know if there's any issues, I'm not online much but I'll do my best to remember to check tumblr over the next little while. And in terms of like, terms of use or whatever, um... I mean don't steal them or paywall em or claim them as your own, it's literally a photo of my eyeball ya weirdo, but other than that I don't really have any rules except credit me. Also if you're a bigot just know you're using a photo of a trans man's eyeball in your pixel people game so up yours.

REDOWNLOAD! UPDATED!

Rambling over! To the download!

Simfileshare, or, Google Drive

@sssvitlanz @mmfinds @sims4customcontent @sims4downloads @alwaysfreecc

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Tagged by @eddiebabygirldiaz for seven sentence Sunday! Here’s uhhhhh more than that from a buddietommy vacation threesome fic-

The day is hot enough that Buck is curled up like a bug on the dock between them. He’d stayed in the water longer than Tommy or Eddie had, and had swum out further than either of them, so when he’d crawled back up onto the old wood planks he’d chugged an entire water bottle and promptly passed out. Eddie glances down at his bare torso, just starting to get a little pink.

“Should probably get sunscreen on him again.”

Tommy snorts as he leans backwards, stretching out to grab the spray can. “And you’re worried you’ve forgotten how to be a dad.”

“Fuck off,” Eddie says as Buck, still asleep, makes a similar sound when Tommy mists him all over with cold sunscreen. “It’s been months, man, that’s so long for a kid, who knows what he’s even into now-”

“Minecraft, right?” Tommy says as he smooths his hand over a few places the sunscreen pooled on his boyfriend’s back. “Wasn’t he on a video call with you and Buck about it for like three hours on Friday? Something about- uh- command blocks?”

Eddie is mildly impressed Tommy remembers the word — maybe — because he certainly doesn’t. Buck had only been slightly better at following along than he had as they’d squinted at the probably impressive pixels on the laptop screen. “I don’t know, I just feel like…” Every morning, still, he wakes up and thinks he needs to get Chris’ breakfast started. Whole parts of his being are wired around taking care of his kid, but since he’s been gone Eddie has been trying — in fits and starts and most of the time guiltily — to figure out what the rest of him is for. It’s part of what got him into the whole mess in the first place, chasing after the dreams of a 19 year old who got those dreams from his parents. A nice wife (but they never liked her, did they) and a good job (but firefighting is too dangerous, isn’t it) and a picket fence (one closer to home, Eddie, you’ve gone too far away.) So he owed it to Chris, owed it to himself, to figure out what the fuck he actually wants, so he doesn’t keep twisting himself into knots and taking out everyone around him when the line breaks. He’s not sure he’s any closer to whatever that is — other than it’s unlikely to include a wife of any kind — but in the time he’s taken trying, what if other things got lost in the upheaval? “I keep thinking I’ll just- not remember to do something. Forget how field trip permissions slips work, or not know what shoe size he wears, or- I don’t know. Anything. I won’t pack his lunch and it won’t be the end of the world but he’ll be hungry that day.”

Tommy leans back on his palms and looks across at him, quiet and thoughtful for a few moments in that way he has, like he’s thinking through every possible response before he speaks. He is, maybe; he’d confessed to Eddie that he’d spoken too quickly when he was younger, is embarrassed about a lot of the dumb shit he’d said, so he tries to take his time with his words now. “Eddie. You took us up here this weekend to check and make sure this place is accessible to take your kid to this summer. And- I get that’s a big thing, a big gesture, and maybe you’re worried about messing up the small stuff, but… You’ve still got his favorite kind of jelly in the fridge that nobody else eats. You love him, and he knows that. You’re gonna do fine.” He shrugs. “And he’s almost fourteen, if you forget to hand him lunch he’s gonna let you know.”

Eddie huffs a small laugh. “Yeah, I guess he will.” He groans a little, shaking his head. “Fourteen years old, that’s fucking crazy. I don’t feel old enough for that to be true.”

Tommy rolls his neck so it audibly cracks. “Yeah, yeah, you whippersnapper.”

Eddie grins at him. “You feeling the exercise, old man? Need to go lay down?” He cackles and leans away as Tommy grabs the can and sprays a burst of sunscreen at him.

Between them Buck grunts at the commotion, and rolls towards Eddie. He presses his face into the meat of his bare side above his trunks, and wraps his long arms around his torso. Eddie glances up at Tommy, who just looks fondly amused. “Uh. Wrong guy, there, bud.”

Buck stills, and then pulls back a little to squint up at him. Eddie’s not particularly ticklish, but something like goosebump are shivering across the skin of his stomach where Buck’s forearm rests against him. He has to actively try not to shudder as Buck pulls back and rolls the other way, Eddie watching hypnotized as he gives Tommy the same treatment. Buck presses a little kiss onto Tommy’s hip, in the spot he had just been cuddled into on Eddie, and Eddie’s mouth goes dry.

Tommy lets out a little breath, and Eddie doesn’t think he’ll be able to use the sun as an excuse for how pink he’s gotten as his eyes snap up to the other man’s face. Except- he’d been expecting a raised eyebrow, a flat mouth, some visual indicator of disapproval, that this is one step Buckandeddie too far, that all the rest of their codependent lives have been fine, a platonic kind of care built over years of being there for each other through the worst of the worst, but now the uncomfortable answer to what Eddie wants, the uncomfortable answer he’s been trying to avoid because it's something he cannot have, has been found out and the messy insides of him will have once again ruined something good. But what he finds is a tiny little smile and heavy eyes that-

Well, they don’t look disapproving in the slightest.

“You guys hungry?” Buck mutters, words muffled by Tommy’s skin. “We should go start the grill.”

Tommy’s little smile gets wide and lazy, eyes still stuck on Eddie. “I could eat,” he says.

Tagging @iinryer @shitouttabuck @butchdiaz @chronicowboy @homerforsure @rewritetheending @bigfootsmom if you have anything you want to share!

[zylphiacrowley]

Then v Now

Tagged by @sailor-artemis @gatheredfates and @disaster-husbun Thank you friends~! ♥

I will tag uhhhhh..... @golmorehotgirl @lilas @this-is-ris @e-nishka-aosh and @stalwart-spirit

^ 12/2020 (apparently?) || 12/2024 v

So uhhhhh... storytime I guess.

A long time ago (I think this would've been when StB or maybe even HW was current) I bought a prebuilt "gaming" PC (mistake). To test it's capabilities I decided I would run the benchmark for whatever expansion was current at that time (don't ask me why this was my first train of thought, I don't claim to know the inner workings of my own mind)... it failed. Like miserably. Like if the bench could audibly laugh at me I think it would've. No matter, I hate MMOs and didn't plan to play it anyway, I just wanted to test it. I went on my merry way with my shitass "gaming" PC (that didn't last long anyway because it really was just a glorified paperweight).

Several years (and a new custom built PC) later, I was scrolling tumblr, as you do, and I kept seeing this red haired catboy and I was like "I don't know who this catboy is, but I wish only the best for him" then I found out that he was from XIV and that XIV had a "Free trial up to level 60 including the award winning expansion, Heavensward", so I was like, "Eh, I should try out the benchmark again see if I can run it. Also I enjoy a good character creator so I'll make a character give it a go and probably stop once I finish all the free content." Oh..... oh you sweet summer child... Anyway because I was not seriously considering playing this game for the long run, I was like "heehee I make an old catman because old man protag is unusual for SE game so is a bit sillay." I ran him all the way through ARR with people calling him "lad" and "boy" before I decided I couldn't stand it anymore and I spent my free fantasia to shoot him with the lazerbeam of youth. Woe, youth be upon ye catboy.

Now, did I need a friend to pretty much hold my hand all through ARR and HW because I was literally shaking with anxiety every time I queued for literally any content in the game? ...................I mean, yeah (thank you for being patient with me Lambs, as I made you run a bby sprout through probably mind-numbingly boring content for you at the time). But look at me now! I can queue as a DPS without crying the whole time I'm sitting in queue! Progress babeeeeeeeee!

It wasn't until this year (or late last year, I forget) that I actually got up the courage to start posting more stuff about my catboy (and my ship... especially my ship I still get sort of self-conscious about posting ship stuff but I enjoy it so I keep doing it anyway) and through doing so I've met soooooooo many wonderful friends in the community! I love seeing and learning about other people's WoLs, OCs, and ships, so I have been thriving getting to know everyone!

It has been an honor getting to share fandom space with so many fantastic people! I hope in 2025 I get to know even more about everyone's characters, and maybe even meet new people!

[a-lonely-dunedain]

@skip-the-clumsy-dragon tagged me in a WiP game! sorry I'm only just now getting around to this ^^;

“Rules: you will be given a word. Then you share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of your word.”

my word was "FEALTY"

ok this is harder than I thought it'd be, but I'm scouring my WiPs for this. I did share more than once sentence for some of these bc I lack any self control lol

(this one is a bit from Elbryn's journal which I will probably post after uhhhhh I actually finish the main quest on him. I kinda got distracted with lotro again) F - First thing we noticed was Maul putting up some bounty posters for a duo of criminals, a Man and a Khajiit dubbed "The Rat Catchers", a pair of mad wizards and suspected skooma addicts wanted for the murder of Maven Black-Briar's associates.

(From the next chapter of Bitter Ash! which I would love to say I'm still working on. I sure would love to say that.) E - Eventually I find what I’m looking for, a small container partially filled with an oily black salve, its foul smell, somewhere between tar and burnt hair, is unmistakable.

(another bit from Elbryn's journal) A - Alduin spoke to me in the dragon tongue, mocking me. He asked how I could be the Dragonborn, when he sensed no dragon in me.

(From the Midsummer one with Celeair I keep forgetting to finish) L - Least ways not today. The last thing his poor brother needs right now is more premature grey hairs.

(this one is from the uhhh Bragiar plinko I will probably finish eventually. presuming I ever work up the nerve to post it. he is having a very bad time) T - There are forty five tiles on this room’s ceiling. There were fifty last time, he must have miscounted. He starts over again.

(another bit from Bitter Ash) Y - Yet that’s the kind of day I’ve had, and the steep cliffs before us seem nothing short of insurmountable.

tagging uhhhhh who do I know with active WiPs. hows about @hallothere @sweetearthandnorthernsky and uhhh @dunadaan (trying not to tag every lotro writer I know so y'all will still have people to tag if you choose to participate lol)

your word is..... ITHIL! yeah I guess we're using Elvish words why not. idk if there was some kinda word generator I was supposed to use but rules are made to be broken baybeee 😎

[distant-velleity]

cat got your tongue?

Summary: Five times Yuhua didn't say what he thought and one time he finally snapped at someone other than Ace (verbally. You don't get the physical beatdown yet). Word count: 3.6k+ A/N: LMFAO okay so. I had this idea like 3 weeks ago but I only got around to writing it recently. It's ... honestly somewhere between serious and slightly crack treated seriously but yk fuck it we ball. No beta. Outsider POV. FloYu crumbs and everything. Let's go. (Also a sneak peek at my new OC :))) ) Taglist (lowk forgot who's on this so uhhhhh. Some people might have been tagged incorrectly): @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @elenauaurs @casp1an-sea @nahelenia

@boopshoops @skriblee-ksk @nemisisnemi @nyx-of-night @scint1llat3

@the-banana-0verlord @beneathsakurashade

~

I. 

One day where he can make it out of the cafeteria in peace. That’s all Florian wants. And yet—

“Hey, freak. Where’s that meal combo you promised to get for me? And the homework you said you’d do for me?”

Eeeek!!!

Florian almost bursts into tears on the spot when someone in his grade, a burly bear beastman, grabs him by the back of his collar. It hasn’t even been two weeks into the school year and this guy, Darren, has made it his personal mission to target the weakest student he could find. 

“Uh—um—I—” Aaaahhhh!! Get me out of here!!!!! “M—My housewarden, Rosehearts, he… He caught me trying to do your homework for you, a-and…”

“Bullshit,” Darren snaps, “You—”

He’s cut off when someone bumps into him—that someone being none other than the magicless assistant, Yuhua. 

Yuhua. Florian’s saved! He’s really saved! Surely, the person who’d suddenly gotten involved with Heartslabyul’s tyranny and pulled off such heroic moves can do something about this…!!

“Whoa… Sorry. What’s going on here?” asks Yuhua.

Darren glares at him, and Florian wilts from second-hand fear. “Nothing, just a talk between classmates. Keep moving.”

Florian gives Yuhua the most pitiful, pleading, desperate look he can in the hopes that it’ll communicate a cry for help.

It seems to work, because the TA turns to the other freshman and tilts his head. “Yeah… That’s definitely all that’s going on? No intimidation or anything?”

“How’s any of that your business?”

“Hey—” Yuhua throws up his hands in a placating gesture, although his expression looks very bothered. “I’m just asking…”

Well, that doesn’t work. Darren lets out a low growl from the depths of his throat. “Who the hell do you think you are, seriously? You think a bunch of rumors are gonna make me afraid of you? Fuck off already.”

Yuhua frowns. “Then… Then maybe you shouldn’t consider doing this in the middle of the cafeteria if it’s private business?”

“Are you kidding me?” Another pissed off growl, and Darren shoves Yuhua. “I could burn you to ashes like it’s nothing. Don’t forget that you’re magicless.”

It’s not directed at Florian, really, but he can’t help but wither and shrink into himself even more on Yuhua’s behalf. Scary… He wants to say something to defend Yuhua, to say that everything’s fine, but—when he looks over at the TA…

Yuhua opens his mouth automatically as if to say something, then closes it. Florian isn’t nearly good enough at reading that kind of complicated expression yet, but he seems to consider something deeply for a second. “Jeez… You know what?”

“What?”

Florian stays silent, eyes wide. He mentally echoes the question—what? Did Yuhua come up with a genius plan to de-escalate the situation? Or to retaliate? Please, please, say this knight in shining armor will do something—

“I just remembered, Crewel needs Florian for something~” Putting on a smile that seems fake even to Florian, Yuhua switches up his mood like it’s nothing. “Sorry. Maybe we can resolve this another time.”

Florian and Darren blurt out, “Huh?” at the same time. 

“Come on. He won’t wait forever.” Yuhua pats Florian on the shoulder and uses that to quickly weave them into the crowd of students, making their escape. As much of an escape as it can be called—they’re really only saved by being smaller compared to the beastman, small enough to get through the lunch line mob.

Sigh…

To be honest, Florian was expecting something a little cooler after seeing Yuhua’s defeat of Riddle, but as long as he’s safe for now…

—

II.

It’s a beautiful day outside, the birds are chirping, and the flowers are blooming… something like that. Meanwhile, Ace could be doing something fun right now, but he’s stuck doing an assignment for potions class. Collecting ingredients in the botanical garden… does it get more boring than that? Someone, free him already.

At least he’s pretty sure Yu’s around here somewhere. So, once he’s done collecting a jar-ful of some plant with a name too long to memorize, he’s off to find his yellow-eyed partner in crime.

Making sure to avoid the tropical zone (Yu had warned him about a… uh, certain lion beastman taking naps there), Ace navigates the garden with the ease of a slightly-familiar tourist. The TA had said he’d be near the entrance, so—

“Well? What are you just standing there for?”

…Huh?

Ace turns a corner on the path and is immediately greeted by a sight he probably should have expected—a fight, or something, a commotion smack in the middle of the botanical garden.

“You—Is there some cue I’m missing here?” asks Yu, and Ace realizes with some horror that he’s holding a very obviously bruised cheek. Umm, what the fuck? “Is this suddenly your… territory, or something?”

The other guy, the one who’d spoken earlier, crosses his arms. “No… but I told you to scram already, so scram. Just seeing a magicless charity case here makes me sick.”

Magicless charity case. It’s not the first time Ace has heard those words directed at Yu, and it definitely won’t be the last. Still, it makes his blood boil, and by the looks of it Yu is getting pretty pissed, too. 

Ace steps forward, finding his place next to Yu. “Uh, who the hell even are you?” he asks the other guy. “Don’t talk to Yu like that.”

“Ace?” Yu blinks. “What are you—”

“See? A charity case.” The other guy tsks. “You even need a freshman to help you out.”

No, seriously, what is this guy’s deal? What did Yu even do to warrant getting hit and treated like this? Ace swears the TA is a magnet for trouble. 

“He’s not—” Yu closes his mouth, and takes a deep breath. “Okay, then. Have it your way. Ace, did you get everything you needed?”

“Yeah, but—”

“Great. Let’s go.”

Even though Yu is a solid eleven or so centimeters shorter than him, Ace finds himself being dragged out of the garden by the coat lapels. He stumbles, but Yu keeps pressing forward, storming away until they’re well out of earshot from that prick.

Finally, Yu lets go.

“What was that?” Ace demands, straightening his labcoat to the best of his ability.

“I don’t know,” mutters Yu. “Some asshole. I don’t even know his name.”

“Okay. And why did we just leave like that? He hit you, didn’t he? And what he called you—you’re just gonna let that slide?”

Ace is, to be frank, nothing short of bewildered. Doesn’t Yu have any sort of dignity, a sense of, what, honor? Yes he does, Ace is pretty sure he’s seen it, so why didn’t he just… you know… let himself be mad?

Yu rolls his eyes. “It’s fine. There were still other students there, you know. I didn’t want to cause a scene.”

Cause a—

“Now, can we go to the infirmary? I don’t like talking to the nurse on my own.”

“You—”

Oh, what the hell. 

Ace doesn’t get it at all, he wishes Yu would have stood up for himself, but fine. That stupid bruise won’t heal itself.

—

III.

To call the Mostro Lounge boring would be inaccurate. With a bustling population of both students and employees at most times of the day, there’s always some entertainment to be had for Jade. Especially when he’s on the job, serving drinks and handling disputes.

But, well… That isn’t to say he minds when there’s a bit of additional drama. Especially on the day when Azul has asked Yuhua to cover someone’s shift.

CRASH!

An Ignihyde student shoves the TA, although it looks like a mere accident—a rush to get back to his well-earned seat after using the bathroom. Consequently, the drinks for their table are spilled… all over Yuhua, who’s been knocked to the ground.

“What the hell?!” demands the student. “You clumsy little bitch—those were our drinks!”

Stunned, Yuhua is frozen, staring at the fallen drinks in shame. “I—”

Oh, dear. There’s a bit of a berth forming around them, multiple people craning their heads to look at the source of the shouting, but Jade can get a good look even from this distance. 

“I can’t believe this.” The student continues to go on a tirade, complaining about the service, about whoever let Yuhua work—and finishes off with, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Oh my—what arrogance. 

Jade is rather certain, actually, that this Pomefiore student was one of many who had been turned into anemones by Azul just a few weeks ago. It seems that he’s painfully unaware of how much Yuhua had sacrificed to save his sorry hide, however.

And Jade is certain that the same thought is running through Yuhua’s mind right now, although he can’t quite see his face. The TA digs his long nails into the fabric of his pants, a clear sign of suppressing anger.

Oh, dear~ Perhaps, it’s time for Jade to extend a helping hand—

Instead of fighting back, Yuhua lets out a soft sigh that blows his bangs out of his face. The action reminds Jade something of a popped balloon.

“Sorry,” the pitiful TA replies, finally raising his head. His expression is neutral despite the remaining redness of his cheeks. “I’ll take care of it. You’ll be rightfully compensated for this.” Said a bit despairingly, resigned. 

It seems to appease the student, who grumbles a little more before sitting back down. 

Yuhua’s lips set into a thin line for a moment. He gets himself back onto his feet, only kneeling down again to collect the fallen drink glasses and tray. The other waiters make a respectful, awkward space around him as they walk by.

How… disappointing. Jade would have anticipated more of a fight, based on not only certain rumors but also what he had seen during Azul’s Overblot, but it seems Yuhua hadn’t quite reached the boiling point just now. Instead, he’d settled for people-pleasing.

If it were me, thinks Jade with a pleasant smile on his face, I wouldn’t have let that ungrateful anemone escape with all his teeth and joints intact.

But in any case—

“Do you need any assistance?” he asks, approaching Yuhua.

He gets a surprised look for his troubles, and a rejection. “No, it’s okay…” Yuhua smiles, laughing it off. “The customer’s always in the right, right? I’ll handle it myself.”

Having been brushed off, Jade simply watches as Yuhua scurries back over to the kitchen counter.

Hmm. I wonder if he’s simply playing the long game, then…

—

IV.

Of all the places that Jamil usually expects to hear arguing, the library ranks last. Generally. Not that it’s always free from arguing, but that’s probably on him for having even the slightest faith in NRC students. 

Speaking of which, that’s exactly what he hears when he enters the library one day after classes: arguing. It’s coming from behind a shelf, so Jamil has to guess who it is based on voice alone.

“Please quiet down.” That’s… Crewel’s assistant, Yuhua. “Crewel needs me to borrow this, okay?”

“Uh, hello? Are you not good enough to be his assistant, or something? I need it more. So just hand it over already.”

Jamil stifles a sharp, stressed inhale. That’s a Scarabia student, no doubt—one of his former roommates. Ugh. And just when he thought he could skirt by without having to get involved. What a way to reflect poorly on our whole dorm…

He creeps around the side of the shelf, and what he sees confirms his well-educated guess. A student with a maroon armband towers over Yuhua, who holds a rather thick textbook in hand. The student’s back is to Jamil, but Yuhua’s expression is still visible…

Wait a minute. What the hell? Is… Is Yuhua glaring at the taller guy?

Jamil recalls a conversation he’d had with Ace just the other day: Ace had been in such a hurry to get out of practice that he’d caused multiple… inconveniences for others.

“Yu’s gonna kill me if I’m late for studying!” was his excuse.

“Why are you so scared of Yuhua?” Jamil had asked. Even though Yuhua had been… present, for his Overblot, he still didn’t quite get the control the TA seemed to have over the freshmen. 

“You don’t get it, man,” Ace had said. “I almost pissed myself the first time Yu got seriously mad at me. You don’t think anything’s happening because he’s just narrowing his eyes at you, but it’s like toggling a lightswitch. He gets violent out of nowhere.”

At the time, Jamil had shrugged it off with his normal amount of skepticism. Even though he had proved himself able to be as two-faced and cruel as any other student in this school (Jamil never, in his life, wanted to be on the receiving end of the full Octavinelle trio’s scheming again), Yuhua still seemed too… docile. Too naturally passive to be like that when angry. It wasn’t the first time Ace had exaggerated, either.

But now, he’s seeing all the warning signs Ace had mentioned. How Yuhua is narrowing his eyes like an irked cat. If he allows this to continue, then—Oh, great. A fight. In the library, no less. Another problem he’ll have to clean up because it’s his dorm’s student who likely started this mess and will inevitably get into trouble.

With a long-suffering sigh, Jamil steps forward to intervene—

“...Okay, fine,” Yuhua concedes, although it’s a bit of a reluctant grumble. He holds out the textbook instead of bashing it over the student’s head like Jamil had expected him to. 

A scoff. “See? Wasn’t that hard.”

“...Right.” Yuhua turns as the student walks away, so his expression is unreadable. 

Huh.

Jamil stares blankly for a few moments. That… did not go as he expected, at all. 

So much for ‘explosive anger,’ really. Yuhua had just given up.

Well, whatever. Jamil will just chalk it up to Ace’s overdramatic nature and think nothing of it. As long as it was resolved peacefully without needing him to risk grey hairs…

—

V.

When Vil calls for a rare water break, Rook takes the opportunity to observe the NRC Tribe’s stiffest fledglings. 

Today, again, they’ve taken on pirouettes in a corner where they can still see the mirror. Certainly, it makes for quite a sight: the normally-withdrawn TA trying to instruct two freshmen who have likely never seen a true ballet performance in their lives.

Rook had known Yuhua had a history in dance and music from the start—there was a clear lift to his chin and in his posture when he didn’t feel insecure, holding himself high and sitting on the edge of every seat. He walked with a slight turnout, and was light on his feet; not to mention the controlled expressiveness of his hands. However, the TA didn’t seem to enjoy flaunting these facts, making moments like these all the more enjoyable. 

“Epel.” Yuhua frowns, a little soft and yet a little frustrated. “Are you trying?”

The Pomefiore freshman bites the inside of his lower lip. “Uh, well…”

A sigh. “That’s about what I thought. Vil and I aren’t asking much: just a clean single so you can master the basics.” Yuhua crosses his arms. “Is something on your mind?”

“I just…” Epel grimaces. “I still don’t get it. What’s so manly about any of this turning?”

Ah, there it is again.

Rook does not intervene, continuing to observe, even though he can see Yuhua’s eyes briefly twitch into narrowing and his lips press into a strained smile. Any dancer would start to lose it after yet another generalization of their field, especially an ignorantly derogatory one. After multiple generalizations, in fact.

Like any trained performer, however, he smooths it down. That self-control is beautiful in its own right, no matter how strained.

“Manly, huh…?”

Epel yelps as Yuhua, deceptively calm, grabs his arm to adjust it.

“Your elbows are too stiff. Don’t interrupt the line; make them look round and effortless.” A tap to Epel’s back. “Don’t lean forward when you plié, you’re not about to break into a sprint; if your pelvis isn’t under you, then you’ll be off-balance when you turn.” And then, a nudge to the underside of Epel’s chin. “Don’t look at the ground. Look at yourself in the mirror. Keep your chin level so you can spot properly.”

The foundational advice is given almost clinically, automatically. Rook watches with keen interest as Yuhua withholds the same kind of scathing strictness Vil would have easily dished out, even though this must be the second or third time he’s had to say these things to Epel. 

“Deuce,” Yuhua asks levelly, “did you hear everything I just said?” To the trained ear, it sounds like a test, an I am on my last straw so there is only one correct answer here.

Thankfully, one of his students is more eager to learn than the other. “Yes!” is the earnest reply from the two of spades, who is already adjusting his posture after listening with the utmost dedication.

“Thank you.” Yuhua turns back to Epel. “We don’t have a lot of time. Just focus on improving for the SDC, okay?”

Epel bristles at being treated like a child, but nods. 

A smile spreads across Rook’s face. Ahh, the liveliness of a dancer and his mentees at work…

“Rook.” Vil’s voice snaps him out of his momentary reverie. “Let’s continue practicing.”

Right. Duty calls.

 “Of course~”

—

VI.

By now, Floyd had noticed, most people were learning to steer clear of starting shit with Yu. On top of him making more friends, on top of the (true) rumors that he’d Overblotted, most people had probably just accepted his presence.

(It also probably helped that Floyd regularly finds great joy in standing behind Yu and scaring off anyone who tried to be a problem.)

But, even then… 

Some people don’t take the hint.

Floyd doesn’t know how or why it started, only that when he walks into the courtyard of the main school building, there’s someone yelling at Yu like it’s his Seven-given right. It’s so loud, like a dog’s yapping. So annoying.

Bark, bark, bark. Floyd doesn’t listen to the full thing because it’s not worth his time, but it feels like it goes on for forever. To the point where people are gathering like it’s some kind of show, heads turning.

What a serious mood killer. Maybe Floyd should get involved, start a fight. Let everyone have a piece of this idiot. It doesn’t look like Yu will: he’s just standing there, silent, suffering quietly like he usually would.

“What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?” taunts the nasally little offender. Of course, he’s the worst breed of coward—only able to say these things once Yu is on his lonesome. “No one’s here to defend you now, huh? Aren’t you gonna say something?”

Silence.

“Well?”

“Haaah…” Yu closes his eyes. “I’m seriously sick of your shit.”

“Huh—”

That’s the only thing the yapper can get out before Yu grabs him by the face. His fingers dig into the person’s cheeks, the palm of his hand conveniently muffling any complaints. If looks could kill, he’d be a murderer. 

“Didn’t you hear me the first time? I said I’m sick and tired of your bullshit!” Yu shouts. He angrily tightens his grip. “Listen, buddy, I don’t know who the hell you think you are—I don’t know who half the people at this school think they are—but someone needs to humble you, desperately. Have you heard yourself?” 

His voice reaches a high, mocking pitch: “Ohhh, no! There’s a magicless person at my school, but I think I deserve to be hot shit because I can make a few pathetic sparks with my magic! I’m gonna pick on him to assert my nonexistent dominance because I think he looks like a weak doormat!

“Yeah, well, womp fuckin’ womp. Being chosen by the Dark Mirror doesn’t mean anything. You’re just a copy-and-paste of every other small fry I’ve met at this school. Ego in the clouds, even though your performance is so bad that you reek of failed contracts and the threat of being held back. Am I right?” Yu scoffs without waiting for an answer. “Grow the fuck up already. Aren’t you embarrassed? Don’t you have any respect for anyone?” 

He lets go with a shove, pushing the previously-confident person to the ground. Yu’s heel finds a nice spot to rest on the student’s chest and send a message.

“Do us all a favor and actually have the bite to back up your bark next time. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

And even after yelling like that, Yu walks away like it’s nothing.

Oh, Sea Witch. Floyd feels ready and raring to kick ass again. 

That was great.

—

(bonus:

Riddle has no idea how he ended up in this situation, but here he is. Having ended up next to Floyd, watching Yuhua curse a student out.

For good reason, of course. But Riddle didn’t even know that the TA had that in him.

“...Well.” Riddle turns to leave—that’s enough of enjoying the ‘show’ for today. He makes to weave his way out of the crowd that’s gathered, but something makes him pause. He looks up.

There’s a dumb, dopey, lovestruck look on Floyd’s face. That’s the only way Riddle can think to describe his smile, mismatched eyes following after the exiting Yuhua.

…what can he even say in this situation? Riddle stifles an embarrassed grimace and walks away.)

[adhduck]

Got tagged by @ghostalservice to share my most recent 10 opening lines (I interpreted this as generally the first sentence), thank you frienddddddd also this is almost all my ofmd fics I’ve written on my own lol

1. From the Seas Within Me (22k, M, shapeshifting as disability AU)

“—and we still need to get the towels, in case someone forgets. The beach ones, please, not the nice ones—”

2. Not Only the Sugar, But the Days (16k, M, established relationship fluff of childhood friends to lovers)

They were in bed when Ed first suggested it.

3. Sweet as the Sound (18k, E, siren!stede as in the bird kind)

Any half-decent ship knows to steer clear of the Sirenum Scopuli, or at least to fill their sailors’ ears with wax and tie the most impressionable below decks.

4. Between the Knowing and the Known (1.5k, M, s2 ed ponders his love for stede)

There’s a lot Ed doesn’t know, lying exhausted and sweaty in a bed too small for two as the crew continues to celebrate above deck.

5. How a Life Can Move From the Darkness (5k,T, canon divergent s2ep4 with feelings)

The whole thing is Anne’s fault.

6. Something Growing, Something Good (2.5k, M, gardener!stede domestic fluff)

Ed has found that in most areas of their life together, Stede likes to stay clean.

7. You’re the Shape of My Days (21k, E, horny sweet island vacation)

In all the godforsaken years Ed’s been at sea, he’s found one of the most important, and most disliked, parts of being a pirate is knowing how to pack.

8. Just To Kiss Me (5k, M, canon ace ed and non-sexual intimacy)

The hardest part should’ve been when Stede came back—him, worn and freckled and beautiful, chin marred by stubble but smile just as blinding; and Ed, worn and marred and very little else.

9. When He’s Given Something to Keep (16k, E, the getting together part of a childhood friends to lovers slowburn)

There are a lot of things Stede should be thinking as he ushers a still-snarling Ed out the door, such as did we leave anything behind and at least Ed didn’t ruin his suit and oh god I hope that man doesn’t press charges.

10. Didn’t I My Dear (6k, T, stede hides his chauncey trauma)

“Why weren’t you there?” 

Uhhhhh I tag @swashbuckling-sweethearts @blackbeardskneebrace @xoxoemynn @unadulteratedkr and anyone else who wants toooooooo

[pricetagofficial]

get to know your moots

Thanks for the tag, @restwellsoon! divider by @/cafekitsune

what's the origin of your blog title?

In highschool I would often think what my handle on things would be if I ever got famous, and I adored One Direction. Niall's handle on twitter was niallofficial, so I did that but with a play on my name instead and used official.

OTP(s) + shipname

Ummm honestly, Percabeth.

favorite color

Orange (shocker its not like my blog is a giant hazard cone)

favorite game

Kingdom Hearts, hands down. But I also have a stong love for the Final Fantasy games, the Arkham games, and lego games.

song stuck in your head

APT by Rose and Bruno Mars, and Pink Pony Club by Chappel Roan.

weirdest habit/trait?

I have double jointed thumbs so I will frequently pop them in and out of place as a tick.

hobbies:

Writing, drawing, reading, crocheting

if you work, what's your profession?

Currently a student

if you could have any job you wish what would it be?

Paleontologist

something you're good at:

Making people laugh, I also have really good people skills, especially with kids. I also always try to be understanding and see the good in people, even when they may not deserve it.

something you're bad at:

Being patient, driving (im scared shitless), schedules

something you love:

Laughing until I cant breathe with my brother and sisters

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff:

Name any hyper fixation of mine, Jurassic Park, Marvel, DC, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Disney

something you hate:

Chronic illness. I have celiacs disease, so I can't eat anything with gluten in it. If my body didn't react as violently as it does, I'd say fuck this diet and eat whatever. But it's like the exorcist, my body wants it out so bad sooooo hard pass.

something you collect:

Uhhhhh, everything. I have buttons, lanyards, pops, dolls, books, small animal trinkets, rubber ducks, mugs, legos, random assortment of nerdy jewelry, figures, the lost goes on.

something you forget:

To eat.

what's your love language?

I honestly dont feel like I fit into just one of these. I've got no idea.

favorite movie/show:

Finding Nemo/Agent Carter

favorite food:

Beef Stroganoff

favorite animal:

peacocks?

what were you like as a child?

Not much different than I am now, just a little more trusting but still stubborn and feisty as hell.

favorite subject at school?

History or music,

least favorite subject?

Math, doesnt matter if I was good at it.

what's your best character trait?

I've been told that I'm a trusting person, and that people feel safe around me.

what's your worst character trait?

I'm too nice at times.

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be?

School would be done, and my ideas would be written out in a nice organized way.

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet?

J.R.R. Tolkein. I just wanna pick the man's brain, see how he did it.

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

Touch Starved by Envysparkler

This is one that I go back to to read all the time. I highly recommend anything by Envysparkler, if you enjoy batfamily gen fics. This one is just so good, and special to me because Dick is a character I hold close to my heart.

&

I wanna be your endgame by @yuujispinkhair

This is a hockey player! sukuna x reader fic, and this series made me want to find a hot hockey player and make them fall in love with me. Winter is amazing, and I lover her and her writing so much.

i tag @yuujispinkhair @strawberrystepmom @history-be-written @loafingdragon (no pressure obviously)

[nerdyenby]

Red time :D I’m watching Grian

Grian sounds so distressed is he okay????

Ah he’s sick, who isn’t though

The rabid rabbits 😂😂😂

Grian ready and willing to slam his head into any and every wall he sees

They were gonna instantly jump into the void in skybattle 😂

“No one expected me to be on time but they were still disappointed when I wasn’t”

Pete calling everyone voting for buildmart cowards, as he should

Buildmart

Manager Grian my beloved!!!!

Their comms are beautiful

I was on the edge of my seat the entire team, no notes lol

“Alright, what do we wanna win next?” I love the energy, king <333

Bingo

How have I not seen H’s chat message before 😂😂😂

The way they know what chiseled sandstone is and how to craft it :))

These guys know minecraft and it makes my heart so happy

YOU CAN KILL THE SHEEP GRIAN 😭😭😭

The way he freaking murdered a cat without hesitation but forgot he can kill a sheep

IT WAS A JELLIE NOOOOOOOO oh Grian is dead

“We’re doing exactly what I said we’re gonna do, which is win” “we’re looking kinda hot right now” RABID RABBIT SUPREMACY!!!!

Gem’s little “I made a house” 😂

“Alright, who’s the weak link?” “Me, I’m the weak link, we know that. Is anyone surprised by this?” “Cleo, get it together please, get it together” “This is me with it together, Gem, you know that!!” This team is my favorite actually

“Don’t forget to donate chat :D” “or else >:(“ “and if you do forget, just remember” THEM

Gem and Cleo my beloveds

Grian crashing and Gem’s “Oh I thought that would be me today, I’m glad it’s you” 😂

TGTTOSAWAF

“How hard do we want to win this?” “Like, super hard” so true Cleo

“Oh no, I haven’t practiced terra swoop force. Joke’s on you, I don’t need to” GRIAN 😂

They popped off!!

“This is supposed to be a fun game” real

Cleo’s reaction to Grian saying it’s Takashi’s castle is so /pos

“You’re doing great!! I mean, you’re doing bad!!” Gem my beloved

The way Grian described everyone grappling onto Phil’s face is killing me

Grian’s sole strategy for this event is overwhelming positivity AS HE SHOULD

“You got this, Grian. Just murder anyone who comes your way and you’ll be fine!!” so true Cleo!!!

Pete and Grian’s banter is everything

Parkour Tag

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go first” “oh” “I’m not gonna stop you”

This team is so great, they all are just so comfortable with each other but haven’t competed together so they’re just oscillating between merely vibing and absolutely bullying each other

GRIAN’S SOUNDS 😂😂😂

Cleo asking Gem if she’s supposed to be nice or mean to Grian and Pete volunteering to be ridiculed lmao

Grian’s killing it as a hunter!!!!

Pete crafting a master conspiracy to get Grian a fifth hunt lmao

Everyone getting to hunt at least once <333

GRIAN TOP 5?!???!!!

Grian talking about how Scar is going to hate him and then how bad Scar did his first event and then saying “He’s probably watching, hi Scar, hey buddy~”

Grian talking about how much this event reminds him of Techno <333

Ace Race

Grian is so unhinged right now, good for him

“There’s just the gay stuff, it’s fine” CLEO 😂

Only just realizing this is my first time watching this ace race because all the povs I’ve watched so far got muted

“I think I’ve just been lapped” “it’s probably Pete” “Uhhhhh….” 😂😂😂

Cleo telling Pete “You’ve done really good, precious, I’m proud of you” god, am I really deprived enough of affection to get emotional over this? The answer is yes

Grian telling Pete to go jogging to this soundtrack irl 😂

TEN SECONDS ON 2ND?!???

Annnnnnnddd they jinxed it lol

I LOVE confident Grian

“I just don’t want battle box to be last” uh oh…

Sands of Time

I feel like I haven’t seen anyone shoot creeepers in sands before lol

Cleo’s doing great for a first time sandkeeper

WHAT IS GRIAN DOING?!???? 😭😭😭

“I got a tomato with your name on it” pizzacrustduo my beloved

“Honestly I respect the ambition, but I’m gonna have to respect it from the bottom of the freaking leaderboard” Pete 😭😭😭

Meltdown

Grian popping off!!!

Ah no, they’re going through it

“See the thing is: Gem is so good at pvp… on hermitcraft” everyone losing it 😂😂😂

Battle Box

“You did beat Etho multiple times in pvp” “You say that like it’s hard” CLEO 😭

“I’ll do the tnt” it is not possible to describe Grian’s voice right there

“Alright, here’s how we can get 8/9” thank you Pete 😂

Cleo’s reaction to seeing Aimsey is killing me /pos

Pete running around like “WHERE WHERE WHERE” and Gem having already killed everyone my beloved

Everyone cheering on Pete <333

“That’s our ally!!” “Oh my god, I am- I am an ally” LOSING MY MIND /POS

Grian and Gem holding hands on the leaderboard :))

Pete being so happy for Dave <33

Dodgebolt

Everyone hyping up Cleo before they realized she was in 30th rather than 40th, they popped off for their first event!!!

The affectionate bullying in this call is everything to me

“We play Minecraft every single day, I’m not sure everyone does” “We might be nerds” “We might- we might be dorks” “You know we’re dorks, but we’re dorks who know how to play Minecraft” MY STREAMERS!!!

“But what if there was a better dodgebolt?” 10/10 foreshadowing Pete, thank you :)))

“I need a motivational speech” “Pete, you’re the most gorgeous unicorn I’ve ever seen” pizzacrust my beloved 😂

[pokemon-ash-aus]

Heyyo! Hope this ask reaches you well nwn. I have a couple hundred questions about ur art style and storytelling methods if you don’t mind :3

Most important one: How do you draw Mewtwo fingers so well 😭😭😭😭

Also, what program(s) do you use? Canvas size for different projects? What brush settings? And how do you sketch, line and colour? Which step is your favourite? How long do you normally take from piece to piece?

How do you come up with your different AUs? Any particular inspirations? What tips would you give someone just starting out a comic on tumblr?

And uhh any general tips on getting around tumblr? Blogs you really like?

Sorry for all these questions, really big fan if you can’t tell :’D I actually really love the pride art piece you did~

So i tried answering this before and it doesnt post so uhhhhh heres to hoping it works?

1. I base Mewtwo's paws as hands, worked without the rounded digits first then moved to rounded digits so... Take that as you will?

2. I use Clip Studio Art and Procreate! Mostly, anyways XD i also sometimes default back to Paint tool Sai, or Fire Alpaca if i want a different brand lol.

3. I vary in size for different projects. My animations are different than my sketches, my sketches are different from my completed art and my completed art is different for my comics! It also helps my brain not get tired XD

4. I tend to favor my lineart and rendering! Though both of them take equally long times, i render less But i love it more.

5. Depends on the project. I can typically churn out colored pieces in like an hour or so! Sketches are faster.

6. A lot of them are inspirations of something else. Shiny AU was just cause i liked Shiny Pokemon. But Dead AU was based off Danny Phantom and Mimikyu au was a "What if" scenario of the dead au!

7. Oop, Danny Phantom for the Dead AU. Legendary Mew was based off the whole Chosen one BS XD False Twins was slightly based off of TC but was actually based off another AU where Ash and Mewtwo were sorta close friends.

8. Tagging is your best friend~ don't be afraid to interact with other blogs. If someone is being mean, just block em and move on!

9. Getting around Tumblr? I'd say reblog, follow peeps, go to your favorite fandoms/tags! You'll get mutuals in no time!

10. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a lot of peeps but i dont wanna bother then with tags XD so nontagged peeps!

Phlurri

XxTC-96xX

MewtwoAndMe

Bluesues

DistortionMewtwo

Mewtales/Mewdump

Penumbra

Loupy Mongoose

Ask-Mirage-Twos

TazerPones/MegaMew and Crew

The Mew Crew

And a few more but i cant remember tumblr names djdbdb

And thank you! I have one more peice i want to finish before i forget- its a peice i didnt get to do last year XD

[senblades]

for the fic game, how about 4, 7, and 10~?

soda! <3 <3 <3

4: Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them?

so, funny story, in my final year of high school I did a whole ass animatic short film based on two of my OC's. I..... might upload that short film to youtube at some point? I am still proud of it even if I think I could make it even better now (y'all that thing took me a YEAR. and it's SIX MINUTES LONG-)

uhhhhh the vague plot synopsis/vibe of them is: there are these two Fae twins, one associated with Spring and one with Autumn, who are both very abstract as concepts and also have their own distinct personalities

Spring is a reckless type, always seeking thrills and making the most of life, whereas Autumn lives in constant fear of death and the unknown (something, something, spring: life & rebirth, autumn: the coming winter and slow death, etc, etc) Spring's recklessness gets them both hurt, but Autumn's way of life really isn't much better

Spring was actually a DnD character of mine at one point! (originally named Lily) Eladrin storm sorcerer.... she was fun to play hehehe

7: Your favourite ao3 tag.

Okay if we're talking just. tags I've seen around, the two standouts are "girl help the anime man is waxing poetic about murder" and "is it still fluff if I need smelling salts nearby to write this" both are incredibly iconic and I salute the authors HAHAHA

if we're talking standard tags..... ummm...... "Akechi Goro lives"- i'm only half kidding tbh LMAO

in actuality: "hurt/comfort", perhaps? Or "angst with a happy ending" mostly because I'm a sap and they're both so broad that they could mean anything

10: Top three favourite fic tropes.

ahhh fuck ummmmmm- LMAO it's really hard to narrow it down... i need to look through my bookmarks real quick fhjdksfhds

So: a lot of this is looking at it through a shuake or p5 lens, since p5 is like. the first and only fandom i've been in lmao

First: changing the circumstances in which characters meet. Whether that be a childhood friends situation, whether they only met a few months earlier than canon, or a year or two, or even months later. This is, obviously, very applicable to shuake and I love thinking of all the possibilities

Second: OH I'M DUMB time travel obviously. literally what is fftsr even about how did I forget HAHAHAHA. something, something, p5 especially is excellent for time travel shenanigins thanks to how malleable the plot is

Third: again, I'm a sap, so: "X character lives" is always fun. Yeah, yeah, their death served the themes or whatever but this is ~fanfic~ think about the ~potential~ that their character still being around gives

ty ty for the ask! <3 <3

[makingshortstorieslong]

I was tagged by @cityof-starlight to share ten things about myself. It is currently March 26, 2021 and I am sticking this in my drafts, if you’re seeing it on your dashboard, that means I actually remembered to come back and finish it! I think I will but who can say

* Uhhhhh hi update as of November 19th 2023. I did in fact forget about this 😔 sorry @daarchini but I did appreciate the tag!

okay 10 things about me:

I can count to 10 in 7 languages (English, ASL, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Korean... and tbh Korean should count twice due to the two sets of numbers)

I crochet

I play violin (...inconsistently and not very well but it's fun)

My favorite stroke to swim is butterfly.

I like to paint my own nails but I don't like receiving manicures. I have glow in the dark nail polish and I'm going to use it again the next time I paint my nails, possibly tonight.

I like to braid my hair. It's waist length and I usually braid it a couple times in a day, because I'll feel like taking it out but then if I do any kind of exercise or if I'm going to bed I braid it.

I'm aromantic but only fairly recently (okay well. over two years ago but time hasn't been real in a long time) realized I'm also asexual lol

I usually go hiking one weekend a month, sometimes more. I hiked yesterday and have plans to hike a different (bigger!) mountain this coming Saturday.

one of my favorite poems is "Caught Among the Twisted Stars" by Peter Jay Shipley. Another is by Rainer Maria Rilke but although I previously had it memorized I have never known the title. It's the Geh bis an deiner Sehnsucht Rand / Go to the limit of your longing one. That might be the title idk.

I finally bought a jacket for late fall/ early winter bc my other options were either too light or too warm/too hard to remove for the current temperature fluctuations and anyway it's dark brown and I'm really happy with it lol I think I look about as cute in it as I could in a puffy down jacket.

Not tagging anyone since I just tagged a bunch of people in another ask game going around BUT if you see this and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged by me :)

[seaofolives]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

@ofdemonsandangels tagged me! I don't get on this site much anymore so idk if this has gone around at all but if you're a writer who's reading this and you have time to burn, pls feel free to answer these questions for yourself!

also i didn't bother linking any stories so just uh here's the link to my portfolio

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

232 but I need to note that at least 31 of those are drabbles (that I couldn't put into one multi-chapter bc of the varied ships)

2. What's your total AO3 wordcount?

2,002,567 (what the fuck) but I also need to note that several of these are stories in at least two languages and that some of these are not written with the Latin alphabet system so the word count would be different in those

3. What fandoms do you write for?

g witch is my homebase rn! but I'd love to be able to write at least one ffxv fic again next year which is the biggest collection of fics in my ao3 rn. briefly I was also active in sk8 and even more briefly in hadesgame (but that's not counting the pre-pandemic years)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

HUH my ffxv fics have been completely nudged out of place! :ooo this is a surprise but hygge remains unbeatable since I published it uhhhhh 2017? it's a 30-day fic challenge where the brodinsons settle into earth following the events of ragnarok so that's why it's so popular I guess. the next fics are (from most to least) お持て成し omotenashi, weather report (the only hadesgame fic, the others are sk8), 浮世 ukiyo and save the date.

5. Do you respond to comments?

absolutely! they took the time to let me know their thoughts, I need to honor their generosity. THO I did delete some anon hate once bc my friends told me it's not worth it to engage and my friends are much smarter than me so

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

HUH man idk. like I define angst so differently than others (most people: liv why is this so angsty??? me: it's not???) but off the top of my head, the meeting on the turret stairs? mostly bc it's unresolved forbidden love gladnis and I really upped the ante there…i don't remember if it's to match the tone of the original artwork or if it was a client decision

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

there's a lot!!!! I'm not just all bittersweet stuff, I can tell other stories, I swear, but most of them are probably gladnis stuff but uh…if you filter my portfolio to just the fluff category, it's probably all of those there

8. Do you get hate on your fics?

HAHA oh man. so that anon hate, right? it was that time I posted my first guesulemio fic (forget me nots is the title) and I woke up to like 5-7 anon comments who got upset that I tagged it as sulemio (never mind that I also tagged it as polyamory but ehh there's a certain type of ao3 readers, right? we all know this) and like, 1 other anon baby later on in the day when I refused to remove the sulemio tag bc it was a fic where guel, suletta and miorine weren't a closed triad yet. to be fair, that was a fairly educational experience! I read up on some reddit stuff about tagging ot3 fics and while some people don't mind if the all-encompassing ot3 tag was used indiscriminately, other people, especially in the cases of open triads or where one corner of the triangle is missing, would love to know what subship of the ot3 they're going to expect going in. anyway that was the first and only fic I locked away from public bc lord do the anon babies have a lot of time in their hands (not a lot of reading capacity tho)

surprisingly the one before this—not hate, just disappointment—was a fic where gladio married that rando woman (we're talking about ffxv now) he mentioned in the hammerhead camp prior to the insomnia chapter. that's the woman that only exists in the English localization. the ending was that they got married in spite of gladio and ignis' committed relationship so there's basically three of them now. and people apparently hated that even tho one of the points I wanted to make with that fic was how gladio and ignis would always be together no matter what happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

what do you mean what kind isn't smut is smut is smut???? I mean yes I do write smut but damn if I know what kind of smut???? it's just smut?????

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

YES I love crossovers!!! of the ones posted on ao3, I think it might be joche in ffxv? mostly bc I couldn't fuse a lot of the lores together (kaoru was a lucian locked out of insomnia when Regis put up the wall, Kojiro was an altissian, that's it) but I do have one fic that I deleted from ao3 which is basically suikoden characters and events in the lore of pacific rim. and it's not on ao3 rn bc you could really tell I was just pulling shit out of my ass, it was all so bad and jarring 😂😂😂

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

MAN idk like i highly doubt it but I also don't take the time to find out you know?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated

ooh yes, two yeses in fact! mog (and ulan??) have translated some of my filipino fics to english but there was also a stranger who asked if they could translate one of my hadesgame!patrochilles ficlets (patience) into russian! that was very thrilling. and then just recently, I joined a guesule advent calendar project in Japan and the friend who invited me told me to give them a machine translation of my ficlet and they would go over it and clean it up to make it more readable to the jp audience. that ficlet isn't up on ao3 yet (it's on pixiv) but man I gotta remember to ask the project organizer if they would mind if I uploaded it there

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

YEAHHHH we never finished it tho!! it was a friend I made on some final fantasy rpg yahoo group and it was going to be a retelling of ff7 or smth? I don't remember much else, this was during ff.net's heydays.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

clerith. which i have barely written for (I mean i used to write them a lot back when I was still some 13yo anti-cloti lmao) but if we're talking about like based on recent fic counts and productivity and stuff, gladnis.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

oh man, I got this zares reincarnation au going that I got distracted from with ghost of tsushima and then now g witch (it's the "I'll get back to this after xyz" kinda thing) and I'd LOVE to finish it! I know I will, I have a 99% wip-finishing rate, but I'll need to replay hadesgame to get some voices and inspo back, you know?

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have the brain of a project manager, hence the 99% wip-finishing rate.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I can hardly write or even translate if i hear sounds! whether it's the TV or the radio or if it's someone talking to me, I can't do it bc I can't hear my own words

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

IF IT MAKES SENSE ABSOLUTELY I was soooo happy when I got guel and lauda to speak in my hokkien bc they're Chinese in the Manila au I have but also like, since the pov is guel (or miorine, who's also Chinese in that au), it makes sense to me for him to hear and understand the dialogue in the language. but if it's say like suletta who's filipino through and through? I would just write it like "meanwhile, Guel and Miorine are speaking in Chinese and, though Suletta doesn't understand a word, she can tell from the tension on their jaws that no one is happy". and also like, yes, especially for us multilinguals, I say we should flex our knowledge, but these dialogues need to get translated in the common language, too. if it's just purely flexing without understanding, then it makes no sense to even use a different language in the first place

19. First fandom you wrote for?

it was rpf 💪🏽

20. Favorite fic you've written?

lol pls I have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to my fics. as soon as it's done (and optionally up on ao3), I forget about it as I'm writing a new story. but like…I don't finish or share a story that I made that I don't like. every one of those that I declared finished is bc I was satisfied with them and wouldn't change a thing about them

[embeddedsystems-shius]

Yeah ok, so I'm being stupid again but. I couldn't sleep so I was reading this manga I've been following recently - its this light-novel based shonen(?) called 「アルマーク」 (I guess the English title would be Almark, but I'm not sure), and I'm on the fifth volume, just starting up, right. There's this one specific bit where the main character, who's the son of an active mercenary (and he himself works as a mercenary as a child), asks his dad if he wouldn't pick up his body, if he died on the battlefield.

And uhhhhh..... Yeah that shit broke me, for a bit. I had to put the phone away (kindle) and just. Sit there in silence, for a little.

Ever since I've... Been able to remember about the war, I guess, reading some specific types of media has gotten even more difficult, to me. I've never been able to get into war fiction at all - and KNOWING shit like "Saving Private Ryan" and COD, or the Battlefield games (in general) EXISTS - makes me want to shoot whoever's responsible for making it, a lot of the times. I've never been able to indulge in any of that, even when I didn't remember shit, as a child. It still felt really gross.

I'm reminded of my past shit now, but more clearly this time, whenever I read stuff about war. And the point is, I think - that as a person who died in the middle of a march, and was probably never even verified to BE dead, due to the circumstances around the way I went... The words, "will you pick up my body if I go", hit me like a fucking truck. Those are the kinda words that would fucking break me, if I heard them at the wrong time.

I don't think I know the weight of a life. But I still remember the weight of a dead body.

I know that it's not exactly the case - but carrying a dead man, feels heavier than carrying that same person, alive. I think it has to do with the person's center of gravity, or something. I'll try to explain.

Have you ever carried a sleeping dog? Its harder to explain with cats, because they're kinda jelly at all times - but carrying dogs is kinda different. Usually a dog that's awake is rigid, and easier to manage, if you pick them up and start carrying them around. A sleeping dog isn't like that.

When you carry around a sleeping dog, their limbs flail all over the place, and carrying them feels harder than carrying one that's awake. This is what I mean by the "center of gravity". Carrying a dead body, is like carrying a sleeping dog.

A human body is heavy. Even somebody of your same build and weight, usually isn't feasible to lift, or carry. Usually, you'd drag them. And oftentimes that was the very best that you could do. You'd drag them to the sidelines, and basically hope to god that they'd be found, by somebody who could record their deaths. You'd basically pray that their bodies wouldn't be trampled underfoot, in an active firefight. And so many men didn't wear the proper dog tags. So many men thought it was bad luck to do so - that they knew that they would survive, anyways.

I was one of them, at first. I didn't wear my dog tags until way later in the war; but that was also because at the very beginning of my enlistment, I think - I was kind of looking for an excuse to die. The glory of being a soldier, and the honor of protecting your homeland - all of that was just a pretty way to cover up for the fact that I didn't really want to live. At all.

Its not like I realized that I had anyone waiting for me back home, until it was all too late. Only when I started having regrets about even being there - did I actually start wearing my dog tags.

I didn't die on my homeland. Not even close. I died abroad. And I don't know if they even recorded my death. I hope they did.

I hope they told mum. I hope she didn't wait for me.

This shit's gonna make me break down, if I keeo this up

...I don't know the weight of a life. I never did. Especially when it came to my own life - it's something that I tend to even forget has weight, to other people. I always kinda feel like I wouldn't be missed, if I was gone.

And I know that isn't the truth. I know that.

I've missed people I met on the battlefields, I've missed people I've met in my squadrons - I've missed people I barely even talked to. People I was only around for weeks, or sometimes even just a few days. I've missed people I didn't even know, when they were gone. When they were dead.

Its... Its what it is, unfortunately. But that doesn't change the fact that even the people you don't know, affect you when they're dead. And there's quite a bit of people in my periphery, this time around. People would notice if I was gone. People would be affected, if I left. I know that a little better, now.

I don't know if anybody carried my body to the sidelines, back when I died in my last life. I don't know if anyone even had the chance to do that. I was a little taller than most. Probably rather heavy.

I don't know what the weight of a life is, but I know the weight of somebody that's dead.

I know that I wouldn't want anybody to shoulder that, if I was gone.

[aestknowsbest]

★ Get To Know Your Mutuals ☆

Thank you @arandomao3user for tagging me!!

What's The Origin Of Your Blog Title?

Oh dear very roundabout but Aest is short for my full Internet name Celaestsial which is a play on the words 'celestial' and 'aesthete'? Yeah I really into words as a kid. I read dictionaries for fun, the nerd I am. Which leads to me thinking that 'i know best' lol. 'Gifted Kid' issues, the burnout is REAL.

Otp(s) + Shipname(s):

Ah very typical middle school fantasy series reading kid to Fujo pipeline here:

Chaurora, Percabeth, Solangelo, Sokeefe, Drarry, Bakudeku, Joongdok, Timbern, Varigo, and I'm also getting pretty into DinahBabs

Favorite Color:

PURPLE

Song Stuck In Your Head:

Command by Rustage. Totally not the vibes I give out, XD

Weirdest Habit/trait:

I just frigging. SCREAM and shriek randomly, sometimes while jumping up and down. And also I have the urge to literally chew on everything. Uhhhhh spot the kid with ADHD.

Hobbies:

Drawing, writing, complaining, wasting money, reading, did I mention complaining?

If You Work, What's Your Profession?

It's not a job per se, but I get money for babysitting my FOUR gremlin siblings.

If You Could Have Any Job You Wish, What Would It Be?

I'd really really like to be an author– freelance, mostly. So that I can write my own stuff while also maybe writing for DC or show scripts!

Something You're Good At:

I've been told that I'm pretty good at writing! My drawing makes me wanna chuck myself at a wall but I'm trying!

Something You Hate:

WHEN I'M DONE BATHING OR WASHING DISHES AND MY NAILS ARE SENSITIVE AMD THEY SCRATCH AGAINST SOMETHING BAD AND I FEEL THAT IN MY FREAKIND TEETH AND S O U L FOR THE REST OF THE DAY.

Something You Collect:

Issues. And also plushies, my bed is full of stuffed animals.

Something You Forget:

Literally everything. I forgot my name once.

What's Your Love Language?

Acts of viole– (my lawyer wildly makes an 'abort' gesture.) Iiiiiii mean acts of service.

Favorite Movie/show:

I really like Earth to Echo, but also How To Train Your Dragon, but also The Lego Batman Movie, but ALSO

Favorite Food:

Chicken spaghetti with sundried tomatoes.

Favorite Animal:

CATS.

What Were You Like As A Child:

Very very extroverted and charismatic!! Now I barely want to leave the house!!

Favorite Subject At School:

English language arts!

Least Favorite Subject:

FRUCKING MATH

What's Your Best Character Trait?

I think I'm pretty friendly and loyal. (I would fight somebody for you bc emotional conversations are NOT my forte bestie)

What's Your Worst Character Trait?

I think that I am the best thing since Marie Shelly.

If You Could Change Any Detail Of Your Life Right Now, What Would It Be?

I would have a million dollars. (So that I can take care of my mum.)

If You Could Travel In Time, Who Would You Like To Meet?

MARY SHELLY.

Uhhhhhhhh @littlepikmins tag you're it!

[reds-revenge]

As requested by my favorite sister @mrs-understoods-blog

Get to know your mutuals tag!

What’s the origin of your blog title?

I was remaking my blog in high school because my mother was joining tumblr and wanted to follow me and she suggested this and I thought it sounded cool. I know I’m lame.

OTP(s) + Shipname:

Uhhhhhh I’m not a huge shipper honestly I can go along with most of them but I’m not married to any. Right now probably America x Democracy hahahahahahaha. Haha. Ha. We’re fucked.

Favorite color:

Red! Deep red. Almost maroon. But honorable mentions for forest green, navy blue, and mustard. And plum. Also burnt orange.

Favorite game:

I have yet to play anything to top Skyrim in terms of how invested I get but that’s not a cool answer so I’m going to pretend it’s Resident Evil VII. I like to play resident evil games right before I work out/listen to the sound track while working out because they scare me so badly.

Song stuck in your head:

Things That Look Like Mistakes by Bears In Trees

Weirdest habit/trait?

Oh jeez I have a lot. I talk to the lab animals when I take care of them, like I have full on conversations with them.

Hobbies:

Painting, reading, writing, staring at my wall, drawing, driving in circles with increasing desperation, and doomscrolling

If you work, what’s your profession?

Masters student in bio

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be? Realistically?

A professor of biology that gets payed well. Realistically, a professor of biology that does not get payed well.

Something you’re good at:

Navigating databases

Something you’re bad at:

Closing tabs on my computer

Something you love:

Seattle

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff:

Cephalopod neuroscience

Something you hate:

San Francisco

Something you collect:

Pins from places I’ve been/art pins

Something you forget:

Did I lock my car? Did I really lock my car? Did I lock my car like I meant it? Did I—

What’s your love language?

I will sit ten feet away from you and do something unrelated to what you’re doing take it or leave it

Favorite movie/show:

Tick Tick Boom

Favorite food:

Pad see ew

Favorite animal:

I am on a break with my actual favorite animal right now so I’m going to say the praying mantis shrimp.

What were you like as a child?

Well. I had my little uniform with a sweater vest and a plaid skirt and my thick glasses and I would go to the library and check out books from the adult section on things like plagues and giant squid and then I would share the most horrifying parts with everyone I knew. Also I allegedly performed science experiments on my siblings.

Favorite subject at school?

Science, but also English, and art, and history was a lot of fun, as was Latin, and I didn’t hate Bible class, and I liked PE and music okay, so really most of school?

Least favorite subject:

Math

What’s your best character trait?

Uhhhhh I’m very consistent which makes me very predictable. Is this good or bad? Up to you.

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

I would be accepted into a PhD program in Seattle

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?

I would go prevent William the Conquerer from starting the ball rolling of making the atrocity of modern English. I just want standardized spelling PLEASE

I tag anyone who wants to do this—I don’t like to put people on the spot lol but you can say I tagged you if you want.

[memes-and-shit]

🍁 uhhhhh, you guys can call me Gromit. that's a good-enough fake-name lol i go by they/them pronouns, i am confirmed to be over 18 years old, and that's all my info y'all get ✌️

🍁 i didn't make most of this. or any of it, really. (sometimes, i edit; but i dont consider my edits to be "i made this" bc... i didnt make the core thing i am editing) so, anything you wanna use? no need to credit me. i'd like to see what you make using it, for shits and giggles, but that's not mandatory

🍁 i try to post credit to "the little guys" i make stuff from whenever i can figure out the source

➥ some of this stuff i find second- or third-hand where i have no clue who the "little guy" that made this is; feel free to reblog to add the applicable credit, and (after i do some fact-checking, bc some people online ✨️lie✨️) then i will reblog what you said + alter the original post to now have credit. but multi-million/billion-companies, celebrities, etc?? idgaf, you can VERY easily find out who the source

🍁 most things are on a queue

🍁 i don't do requests, sorry

🍁 here's how you can make your own edits tho??

🍁 some things i edited to have captions (#my edit + #captioned); others, already had captions (just #captioned); only a few videos don't have captions (#uncaptioned)

🍁 i tag based on what my Reactions Folder's sub-folders were. thats how i organize. idc about attention; meaning, 99% of the time, idc about tagging "correctly", so it crops up under the "correct" "tumblr tag-pages"-or-whatever-theyre-called

🍁 organizational tags i use below "read more". below that are some statements too

➥ said statements table-of-contents: about helping me credit the little guys [[titled: "sources psa"]] 🍁 my opinions on when to credit an editor and whatnot, and when i will/won't credit another editor (which does explain why idgaf about y'all not crediting me when i do edits lmao) [[titled: "a potential controversy"]] 🍁

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏post-topic tags

#off theme

➥ (aka: these posts are not "memes & shit"; probably me posting a life-update or similar? idk)

#masterlist series

➥ (aka: anything i think is a mini-series of "things i have posted". i will VERY rarely do these, stuff's gotta be hyper-specific for me to feel like a masterlist is warranted. like. the first one of these i made was not just a Kylee Henke masterlist series, but a Kylee Henke's Zoobe Bunny Excerpt-Videos masterlist series. like i said, shit's got to be hyper-specific. if i made one for everything and everyone, i would get so overwhelmed so quickly, it's better this way, just let it be hyper-specific only lol)

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏post-typage tags

#my edit

➥ (aka: these are posts i "made", or at least did something to (eg. adding captions). these are like "the templates")

#my customization

➥ (aka: me applying an example of how to use "the templates". usually is from my irl life of me using these @my loved ones, and i post them here bc im a little bit too attached to wanna delete said customization entirely 👉👈🥺)

#captioned, #uncaptioned

#video

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏additional tags: my "esp for" tags

➥ (aka: the post is esp, or "especially", useful for these groups)

#esp for writers and i.f. creators

➥ (aka: posts will be applicable about writing, about discussing fictional characters, and so on)

#esp for artists

➥ (aka: posts will be applicable about doing art (the "art" in question primarily being drawing), and so on)

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏my Reaction Folders' titles ➡ now tags

my aforementioned Reactions Folders' titles:

#

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏sources psa

expect these to be the least consistent thing i do, ever, but sure, ill add them sometimes, i guess, when i remember/know who the source is. more likely the aforementioned "little guys" than anybody else tho, ngl. but said little guys will get credit either within the post and/or within the image/video itself; and if i forget to also tag said credit, i think that's fine. i'll still try to do it, even though i know ill be inconsistent and forgetful the little guys and big guys, but also shhhhhhh if i forget. i'm doing my best, just let my mistakes go, let it be inconsistent

➥ but also do feel free to reblog the post (if it's an aforementioned "little guy" ESPECIALLY) and help source credit! (➡ note, for said lil guys, i will fact-check at MY leisure, assuming i see your reblog notif to begin with. and if i see that your sourcing is correct: ill reblog your addition AND edit the og post. just. do me the common decency of not insulting me for forgetting to source/not knowing who to source, whichever lol

bc i do have understandable reasons for not always knowing who to source?? bc a lot of these are videos i got from tiktok accounts, tumblr posts, and other websites where the "op" of said item?? was NOT the actual original poster, and did not source the people/person/etc within the item. ans now idk who to credit too lmao rip

● which, for artists and editors-whose-edits-are-NOT-simple-edits you can tell bc that item did not match the style/s already attached to their account, and didnt say something like "trying a new style!" or whatever in the bio or comments or something. idk. people who never can "stick to one style" still have a general large encompassing area they still to, ive never gotten a "i dont really have an art-/editing-style" person confused with an art-/editing-thief. and im one of those people who constantly change up their art/edits/writing/aesthetic/etc ("idk what exact box i fit into. im just me"), which i think? maybe helps me??? on figuring out if someone is a thief or is just inconsistent/experimenting/"just being me"/whatever?? but yeah! an art-thief especially, and oftentimes also edit-thieves, tend to be pretty obvious they are a thief. even if the comments have not already caught on. bc sometimes youll see a comment outright saying "you stole this from xyz" or "you traced xyz's art/you copied xyz's edit" but not always

● several others? especially ones that were videos of irl people?? i always check out the account and, MANY times have went "..okay this account is just a compilation of memes/jokes/etc, idk. but its VERY safe to assume they are definitely reposting and are NOT the irl person in the video". the person/people in this video assumedly are unaware their video of them being a silly lil goofball they posted on their personal account is here, on an account that compiles memes and funny videos. (bc its VERY rare that an account focused on humor will post content that reveals their face and/or their loved one/s. so. safe to assume it isn't theirs.) and i do want to find the original personal account this image/video in question came from, so i do look. there's a very small margin of error where, if a video looks really old, i wont look tho bc i assume the original account it was posted on is gone and, if it really looks old enough or like enough of "that type of oops funny thing was improv'ed" gag that i think maybe it was on "America's Funniest Home Videos" or a similar clip-show on cable?? ill admit, those ones, i dont try. but if it's like "this obviously friends trying to do a silly trend on tiktok"?? yeah, of course, i look for the account that came from, absolutely. but yeah, that's the usual spectrum for those types. i rarely find, much less keep, videos i can see landing on those "America's Funniest Home Video" type of clip-shows. so, really, the only "danger" there is for being a new video featuring irl people who idk? to go uncredited AND be a rare case where i didn't even try to look for the original account?? is, again, if the low-resolution and content of the video makes me think the video is old enough to where searching would be pointless. to which i then ask, fam? why the fuck is the resolution so bad that i thought this was maybe uploaded to Vine or MySpace (or MAYBE even was a VHS mailed to early-EARLY "AFHV"? lmao imagine), the fuck lol???? but whatever, nobody's perfect, i think you can grant me this kind of margin of error if my anxiety is already willing to grant it lmao

which, ill fully admit. i care about crediting these people for my own self-interests. like, sure, i do it in no small part bc it's the nice and kind thing to at least TRY to do. but also?? i do care about ensuring that person gets a shout-out bc of my anxiety catastrophisizing the hypothetical of a post of mine blowing up and inducing me to feel massive guilt from the fact that i didnt give credit to the people who actually made the item in question so they could also share in the attention of virality. so like. i dont assume ill go viral?? i WORRY ill go viral lmao if? that?? makes sense? which. i have trauma that i know would make me hate even a quarter-of-the-way viral levels of attention would imply. and i feel like, if this account was to ever go viral (god forbid. gatekeep me. dont let it happen lol there's a significant chance i might abandon this account if that happens), i feel like one thing that would basically be destined to happen is i would get chronically-online people criticizing me for not crediting my sources and riding on other people's hard-work. which like. i know they would do anyway since im not perfect at crediting. but if i didnt even TRY, that would hurt differently in a way that'd fuck me up. never know who could be the next hypothetical Cinderella story, like how Kombucha-Girl became the p fucking famous Britney Broski (regardless on your or my own feelings on Britney Broski, she did get her fame from a jokey meme that totally changed her life). give people their credit. like. i am also doing it to be nice and kind, sure! but know that even if i felt exhausted of all my nicities and kind inklings somehow on some certain day?? my anxiety would still demand i at least TRY to find the source. like. anytime you see NO credit?? ANYWHERE??? know the day i found the image/video, i probably spent a good chunk of time between 15 to 45 minutes, out of niceness and kindness and also to appease my anxiety, trying to find the source before calling it quits and saying "at least i tried" (aforementioned exceptions and/or margin of error notwithstanding lol)

which, with everyone where i have TRIED to see if i could reverse-image-source the item?? ive had mixed results from that. sometimes, i found them; sometimes, i didn't. but feel free to try again for me. you might get the correct result a lot quicker than me!

("wha—? h- how.. would i?? get the correct result...? quicker than you...??")

well. my information im about to share with you could be outdated or incomplete, so take this with a grain of salt. but i remember in elementary school how my teacher told our class that google alters the search-results per [insert IP or whatever the technical term she said that ive forgotten is] depending on the history of searches. she told us this so that "if you can't find the answer you need, it doesn't mean you're stupid. ask a friend to check their search-results and find the answer together! it might just be google being picky about what words (or i guess the equivalent would be which frame you chose to screenshot in your and my case, since i dont think an image-file itself being uploaded could result in pickiness) you decided to use, or perhaps it's results are biasedly influenced by what the AI has learned about your family through your families' collective internet search-history". which was basically her sly way of telling us to not depend on the first results we find, or even the first page of results, but to be critical of our sources in their credibility and whatnot. so, the way i understood what she meant was via an example she proceeded to give us that went SOMETHING(?) like this:

(🅰️) a kid whose parent is a professor with a doctorate who brings work home often, meaning they use the family-wifi to research academic studies. when that kid googles "teach me about pyramids"? their results may be extremely well-regarded articles about the Egyptian pyramids (such as the New York Times), peer-reviewed journals about the Egyptian tombs history, Khan Academy and other very good mathematical sources to help you understand how pyramids work within geometry, a released study-guide of various pyramids' formulas (relating to geometry) from Harvard's math-degree program, and much more. a very good foundation for their Egyptian pyramid report for class, and the math could help with that research in breaking down those pyramids dimensions in that report which could give that student an interesting angle that puts their report from an "A" status to an "A+" status, especially if their parent can help them plug in the right numbers into the relevant formulas! very helpful

vs. (🅱️) a kid whose parent works in accounting and taxes, who strives for a healthy work-life balance of never bring work home as often as possible. as a result, the parent uses the family wifi to play pseudo-gambling-with-fake-money apps on their phones more than anything else, to de-compress and de-stress. when that kid googles "teach me about the pyramids"? their results will include some articles about the Egyptian pyramids, but maybe not as credibly-sourced since the [insert IP or whatever it was called again] with this family's wifi isn't used to finding online resources of academic credibility. in fact, the student might get confused since a lot of results might be influenced by those pseudo-gambling phone-apps, and be showing the child information about Las Vegas's pyramids. which. isn't what the report is about. and due to this parent likely having to still bring work home sometimes, like during tax season or other stressful crunch-times, there might be way more math results about pyramids (geometry) than about the Egyptian pyramids. but accountants don't use geometry in their work, they use more basic arithmetic and algebra. so the formulas about the pyramids (geomtry) here would only talk about the pyramids of Egypt as part of the word-problems. so even if the parent was to also have the availability to help the kid plug in the accurate applicable numbers into the formula? those formulas are more likely to be not give a full picture of how to calculate the Egyptian pyramids' size and dimensions. and that's if the kid has the right numbers written down as they might have the dimensions for those Las Vegas pyramids instead, and feels inspired by these online results to even try to do this math (as the lack of "training the computer" to look for reliable articles means these word-problem results are more likely to be blank homework page examples, but could also include walk-throughs here and there like the Kid-A recieved plenty of). but those Egyptian pyramid articles, the most important part of this whole paper, are ALSO more likely to be from less reliable sources with perhaps incorrect information (bc people online like to lie. bc it is fun. but also sometimes people online think they are right when they actually fundamentally misunderstand something), like maybe Kid-B sees enough articles by conspiracy theorists on those unreliable websites that Kid-B thinks "aliens built the Egyptian pyramids" is a more seriously considered and debated topic of academic discussion than it is (which.. it's not. that actually has gotten the famous "Aleins" History Channel Meme Guy fired from his job bc his outspoken belief in this theory cpuld have risked his university's reputation and accreditation. so. yeah, no, Kid-B, those are not academic articles). overall, unless either the parent or Kid-B themselves catches that Kid-B has to sort through a lot more "proverbial litter" to find good, ACTUALLY academic, and ACTUALLY reliable sources of information about the Egyptian pyramids and Egypt's history, Kid-B could fail their report. even if they spent just as long on research and worked just as hard as Kid-A, all bc Kid-B was ignorant to their digital disadvantages and Kid-A unknowingly advantaged. all bc of that [thing with IP or AI or whatever it was called] and what it had learned from the family wifi what the assumed interests of its users would be. a feature no kid could easily turn off/on

which worked at making the kids in our class write down these Definitively Reliable Websites where we could search for accredited articles and peer-reviewed sources. i dont remember what they were back then, we were only in 5th or 4th grade. but it was a great lesson to be taught, im frankly shocked and a bit appalled that more kids were not taught this kind of syuff when teachers are first helping students learn how to research. everyone NOT from that class (even kids who did go to the same elementary school, but jusy did not have that teacher) all have been shocked as i am usually the first one to tell people about how, yeah, that's an aspect of how many (if not all) search-engines work

anyway. the information stuck with all of us from that class, as far as i can tell (a lot of us in that class attended the same middle and high school. like. at least 40% of us, if not a LOT more. so there was a rare time or two where id talk about this and i wouldn't be The First Person To Ever Tell Someone This Search-Engine Info. and every time it was bc the peer in question i just told would go "oh! yeah, i remember [insert name of other kid that i shared that elementary teacher with] said the same to me, like, last year!" or something. but that WAS rare so idk), or at least it always stuck with me. and i was one of the luckier kids who didn't NEED to know the info! and it still has stuck with me all these years later, even the examples of Kid-A and Kid-B!! like! i was on Kid-A's side of the spectrum WAY more than i was to Kid-B's side of the spectrum. my family definitely "trained the computer" in a way i got massive benefits from. like im talking i either was 100% Kid-A, 0% Kid-B or else i was a very minimal mix like maybe 93% Kid-A, 07% Kid-B levels of "minimal". yet still, whenever i find i distrust the google results on my phone, if im next to a friend, ill ask them to google the same thing i did to see if their first page of results looks better than mine and very often we DO get different search results! so!! even if i dont get how that works, that teacher was still right!

brief tangent: im convinced this is how some of my friends that are girls who do the whole "i can stalk your would-be-date like a Private Eye and find out information down to a C.I.A. level about if this person is worthy of being assumed to be trustworthy or not" benefit from this. like they themsleves have trained their phones (with their own dates and friends' dates and even co-workers/other acquantices' dates) or something to be AWESOME and THAT FAST at pulling up the results most likely to give them all of this stranger's private info. it's wild

anyway, screenshot or download the png or jpeg or whatever (or screenshot a frame from a video) to try to find the source if you think the lack of credit on the post implies i cant find it (bc it's either that or i forgot. which. "forgot" could mean "i have the source but didnt realize i didnt put it in the post" OR "i once had the source but now forgot who to credit this to and can't find them, oh no". so. good chance i likely need help even if it was an "oh, i forgot" type of mistake). you may have a better trained [whatever the tech is, if not IP, idk] than me at reverse-image-searching to find the people and/or company the item in question is originally from. who knows. go give it a try! what's the worst that could happen? lol

but yeah, when the source is obviously. like. Walt Disney Studios or like Pixar or Warner Brothers or RDJ or Nicholas Cage or whoever the fuck then like?? i didn't put credit bc they don't need the shout-out, you very well probably recognize the actor/studio/product they are in if it's something real mainstream that tou onlt know bc of pop culture osmosis, they got millions or billions of money as pocket-change, im not stressing myself out with crediting EVERYONE since crediting "everyone" doesn't affect "everyone" equally. im only worried about the people who not getting a shout-out could potentially very negatively affect (aka: the little guys). im not gonna stress about "the big guys" lol they're rich, they're easy to find, they're fine lmao

if you DO need help finding the source from "a big guy" that i posted about, just go @ me in a post and ask (or, hell, reblog the post that came from me and @ me in the said reblog. you can delete it after i answer you). i know i have Asks/Submits/Replies/etc turned off. (its bc i dont want to be accessible to everyone ever all the time lmao that feels stressful. so this One Public Avenue being the only way you could ask me means you gotta REALLY wanna know in order to get a hold of me). i do ask y'all don't do it for "a little guy" bc ill probably ignore you if i already tried to find said little guy and am ashamed that my labor was in vain (but if i do know the source for sure, like i still fully remember their info— and just simply forgot to credit said lil guy, then ill absolutely reply to you and edit the og post). know i check this blog VERY infrequently and may genuinely miss your question or answer it A LONG TIME after you @'ed me. so like. dont get mad if i take forever to reply?? or never reply? nobody wants to help someone who is entitled and gets mad at someone else for [not wanting to reply/didn't know they had something to reply to/took a long time to reply to but did reply]. mad or passive-aggressive. ive blocked people for less lol but yeah. just be polite to strangers, in general, of course, but also to strangers in predicaments like mine who have lives that take priority outside of a meme-y joke-y sideblog lol

to reiterate: feel free (but no pressure) to help if and when you can if you notice there was no credit for a lil guy on my blog pls? thanks 🫶

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏a potential controversy

i think my lines with who i decide to credit and who i dont are overall pretty clear. and i think it helps that, the way i see it, im not a hypocrite about my ideas of who to credit and who not to: bc things do get dicey when it comes to crediting people with small edits. yet i also dont insist on any credit for any of my own edits, bc i also see my edits as p fucking small. which might get SOME people mad on principle should they disagree with my overall perspective. regardless, this bit here will VERY likely be my one and only statement about it

but i do fully admit i dont quite know THE qualative line exactly? but let's establish what i mean via examples. if an account is posting a clip-compilation of "Digital Circus" and they did a "all the times Jax was sassy for 3 minutes" or something, meaning they did splice and edit this compilation together (that is one chunk of editing they did in of itself). but then they also added tiny edits, like i know its common for tiktok funny-scene-compilation-editors to have one the said simple edits just be a "🙄😒" next the character rolling their eyes (in this case, Jax). in my mind?? even tho this editor did add these kind of very minimal additions to the content at hand? and im just profiting off of the convenience of "oH YEAH, i wanted this scene clipped to use for reactions/memes! i just was putting it off bc i didnt know its time-stamp" and i use any clips, those with "🙄😒" edits and otherwise, where the most editing *i* then do afterwards is like add captions? i still see that as "the source belongs to 'Digital Circus' as there were no significant edits done to alter the material". i'm not crediting the editor that i benefited from the clip-compilation of. that's part of why i also walk what i talk in saying "if i subtitled or edited additionally to anything on this blog? you do not have to credit me. i barely did anything. i just added text, maybe with some effects done to said text to reflect volume/tone/pitch or whatever, and maybe a couple emojis/pictures were overlayed. that's nothing. i try to caption most things for accessibility. and sometimes i feel like being a goofball and i add other things ontop of it. bur nothing worthy of crediting me". bc, in the case of my edits and other people's similarly small edits? is the gag 10 times out of 10 is all still on the original content. but we start talking about an edit as in someone made an AMV?? (as in they had to splice in time to the music and maybe did other edits in addition to elevate the AMV. not as in "look, i put music behind this otherwise unedited clip" lol) or someone heavily edited this non-AMV clip of Jax to have, idk, silly meme-y circus-music ontop of having done manips of a rainbow clown wig and nose to follow his every head-motion and then ALSO did the classic DUN-meme-sound reverberation with camera-shake and black-white filter after Jax's dumbest expressions or lines?? that. that is SO MUCH editing and definitely changes the clip to where i am absolutely sourcing both "Digital Circus" and that editor. both of the AMV and circus-Jax

so, again, idk exactly where the qualitative line is. but i do have one where i refuse to fuck over people who have edited the original content to the point that now the audience is there for this person's editing skills, and not bc of the original content within the clip/s used. does that make sense?? i hope that makes sense. this is my one and only statement im gonna make about it anyway lol i think my reasoning is sound. if your content is heavily relient on the original content being as unedited as possible but you just added a few things on the "🙄😒"-level to be a goofball? keep doing what you're doing, im not going to yuck your yum (especially since i am identical to you and i also love to add a bit of razzle-dazzle lol). but im not going to credit you, the credit goes to the people who made the said original content that this "🙄😒"-and-adjacent-edits dont alter or anything. it's still like 90% the original show's clip?? come on lmao you and i can both live without the credit. feel free to take my edits and add them to your account "so i see how it feels". it's still almost entirely the original show, so ive made my peace with rarely/never getting credit for my small edits or subtitles bc like.. it's still 90% the original show??? i did basically nothing. i just had fun, have a clip i can throw into discord or a text-conversation for a tee-hee with my loved one, and have given other people permission to benefit from this side-blog's collection and possible captioning. again, come on lol the editors who actually changed the content so much with their skills that, other than that they used the original show like a collage artist benefits from magazines and whatnot, they've DEFINITELY changed more than 90% of the content to the point that their viewers are having a different experience with this editor than they would be watching the original show or its clips. come on lmao