#dozens of paragraphs ig

[undeadvinyls]

i thank god choco praline is not canon because im 100% sure the fandom would reduce her to just "hahahaha carrows gf and affogatos replacement" or get a wave of misogyny hurled at her for her chracterization

[case-57-with-the-enclosure]

Chapter 5!

of lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart) by @definitelynotshouting!

( 1 & 2, 3, and 4 )

as always, be mindful of the content warnings, we're deaddoving here :] be safe and remember you can always come back- sensitive topics might need some cool-down time and that's perfectly fine ♡

===================================

"Grian remembers those words like a thorn in his heart. Another lie, another broken promise; he's full of them these days."

i need to put him in a sock like they do with cats and cradle him to sleep,, poor little man he's gone through so much.

"In the growing afternoon light, Pearl's profile is crowned in dust and swirling gold motes. She still hasn't taken off her hood; the light catches on a patched seam, almost indistinguishable from the rest except for the dark blue thread that stands out like a neatly stitched scar. Something about it makes Grian's stomach curdle, so he casts his gaze back out the window, tracing leaves with a tight knot slowly gnarling in his chest."

ohohohoho the connection between the recently-patched Broken, its association with stitched scars and Knots,, scratches me brain.

"But the emotions swirling beneath the surface taste like ash, feel like fault lines, and make him dizzy with how fast they roil. Like steam without a pressure valve. Riptides without a shore. Something loose and endlessly spinning, that event horizon he'd felt himself circling earlier, spiraling in until it vanishes to a thin, needle point. Pearl is a maelstrom, Grian the eye, and at some point between his ignominious exit from Hermitcraft and subsequent rescue, they'd become two separate storms living as people."

man i love that Pearl's got just, so much going on he can't even differentiate or pinpoint the feelings- the first time reading this paragraph i had to stop the music and pay it twice the attention, bc it felt like the wind of these sentences was repeatedly slapping in my face :]

"Instead, she shifts, a subtle turn-without-turning, and the corner of her eye peeks out from beneath her hood. A thrill runs up his spine; cloaked as it is in shadow, it appears darker than it should. "Did he now," she says, with a soft, tuneless hum."

ª why do i feel like grian's about to get eaten by a wolf help

" 'Hmm, yeah, and we wouldn't want that now, would we?' Pearl replies, and this time her words hold the same razor edge as a diamond sword. "

funny thing that im This Tense at this but when he and mumbo were fighting i was like yes yes literature anomnomnom- the duality of being scared of conflict ig fjsghdsj

"Pearl cocks her head like a bird, still eyeing him from beneath her hood. Then, abruptly, she turns all the way to face him; the sun strikes her full across the bridge of her nose, slashing a line of gold from temple to jaw.¹ Grian startles, jerking back as if shocked before he can force himself still. Her irises are red.²"

1, beatiful!!!

2, ah shit!!

"A dark red, specifically— the colour of wine, of burgundy. Not the eerie glow of a red life, but something dulled down, closer to natural. Without the help of the sun, they could almost pass as brown— but here, they sear, a mixture of bloodied earth and banked embers.

eating the color descriptions up btw, taste oh-so-good

A trickle of ice flows down Grian’s spine as he stares into them, tracing each weaving vein of stroma, and behind his own eyes a dozen memories drenched in scarlet well up to the surface."

ªªªªªªª *googles stroma* ªªªªªªªªª

"In its place is an expression Grian can't parse beneath the crackling smile; something worn, something weary. Something ready to bite down. "Just checking, that's all. I kinda thought the only thing you ate these days were brains.” "

" “Like a zombie,” Pearl adds helpfully, either unaware or uncaring of the way he’s stilled. She makes a playful little growl in the back of her throat, hooks one hand into a claw in front of her face to demonstrate. None of it— not even the honeyed light slipping in through the window— touches her dark, dark irises."

ok im aware its. a lot to him but me personally, im charmed.

"He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out— Grian lies dead in the water, eyes wide and lips working as the writhing mass of emotions emanating from Pearl solidifies into a single, targeted beam. Like a scalpel cutting flesh, it slices clean through anything Grian could possibly say, stripping him down and leaving him raw, vivisected, on the table."

vivisected is such a good word,,

"The raging star in his chest bursts, igniting coal and ashes and flaring embers, and Grian's voice rises with the conflagration. "I WAS STARVING, PEARL!" he shouts, and his ears ring with the echoes. It's an admission he's made before, but not with such force. Grian snarls, chest heaving, wings clawing desperately to rise up and mantle, make him look large. "I've been starving this entire time! From day one of Hermitcraft, I was starving to death, and not one of you even tried to notice!" A sharp spark of pain needles into his palms; it takes him a moment to realize his hands have released the blanket to curl into fists, nails biting down hard enough to draw blood."

YESSSSS EXPLODE LIL BIRD BOY !!!!!!

"His red lives had always been consumed with a haze of blood, of aching, of thirst so potent he could drink and drink and still be greedy. If loneliness had often kept him company, he’d been too busy chasing death to see it."

!!!!!!!!!! If loneliness had often kept him company, he’d been too busy chasing death to see it!!!!!!!!

"(Except once. In a desert with nothing but echoes and a body still bleeding out on the sand behind him: he’d been alone, then. And he’d choked on it, suffocated; teetered between two gravities before tipping his center to the one that promised home, in any form or fashion. Anything to escape the shackles he himself had crafted, had burdened himself with. Grian remembers that. And Grian will do everything in order to forget.)"

i,, i need a moment to curl up and perhaps cry a little

"I'm fine, stop trying to babysit me, and let's all focus on getting Grian—" His voice cracks on the last syllable; Mumbo has to clear it a few times before continuing, rough and uncoordinated, "Let's just focus on getting Grian better, so then we can take him home.""

:C <3

"Scar winces theatrically. "Mumbo? Yeah… not sure what's gotten into him, poor guy, but he hasn't been acting like himself at all. He's been all sorts of crazy since yesterday. Oh! But don't you worry—" Scar's stiff smile melts into something a little more genuine, rounded at the edges; his gaze is warm, sparkling, as he lifts one hand to hesitantly place it on Grian's forearm. The contact burns right through him, but Grian doesn't flinch; this is Scar."

grian-centric fics got me sighing and twirling my hair at this man honestly- lord have mercy it is contagious

"One promise, he thinks, with an edge of desperation so urgent and pleading it resounds through his head like a scream. Just let me keep one promise before I go. Please."

WELP orz

====================================

Closing Thoughts:

:C i am emotionally devastated

can't wait !!! to read how it progresses!!!!! im very curious about the potion-plan, if he's gonna get close to fully putting it in motion or if he's gonna have a bit of an eye-opener in the following chapters.

also fascinated by the use of the comms, they're one of my favorite things about minecraft fiction! how much are they responsible for? if he doesn't have an inventory without them, can't see the chat without them- i need to design little technologies for my comics asap

overall: devastated and inspired, 10/10

[unproduciblesmackdown]

speaking of, i’ve seen some like reblog addition once or twice in these past 7 years and been annoyed enough about disagreeing analytically that here i am to just vaguely refer to it and repudiate it

basically someone saying like oh there’s that idea in fury road that instead of chasing after a utopia you should fix what’s already there / what you’ve actually got to work with

like they do in fact get to improve on what they already have to work with but there’s not so much a concept of a Utopia here but rather someone, for one thing, going “yeah this cool, better place exists that i want to go to, because i lived there already”....even these other girls for whomst it is in fact entirely abstract are a) aware that it is an actual place that exists, thusly, and b) aren’t exactly necessarily totally Idealistic about the entire matter, e.g. aren’t assuming they won’t be killed, don’t think they’ll be able to find it, & such

which goes into how it’s not that everyone’s assuming they’re pursuing something perfect out here, it’s that they’re all coming from their nightmare society where they’re not even regarded as people in their own right, and chasing Something Else, which is theoretically going to be better rather than necessarily ideal, and that, again, it doesn’t even Have to be better necessarily, it’s [inciting incident is all these people choosing to take these actions] happening b/c again it’s Something Else, it’s literally Not This, it’s Possibility that [this] isn’t the only thing for them or for anyone. which is an attitude that can be like oh how naively utopian lol of course this is the way it Is so yes, going “what about: not this” is so useless. but naturally i would happen to disagree w/that.

even for things to take a turn into the climax you’ve got like. furiosa has her emotional low point b/c her remembered The Green Place has gone to shit / doesn’t have those qualities it used to have. which is different from like oh disillusionment about a place you Thought was perfect but actually it wasn’t, rather, it’s just outright Changed in the last twentysome years. (and also isn’t completely changed, like, it’s still something of this figurative oasis, it’s still sustaining life in this desert, even if it’s not Plant life nor the people who planted it & rather, the crows & those bogwalking people & whatever else is going on out in a bog).....it’s like, okay Now they’re heading off somewhere that they Don’t know exists at all & nobody knows what it’s like b/c they don’t know if traveling east for months will bring them to Anything Else or not. but it’s just a less concrete version of what they were already after, Something Else, and Possibility. it’s sure Possible there’s something out there actually, though there may not be, versus furiosa knowing there’s definitely something else a few day’s out from the citadel, b/c there is/was, b/c she was there....but that idea there Could Be Something Else is again not like oh there’s utopia out there, nor is it even necessarily despairing, though going back & taking over the citadel Is more concrete, and it Is considered more hopeful by everyone else (who also agreed to the salt flats approach, naturally) which is fun since max Just said that the salt journey was too hopeful lol but is now the one coming through w/the more hopeful and frankly longer shot of an idea.

but also that the reason they change plans isn’t b/c they were ignoring or rejecting the idea of Fixing what was already there, it’s that it’s like, to turn around and go back would just be to die lol, the entire time they were outrunning those parties b/c they’ve got one truck vs [literally everyone else]. it’s certainly not all about convincing furiosa and co of the practical plausibility of that, there sure is like thematic [operating together / with others towards your aligned/shared goals] and hope being repeated specifically mentioned before & now, but it sure Is also the practical plausibility lol, when once it’s like oh you can’t go home again when you were abducted a couple of decades ago, their options are Go Back, where they’ll be killed, or stay living in this part of the desert which is i guess an option, but really the Most Active thing to do from their perspective is in fact to take a long shot, take advantage of the supplies they’ve brought with them, & all pursue the Possibility of Something Else. to consider going back at all certainly involves max having to pitch the idea that it doesn’t actually just mean being killed along the way, or once they’re there. like, they all of course have known it exists, or at least half of them do, having just come from there / lived there a good while, furiosa knows it has resources, but the resources They have are themselves as people & their own relationships, where they see each other as people, rather than being in that citadel with all these increased resources that definitely exist, but where everyone’s an object / tool / property & even furiosa having some power through being an imperator was/is certainly not enough where she had any feasible means to just avoid being killed if she tried much of anything. and where here their opportunity is that the main guy & his whole army can at least be held off long enough to maybe get a foothold in the citadel, making sure to kill the main guy isn’t even necessarily a step in the plan. however it’s fantastic that furiosa gets to do this personally with an epic line that also punches you (or at least me) because it’s also like of course this is such an implicitly fraught history for her behind getting to rip a guy’s jaw off. good for her with that specific revenge that semi spontaneously unfolded but was also imbued with Everything In Her Life. and the girls getting to help her along to that point including again toast as the most similar to her having a direct hand in the last seconds letting furiosa kill him, then being there to take over driving and spit on his corpse. anyways, the thing is that also they know even Maybe turning around would lead to everyone dying anyways, and many people do die, and they also can’t have been sure there Wouldn’t be anything across the salt (or they wouldn’t have done it) and Obviously turning back and taking the citadel from joe with its definitely extant water & plants (and even the people of course, given that of course crucially they don’t (and can’t anyway) just like storm and conquer the place and have to be Let Up / everything that unfolds in how people react to furiosa’s return and joe being dead) is the right (and/or rewarded) choice in this story and it is certainly the choice they end up making, but it’s certainly Not accurate or all that relevant to what’s more accurate to be like well well well looks like someone didn’t want to put in the work and is instead looking for utopia

reminds me very pertinently of like oh how about this postapocalyptic YA scifi novel where one teen girl is now the only person alive in this small town / enclave although she can’t know if there’s any other enclaves or people alive out there, until some adult guy shows up from somewhere and maybe has to recover from some injury idk and they’re like housemates or whatever for a while until he suddenly tries to rape her b/c oh postapocalypse, as a girl you Have to have earth repopulating babies, and then she has to like flee and try to survive in that enclave while he’s trying to sabotage her to force her to have to “cooperate” with him. and the ending is that she takes the like radiation armor or whatever hazmat type suit the guy showed up in and leaves him and that enclave behind entirely and walks off into what may be a totally inhospitable unpopulated world but where a) that guy managed to show up from the outside world and b) she’s like specifically walking towards an area where she’s seen some distant birds so there May be life, but there’s no further implication about whether she’s necessarily right or or whether she’s going to die b/c there’s no one else or no other hospitable area nearby....and if we’re going “fury road is about working with what you’ve got and they have to learn that chasing utopia isn’t going to get them anywhere” then we’re going “wow, a story about this protagonist’s naivete, huh??” about that ending. sounds like Someone’s a little too idealistic

also that naturally it’s completely relevant that authoritarianism as like a structure/ guiding principle needn’t only be found on a scale of [a whole country or something]. quotes about water sure but also the “that’s my child; my property” line, where’s that being shared, it’s not like oh that’s just [the villain] things lol, that’s like, a common perspective even if it’s not voiced that way. you can apply the material to w/e you want irl but in universe it’s like, this one place they’re from is known to not be the only place in the world, it doesn’t Need to represent All Human Society and isn’t That in universe, when i went offroad from [zooms off from parents’ house] i was like wow fury road moments huh. and certainly people have the stance of like umm sounds like everyone should try and Make It Work with their existing family units....and i have the stance of i wish i could fight with a metal arm. like, you wanna make it work that way lol, that’s a possibility. don’t have to presume everything out there is Perfect, or that you won’t even maybe die by getting outta here, but it’s Possibility of Something Else and is already something else, can you argue people necessarily need to be guided by anything else or that that’s somehow the Naive or overly Idealistic perspective rather than “how about you stay & deal with more of the same / your known limited paths for the future as you have for however long? try just keeping at it? see if the regime will feel like seeing you as a person when it’s never done that and to actually change and do it it needs to have Already changed and done it, so kind of an impossible position to be in” and the like. how is one gonna imply like well the mistake that these characters needed to unlearn was leaving in the first place, oh you think there’s something perfect out there, get real?? 

anyways the tl;dr is you know when someone’s wrong and you’re right. i’m really right though lmfao this wasn’t a story about anyone being motivated by the idea of this utopia, it’s about the motivation of needing something else / acting on possibility. and saying the conclusion is like “fix it” lol like again, not utterly irrelevant when these matters are discussed, but it’s like, they’ve Been fixing things, How are they able to fix things, why do further possibilities like “i can fix [the citadel]” become possible....survival happening / becoming more successful with others, individuals becoming more successful with others....people are isolated & stripped of power as their Problems, not that they’re a bit too idealistic about hey time to get the fuck out of here lol

[galaxywhump]

a fun thing about having ADHD in Poland is that the selection of available meds is veeeery limited

[lancrewizzard]

I’m not going to drag the actual person or post into this, but I just saw the funniest banner which really does sum up a huge amount of tumblr’s userbase

The fact that a quick look at their about confirmed that they were one of those people who has shipping bullshit on their DNI list before actual bigotry was just the icing on the cake.

[wrenqueenisboss]

Ummm maybe dialogue, narration, description, and scene-setting/world building?

I’m planning on like creating my own world with all of my ocs cause it seems fun lol

plus all the little stories, adventures, scenarios, etc etc

and i write as well so there’s that ig

ah yes the therapy edits

do a lot do those

-ZT

answering the advice stuff under the cut :)

oooh!! join the club! (we have so many ppl on this blog who are developing lore)

~therapy edits~

NOTE: all the advice below is my personal opinion + what I use in my writing. if you choose a different tactic, that doesn't mean your writing is bad. it simply means that you and I have different strategies

DIALOGE:

-avoid maiden/butler dialogue. (Meaning: avoid characters telling each other things they would already know. For example: A: Do you know what today is? B: Of course! Today is the day the duke visits the estate!)

-every scene should either reinforce or establish a character's motivations. in the final draft, make sure that there isn't any unnecessary dialogue. Every line (+ its dialogue tag) should have a purpose. The lines earn their place on the page!

-make sure that each character has their own way of speaking, and that vocal mannerisms fit with the overall theme of the story/your style of narration. (For example: if your writing style is super prose-y and descriptive, it kind of destroys the mood to have a character show up saying "yo yo yo, wassup!")

NARRATION:

-during your editing, make sure that you're happy with the order in which everything is narrated. it's okay if certain paragraphs have to be rearranged!!

-avoid info dumps! yes, we want to know what's going on in the surrounding scenes/history, but throwing that in our faces to the point where it completely disrupts the flow of the story is extremely offputting

-active voice!!! (unless there is a specific stylistic reason)

DESCRIPTION:

-use metaphors and similes that make sense to the widest audience possible, even the characters themselves! (For example: if you're writing a fantasy story, don't compare something to the brightness of a phone screen; it's inconsistent)

-its preferred if you leave some things up to the readers. don't describe every little muscle tic/thread on fabric if it isn't needed. as much as we love writing, extra words are the readers' enemies.

-vary your descriptions. (I struggle with this one a bit) Meaning, if you notice that you tend to revert to describing a character's eye motions in terms of facial reactions, try describing how they fidget instead! it adds depth to your characters and your writing

SCENE-SETTING:

-only give the most basic information in the beginning. let the scene itself slowly reveal the other details. otherwise, it's difficult to get into the action

-follow the description tips above as well

WORLD-BUILDING:

-sad truth: not every little detail that you've spent hours researching, and dozens of events on a complex timeline will be able to fit into your story

-too much world-building detail can swallow up your plot. use the plot as a way to reveal different details of your world/use your world to enrich where your plot takes place

-if you want to develop full binders of lore (like I have) feel free to and have fun doing so! but understand that in the natural flow of a story, not every little detail will have a home in your manuscript and that's totally okay

hopefully that helps!!! <3/p

[y0itsbri]

Bri, my nerdiest bro, I am very intrigued by your questions substitution proposal, so this week you are getting one question on a topic I should like a bri-summary of, and two regular questions because we don't want you doing too much work.

Regular questions first:

1) Have you ever asked someone out?

2) Do you have any items of clothing that you 'borrowed' from someone else and then 'forgot' to give back 🤫

WORLDLY QUESTION:

Gosh! I would like to know more about... The Yippies. Everything I know about them I learned from Aaron Sorkin and the man is known for stating his point of view as historical fact so a new perspective would be nice! Peas and thank you 😊 🤓 😘

howl my dearest! this is from ages ago! like i think a half dozen ice ages have passed in the meantime! jk but like i'm back babyyyyy okay so

1) i have not! in the time that this has been sitting in my drafts, i think my answer has changed <3

2) i am pretty good about returning things. the only thing i have of someone else's is a rando's package of makeup remover wipes that got delivered to my house.

3) the yippies! i have not even heard of them before, so prepare for this to be an Adequate At Best summary! essay??

okay! this paragraph is pretty history-y bc i am learning what the fuck the yippies even are. okay, so the yippies, a nickname for the youth international party, aka an anti-war american revolutionary group from the 60s. oh, pardon me, google also says that they like represent ~counterculture~ tendencies and are also for free speech! 1st amendment! nice! headed by abbie hoffman and jerry rubin, these radical hippies protested the 1968 democratic national convention in chicago in their anti-vietnam movement. (OH THIS IS THE CHICAGO 7). some sick features of the yippies include their use of weird street theater, anti-consumerist fashion, folk and rock music, and free sexual expression.

apparently the yippies invaded disneyland??? wild. oh, but why, you may ask? protesting the general 'establishment' and bringing attention to the evils of capitalism (valid) and to the war overseas (the key feature of their group). they also protested dress codes that were already inactivated by the time they got there (oops). wait this is wild, i gotta directly quote this.

"A list of activities supposedly going to take place included a “Black Panther Hot Breakfast” at the Aunt Jemima Pancake House, a liberation of Minnie Mouse from her male oppressors in Fantasyland, a “Self Defense Collective” at the Frontierland Shooting Gallery, and a 3pm barbecue of Porky Pig (who, of course, is not a Disney character). Reports on the number of flyers distributed vary by source (as do so many things from such hazy days) with 100,000 being reported by most authorities."

WAIT ALSO THIS IS SO FUNNY

"Disney prepared for the oncoming “invasion” by asking the Orange County Police Department to be on hand. When the officers showed up before the park opening, they were decked out in full riot gear. An overreaction, to be sure, but they had good reason. 200,000 of the rebellious youths were expected to show up, an extremely high number that tends to scare local authorities. In the end, however, only about 200 came to the park that day. David Sacks was later quoted as saying, “Of the 200 quote “Yippies“, I'd say 100 of 'em were just freaks who were really apolitical but thought it would be fun to come to Disneyland and trip around that day”. 25,000 regular guests were also in attendance." (source)

okay so pretty much all they did in disney was get stoned and slightly irk some conservatives??? also disney barred hippy-looking people for awhile LMFAO.

it's also funny bc wikipedia says that the leader is nobody and the ideology is unofficial sjdkfhdshfj.

OH another fun fact. the dude who named the yippies, paul krassner said this “So I started going through the alphabet: Bippie, Dippie, Ippie, Sippie. I was about to give up when I came to Yippie.” king ig! you can read more about his wild life here if you're interested.

OMG the yippies had a pig run for president???? the pig's name was PIGASUS AKA PIGASUS THE IMMORTAL AKA PIGAGUS J. PIG. OMG "One reason why the Yippies preferred Pigasus was that "if we can't have him in the White House, we can have him for breakfast." SIR YOU CAN'T JUST EAT YOUR PRESIDENT SDJFHKSDHF (source)

THIS IS THEIR FLAG

okay so like in conclusion, they weren't super respected because they did heavily rely on pranks and ~weird~ tactics. but they are important because they were the first to exploit mass media coverage and give a platform to ~express the repressed~!

other sources (1) (2)

disclaimer: this is all with like half an hour of googling and little to no proofreading so like, don't blame me if shit is inaccurate sjdfhkslfd. did i state their importance in the grand scheme of things? not really. did i find out some whacky stuff? absolutely😌

okay byeeeeee

[astroninaaa]

Hot take a talk about technoblade:

Okay look I've been part of this fandom since August(thank god cuz i watched it all live and it woukd be a nightmare to caatch up) I bring this up cuz i want to discuss my problem with technos character. I have watched every single techno livestream that he made on dream smp and believe it or not i used to be a techno sympathiser that is until doomsday. (By techno apologist standards i am qualified to talk about his character hooray..)

Now techno like every character is flawed if he wasn't he would be boring fandom. One of his biggest flaws is being a hypocrite. That is not something you realise until you compare what he says all the time so you need to look a little deeper to realise it and i don't blame people for not seeing it.

This wouldn't be that much of a problem because that is a character flaw among with many others but the problem that his character has faced is that he doesn't develop much.

Now i hear techno apologist jump at me every single time noooo he isn't a stagnant character he has developed a lot. I am not saying that he hasn't developed at all the problem is that he has developed very little especially when you consider everything.

His goals his ideas his perception of the world what he believes him everything that makes his character him hasn't changed much and that is not a good thing from a writing perspective. Now why do i bring this up. Firstly I'm not saying this to say techno is a bad writer far from it he can be very good when he puts his mind to it. The problem with keeping a character in this state is that it's very harmful for said character first and to the story and other characters second. Look even at yourselves i can guarantee that you aren't the exact same person you were like five years ago for example because during that time you made mistakes learned from them and you grew. Just like in real life you also can't stay stagnant in fiction.

Okay so that's the main problem with technos character that he is stagnant as a character. Now this wouldn't be as big of a problem if he didn't have the role that he has.

You see techno both c! and cc! are very good at the game basically. Now why do i bring this up. The reason why i bring this up is bc of where this places techno whuch is at the very top of the chain don't try and seny it. This means that he is one of the most powerful people on the server if you are going to try and go against this point just look at lmanberg guys that's living proof of how powerful and how terrifying he actually is. I know a lot of you are gonna say but every can get stacked or play the game but you guys forget that even if you are stacked you just don't have the skill and cc! Techno of the best people when it comes to that which bleeds into his character. Saying that is like looking at the upper class than looking at the lower class saying just get rich like it doesn't work like that.

Because of his role techno is literally the 1% by rl standards which means he can a lit of things free of consequences bc no one can give him said consequences. The butcher army was ig an attempt at that but they failed miserably let's be real here.

Because he is in the 1% is incredibly skilled at pvp and can do anything bc no one can challenge him this places him on a pedestal and creates a power imbalance a very big one at that.

And that leads to his biggest problem he has practically everything as said by Techno himself and is never challenged, but that's not an interesting character. An audience gets tired for a character that always wins or loses. Because if it happens repeatedly it just takes all the suspense oh he will win immediately. He will go and slaughter them problem solved. That's it every time. Something that techno himself confirmed is then when he has a problem he just stabs it (both of these were said during the egg stream).

And if you are going to bring the things he went through to say he's changed don't cuz as long as he doesn't act on it it means nothing. Like examples Red festival killed tubbo an ally. Traumatic experience right? This is a good moment to develop his character and give us more insight. What happens? Techno tries to dismiss it and shows us his anxiety and gives us insight on his character Great! Character development? Starting to question himself just a bit or any sign of that event having an effect on him? Nope! Why? Cuz he doesn't act on it instead he tries to hide the fact that ever happened and changes to a different topic bc there is no justification there and he knows it. Nov 16th c!technos pov he just got betrayed caused some damage wished death upon his former allies and left. Quite a dramatic scene. He feels betrayed time for some good old character development. Him thinking about himself and his actions. Reflecting on them. Great moment! Problem: literally everything that shows this is done off camera and now suddenly he's retired... Okay you know what fine it's alright he would probably expand upon and did a timeskip to explain the ling time he didn't stream. I see where it's comming from. The butcher army ge gets hunted down bc actions have consequences techno and you can't just run away like that not after doing that. Great point from the butcher army. Go give him some consequences his character needs it. And then he gets executed alright a bit too far but i guess that's how it goes in this server. Techno gets his life back immediately.. well that was a bit pointless but alright a cool scene for the animatic fair. Then he kills quackity.. the butcher army lost.. this.. what? But this was the moment of consequences... and quackity didn't get it back like techno the butcer aemy lost more than techno what? Moving along he teams up with tommy aannnd the 50 withers are up and ready of course you didn't fully retire what was i expecting. And now team up with tommy perfect way to learn about dream and give more insight on lmanberg and how dream is a tyrant and everything techno is supposed to stand against. The green festival tommy chooses tubbo over techno techno feels betrayed understandable.... and then he teams up with dream lmanberg is destroyed and the underdogs are beaten to the ground loose everything they ever worked for and are taught to be scared of the anarchists?!?!?!?!

Okay now hold up a sec I'll have to stop you right there. What. did. you. just. do. Cuz there is a limit to the amount of stuff you can let a character get away with. The line was crossed months ago this is not good at all.

Also what are yoi guys talking about consequences. Lives? All 3 home? Right there pets? The ones that died were the ones he brought expecting to not live he brought them there on purpose so they don't count. He is one of the most wealthy peoole on the server (no one beats ranboo lol) what did he exactly loose? Friendships? Was that all the hardships you guys have?

Lmanberg lost their home their lives their wealth their pets their friend everything they loved and lived for everything they stood for they lost a part of themselves in the end.

Look at the last 2 paragraphs and how imbalanced that is. How are you guys blind to this How?! And why did doomsday happen? Because the butcher army failed. And if anything techno proved them that they should have punished him harder with this.

So what was the lesson of doomsday?

That you shoukd obey the people on top and never go against them or you will loose everything you love.

Great lesson guys this is exactly the lesson the rich class and every single tyrant tried to teach society and this lesson is being told by the anarchist great job....

Do you see the problem now. This is the reason techno needs a consequence bc if he keeps going like this he will become a Mary Sue. And that is a horrible direction for a character that has a lot of potential. That potential is why i liked his character that much in the beginning but now it's almost non existent. Anyway I'll end this now cuz this went on for too long. That's basically my opinion on it feel free to share your thoughts.

okay. okay. i read this like three times bc. because look

i agree in some very specific points, but i disagree in very broad manners.

(this entire......... essay is all /rp and /nm!!!!)

anyways. send me hot takes!!!

i like c!techno. i personally think he's one of the most fun characters to watch because i enjoy the mess, the crazyness, the chaos of it all. watching doomsday through c!tommy's eyes was painful. watching doomsday through c!techno's eyes was just so fucking hilarious and exciting and fun. he's just a fun character to watch. he's just Funny. i am a fan. however

for starters: ctechno is, 100%, out of the park, an stagnant character. he has little to no development throughout the story. we see no changes in how he acts. that's not necessarily a bad thing, but considering the type of character he is, watching him develop (be it to an actually full-fledged villain or towards a redemption arc) would be ideal to keep him a character people can actually support.

i wouldn't say he's a hypocrite. c!techno has a very strict moral code and he follows it with no hesitation, with no doubts. the point is that his moral code is flawed and skewed. that doesn't make him a hypocrite, that makes him someone with bad morals.

calling c!techno "the 1%" is a stretch. for one- c!ranboo has as much resources, if not more, as c!techno does. he has dozens of totems, thousands of emeralds, and probably has one of the higher counts of diamond and netherite on the server. why is that never brought up? because it doesnt matter. c!foolish has so much gold and diamonds and netherite and just everything, really, and it's also never brought up/a reason for people to be afraid of him. the dream smp isn't a capitalist universe, there's no "1%". specially bc there's, like, i don't know, 20 players? that makes c!techno 1/20 OR 3/20 if we count c!ranboo and c!foolish. but that's not the point at all: the point is that ctechno is feared bc he's skilled and has a relevant personality, not bc he has resources. c!wilbur has no shit and he's still terrifying, there's no character willing to oppose him. not because of resources, but because of who he is. when c!techno first fled from l'manburg into "retirement" he had no shit either, it took him a while to be rich again. no one attacked him either way.

why, you ask? bc he fought against c!quackity with a fucking pickaxe and won. that's why. c!techno doesn't need resources to be feared. the power imbalance doesn't come from his resources, it comes from others’s fear. and they have a reason for that fear, bc c!techno hasn't been defeated yet. that has nothing to do with "upper class" and "lower class". because, one, not a capitalist system and class disparity isn't as simple as that, and two, even without his "riches" he still wins, bc he's got the skill. if you take out the skill, him being rich means nothing and he wouldve been easily killed by the butcher army or c!tommy or whoever decided to kill him. a good example is, once again, c!ranboo: if he wasn't friends with everyone and someone decided to actually fight him like was done with c!techno, he would've died. easily. being rich in the smp is relative.

c!techno will be challenged when we have a character strong enough to challenge him in a way that matters. it's important to be smart about it. that's why i'd love to see, out of everyone, c!philza turn against him, but that's a how other discussion (WHICH I'M WILLING TO TALK ABOUT.......... everytime i make these and i add little point i dont elaborate on and then say i'm willing to talk about them and no one ever asks me to <//3 PAIN /nm /lh).

i do think he's a character that just Always Win in narrative ways and that's very frustrating. he does need to get pulled a few notches down. again, that will only happen when we have a character that can step up to him and challenge him in a way that matters (woooo c!philza you want to hold c!techno accountable for his bullshit so bad woooo........)

now, onto c!techno's trauma. he doesn't need to show it. he- he doesn't. that's........ not how trauma works, and that's one of the points that make his trauma so forgettable for the viewers. c!techno is, from inside out, a character that hardly shows his emotions, but that doesn't mean he doesn't display symptons of trauma. he does, they're just a lot more subtle than other characters's. that doesn't mean he doesn't have any or that he isn't affect by it. c!techno is, in a lot of ways, a lot like c!tubbo: both of them don't mention the shit they've gone through and don't react to it and bc of that some of the viewers don't see how important some traumatic events were in their characterisation. that's why you analyse those characters's trauma through behavior, not through easily seen displays of trauma.

i do think it's taken a little too far with c!techno. the way he reacted to c!tommy's death was...... disappointing, to say the least. c!techno is an underwhelming character in many ways. as said before, it's because he's stagnant. that definitely needs to be worked on.

about the syndicate? yeah, no. theyre not teaching others to fear them. others just Do That bc of their history on the server, but they have literally talked about how they want to better their reputation, bc they don't want to be seen as murderers or oppressors in any way. are they flawed? yes, very much. they have no indicators of what is or isn't a government and they show no regard around the importance of a difference between an oppressive and a democratic government.

they had no right to show up at c!tubbo's door and interrogate him, because they can't appoint themselves as government police. for starters, that's not how anarchy works (they should've had everyone's permission for that. they obviously don't), but also it's just... stupid. it makes it seem that they're trying to boss everyone around so that they live like the syndicate wants them to, which goes directly against the syndicate's own ideals. however, c!techno thinks he has that right. he thinks this is what he's supposed to do. he's just following his moral code - his moral code is just deeply, deeply flawed. what he says and what he does contradict each other but not for him, not to his interpretation. to his interpretation, he's following his strict moral code.

what happened at doomsday was horrible and c!techno has to be held accountable for it, yes, but, again, no character knows how to work around c!techno enough to hold him accountable for it. that's not c!techno's fault.

l'manburg just deserved better, honestly, but to be fair c!techno has been taken advantage of time and time again (sometimes purposefully, sometimes not) and he's fucked up in the head, god bless LMAOOOOOOO

i agree that things need to change otherwise he's just gonna keep being a stagnant character who can get away with everything. i do think he has more to him than meets the eye, tho. meh idk that's still just analysis!!! we have no way of knowing the intent behind c!techno's characterisation, at least not for now. i hope for the best tho cc!techno don't let me down <3

[cosmicyeen]

I know tumblr is held together by digital duct tape and everything but i really do like it. The posting system especially. Like you can make whatever sort of posts, a short textpost, a gifset, a video, a song, a link, and any combination of that. What other site lets me post a dozen paragraphs broken up by images and gifs.

Im not restricted in character count like on twitter, im not restricted to video format like tiktok, or to a caption below an image slideshow/video like IG, or to a single video like youtube, or to any variation of stories. Resdit has the right idea with tge long text posts and video/image/link options. but tumblr lets you have nearly the same freedoms as the Op *even in the reblog option*

It offers a level of freedom in the content format that i really don't know if i can see elsewhere on other well-known sites.

Plus the timeline is actually chronological and not controlled by an algorithm. The search bar is absolute dogshit, plus the adult content ban is bullshit. But like, for all its flaws it offers a surprising level of originality and everything.

Like where am i gonna go to rant about my creations if tumblr goes under or changes completely? I'd honestly just have to start my own site if i hope to have that sort of control over my post formats yknow.

With the lack of targeted ads, displayed follower numbers, mandatory public likes, word censorship, and connected personal info, i think it's the sort of site that we really won't know we'll miss until it's gone.

no tumblr-like sites are gonna appear again. The reason tiktok grew so big was because of its intense algorithms and appeal to ease of virality, stuff that's really necessary if a site wants to make it. Tumblr's sort of been grandfathered in from a different time. Any tumblr-like site that's made now won't have the momentum to compete.

So like, just remember. It may be a hellsite, but at least it's the first of the nine circles

[sallysoot]

How big of an idea is too big. Because I know that you mainly use the nsfw blog as a way to get longer forms of ideas without getting cloat from them and horny but thats not the point lol

I got a couple sfw idea that I want to share but I have no idea how big of a concept it would pass through. Im just being curious and not sure if I'll just have to wait for the other blog to slide in the idea. I dont mind waiting, I just want to make sure with you first sending anything

-claw

HEWWO claw!!! 👋 the specifics may be difficult to articulate well because it’s sort of a “you’ll know it when you see it” measure that i work off of, BUT i will do my best— just let me know if you still aren’t sure! 💪 so basically:

if something would reasonably qualify for its own post (headcanons, ficlets, drabbles, etc.), i would prefer you to do that and send me the link! if it’s written in relatively... “professional” format (no commentary strung throughout, proper grammar/punctuation, if it READS like a fanfiction/hc ig???) the same goes— i GENUINELY just hate the feeling of getting notes off of other people’s work. to be honest, i’m iffy about it on the sideblog, too, especially as it gains more followers. ^^” but I let it slide there, at least so far!

so, as for long asks and ideas that’re clear: if it’s just a concept that takes time to explain (to provide context, to cover major details, all that), it’s fine! if you’re clearly just talking about an idea in the same way you would with a friend, where you’re not writing CONTENT, you’re just talking with them to get an idea out and hear their response, that is okay!! this isn’t to say you can’t send me snippets/a couple paragraphs of a work you’re writing, i just don’t wanna get the WHOLE thing, y’know?

again this isn’t because i have no desire to see what y’all make, i just feel terrible getting circulation out of it! 💕 ( it’s also admittedly a little overwhelming to have a dozen Big Boys in my askbox, and i get to a point of just not answering any when there’s too much because ND Brain. 😭 ) if i need to write examples to illustrate what i mean about the differences here please let me know!!!!

[nonsensegnomes]

thanks for tagging me @tiarnanafainne!! (i’m actually also looking at 32 words for field on my bookshelf right now, but i’ve never properly started it for similar reasons. being kinda-but-not-really able to read irish is so :/)

putting the actual answers below the cut for not-being-annoying reasons :)

favorite color: always love a purple! also like that one post says, i’m the only person who knows the good shades of green red, but when it’s good it’s GOOD

currently reading: i’ve actually been on a roll w/ my backlog of books recently so i can actually answer this, thank god! the most recent ones have been east of eden (altho i’ve kinda stalled out bc you have to be in a certain mood to read steinbeck’s 8 paragraphs on californian agriculture before you can get into a new chapter, imo) & the good man jesus and the scoundrel christ by philip pullman, mainly bc i really liked his essay about it in daemon voices (so far what he had to say about his writing intentions was unfortunately way more interesting than what he wrote, which is basically a retelling of the new testament :/ but re-reading bits of that essay book i really CANNOT recommend it enough, it taught me a lot about close reading way back when!)

       also paradise lost, but not really, bc it’s to mine quotes for horrible little spn edit reasons >:) oh, and the dcwt sequel i guess lol.

last song: deuteronomy 2:10 bc it’s on my cas playlist 😑🚬 altho the last thing i actually listened to was the bluff city messy business arc, which might have my favourite eps of the series so far? bluff just has SUCH summer vibes to me, and the combination of keith kinda playing the villain (?!!) & that theme tune had me sooo invested

last movie: rewatched pride (2014) the other day and let me say the montage at the end over “there is power in a union” STILL hits

last series: mythic quest!! it’s really very good, almost all the strengths of sunny with far less of its weaknesses (although still pretty Capital-L Liberal in places) + i don’t think i’ve seen anything quite like the poppy&ian relationship on a workplace comedy before, and i am FASCINATED.

       also re-watched “the legend of tennessee moltisanti” yesterday (the sopranos), despite still needing to finish s4, bc i wanted to put that dream sequence back in my eyeballs & i got sucked in :)

      also our spn rw is currently at 4.21 (we skip around, so we’ve already seen select eps from s4-10 + all of s11-15, and we’re currently watching all of s1-5; listen the system may be weird but it WORKS) and i am really happy that eventually sam got to see that panic room burn <3

sweet, savory, or spicy: sour!!!

craving: dried apricots from this market near me, i ate them religiously at the start of the lockdown but now they don’t stock them anymore :(

tea or coffee: i’m irish so i practically breathe tea

currently working on: ooh so about 12 dozen projects lmao! like everybody else i recently got really inspired to dip my toe into spn fic for Some Mysterious Reason asdjehdwdhefewj, which may never see the light of day but if it does i’ll link it lol. there’s one set pre-series about dean & tv (esp scooby doo) bc to boldly go opened my eyes about him being daphne-coded, and i think it’s fun when his gender is set to: weird! there’s also a cas&jack-centric one that’s s14 canon divergent bc “jack in the box” filled me with an INCONSOLABLE rage (although not for the reasons you might think? except for mary. definitely still mad about mary.)

       apart from that, i’ve got a quote compilation edit thing for cas that i should be finished with in a couple of days!! + i’m still working on that samsam & hadrian supercut, but i couldn’t listen to any more winter in hieron during covid 😔 so i might break it down by season and do aih & marielda first? also working on an original short story for myself so we’ll see how that goes! jesus that really is too many things 🙃 We Shall See ig

hate tagging people with a passion, but if some mutuals want to do it?  ABSOLUTELY no pressure tho <3  @queerangelic, @ishtarstripdying, @gaylittlejack, @doorwaystodoubt, @casgender, @8daysuntiltheapocalypseiguess (bc of the dean-is-daphne inspo lmao)

[migleefulmoments]

“she had to know she was making a sacrifice and all that comes with it. Not the same as a rape victim. gross comparison” I’m the one who initially made this analogy and it’s not what I meant AT ALL. I don’t mean the emotional pain is similar, some online bullying vs. sexual assault aren’t even on the same wavelength. I mean THEIR comments are similar. They blame her the same way people tell women they deserved unwanted attention because of what they were doing/wearing. Way to twist my words.

Like I can’t tell if they genuinely believe all of that or if they’re just that oblivious and/or dense. I was comparing them to victim blamers. That’s what they do.

**********************************

Your point was clear-Nonnie was either obtuse or purposefully trolling to stir things up. I will add that most of their followers are teens. The point might have been lost on them. 

Let’s start by with your original ask and my response:  

Anonymous Asked: “M put herself in the spotlight “dating” D. If she didn’t want that attention, she would have stayed in the background” this has the same energy as “you chose to wear that, you deserved to be catcalled”. Mia STAYS in the background for the most part. Posing on a red carpet gives us no insight into who she is. They literally seek her out on her friends socials. And they met well before his career took off so no, she probably didn’t expect it to turn into this

Me: Their attitude- that Mia deserves to be attacked and criticized because she fell in love with a man who then became famous and whom they have a crush on makes my skin crawl. It is like the “wear a short skirt and you deserve being raped”. It’s also how they justify their abysmal behavior. They went on to argue that Mia deserves criticism but Abby isn’t dating a famous man so she didn’t deserve the “awful attack”.  They like to bring up the Fame is Other People (X) interview Mia gave in 2016 where she says she never imagined herself with someone famous. They still ridicule her for not leaving Darren the minute he started getting famous.  It’s so fucked up.  

Now their conversation today

Anonymous asked: They're comparing people saying M chose to forgo privacy when she "fell in love" with D to people getting accused of deserving rape for wearing short skirts. Uhhh...NOT THE SAME THING but ok. I personally don't condone hating on anyone (I never publicly disparage M for example, despite my private thoughts) but by tying her life to a public figure, whether for love or not, she had to know she was making a sacrifice and all that comes with it. Not the same as a rape victim. Gross comparison.

cassie1022 answered: Nonnie, I’m not even surprised they went there. They’re vile, just like their kween. I don’t hide my feelings about M and I’m not going to, she absolutely knew what she was getting when she signed on to be D’s beard. She WANTS the attention, and as she’s a narcissist, she doesn’t care if it’s positive or negative attention.

Personally, I’ve decided I don’t care enough to look at their blogs anymore and when I get their mean as hell Anons, I’m blocking. They claim we’re obsessed with their blogs when they literally dissect every post we make. Someone’s obsessed. It’s not us.

notes-from-nowhere answered: Hold on. Why are we talking about M as if the notoriety had fallen on her head all of a sudden? It’s not because of D if she is known by others besides her parents. It’s because she pushes herself in front of him every chance she gets. She take away from him every merit often by making things looks like they come from her brain (Hedwig first for example) and she jumps on the red carpets even before he does. She shares her whole life through social media. D’s accounts, her friends’s accounts, enablers’s accounts. Her fake accounts. She tags in her posts every celebrity that crosses her path. Her only job in life seems to be open (and never close) social media accounts.

What are these people even talking about? Now we reached the point of denying even what she does so she can fits better their theories?

This is hilarious. I swear.

leka-1998 answered: Poor girl, forced to do all this.

I don’t even want to waste time thinking about how ridiculous it is that this behavior isn’t surprising.

flowersintheattic254 answered: I’m appalled at the comparison. God her fans are hypocrites. She wants notoriety via any means fair or foul and then screams victim if it’s questioned.

It’s the same argument that she is above criticism because she’s woman and therefore isn’t accountable for her actions.

Let’s remember V day. Nobody told her to get high with B in the PR house and post those pics. You reap what you sow. People smell fakeness and she reaks of it.

***************************

One thing I learned very quickly when answering anons is that due diligence pays off. Responding to an anon’s summary of what someone else said can backfire if they misrepresent what was said. If the anon reports something untoward was said- whether by design or by mistake- and I spent 2 paragraphs berating that statement that was never said then I am the fool. Taking 5 minutes to read the post myself has paid off many times and every time I have taken something I know nothing about at face value- it’s bitten me in the ass. Had any of the ccers bothered to actually read the post they would have realized that Nonnie misrepresented the point. They still would have written something angry and pretended to be so “shocked” by how “vile” we are but at least they would have had a shot at not being the fool.  

--------------------- My comments in Italics; they are in regular font 

Cassie:  

Nonnie, I’m not even surprised they went there. They’re vile, just like their kween. Nobody has ever said anything on my blog that could be construed as Mia is our kween. I don’t really understand the value of bringing up things nobody said as part of one’s argument. It’s proof of how desperate they are to be right and how easily they bend the truth to fit their needs. They wouldn’t know how to be authentic and honest if their lives depended on it.  

I don’t hide my feelings about M and I’m not going to, she absolutely knew what she was getting when she signed on to be D’s beard. She WANTS the attention, and as she’s a narcissist, she doesn’t care if it’s positive or negative attention. It’s hilarious that Nonnie claimed she doesn’t disparage Mia publically as part of their argument as to why they are better than us but Cassie being the charmer that she is, responds with “I don’t hide my feelings about M and I’m not going to”.  I could argue that Cassie knew what she signed on for when she started her crisscolfer blog-she even shares her cc beliefs on her Twitter!  

She WANTS the attention, and as she’s a narcissist, she doesn’t care if it’s positive or negative attention I find it so odd that Cassie is diagnosing Mia with mental illness yet just yesterday she was raging that Metaloma and I diagnose Abby. Hypocrite much? It is mind-boggling that she believes Mia is a narcissist but can’t see that Abby actually is. I bet the Abby-less Crisscolfer fandom will find Mia isn’t nearly as narcissistic and evil without Abby to write the storyline and talk about her nonstop. 

Personally, I’ve decided I don’t care enough to look at their blogs anymore and when I get their mean as hell Anons, I’m blocking. They claim we’re obsessed with their blogs when they literally dissect every post we make. Someone’s obsessed. It’s not us. Not reading my blog was a critical mistake because she would have realized that Nonnie was misconstruing the comment. Did someone claim they are obsessed with our blogs- I certainly didn’t- or is this another one of those claims that never happened?   

---------------------

Notes:

Hold on. Why are we talking about M as if the notoriety had fallen on her head all of a sudden? Nobody is talking as if notoriety had fallen on her head all of the sudden. Notes would have really benefited from reading the original post because neither Notes or I have a clue what post she is responding to.  

It’s not because of D if she is known by others besides her parents. It’s because she pushes herself in front of him every chance she gets. She take away from him every merit often by making things looks like they come from her brain (Hedwig first for example) and she jumps on the red carpets even before he does. I love the trope that she jumps in front of him on every red carpet because it proves how willing they are to outright lie to get their message across. She literally stands with Darren in front of the photographers for a couple of seconds at the end of Darren’s allowed period. Darren poses for dozens of photos and we see 2 or 3 pics of Mia and Darren-that is hardly jumping on the carpet before he does. As for taking away every merit- omg give it up. This is one of the dumbest tropes the fandom hangs on to. Mia WAS Hedwig before Darren was -the Halloween picture is around somewhere. Mia didn’t make the statement her friend did. We know the ccers don’t understand friendships but when they get pissed about the Hedwig comment they should refer to this post (X) where they declared “Just like I 100% stand with @ajw720,” and “I support @ajw720, I don’t believe Mi@rren is real and you cannot silence us!!!!”. Friends say things about other friends to connect with that person and show support. They weren’t trying to diss Darren. They never intended rabid Darren fans to even SEE the post-it was intended for their friends and nobody else.   

She shares her whole life through social media. THIS IS my FAVORITE comment of all. WTF? Where does Mia share her whole life through social media? Cuz I’d love to see it! The fact is, you are lying...you’re just outright lying. Mia shares nothing via social media. She stopped her Twitter when she quit playing music and she has a private IG account.  

D’s accounts, her friends’s accounts, enablers’s accounts. Her fake accounts. She tags in her posts every celebrity that crosses her path. Her only job in life seems to be open (and never close) social media accounts. Darren’s accounts? If Mia had control of Darren’s accounts, Mia would be plastered all over it but in reality, neither Darren nor Mia is active on public social media and they certainly aren’t sharing their lives. Nobody uses their friends’ accounts to plaster themselves. God, this trope is so stupid. Enabler’s accounts? Who the hell are her enablers? Where are these enabler posts just full of Mia’s every move? Her “fake accounts” is the best one though. Here we have some random person trolling the cc fandom and they Eat. It. Up. FetusMiarren hasn’t posted since August 11. Who the hell closes social media accounts? The reality is that Abby spent all day every day talking about MIa. The only person promoting Mia full time was Abby. The reason Notes believes that all these accounts are Mia sharing her whole life is because Abby stalked those accounts and then talked about each post for days. 

What are these people even talking about? Now we reached the point of denying even what she does so she can fits better their theories? I ask you the same question “What the hell are you talking about?” If you had actually taken the time to read the original post instead of working yourself up to a red-faced, foot-stomping rant, you would know what I was talking about and avoided this ridiculous, off-topic rant-fest. 

This is hilarious. I swear. Back at ya! 

--------------------- 

Flowers: 

I really love Flower’s response:  I’m appalled at the comparison. God her fans are hypocrites-I’m not sure how we are hypocrites because of a valid comparison.  

She wants notoriety via any means fair or foul and then screams victim if it’s questioned. Mia didn’t make the comparison- I did. Mia doesn’t know me, she didn’t dictate I made the comparison by “any means foul or fair”  

It’s the same argument that she is above criticism because she’s woman and therefore isn’t accountable for her actions. Wait...who in the hell made the argument that she isn’t responsible for her actions because she’s a woman? I’ve seen a lot of fake arguments like this in the last 3 days. Again, I don’t really understand the value of bringing up things nobody ever said as part of one’s argument. It certainly doesn’t lend credibility. 

Let’s remember V day. Nobody told her to get high with B in the PR house and post those pics. You reap what you sow. People smell fakeness and she reaks of it. Aaaaannnndddd she wraps up her comment with one of the fandom’s favorite gaslight moments- Valentine’s day with Ben.  

[audreyhheart]

Any tips for writers who want to start having a following on Wattpad?

I don’t have millions of reads on my work so I’m probably the wrong person to ask but if you want tips on how to write a marginally successful gay historical fanfic that nobody asked for, step into my office 📝

1. This probably goes without saying but write a good story and write it well. Make sure you have a strong plot, characters and setting. Use correct grammar, edit and review your work for errors before you post. As they say, there’s no such thing as good writing only good rewriting.

2. Adapt your work to the platform. Design an eye-catching cover that looks good as a thumbnail on the app since most people browse and read on their phones. Make sure your chapters are satisfying but not too long. I try to cap my chapters at 3000 words. Break up the text in your chapters with dialogue and short paragraphs. It’s hard to read long chunks of exposition on one’s phone.   

3. Update on a schedule. When I first started writing on Wattpad I updated once a week and this helped me develop my audience or at least attract a group of readers who read my story week after week. They then read my next work because they knew they could depend on me to update regularly. Now I update about twice a month. Whatever schedule you choose, be consistent.    

4. Include author’s notes at the end of every chapter. I don’t mean “please vote!” or “I hope you liked it” but actually talk to your readers. Give them a little insight into your process, ask them questions about the chapter, add gifs, images and videos that inspired you. Don’t complain about how your writing sucks or how few reads you have. If you don’t believe in your story why should your readers? But don’t compliment your own writing either. Besides the fact that it’s embarrassing, you are not an impartial judge of your own work, that’s for your readers to decide.  

5. Reply to all comments. This is crucial in developing a relationship with your readers. They are more likely to come back to your work if they see you as a person rather than a nameless, faceless content generator. It’s hard to attract readers. I hate seeing writers complain about not getting enough reads when they don’t acknowledge the people that took the time to comment. Nobody is entitled to readers, it’s something you have to earn. Be humble and grateful to those who support you along the way.

6. Finish what you start. Oh boy, welcome to my biggest pet peeve: writers who abandon their work. I know this is a common problem but I have zero sympathy. I’m not going to read an author who has a bunch of unfinished works on their profile that haven’t been updated for months or years. Same goes for writers who get bored of the story they are writing and start a new story every time they have a “brilliant” idea. You’re not brilliant, you have no discipline. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Brilliant writers finish books! It’s impossible to build a readership when your readers don’t trust you. 

7. Develop a relationship with readers, but don’t get attached. Readers will abandon your story for a myriad of reasons: their cat died, they lost their phone, they have homework, they hate your last chapter, they’ve moved onto a sexting omegaverse fic. Whatever the reason, they’re dead to me. Just kidding! (not really). Don’t depend on external validation to motivate you.       

8. Become an active part of the community. I left this for last because I think it’s important to join the clubs and get your name out there but not at the expense of your writing. If you spend all of your time socializing it may distract you from your work, which should be your number one priority. Writers don’t talk about writing, they write!         

For your own sanity, I don’t recommend writing to get reads. If what you care about is followers there are MUCH easier ways to gain a following, on platforms where you don’t need to put in as much work, like Twitter and IG. Write because you have a story to tell and you want to improve your craft. It’s a leap of faith. You have to write the story that you love and hope that other people love it too.

[chrissyrholmes]

10 Newsletter Layouts With Free Source Code

Designing a newsletter can be tough. Not only do you need knowledge and understanding of how users/readers expect content to be delivered to them, you also have the headache of making the layout compatible with all of the many emails clients.

It helps if you study the layouts of existing newsletters to get an understanding of how the code and layouts work. That’s why I’ve curated 10 of the best newsletter designs that are fully responsive and up-to-date with modern coding standards.

If you’re planning to launch your own newsletter, these designs should be great inspiration for you.

SeatGeek

With a single column design and large typography, I love the way the SeatGeek email uses icons and simple graphics to grab your attention.

The large typography also takes up a high percentage of the page making it very easy to read. Shorter paragraphs, larger text, and a clear CTA at the bottom of the page all increase usability.

For a simple verification email this does the job well.

PlayStation

If you’re looking for a more complex design, Sony’s Battlefield 1 release offers some nice ideas.

Most of this newsletter relies on images to replicate the official Sony PlayStation website. This is great for building brand awareness and trust, but this also feels a bit light on information since it doesn’t tell the reader what to do or what the message means.

Still, it has a really smooth design and it shows how much quality graphics play a role in email layouts.

Social Print Studio

Email verification messages don’t need to be complex. But you should feel okay adding some details about the website/list the user just signed up to.

This email by Social Print Studio is primarily a verification message, but it also includes points about the site and what new users can expect from using it. This even includes a ‘shop’ CTA leading directly to the site where readers can order prints of their Instagram photos.

An excellent example of coaxing users back onto the site while also increasing signup verifications.

Archant

Here’s a real interesting email newsletter with an update preferences message from Archant (online publisher).

The goal is to connect with users who may have subscription settings that are either too strict (blocking all contact) or too lenient (receiving too many emails). It’s a cool way to connect with existing subscribers and ideally get them signed up to more lists.

WistiaFest 2017

Event newsletters like this one are usually pretty simple. They only have a few goals: share information about the event and encourage subscribers to buy their ticket early.

This newsletter has all of that in spades with CTAs to check out the event’s speakers and to sign up for a ticket. The layout also follows a single one-column design which usually works best for emails.

Lists for events also don’t go out regularly, so it’s crucial to include the logo near the very top of the page. This way subscribers know exactly what the message is about since their last message was probably 12 months before.

Sprout Social Webinar

The Sprout Social newsletters are fantastically well-designed and their codebase is phenomenal. Take a look at this simple design promoting an upcoming webinar.

It’s pretty short and uses graphs to draw attention. It also uses bulleted lists with icons to help sell the webinar as bullet points are much easier to read than paragraphs.

Plus, the big green CTA is well above the fold and pushes their webinar schedule. You can replace many of these elements with your own and see fantastic results.

Sprout Social IG Scheduling

Another example from Sprout Social is this promo email covering their Instagram scheduling feature.

One difference with this layout is the alternating two-column features grid. It uses square icons placed alongside square info-boxes with clear visuals. A great concept and it blends in nicely with the overall design.

If you’re looking for a basic template to study and possibly recreate you should check out the Sprout Social emails. Considering all factors like visuals, copy, and page structure, Sprout Social do email marketing right

Moo Design

From business cards to custom stickers, this promo newsletter really sells the product well. You can learn a lot by studying how other websites promote their content, and this Moo newsletter is a terrific example.

Product photos show how these items could be used and you can also learn a lot from the email’s style and flair.

It feels colorful and fun with a light sense of humor. This tells readers how these products feel and why you might want to visit Moo.

The newsletter uses a two-column product feature with blocks of images and text. An excellent way to grab attention and increase conversions.

Under Armor

The Under Armor brand is very popular in the fitness community. They have tons of great products and their newsletter design sells their items well.

Notice how many unique photographs are used in this design. With some products, it just makes sense to add photos more than text. Block elements with photos and CTAs work well for Under Armor’s newsletter and this is usually a good strategy for all physical goods.

Runtastic

Product feature lists are also great for promoting mobile apps and digital software. This Runtastic email relies on app screenshots and small flat-styled icons to grab your attention.

The goal of this newsletter is to encourage clickthroughs and get new users digging deeper into features. It’s an entire suite of programs and tracking tools so it can take time to learn everything.

But with a great follow-up email you can provide just enough info to get people curious and wanting to learn more.

These are just some of the best newsletter designs I’ve found but there are dozens more out there. And regardless of what you’re promoting or why you need a newsletter, these designs will help you plan usable layouts with clean source code to boot.

from Web Designing https://1stwebdesigner.com/email-newsletter-source-code/

[noahdnicholus]

10 Fantastic Email Newsletter Designs With Free Source Code

Designing a newsletter can be tough. Not only do you need knowledge and understanding of how users/readers expect content to be delivered to them, you also have the headache of making the layout compatible with all of the many emails clients.

It helps if you study the layouts of existing newsletters to get an understanding of how the code and layouts work. That’s why I’ve curated 10 of the best newsletter designs that are fully responsive and up-to-date with modern coding standards.

If you’re planning to launch your own newsletter, these designs should be great inspiration for you.

SeatGeek

With a single column design and large typography, I love the way the SeatGeek email uses icons and simple graphics to grab your attention.

The large typography also takes up a high percentage of the page making it very easy to read. Shorter paragraphs, larger text, and a clear CTA at the bottom of the page all increase usability.

For a simple verification email this does the job well.

PlayStation

If you’re looking for a more complex design, Sony’s Battlefield 1 release offers some nice ideas.

Most of this newsletter relies on images to replicate the official Sony PlayStation website. This is great for building brand awareness and trust, but this also feels a bit light on information since it doesn’t tell the reader what to do or what the message means.

Still, it has a really smooth design and it shows how much quality graphics play a role in email layouts.

Social Print Studio

Email verification messages don’t need to be complex. But you should feel okay adding some details about the website/list the user just signed up to.

This email by Social Print Studio is primarily a verification message, but it also includes points about the site and what new users can expect from using it. This even includes a ‘shop’ CTA leading directly to the site where readers can order prints of their Instagram photos.

An excellent example of coaxing users back onto the site while also increasing signup verifications.

Archant

Here’s a real interesting email newsletter with an update preferences message from Archant (online publisher).

The goal is to connect with users who may have subscription settings that are either too strict (blocking all contact) or too lenient (receiving too many emails). It’s a cool way to connect with existing subscribers and ideally get them signed up to more lists.

WistiaFest 2017

Event newsletters like this one are usually pretty simple. They only have a few goals: share information about the event and encourage subscribers to buy their ticket early.

This newsletter has all of that in spades with CTAs to check out the event’s speakers and to sign up for a ticket. The layout also follows a single one-column design which usually works best for emails.

Lists for events also don’t go out regularly, so it’s crucial to include the logo near the very top of the page. This way subscribers know exactly what the message is about since their last message was probably 12 months before.

Sprout Social Webinar

The Sprout Social newsletters are fantastically well-designed and their codebase is phenomenal. Take a look at this simple design promoting an upcoming webinar.

It’s pretty short and uses graphs to draw attention. It also uses bulleted lists with icons to help sell the webinar as bullet points are much easier to read than paragraphs.

Plus, the big green CTA is well above the fold and pushes their webinar schedule. You can replace many of these elements with your own and see fantastic results.

Sprout Social IG Scheduling

Another example from Sprout Social is this promo email covering their Instagram scheduling feature.

One difference with this layout is the alternating two-column features grid. It uses square icons placed alongside square info-boxes with clear visuals. A great concept and it blends in nicely with the overall design.

If you’re looking for a basic template to study and possibly recreate you should check out the Sprout Social emails. Considering all factors like visuals, copy, and page structure, Sprout Social do email marketing right

Moo Design

From business cards to custom stickers, this promo newsletter really sells the product well. You can learn a lot by studying how other websites promote their content, and this Moo newsletter is a terrific example.

Product photos show how these items could be used and you can also learn a lot from the email’s style and flair.

It feels colorful and fun with a light sense of humor. This tells readers how these products feel and why you might want to visit Moo.

The newsletter uses a two-column product feature with blocks of images and text. An excellent way to grab attention and increase conversions.

Under Armor

The Under Armor brand is very popular in the fitness community. They have tons of great products and their newsletter design sells their items well.

Notice how many unique photographs are used in this design. With some products, it just makes sense to add photos more than text. Block elements with photos and CTAs work well for Under Armor’s newsletter and this is usually a good strategy for all physical goods.

Runtastic

Product feature lists are also great for promoting mobile apps and digital software. This Runtastic email relies on app screenshots and small flat-styled icons to grab your attention.

The goal of this newsletter is to encourage clickthroughs and get new users digging deeper into features. It’s an entire suite of programs and tracking tools so it can take time to learn everything.

But with a great follow-up email you can provide just enough info to get people curious and wanting to learn more.

These are just some of the best newsletter designs I’ve found but there are dozens more out there. And regardless of what you’re promoting or why you need a newsletter, these designs will help you plan usable layouts with clean source code to boot.

from Web Designing Tips https://1stwebdesigner.com/email-newsletter-source-code/

[junker-town]

Giannis Antetokounmpo should become the 1st player to finish top-20 in all major stats

Let’s appreciate Giannis, who continues to blow out minds.

There are about 470,000 words in a standard English dictionary. (I’m trusting Google on this; I did not count them.) None of them are designed to describe Giannis Antetokounmpo doing something like ... this.

Wow. Giannis caught the ball approximately 50 feet from the basket, took one dribble, and dunked... (h/t HouseOfHighlights/IG) http://pic.twitter.com/ax0iaCLLiH

— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) February 12, 2017

Antetokounmpo made that play in early February, and it’s perhaps the most visceral reminder that he’s not like most basketball players. Here’s another.

dude giannis what on earth http://pic.twitter.com/z2c2vDjSEz

— jack (@jackhaveitall) January 14, 2017

We can describe these plays factually: half court, one dribble, wingspan, athleticism, dunk. But there isn’t really a word that describes how Antetokounmpo rolls those all into a single packaged play that can transpire in seconds and doesn’t really fit with the NBA we’re watched for dozens of years now.

Explosive? No, that’s too loose of a term. Many players are explosive, but Antetokounmpo is a combination of length and athleticism that is rivaled by virtually no one.

Astonishing? That’s closer, but that doesn’t capture the strange sense of awe we’re left with when watching someone that large and strong and long and bouncy exhibits all of those adjectives in the span of a few seconds.

Impossible? Except Antetokounmpo is very, very real.

If you’ll allow us two words, then Brad Stevens has a suggestion, as told to SB Nation’s Paul Flannery in a great look at Antetokounmpo’s future: Holy shit.

This is another appreciation of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who on Thursday will become the first player to ever finish top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for a single season. (It’s possible Kyrie Irving could pass him in assists on the final day, but that seems unlikely without a huge, last second push.) We’ve seen versatile forwards like Shawn Marion show up in four of those categories, falling short in assists. You might think LeBron James would have done it, but he fell short in blocks. No, the record stands alone with Antetokounmpo, which would be impressive at any stage of his career. But it’s time for that classic sports journalist trick, where you sprinkle in a very short paragraph to emphasis something incredible:

Antetokounmpo is 22.

We’re currently watching the rough drafts of a player who could turn feasibly claim the “best player in the world” title a few years from now. Nothing is guaranteed — we all know this. But Antetokounmpo has shown us a blend of skills mixed with an unparalleled ability to stride past defenders with his 6’11 frame that there’s virtually no limit to how high he can soar. Literally, figuratively, however you want to read that sentence is fine.

You can watch how Antetokounmpo is able to show every single part of his uniqueness in the highlights of a game like this.

Antetokounmpo’s maturation process took a great step forwards this season when Milwaukee clinched a playoff spot last week. He went to the playoffs two seasons ago on a team where he was a major contributor, but this season, Antetokounmpo took sole responsibility to lead the push. One week before the All-Star break, Milwaukee sat at 22-30. Since that moment, they’ve gone 19-9, pending two final games before their season concludes.

It’s no fault of Antetokounmpo’s that his stats have actually dipped slightly since the All-Star break, when you actually sit back and realize how ridiculous the numbers actually are. In an average game he plays this season, Antetokounmpo will score 23 points, grab about nine rebounds, record more than five assists, nab nearly two steals and two blocks, and do it all on 52 percent shooting from the floor. His post-break numbers nearly match that, and his teammates have rallied around him, creating a Bucks team that can be proud of what they’ve done, even if they only end up with a first round exit. (With the way they have played, it’s certainly possible they go further.)

Again, Antetokounmpo is 22. Often, even his boring games look like this.

Antetokounmpo’s next step, of course, is developing a more confident, effective jump shot. It’s getting closer, with this season better than the last, and the steady improvement of his mechanics giving us confidence that he’ll keep improving. (His free throw percentage soaring to 77 percent this year is an enormous sign that he’s headed in the right direction. Start by building consistent mechanics on a steady, controlled shot like a free throw, and steadiness from other spots on the floor will come with time.) But Antetokounmpo has years to get there, or maybe he doesn’t even need to do it. After all, again, no one else has ever done something quite like this.

Let’s return to our initial conundrum — which, hey, that’s a good word for describing how you slow him down, but it’s still not quite there. Maybe we just use Giannis, because nothing else really sums it up quite right.