#have been having discussion with the original poster about this. i wanted to add on because i feel like

[its3oe]

Not, of course, to pick out anyone or attack or demean specific people since this happens on a wide scale and there's a lot of fearmongering out there and I'd like to believe in people's ability to learn and grow, but there's such a sense of… western egocentrism to people who will take in this information and go "This is another reason why I, as an artist, feel threatened by these technologies! Fuck AI tech!" When none of this, as in, the things relevant to this post and the articles mentioned, is relevant to your job security. You aren't keeping your thoughts or discussion relevant to the people this post is talking about! It's not about you! It is about the exploitation of labor in the global south. People who cannot afford to feed themselves are not creating these things and working on them to shatter the toyhou.se adoptable economy. This is not an "us vs. them" march for the defense of Real Art situation before it is a "Remember human rights? You know how everybody has bills to pay? Yeah there's horrible exploitation happening at the root level of these things here because as a whole there's a severe devaluation of everything, and especially in areas and at levels more easily exploitable" situation.

I don't think people's data being scraped without their consent to train models is a good thing. I think that's as bad as everyone else thinks it is. I also think that someone, say, training their own model and running their own resources to generate imagery for a project is going to cause me or you to not be able to pay rent. That's not even a question or option for, again, the people actually maintaining any of the popular and available AI generation tools out there. How can we, as artists, clearly value our own and others labor as we do, and then run to an in-group cliquey idealogy of what makes "Real Art" (which is a slippery slope on its own. I already often am not seen as a "real artist!" and I don't use AI tools!) as a threat to the perception of value of our labor, while completely pushing to the side and dismissing people who have never had their labor valued to any significant degree. Like. You have to get it in your brain that AI as a technology is not like. Elon Musk smacking away at his keyboard by himself making NFTS and Cryptocurrency and all of the other words and things we don't like.

Someone ethically using their own tools on their own time is not in competition with any of us. The Wacom Warriors of the world are hardly the most oppressed working class and acting as if that's a unique issue is selfish and a gravely uninformed mindset. Every time someone puts the words AI art in scare quotes does nothing to improve any situation nor demonstrates anything meaningful outside of a personal view on what one views as art with integrity, whatever that means. You don't have to like AI generation as it is now; it is absolutely rife with problems concerning IP (i'm not a fan of copyright law but you can intuit what i mean by this.) and environmental impact. The threat to our jobs, with us being artists, in the context of individual end-user usage is not one of them. Nobody has ever decided not to commission me for a picture of their fursona because they could type into a prompt and get something similar. That's a non-issue. Skewed priorities and such. The defense of, ultimately, a higher-paying job (that is, and to assume, those feeling threatened by this are those with a significant clientele and income from their art in the first place) is not going to slowly funnel down and improve rights for people in the global south working in tech like golden ichor from above. You have to, plainly, get over yourself and extend your solidarity to make any changes in the way people view ALL labor, and not just our own.

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-tech-workers-idUKL5N2XI2X8/

(last isn't thumbnailing idk why) i don't feel like i can like open a discussion very well about this but it felt silly to keep saying "i think people need to talk about this" without providing anywhere to learn so here's some stuff about labor exploitation that goes hand in hand with AI that never seems to be included in peoples critiques of it. big warning for mentions of sexual assault including CSA, especially in the time article.

[alexthesillybilly]

An Analysis on William Afton and Henry Emily’s Relationship and Queer Subtext

Since the reveal of Glamrock Bonnie and his room in the Ruin DLC, I’ve thought a lot on the subtext of Henry and William’s relationship, and how it seems like a queer relationship hidden under layers of denial and guilt.  I’ve always loved to analyze and connect small details and I wanted to write something about my ideas. My point here isn’t to convince anyone of anything, just to share my interpretation of their story. So enjoy me rambling for a few pages!

Fazbear Entertainment's Origins

Fredbear’s Family Diner was created sometime before 1983- and since merchandise and other spin-off things had been created at that time, it can be assumed it had been running since the late 70s.  The 70s-80s were an extremely pivotal time for the LGBTQ+ community, for its rights and awareness - this links into another point I have, on the Glamrock animatronics and that being a very queer subculture.  This in itself wouldn’t say anything about their relationship, not really, but when certain throwaway lines are considered - mainly the lines about William’s obsession with Henry (which I’ll discuss more later) and another line I want to analyse a little now.  

As you already know, at Fredbear’s, Henry performed as Fredbear himself while William performed as SpringBonnie. In FNaF World, the loading screen for SpringBonnie simply reads, “Male? Female? It’s a rabbit, who cares.”  Yes, this is just a loading screen. It probably doesn’t mean anything intentionally, but I saw somebody make a really good point on it - credit for the idea goes to this post. It says that SpringBonnie being genderless could’ve had two reasons - one being William lacking the words for a nonbinary identity, and the other being William intentionally keeping SpringBonnie genderless so it could be assumed that they were Fredbear’s love interest. 

As I mentioned earlier, the glamrock subculture of the 70s was extremely queer, with new takes on gender, androgyny, and overall theatrics related to breaking the norms of the 60s.  This adds context to Security Breach’s characters, Glamrock Freddy and Bonnie.

The Glamrocks

Since the beginning of the franchise, both in-universe and as a game series, Freddy and Bonnie have always been together, in every game, even going so far as to be physically connected as Funtime Freddy and BonBon in Sister Location - which in itself could be William’s jealousy and obsession towards Henry intensifying after being kicked from Fazbear Entertainment. But Glamrock Freddy and Bonnie are the most interesting of their variants. These two are basically canonically queer, which is big. 

I have a specific take on their relationship I haven’t seen elsewhere (though I’m sure someone else thinks this, too).  First of all, I’ll do a rundown on how their relationship is portrayed in SB and Ruin. 

In Security Breach, Glamrock Freddy mentions Bonnie a few times - only to say he misses him.  We don’t get any context on him other than that, though the “theory” that is heavily implied is that Monty destroyed Bonnie out of jealousy, which is the theory I’ll expand on after my explanation.  

In the Ruin DLC however, things change.  Through turning off all the Wet Floor Bots, a secret room will open- containing more of these bots, but more importantly, Glamrock Bonnie himself.  He’s destroyed, like the other Glamrock animatronics by this point, but it’s obvious he’s been like this for much longer.  The more important part is his room. 

In Glamrock Bonnie’s room, a few things related to my point can be found - first of all, the Glam Freddy merchandise found around the room, which I could connect into William’s obsession with Henry, but most notably (and as you were probably waiting for me to mention), the poster.  There’s a poster on the wall of Bonnie’s room, of Glamrock Freddy.  It’s written on, and it reads: “You & me forever and ever!  Love, Freddy”.  So, pretty obvious implications here - it gets real hard to argue that they were simply friends.

Now, onto the point about Monty I mentioned earlier.  As is implied, Monty destroyed Bonnie out of jealousy- and likely was planning to do the same to Freddy.  I won’t bring up every example, but many times Monty is seen being violent towards statues, cutouts, etc. of Freddy and Bonnie.  So my theory here is that Monty represents William’s jealousy of Henry turning into violence. 

We’re not exactly sure what William was jealous of Henry about, but it can be assumed it was about family or something to do with the business.  Monty was obviously jealous over fame.  I like to think that Freddy and Bonnie before Monty represent when Henry and William first opened Fredbear’s, before the Bite of ‘83, before any incidents happened.  Then Monty destroying Bonnie and becoming jealous of Freddy, represents when William kills Charlotte and starts becoming the Mr. Afton we know.  The whole storyline of Glam Freddy, Bonnie, and Monty seems similar to William and Henry’s story to me.

But enough about them- let’s talk about the real depictions of William’s obsession and jealousy.

Their Downfall

I’ve mentioned it enough times now.  William’s violent obsession and jealousy of Henry led to Charlotte’s death, likely out of William’s anger because Henry’s family seemed so perfect compared to William’s.  Now I’m onto FNaF 6. 

Henry wants to end the whole tragedy once and for all, and he finds William in the form of Scraptrap.  While setting your old best friend and possible lover on fire and then banishing them to hell might not seem too romantic to most, I’ve always liked to point out that Henry’s final words to William are, “don’t keep the devil waiting, old friend.” Something about Henry still referring to William as a friend even in a time like this, after everything, strikes me some way, that even through all the years of grieving, Henry could never make himself hate William.  Even to the very end, he just can’t do it.

This next one is a bit of a stretch, but then again, this entire essay is built on the idea that two FNaF characters have repressed gay love for eachother, so who really cares what’s more reasonable or not? 

I like to think that Orville Elephant and Mr. Hippo represent what Henry believed could’ve been, if William hadn’t grown violent.  Mr. Hippo talks to the player in Ultimate Custom Night, his stories mainly focusing on him and his friend Orville.  The player of UCN is likely meant to be William Afton himself, trapped in his own hell by Cassidy.  Some of Mr. Hippo’s stories can be read as metaphors.  If you want to read all his dialogue go ahead, but here’s a few lines that stand out to me. (I’ve taken out some repeated words to make them easier to read.)

“Y'know, I never saw any ducks die myself, but I did notice a substantial decrease in the duck population over the course of a few years. I just never thought to stop the man and tell him that he was killing the ducks by feeding them sourdough bread!”

To me, the line “I just never thought to stop the man and tell him that he was killing the ducks,” might be related to Henry not doing anything to stop or confront William about killing the kids until decades later, in fear of losing him.  

“I said to Orville, “You know, sometimes I feel like a fish leaping over and over again, always trying to get somewhere, though I don't know where, only to find myself in the jaws of a beast." He looked at me surprised, "Have you been in the jaws of a beast, friend?" To which I said, "No, of course not Orville." I said, "I simply meant that life can seem like a relentless endeavor to overcome meaningless obstacles, only to meet an equally meaningless fate regardless of your efforts, regardless of the obstacles you passed."

I don’t see this one as really related to William, just Henry’s rambles. I still figured I’d include it, though.

“…Perhaps I met a demise of my own at some point and this is my afterlife or my dream or whatever it might mean, I honestly don't know. Or maybe it doesn't mean anything at all. Maybe it doesn't mean anything at all...”

Another that isn’t related to William, but Henry’s internal feelings that everything he did was all for nothing.  I like to think of it as some of Henry’s last thoughts before dying in the FNaF 6 fire. 

Conclusion

There isn’t really a point to this all- just to tell people about my interpretation, really.  So thank you for listening to me ramble about the toxic old men I think about way too often! Of course, if I don’t say this I think I will be personally assassinated by some of the FNaF fans - THIS IS ALL MY INTERPRETATION!!  I’m not saying this is the canon true story, I just enjoy making little connections to create storylines!  Anyways, if you want to share your own interpretations go ahead!! If you read all this you are incredible ily

[oleander-nin]

Hello my lovelies! Just a quick little PSA in regards to something that happened to @yanteetle.

If you're going to steal work, at least give credit. Reposting work is already awful enough, but doing so w/out credit? I know this most likely wasn't y'all, but this is just a warning for everyone.

Yesterday, Yanteetle discovered some of her work had been posted on YouTube, Tiktok, and Wattpad. On YouTube(the main focus of this), two were edits, and one was voice acting. Both of these videos relied heavily on her work, and two of them got up to ten thousand views, with the other amassing one thousand two hundred views. That is twenty-one thousand views, or people, seeing her work and enjoying it, all without knowing who it's from in the first place.

One of the videos even had hundreds of comments asking who the artist was, and the only thing they(the poster) gave as a response was that it was "on Tumblr".

This person knows the art isn't theirs, knows where they got it from and how to find it, yet still never once credited Teets for her artwork. I don't know what goes through their brain when you do that, or how they can care so little for the original artist, but never do this.

The second instance I'm most mad about is the third video(the voice acting). This one was just someone going through and voice every artwork Teets made, and the title of the video makes it seem like their claiming it to be their own AU(When I first saw that, I assumed they were just going to base an AU off of her work, but NOPE! It's just them voice dubbing her comics.)

I checked the description, hoping they would add something there. NOPE. Even in the comments, only one person asked and they never responded. I DID however find a people who were:

Encouraging them to make more(which would mean more misuse and stealing of Teets or others work)

Telling them they were going to make videos based off this video, which means more spreading of it because they all promised to credit the thief

Praising 'their' work and their voice, which is directly showing them they can get away with what they're doing(not really to the fault of the commenters, but I digress)

Call me overbearing or crazy, but this does not sit will with me in the slightest. Yanteetle never had to post. She never had to take requests. She never had to put as much effort into her work as she does, yet everyone takes it for granted, and people take her work.

Some of you may be thinking "Oh, but didn't Teets say you could repost her work?"

And to that I hit you on the head because her full clause on usage of her work is "Disclaimer: reposting is fine as long as proper credit is given, but tracing and claiming it as your own will not be tolerated."

In my opinion, every single one of these are taking Teets work as their own. Until you give her name, there is no other belief people can have other than the assumption you made it yourself. Humans find patterns and assume things on default, this isn't on the shoulders of the consumers. I already have my own opinions about her reposting disclaimer(which I've kind of discussed with her, but it's her choice), but even if it were stricter, I can guarantee you this still would've happened.

Taking work without credit is not a cool thing to do, and will earn you a lot of hate and problems you probably don't want to deal with. I personally go through every account that follows and likes my stuff because I want to see who's interacting with me. Do I think any of y'all would do this? No, not really. But you are the only audience I have. Do not take work from others, and especially don't do it without permission and credit.

If anyone has a similar problem and needs someone to speak up for them, just hit me up and I'll try my best.

Thank you for listening and have a good day.

[clydesavage-thefox147]

Calling all Prinxiety Shippers, this analysis is for you!💜❤️

So, I have had my eyes set on Virgil's Spotify Playlist for a while now. And a few songs have caught my attention that I'd like to talk about.

The one in particular that I will discuss here is "Sally's Song" covered by Amy Lee from Evanescence, originally by Catherine O-Hara. A classic song from the even more classic movie The Nightmare before Christmas. Now, it's understandable why Virgil would have this song on there. It's from one of his favorite movies, it's a designated emo staple with lines like "We can live like Jack and Sally if we want" in Blink-182's "I Miss You", and overall it's Tim Burton which he's shown interest in as well. But, I wonder why this song in particular. He could've picked "This is Halloween" or "Jack's Lament" but..he picks "Sally's Song"? This isn't the only time he's been affiliated with this song either. In the 2020 Holiday Show, Thomas covered it in reference to Virgil's celebration of the holidays.

It's been stated that the songs on each playlist are on there for a reason. Some songs on each are directed specifically at another Side. I think I know who's being directed at here from Virgil's POV. Think about it, Sally is very similar to that of Virgil. Both are restless and want freedom despite the risks, they are both caution and concerned for others especially those they love, and just their overall aesthetics aline with a stitch work-ragdoll like appearance. The song in question is about Sally showing her concern for Jack. It briefly touches on her need for freedom and inclusion, but it's mostly about her love and consideration for Jack. Hell, she sang it right after Jack took off on his Christmas exploits that she knew would fail and tried to warn him. She thinks the love is one-sided, she gives up in believing it'll happen. However, it was reprised in the end with both of them admitting their love for each other.

Who is Jack in this situation? You could say Jack is a bit like Virgil in wanting to move away from scaring people all the time..but Jack's demeanor and personality isn't very Virgil like. He's ambitious, overly I might add. He's desperate, he's dedicated, he suffered an identity crisis, he's associated with royal standing as the Pumpkin King, and his voice is rather regal. Who does that sound like to you? Roman.

Sally's concern for Jack's actions failing or getting him hurt ties in with Virgil's behavior as anxiety. One major thing is concern for Roman being too forceful in his desperation for a boyfriend for Thomas could've got him rejected or hurt. This was shown in FWSA..the same episode where a sticker of Jack and Sally peaked both of their interest. They both have shown a love for this movie, so much so that Roman wanted Virgil's posters of it back in Accepting Anxiety part 2.

Sure, you could say that this could be directed at Nico but Virgil's playlist was debut in April of 2020, FWSA wasn't released until October. Sure, it could have been foreshadowing but I highly doubt it since the song itself shows that the person the narrator wanted in question, was already known to them and their concern for them was justified. You could say it's directed at Thomas, but this song is too romantic in its undertones to be that, even if it said "friend" in the lyrics...Roman called Virgil "Friendo" (so did Janus as Patton but that's besides the point).With lines like "What will become of my dear friend, where will his actions lead us then" could be reference to how Roman's overambitious behavior and reckless actions could be a problem. Stating a question Virgil was asked back in 2018 at live Vidcon QnA, Virgil did say he liked Roman's ambition..but wasn't sure he wanted that in his life. Maybe he's willing to take the chance now?

So, it's fair to say that "Sally's Song" is directed at Roman. They both are carbon copies of the characters, they both love the film, and the overall hints of this song and film in regards to them are too obvious to miss. ❤️💜

Seems like Virgil wants to live like Jack and Sally with Roman. 💜❤️

P.S: we so need an official Virgil cover of Sally's Song..like come on 😁

[awkward-tension-art]

Puppet on a String Epilogue (Fives x Reader)

Chapter 11.

For His Vode

Cw:Fives x Reader, Reader is a medical practitioner, angst, swearing, Death, Inhibitor chip arc, Lying, Confusion, Major character death, Palpatine being a bastard, anti-clone sentiment, mentions of clone mistreatment, No Happy Ending Here

Tag list (Thank you everyone! i forgot to add before i posted originally LMAO): @notgonnaedit @bimboshaggy @amazonian-bae @spicydonut25 @tentakelspektakel

Insane Clone Murders Beloved Doctor. More at 5!

Clone medic Kix stared at the holo, it was several rotations old now. But it was plastered everywhere. The journalists and news tabloids reported on your deaths before your bodies were even cold. 

It made no sense. Fives died before you did.

Fuck, Rex held him as his life disappeared. You were alive when the ARC trooper was shot. He died in that storage facility. General Skywalker could confirm that.

So what happened to you? 

Your body was found in the hospital. Supposedly in the same room you had gone into when you felt sick. General Shaak Ti, as well as Mas Amedda confirmed that was your last location. However, none of your colleagues knew you were there. It turned out to be the Chancellor that found you, apparently he wanted to speak with you after his assassination attempt.

Kix tried to talk to Rex and the General about his concerns. He saw you. He talked to you. Why’d you end up back at the hospital? 

Thankfully, the Jedi would share his concerns and speak with the Chancellor. 

It was…odd. Very odd.

Captain Rex filled his own grievous report. After all, what commander sets his blaster to kill on a fellow clone? 

Fox was given the title ‘trigger happy vod killer’ and Kix took a sick satisfaction that he was under heat for his mistake. It didn’t bring you or Fives back, but maybe the Corrie would think twice before brutally shooting down a brother. 

It didn’t help now though. The last domino had fallen, leaving Rex in shambles. 

You were dead. In the eyes of the public, you had been killed by a deranged clone. The moment your heart stopped was the moment any clone rights bill in the senate was shot down. 

It would be many rotations before another bill gets discussed. But now your name would be used as a talking point against clone rights. Fuck, your picture was being plastered on every anti-clone poster from here to Ryloth.

Something both you and Fives would hate. 

While he didn’t know you as deeply as others, he could tell you cared about clones and their treatment. It was partly why Fives had been drawn to you. You two loved each other so deeply. Even if Fives was ordered by the damn Chancellor to shoot you, he’d refuse. 

Maker, none of this made sense!

Kix sighed and turned off his holo, focusing on walking through the quiet halls. He had gone to The Resolute to update Fives’ medical records. The 501st field surgeon was entirely too shattered to do anything, so the medic opted to get the task done. 

When he opened the door to the medical bay, he didn’t expect to see a modified assistant surgical droid.

The little robot turned, feminine robot voice greeting him, “Hello! Please tell me if you are Clone medic Kix or field surgeon of the 501st Doctor-”

He cut off the droid and rubbed his temple, “I’m Kix. What do you need?”

“I have sensitive patient information that I was ordered to deliver directly to you.” it hovered closer to him as it answered. 

“By who?” the medic asked, interest piqued now.

When the droid said your name, he froze. You sent him something? Why? Was this a joke? Or was this something you managed to do before your demise? Regardless, Kix needed to know more, “Open the files.” 

The little robot blinked and through its eyes were files. Scans of the clones' brains. The original scans the 501st doctor had gotten from Umbara. The medic had thought the files were destroyed after the scanner disappeared, but apparently you made copies. His eyes roamed the images, trying to decipher why’d you send these to him. 

However, the droid beeped and brought up your holo message. He took in your appearance. Scared, exhausted and disheveled. But alive. Proof you were alive after Fives had died, based on the timestamp attached to the message. 

The clone medic listened to your words intently. Your terrified warning about the tumors…the chips. The orders to kill Jedi. the Chancellor. 

All of it. 

He knew what happened to you now, in your final moments. After you had met with Fives, you returned to the hospital to get these scans. If you died in the hospital, most likely you were killed by a hired assassin. Or one of the Corries were given orders to hunt you down to kill you.  

You risked everything for this evidence. Even if you paid the price, you managed to complete your mission.

Once your holo message had concluded, Kix looked at the datapad in his hands. 

“I need you to upload those files to my datapad.” He ordered. 

“Yes, clone medic Kix!” 

Kix believed you. He believed Fives. He just needed more. He couldn’t come out on your words alone. The scans had deniability. They weren’t enough. 

He needed more evidence. More proof. 

Once Kix had the files, he sent the droid on its way. 

The medic would need to be careful. His investigation, his mission to gather everything you and Fives couldn't, would need to be slow and steady. 

If the Chance- if Palpatine had killed Fives, Kix didn’t stand a chance. He’d need to play his cards right in order to survive. 

But he’d do this. He’d gather more information. For Tup. For you. For Fives. 

For all of his vode.

[aj-lenoire]

welcome, twitter refugees!!

here's a quick and friendly tumblr how-to:

DOs & DON'Ts

DO reblog posts!! regardless of whether or not you add a comment, either in the post itself or in the tags, the OP will get notifications of everyone who likes the post via your reblog and who reblogs it from you! comment as much or as little as you like

DON'T repost things! fanart, fanfiction, etc. this is different from reblogging, a repost is when you copy/save the work to your computer and reupload it in a post of your own, rather than reblogging it

DO follow tags as well as other blogs!! really like one specific character from a tv show? a certain ship? search their name and follow the tag, and you'll see posts that mention or tag them even if you don't directly follow the person who made that post

DON'T rely too much on the search function, it's broken. if you want to search someone's blog for a tag, you're better off going to the URL: tumblr.com/[blogname]/tagged/[tag]

DO tag liberally! you can use the tags to add comments that you don't want to directly add to the post, to make it easier for people to search your blog, or to make it easier for yourself to find things later on

DON'T use tiktok censorship speak when tagging things!! it will make it actively more difficult for people seeking to avoid certain topics. instead of "tw: abu$e" just tag "abuse" and anyone who has blacklisted the tag "abuse" will not see your post.

similarly, DON'T tag things like "epilepsy" - instead, tag "flashing lights" so people can still use the epilepsy tag to discuss epilespy without risking seeing triggering flashing lights

DO use the follow and the block buttons liberally! this site has absolutely no algorithm, so it is entirely up to you to curate your space exactly how you want it!

DON'T send hate to people via the askbox on their blog, either anonymously or not. just block people who annoy you or post horrible things

DO participate in polls! tumblr only got them recently, less than a year ago, and people immediately went ham. vote on stupid things like which bug emoji is superior, which ship is the best, and how much vanilla extract should go in a cake! but remember that you cannot edit the original poll after you post it

DON'T use or endorse "AI" generators like chatgpt! don't reblog AI images and or AI endings to unfinished/abandoned fanfictions

DO cite your sources if you want to educate people on something in a post, we all love to learn, and informative posts on everything from current political events to which geodes could be made into useable dildos, but misinformation is prolific, so make sure anyone reading your information can refer to a real source!

jargon

notes - likes, reblogs (with or without comments or tags) and replies to a post are all agregated to give the number of notes, which is basically the number of times a post has been interacted with

OP - the Original Poster of a post, for example, me, aj-lenoire, with this post. i am op.

hellsite - tumblr itself. this website is insane and unprofitable and broken and we wouldn't have it any other way. hellsite can be either (affectionate) or (derogatory) and often both at once

blorbo - your favourite character, your rotten soldier, your sweet cheese, your good time boyy. post about them frequently and with weird, frenzied gusto

squick - something you personally don't like, such as a ship or a character or a trope, but is not actually bad or harmful - it's just not for you. it squicks you out.

blacklisting means you've blocked a specific tag rather than a blog/person. for example, if you don't want to see anything with spiders, blacklist the tag "spiders" so you don't see any! if someone you follow reblogs a post and tags it with "spiders", or the OP of the post tagged it with "spiders" then your dashboard will hide the post from you and tell you it was tagged with "spiders" and you can choose whether or not to view it

passing peer review means you added commentary to a post in the tags, and someone who reblogged that post from you saw your tags and thought they were funny, so decided to screenshot them and add them as a comment so everyone could see them. congratulations!!

breaking containment is when a post about a niche subject and/or from a blog with not many followers gets super popular because it's funny, and often OP despairs at how their notifications become unusable from the sheer number of notes from this one post

KUNGPOWPENIS - if someone posts something bigoted, tumblr will ban together to reblog, one letter at a time, k-u-n-g-p-o-w-p-e-n-i-s. only do this when the bigot is the OP, because only the original poster will get a flood of single-letter reblog notifications from every single branch of the reblog chain

tips & tricks

pornbots and bots in general are not uncommon here. whenever you get followed by someone, check to make sure they're not a bot by visiting their blog. if they only have a few reblogged posts on random topics, or no posts at all, and their profile picture is a beautiful woman, they're a bot, and you should flag and block them

old posts can and do get reblogged and liked all the time, there's no point at which it becomes cringe to interact with a post. we even have some from 10+ years ago that're considered 'tumblr heritage'

long posts will cross your dash from time to time, the most infamous being colour of the sky. you will see it and it will madden you with how far you have to scroll - inflict your followers with the same frustration by reblogging so they can see it too!! if you're on desktop, pressing j will skip to the next post.

read more allows you to shorten a post with a 'click to read more' link that takes the reader to the root post on your blog. this is especially handy if you're publishing fanfiction or a very long analysis of something.

toggling reblogs lets you choose whether a post is rebloggable or not, for example something personal you may want to delete later, turning off reblogs means there won't be any copies floating around after you delete the root post

follower count is not visible! the only way anyone will know how many followers you have is if you tell them. follow blogs based on whether you like what they post, not by whether they're super popular or not

memes are frequent and long-lasting. tumblr plays with jpegs like dolls and there are some memes that have been here for years. a current favourite is the destiel confession meme which has warped into a shorthand for breaking weird news

important dates

tumblr loves a goofy-ass-holiday!! here are some of the standouts:

ides of march - 15th march, celebrate julius caesar getting his shit rocked

pride month - june, tumblr is generally a very pro-queer space, so expect everything to be decked out in rainbows for the entirety of june and most of the rest of the year, too!!

halloween - the entire month of october and also a week in july, this site loves some spooky scary skeletons

destielputinelection - 5th november, reminisce about the absolute chaos that gripped the internet during the 2020 usa presidential election

blog recs for new users

to each their own, and a main draw of tumblr is that there's something for everyone, down to the very, very niche. so, search for stuff that interests you and follow those blogs! however, here are some blogs that are fun for everyone:

heritageposts - your one-stop blog for all the best, weirdest, oldest tumblr posts will all the drama, expect to see a lot of destiel

staffs-secret-blog - (not actually staff)

one-time-i-dreamt - full of weird and wonderful posts, made all the better by the fact that no one reads usernames here, so inevitably there is panicked confusion over what the fuck is going on

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses - one of tumblr's most ubiquitous shit-posters

aj-lenoire - that's me!

that's pretty much the basics, but most people here are really friendly, so if you're unsure, just ask someone! have fun!!

[justagalwhowrites]

Hi Kit,

So I read through most of the Anon things but you know because I probably commented on them all, and then I went and reread The Post 👀

While OP and the person after them did not specifically mention age gaps I think Mac is doing what anonymous is doing.

They are taking out their frustrations on something similar.

OP was just upset that all the 30 plus readers they were seeing were often described as young looking or young acting, or seemingly in their twenties but in their 30s - like the writer was putting them in their thirties but didn't want them to be 30 if that makes sense? Basically slapping a 30s label on a 20 something.

In the second add-on was it was truthful that is a word predator would use but I don't know if they were calling anyone in the phantom predators they were just pointing out the correlation?

And then while I think Mac was right in most of what they said, I think it was just a tangent. Maybe they have seen all sorts of discussions about age gaps and all this other shit, and then this post triggered all of that and turned it into the post they made onto the original post - when it probably could have been its own post, IMO.

I don't think anyone on that post was wrong. But I also need people to think critically, like I am a 37-year-old weiter and I write my readers in their 30s and 40s, and maybe they come off as childish or naive but surprise! I am childish and kinda naive! Everyone no matter their age, their gender, their race, whatever will have different experiences in life and they will all act differently. There is no one characterization that belongs to a certain age.

But also people need to start writing in their goddamn diary, or on their own fucking blog and leave other people alone with this bullshit.

Hi Kelsey!

Thank you for this! I think you might be right in that things might have build up on the original post in just the wrong way? My issue was never really with the OG poster, much more the second person because I interpreted it as tying writing big age gaps to behaving in a predatory way (and I think others may have, too.)

But you're right in that people can be naive at any age and behave childishly (especially when feelings are involved) at any age. That's just humanity, baby! It keeps shit interesting.

Thank you for reaching out and just being absolutely wonderful in general ❤️

[tiptapricot]

Hey just a PSA but the writer of City of the Dead is a Jewish man who has been upfront about how uncomfortable it makes him that people keep trying to insist that he's writing catholic guilt.

I know that David Pepose is Jewish, but that doesn’t impact the criticism of his depictions.

I don’t think anyone should be attacking his identity or his authenticity as a Jewish man, but that is different from criticizing his writing and the undertones and out of character takes in his portrayal, as well as the pieces it glosses over and doesn’t include. His experience is valid and enough, but it is not the same as the system’s and it does not make him immune from creating things with harmful or inaccurate tones for them. We’ve seen this already with some inaccuracies in his Black White and Blood issue to the more orthodox childhood of the system (saying they went to Hebrew school despite that being very unlikely for them to have done).

My critiques of his depiction of their Judaism as well as others I’ve seen and discussed with people were not trying to say it was writing the system as Catholic, but saying the way Marc was written and the way his guilt was portrayed was out of character and very much lined up with the Christian/Catholic ideas of punishment and suffering to atone for wrongdoing. That’s in the text and can be easily gleaned from it.

The current context around it also doesn’t add more exploration besides “I did bad and I’m so guilty I must punish myself and that’s why I do what I do.” In fact the context that is there makes things weirder by having Marc seemingly be even more spiritually inclined/favorable to Khonshu than he has been in the past.

It’s just a mixed bag of “this is not how this character should be acting and has uncomfortable undertones” whether they were intended or not doesn’t change that. Criticizing what Pepose hs written for Marc does not mean saying his experience is less authentic, just that he wrote something off for the character and things don’t map on one to one.

As far as his responses to the critique of this handling, that’s where this gets more complicated. Besides discussions and dissections here on tumblr, the only conversations/reactions on Twitter I’m aware of are below with peoples names other than Pepose’s crossed out as to not give them further exposure past their interactions with him.

I do believe there’s been a lot of miscommunication and bad faith responses on his part. I understand wanting to clarify when something drawn from personal experience is read differently, I get that people saying he wrote guilt with a Catholic vibe when maybe he drew it from himself is uncomfortable, but again, that doesn’t impact the critique and more context is needed to change where things sit currently. But it’s just a funky and strange situation in general.

(This following response involves a different user than the previous talking to Pepose. The original person left no more responses and said nothing else than what is shown above)

This is all I’ve seen on him responding to the subject, and later Pepose blocked both posters in this thread from what I’ve heard. This is the extent of their interactions with him.

Overall I think saying the handling of Marc’s Judaism in this first issue is weird and off is a fair criticism/observation to make. I don’t think it was intentional or there was any malice behind it, but it does show a lack of understanding of the character of Marc Spector, and was tied to a multitude of other problems throughout this first issue (like as we see above with a misunderstanding/mishandling already of the system’s DID and plurality). And I think people can also be upset about that if they are.

Again I understand being uncomfortable, but issues are still allowed to be pointed out and there is still room to mess up when writing characters from your own community. Fair criticism to how something reads is not the same as personally attacking someone’s identity. And it shouldn’t be, but I genuinely don’t think anyone I’ve seen here so far has been doing that.

Though with all of this I am a non-Jew discussing things I’ve talked about with my Jewish friends, so please please if you want more in depth and explanatory posts on this topic, as well as how Pepose has been handling MK (most of which I am drawing from and the discussions with have informed my stuff here) you should check out @fdelopera as they’ve made many dissections on the topic as a Jewish MK fan! And they can speak on this topic much more in depth and with much more awareness and information than I can.

Some very relevant posts to this is their dissection of why Marc’s spirituality and handling so far is an issue and very funky and an examination of the Jewish themes in MacKay’s writing.

But those are my overall thoughts as well as continued clarification on my points on the topic so I hope I articulated things well!

(ID in ALT for all)

[metalforhands]

with regards to the post + the post you're talking about

I think three things can be true at once: you got treated badly at some point for being a Danse fan, OP sees a lot of Danse characterization they don't agree with (which wasn't just that people woobify him) and people are allowed to do whatever they want in enjoying fictional characters.

You got treated badly, and I'm sorry for that, but it's probably also true that particular poster doesn't see a lot of Danse/Brotherhood critique on the webbed site. I agree - personally, I don't see a lot of nuanced critique of him, either. I think in my couple of years of being in the Tumblr Fallout fandom I've seen only a handful of posts that really get into the weeds with the Brotherhood and Danse. I don't think it's wrong for someone to speak out on what they view as a lack of what they want to see. But hey, at the same time, if that's what OP wanted, why didn't they just do the thing and release the Danse Critique Post they want to see, right?

All due respect (and I'm not trying to like.. Defend OP or call you out or whatever - I take issue with aspects of both your posts), but I think your interpretation veered off into a different direction from the point they were making, which is that OP is also bemoaning a lack of nuance.

OP didn't frame it in a helpful way (by choosing to go at it from a "this is a Danse Fandom problem" framing - people are allowed to interpret characters how they want; OP should have just written the critique they wanted to see and not go on the offensive), but I feel that you mentioning the lack of nuance in fandom misses that you both want the same thing - you both want more nuanced discussion.

What OP is pointing out is a trend they're noticing that doesn't speak to the same experience you had. You might have had threats in the past, but it doesn't make the core of OP's observations less valid. You have probably had the chance to see way more critique if you're following the Danse tags; OP has not seen the same amount and might have a younger account than yours and thus missed out on a lot of critique that's now buried several years deep in the tags. What has shown up on their screen is not the same as what has shown up on yours. It's not really like there's an equal amount of heady critique of Danse/the Brotherhood and attacks on people who like Danse these days as there probably was earlier in the fandom.

I think what happened to you should never have happened, but I also think it's true that OP doesn't see a lot of Danse critique. I bet if y'all sat in a room together, there'd be a pretty good discussion about Danse where you might see eye to eye.

Sorry to send this on anon but. Have a good day. I hope no one ever sends you threats over fictional characters again. People are allowed to do what they want with those fictional characters, and OP shouldn't have framed it as a community issue and just written the critique they wanted to see.

HI SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY!!! work has been insane (i legit got interrupted writing this because of an issue with a new hire’s email) and also dragon age veilguard came out and i blacked out the second it finished installing onto my computer. i admittedly don’t have much more to add than this:

jokes aside i legit respect this ask so much and appreciate you taking the time to write it!! thank you anon : )

in terms of my post, the first part was made in response to the original post, while the additional bit was more of a side tangent rather than a direct addition. i could have made a new post HAHA my apologies there

you know i’ve been thinking about this a little, and i think my final thought is, like you said, a lot of danse fans have been here long term and we’ve dealt with 2015 - 2018 tumblr. i know that’s a terrible summary, but it was really an abysmal time where the danse tag was like. 90% accusations and bad faith takes. there’s also been a slight shift in the fandom over the past couple years in that it’s chilled out a bit, which may be why the op hasn’t seen much in terms of critique. that, and i think a lot of long term fans are “critiqued-out” and don’t really feel compelled to write about it nor should they feel pressured to imo

if i had to make a guess in regards to people who get annoyed and reply to any new critique, it’s that they’re pretty sensitive to it from the past. though i do wish they were less reactive on other people’s posts!

it’s all a shame, because it seems these days (in the fo4 fandom at least) criticism is made in much better faith, and is a lot more nuanced and understanding than it used to be.

and like i said previously, i’m also someone who gets annoyed by surface level takes, both negative or positive. so like. i totally get it LOL. i remember i used to make a new shitpost whenever i’d read the most bad faith surface level danse takes ever. ooooh 2018 me was something else

also never feel bad about reaching out over anon!!!!!!! people like you and other friendly folks are why i still leave it open to all :)

[wc-confessions]

Original *I have an opinion about the feather drama and I don't care what others think* anon.

After doing some research, I still stand by my original statement.

No one culture (coloniser or indigenous) can copyright a biological item found in nature and declare THEY alone have jurisdiction of how it is worn or used.

HOWEVER.

I would like to make the very clear difference between a single feather and the enormous amount of significance that an item created for and by people with the intention of participating in a ceremony or sacred event has.

I'd also like to apologise if I came off aggressive in my first ask. I've recently been reading about Papua new Guinea and it's cultures (I plan to travel there one day hopefully) as well as the history behind the Irish famine and the lead up to it.

I mention this because i came here angry and for that I apologise because this topic is far more nuanced. (also considering the various other problematic issues that exists in warrior cats I felt that this wasn't as comparable as pedos in the fandom ect. I'm willing to say that I can see how this view itself IS also problematic and that comparing the 2 issues by the impact that they have on the wider community isent a good indication of their serverity if that makes sense?)

I'd like to add that the original poster of the Google document was dismissive and condescending towards other individuals whose cultures used feathers and voiced their opinions on the issue and that I looked at the issue with that at the forefront of my mind not the actual substance of the document (ad hominum on my part).

I'm not sure if any of this makes sense but I I wanted to let you all know.

Warrior cats should NEVER be drawn with native American troditonal headdresses or war bonnets (or worn by others as I've learned that leaders had to earn their feathers)

Again I apologise for being antagonistic and for not being more sensitive about the topic and coming with an agenda as opposed to having an open discussion. Many cultures use feathers and their practices should be respected.

In regards to the annon asking about certain leaves and flowers having cultural significance in ceremonies I found some interesting articles below that detail a few.

https://www.inkaterra.com/blog/coca-leaf-reading/

https://naturecollective.org/plant-guide/details/sacred-datura/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1988790/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12231-018-9410-x

https://www.fao.org/3/XII/0087-A1.htm

This is going to be the final post on this matter and I mean it this time.

Thank you anon for coming back to express your thoughts in a more calm and eloquent manner, and thanks for the articles, they're certainly interesting!

Education on these subject manners is important and we should all strive to educate ourselves better.

~ Mod Lichenbark

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I'm honestly not surprised at Arnold's stance on Ironwood since he relies in RWBY content and being in RT's good graces to keep his channel going. He's also got a history of theft too. He took another fan's compilations from Volume 4 (ones where they sorted each scene so the 4 storylines could be viewed together in order without the jumps in perspective), and reuploaded them without permission and didn't add credit until confronted. Despite the original poster wanting them taken down.

It sucks but their probably is some level of he only cares about keeping RT happy which.....sucks it really does. I don't know for sure obviously but I would not be surprised. Wait what? I...need to look into that because if that's true its fucked up! (Not to say you are a liar just that I like to confirm things first cuz I have been burned).

But back to the main point I just....hate how so many content creators care more about keeping companies happy vs actually giving honest opinions and facts about the companies and media they are discussing. It's exhausting this idea that if you are giving criticism of something it's being a "hater" and harassing the creators.

Criticism isn't hatred. People don't put energy in criticizing something if they don't care about the thing they are talking about. Like for example I just don't care about Harry Potter anymore so I don't waste time criticizing it. With RW/BY I hyperfixate on it so I take the time to discuss the flaws it has and how it can improve, its a way for people to show they care even if their is a lot that frustrates them about the source material.

[vvivacious101]

My Reactions to S&B S1E1&2

So, I recently started the Netflix Original Series - Shadow & Bone and I have a lot of thoughts.

I was really surprised by just how quickly the Crows are introduced because within ten minutes of the first episode, we have been introduced to all the characters on that poster and that was unexpected. While I knew the Crows featured in the show I wasn't expecting their involvement to be this intensive. But, I totally get it!

As it stands 'Six of Crows' is probably the most popular book in the Grishaverse and 'The Crows' are everybody's favourites including mine. So, it's good. There are little details here and there which depending on how the show progresses could be issues but otherwise, so far I'm happy with the amount of screen time Jesper, Inej and Kaz are getting.

Also, the whole kidnap Alina from the Little Palace plotline is very reminiscent of the Ice Court Heist.

Now, let's get to Shadow and Bone and why I had to stop watching the show midway through episode two - 'We're All Someone's Monster'. (The title of this episode is lifted straight from Matthias in Six of Crows.) There are some things that have changed but to discuss them properly let's get started with episode 1 - 'A Searing Burst of Light'.

There are two scenes in Shadow and Bone (the book) that are pivotal. The first is the very first scene in the book, the day Mal and Alina get tested. This single scene is an idea that is brought up again and again in the book, it is literally the fulcrum of Alina's relationship with Mal and her abilities. The scene is essential to their relationship and what it means to Alina. As the books are written from Alina's POV it is very easy to say this with absolute certainty.

The second is Mal's re-introduction - Mal and Alina grew up together. They are orphans that see each other as family. In Mal and Alina's orphanage, none of the children play with Alina as she is significantly younger than the others. So, when Mal comes to stay at the orphanage it is the very first time she has someone her own age around and they quickly become inseparable.

When the book starts, Alina is walking down the road when the Darkling's carriage comes hurtling down the path. Mal is the one who quickly gets her out of the way of the hurtling carriage and that's it. In one simple scene, you have been given a snapshot of the events of the book. I really like this scene and it is pivotal but I feel that its importance is debatable. Some people might not want such an on-the-nose introduction but I absolutely love the scene and would have absolutely loved to see it included.

There is the pervasiveness in the book that Mal is liked and Alina is not, some of that is understood to be because Alina is close to Mal and most girls want to be close to Mal, so they are jealous of Alina. But it's something that is very present and I like how changing her race betters the pervasiveness of that idea. The Ravkans are at war with the Fjerdans in the North and the Shu Han in the South. Making Alina half-Shu means that the dislike for her has a real-life parallel that is extremely relatable and I love the fact that it adds a depth to Alina's character which is most welcome.

The reveal of her powers is so badly done both times it's happened so far. I have always understood that her powers are like daylight, so it isn't just a searing burst of light but like having a pocket of what looks to be daylight surrounded by the dark. It also seems to be implied that her light kills the Volcra which is again patently wrong and something that makes Alina more powerful, I don't know how the story will tackle this change.

While I was ambivalent about the power reveal in the fold I was absolutely horrified by the reveal in the tent. Am I supposed to believe Alina just bleeds light, what the hell is that supposed to be???

Also, this power reveal is the time when it becomes clear that this show is apparently going to take the angle that Alina was never tested and that had me raging mad. I literally had to stop watching.

Because why would you do that? The testing is absolutely essential to how Alina understands her relationship with Mal. How can you change that? I am not optimistic about Mal and Alina in this show because it seems to be that the show creators want to base Alina's love for Mal in the now and completely erase just how long she has loved Mal.

Because Alina loves Mal, you can't doubt that with how the show begins wherein Alina burns confidential maps so that at least one cartographer will have to be on the skiff making the crossing, because that is how much she doesn't want to be separated with Mal but again that's nothing compared to suppressing a part of yourself for years having to put up with diminished energy just so that they won't be separated. Also, they are probably trying to parallel Mal volunteering for his own reckless mission that will probably show up later in the show. Alina's actions are very reckless because she dooms all the cartographers which kind of taints her actions. I'm not happy.

[eirian-houpe]

Time’s Curse - Chapter 4

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold

Characters: Blue Fairy | Mother Superior, Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy, Victor Frankenstein | Dr. Whale

Additional Tags: AU, Original Character(s), Non Storybrooke, London, The Enchanted Forest (Once Upon a Time), Angst, Pining, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Murder, will add others as necessary

Summary: Never fall in love - such is the admonition given to Rumplestiltskin. Blue sees fit to interfere with his plan to reach a world without magic by sending him there herself so that he can pursue his quest to find his son, but he is not alone in this world without magic, nor does it appear that he is entirely free to live his life as he would wish. In the course of his seemingly fruitless search for Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin takes a job as a history teacher at an exclusive private school, and there meets Isabelle - the French teacher. All of a sudden that interdiction against falling in love seems to be really important.

Read previous chapters on AO3

Chapter 4 - An Ordinary Life

Transitions were always hard, new lives harder. It wouldn’t be the first time of course, that Rumplestiltskin had changed from one identity to another, but for some reason, trying to be ‘normal’ was proving to be a challenge. It seemed the past was always trying to pull him back.

The head teacher’s office was such a melting pot of Clorox, dark brew coffee, and cheap air freshener to disguise the mingled scents of adolescents or sickness - probably both - that it propelled him instantly back to the incident with the doctor that he had only just days before been discussing with Cambridge. There was even a black and white print poster of famous people throughout history, most of whom did not even look like themselves, with a blank space in the corner next to the question, “You?”

The head teacher returned to the room, and apologized for having had to deal with a discipline issue, and to thank him for waiting. A woman clearly close to retirement; the lines of weariness clear on her face. 

“My pleasure,” he answered quietly.

“So… Mister Gold - Sheridan…” she smiled at him, and fixed her graying hair back behind her ears. She was clearly flustered,  So he sat and waited for her to regain her composure. He wanted this to go well, after all.

“Been at this school for thirty years now,” she volunteered. “The last ten as the head teacher, and so much has changed. Depressing really - I feel so old.”

Rumplestiltskin shook his head.  If only she knew about old; feeling old. The march of centuries weighed heavily on him at that moment. To distract himself as much as to compliment his prospective employer, he said, “You don’t look it.”

“You’re too kind,” she said, but he knew he had reached her with that. “Oh, to be as young as you.”

Gold chuckled. “Hardly,” he said. “Fifty two isn’t young, Miss Evers.”

“Well, you look good for it, Sheridan.”

“Dan is fine,” he told her, suddenly feeling like Sheridan was such a mouthful, and at that moment, sitting in a routine job interview, for a normal job, he was enjoying feeling ordinary; inconspicuous.

Far from inconspicuous was the sudden noise coming from beyond the window behind the head teacher, and he looked that way to see a handful of rambunctious students in untidy uniforms following a woman not much taller than they. She wore a plaid green plaid skirt with cream colored, woolen tights beneath; a grass green blouse and a dark blue, almost black cardigan over it all.  Her chestnut hair was piled atop her head, and lit almost aflame by the sun that bathed the seemingly impromptu educational party.

For many long moments he sat, as if mesmerized, unable to look away, finding himself warmed by the beauty that graced her as she laughed at something one of the students said.

Miss Evers turn to glance in the same direction, a knowing smile drawing a blush to his face as he said, “Ah, that’s Isabelle, our librarian, and French teacher. Unique among our staff and the students adore her.” He thought, and tried not to remark that he doubted they were the only ones, which only served to deepen his blush. “She always seems to prefer al fresco education - rain or shine.  They really engage.”

“It seems like you all do wonderful things here,” he said, pointedly trying to draw the attention away from his obvious admiration for the librarian turned teacher.

“We do our best, Dan,” Evers said, “but somehow we feel like we’re pushing that boulder up the ever present mountain of inner city disadvantage.”  She sighed. “That’s the only thing that worries me, I have to be honest.” At his puzzled expression she added, “About your application.”

“Ah,” he said, feeling suddenly crestfallen, his stomach knotting in fading hope.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mister Gold,” her switch back to a more formal address did not fill him with confidence. “I heard from all your references and I can’t fault them. They’re impeccable.” He sighed with relief. At least Cambridge had done right by him in that regard. He’d been highly worried that she wouldn’t. “But… well - this is the inner city, and not an affluent comprehensive out in the suburbs.”

“Pardon me saying,” he interrupted, “but kids are kids.”

She nodded agreement, “And our kids, as you’ve seen,” she gestured through the window once more where the teacher and her class seemed intent on studying something low on the ground.  He quickly looked away again. It wasn’t seemly for him to suddenly be thinking about the alluring curve of the diminutive educator, “our kids are great, but they don’t have those same privileges, and… well… I worry that you’ve led too sheltered a life to appreciate that.”

He let out a sudden burst of humorless laughter, adding, “You’d be surprised,” to the end of it, so as not to appear too manic; too desperate.

“Mister Gold–”

“Dan.”

“Dan,” she nodded then continued, “Most of our students struggle so much to understand the present… the world around them.  Their reality.  How do you hope to get them engaged with the past; to bring history to life.”

Rumplestiltskin smiled. She could have asked him no easier question. “Miss Evers,” he began, “I don’t need to bring history to life, because it already lives. It isn’t abstract tales of kings and queens, politics and wars. It’s you, and me… it’s those students and their families. Your shirt, for example. You could explain the whole history of colonialism, imperialism and slavery.  The blood, sweat and tears that brought us to being able to walk into Marks and Spencers and pick out a shirt for work or school… it’s incredible when you think about it.”

She fiddled with the collar of her shirt, and he knew he’d made her uncomfortable and should have regretted it.  He didn’t, just raised an eyebrow at her look of almost guilt.  Evidently he’d hit the mark on where she shopped for her work clothing.

“My point is,” he continued, “It’s all around us - history. It’s a part of us, and teaching it is just about making people understand that.  Everyone loves history!”

She raised an eyebrow. “You think?”

“I know.” he corrected. “It’s about making people see that who they are now, is because of what came before.”  He gestured to the window, and asked, “May I?”

She nodded, a look of intrigue on her face, and as he stood to walk to the window, she too stood from her chair and followed him.

“That building over there,” he gestured to a drab, depressing looking building with tall towers on one corner and an even taller chimney. “It used to be a mental hospital - an asylum - did you know that?”  She shook her head, “And that one,” he pointed not too far away from it, to a building he knew was on the next street over. “A slaughterhouse.  Did you know a couple of hundred years ago they took the bones of those slaughtered animals, ground them up and made porcelain from them?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, just went on, “If we just turned back time and walked that street we would hear the lowing and the wailing of people and cattle each condemned to madness and death.”

“You certainly have a macabre way of putting things, Dan,” she murmured, and he worried he had traveled just a little too far to the darker side of history, but he shrugged.

“Not too far from here is where the suffragettes used to meet. A turning point, a real change for good.”

“I see from your resume that you knit,” she changed the subject.

“I do,” he said, “and weave, and even spin.”

“You put Helen to shame.”

“Helen?”

“Our domestic sciences teacher.  Can’t even iron a shirt without putting more wrinkles in than she’s taking out, let alone make or sew clothing.”

“Well I love to,” he said, “especially to spin my own wool, but I find it hard to talk about. Hard to teach.”

“Unlike history?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Unlike history.”

“And the curriculum?” she said, “You’re up to date.”

He nodded. A lie.  He had downloaded the document, but hadn’t ready it. The time at the computer had given him a headache enough without plowing his way through something he knew was going to be drier than dust.

“Well…” she seemed to have one more reservation. “For a history teacher, you’re a bit on the young side.”

He almost jumped back in surprise.

“I’m fifty two,” he reminded her.  Going on several centuries - older than you can count. he didn’t say. “A rather old fifty two.”

She smiled then, and seemed to be considering something, considering him, and he did likewise, thinking of himself in terms of the lifetimes, the generations he had lived before the curse… after the curse in Cambridge’s thrall… each year lived, each moment past made it harder yet to live in the present, in the moment without darkening your soul. Eternity was little more than a progression of moments in the present, ignoring the ghosts of the past to try to live.

He gave himself a mental shake, the voices encroaching on him again - the murmuring, hissing annoyance of all those centuries past, all those lives, the voice of all the Dark Ones before him.  It had been happening a lot of late, the more years he suffered since the curse, the more it seemed the past wanted to catch him up and crush him before he could reach his goal, before he could–

He had to concentrate, to hold on to the inconspicuous, to the ordinary - to normal.

Miss Evers shook her head and gave a little laugh, lost, it seemed, in past moments of her own.  Was it as dangerous for her as for him?

“I have to say, Dan, I’m impressed with this application - very impressed.” She blushed then, and lowered her voice to make her confession, “I’ve been somewhat suspicious of why someone with your credentials would apply to our struggling little school.  You’re frankly everything we’ve been looking for, and… well… even if you weren’t, you’d still be getting the job.”

“Oh?” he asked, his own suspicions somewhat stirred.

“No other applicants,” she explained with an apologetic smile.

He could not help but laugh at that.  It was probably the most ordinary thing that could have happened to him in that moment, and his laughter was, apparently infectious, because Miss Evers apologetic smile, became first a nervous, and then more hearty laughter to join with his own.

The laughter soon died though as Evers shared, “There’s a plaque on my street, you know, right there on the corner below the street name.”

“There is?” he asked, though the prickling along his spine told him he shouldn’t.

She nodded, and returned to her desk to sit and take a sip on her coffee.  He followed her lead, retaking his seat across the desk from her. “There were many plague victims who died on that street. One of the worst hit areas of the city apparently.”

Memory laced with pain assaulted him at the mention of plague. It surprised him with its vehemence because he had long since laid that memory, and his feelings for his former wife - indeed his former wife herself - to rest.  Milah was nothing to him any more.  Worse than nothing if he were honest.  Forgotten remnants of a cuckolded past laced with hate.

“I see,” he said mildly, pushing the thought away, and forced a smile to his face. “You see, I told you that we are history.”

She chuckled again. “I have a feeling about you, Dan, and aren’t we supposed to listen to our instincts?”

“I suppose,” he agreed, though he wasn’t sure that he agreed.  Feelings had never been helpful for the Dark One… had always led him astray, in fact - his own at least.  Some of his best deals had been made when he was hard and cold, calculating. No room for feelings in that. No… feelings were the opposite of everything he stood for… Weren’t they?

He found his eyes flicked through the window again, to where Isabelle was moving among the students, speaking to each with little touches here and there that reminded him of someone. But no… that someone was dead. Regina had told him so.

He smiled and stood, “Well… if there’s nothing else, Miss Evers, I will… see you in August, I suppose.”

“Of course,” she, too, stood. “But August will be here before you know it, Dan. That’s another thing about getting older,” she added sagely. “Time goes by faster.”

“Or not,” he whispered, looking down at his hands, his normal hands. In that moment he missed the claws and scales.

Ever’s must not have heard, because she added, “And children.” The words jolted him from his growing self loathing.

“I beg your pardon?” he said.

“Children,” she repeated. “I have three. The oldest is in her twenties, and I promise you time has flown.  Only yesterday she was playing dress-up with princess dresses, and next week she’s moving in with her girlfriend… a house of their own.  Can you imagine?” She shook her head. “Do you have any?” 

Another flash of memory and pain.  He wanted to say no, but he couldn’t deny Baelfire. Wouldn’t.

“A son,” he told her. “But… I lost him.” He didn’t understand why he would tell that to a complete stranger, especially when he knew she would take it wrongly. “I mean… I don’t know where he is. We lost touch.”

He turned away from the awkward, sympathetic expression on her face. He couldn’t stand her pity.  He’d find Bae… one way or another, and with or without Cambridge’s help. He heard Miss Evers shift in her seat, and glanced at her again to see she looked as if she were about to make some kind of comment. Instead she simply said, “See you soon, Mister Gold.”

With a nod, he stepped out beyond the threshold of her door, turned to look along the corridor to watch as two teenagers who had been standing, heads together, thick as thieves, looking at their phones, scurry away like cockroaches.

“Yes,” he said aloud but quietly. “See you soon.”

He left the school and prepared to walk the mile or so back to his modest home - a town house, two up two down - but he couldn’t help feeling as though he were walking with one foot still in the Enchanted Forest. He had not experienced that sense of dislocation in a long time. It bothered him. Everything like that had meaning.

He took the long way home, and it took him down by the wharf, another painful reminder of a past that seemed ever to be encroaching in the new, cursed life in which Cambridge had trapped him with her interference and her false promises.  He should have crushed her like the bug she was centuries ago; when she first gave Baelfire the bean.  His head began to ache - an understatement for it pounded like the painful beating of his heart. Another symptom of living in a world without magic… as if that magic were trying to reach across worlds and pull him back; enticing - daring him to try and reach for it, even knowing that he could not.

Wearied, dizzy, he reached out to try and support himself on something - anything - nearby. He leaned against the hood of a nearby car, only lightly, but the car alarm still sounded and to him was like the one of many wails of pain out of that long dead time in the Enchanted Forest, reaching through worlds and through time. He pushed away from the car, escaped from its insistent cacophony, only wishing he could walk away from the cacophony of pain-born memories just as easily.

[florasearlethirdyear]

FMP: Tutorial and Experiments. LO2, LO3.

Week 8

My feedback for this tutorial was primarily defining the audience and creating a brand identity around this. Dot talked about how this idea linked into my original Pollock's focus on bringing back nostalgia for the older generation, and how this can be translated into signage inspired by vintage fairground artwork. In perfect coincidence, Dot's grandmother Valerie Falla has been a resident at Hastings her whole life and Dot recalls visiting Flamingo Park throughout her childhood. Dot's grandmother Valerie Falla hints to the nostalgia for her childhood in her artwork.

The question of this project is how do we frame the fairground as something also for the older generation? Think to the story of Flamingo Park and why some people might reminisce over it. I did conduct research into Flamingo Parks history but sadly there doesn't seem to be any. Dot and I theorise it as having originated in the early 2000s. So in this case it's more a nostalgia for seaside attractions elsewhere, which can be applied to Flamingo Park.

We discussed the visual direction of this, which is what I have been very stuck on these past few weeks. Whilst places like Dreamland and Kingsland in Poole take on a contemporary direction, this doesn't feel reflective of Hastings rich history, so Dot was saying I can take it in a vintage direction.

Some things to consider:

What do I want people to feel?

I want them to feel nostalgia for the past and think, 'that's cool, I never see fairgrounds like this now!'

How can the public be involved?

Perhaps the produce sold in the park is produced in the local shops. There are many signwriters in Hastings also.

Why come to the park?

Flamingo Park can add to the enjoyment of all generations.

Additional Advice:

Think outside the box, a motorway advertisement could draw tourists. Advertisements in London tube stations, also.

First think about the visual assets/style, THEN introduce colour.

Suggestion from classmate:

The Printed Peanut - turns out this is Louise Lockhart who I have looked at! She used the naive style I have considered.

I started thinking about the visual style here:

Reflection, LO4:

I felt the use of blue and red to be most effective because I associate these colours to the seaside. Now it's more of a point of how I can tie this into imagery.

Solutions:

Promotional Material: Print Poster and Instagram

1 Food Stall Signage Redesign

1 Ride Signage Redesign

Ticket Design

Site Map

Postcard

[phawareglobal]

Harrison "Hap" Farber, MD - phaware® interview 435

Harrison "Hap" Farber, MD discusses PHenomenal Hope 2023.

Join renowned experts as well as rising young investigators and allied healthcare providers as they share original research.

This symposium offers a combination of oral presentations, expert panel discussions, and poster sessions in an environment that encourages collaboration and a deeper exploration of patient-centered research. 

This event takes place December 15, 2023 Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport For more info and to register, visit: www.PAH2023.com

Hi everybody. I'm Hap Farber. I am a pulmonary hypertension doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. I'm also the President and the Chairman of the Board of Team Phenomenal Hope. In both of those capacities, I would love to invite everybody to come to Boston on December 15th for the first annual Team Phenomenal Hope PAH Research Day.

 So what is it you ask? It's going to be a day with research presentations, posters, and other presentations of topics that are not usually covered in most symposia or are covered in most registries. For example, we will talk about diversity and inclusion in registries and clinical trials. Not only that, but how do we get people who are not usually included in either registries or clinical trials into said registries and clinical trials? We need strategies to diversify our field, because if you look, all of the data so far, and this has actually been published of PAH registries and clinical trials are overwhelmingly Caucasian. There's very little representation of any other ethnic groups, et cetera. Other things are unmet needs for patients with pulmonary hypertension. This can be anything from an air conditioner to a way to get a ride to go to a transplant evaluation. These are not covered in most cases by any form of insurance. They're certainly not covered in any symposia you will ever listen to. Other things we can talk about, which are covered to some degree, but we're going to delve into them, are substance abuse and PAH, especially with the meth epidemic on the West Coast and the cocaine epidemic on the East Coast and somewhere in between both of them. We're now running into people in Boston who have both. It turns out, I was reading something very interesting, I believe it was in the New York Times, that currently in the United States, drug abuse and drug fatalities are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 45, which is frightening if you think about it. We're also going to talk about a hot topic at the moment that probably can't be talked about enough is what is exactly a disease modifying agent in PAH? What does it mean? Do we have one? Are we going to have some on the horizon? If we do, how do they work and what do we expect from them? Other things would be clinical trial designs and improving data quality. I mean, obviously we're dealing with a disease entity in which the number of patients we can recruit is relatively small compared to other diseases. For example, you can do a cardiology trial and get 20,000 patients in a week. We can't get 20,000 patients in the whole history of PAH. So how do we use these patients, especially in the age of presumably sotatercept, to find clinical trials and ways to design clinical trials that will be meaningful and that will add to our drugs or other treatments that will improve the outcome of pulmonary hypertension? The other parts of this that are important is this symposia is open not only to physicians, but also to ancillary people who are interested in PAH, such as nurses, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, medical students, and fellows. Another sort of unique aspect of this symposium is the fact that each one of these subtopics will generate a white paper that hopefully will be published, or at least for sure will be kept as an archive, as a resource for everybody involved. Not just the people who were in the symposium, but anybody who wants to have access to that. This symposium will take place on December 15th. It's at the Omni Hotel in the Seaport of Boston, so it's very close to the airport. It's a great location. The other thing of importance, is it takes place the day after the Tufts Symposium, so you can go to both of them. They're both in the same hotel. If you go to sign up, there are multiple ways to sign up. One is you can go onto the Team Phenomenal Hope website, look under events, and it'll be there. If you sign up for the Tufts Symposium, at the bottom of your registration, there's a link to sign up for the Team Phenomenal Hope Symposium. Or you can go directly to www.PAH2023.com. 

Learn more about pulmonary hypertension trials at www.phaware.global/clinicaltrials. Follow us on social @phaware Engage for a cure: www.phaware.global/donate #phaware Share your story: info@phaware.global @teamphhope

Listen and View more on the official phaware™ podcast site

[kahluah]

Sometimes you have to appreciate those people who understand the message and intent of a product, respect the final results, and acknowledge the opinions of those who disagree as equally valid from a storytelling perspective while sharing your thoughts from both a personal and professional view (defends the movie by emphasizing the clear goals and topics that define its marketing, and eventually final product) and provides meaningful feedback to their opinions and takes while remaining civil and respectful from the beginning to end.

You, fellow human, or whatever you prefer to be identified as are a special kind of person that deserves some well-earned credit. So while I may disagree with you on some specific cases, I respect and understand your stance.

Teenage Kraken is a good movie; it executed everything that it offered well enough without harming its identity. It could have been better? Yes. Would I have preferred to take a different approach? Yes. But the same can be said about literally every piece of media on the planet...

Thank you! I too enjoy when people can be respectful during discussions and you have been as well!

Like working on any kind of product involving a form of media, even if it's just a college project assignment, is a huge task. A lot of the times you find that your initial plans change in monumental ways, things that you wanted to include or put more focus on get cut down or thrown out completely, or that something had to be slimmed down so much it isn't really worth including it anymore because it doesn't add anything meaningful to the final product any longer. You never have enough time even when you try to account for things taking like x3 longer than you expect. Like my final class where it was led up to a small gallery showcase,,, I even mapped out my previous semesters to make sure that in my final semester this was my only class so that I had plenty of time to work on my project... I planned to make 5 different poster sized digital art pieces but I don't know what happened because I somehow only ended up with one being finished. Basically everyone ended up with less than they initially planned to have. We all had finished things to showcase, but it definitely didn't resemble any of our original plans.

So seeing some of this "this one change would have made it better!" Kinda has me going like 'well if it was implemented just think of all the extra things you would need to add to give it just enough support to be satisfactory!'. Like one criticism that keeps popping up is a dislike for the simplistic reasoning and things not being dug into deeper, so even if the thing was changed and it was now just that way, the reasoning would still be simplistic and people would be wanting them to explore it better and deeper. So if you then give that change a liiiiittle extra attention to make it satisfying, it would need a handful of minutes of the movie to be devoted to it (rough estimate 2-5 depending on what we are talking about). If production really needed to stick around the 1 hour 30 minute mark, that would have meant cutting out other things in order to add those minutes and then other areas of the film would have suffered. If they could balloon the runtime out, and if there was enough time in production for the scenes to be added, then you could get the more satisfying story change that adds a bit of depth without it harming what you already had.

The creative process is full of domino situations like that. You make this one change, add another domino, but that domino then tips over and hits another and now you got this messy pile even if all the things you wanted to include are there. It hurts to take out the dominos when you don't really want to, but sometimes it can prevent the whole thing from being knocked down into a messy pile. It might not make as pretty of a picture as you originally intended because there are some gaps, but boy are you just kinda glad you got them all set up properly so that they could form some semblance of the picture you initially conceived.