#hope this made sense :P

[swordatsunset]

left my phone on the desk and i dont feel like getting up to text u so it comes in the ask box instead but basically i have a larger problem with current d20 in this way of like. ok i think fhsy was an anomaly in terms of the way d20 was done; it was only one play session per week, and there was time to see the (small fandom) response in between episodes and marinate on plot beats and such. the way d20 is done now (and has been for a good while) is that they pump out a ton of it in a short span (the rpdr problem. girl i dont need another season the last one JUST ended) & it has become largely formulaic.

d20 was never truly pushing the boundaries of actual play and has had problems since its conception -- problems that largely were ignored bc they were noobs, the fandom was new, and the collegehumor->dropout transition was new.

when we now get an intrepid heroes season its essentially fan service. as much as i love TUC (tho i have a lot to criticize abt TUC) and the original FH hit a lot of notes for me, there's just simply better actual play out there that isnt swallowing the wotc boot and are filled with new voices who are choosing to be in the space to very little return...

i enjoy dropout. i miss the scripted content a lot, and i enjoy game changer and the occasional um actually. i think falling victim to nostalgia is not always a good thing, and i try to be critical of the ways in which i think of certain media as "the good ol' days".....i think d20 can take a lot of lessons from other actual play media tho. and while i dont hate everything thats come out in the past year from them, i dont love it either, and thats fine. theres a lot of (looks up at the wall of text) WHOA. ok i think you get the point. (this is the point at which i added paragraph breaks)

Hi Sroel!!!! Hmmmm well I dunno while I agree with you on some points I don't feel like this is a d20-wide problem inasmuch as it is a d20 main cast problem; I say that because the non-main cast episodes are much less formulaic since they generally have varying episode lengths/different play systems/different styles of episodes that aren't story-battle. That plus the fact that they're filled with different cast members makes it so that any criticism of those seasons are going to be pretty divorced from my criticism of main cast seasons which are the quote unquote flagship seasons tbh.

And I would say that like, I don't think d20 was ever trying to market itself as revolutionary as much as fans began to approach them that way. The way I remember it is d20 was pitched as comedians telling 'shorter form' actual play stories. Different in the actual play landscape, yes, but not revolutionary imo! My problems w d20/the main cast aren't really affected by their place in the wider, like, actual play landscape since I think there's a pretty big diversity of stories being told in d20 and dropout as a whole. If it was marketing itself as a singular campaign I think things would be different, but the fact that I can pick up and put down different shows makes me feels like criticisms of it should be more specific to specific shows if that makes sense.

I guess most of my problems with d20 are aimed at a different place than yours, which is totally fine! I think my problems come down to a case by case(cast by cast?) basis more than any overarching problems with d20 the 'franchise' since I haven't seen much that's formulaic in the way that main cast d20 sort of 'has' to be. And I do think a lot of that is because of the fans more than anything, as well as the way playing with the same people makes you stagnate!

[coldbycrossfade]

MAN THAT REALLY COLORS THIS RESPONSE IN THIS CONVERSATION SO DIFFERENTLY FOR ME

[nachobsns]

Hello - I was impressed and extremely relieved by what you wrote in the post about the cult mentality of the Left RE Israel and accusations of genocide. You mentioned that you bought into the mindset until recently. If it's all right for me to ask, what was it that helped you break out of it? (Please feel free to delete/ignore if you'd rather not answer!)

thank you!! and no worries about asking— i think i put something in my pinned post about how people are welcome to send asks about this stuff, although my story isn’t super interesting. i fell down the typical online rabbithole, a couple weeks after october 7; i knew what had happened, at least vaguely, but the posts trickling onto my dash were all about the (undeniably tragic) loss of life in gaza, with little to no acknowledgment of the hamas atrocities that had started the war, so my narrative was pretty one-sided from the beginning. it just continued to snowball as the months went on and people became more radicalized, calling into question the reality of the 10/7 attacks and the humanity of all israelis. i never went all the way down the pipeline to full-on endorsing hamas or justifying their attacks, at least on a personal level, thank god, but i would reblog other people’s posts referring to hamas as a “resistance movement” and calls to boycott starbucks and mcdonald’s and condemnation of the “zionist media” etc etc etc. what pulled me out of it wasn’t any one thing— if someone had directly called me on my flawed logic and antisemitic biases while i was in this mindset, i doubt it would have done much, just reinforced my belief that i was on the “right side of history” and zionists were aggressors who couldn’t be reasoned with. it was mostly just passive observance and a slow exposure to other perspectives. i’m pretty sure the first post that led me to question my thinking was an ask on jewish-vents, which popped up on my dash in like, late july. this led me down another rabbithole, first scouring every single post on jewish-vents, then moving on to more popular jewish blogs that i had seen on “zionist blocklists” (applesauce42069, xclowniex, and spacelazarwolf were probably some of the blogs that influenced me the most, though i told myself i was just hate-scrolling at first, lol). i felt incredibly guilty seeing all the harm the movement i was a part of had caused to random jews and israelis just trying to live their lives and i realized how it went against everything i believed about how minority groups should be treated. from there, the aspect of actually undoing my thinking and changing my behavior for the better still took several weeks. denial of jewish indigenity to the levant in the face of tantamount archeological and cultural evidence was the first to go, as well as any ambiguity in my feelings about hamas. after that, it’s mostly been a slow process of redefining the idf’s actions from a “genocide” to a “war.” i still believe that what’s happening in gaza is unconscionable and horrific, and that too many innocent civilians have died, but i also understand how difficult it is to fight against a terrorist group that systematically embeds itself in civilian populations, and that the ratio of militant to civilian deaths is incredibly low compared to most urban warfare. i quietly deleted my old blog in early august— if i had directly engaged in harassment against jews, i likely would have kept it to make amends to the harmed parties and put a face to my actions, but as was, i had just contributed to the larger atmosphere of antisemitism on this site, and i felt uncomfortable knowing that i had a blog full of sentiments that no longer matched my values and beliefs. i decided i would be better if i took my endorsement out of the equation entirely, because when you’re looking through the notes of a post, it obviously doesn’t matter if someone who’s reblogged it no longer agrees with what was said— their notes still count as tacit approval, and i did not want approval of this “activism” attached to my online presence. i still have unwanted kneejerk reactions that crop up sometimes, particularly around the fundraiser posts from people “in gaza”; even though i know logically that they have all the markers of scams, there is still a part of me that really wants to believe i could help.

[violetsquare111]

perhaps overly rambly thoughts on the influencer arc

it is very hard to watch but i don't think it's contrary to what we know of green, and i'm enjoying it just fine.

we know green is a showoff and perfectionist. the color gang all like winning, but green likes making a big display of it too. he's quite a sore winner and loser, and hates having the spotlight taken from him when it is his.

he loves attention and praise. and like, that's okay, don't we all? he cares about his friends in the end.

but i get the feeling that, while they love him and appreciate his talents, his friends don't really give him that big attention that he might want. they're used to him winning and being good at art/performance of any kind. it's normal to them really. maybe even a little disheartening.

so i can easily see how getting that attention in the form of being an influencer is a huge thing for green. an addiction, even. he gets so drawn into it that he overlooks his friends' discomfort, so he can keep being the Perfect Celebrity, keep the hype going.

obviously this end outcome here isn't actually what he wanted, and i'm sure he feels guilt for all this on some level. but he's pushed that away in favor of the high of getting a number to go up, getting more of the spotlight. there's nothing else that matters right now but getting that new dopamine hit. again, it is an addiction.

surely his friends will come around. why don't they get it? this is a good thing for him. he's winning. he's harsh, yes, but he's just trying to be successful. his friends aren't actually hurt (they are), they're doing fine (they're not), what's the issue? (everything.)

i don't think current green is character assassination - right now he's doing horribly and hurting the people around him because he is at his lowest, the worst version of himself where his flaws overtake him. it can go up from here. i have no doubt that by the end of this green is going to get some sense shaken into him and make up with his friends. like, that's just the kind of series this is.

and despite all the character analysis i just did lol - i ALSO think it's important to remember that we are probably taking every little action of these characters infinitely more seriously than the creators are. while the series sometimes dips its toes (or entire face) into being a dramatic and beautiful story, it is ultimately a cartoon, and sometimes the character writing will be put on the back burner for a moment in favor of a gag or an overall episode arc. and that's fine! nothing they're doing is unprecedented for the characters they've set up, and i think they'll wrap this up alright.

[dnpbeats]

how dissapointed would you be if dan and phil revealed they both have romantic partners and its not each other? really curious to know your thoughts on this!

Hmm okay. Honestly I think I would be more shocked than disappointed!! Because I genuinely don't think that's a possibility atp. Now, I think on some level I would be disappointed, not necessarily bc they aren't together but bc that means that they've been click baiting the hell out of "phan" and making fun of phannies 💀 like I think when they do it now, it's funny af and they deserve to be able to do that if that makes sense? Because it's kind of a "they know we know" situation, and also after all the shit the phandom put them through, I'm like yeah!! Say you're getting married in a gaming vid title, make fun of people who obsess over every time you touch!! But I'm viewing them doing all of this with the assumption that they are together. So if they were like "psych no we actually are not together" I think my initial reaction would be like, a little off put I think. like then they'd be making fun of fans for wrongly assuming they're dating yk? and also part of me feels like they should just come out and say they aren't together if they aren't. but upon further reflection I don't think that's fair of me to say (you are witnessing me think this through in real time anon LMAO). Because like at the end of the day, regardless of if they are together or not, that doesn't change the way the phandom used to treat them/their supposed relationship, so shouldn't they be allowed to take the piss either way? and really, they don't owe us any details on their private lives and that still stands if they aren't together so rly they don't have to tell us if they aren't dating, right??

so all of that is to say, yes I would be disappointed at first, not bc they aren't together but bc of how they've joked about it, but I don't think that disappointment is fair to them so I'd get over it asap! lol

(I also think a part of me would be a little sad that they like "didn't make it" or whatever (since we know they at least used to be together), but again I'd try to get over it bc there is still so much beauty to be found in their relationship regardless of if it's romantic or not!! and that would actually be wild if they were such good friends after breaking up! so I think that there's still a lot to admire even if they weren't each other's romantic partners)

[bethanydelleman]

So... I don't know if it's a bit unfair, but I personally have trouble reducing women to "who is the best in bed" but I have no problem doing it for men. Maybe because of a long troubled history of women being perceived as sex objects. Also, Jane Austen's heroines are aged 17-27, and some of those are too young. I am also really into positive experiences of sex. So here is what I shall do instead but in all fairness:

After all, enthusiasm seems to be the best asset a woman can bring to the bedroom! Celebrating women lusting after the love of their life.

Here is the male poll if you haven't voted there yet.

[ebonytails]

❌ Not My Problem 🦇

Finally an Art Fight ATTACK! This one's for cosmicdog on AF! The character's name is Luther! (He/Him)

Full image below (still png):

[daz4i]

hate the culture of "if you have x flaw you need to unlearn it" (i'm not talking bigotry, i'm talking personality stuff, like stubbornness hypocrisy etc). like as someone who is p manipulative and very obsessive by nature and bc of a personality disorder i don't think i'll ever be able to really iron these traits out of myself. what i CAN do is not act upon them, and work hard to not give into these reflexes, bc i have no choice if i don't wanna hurt people. i think that's better than trying to *be* someone i'm not and feeling like an awful person for failing at that.

if this type of behavior works out for you and you're able to replace toxic traits with something better, that's great and i'm very happy for you. but i think for other people like me, who at least for now don't have that ability, it's important to remember that it's okay if that's part of who you are, as long as you don't hurt people.

[a-very-fond-farewell]

it was tendOnitis all along???? travesty

[kedsandtubesocks]

oooh hi my friend, could I please ask about Javi P mermaid ? 👀💖🧜‍♂️

Dear J!!! Omg im so sorry im just getting back to this now 😭 so im just gonna keep the WIP Wednesday vibes going up on a ✨Thursday ☺️✨LOL

Also thank you so much for asking about this strange and sweet little Javi P fic 🥹💕🐠✨

Javi P and Mermaid!Reader or aka some good old fashioned forbidden love with a large side of Javi having a existential crisis about loving this mythical being he didn’t even believed existed while we simply are just swimming around this handsome human with stars in our eyes ✨

So it’s mainly inspired by my trips to the Texas coastline and thinking how murky the water was sometimes i imagined there just HAD to be mermaids hiding in there lol plus I’ve never done a mermaid fic and for mer-may approaching I thought why not dip my toes in the water (sorry I had to make the pun)

And also - Javi P isn’t a Pedro boy we often see in supernatural situations yet I really one do believe he’s one of the best to explore in more fantasy/magical/supernatural elements and this smacks him face to face with that!

There’s a part of me that wanted to go a more angsty and tragic route with this but I think ultimately us and Javi deserve the sweet fantasy fairy tale of your dreams sometimes ya know??

But thank you again my dear J I’m leaving you sweet seashell trinkets and hope you have a beautiful rest of your day!! 🪼🐬🐚🪸🦀💕✨

[luna-loveboop]

Carving™️

Dirkfkfk thank you! For sending me this ask from the ask game, it made me very happy to see you pop up.

I guess this is what I get for deciding to post banger carvings for the month. Crazy world

[aew-regression-cove]

How come u don't use agere tags anymore?

honestly to avoid my blog being found 🙏🏻 — I made this blog because as much as I loved my old one it was a lot of people following and interacting with me and it's a very vulnerable part of myself I'm sharing with this type of blog. this blog is a way to start fresh and be more vigilant in who is seeing me/my content, and using the main agere tags would draw some attention to my blog and (especially) with the dude going around bullying regressors online again I don't wanna draw any unwanted attention to myself. <3

[spoiledskullz]

Does knuckles notices that Welkin isn't okay tho?

How he comforts her?

yes! Knuckles I think is one of the only people who kinda catch on to Welkin not being ok (she hides it REALLY well and ignores it even better)

Knuckles is pretty awkward and blunt, I think when he starts to catch onto something that isn't right he points it out and Welkin might deflect and say it's nothing

He won't pry but I think he keeps an eye on her a lot, picks up on the things she does that seem off

He doesn't outright comfort her because she won't allow him to

He'll comfort her once she allows him to, it would be through actions though and not through words and Welkin appreciates it regardless

It also kinda depends on the situation and how far along in their relationship they are 🤔 like for instance I have a story where something really bad happens and if it weren't for Knuckles telling her to take a break, she would just keep going LOL

This is probably their biggest obstacle in their relationship? because they both don't have the easiest time allowing the other to help/take care of them but they ultimately overcome it through years of being together lol

[13eyond13]

When u finally can afford your ADHD meds again for the first time in nearly a year and then spend the entire day FIERCELY texting on your phone, obsessively re-editing your sentences, and permanently clenching ur teeth

[magratpudifoot]

Can we all take a moment to contemplate how much modern readers are getting from a found family story written by an ambiguously queer person while he watched a longtime acquaintance be thoroughly broken by a government outlawing homosexuality? It is kind of incredible that we can have these moments of connection as history bends back again.

Let's give thanks to Charlotte and Abraham Stoker for telling their kid spooky stories and taking him to the theater, and let's all try to keep Leaves of Grass more thoroughly planted in our hearts in the coming years.

[chillmayo]

what are those hot orv posts you're posting???? tell me about it I BEG

now im confused. u want me to tell u abt these hot posts (????) or orv?? either way im interpreting this as u wanting me to rant abt orv so. here we go babes.

orv was the most mind boggling insane heart wrenching gutpunching novel that brings you in to the point where u are basically bathing in it idk

orvs all about readers and characters and to me, it was a realistic take on what it would ACTUALLY be like if a stan actually isekais or whatever into a novel. you as a reader would think you know all about the characters but you slowly realize that ur characters arent characters anymore but real people. but orv is also about how authors write books for readers and how readers are what brings a book to life (literally)

its also a heavily queer coded found family core meta novel about readers, writers and characters with the most insane time paradox to fully round it all up idk

its also batshit insane bc im convinced the couple wrote half the stuff in it while hopping on drugs. the good kind. bc i can talk abt how heartbreaking and life changing orv was but also they held an award ceremony and my ship was nominated for Best Chemistry. The MC measures everyones attractiveness by if they could slap the protag and how many times. The MC and his reader best friend joyride in a "Ferrarighini" while the rest of the group fight to death. etcetc

anyway orv is a wild ride, 12/10 would recommend.

also it is 1.2 million words, has the prettiest official art (including art of scenes !!) and is written by a married couple