#i don't wanna say a special interest in Learning because i don't like all subjects At All (though i like a lot)

[eclaire-went-bam]

this is like my second post abt this in a row within 5 minutes but npd + autism is knowing more about your friends special interests than they do & correctly fact-checking them on their own outdated info numerous times, or just never saying anything abt it bcs u feel like some wise intelligent above-the-others soul letting the kids have their fun

[tacobellabeanburrito]

hello this is Anon again. could you please direct me to your favorite Ace Attorney fics? I’ve read pretty much all the popular ones so I’m looking for some more niche ones :) thank you!!

Oh Anon… You sweet, sweet summer child. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.

I was already planning on doing an Ace Attorney fic rec list because I wanted to share some of my favorite ones (A lot of the ones I read aren’t on many of the regular fic rec lists, so I wanted to share some ones that I feel like are really good and maybe don’t get enough recognition) So I am very glad you asked Anon, gives me reason to actually continue on my fic rec list! I love sharing my favorite fics!

Most of them are Narumitsu, couple are Krisnix, and some are both. Also a couple stragglers out there without a ship as well. There will also be some smut ones (Don’t judge please lmao) (Also, just saying. There’s no good Krisnix in this fic list, all of it is seen as toxic, I ship them as Toxic Tragic Yuri and they’re not good as a real relationship. Just a disclaimer)

Some will have big blurbs about them from me explaining their plot a little and what I like about them. For others, I’ll just post them because I don’t really feel like talking about them in detail. But I promise they’re all good!

I’m not going to link them this time, cause I dunno how to do that without making a huge mess cause there’s so many and I don’t want my post to be wonky. And I’m also not going to categorize them because I’m eepy and didn’t get enough sleep last night, so you can figure it out yourself Anon lmao.

(But if you can’t find any, please tell me I’ll help)

So, without further ado… Here are my fic recs!

-

Fics:

Perfect by Sideblog: My absolute, all time favorite AA fic! Ever! Literally ever! I don't really wanna talk about the plot because that basically spoils the whole thing and I don't wanna do that to you, you just gotta read it! It is beautifully written and has an amazing concept that I would never think of in a million years! Seriously, so criminally underrated to the point of I have no idea how it doesn’t have like 15,000 hits on A3O. Even though I didn't explain much of the plot, just know that it is incredible and absolutely worth a read. I come back to it sometimes to read it because IT IS THAT GOOD. When I first saw this fic I didn’t really know what to expect because there weren’t any warnings or practically anything. Very mysterious fic. So glad I read it, though. When you get done reading this Anon, you gotta tell me what you think.

El Capo A Fine by tellezara: There’s something incredible about specialized Au fics in which you can tell that despite whatever the Au fic is about, the writer has an absolute love for the subject. This one is about musical instruments and Ace Attorney characters being part of an orchestra, and you can tell that this person has done orchestra before (Or at least thoroughly researched it and has a love for it) because they put in so many facts and interesting tidbits about instruments and the orchestra world that I never knew about and I loved learning about all of it. Fics like these are very special in my opinion because those people write it out of pure love for whatever the subject is and whatever the fandom is. Anyway, fic good. (Makes me wanna write an Ace Attorney choir fic, that’s my speciality)

The Miraculous Disappearance of Phoenix Wright by JJsADragon: Was on a road trip when I first read this and literally could NOT. STOP. READING. HAD ME GRIPPED. EDGE OF CARSEAT. The whole plot is basically a parody of "It's A Wonderful Life" where Phoenix ends up in a universe where he was never born. Which, as you can guess, causes a myriad of problems for the legal world and world in general. I had no idea where the plot was going, didn't know how it was going to end, and WAS TERRIFIED. But. I kept reading anyway. IT IS THAT GOOD.

Miles Edgeworth: The Ace Attorney by Charybdia: I SPENT AGES. AGES. Looking for a good, finished Ace Attorney roleswap fic. And when I found this one I STRUCK GOLD. SWEAR IT. Amazing, love this one. Still come back to it. IT’S GOT OBNOXIOUS THEATRE KID PHOENIX WRIGHT, HOW CAN I NOT LOVE IT? It also is accompanied by art Also, also, We get good friend Larry Butz. WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?

Carpe Diem (make your lives extraordinary by Elysya): A high school Au featuring theater kid Phoenix, debate kid Miles and third wheel Larry. I loved this one. It’s also just super interesting. The developing relationship between Phoenix and Miles is one that I really like as they’re both messy teenagers and really gotta work out their flaws if they wanna be together.

Begone Dull Care by VivaRockSteady: A good Au fic surrounding patient Miles and nurse Phoenix. Goes into good detail about recovering from suicide and depression, and recovering from other mental health issues. Also check out some of the other fics by this writer. One is an Au of the Truman Show and the other is a Roman/Greek Au that I found incredibly interesting.

if you leave the light on by AngstinSpace: A very good fic. I was reading this one in my study hall and my teacher was playing calming piano music that was kinda sad/melancholic and I started tearing up in class because I was feeling all the emotions. Girl this is good, go read it.

I used to think people were good but now I just think they’re people by thebirdsandtheboxes: SEVERELY UNDERRATED. Super good and goes very in-depth into Phoenix’s disbarment period and how he and his friends and family react. Also has some good Asexual!Miles moments.

This man is not your boyfriend by its_ok_inside: AN AMAZING FIC CENTERING AROUND PHOENIX HAVING AMNESIA AND MILES HELPING HIM DEAL WITH IT. Hilarious. Super funny. I love it. Also is accompanied by some artwork. FUCK YEAH THIS FIC. A classic.

Surviving You by pantswarrior: I’m pretty sure this is an older fic that got moved, and it kinda shows that in its writing (Yk those fics that you can tell were written in the 2000s/early 2010s based on their vocabulary and thoughts on gay relationships? Kinda like that) but it’s good. Very good.

A False Start by theacegrace: A phenomenal fic centered around Bratworth!Miles meeting Feenie!Phoenix and Miles praying that Phoenix doesn’t get accused of murder when he sees Phoenix with Dahlia. Loved this one so much and came back to it a couple times.

Chicago Noel by canonlacrush: A classic. There used to be an Au a while back that everyone was obsessed with and it was a bakery/mafia Au. I wish there were more fics that catered to that Au but they’re hard to find. Anyway, this one is great.

Maybe In Time You’ll Want To Be Mine by YourAverageBystander: A time loop fic that I absolutely adore. Y’all really gotta key in on these Ace Attorney time loop/time travel fics, there’s a couple in here. THEY ARE A TREASURE.

Turnabout Sole by CollaboralDamage: An awesome bodyswap fic. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND BODY SWAP FIC IN THIS FANDOM?! And this one is good. Very good. Liked it a lot.

Shared Work Space by nerdyskeleton: I think the fic’s summary works best here “It was the best of times, it was the worst of time when Miles Edgeworth discovers he likes to be called Daddy”.

Shear Luck by TopazEstrella: One that I didn’t really know what to think of when I first kept seeing it on my search for Narumitsu fics, but I’m very glad I read it. It’s different, but I like it. Has some Krisnix in it.

The Illusion Of Control by Ekat: Amazing. Loved it. Takes place in an alternate universe where Miles died and Gregory didn’t. Has a lot of found family dynamics featuring Mr. Edgeworth, Phoenix and Ray.

Tight Lesh by Ensiy: I come back to this one often. One of the only fics that has good Kristoph and Miles interaction. They’re both catty bitches to each other. Has some Krisnix in it.

Out of Order by canolacrush: A super cute fic where Miles gets a haircut and Phoenix gets a crush. I re-read it a lot because it’s super cute and really fluffy.

With The Phases Of The Moon by Puddor: One I come back to often for a couple of moments. Really love it. One of the good Werewolf!Phoenix and Vampire!Miles fics.

You Ever Been In Love? by hechima: Loved this one a lot. We love the Wright gang trying to matchmake. A classic in terms of AA fics and for good reason.

Observe and Record by MAVEfm: An introspective Miles fic detailing him and his personal journal. I really like this one. Has some Krisnix in it.

Pressing Pursuit ~ Cornered by viviaciousbarkbeast: Love this one. I think this was one of the first AA fics I’ve read. Has some Krisnix in it.

That Man by Sunshine_And_Starlight: A really good fic. It has one of my favorite tropes and I come back to it for certain moments that I really like and wanna read again.

A Badge Of Honor by sunsmasher: Really loved this one. I also come back to re-read it cause it’s just so funny and awkward and hilarious.

Awkward Business by hechima: I’m a sucker for this trope! You’ll see what I mean when you read it. It’s all gold! I still come back to this one.

wait (they don’t love you like I love you) by Samioli: Super good fic detailing Miles finding out about all Phoenix’s past relationships.

parallelogram by zombiekittiez: Such a slay fic, has a strange premise at first BUT we get Shakespeare references so that’s a big plus.

All There Is by sunsmasher: Loved it. A really good look into Krisnix as a relationship and dealing with sexual trauma.

London, 2021 by syailendra: Has a lot of good moments. I come back to this one a lot. Has some Krisnix in it.

Sketched Memories by gen: LOVED THIS ONE. OBSESSED. You just gotta read it. It’s a recent one but VERY GOOD.

Archaeology by sunsmasher: Everyone eats pizza, and truamadumps. Just a typical day at the Wright Anything Agency.

Dancer In The Dark by klaviersimp: Ahhh, I love this fic a lot. It holds a special place in my heart. Little suggestive but I like it.

dig my nails into the wound by gavinnersworldtour: A very good Krisnix fic. Delicious. I love this one.

Temptation by crayoncompanion: An interesting one that I can’t help but really love.

Hot, Sticky, Sweet by mutxnts: A really good fic. I CRAVE a continuation but it’s a one-shot.

Sin. Eater by potatomin: A very good Demon!Miles and Angel!Phoenix fic. Makes you want more.

romance is not dead (if you keep it just yours) by Samioli: This one was just sweet. I liked it a lot.

just desserts by riskphee: YES. YES. Love this one. I still come back to read it.

Thrown Through A Loop by savitaraandsigh: Another time loop fic that I absolutely adore.

From The Top by lazynina: Another Time loop fic that I absolutely adore.

Bespoke by Demus: We love suit kinks.

That Goddamned Idiot That Is Phoenix Wright by fyrebyrd_fta

Kleptomania by Ekat

Working Hazard by lilacSkye

caught in the act by Samioli

I’ll Cover You by nerd4fandoms

my rapt heart by griffonage

Bad dream, good time by notlikelybutpossible

-

Series:

7 years under the bridge: A series surrounding Phoenix’s fall and his relationships with Miles and Kristoph respectively.

7 year ache: Another series surrounding Phoenix’s fall and his relationships with Miles and Kristoph respectively.

-

And that’s most of them! There’s definately more, but those are the ones that really made an impression on me and that I think about a lot (And also the ones I could find easily without having to check every one of my bookmarks) You can find more that way if you want though! By looking through my bookmarks on A3O that is. That’s what I do sometimes with other A3O members and it’s worked out well (Look for the Buddy Daddies fics in my bookmarks, that’s where most of them start but definitely check my bookmarks, there’s a couple good ones I can’t find at the moment that I know are in there). But I also recommend doing your own research too, it doesn’t seem like fun but when you end up finding one of the hidden gem fics it’s totally worth it.

Here’s some advice, buddy, try to start at the beginning, like go all the way down to the last folder on A3O, but maybe first search for an AA tag that you know will have a smaller fic pool and go from there. And when you find an author you like, try and check out if they have some other AA fics. Most of the writers of the fics I have recommended have more Ace Attorney fics in their arsenal that I’ve read and enjoyed and just didn’t wanna put on here, so check them out!

Btw Anon, if you want the more… Darker fics that I like (There aren’t many, but there’s a couple) DM me because I don’t wanna give those out publicly since it just makes me sorta uncomfy and I don’t want others to be uncomfy. This also goes for smuttier fics that I don’t feel like sharing at the moment.

Sorry if this was a lot Anon, I just love fanfiction, it’s definately one of the more interesting art forms out there, and think a lot of the ones I read deserve to be shared!

(Oh, also, I write fics too Anon. Check out my AA fic if you wanna. Sorry to self-promote but I promise it’s cute!!)

Anyway, that’s all! Goodnight everybody!

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

HELLO BELOVED CKB!! I have been restraining myself for months (hypothetical since I have no sense of time) on the topic of fictional characters that remind people of Yves. Because Oh Boy do I have a big one.

Have you seen Vil Schoenheit from Twisted Wonderland? There are so many parallels it makes me go absolutely bonkers. I might get his character wrong but oh well.

- Vil is insanely rich & a model/actor. Very influential and worked his way to that spot. His skincare and makeup routine is fucking impertinent to him; he must look flawless at all times. He makes sure that he is in prime condition and pushes to make sure that the people in his dorm are of similar regimens.

- Vil is based off of the evil queen (he’s not related to her in any sense btw.) He, by nature, is very nitpicky and motherly towards the people that he cares about even though it can be seen by them as smothering and overwhelming sometimes.

- He specializes in making potions and specifically poisons.

- Oh My God he is so mother and honestly one of my favorite characters and so is Yves which honestly says a lot about me. I need help. Canonically calls his right hand man “dear/darling.”

If I had to relate Yves to another TWST character it would be Malleus Draconia but only looks and obsessiveness and the whole “I want to be with you for eternity” thing.

- 🌷

Oh hell yeah i know Twisted wonderland, I follow a couple of blogs who specialized in making Yandere Fics about them, my favourite is Malleus Fuckin Draconia my man. Im pretty sure you can see my type (Long black hair, green eyes, calm, lithe and vampiric types)

I didn't know shit about twisted wonderland at first, I fr thought it was a yandere dating sim, but I had to learn everything bit by bit from the bits and bobs of canon those authors would sometimes post about, so it was like learning a language from scratch.

I was partially interested in Vil Schoenheit, but I guess most of the fics wrote him as mainly focused on his fanbase and not the reader- like he needs the world to have their eyes on him or he will throw up and die. So that kinda killed my yearning boner off for him because reader's attention is not enough and he requires love from the masses too.

Like fr i appreciate the maternalness of Vil, but it just feels... surface level since I doubt he would be interested in personally wiping reader's ass when they're incapable or cleaning up your puke on himself with a straight face without making a big deal out of it.

and IMO i think he's a little too loud, a little too naggy and his nitpicky comes from a place of self service, not really in the reader's best interest. Like Yves would listen to you and observe 100%, whereas its the other way round for Vil, where you gotta drink the yappuchino he serves. Dont come for me Vil simps i think he is swell despite this </3 I just don't think he would be the parallel of Yves </333

but for MALLEUS tho,,, mans a quiet, antisocial loner from what I saw, only yearning for the attention of the reader (or "yuu"), he's super calm, a recluse, and has like 4 friends. I have read fics that painted him in a maternal light that tickled my heartussy, and I guess thas why i like him more. Because to me, I headcannon he would take care of you himself as if you're paralyzed from the head neck down without complaints or feeling icky when he gotta handle with human bodily fluids. He would mostly listen and observe, maybe infodump about gargoyles but I think he would be a closer match to Yves than Vil in vibes and looks.

Though might wanna consider Jamil Viper from Scarabia, he hates standing out and mans was always depicted as the caretaker to Kalim. And I would like always have the biggest crush on him because,,, hehe caretaker

But he does so begrudgingly and like has a deep hatred for Kalim, I was like damn what if he loves caretaking for me,,, that isn't gonna happen because Jamil comes from a background of injustice and he isn't going to like being subjected to the role forced upon him since birth,,, aha ... unless...

and he's hella smart, but he's moving in silence just like Yves, gritting his teeth but keep on trucking no matter how angery he is. He is calm and quiet, and he listens because he need that information to succeed in his goals, but my delulu ass would be like omg he is so attentive

but theres that spite in Jamil that do be present in Yves though, ironically I would say that Yves is closer in character to Malleus and Jamil than Vil, but i could be just biased and say that because of both appearances are similar to that of Yves rn (Malleus and Jamil has like long, straightish dark hair and them sharp eyes)

[mimimaymagic]

In Defense of Sebastian Sallow.

Lately I've seen a lot of people who generally liked him in the beginning slowly start to change their minds, calling him a toxic manipulator & saying he was using MC for his agenda from the very beginning. I strongly disagree and in this post I'm going to give my reasons why I don't believe he's as black and white as people have begun to paint him.

I also want to add that everyone is entitled to feel however they want about his character & storyline. The purpose of this post isn't to imply there's a right or wrong interpretation, it's all just my opinion. Being able to discuss and debate this character is the very reason why he's by far the most interesting, or even realistic, companion in the game.

I will only be discussing his arc until the end of the quest 'In The Shadow Of The Estate', in which you visit his family home and investigate the surrounding area - else this post would go on forever. Naturally, there will be spoilers ahead.

- If you're sorted into Slytherin, he's likely the first person you speak to in your common room. He immediately expresses interest in how you ended up at Hogwarts after the dragon attack but doesn't press you for answers. I think, like everyone else at the school, he's just very curious about you. He generally also seems to have a thirst for knowledge like his parents had and I think most people just assumed he's sus from the start because he's a charming Slytherin.

- Within the same conversation, if you express interest in Sebastian's book and the Dark Arts, he warms up to you instantly and calls you a "kindred spirit" - likely because no one else in his life shares his views on the subject.

- If you're sorted into Gryffindor (ikdr!), Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, you meet him in your first Defense Against The Dark Arts class and beat him in a duel. From this point, he becomes a friend to you and I truly believe he's just a generally nice, personable guy who will befriend anyone.

- In terms of the Hogsmeade visit, I'm told Seb & Natty have mostly the same dialogue/actions so I don't think there's anything special to discuss there since if Natty has sincere intentions in opening up and befriending you, why shouldn't Sebastian?

- Just wanna talk about a tiny instance he proves his genuine care for MC that really stood out to me even though the action isn't exclusive to him: In the Three Broomsticks cutscene when Rookwood points out that he's looking for MC, Sebastian will - without hesitation - jump out of his seat to take on a fighting stance. It's made very clear that he WILL protect you if it comes to blows.

- The next time you see Sebastian is when you ask him about the Restricted Section. Even if you aren't totally transparent with him, he easily agrees to helping you & risks getting into more trouble despite the fact that he won't gain anything from it.- One might say he agreed to help because he's nosy, but he ends up leaving you alone and wishes you luck before chasing after Peeves. He also never forces you to expose what you've learned.

- "I like having friends who are in my debt." This line for some reason has become "proof" that he's a manipulator to some people and personally, I don't see it? I saw it as his way of cracking a joke & lightening what was a very stressful situation for the MC. Added to the fact that even after he takes the fall for you and you thank him for it later, he brushes it off as if it's not a big deal. Also, he never holds it over your head and at no point in the game does he make you feel indebted to him.

- Additionally when he's caught, he has no idea that you're watching. Therefore his instinct to protect you and make sure you stay out of trouble is entirely sincere.

- Something else that a lot of people reference when talking about how he's a manipulator is him supposedly spilling all his secrets as a means of gaining your trust: immediately inviting you to Crossed Wands, betraying Ominis' trust by showing you the Undercroft, telling you about Anne's curse etc. Again, I disagree. This is a 15 year old boy, he's definitely not an evil mastermind; in fact, I'd argue he's too impulsive to even consider making long-term plans like that. Now this might be a reach on my part but I think he's yearning for a similar companionship as he had with Anne. Sebastian even says later in the game that the curse has completely changed her, and not just physically. I think the reason he's so open so quickly is because he's genuinely just more excited than anything to have a new "partner in crime".

- I also want to remind everyone that only in the Undercroft are you "forced" by the game to tell him the whole truth if you've chosen to keep it a secret. Yet regardless of whether he knows about your special abilities or not, he still treats you exactly the same. He's still just as charming, teasing, friendly and genuinely gives you the feeling that he likes you. I'd even go as far as saying he's the only companion who really feels like a friend (which I think comes down to his personality, writing + his voice actor's amazing line delivery).

- Also in the Undercroft, he doesn't really have anything to gain from letting you in or teaching you Confringo. In my opinion, he knows there are dangerous men after you (even if you haven't told him yet) and just wants you to have a means of protecting yourself since you're "behind" on the work.- It could be argued that he just wants a secret place to practice forbidden spells with you but at no point in the game does he force you to learn the Unforgivables. [In a meta sense, he has to reveal the Undercroft to you regardless since it plays a massive role in the main quest.]

- In the end, he invites you to Feldcroft to meet with Anne so you can hopefully cheer her up. I can't see any "manipulation" in this either since he didn't plan for the argument with his Uncle Solomon, nor did he plan on Anne suddenly falling ill. I think that when it comes to Anne, he generally has good intentions, and genuinely wanted her to meet and befriend you like he had.

- After the whole debacle in the Sallow house, you and Sebastian snoop around Isadora's home and end up back at the Undercroft. It is only here that he finally understands your abilities and brings up the idea that your ancient magic COULD help Anne. Sebastian has exhausted every single option in his arsenal at this point and I think he's just clinging to anything he hasn't explored yet. But he only brings it up here, he never even considers it prior to this which is why I believe him being kind to you, helping you and becoming your friend had no secret intention.

In conclusion, I don't believe he's been manipulating the MC from the start. I truly believe his intentions in befriending MC were sincere and that he does "change" as he delves deeper into the Dark Arts. With characters like Sebastian, I don't think it does them justice to be put in a box. He's just too complex for that, and when making your final decision in the game keep in mind that this fictional kid is neither totally good nor totally bad, he's just human.

[dnpsuck]

If you could recommend Dan any comedians (or media) to study who/what would you choose? Like things that might help him improve his craft? Not in a mean way just in a honing his skills type of way. A little homework as a treat.

you have no idea how much you're indulging me with this right now, but let's fucking gooooo

i honestly think dan is well-versed in comedy and having the experience he's currently having with touring his comedy material is only gonna help him (even if it's mainly to an audience that already likes him), so in general i think he's on the right track, so the things i say here are way more for people who are interested in comedy in general than about what i think dan should do, but i will mention some stuff related to him just to further contextualize his comedy.

what i would recommend anyone that is interested in comedy (not only as a career path but as a genre, a study subject, etc) would be getting into theory to understand some of the whys and hows of comedy.

i wrote my undergraduate thesis on comedy (and i got an 100% score 🤓) and as torturous as writing a thesis can be, reading and learning more about comedy through an academic lens was extremely exciting, which is why i recommend diving into the different theories and theorists and how comedy is perceived in different historical contexts.

under the cut i put some more thoughts and recommendations to learn more about comedy:

There are several theories that try to explain what is comedy, humor, why we laugh, etc. but I try to narrow it down to 3 main ones: Incongruity, Superiority and Relief.

Although I have not read ALL of them ENTIRELY (some of these I've only read the bits that helped my thesis), for pure theory I recommend some of the work I used for my own research:

• Poetics by Aristotle

• Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic by Henri Bergson

• Humour by Terry Eagleton

• Essays on Poetry and Music by James Beattie

• Humor by Sigmund Freud (Yup. That guy)

• Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious by Sigmund Freud

• Human Nature by Thomas Hobbes

• Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

• On Humor by Luigi Pirandello

• Histoire du rire et de la dérision by Georges Minois (I couldn't find an English version of this book online, but it's available in French and Portuguese)

Another way to be exposed to some theory without a lot of effort is by watching Nannette by Hannah Gadsby because she quite directly addresses Incongruity and Relief in that special. I also think it's a good experience overall, so even if you don't wanna learn about comedy, go ahead and watch Nannette.

When it comes to comedy as a tool for social change (which I see as an important aspect of comedy, and I believe that is also a goal for Dan's journey with comedy) I recommend the following (especially the first one):

• A funny matter: toward a framework for understanding the function of comedy in social change by Caty Borum Chattoo

• Storytelling for Social Change: leveraging documentary and comedy for public engagement in global poverty by Caty Borum Chattoo & Lauren Feldman

• Why stand-up matters by Sophie Quirk

When it comes to mental health, a big topic in Dan's comedy, needless to say Bo Burnham is a great source for that kind of material, but the truth is many comedians (big names and beginners) are talking mental health nowadays in their work, so there is a lot of work to explore out there. But I recommend watching Laughing Matters, a short documentary featuring several comedians talking about their mental health and their careers in comedy, and John Mulaney's part on Netflix's The Hall: Honoring the Greats of Stand-Up where he talks about Robin Williams. These works help demystify that terrible myth that in order to be a comedian or seek comedy you have to be some sort of tortured soul, that whole idea of "my trauma made me funny", etc. Still kinda on that line of mental health but a bit more, like, autobiographical, which is kind of the line where Dan is going, I feel like Nannette, as previously mentioned, is a good one and so is Rothaniel by Jerrod Carmichael (HBO Max). Although most comedians will do kind of autobiographical work, I think these two just kind of hit closer to where Dan is aiming.

To understand more comedy from the POV of comedians themselves I recommend any podcast on comedy like Comedy Bang Bang, You Made It Weird, Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend, etc. and listening to episodes featuring comedians you like. I think having a favorite comedian and watching anything by them where they talk about their journey with comedy can make this easier. Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is also this great window into this world of comedy and the way these comedians see their craft and their journeys (fair warning about this show and, honestly, getting into comedians in general: many people here are talented but suck ass as people. Consume their work at your discretion).

For me, I love John Mulaney as a comedian, so I tend to favor his views on comedy and I find that his interview with Larry King in 2018 is quite a great way to see his understanding of performing comedy and his own role in it. I also like Robin Williams, Bill Hicks, Julio Torres, George Carlin, Patti Harrison, Maria Bamford, Jerrod Carmichael, Joel Kim Booster, and many more. But honestly, my main reference is John Mulaney, and most of my comedy knowledge comes from the US comedy, so I do think having a niche helps.

You may like British comedy better, or maybe you enjoy comedy from your country better, or maybe you just don't get physical comedy at all, or you can only feel alive when you consume cringe comedy, etc. I like comedy a lot but I'm not into every kind of comedy in the same way. But I would say that being exposed to as many different kinds of comedy, formats and comedians as possible can be very positive because there's so much to learn from any well-done joke, y'know?

For me, one type of comedy that feels indispensable to any performer is improv comedy. The "yes, and..." mentality is essential to anyone going on stage and facing an audience. And to anyone writing comedy, being given a random situation and not escaping from it but learning to expand it is essential. And, honestly? Just regular living can be improved with some improv. So, obviously: Whose Lines Is It Anyway? is a good way to start there (I favor the older ones but that's because I ferociously consumed every 90s-2000s episode of the US WLIIA when I was a teenager). If you're Brazilian, Improvável by Barbixas is a great way to start as well with almost endless content to explore.

And, honestly? Any video essay on comedy, comedians or comedy media you enjoy. We all love a good video essay. I like:

• How Nathan Fielder Undresses People by Nerdwriter1

• The Power of Storytelling: John Mulaney by PhilosoFun

• The Hidden Formula Behind Almost Every Joke on Late Night by Slate

• Efficiency in Comedy: The Office vs. Friends by Drew Gooden

• The Death of Laugh Tracks by Drew Gooden

• Is SNL Even Funny? by Drew Gooden

• I watched one SNL episode from every season by Drew Gooden

(What I mean here is that Drew Gooden needs to make more video essays on comedy, please.)

Oh, another thing that is really important is delivery. I will, once again, bring up John Mulaney because I think his delivery is phenomenal. The Salt and Pepper Diner is a masterclass on comic delivery, I believe. I mentally quote "Hey, November Rain is over! ... No, it's not. There's more." all the time. Which brings me to another point, listen to stand-up albums. I love watching a good stand-up special but audio makes you really appreciate the delivery of the joke. The comedian has to convince you they're worth of your time with their ability to get a joke out of their brain into the world with no help of visuals. It helps you understand that comedian's comic voice. And I think John Mulaney does that really well.

Of course there is a variety of different comics with different deliveries to also be impressed by: Dan Mintz and Nathan Fielder have kind of similar styles of voices but their humor is kind of different. Leslie Jones, Pete Davidson, Conan O'Brien, Katt Williams, Bo Burnham, Julio Torres, Daniel Sloss, Ali Wong, Katherine Ryan, Hannah Gadsby, Wanda Sykes, Tig Notaro, Chris Rock, etc, they all have different ways to speak, but they know how to work their rhythm well enough to land their jokes the right way. You gotta find your own rhythm.

And I think a final thought is: authenticity. Not that you have to give 100% of yourself all of the time. You can tweak stories, enhance certain situations, hide things, not tell the full truth, you can even straight up LIE, and all that. but you gotta make it believable. An audience that senses a lack of authenticity, won't be entertained for long. If you're not explicitly coming in with a fictional character, your audience will be seeking your essence. Your comedy is a reflection of you. So whatever you say, whatever part of your life you decide to expose, whatever vision you share, your audience is associating that to you. You're not just a medium from where the jokes come from, you are it. Which is why you can't just tell a joke because you think it will be funny, you gotta tell it because it's honest to you, to your beliefs, it resonates with you. You have to understand that the audience will see that joke as an expression of yourself.

See why Dan's joke about not washing his feet back-fired? He either picked something unauthentic to him - according to him he just chose a random example - or he did pick something authentic to him but, like many comedians do, backed out once he got called out. He had the choice of running with it, owning the joke but he backed out. And if he's honest when he says he just chose a random example, then he made the mistake of not being authentic to his own beliefs when telling a joke.

In the endddd, my favorite way to learn about comedy is by watching comedians talk about comedy. And comedy is too rich of a field to be explored only through the academic angle, or one theorist's point of view so having people who live and breathe comedy talk about it is a great source of knowledge. That's one of the reasons why in my thesis, when I explained the theories of comedy, I didn't just quote theorists, I also quoted comedians.

Final thoughts: just, y'know, be yourself. Have fun. Don't joke about not washing your feet if you don't want people to think you don't wash your feet, etc. And most importantly, punching up will always be the best way to use your craft for the better.

If you read until here, why the fuck would you do that? But thankssss. <3

[gooeykit]

you should talk more abt sammy i love sammy and also i wanna learn more abt iseah 🐛🐛

okay well umm! first off ⬇

idk wat 2 do with nonspecific questions but whatever.. Sammy's the awesomest thing ever for one. In the first story [which im completely remaking] she's just subject to a lot of unfortunate circumstance which is hard to get into since like said circumstance is going to be drastically changing as i rework it. Essentially tho, she's a bio engineered slave race which is physiologically made to be just not-human enough for legal reasons and to be able to mature quickly and die easily to sell fast and repeatedly. When she escapes, she attaches herself to a group of bounty hunters [which are the main group of this story] and learns more about the universe [story is interplanetary] through them. She specifically becomes close to Reagan, who's the youngest of the group, since theyre of a similar mental age, but she quickly surpasses his due to her accelerated maturation. Still, she ends up very close to him and mutually consider the other as a sibling. Eventually as she gains more awareness of things and sticks to the group with the intent of liberation. In the end of this story, the group ultimately disbands for very many reasons, mainly because it was never a stable group of people in the first place. Reagan, who grew up as a bounty hunter, ends up with a lot of issues and will take it out on Sammy when theyre adults, which on top of also being raised with bounty hunters along with him, screws her up tremendously. She ends up closer to his boyfriend, Iseah, who's unaware that Rea behaves this way towards her. When Rea dies, she and Iseah become housemates.

Iseah is in the story off and on, he debuts pre-transition as a child and is someone who is victim to spiritual haunting, which a bounty is placed on. The main cast take the bounty and save him, he meets Reagan at this point who's also a kid a similar age to him. Iseah after this just grows up urban with some ghost trauma and becomes invested in the world of the supernatural as well as the bounty hunting scene. He's not interested in joining any of it, but is well versed in it and will support certain hunters. A lot of hunters are aware of and social with him, he's a carpenter by trade and specializes in furnishings intended 4 faux planets and space crafts. Some guilds will have his works. He meets Rea again as adults and they hit it off immediately. ATP Rea's like ran away and is struggling to live on his own and Iseah, feeling like he owes Reagan something, lets him move in. It's the healthiest and happiest part of Rea's life but he's made to leave and rejoin his old group of hunters and Iseah's inexplicably left. He's hurt by it, but like he also doesn't know the world of hunters from the inside and assumes its something Reagan couldn't help. This furthers Iseah's disinterest in actually joining any guilds. Eventually he just gets a text from Rea after a long radio silence saying that someone needs an emergency place to crash, which ends up being Sammy. Iseah's initially intimidated my Sammy and wont let her in, but ends up changing his mind quickly. The two take a while to bond since Sammy has a lot of walls to break down, but end up being very close as well. For a while, Iseah is the only person who Sammy will talk to after everything she's been through.

after all that, they end up like this

In the second story, they're both relegated to supporting cast, but i don't really have any development on the main group.. so right now they entire story has mostly focused on them despite that not being my intent. anyways, these 2 are bonded to the hip. They're not in a relationship, but are sexual partners. Iseah will date around and ends up with a consistent partner of his own for a while, and Sammy doesn't mind, but Sammy isn't interested in dating and doesn't bring people home like that. Sammy and Iseah both go through a lot of healing, but most notably, Sammy is well socialized and comfortable with herself now. Iseah's still a carpenter, but doesn't rely on his own income anymore. Sammy's a very successful scientist which elevates her to an unwanted celebrity status. Her field is in supernatural sciences and mechanical applications. They tend to bounce ideas off each other too.

plotwise, they're both still invested in guilds, but apply themselves differently. Sammy uses her influence to further push for liberation of her people, though since faux planets aren't subject to universal law, it's very hard to do so. Sammy and Iseah are seen as philanthropists and while they do have money, its actually not that much as theyre using it to support guilds and programs what will help destroy the cartels, place more appropriate regulations on advanced genetic engineering, and discovering cures and aids for new-age spiritual disability [<- sounds bogus but its kinda hard to define what it is]. Sammy also has a few human subjects who are just like, medical anomalies only she can work with for like.. lore reasons... but essentially the spirit was detached from the body and had to be reattached, which leads to circumstances where the thought of the effected will interfere with the thoughts/actions of others. Sammy is established in the first story to have an impenetrable brainscape though for a few reasons, but because of this, wont be effected by the anomaly. She treats her subjects very well and is very protective of them........ which is a major plot point ^-^

[woltourney]

ROUND 1 / SIDE B / POLL 16

Tahri Nhupuju (@tahri-nhupuju) v. Amor Valentine (@lunadivino)

Tahri Nhupuju:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Tahri Nhupuju, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Canonically all of them, but Warrior is her main one.

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Phoenix, Light

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Born in the depths of the Black Shroud to a minor Keeper clan of little note, Tahri had little contact with the outside world aside from the odd hunter or trader, and a notable encounter with some shipwrecked Lominsan sailors. Thanks to them and their boatswain, when she came of age and realized that while her clan had a fair few skilled hunters they lacked warriors to protect them from Gridanian aggression, she set out to Limsa Lominsa to learn the art of the Marauder. The rest, as they say, is history. Backstory aside, Tahri considers herself a staunchly traditionalist Keeper, and as such she doesn't believe in "diurnal nonsense" like monogamy, patriarchy, or straight people. She's always been an absolute unit, and was a natural fit for the marauders' guild, especially once her Inner Beast awakened and she learned how to use her boundless passion and love for her friends and family to fight. Quick fun facts about Tahri: -She is 6'3".-She is technically bisexual, but has a typically Keeper view of men: good for if you want kids, sure, but otherwise not very interesting.-She Is Well Aware Of The Effect She Has On Women, and is usually quite cocky and suave with her romantic interests, with one notable exception… -Thancred and Urianger were the first Scions to notice Tahri and Y'shtola were catching feelings for each other during the ARR patches. They themselves figured this out in Shadowbringers, and only get together in 5.3. -She is extremely whipped for Y'shtola, and often volunteers as test subject for many of her magical experiments. -She struggled to "get" magic for the longest time, until Blue Magic provided her with the "shortcut" of using instinct and intuition for magic. -She is autistic, even if I don't know if Eorzea has a term for that. -Despite being far from a studious, scholarly woman Tahri has a special interest in history. -She can deadlift all the other Scions combined. This is not a hypothetical. Alcohol and a bet was involved.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. Usually, I'm not the best when it comes to bragging, so I asked some of the others for their input: Tataru scoffed at the question, stating that -and I quote- "As a tall, autistic, extremely muscular, bisexual catgirl himbo" I was "extremely marketable to tumblr's large demographic of sapphics". I don't quite know what a "himbo" is, but I trust her judgement when it comes to market research. Alphinaud suggested that I recite the many titles, accolades, and honors I've gained from a lifetime of heroics, but that's just embarrassing, and I assume most other warriors of light would have a similar list of accomplishments. Shtola said that people would vote for me "if they know what is healthy for them" with that dangerous look in her eyes. Urianger said that there aren't that many prominent Keepers around, and certainly not many that still follow the old ways, so that would help me stand out. Thancred informed me what a himbo was. I now have mixed feelings about what Tataru said. Riol said that I should win because I look out for the little guy, and never forget about my bonds with minor characters like him and the other non-inner circle Scions, or the Crown Gemworks crew, or Vath Deftarm. I think that's enough testimonials, and I would like to thank my friends for saying so many nice things that I never would have thought of myself. I'd also like to say to the voters that I will do my best to keep Shtola from doing whatever she was planning to do if you don't vote for me.

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. Yeah. The above response wasn't just made for fun, I want to clarify that Tahri can't think of anything to brag about herself with because she genuinely has so much of her self-image tied up in the idea of herself as "the warrior of light" that she fails to see her own strengths at times, because that's just "the bare minimum" she has to be to be "The Warrior Of Light". Her self-sacrificial nature is something she struggles with a lot, as she tends to minimize her own wants and needs in favour of helping others and keeping others from worrying about her. Also if anyone wants to see more about her, I want publishes a couple of fics featuring her on Ao3, which are tagged with her name. Do make sure to read the tags to avoid spoilers though! And speaking of spoilers, her blog is not a spoiler-free zone, so be aware of that.

Amor Valentine:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Amor Valentine (they/them)

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Au Ra (Xaela)

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. ARR: Lancer/Dragoon; HW-present: DRK main, MCH for yeehaw

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Amor is just a guy carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders despite it all. They care deeply for their friends and family, have a special interest in chocobos, and are full of love for the world they protect. Though a force to be reckoned with in the heat of battle, in day-to-day life they can be quite timid. A traumatic childhood event left them an orphan with no memory of their past, but they were found and raised by a Duskwight woman in Dravania, near Tailfeather. Amor was considered a strange child by most Tailfeather residents (#UndiagnosedAutism), but they ignored it as best they could while focusing their attention on the chocobos their mother would catch and train. On their 20th nameday, they left home to explore the world and hopefully learn about their past, and oops! Hydaelyn's chosen! They then proceed to become the Champion of Eorzea and save the world a bunch of times, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Though always willing to do whatever is needed to protect the realm, they are prone to becoming weary of it all. At best, they'll grin and bear it. At worst, they can become resentful and bitter towards their position in life (see: DRK). Thankfully, spending time with loved ones helps mitigate this negativity. They are taking a well earned rest after the events of Endwalker, but are prepared to dive back into the fray should the world need them. They are fond of foraging when they have the opportunity, and their special interest in chocobos lends itself well to breeding and competing at the Gold Saucer. Sometimes, they give in to the irresistible urge to run around open landscapes before rolling around on the ground.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. Umm… a vote for me is a vote for the eorzean autism alliance :)

[superultrapop]

Damn, people really like to complain, uhn?

I've been on tumblr - as ohthati - since 2009 as well, coincidentally. Lets talk.

Saying a whole statement is corporate-speak bullshit is not only unpolite, but also unreasonable. Well, this is a corporation. Not your best friend. They can't just tell you "hey shit head, we trying to run a company here". They have to sound profissional. Good thing you don't, ain't it?

There has been research about the users and their habits lately, more than it ever had. If you missed, you're not using the site very much. I answered. Did you?

Things that seem simple and easily interactive for you on the site happen to be this way because you are here since 2009. The old way will always look easier. That's why older people have trouble interacting with new media. Don't worry. I also raise my hands and grumble "those damn kids" everytime I see a Tiktok edit 😒

"That 'small portion' of your userbase is your core userbase"

SAYS WHO? Where do your numbers come from? Where is your data? Do you have access to Tumblr user numbers? Or are you creating information out of thin air? FFS. Talk about spreading misinformation.

"Countless site have tried before" oh my god. Oh my god. Such a villain speak. My dude. They are adapting some functionalities they are not creating the Frankestein monster. Countless sites have tried to adapt to the new information flow and flourished, without losing their identity. Name me one site that has remained the SAME over the years. Damn.

You claim your "tags you might want to follow" are unnacurate. Well! That's what they are trying to fix, dumbass! They are trying to make it easier for you, that is oh so special, to find content! It doesn't mean this will turn into algorithm hell hole!

"Your users are not idiots", well, we can agree on that. I just think some might enjoy shitting all over the godamn plataform they use for over ten years more than others.

You claim you don't think tumblr is stale. Well, we used to have - back in the day, remember? - big events where we could learn what was happening as it was happening. Same as Twitter. In a way, we lost that - somewhere around the same time we lost Superwholock. I wonder if that was the price. But anyway, fashion, movies, tv show, MVs: I used to be kept up to date by tumblr. Now I have to open other platforms- such as Instagram and Twitter - to learn news about my interests. I wish I didnt. I hate the negative emotions both those platforms bring. I like being here. I wanna stick to being here.

If you can be kept up to date on news about your interest on tumblr... I just wonder what are those subjects.

Tumblr has a lot of things it could be better at - it should be better at. We shouldn't let our nostalgic and self centered visions react to change, otherwise we will be stuck in a vicious cycle of complaining when things don't work, and complaining when things are fixed.

"I will never be your creator", they claim, with a passive aggressive tone. Well, honey: you just wrote a whole lot for someone who is not interested in create. Creation and creativity is not limited to the uses of influencers on TikTok. They are what bring us together. Without creativity AND creators there is not a single reason to log on tumblr. You are either consuming or creating, even if its just discourse for the sake of discourse. Or, as we used to call it back in the day, good old wank.

*sorry for my bad English, it's not my first or second language

*this rant is aimed at Tumblr user @thatlittleegyptilogist, that I just can't tag. Hope you see it, honey.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.

[daddymothxxx]

"Intersex humans don't have a retractable penis that doubles as a vaginal type opening, lol. (Val has that setup as a Sinner.)"

Kindly speaking as an intersex person; I don't think this is accurate to refer to this character as intersex because it doesn't fit the definition. Even in a non-human-centric definition, intersex refers to sex traits that deviate from the typical sex traits for that species. Since all the Hazbin/Helluva sinners have completely different anatomy from one another, there's not really a good way to apply intersex as a label to any of them. The same is true of other fantasy characters that don't really have a defined species with defined sex characteristics. Like shape shifters or beings where they are the only one of their kind.

I could see a sinner in this universe being intersex if they were intersex while they were a human though. Regardless I'd say that this is a misuse of the term intersex just for that reason, I'm glad you do seem to have an understanding of our anatomy though and don't think we have a whole penis/scrotum and a whole vagina/uterus.

Yeah, just working with the best words I got, I guess. In that it's very obviously a non-human 'fantasy' type set up on anatomy.

I can't update my stuff at the moment between work and needing to sleep and some work related excitement, but I was talking to @the-smallest-star when I woke up 'cause they were talkin' about they got a similar comment or anon or something and was sharing the information with me they learned. I'm assuming because they know I got a couple characters with a fantastical, not-realistic, anatomy setup and, again, I only had certain words to work with. And there are other words I DEFF didn't wanna use. lol.

Anyway, I'm afab so while I do my best to be aware and research and etc, I'm no expert and it's not my lived experience. Same for non-white experiences. I do my best, but it's not my lived in experience nor do I have any degrees in the subject. Just try to be knowledgeable (I legitimately love humans despite all our societal flaws, we're very neat--more of a special interest than anything else).

And, honestly, a lot of people are going to lay a Sinner and a human side by side and make the comparison and find...correlation between humans and non-human creatures because, as humans, we often anthropomorphize what is around us to relate and understand. Which is legitimately what is happening to even create a universe like HH/HB and other original or corporatized media! We write and imagine from a very intrinsically human perspective. It's in human nature. You can't separate it, I don't think and I'm not interested in trying, to be honest. I feel that anthropomorphism is crucial to any one of us relating to a story at all. (and is inherently what you're doing too in a way, relating your human experience to the context of the stories.)

That being said; I do plan to do some modifications to the information of bios and stuff going forward to reflect this perspective/information you've shared--just might not see that done until sunday or mondayish (work stuff and the like will cause delays @_@ unless things are quiet tonight??? we'll see! VIGOROUSLY KNOCKS ON INTERNET WOOD).

I do also have to figure out...there's some characters of mine that have magical items that allow for their anatomy to flow with their gender expression that I have to find new words for. They've always been awkward and hard to put in as one-word identifiers for the profile format I use--I guess I've been using intersex as the umbrella term. Like trans is an umbrella word to cover an variety of specific gender experiences. But it seems that you, as an real life intersex person, prefer more specification to keep the fantasy element separated from your lived in experience (which I respect obviously, or at least I have hopefully communicated thus far). I just gotta work it out when I have the ability to dedicate the undivided attention to get those new/more specific words figured out. (If you have suggestions of course...I'm open to them. And/or resources and such.)

Things to think about. Things to listen to. I do appreciate you coming forward. I hope it's not super stressful.

And that my response isn't offensive, wheeze.

tldr; humans are awesome, stories are cool, i appreciate you stepping forward, i will do some homework and change some terms around and/or find a way to be more specific and clear that fantasy is not reality for intersex humans (soon as I am not tied up with work), and hope you're doing well!

[bonnie-is-bumbling]

So here lately, my special interest has been airplanes! And not the typical cool fighter jets or anything. But the Boeing 747, or the new 777x, various Airbus or Embraer models... It's only right I watched a video on the De Havilland Comet.

(Picture snagged from google. If you're the owner and would like me to mention you or take the post down, let me know, I'm not argumentative ♡)

This is my take on it- know I do not work in aviation, and to be WAY too honest, I'm not GREAT at research. I'm way too wary of sites, sources, etc. I'll state what I know, and what I think I know. If I'm wrong, please don't be mean about it- I'm very happy to learn more!

Just look at the absolute aesthetic of this plane.

I wonder if modern aircraft could pull off the engines embedded in the wings or if that in itself is a trouble this plane had. I could have heard why they aren't that way at some point, but brain.exe has rebooted since. SO I'm gonna throw what I DID retain from a few videos in this post!

The Comet was the very first commercial airplane using 100% jet engine power, and it was an absolute improvement over piston-engine, propeller flown planes commonly used. It could fly faster, further, and above the weather. It almost didn't happen, because jet fuel just wasn't/isn't very efficient until it reaches a certain altitude.

That said, the Comet was subject to cabin pressurization issues, as evidenced by the planes basically evaporating from time to time mid-air. But mind you, as unsafe as this may seem now, in those days, the Comet was near, if not THE pinnacle of safety in aviation.

While I can't recall if I've ACTUALLY researched it or not, or if it was discussed in the documentaries I've watched, and articles I've read... I would imagine this engine design would have one very big accessibility issue. I would imagine to work on the engines, mechanics would have to work around the wing, if not remove the whole bloody wing.

Not to mention, modern jet aircraft are generally built to have their engine fly OFF the plane and avoid the fuselage if they absolutely MUST detach. The Comet could not do that. As scary as a detached engine sounds, modern planes are built to still be able to land of they lose an engine. Twin-engine jets can fly on one, though I'd imagine getting the right balance is tough on pilots. And a B747 or an A380 can fly on two, but again, this depends on SO many factors.

Either way, were a failure to happen in a Comet engine, I could be wrong, but generally I'd say my only hope would be to hope the thing wasn't on fire and about to spread to the plane. Though therein does lie a curiosity of mine-- What WOULD, in theory, happen if someone took the design of the Comet and threw nothing but new, modern technologies into it?

I mean, modern engines, modern computer systems, safety systems, entertainment and comfort systems... Literally everything except for how it looks... Modern materials, of course. I wonder if it would be about the same, or if it would be really cool, or, on a darker note, would it be catastrophic? Isn't it wild how far aviation has come? Our modern airplanes are just these cool, graceful metal birds in the sky. Birds that are a LOT bigger up close!

Oh my, I didn't fly on it unfortunately, but the last time I was at an airport, it was either a 747 or an A380 I saw at another terminal through the windows and HOLY COW. I really do forget they're THAT big. To wrap it up- planes are really cool! Those who work in aviation or know about planes, I'd love to hear what YOU think would happen, if someone made a 'modern comet' and tried to fly it. Or if you have any interesting tidbits about it, I wanna see itttt! Until later, all. Cheers ♡

[trappedwell]

15 Questions for 15 mutuals

Thanks for @berisims who tagged me! It was so cute and pleasant haha

- are you named after anyone? No, my mom just knew my name was Masha. Although, to be honest, at first she wanted to call me Aurora….Since recently I have been using the name "Aurora" as my middle name hehe - when was the last time you cried? When I woke up. I had really bad nightmares today…I rarely cry because of my dreams, so my morning turned out to be special huh - do you have kids? No. I do not know if I can physically have children at all. This is the first. And the second is that I love children, but I wasn't born to give birth to them….Anyway, let's see how things turn out in the future. - do you use sarcasm a lot? NEVER. I hate sarcasm. - what’s the first thing you notice about other people? Their vibe i think. And appearance) - eye colour? Green with brown central heterochromia! - scary movies or happy endings? I LOVE SCARY MOVIES WITH HAPPY ENDIIINGGGSSSSS AAAAA - ny special talents? Special?…I do not think so….I sing, draw, learn to play guitar, ukulele, edit videos and…I'm not sure how WELL I can make noise in my ears. It's all. - where were you born? God, I don't want to say that…I am ashamed of my country. And I hate my government and laws. - what are your hobbies? Drawing, tarot, singing, playing guitar and ukulele, edits and em…And I also like to watch ASMRs {M4F} ahahaha.........///// In general, I'm an interesting person, really, but so far I don't really understand what I like and what I want to do. - do you have any pets? YEP! Two cats -- girls Zoey and Vanya! - how tall are you? 162cm - fave subject in school? English and literature (i was the best in the last subject))))) - dream job? I want to never work. I hate job) Just do what i wanna to do -- its all! Tagging @simarcana!

[azucanela]

ack anon with the dress hcs here- tysvm for those!! my heart~ ok so another random idea i just needed to share but bakugou/deku/todoroki first frenchie kiss with their s.o. and neither of them have much experience 😖 lots of fluffy awkwardness y'know? idk. again go ahead and add on but don't stress yourself!

FRENCH KISSES WITH THEIR S/O [GN!HEADCANNONS]

[ft. bakugo katsuki, izuku midoriya, todoroki shouto]

SUMMARY: someone decides to bring of french kissing and as expected; its chaotic.

WORD COUNT: french kissing? nothing explicit, very mildly suggestive

WARNINGS: kissing, maybe second hand embarrassment but i doubt it, awkward situations

A/N: my search history is “how to french kiss now” which is the main reason i held off on doing this one ajkshdkjah also this is my first time writing for our boy deku so uhhhh be kind to me, also anon you are now dress anon also i tried something new because i couldn’t bring myself to write full scenarios also i can’t write for midoriya i TRIED BUT I THINK HIS IS BAD

BAKUGO KATSUKI

HEADCANNONS + MINI SCENARIO

lol this is funny

THIS

this is peak comedy right here

hes gonna be so embarrassed but hes gonna try to act like hes completely unaffected by everything that is going on

i feel like he knows what french kissing is and has definitely thought about french kisses with you but he would never bring it up because it embarrassing for him

he might just randomly try it and place you in a complete state of shock, like y’all are just making out and— whoops would you look at that somehow you two are now french kissing! wonder how that happened... 

if you ask him he will flat out deny you the first time around because he is embarrassed, but keep trying!! after a few attempts he’s gonna claim to be annoyed but it’s actually because he wants to

“Hey Katuski, you know what we should do—”

Bakugou slams the textbook that laid on his lap shut, a sound reverberating through the library the two had gone two, which earned him a strict glare from the librarian seated at the front desk. His eyes narrowed as they look to Y/N, “if you say French kissing, I swear I will break up with you right now.”

Despite his harsh words, Y/N can see the pink blush that dusts his cheeks as they lean forward on their arm, tilting their head at him innocently as they reply, “actually, I was thinking we could go see a movie later.” Their words only worsen the blush on Bakugou’s cheeks, causing him to snap his head away in an attempt to salvage some of his reputation, “but that works too.” 

“Shut up you damn nerd.” The boy grumbles, brows furrowing as he leans back in his seat, looking away as he says, “if it’ll get you to stop asking then I guess we can try it.” Y/N is about to open their mouth to reply but Bakugou quickly adds, “only once though! Damn nerd...”

A grin finds its way onto Y/N’s face and they nod slowly, “great.”

“I hate you.”

honestly i feel like he would lowkey be bad at it the first time around and bakugou is the type of person where if he tries something and isn’t good at it immediately he either avoids this activity entirely or tirelessly works to improve his skill

luckily for you this happens to be a skill that bakugou wants to improve, alot because for some reason you wanted to try this and if he’s not good at it then whats the point

regardless the first time around is like a solid 6.75/10 sorry bakugou oops, you tried, but i feel like he’s already a really like aggressive and like harsh kisser so this is just gonna make things a mess

he can be soft sometimes tho i swear

i feel like he would get good at it after some ~practice~ but even then its a rare occurrence to french kiss with bakugou, its really intimate and he saves it for special occasions or when hes bored lol

IZUKU MIDORIYA

HEADCANNONS + MINI SCENARIO

THIS ONE

OH YOU ARE GOING TO KILL HIM WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND DO THIS like apologize, apologize rn for the stress you are about to cause him

if you try to initiate a french kiss with izuku here, you NEED to tell him ahead of time or else things will go south very very fast. he’s going to panic because this is new and he does not understand what is happened oh my-

give him a heads up whenever you want to try something new, so when you pull this while kissing him he’s going to pull away like what a r e you d o i n g 

once you tell him he’s gonna be like let’s do this tomorrow, and then will spend the rest of the day RESEARCHING how to french kiss properly, like he’s on wikihow and everything this boy wants to treat you right and is going to make sure you enjoy it

which is when when y’all finally french kiss he is going to be good at it okay, he’ll learn every strategy possible and then he will be a PRO like you’re probably going to be shocked for a hot minute because wait when did he have the time to get good at this—

you’re definitely his first partner and he had no experience prior to you but he trained himself because going into any anything blind and without a plan places him in a state of distress

this was a PLANNED EVENT it was like a date except without all the date stuff just french kissing, like he texts you “hey lets try that thing you wanted to try...” all shy and stuff like he literally took five minutes to actually send the text, and you are trying to figure out what that thing is because deku do you mean like the coffee shop ?? what ??

you make him specify and he nearly dies but its fine its fine, when he finally gets his point across you’re like okay! cool!

overall its a pretty nice experience, i feel like he would be really gentle with you per usual but it was also probably really awkward like homeboy fr sat you down on the bed and just stared at you with bright red cheeks for like

a really hot minute

Y/N brow raised as they stared at Izuku, who’s eyes had pierced into their head since they’d sat down. Oddly enough, Y/N found his meticulous planning of this to just make the situation more awkward, it had done nothing to relieve the burning sensation in their cheeks. But Y/N had a feeling that only one of them could flustered about this or else everything would fall apart rather quickly. It had also been their idea in the first place so, there was that factor too.

“Are you alright, Izuku—”

“FINE. I—I’m fine, I mean.” He cleared his throat as he sat across from them, his cheeks a bright red color as Y/N tilted their head at his antics.

A small laugh escaped them, “If you don’t want to do this Izuku, we don’t have to.” He’d always been easily flustered, so Y/N couldn’t say his reaction came as a shock, but he’d agreed to it nonetheless just yesterday.

This seemed to bring the boy back to reality as he shook his head, “no... I want to.” He straightened in his seat, looking away from Y/N as he tried to collect himself.

A grin spread across Y/N’s face as they leaned closer to Izuku, “fantastic.” Their words only served to fluster Izuku further, though Y/N could feel their cheeks warming as well. 

“Right.”

french kissing will not be a regular occurrence, izuku feels embarrassed whenever it happens, he gets shy, all around a very rare thing for him that will only occur if you initiate it, but PLEASE let him know ahead of time, he needs to mentally prepare himself

he enjoys it though 

hehe

TODOROKI SHOUTO

HEADCANNONS + MINI SCENARIO

why am i laughing rn

okay but like shouto probably discovers it online entirely by accident or like hears kaminari talking about it and decides he should educate himself because hes fluent in french and knows alot about the culture of france because of all the tutors his father hired so why doesn’t he know what this elusive french kissing his? 

shouto is also fluent in kissing he honestly just really enjoys kissing you, he doesn’t know why but its probably because hes touch starved and just likes intimacy like that but he never really knew how much he liked physical touch until he actually experience it [in a positive way] and also you are SOFT :D

regardless shouto is the one who brings it up and honestly you are gonna be shocked because how did this clueless bb find out about that??? sir??? who is teaching you these things?

“You want to do what?” 

Y/N couldn’t help the shock that flooded them as they stared at their boyfriend, Shouto Todoroki, who sat with his legs crossed before them on the bed as he replied, “French kissing.” The boy in question repeated, tilting his head at them as he watched her reaction.

Y/N shook their head in an attempt to clear their thoughts as they looked back up at him, meeting his eyes, “who taught you about that?” In the past, Y/N had been forced to explain... certain subjects to Shouto because of things he’d overheard in conversations or seen online. Sometimes it was entirely innocent and other times, well it wasn’t. This time around, it seemed Shouto had took it upon himself to learn, rather than asking Y/N. 

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” Come his response, brows furrowing at her question, “however, if its not something you’re interested in then—”

“I didn’t say that!” And Y/N couldn’t help how their cheeks warmed at how quickly they cut him off, hands coming to their face in embarrassment.

the internet and unintentionally kaminari, or maybe intentionally 

he doesn’t do any research in fact, he might not even bring it up, next time he sees you in a private space, he’s just gonna start kissing you and you’re probably gonna be like aight bet thats chill this is normal

UNTIL he just grabs your thigh and in the shock your mouth gapes open and SHOUTO STRIKES

honestly i feel like he would be ridiculously good at french kissing for no reason, i don’t know why, i have no explanation, he’s just good at it 

its a talent

of all the boys he is the least embarrassed he has no shame, its just natural curiosity right? whatever happens happens. it is literally so annoying how UNFAZED HE IS

probably really liked it because hes a touchy kinda guy, so this will become a more frequent thing when you two are in private, he just enjoys it 

TAGLISTS[lmk if you wanna be added or removed via asks or replies]

[egg-emperor]

I just wanna say thanks to all those that support me and blog and what I do and show support, offer suggestions, or give reassurance whenever I have my doubts in whether putting my efforts into posting my content is worth it or not. I feel bad too often about sharing my thoughts and creations because it will feel like the large majority of people don't care for or dislike my particular types of content. especially because it seems I was cursed to have the most unpopular interests, thoughts, and opinions on Eggman. (to the point I'm accused of doing it in purpose to piss people, as if I base my feelings on what others think)

it's at the point that I feel like I don't even fit in amongst a bunch of Eggman fans because I don't have an interest in creating the cool popular high demand content and I feel alienated and ignored for not having a personal interest in tapping into it, despite all the other Eggman content I post about that we do actually have an interest in common with, I'm still disappointing or annoying because of my differences. also some treat me like an enemy for enjoying Eggman's evil and people have even cut ties/ended friendship over it. and because I'm open about how I feel, I'm accused of being unaccepting of different takes and interpretations, despite it always turning out to be projection from them and I try to remember that

in the end, one of the main things that keeps me going is the support in the various types of content I create and the encouragement in continuing, regardless of the people that give me shit for it or make me feel like I don't belong. remembering not everyone is like that and knowing some can find joy in what I create is a delight. ultimately, kind words and encouragement stay with me and matter a lot more than hate and that's why I'm still doing this. I might not "fit in" anywhere in this fandom regardless of character and subjects I post and while it bothers me when I think about it too much and get lonely, I'm learning to accept it and tell myself it doesn't mean my passion and creations are disliked by everyone and there still might be interest for my unique and unpopular ways.

and, if anything, it makes my content stand out in it's own little special way, right? kind of like back when I was one of the only active Eggman blogs on Tumblr for a few years and it was considered weird and not cool by most lol. while there are more now, my blog still has its silly little niches and content of certain styles and subjects with Eggman that you won't see anywhere else. I'm trying to look at it as a good thing and take pride in my efforts and dedication, instead of beating myself up for my differences and putting down my work. I try not let lack of popularity in it stop me from doing something I genuinely enjoy, which is exactly what I post now and will continue because as long as I want to, hate can't make me stop and the support will matter more to me and keep me going instead.

thank you to those that support me in it, it means a lot to me that I have somewhere to be myself and express myself honestly and I'm really happy and grateful to have you all here 💜

[mellometal]

Is it time to tear ANOTHER Dhar Mann video to shreds? YOU BET.

I've been sitting on this one for a bit because I wanted to make sure I talk about this tactfully. The subject of parents abandoning their disabled children is a very touchy one.

Parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled is way too common. Like, I understand that not everyone has the resources to care for a disabled child (which is why you reach out for help, and why people like me, who work with disabled people, exist), but it doesn't mean you just walk out of their life. There are exceptions, like if you truly didn't want children or something like that, but just flat-out walking out of your kid's life BECAUSE they're disabled is fucked up.

I know someone personally whose biological mother abandoned her when she was born. Why? Because she's disabled. Physically, and mentally, to a point. I work with this woman on a daily basis. I don't really know WHY exactly her biological mother abandoned her, but I do know that her being disabled was part of it. It's sad. It doesn't affect her, thankfully. I'm happy that she's got her biological dad, her brother, and another maternal figure in her life, at least.

ANYWAYS. Before we get to the topic at hand, I need to put an obligatory trigger warning, like I do with EVERY Dhar Mann post:

This post will be talking about parents abandoning their disabled children simply for being disabled, treating disabilities like they're tragedies (in this case, we're talking about autism...again), divorce, and some SPICY ableist bullshit from an allistic (nonautistic) PIECE OF SHIT.

If any of this triggers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, you don't have to read this post. This isn't worth putting yourself in a bad state mentally. I would never ask for any of you to put yourselves in that position all for a post. Put your mental health and well-being first. Consume media that sparks joy for you.

As far as my response goes, it's definitely more calm than normal. Funny....since this video is about autism spectrum disorder again. (Third time's the charm, huh, Dhar Mann? NOT.)

LET'S FUCKING GET IT.

The video starts off with these two parents (Gwen and Allen) in a psychologist's office. The psychologist tells the parents that their son (Chance) is autistic, and she tries to explain what autism is to the parents, but Allen cuts her off. Why? Because he teaches at a prestigious university, so he AUTOMATICALLY knows what autism is from that fact alone.

Um, excuse me? Just because you're a teacher at a prestigious university, it doesn't mean you're an expert in everything. It doesn't make you an expert in ASD or anything like that. Unless you SPECIALIZE in that area. Even then, shut the fuck up. The people who know about being autistic are AUTISTIC PEOPLE THEMSELVES! SHOCKER.

Hey, Dhar Mann! QUIT WITH THE VIDEOS ABOUT AUTISTIC LITTLE WHITE BOYS AND YOUNG WHITE AUTISTIC CISHET MEN! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF IT. It's annoying, ignorant, and it feels like you're doing this on purpose at this point to piss people off. If you're so uninformed about autism in women and girls, FUCKING ASK AUTISTIC WOMEN AND GIRLS! DO BETTER RESEARCH THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE AUTISM SPEAKS. The Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN) are great organizations to go to for any kind of research on ASD in women and girls. STOP GOING OFF OF THE BRAINS OF AUTISTIC WHITE BOYS AND AUTISTIC WHITE MEN.

I don't feel I need to go too deep into the fact that autistic women, autistic girls, autistic nonbinary people, autistic BIPOC, autistic AAPI, autistic LGBT people, autistic teenagers, and autistic adults exist. Y'all already know.

Gwen asks the psychologist if that means Chance isn't healthy. (I understand not knowing about autism, but don't treat it like it's a terminal illness. Please.) The psychologist tells her that Chance is fine, but he just learns differently and might need more support compared to his peers.

Yeah, autism can affect how you learn about certain things (limited and repetitive patterns), but there are other disabilities that can affect learning as well. Like how dyslexia can affect your ability to read, dyspraxia can affect your ability to do math, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect your ability to focus or on impulse control. Autism affects how your brain is developed, it affects you socially, behaviorally, and how you communicate.

Allen is upset, says that he can't have a son "with a learning disability" (ASD is a neurological disability, not necessarily a learning disability), and treats Chance like he's stupid for being autistic. Gwen tells her husband that autism doesn't make you any less intelligent, WHICH IS SO FUCKING TRUE. ABSOLUTE FACTS. I was totally with her until she began that little monologue with "Just because a person HAS autism". SAY "JUST BECAUSE A PERSON'S AUTISTIC" INSTEAD! IT'S NOT HARD. PERSON FIRST LANGUAGE ISN'T WHAT EVERY DISABLED PERSON PREFERS. Allen says that "they could have another kid" and "put Chance up for adoption". Gwen obviously wasn't down with that. Allen gives his wife an ultimatum that it's either HIM or their son Chance. Gwen says that she can't choose between the two, but she will stand by her autistic son. Allen gets up and leaves the office, saying he wants a divorce.

Years pass by, Gwen is single and taking care of her autistic son Chance, and Allen has a new life with a ✨perfect son✨ (Samuel). He never mentions the son HE abandoned (Chance). He's completely forgotten about Gwen and Chance. (YOU OWE SO MUCH CHILD SUPPORT, ALLEN.)

Hey, Allen, how much do you wanna bet that your ✨perfect son✨ Samuel is autistic too?

There's the SATs, they're announcing a winner, and guess who it is? IT'S OBVIOUSLY CHANCE, OF COURSE. He's got the highest score in the country, with Samuel in second place. Allen is PISSED.

Chance gives a speech about how his mom really helped him, he struggled with autism, how Allen LITERALLY ABANDONED HIM, and THE CROWD GOES FUCKING WILD. Samuel, instead of being a sore loser, APPLAUDS FOR CHANCE. Stay humble, Sam.

My thoughts on the video? If you cannot tell by my tone throughout this post, IT WAS DOG SHIT. This video was insensitive to the true reality of parents abandoning their disabled children just because they're disabled. What do I expect from Dhar Mann at this point?

Here's my response to his video below. Don't worry, I will fully type out my response soon for anyone who cannot read the screenshots easily. It's a lot easier for me to do that on the desktop site than it is for me to do it on my phone.

For anyone who can’t read my response, I’m typing it out for you. Like I said, it’s easier for me to type it out on the desktop site than it is for me to type it out on my phone. It’s a real royal pain in the ass. But because I’m trying to make my posts easier to read for people, I’m doing this anyway. /lighthearted

First, second, and third screenshots (broken up into paragraphs):

Hey, listen, I appreciate the message you’re trying to go for, but can you please stop putting autistic people into a box? Can you stop treating being autistic like it’s a tragedy? Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school who’s considered “wild and unruly” or “super quiet and makes no friends”, nor are they a young white cishet man who’s a super genius or is how Chris Chan was before she came out as trans. (For anyone who doesn’t know about Chris Chan, there are many documentaries people have made on YouTube, and I highly recommend Geno Samuel’s docuseries, if you’re really interested in learning about Chris Chan.)

Autistic women, girls, nonbinary people, BIPOC, APPI, LGBT people, teenagers, and adults all exist too. 

It’s very apparent now that you get your resources from Autism $peaks, a hate group that spends the vast majority of their money on funding eugenics instead of helping autistic people like they claim, claims that only little white boys and young white cishet men are autistic and ignores all other autistic people who don’t fit that description, have no autistic people on their leader board or on any board for that matter, have members who have actually fantasized about k1lling their autistic children, treat autism like it’s a tragedy or a disease someone can catch (completely false), act like autism should be cured (there is no cure, and ABA therapy is a total shit show in itself), and treats autistic people like they’re broken and need to be fixed. Also, not every autistic person is a Super Genius(tm). That’s so demeaning to autistic people who aren’t seen as intelligent in any way. I’m autistic and seen as smart; however, there are subjects I’m stronger in than others.

If you can’t handle the possibility of having autistic children, or just disabled children in general, DON’T HAVE CHILDREN. If you can’t handle working with or alongside disabled people, including autistic people, maybe find a different profession. Even if you do that, you’ll never get away from disabled people. Disabled people aren’t a disease. We’re human beings just like neurotypical and able-bodied people.

Fourth and fifth screenshots (broken up into paragraphs): 

I would highly suggest getting resources from reputable organizations for ASD, such as the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autistic Women and Nonbinary People Network (AWN). Talk to any autistic person who isn’t a little white boy or a young white cishet man. 

Instead of using the puzzle piece, which is a symbol that many autistic people, myself included, are offended by (because of Autism $peaks and other organizations before them using it, plus it symbolizes that only autistic children exist and that we’re “missing a piece” like we’re broken), use the rainbow infinity sign (for all neurodivergent people) or the red and gold infinity sign (just for autistic people). Instead of “lighting it up blue”, light it up red or gold. Do both if you want. 

I’m actually really sick and tired of seeing just autistic little white boys and young autistic white cishet men being represented in the media, and y’all manage to fuck that up too. 

Before anyone mentions Sia’s movie “Music”, that’s also very poor representation of autistic girls. Besides, the actress who played the autistic girl isn’t even autistic. She MOCKED autistic people. I know she’s a kid, but that’s still super fucked up. I hope she’s able to turn that around. 

If anyone would like to discuss this topic with me or ask any questions, feel free to. I’ll answer as best as I can. Thank you and have a good night.

Before I get attacked for mentioning Chris Chan in my response, I bring up Chris Chan because allistic people think that every autistic person is like her (especially before she came out as trans). That person is part of why I wasn't open about being autistic or talking about my diagnosis until this year. I didn't want to be grouped up with Chris Chan because I do have very similar interests to her, I've been seen as cringey for having said interests, and just the way Chris treated autistic people who were formerly diagnosed with A$p3rg3r$ $yndr0m3 (like I was) really made me feel even more alienated.

Also, S1a supports A$ (Autism $p3aks). She's not a very good person to support. Some of her music is good, but her as a person....no. Her movie "Music" was gross, from what I've read about it and seen pictures of.

If you've read this far, thank you so much!

[authorlaurawinter]

I've been writing as a hobby for a long time and just recently decided I want to turn it into a career, but I have no idea where to start. Do you have any advice? Is there anything you wish you'd known before you started publishing your work?

Thanks for the ask!

So, everyone's journey is different, so I'll share a little about mine. FYI this is my career now, but it didn't start that way.

The first book I published was kind of a 'I wanna prove to myself I can do it', so I did everything "wrong" (according to all the advice out there). Just so you know, that wasn't the end of the world. Basically, I did no marketing, edited the crap out of my own work, and just threw it up on Amazon because I wanted to say I wrote a book.

It wasn't until after that book was out that I realized I wanted to do this full time. So after that book, I started taking things a little more seriously. I started applying things I learned and made it into a business.

Basically, here comes the advice that worked for me. This is not universal, and some might work for you and some for others and some not at all. Just based on my experience.

1. Treat it like a business

Self-publishing for profit is not for the faint of heart. I say this because you have to wear many hats. You can't just be a writer. You have to be the marketer, the financial planner, the designer, the leader, the manager, the business person. Now, if you have the funds to pay others to do those parts, great! If you don't (like me), you have to learn to do that yourself. Which means hours that you used to spend writing are now spent learning and applying these other facets of the business.

The best advice about this - start learning now, start building a list of people who will be your readers immediately. Figure out where/how you want to publish (there are other places to publish and not just exclusively on Amazon. For reference, I publish exclusively with Amazon, and that's just a personal choice). Learn marketing and how to apply it to your writing (how to promote your book, what sort of audience you want, etc. This is an extensive topic and I could go on for days). Understand your budget and what you expect out of this (know that first time authors don't always get that million dollar check right away. I'm still waiting on mine, but each publication gets better and better. It's a slow process, so be realistic). Start a newsletter or get people interested in your work now.

2. Start a newsletter / reader capture

Basically, you want to know who reads your books and start a funnel of readers who will buy future books you write. No, you won't get everyone to join in, but those people who like your work and want to know when you have new stuff will join.

This is also an extensive subject, but know that I didn't do this at first and I'm doing fine. Did I lose some readers of published book 1 because I didn't have a way to keep them informed? Yup. But Now I have a list of readers who interact and read my updates, preorder my newest books, and buy them regularly. These are my fans and I treat them as if they are gods and goddesses.

How do you best do this? A reader magnet. This is basically giving away a shorter snippet of your work (jury is out on best length - some say a full book, some suggest about 10K story. However, you want this to be the best representation of your writing, so take this little story seriously). Make sure anyone who downloads it has to input their email (store this in Mailchimp, Mailerlite, SendFox, etc. there are free options for smaller lists but eventually you will have to pay).

Then, deliver on their expectations. If you say you're going to update them once a month, do that. I deliver one every friday, but I'm moving to a bi-weekly schedule next year (for many reasons, personal and business related).

Will people download your story then leave your mailing list? Yup. It sucks. Will others stay on and become future readers and buy all your stuff? Also yes! And these people are special so you treat them like they are your lifeblood.

3. Be professional, but also be yourself

If you want this to be your career, you have to take everything (including yourself) somewhat seriously. That's not saying you need to adopt a strict business-professional demeanor in everything you do. You just need to take the business side seriously. All this to say - you don't have to be someone you aren't just because you want to publish for profit.

The business side : this is the output. The writing, the cover design, the display.

Give your readers the best product you can. Can all of us afford a line editor? No. Do some line editors still miss spelling errors and other issues? Heck yeah. I can't tell you how many spelling mistakes I've seen in traditionally published work. There will be mistakes, oh well. Move on, but do your best to deliver the most polished product you can.

Can all of us afford a $400 cover every time we publish a book? Nope. Can all of us design a cover on our own? Also no! Be realistic about your skills. Most Wattpad covers made from pinterest pulled images and weird text will deter readers on Amazon and other platforms. Also, those are copyrighted images and illegal to use for profit, but I digress. Basically, there are professional covers out there for cheap if you can't design one that looks professional. Look in your genre and try to make it representative as best you can, and if you can't, start looking for help.

Handling yourself professionally : that's when complaints or issues arise. Someone responds to your newsletter with an issue? Be polite and respectful, even if they are wrong. Your readers can make or break you - one bad interaction can make them leave, or worse, they leave bad reviews that have nothing to do with your work. It sucks, and misunderstandings happen, but you can minimize this by being professional.

Now, you can also be yourself. This comes from your social media presence and how you present yourself through your newsletter. I am 'professional' (when it comes to the business stuff), but I don't always have strict newsletters and cookie cutter social media posts. No, I put my own flare in there! I add memes that I think are funny, tell them about mistakes I've made writing, and share a few personal updates. I've set this expectation with my readers so they know what they are going to get when they open my stuff.

Cater to your audience with this (and think about genre). If you write humor, your readers will love to hear about the funny things in your work! If you write fantasy, share some of the fun things you've learned or wikipedia rabbit holes you've fallen into looking up how using the bathroom works in a society without running water or plumbing. If you always have a cat in your story, share funny photos about your fluffy companion.

4. Social media

yes, have a presence. No, you don't have to be on every platform. Basically, pick one you like and find your readers there. What you choose to post is up to you, just keep in mind that people will associate this with your brand (writing, published works, you, etc).

I hate Twitter so I don't use it. I have a Facebook page that basically directs people to my other places. I am active on Instagram, Tumblr, and have a Discord server for my readers. That's where I stay.

5. Have fun

Yes, there is a lot that goes into this, but at the end of the day, if you don't enjoy it, you're going to be miserable.

Some of us get into writing and love that aspect but despise everything else. Ask yourself: can I do all the things that I don't like and still get something out of this? Is the icky marketing and 'selling myself' worth the reward I get from writing and sharing my work?

I'm lucky that my educational background is business and marketing and I enjoy that stuff (it's also information technology, but that's less useful in publishing except for running my website). Social media is a draining aspect for me, but in the end, I've found platforms I enjoy being on and focus on those.

Write what you want to write. Find your niche and get into it. There will be readers, and you can put in the work to find them. When you do, it'll be awesome.

Okay, that got super long winded, but I hope that helps! And I'm always open to answer more or help out in any way I can! I love all of this stuff and have experience failing and succeeding so I'm not shy about sharing my experiences.

[sk-lumen]

Need serious advice about setting boundaries or communicating when dealing with a person who:

Is a parent

Has unhealthy communication methods -- it takes very little for them to start full-blown screaming, shouting out all your 'negative' things/mistakes/past, can continue to scream-criticise you even after you've gone silent, for WHOLE MINUTES even if you've shut up, will not accept anything that even hints at them making a mistake

You can't trust since childhood coz u made the mistake of confiding in them with a serious issue as a young teen --- mental related --- and they belittled and invalidated you, and since then pretended you never confided in them and have NO IDEA how you've been coping without them or ANYone else for years... Yeah thanks, parent, what u said back then made me think I was the one at fault and so I stopped trusting even friends coz yeah, when ur own parent doesn't give a damn, why would anyone else?

Is a master at silent treatments without explaining what EXACTLY they're punishing you for, then when theyre in the mood, will start talking to you as if they hadn't ignored you for days. Lol I'd rather be water boarded I think. Especially for all the damage this caused when I was a child

Won't openly talk about what they want, yet expects ALL FHE TIME others (in the family) to know what they want, then will complain/scream/angry for AGES about how no one cares, no one gives a damn... And when someone asks them what they want, they either say: nothing, or "you should know! Can't u see?"

Upon asking them to please talk normally, will blow a fuse, and lose it --- happened multiple times today

Literally will use me as a scape goat to unleash their frustrations upon. Even when I leave the room, I can hear them b*tch about how much of a failure I am etc. The trigger being anything that bothers them, from a phone call to something other siblings did, bla bla. I limit my time with them... But it's like, it feels impossible to have them treat me normally, without ridiculing or criticising me. I'm already a very low self esteem person... This doesn't help AT ALL

In short, refuse to tell/ask/discuss important stuff, and getting mad randomly that no one read their mind, bcoz everyone's 'old enough to have enough sense' to know what they 'should' do... Eg will not pikc up the phone when we call them from the store to ask when what the needed isn't available, so what other alternative can we get... And then when we get home, will instead blame us for being fussy and not getting the alternative, completelt skirting around the issue they didn't deign to pick up the phone... I mean, I don't get it. In the past I HAVE in fact asked them to just openly tell me what they want/expect from me to make them happy... Got passive aggressive answers like "don't you know? Are you dumb?" Bla bla

Passive aggressive to the max when they've lost it

Expect me to drop anything I'm doing and immediately cater to them, and expect me to help them in their hobbies (while simultaneously, as I learned many years ago to much heartache, not being interested or even pretending to be interested in my hobbies. The disinterest taught me very quickly how much what I wanted meant, leading to years of self-invalidation. Luckily I've learned it really is them, not me. My hobbies are valid)

Will not talk about why they're feeling angry, what causes it. Instead will blame me, who's like the golden scapegoat in our amazing family, by saying :YOU made me negative. They've said it many times now... It hurts a lot, when I'm also struggling with my own issues which I ofc can't confide in them about :)

Today I manned up -- the outburst of hatred happened again! Over a simple thing. It was NIGHTMARE and made me angry/sad/frustrated/triggered---, and so I told them to stop talking like that... Boy was that the wrong thing to say... I don't think I can accurately tell u what happened afterwards...

Usually children learn communication skills from the parents... I at least learned to recognize the unhealthy ones, and what NOT to communicate like lol. Like, other parent is even worse, believe it or not. But that's another complex situation

I'm not bashing on the parent. Lord knows I even have that much of a right huh? I hate myself eveb more when they invalidate me if I try to show how MUCH THEY HURT me after a 'communication session'. As in, heaven forbid me if I BE SILENT afterwards and DON'T wanna listen to their retardation. Nope. Even then they provoke me, rage at me, you know how sometimes enraged people hiss vitriol thru gritted teeth? Yeah, that's what they did today after I stayed silent and tried to ignore them an hour later after the 'session' when they wabted something. It's like they don't even need me to say a word and will carry on and on for minutes 🤢

I feel alone, helpless and at a loss what to do

I want to move out. Due to severe mental issues I can't even move out rn coz it scares me even more. But this has to stop. Things are only okay if I'm absolutely passive, say yes to whatever they want, kill my wants and needs, and become a perfect robot bred to cater to them (parent)

I hope you can help me out, dear

Hi darling,

It sounds like you’re in a considerably toxic environment. I'm sorry you're going through this. Know that this is not normal, nor is it how a parent/child relationship should be. In case there's any doubt, let me start by saying you deserve to be supported, respected, listened to, to have your needs met. You deserve to live in an environment that offers you all of these things.

With that being said, from the many scenarios you’ve mentioned you’ve already tried reasoning and setting boundaries, to no avail. There is only so much you can do on your own, if the other person in the equation is not meeting halfway or at all. After all, a healthy conversation involves two people, not just one.

Here's my advice, in this order:

Calmly and maturely asking the respective parent to have a serious discussion with you and to listen to what you have to say. Share how their actions and behaviour is making you feel, let them know you care, and make sure to mention several solutions for the issue as well. If this doesn’t work…

Bring up the subject of needing help from outside, such as the assistance of a specialist/therapist. Family counselling can shed a lot of light on toxic behaviours that are ingrained from childhood (both in their case and yours), on fears your parent may have, stress from their work, whatever is causing their outbursts and anger - because there is always a reason. Behind anger is sadness, and behind sadness is some need not being met, or an underlying fear, trauma, etc. This is not a justification for their behaviour, they are responsible for it; this is simply the fact of how energy dynamics work. People bottle up their frustrations, fears, etc, and let them out on those closest to them, to whom they feel superior. It’s not fair, and it’s not healthy, but it is frequently how this pattern works. If this solution doesn’t work either…

Then unfortunately, all you can do is focus on yourself. If they refuse to meet you anywhere along the road, you have to pack up your things and go your own way. Literally or metaphorically. They may be your parent and you may love them even in spite of their behaviour, but you cannot hold yourself responsible for anything they say or do; that is on them. In those cases, you have to prioritize your own mental health and wellbeing, and focus on moving out. If your (home) environment is toxic, you have to focus on first changing it. That’s vital. Only afterwards can you start healing, refinding yourself, reclaiming your self-esteem and confidence, your sense of worth. As long as you stay stuck in a toxic environment, you cannot really heal; if there is abuse of any kind (physical, mental, emotional), the causes are still there, leading to re-traumatizing.

If for whatever reason moving out is not (yet) an option, I would emphasize seeking some sort of counselling for yourself, if nothing else. You need an anchor, some sort of support that will help you along your path until you do get out.

Now, I don’t know how old you are. I am going to assume you are over 18 and of age, so only mind my advice if that is the case. (As disclaimer, I don't provide advice to minors as it's not the scope of my blog nor am I specialized/focused on that area.)

I understand moving out seems scary because it is unknown, but with that line of thought you may wait another 10 years in the same situation. Wouldn’t you wake up 10 years later already having done the hard work on moving out, finding your independence, claiming your sense of individuality and moving on from this sort of environment, this phase in your life?

Sooner is better than later, but do so with mindfulness and care over your mental health, of course. I know it’s scary. But being an adult requires some difficult decisions at times, and setting boundaries begins with choosing your wellbeing and doing what needs to be done, even if it is something uncomfortable short-term, but highly rewarding and beneficial long-term.

Hope this helps... and wishing you much luck, clarity, gentle guidance and comfort.✨

PS: Lately I've been receiving longer and longer letters in my inbox. As solution, I was thinking of having longer asks/letters redirected to my blog where there isn't any length limit, and readers can more comfortably browse both my tumblr and blog - and those requesting advice can share and receive a more in-depth response.

-Lumen