#i cannot stress to you enough that nothing about this video is edited. this was the live in-game audio

[fallout-lou-begas]

well i don't think that's normal, part 2 (part 1)

[apollos-boyfriend]

the funniest part is that like. some modern undeniably mcyt creators aren’t. even by definition “mcyt” bc they’re twitch streamers, not YouTubers. like. it’s just clear to me that it’s not a strict and defined label one way or another but rather a catch all for a certain subsection of content creators who either started in or have had major participation in minecraft related Things at some point (or are very heavily tied with people who did) yknow.

yeah!!! it’s actually a really interesting like, phenomenon. for the lack of a better term. just how much the label has expanded and changed to fit modern-day content creation. bc there’s this divide, kind of, between people who are a part of the community and those that aren’t. fans of mcyt will kind of label most ccs that even interact with mcyt as a mcyt themselves (crumb, for example) even if said creator hasn’t personally posted minecraft videos to youtube, or rarely stream it (if at all). and then you have people outside the fanbase that hold mcyt with a negative connotation that fight tooth and nail to argue that a specific cc isn’t an mcyt because they don’t want them to be, despite said cc fitting into the category perfectly, and being okay with the label. kind of an offshoot of lovejoy fans who don’t know that wilbur does minecraft content, but more extreme. idk fandom behaviour and the sociology of it?? for lack of a better term?? is always so interesting to me. there’s a lot of Very Specific Circumstances that led to modern mcyt and its development, popularity, and stigma, and i would dig deeply into all of it if i could

[hopeheartfilia]

im like. 3 hours of not sleeping away from starting to make soukoku videos on tiktok.

[kae-eee]

OK so, I wanna hear ur thought abt apple pls-

i have another post like this about her im not looking for rn (edit i found it) but i have so many more

apple is a fucking horse girl

dare i even say brony

she feels a spiritual connection to twilight

she’s also a theatre kid

and she’s apple so ofc she gets lead for every play

including musicals

she cannot fucking sing

she’s just so repressed something about her screams not cis to me

i think the first person she’d come out to is daring

she feels like she owes it to him to let him know

they’re in a qpr

tosses and turns in her sleep

if she ever even does i feel like she works through the night a lot

she feels like she’s failing as a princess if she relaxes

does grwm videos

in denial about liam payne rn

he was her comphet celebrity crush

shes so very interested in anatomy and the insides of everything

she wants to take everything apart

and when she’s alone she does

as a little treat

shes so strange i think if this was a modern au thing she’d wanna be something like a coroner

will start crashing out if you mention chappell throne

she doesn’t like cheese or milk

thinks too hard about where it comes from

honestly she doesn’t want any kids but she’ll have them anyway

has had an unrealized crush on just about all of her girl friends

is NOT ready for a relationship like at all

the second you ship her with someone it becomes doomed bc girly is not stable enough for all that

sometimes i think of her as aromantic and the biggest hopeless romantic at once and has romanticized this idea of true love since she was a little girl

this also gets me thinking about what it she just fucking died during dragon games

because even tho she loves so much and so hard it’s smothering

she’ll never be in love

or what if she fucking died because darling never tried to kiss her

what if her destined true love was a princess charming from a whole other line of charmings

if you can’t tell dappling pisses me off a little bit

not the ship itself but the way it’s usually written

like can we dig deeper into darling? show us her comphet too? bc there isn’t a single person at that school who doesn’t have heteronormativity engrained into them

this is about apple tho so let me stfu

back to dappling i think they’re like childhood friends who grew apart and got even more split from the destiny debate

hell i don’t even think they’re into each other

apples romanticizing darling as her true love

and darling feels obligated to act as such

shes just happy her destiny isn’t to be a damsel tbh

apple is in chronic pain

she doesn’t acknowledge it

doesnt know why

doesnt see a doctor about it even tho she knows they could afford it just fine

her mother knows and also ignores this

because her blonde hair and fucked up eyesight was more than enough flaws for a future snow white

and a future queen

kingdom management stresses her the fuck out

because i really don’t think she’s actually a people person

i actually think she’s very socially anxious naturally

and all those meetings with those powerful people terrify her

has scheduled crying time for when she knows raven isn’t home

will absolutely gaslight raven out of thinking she came in and saw apples eyes all puffy and red

do yall think she’d try weed?

she needs to do SOMETHING to chill out at least

chronic muscle tension

doesnt know there’s a word for why certain spots on her body and hard and cold to the touch

absolutely nothing to do with her chronic pain

trust me

her royal highness needs some royal crutches fr babygirl is struggling

that’s all that comes to mind rn because im in class, but tell me some of yours!

[dreamspelunker]

The Art of Dread: A Case for Skinamarink

The most common criticisms I’ve heard of the indie horror flick Skinamarink comes in two flavors. One says that it needed tighter editing and could’ve been about half an hour shorter. The harsher sentiment is that it was just outright too slow and boring. At the theater viewing I went to, the guy sitting next to us fell asleep. I overheard another group laughing about how one of their own was jostled awake halfway through because she also faded out at the beginning.

Me, I was riveted to this movie. I could not tear my eyes away. From moment one, I knew I was about to enter a different theatrical experience. So I sank back into my seat and allowed myself to be abducted. And I came out of this movie unable to get it out of my craw.

I’m a horror movie buff. I love a good creepshow. My tastes vary, but in general, the kind of horror I enjoy is either campy or artful. Either give me a good time, or really put me through the wringer. Skinamarink is firmly in the latter. It is art in the most literal sense. As such, it won’t be for everyone, but everyone should watch it at least once.

***From here on, this will be a spoiler-rich discussion. I’m going to get into themes around this movie. If you haven’t seen it already, I really, really, really cannot stress enough that you should go into it knowing next to nothing. It’s a movie to be experienced, and the less you know, the more it will destroy you on its way out. So go submit yourself to it before you read on, and be warned.

Also, CW for discussions about abuse and extremely doom-pilly thoughts.

As we left the theater, I overheard a girl Cinema Sins-style dinging certain details to her friends. “All I could think about was the kid’s rations,” she said. One of them laughed at her a bit, teasing her about her use of the word rations. What I thought as I passed her was, Girlfriend, that’s all it took to take you out of the movie??

Someone that literal-minded was never going to enjoy the experience of watching Skinamarink. The best way to approach a movie like this is best described in this clip from The Big Chill:

This movie is about the vibes. The plot is extremely minimal, basically summed up in the one line synopsis displayed on every showtime: “Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.” That is the movie right there. You literally sit and watch that idea unfold.

It’s similar to the work of Junji Ito in sense that the main character is the concept itself. The actual people on screen aren’t really the main focus, nor is any sort of identifiable plot. Instead, the film places you inside itself almost existentially. The camera shows shots of things around the rooms of the house. Light fixtures. Toys on the floor. Angles of doors and baseboards. The impenetrable darkness of unlit interiors. All weird, off-putting angles that look like you just lied down on the floor and are staring up at nothing in particular. Dialogue is delivered off-screen, and most of the action is done through shots of feet or objects moving in and out of frame. Most of the time, all you can hear are the sounds of movement, and through most of the film, you’re never really sure who exactly is moving. There is no soundtrack, no music except through diegetic noise, and there’s a quality to the way the sounds were recorded that has a strange uncanniness. It’s very similar to the experience of watching the work of Jan Svankmajer, a Czech stop-motion director known for his creepy surrealist style. Nothing ever sounds or looks quite right.

Due to the VHS effect layered over the entire film, every shot, especially the darkest ones, becomes a constant source of anxiety. I was reminded of an Hbomberguy video produced about five years ago about the effect VHS has on the viewing experience. I highly recommend watching the whole thing, but for a brief snippet, the relevant part for what I’m talking about is between 10:55 - 12:30.

Skinamarink utilizes this visual to constantly trick your eyes into thinking something might be moving when it isn’t. Or is it? You stare at the screen long enough, and the low-res quality just on its own begins to look like a mass of squirming maggots. Even when nothing’s there, something’s there, and it creates a strange constant anxiety that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire runtime.

This quality is the reason why I think that cutting the movie with tighter editing would be doing it a disservice. Yes, it’s a slow burner. Even while I was watching it I knew this one will be a hard to get through a second time. It is an incredibly slow movie. But the slowness is part of the point. You stare into the void, and see what you need to see. If it were trimmed down, that would give you relief, and this movie is not here to relieve you. It forces you into a headspace where you are dragged into watching babies exist in the presence of an evil that is never seen or named. The whole time, you keep up hope for an end. You keep thinking, where’s this going? You watch this horrible thing torment them and mutilate them and do whatever it wants with them, and you keep on watching, holding out on that hope for a plot will come along and save them, and bring some salient point. It is only towards the end, with maybe fifteen or twenty minutes to go, when the words 572 DAYS comes up on screen, that you realize this movie was never going to give you hope.

This is the art of dread. It’s reminiscent of the classic short story I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (in the case of Kaylee, it’s literally that). It’s that idea of being completely helpless before a power that can and will do whatever terrifying thing it wants, and what it wants is to hurt you, and there is no escape. There is no death, there is no time, there is no relief. There is only a cycle of pain and suffering, as seen in the shot of the blood splatters that appear and disappear only to reappear again as Kevin screams while this evil fucking thing laughs. It’s horrible and gruesome, and its effectiveness relies entirely on having spent the last hour and a half watching this inevitable doom slowly crawl towards these children from the dark.

I walked out with two interpretations of this. One is the most literal, that being of domestic abuse. Children by default have no power, and if their parents hurt them, they have no way to escape. There’s heavily implied tension between the father and mother, one the kids obviously pick up on. There seems to be something in particular with the mother. Kaylee explicitly states at one point that she doesn’t want to talk about her. So either she abandoned them due to divorce, or is never around because of work, or, perhaps, actively hurts them in some way, either emotionally or physically. Obedience is a feature of the kids’ behavior, with the evil telling Kevin he took away Kaylee’s mouth because she didn’t do as she was told. The voice is always calling to them from the darkness, and the children do as it says despite being terrified of it or hurting themselves. As if they have no choice. As if they are compelled. It is a behavior children often demonstrate with their parents, even if their parents are unreliable or downright violent to them. Again, I’m drawn to that shot of the blood splatter appearing and reappearing on the ceiling, and I think of the cycles of hurt from the ones we love, on a doomed repeat over and over.

The second interpretation I have is much broader and more abstract. It’s important that the movie states outright at the very beginning that is was made during covid lockdown. When else could a movie like this have been made? That feeling of being trapped permeates this movie to its core. It is the plot, it is the theme, it is the reflection of the real world on display. Beyond covid, though, I think this movie captures a pervasive sense of dread most people have about the world. Everyone seems to have this feeling that something is wrong with the world. Something has gone awry. Something is on the edge of collapse or apocalypse, and there’s a powerlessness that accompanies that. There is no escape from climate change. There is no escape from economic systems that oppress the most vulnerable. Society is a house with no windows or doors, and most days, it feels like all we can do is just sit and wait for the inevitable to happen. The director Kyle Edward Ball said that his inspiration was recurring motives in nightmares, but I think in general these nightmares are manifestations of powerlessness. And that can take form in any shape, at any age.

Throughout the movie, the TV is on constantly, always playing cartoons and providing the only solace from the otherwise dark house. To me, this reads as being about the sanctuary we find in media. When we have no escape in our lives, the books, movies, or social media sites we retreat to become that for us. We find power through the lives and stories of others, whether they are real or not. And it can be fine, even healthy to retreat into that. However, the darkness lies in wait always. In the movie, the light of the TV is the only place the kids can get away from the evil in the house - until it isn’t. Eventually, the evil destroys even that. One of the last lines of the movie is poor little Kevin asking, “Can we watch something happy?”

You can watch something happy. But it will never fully protect you. And that is the dread that squirmy darkness on the screen constantly envelops around you. There will be no resolution to this. Do not hope for it. That is the horror behind it all.

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: Hi Darunia.

How's it going?

What did you think of my game idea for DotNW?

Do you ever get scared of getting Heart Disease (the clogged artery kind)?

1, It's going pretty well. I'm still catching up on things.

2.

And if you're talking about these posts, I think it's really nifty! I do think it would be an overwhelming amount of content to get through with all the extra side content. But I appreciate how much you want to see all your faves together.

3. I generally try not to worry myself with stuff I can't control because being afraid doesn't help anything. That doesn't mean I'm not afraid. But it means that I try to act on useful concerns and ignore anxious fear.

Think of it this way: If there's something you can do, right now, to fix/help your odds at preventing heart disease, take those steps right now. Plan a healthier diet, exercise, take care of your health, visit your doctor regularly. If you're already doing the best you can and there's nothing you can change, then it doesn't help anything at all to worry about it. I know it's easier said then done. I worry about a lot of things that I can't help. You can't just decide not to have anxiety about something. But if your worrying only stresses you out because there's nothing you can do about it, it's not healthy to dwell about it. Focus on distracting yourself because worrying about something you cannot prevent or improve your odds against just makes you suffer unnecessarily. Obviously it's not an irrational thing to be afraid of. But it's pointless to let fear paralyze you into not living your life. You just have to do your best and enjoy the time you have on this earth and make the healthiest choices you're able to make. It IS scary to think about. So I don't. I do my very best to not think of it. Instead I focus on things I can change and things that bring me joy. Cooking my own meals helps me make healthier decisions and brings me joy. So I try to cook my own foods. Playing video games and hanging out with friends helps keep my mind in a good place with less anxiety.

I find that it's harder to stop irrational anxiety when I'm overly tired. If I stay up too late, my brain spirals into anxiety when I try to go to sleep. So I try to go to bed before I get too tired.

When all else fails, I do my best to find things that make me laugh. I can't be upset if I'm laughing. Sometimes it's enough to just hear a human voice so that I don't feel alone with my thoughts.

Fear exists for a reason. It keeps us alive. But there are only 2 ways to deal with it. Either you address it, confront it, let it motivate you to change things for the better, or you ignore it because it isn't helping you.

So that's what I try to do. Hopefully that was helpful?

[shieldfoss]

Safe for Walmart edition

---

Video rating:

Not Cute.[1]

Reason:

Though it looks innocent[2] to most people[3], there are only two[4] ways to make queer people[5] engage in[6] software development[7]:

Pavlovian conditioning[8]

As a trauma response after highly stressful events.[9]

---

[1] "Cute" may be interpreted in a sexualized way, and is typically used to describe minors. Additionally, "cuteness" is a subjective term. Replace with the more objective "Problematic."

[2] We absolutely cannot say or imply that something is not "Innocent" unless we have a paper trail that shows it was proven guilty in a court of law AND that court has jurisdiction where we are releasing this text. Let's meet tomorrow and go over alternatives.

[3] If this was my only note I would split it in two but given the other notes, I'll keep it as one bullet. "Most" "People" -> Do we have a survey or other statistics? Our customers are likely to interpret "most" as "majority" rather than "highest prevalence" but "highest prevalence" would be fine. If we don't have a survey, use "some" but prepare to defend yourself. The other bullet would have been "people" -> Some of our customers purchase for their pets, and some of our viewers are scam bots driving ad clicks. Overall: "most peoplesome viewers."

[4] As a turn of phrase we have successfully defended this one before (Arc. 312-2012-App C) so you can do it but remember that "only two" implies a degree of certainty that's hard to prove.

[5] People of Queerness.[*] Always center the people.

[6] "do" - nothing politically incorrect about "engage in" but it's cumbersome.

[7] just "work" here.

[8] Two things. (1) - "Respondent" or "Classical" conditioning, not Pavlovian. There are enough white men in science already, no need to highlight another one. (2) But besides that, do you think it is appropriate for us to imply that people can be conditioned? That sounds a lot like bootstraps ideology, people-could-have-fewer-problems-if-they-didn't-cause-their-own kind of thing, or might imply that queer people can be conditioned, bringing back echoes of conversion therapy which is not a thing we want to take a position on unless somebody asks us directly - at which point it still won't be up to you to make that policy decision.

[9] Trauma is inherent to life under Capitalism, we need to workshop a way to phrase it so that we keep the discussion centered on People of Queerness. Let's do that one tomorrow too while we go over alternatives to "innocent."

---

An acceptable first try, but[**] remember to always consult a DEI specialist before producing materials for public release. If your worked in any other department I would tell you "DEI and PR" but seeing as we are PR, I will instead direct you to work with your more experienced colleagues until you get the hang of it. Given our great work environment and loyalty programs, some of them hang on for weeks before burning out or getting cancelled.

---

[*] "People of Queer?" Are you out of your fucking mind? This is how you guide your new employees? Wright wrote that book in 1960 you think that's still the cutting edge of progressive terminology?

[**] And why the fuck would you tell them their work is acceptable? You want them angling for a raise? If they come in here with that shit, the next manager all-hands will see you tied to a rack with your ass up and your pants down.

Video rating:

Not Cute.

Reason:

Though it looks innocent to most people, there are only two ways to make queer people engage in software development:

Pavlovian conditioning

As a trauma response after highly stressful events.

[blueprint-han]

[Image ID: A black picture with the title “HOW TO SUPPORT FANFICTION AUTHORS” written in bold caps lock, colored with a winter forest picture. End ID.]

Well, this post has been made countless times, but I’m making one too because I’ve seen a lot of people say they’re new to tumblr and don’t know the whole “reblogging is better than liking” rule and other stuff. So without any further ado, here are ways YOU can support the fanfiction authors. Now keep in mind this applies to almost every author out there, not just the stayblr fandom, so if you’re a silent reader (or even if you aren’t), I advise you go through this post. Warning, this is a fairly long post going into detail, so yeah. I still expect you, the readers to read this, and if you’re a writer, feel free to lmk if i’ve written smth wrong or if you want me to add something! ^^

In this post I’ll go into thorough analysis of the pros and cons of each of the methods listed here and how YOU as a reader can show the authors whose fics you read more love and motivate them to produce content.

WARNING; LONG POST! GOES INTO A DECENT AMOUNT OF DETAIL. NOT EDITED, EXCUSE ANY TYPOS.

#1 : LIKING !

I think this is basic common knowledge, and a lot of people tend to do this. When you like the post, the author sees it, you see it, and if the author has their liked posts accessible (which majority of the time they don’t), and if someone deliberately goes to check it, then they see it. See why so many authors say just liking does nothing? Only liking says “Hey, I’m gonna tell you your story is not that good by simply liking it and not sharing it with other people. :D”

♯ PROS:

You’re telling the author that you've read their fic, and either you’ve enjoyed it to a certain extent, or you’re just saving it to read for later.

Likes are seen by you, the author and anyone who has access to your likes (which, most people don’t).

♯ CONS:

If you ONLY like, you’re not really helping the author’s work reach a wide audience because this site isn’t Instagram. Reblogging is the only way people can SEE our works. I’ll cover more on that in the next section.

In a nutshell, liking is good! But you should most likely use it in a combination with the other stuff I’ve listed below, because just the like itself doesn’t really do much in giving the author any feedback or interaction on their fics.

To clear shit up; I’m not talking about those people who don’t read the story or appreciate it in the first place. I’m talking about those who appreciate the fic, like it, but don’t leave any sort of feedback to show that.

#2 : REBLOGGING !

This is SO, SO important. I cannot stress on this enough. Let me explain WHY so many writers stress on reblogging content: 

Tumblr’s tag system is inherently fucked up, and has grown more so over the year. I’m not kidding, at first, the fic either used to show up in the tags or it didn’t, but now, sometimes your fic can be REMOVED from the tags because of,,, idk tumblr tag shit. Anyways, as you can see, it’s very demotivating for authors at that point, because the major way for people to find their content and expand their blogs has been blocked.  

Due to this reason, tumblr authors need to RELY on you, their followers to help spread their works to a wider audience. Now again, before you get me wrong, I’m not saying you ae forced to rb our works regardless of whether you like them or not. BUT, that being said, if you DO infact like the story, there’s no harm in reblogging, right? By doing this you’re indirectly telling the author — “hey! :D I liked your fic! Which is why I am gonna share it to my followers so they can read it too :D” Trust me, you’re doing nothing but helping the people who produce content for you to read. Seems like a worthy cause to hit the reblog button, right? It’s only a one, or maximum two step procedure.

Leave tags in your reblogs! Trust me, as an author myself and as much as I know from all my author friends, we oft check the tags of your reblogs to see if you found any part amazing or even if you have anything to say about the writing we put so much hard work into. Even a key smash or a “This was so [insert adjective] 🥺” is enough to leave a smile on your authors face. 

♯ PROS :

You’re !! Sharing !! Your authors !! Works !! This leads to them getting more recognition, so for the content they’re so graciously providing for free, you’re promoting their blog and helping them expand it.

If the tags are being a shit, which majority of the time they are, then you’re literally making an author’s day by reblogging! You’re showing them that you, a follower and appreciator of their works are willingly sharing their content because it deserves to be seen by more people. Again before any dumb people decide to attack me, i am talking about people who like the fic but don't bother reblogging and are silent/ghost readers. I am not forcing anyone to read anybody’s work.

YOU’RE MAKING YOUR AUTHOR SO HAPPY WHAT MORE REASONS COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT !! 🥺

♯ CONS :

Literally none, because as far as I remember no author is against reblogging of their works. It’s quite literally the way this platform functions. Reblogging is IMPORTANT.

#3 : COMMENTING/SENDING FEEDBACK !

This kind of overlaps with the previous section, but THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT STEP !! When you leave feedback, you are directly giving the author something so much more valuable to them than high follower/note counts or money. Your feedback is literally our serotonin. I kid you not the number of times I’ve received a positive comment and smiled and it has made my day. There’s a reason youtubers (though not the best example, bear with me here because it was the only one I could think of) ask people to subscribe, like and COMMENT. The subscription is like a follow, the like is ofc like a heart, and the comment is equivalent to an rb with comments in the tags. 

You might argue and tell me that a comment is basically like an ask so the reblogging step isn’t necessary, but I’m sure 99% of you use YouTube and you know that more comments leads to people’s videos boosted in the stream/trending charts. This is what reblogging does. Reblogging shares the piece with other people like minded, which leads to a boost in reads. You are literally helping your author grow.

It’s quite literally the same thing as youtubers. Youtubers NEED validation to keep their content creation going, so do writers, so do other ccs on this site. This post is however, focused on WRITERS, so keep that in mind.

♯ PROS :

By doing this, you’re giving author valuable feedback! It’s similar to what you do in rbing with tags. Interactivity with their fics boosts their note counts and helps expand their audience, so srsly, now think of it: your one comment is playing such a massive role to help ccs create more content.

Imagine how much of a difference the note counts will be in when every person who simply likes after reading the fic, reblogs, leaves a comment and sends an ask. the note counts would be high on each and every fic, which is validation in itself, but your comments would inspire the writer so much more! Please, don’t skip the commenting part. Even a simple one like: “this is so cute!” is wonderful. 

♯ CONS :

Remember, if you’re gonna give constructive criticism (which I’m sure you all are smart enough to know if different from hate), make sure the author is okay with it. Authors need to be in a specific mindset and must be ready to accept criticism, so if you’re gonna give constructive criticism to them when they’re at a low point, it may demotivate them.

Just commenting, instead of reblogging and commenting in the tags/ reblogging and then leaving an ask in their inbox, while it gives validation in plenty, will not lead to the author’s work being spread. Therefore I suggest either reblogging and commenting in the tags or reblog and then leave an ask, or comment under the fic!

!! reminder; I am not saying that if you don’t rb and just leave feedback, your feedback has no value. We authors truly appreciate every bit of feedback, but this post is aimed to help you learn how to interact with and support authors, and make them feel more motivated, because the current scenario of liking and scrolling is taking a toll on their creative abilities. Take it from a person who’s been writing for a year.

#4 : COMMSIONING VIA THEIR KO-FI/OTHER APPS !

Before any of you attack me, let me tell you that this is not a step that is 100% necessary to do. ONLY donate if you can and if you genuinely want to, and if anyone is forcing you to pay for something against your will, you need to get yourself out of there.

Regardless, if an author has a kofi and you’re able to and you want to donate, you definitely should! It’s also a valid form of support.

#5 : ADDING THEM ON REC LISTS/ RECOMMENDING THEM TO REC BLOGS

This is such an underrated option, to be honest. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen my fic was recommended onto some rec list and it’s made me smile so hard. If you like some fics, create a rec list! They’re oft very popular amongst the fans too. Making rec posts is such a great way to share your favorite stories with others. 

Rec blogs! I’ve seen a couple going around, and needless to say they are a great way to get someone else to read your favorite author’s work whilst also giving them your own feedback. These blogs oft accept recs via a form or ask box, and they leave your feedback along with their own, or else they’ll oft tag the author in the feedback post, so look! You’re basically helping your author share their fic to many more people, because you’ve given them feedback and a reblog.

♯ PROS :

Validation! Feedback! Reblogs! More exposure! Helping a blog grow! Spreading love! basically a run down of the stuff I’ve said before!

♯ CONS :

Literally no con of this. Unless, a one in a million case, this author says they don’t like receiving feedback/being tagged, and I’m sure NO person has said this before, at least none that I’ve heard of.

#6 : FINAL COMMENTS; MISC !

When an author points out about how the interactivity is drastically reducing, don’t just give them blind apologies. Yes, you feel sorry for not interacting as much, we understand, but rather show that you’ll become a better content consumer through your actions. We need to see that we’re not just throwing words into a void and that people are actually trying to be better content consumers. 

Understand the fact that authors don’t get paid for this, and 99% of the time, these authors don’t take commissions either. They’re giving you novel worthy writings for free. Take Percy Jackson: You think the author would have felt motivated to write the subsequent parts, let alone two whole series based off of it if literally no one showed that they were interested? Rick Riordan has sales, he is being paid, there are millions of people and big agencies who provide him feedback. Now take that huge amount and simmer it down to an audience of maybe 10000 people This is what fanfic authors want. They don’t want your money, nor are they telling you to risk your lives for them. All they want is, a reblog, some tags, some feedback, some INTERACTIVITY.  A sign that they aren’t throwing fics into the void and that people actually like them, some motivation to continue. Seems fairly easy to throw an rb with some tags, right?

Don’t bother to tell me that we do this for ourselves and we shouldn’t ask for likes and reblogs and feedback, because 1) you are consuming the content that we “write for ourselves” and 2) writers post their content here for interactivity and feedback. We could just not post and write and save our fics in our dungeon drafts for years. But we choose to post to entertain the readers, the consumers. And we aren’t even asking that much in return.

Don’t give me the whole “I’m scared that authors feel that comments are annoying” excuse either because seriously this has been DEBUNKED SO MANY TIMES. Istg, in the nicest way possible, if you still think writers are annoyed by interaction and feedback, after so many posts, long rants have been posted as to how we’re not, then you must truly be living under a rock. There, I said it. Please stop thinking this way, I’ll say it again, AUTHORS ARE NOT ANNOYED OF FEEDBACK, COMMENTS, TAGS, REBLOGS. WE LOVE IT. Saying this is like saying that the audience in a theatre play shouldn’t clap when the play ends because the actors would find it noisy. 🤡

I’ve seen some people saying they have anxiety issues and such, so pls note that I’m not invalidating your condition. If you’re trying to be more interactive, I really appreciate it! If you can’t, that’s fine too. You’re trying.

But for the people who have no reason other than feeling lazy to rb and comment, your lack of interactiveness is not excused. Please. Tumblr is a reblogging site. If you’re gonna consume content like authors are some sort of machines, I encourage you to go get some more perspective.

This site is not Instagram or the satan bird app. Your likes are appreciated but frankly speaking, they do nothing to the author except tell them “Hey i read ur fic but i'm not gonna support u :D” and honestly, that is detrimental to their creative capabilities and mental health. 

DON’T FOLLOW AN ACC JUST TO MINDLESS RB THEIR SIGNAL BOOST POSTS AND THEIR REBLOGS OF GIFS AND NOT INTERACT WITH THEIR WRITING AT ALL ! Trust me, authors prefer a lower amount of interactive followers than a high count that doesn’t even give them any feedback. Again your follows are appreciated, but when you’re following, you know the type of content the author creates, so the author expects that the more followers, the more interactivity. These days, this is just becoming the opposite. So don’t do it! If you’re gonna follow to read, interact with their works. I promise, this will make both you and the author happy. A win-win situation.

In conclusion: SUPPORT YOUR FUCKING AUTHORS! THEY ARE NOT MACHINES THAT HAVE NO FEELINGS TO PRODUCE CONTENT FOR YOU! FICS TAKE DAYS AND DAYS OF PLANNING, PLOTTING, OUTLINING, WRITING, EDITING, MAKING TEASERS. SO JUST SHOW THEM YOU APPRECIATE THEM WITH AN RB. IT’S THE L E A S T YOU CAN DO.

I will be liking this post here written by the lovely @chaninfused​ and @scriptura-delirus​ . Please take time to read it because if you weren’t convinced by my arguments, you will see how much frustration we as writers face on a daily basis. Please, just show support. Here is the post by @stayndays​ about how to get more people to read your work, because it also has a note on reblogging. Please educate yourself, and put an end to this mindless consuming culutre and bring up some interactivity.

If you’ve read this far, I want you to go to two of your favorite authors and leave some feedback in their inbox, and tag me in it (either tag me yourself or ask the author to do so, they won’t mind). Show your writers that our words are taking effect and you are becoming better consumers. I mean it. I’m serious. I want every single one who reads this post to do this. besides valid reasons, if you’re lazy to do this, you’re a part of the problem. PLEASE get more perspective.

Also, feel free to add to this post! I’d love to read your thoughts too, remember to be kind though. And, if I think your rb is somehow contradicting my points and is bringing down the reason I made this post, I will politely ask you to delete your comment, because this post is about being truthful about the harsh reality of tumblr consumers and how we can change it. I’m sure none of you will let it get to that point, though. <3 love you guys. 💓

And, just a reminder, don’t just blindly like this too. Do what I said before, and while I am not forcing you, I’d appreciate your reblog, because seriously, it took me 3 whole days to write this, plus, I’m sure this will help more of your followers understand the fault in consumer culture. haha, that’s it! This post was way too long uff.

also, this is ur cue to not be stupid in my inbox. You have something to say? Think I worded smth wrongly? I’m sure it wasn’t my intention to do so, point it out with manners. 

[disasterlegend]

Things that the chain would do in a modern au: cooking edition

in which half are literally just stupid things that I’ve done, and the other half are some of my proper headcanons for the boys ! :)

one of them, honestly any of them, would be in the kitchen cooking who knows what, and proceeds to get oil on their laptop (yes i use my laptop in the kitchen while baking i am a fiend who can’t do anything without some kind of music). so they just pick up the dish sponge that is soaking wet and soapy and uses it to clean off the surface of the laptop. Five seconds later either one of the others who just happens to be in the kitchen witnessing it or the person who did it is just standing there like “what the hell did I just do ???”/“why did I just do that ??” as they frantically wipe the water off of the laptop using their apron

apron is covered in pet hair (most likely twilight or wild)

Hyrule over-oils nearly everything. Like the baking tray that you spray to bake a cake or brownies in? emptied nearly half a can of oil. That sautéed mushroom dish that they’re trying to make? puts like 2 tablespoons more than necessary and the entire dish turns out really oily/greasy

Wind would turn on the stove and then go upstairs and forget that he turned it on

or alternatively he would turn on the stove to boil something and it would boil over right in front of him because he was watching funny videos instead of paying attention

I’d like to think that legend is slightly decent in the kitchen, I just think with like who he is as a person he has a lot of pride in what he’s making where like he’s practiced enough so it’ll come out decent

Sky only knows one recipe and it’s pumpkin soup. Absolutely nothing wrong with that because he never gets tired of it and neither do the rest of them

I feel like warriors can also cook but it’s also way harder for him and kind of like hyrule he’ll mess up measurements and overcook things 

Time can make oatmeal. That’s literally it. Like he’ll assist Malon in the kitchen during dinner because he’s a good husband but he does not do the main cooking. he will burn it 

four would be unbelievably precise with measurements 

wild would not measure like anything if he could help it

both would come out amazing though regardless 

hyrule can’t cook meals but holy shit he can bake. he’s harassed into making brownies and banana bread all the time by the others 

twi cannot bake but can cook and he 100% cooks odd but amazing vegetable dishes 

he works extra hard to mask certain vegetables in order to get the rest of them to eat healthy. ie: finely chops mushrooms so none of them know they’re there until after the meal when he reveals it all dramatic like a villain while the children (wind) scream 

time would try to teach them all how to barbecue because he’s the ultimate dad but in truth he learned from wars

wars laughs when he burns things and immediately takes over the grilling 

so it ends up being both wars and time who teach the others the art of grilling lets be real that grilling is hard so time gets a little bit of slack. doesn’t stop wind from laughing at him though 

wind isn’t allowed to cook/bake half the time but the boy is incredible with spices, like he can tell exactly what spice a recipe needs just in a taste test, and which vegetables pair well together depending on sauces. he’s like a master chef with zero technical skill 

that said wind is the biggest critic

wind: did you measure the vanilla extract correctly?  wild, who has never properly measured vanilla extract in his life: no <3  wind, a little gremlin: yeah i can tell

four and sky are the only ones who don’t tear up from cutting onions 

they all have stupid aprons (i personally have a cat patterned, hulk, and all might aprons and i absolutely think they would have those if not something similar)

twi would 100% wear a cat apron

sky would have a “kiss the cook” apron that he wears all the time because the group gifted it to him as a gag but he loves it 

wild would cook at literally any hour 

“it’s 11:30pm. put the cookie dough away and finish tomorrow” “if i don’t finish it now i’m never going to finish it” “please go to bed” “no” 

he only listens and goes to bed when malon asks him to

sky and hyrule help wild make cookies, he’ll make the dough and then they all take turns rolling it out and using cookie cutters to shape them

warriors likes to help ice them though 

wars: *holds up bunny cookie that he iced pink* look it’s you  legend: i will remove your knees 

wild also stress cooks/bakes. time will know somethings wrong when he comes home one day to see like three different pies in the refrigerator, four cakes varying in size and flavor, and about 15 dozen different cookies in various containers stacked around the kitchen, and wild is standing there icing another cake on a makeshift cake spinner that is constructed out of a large pot and a plastic plate 

the boys both love and hate his stress baking. 

pros: so many snacks. 

cons: too many snacks.

wind consumes too many cookies at once, regrets it for an hour, and then comes back to try each of the cakes

i mentioned it partially in my list but like here’s a chart too just for a better idea 

this was fun ! let me know what y’all think or if you want to hear more of my headcanons :3

[dragonfire2lm]

What I Learned as a Demisexual/Demoramtic

2024 Edit: Turns out I’m not Demisexual, just asexual, sex favourable, and extremely demiromantic. However, the information present is still useful and originally written under the assumption that I was demisexual, and can hopefully still help people. Also I make it a point not to delete old stuff even if circumstances change. Now, I’ve started to frequent the r/demisexuality subreddit, and one of the most common posts are people asking for advice or information because they’re questioning.

Perfectly understandable. I help where I can on posts I feel like I can actually offer help on and I’m going to share that same advice on here with you all on the off chance it’ll help someone. Granted, this will mostly be me parroting information others have told me or information from the articles and videos I’ve watched, but this isn’t something that is widely known and I want to try and educate as well as help.

While I will remain as clinical and respectful as possible, I will be bringing up the topic of sex.

What is Demisexuality?

Demisexuality is part of the asexuality spectrum, and is the complete absence of sexual attraction until a bond is formed. Let me stress that it isn’t “being picky”, or “normal”, demisexuals do not feel any sexual attraction at all until the prerequisite of a strong emotional bond is established. Demisexuals do not see people on the street, actors, or celebrities “hot”.

There is no desire, no reaction, no drive to have intimate relations with someone if they don’t know them.

This means that demisexuals are functionally asexual until they care about someone enough to develop sexual attraction. Personally, it’s less to do with looks, and more to do with who the person is. For example I find my boyfriend attractive because of the amount of love, respect and, trust we have for each other. It’s who he is that matters, not what he looks like.

Can I be Straight/Bi/Gay/Pan and still be Demi?

Yes. The Asexual and Aromantic Spectrums is often used as an additional label to the more “well known” sexualities. I myself am a Straight Cis female that is Demisexual and Demiromantic.

You can be demisexual/asexual/gray asexual and still be romantically attracted to a specific gender, as the Asexual spectrum only concerns sexual attraction and nothing else.

With that said...

Sexual Attraction and Romantic Attraction are Two Different Things!

Despite what society and modern media would have you believe, sexual attraction (the desire to be sexually intimate with someone) and romantic attraction (the desire to date someone/ fall in love) are two different things.

Just because a demisexual does not feel sexual attraction until after getting to know someone, that doesn’t mean they can’t fall in love. In fact the “emotional bond” I keep bringing up can be platonic or romantic.

I’m going to be using myself as an example, I knew my boyfriend for a few years before I realized that I liked him as more than a friend, that I liked him romantically, but I wasn’t yet comfortable with the idea of doing anything intimate with him when we first got together two years ago. It was around nine months (roughly) into the relationship, after talking things out, discussing what we wanted out of the relationship, what I was comfortable with, and trusting him enough to be ok with even talking about sex.

I loved him first, and found him attractive as time went on.

So, for those demis with significant others, for those of you who are dating a demi, and especially for people questioning if they are demi, please heed this next bit of advice.

Communication Is Key!

I cannot stress this enough, you need to be okay with having actual conversations, you need to aware of both your own boundaries and those of your partner. And for you singles out there, you need to be able to clearly explain this to any potential partners you may have, it will save you a ton of pain and heartbreak in the future.

It’s heartbreaking to see people on the Demisexuality subreddit deal with some horrible situations because they’re pressured into doing something, or assumptions are made based on how dating and hook-up culture work...

Sexual Attraction is Different from Sex Drive or Arousal

This is a point that a lot of people get confused with, thinking that getting turned on, viewing erotic material, and their own libido means they aren’t demi.

Sexual attraction is seeing someone and having the desire to have sex with them.

Sex drive is the desire to have sex in general, it is a biological process and is perfectly normal to have. An undirected thing that just happens. Demisexuals can have high or low sex drives, Asexuals can have high or low sex drives. Anyone can have high or low sex drives. What matters is the lack of or limited attraction to others that defines people on the asexual spectrum.

And yes, you can watch porn, read explicit fanfiction, whatever suits your taste. Arousal is nothing more that reaction to erotic stimuli and is a normal thing.

It’s even okay if you want nothing to do with sex. There are people who enjoy, others don’t and that’s okay.

Demisexuality VS Demiromanticism

I mentioned the Aromantic Spectrum earlier and have already stressed the fact that wanting to bang someone and falling in the love with them are two separate things. For those of you curious, Demiromanticism is similar to Demisexuality in that both of these orientations require a strong emotional connection to a person as a prerequisite, the difference being what the prerequisite relationship is for.

Demisexuals require an emotional connection before they are sexually attracted to someone.

Demiroamtics require an emotional connection before they are romantically attracted to someone.

There is no “Lust at first sight” with a Demisexual and no “Love at first sight” with a Demiromantic.

And you can be Demiromantic, Demisexual or both.

I am both, it took quite a while to figure that out, let me tell you. I had a genuine moment of “Wait, people actually fall in love at first sight irl? That’s a thing?” as well as a moment of “People want to F***, just because?”

As a demiromantic and demisexual, I was very confused for a while there.

Things Demisexuality Is Not!

It is not “a choice”. It is a fundamental part of how a person thinks, how they function. I can no more stop being demi than my boyfriend can stop liking boobs.

It is not “a kink”. I’ve had this one said to me personally and for the love of god, ew no. It is not a kink. It is something firmly rooted in how I am as a person you uneducated, narrow-minded Ding-Dong. Kinks are fine, perfectly fine so long as it's safe and everyone involved consents. What I'm not okay with is people blatantly ignoring information about a sexuality to label it as a kink.

“Isn’t everyone like that?” No, Let me put it this way, if the entire world was Demisexual, sex appeal wouldn’t exist in media because it wouldn’t work.

Bonus Round: Being Demi and Having Fictional Crushes

This is something I posted about on reddit, that got a lot of positive attention as most demis that replied didn’t really know about this, but could relate to once I put it into words.

I’d often get attached to fictional characters to the point of being hyper fixated on a select few and develop crushes on them. Some characters I’d even seek out explicit fanfiction of.

This is because I am essentially developing a one-way bond with that character. It’s not with every character mind you, there are some characters I have crushes that don’t involve NSFW content, and there are plenty of characters I like platonically.

But the fact that my hyper fixations and fictional crushes made so much sense after I figured I was demi was a relief and a fun little thing to figure out.

“Oh I’m demi... That explains so much...”

If You Have Anymore Questions, Feel Free to Ask Me!

I do have the ask box open on this blog, or you can head to r/demisexuality and hopefully someone with more experience than me can help.

I hope this was educational and helpful to a degree.

[cricketnationrise]

san jose summer

“Chowder. Come on.”

“What?”

“You’re a literal millionaire, the starting goalie for the Sharks, you flew us both all the way out here in first class, and you’re seriously going to feed us Kraft Mac and Cheese right now?” Dex asks.

“Chill, Dex, KD is great.”

“Plus, and I cannot stress this enough, it’s like the only thing I know how to make,” Chowder admits.

“Respect,” Nursey says, bumping Chowder’s fist.

“Don’t they make you learn how to feed yourself in the NHL, like at least simple meals?”

“Meal kits are a real thing, Dex, and they are god’s gift to me personally,” says Chowder. “Just don’t tell Bitty.”

“You’re lucky I love you, Chowder,” Dex says, shaking his head, “Well, mostly I don’t need to hear about how he failed ‘his son’ so badly every time I see him if I did tell him.”

“Bet,” Nursey says.

“And like, I agree Nursey, KD is delicious, but you could have just gotten  take out.” Dex says as he crosses to the fridge and then the pantry, assessing what’s inside. 

“You just got off a really long flight! I wanted you to have something that was made with love!” Chowder protests.

“If we want something made with love, but also protein, you’ve got enough stuff for lasagna.” Dex goes to the sink to wash his hands.

“You can make lasagna?” the other two chorus.

“Please make us lasagna,” Chowder adds.

“Dude we live together, how come you’ve never made me lasagna?” Nursey asks.

“Mostly because it’s a lot of food for two people, and it never tastes right if you have to freeze and reheat it, and I like variety too much to eat the same thing for a week,” says Dex, gathering ingredients and a casserole dish.

He gets cooking, with some help from Chowder, and some play by play commentary from Nursey. (They all know better than to let Nursey actually help cook - it’s safer for all of them.) It’s actually pretty great being all in one place again. Ever since Chowder got traded from the Bruins to the Sharks two years after they graduated, they’ve been making do with quick visits when Chowder plays local teams and lots of Skype. But nothing beats the real thing.

He and Nursey are visiting Chowder for a whole month this summer. Perks of a renegotiated contract include being able to fly your two best friends out and feed three hungry Frogs for a month without breaking a sweat.

He gets the lasagna in the oven and talk turns to catching up on the last couple months since their last video chat. Chowder tells them more in depth about Farmer’s master’s program. He misses her, but she’ll eventually be moving out here, into Chowder’s ridiculously large house even - they just have to get through one more year. Nursey tells Chowder about how editing his latest poetry collection is going - it’s not. 

And Dex fumes about how his boss expects people to always be available on weekends and to be checking their email even after they clock out for the day. He’s been looking at other jobs pretty seriously lately. It’s only here in Chowder’s kitchen that he finally admits he’s been looking at starting his own company with a few of the people from his current job. It would be a fuck ton of work, but being able to create the atmosphere he wants would be more than worth it. 

It’s not until they’ve caught up on each other’s lives and have devolved into insulting each other with love and the wine bottle is almost empty that Dex thinks to ask:

“All that time in the Haus with Bitty, and you really didn’t learn anything? I spent about the same amount of time with him and learned plenty.”

“Well...I wasn’t super interested in actually learning? So I have some vocabulary and I like, know how to make scrambled eggs and grilled cheese and stuff like that, but mostly I just nodded in the right places and got to lick the spoon and Bitty always kept some back for me special if I wasn’t around.”

“Delightfully devious, my friend,” says Nursey.

The oven beeps, drawing their attention, and Dex checks the lasagna. It’s perfect. They’ll have to wait a bit for it to cool enough to eat, but their suitcases never made it past the entryway. By the time they finish unpacking the basics, the food will be ready. The next month is going to fly by, Dex knows, but right now he’s content to bask in the presence of his best friends.

[svnflowervol666]

I Want Your Belly (Harry Styles x fem!Reader)

Word Count: 2.2k

Author’s Note: Oddly specific, kinda weird, sappy sweet. Got a good handful of asks for this one so here you go! Harry asks Y/N to join him in the Watermelon Sugar music video. It was a bit hard to write due to the nature of the scenario, but I hope you find it just as cute as I did. Take care and TPWK.

Even in January, the California heat is brutal and unforgiving. Sure, being by the ocean where the momentum of the cool waves cast a light breeze does something to midigate the miserable feeling of feeling like the sun’s rays are going to burn you alive, but it’s only a crumb of salvation really. We’re talking sweat running down the backs of your kneecaps, legs painfully sticking to the seat of whatever chair you’re sitting in, not enough water in the world to keep you from being dehydrated hot. But she wanted to be there.

She’d been oggling him from her sand chair for the past forty-five minutes. I mean, who isn’t oggling him when they see him tracing his fingers coyly over the flesh of a sweet, ripe watermelon. He’d been glancing in her direction in between nearly every take, smirking at her through his aqua-tinted sunnies and wondering if what she was seeing made her reconsider the offer he’d been begging her to take him up on for weeks. All she would give him back was her iconic side-eye before she’d go back to reading the novel in her lap and occasionally picking at the bowl of freshly-cut fruit she’d swiped from the prop table.

“And that’s a wrap on scene one!” one of the directors called out over the crashing waves.

Harry did what was proper - shaking hands and bowing heads and saying his ‘thank you’s before all but jogging over to where she was sat underneath the oversized pale-blue gingham printed umbrella.

“Change yeh mind yet?”

He had his hands on his hips, fingers resting on hem of the crochet-knit tank top he’d chosen himself for the occasion. She waited until she finished the page she was on before even daring to peer up at him through her sunglasses.

“How are you not dying in those pants?” was all that Y/N gave in response before going back to her book.

“‘M absolutely wretched down there if that’s what you’re askin. But yeh didn’t answer my question, lovie.”

She sighed heavily, dog-earring her place in her novel and casting it aside it in the sand before leaning up to rest her elbows on her knees.

“I just don’t know why you want me to be in it so badly. This is your video. If I’m in it, everyone’s gonna go crazy and it’ll be an even bigger shit show in the press than it’s already going to be.”

This made Harry crouch down to her level, his white loafers digging even deeper into the sand as he leaned on his haunches.

“That’s exactly why I want yeh t’ be in it. ‘S my video and that’s what I want. Want this t’ be fun and it would be even more fun if I had m’ girl with me.”

She stared at him, silently giving him her please drop it look, but it only spurred him on further.

“If it’ll make yeh feel any better, I’ll make sure you’re not in it a bunch when it comes ‘round t’ editing. Barely put yeh up close too.”

That was enticing,Y/N could admit. He’d surely let her have the final say in how much she was involved, but there was still a lot of stress that came with being on camera. Especially in her state. She knew she wasn’t exactly hiding anything, as they’d been spotted countless times in public and their friends had posted photos to their stories with her body clearly visible in them, but some things she’d rather not shine a direct spotlight on. Doing something like this would most definitely be putting her business on display for the world to see, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. 

“Please, baby? I won’t ask yeh again, but I’d really love it if you were beside me.”

She wet her lips with her tongue, eyes darting up to the underside of the umbrella as she really, truly contemplating giving in to Harry’s pleads. On her life, she can barely recall a time when she hadn’t given Harry anything that he wanted. He just had a way with people that wasn’t manipulative or conniving in any way - he was magnetic. Everything about him was so charismatic and mesmerizing and anyone that met him found themselves gravitating towards him and going along with whatever he was saying or suggesting. I mean, she let him put a baby in her for christ’s sake.

“Help me up out of this thing and find me something to wear,” she huffed, to which Harry dramatically punched the air with his fist in celebration.

“One condition,” she interjected his boast and Harry tilted his ear in her direction and tapped his earlobe with his finger to show her that he was listening.

“You have to go down on me when we get home. It was torture watching you finger that watermelon, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”

“Yeh talkin’ like yeh think I wasn’t gonna try t’ squeeze in a quickie during lunch anyway.”

He pulled her up to her feet, making sure to keep a steady hand on her back as he led her away from the ocean and towards the beach entrance where the trailers were parked.

//

“Wha’ about this one?” Harry asked as he pulled a strapless swimsuit with a palm tree print littered about the fabric and presented it to her.

“One wrong step and my tits will fall right outta that thing,” she quipped.

Harry held it at arm’s reach so he get a better look at the garment himself.

“Yeah. You’re right. They are gettin’ pretty big, aren’t they?”

There was no malice laced within his comment, but when he felt a harsh backhand graze his shoulder, he realized what he’d just said.

“Jesus, Y/N. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean it like tha’. Yeh know I love your boobs. Especially now.”

He tried to make up for it by reaching his hand out to playfully grab at Y/N’s chest, but she slapped his fingers away and continued thumbing through the racks filled with dozens if not hundreds of swimsuits for something she could manage to squeeze herself into.

“Ohh, wait! This one’s nice.”

Harry’s fingers got tangled in the lacy straps of the neighboring article of clothing beside the one he was trying to pull out, making a few hangers crash to the ground with a harsh sound against the linoleum. When she saw what he had found, she didn’t hate it. It was a sherbet-orange colored bikini that seemed as if it would cover everything she was concerned about showing, and the bottoms looked like they’d be somewhat decent at keeping her ass contained and wouldn’t ride up and make her constantly have to readjust it every five minutes. 

“Alright, Styles,” she squinted her eyes and nodded in approval.

“I’ll bite.”

He watched her as she peeled her romper that perfectly cradled her small yet still mighty bump, lingering for just a bit too long when she unhooked the back of her bra and dropped it to the floor.

“You gonna give me the swimsuit or are you gonna keep staring at me? It’s fucking hot in here, Harry.”

She was stark naked and had her hands on her hips, a sticky veil of sweat still shining on her skin from the mugginess of the wardrobe trailer. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at her state, his heart full of nothing but admiration for the girl standing in front of him.

“Here, I’ll help yeh into it.”

Harry kneeled down to the floor and guided her legs through the bikini bottoms. Just as he pulled them up around her thighs and onto her hips, he gave her bump a quick kiss. 

“We’re kinda matchin’ yeh know,” Harry babbled as he fastened the straps on her top.

“‘S the same color as m’ nails,” he stuck a leg out in front of her to wiggle his toes and show off the bright orange pedicure he’d gotten that morning.

“That’s disgustingly cute actually. Maybe I should change,” she joked.

“No way,” he dismissed her.

“Yeh ass looks too good in this one.”

Harry clapped both hands against her bum with gentle force, the two of them erupting into a fit of giggles. He spun her around by the shoulders to get a good look at her body, protruding belly and all, in the clementine orange swimsuit.

“M’ pretty, pretty girl,” he whispered as his lips met hers in a kiss.

“You’re lucky I love you enough to do this.”

“I know I am,” Harry muttered against her mouth.

“Alright,” he continued.

“Just gotta change into m’ shorts and then I’ll be good t’ go. Meet yeh at the umbrella?”

“Oh hell no,” she jested.

“If you got to see me naked, I get to see you naked. Now get to stripping.”

//

The day went by in a blur.

What was supposed to be a brief cameo turned into Harry dragging Y/N into every scene he possibly could. When the directors instructed the models to gather in a pile around the pop star, he found his head perched in her lap, nestled perfectly atop her thighs with his temples pressed against her belly. When they’d wanted clips of everyone romping about the shoreline, he’d ended up carrying her around the beach after she’d gotten winded from doing one-too-many takes.

“Harry, I cannot fucking do this anymore,” she panted.

“I can practically feel my cankles growing.”

“Fine then,” he replied, hooking his forearm around the underside of her knees and scooping her up so that she was cradled against his burly chest.

“I’ll just carry yeh.”

He’d made her feed him raspberries as he sang the lyrics into the camera, even going so far as to suck on her fingers seductively when she went to drop one into his mouth. It wasn’t intended to be a serious attempt at filming the video, only him messing around and trying to get a rise out of her as he always did, but everyone ultimately decided that that the take they were going to use. She’d cursed him out under his breath, but they both knew it was for making her practically soak her knickers rather than getting dragged into more than she bargained for during the shoot.

Constantly, his hands always found themselves gravitating towards her belly. Whether it was rubbing her taught skin like a crystal ball as he sang the chorus instead of gesturing to the large watermelon that he was supposed to be holding, he couldn’t keep his hands off of her.

She’d known it was bound to happen at one point, but sometime throughout the afternoon he’d called for her and when she turned around, he was had shoved a watermelon up under his sheer, yellow blouse.

“Y/N!” Harry shouted at her from a few yards away, interrupting a lovely conversation she was having with one of the models.

“I’m you!”

He gestured to the fruit stuffed inside of his shirt, toyfully stroking the exterior in the manner that she always found herself doing even she wasn’t realizing. 

It made everyone, and I mean everyone, explode in laughter. It only made her hide her face in her hands after promptly shoving her middle finger in his direction.

But she’d gotten him back. When the director wanted shots of each of the girls taking bites out of a slice of watermelon, she’d made sure to take the messiest bite she could manage so that the juice ran down her chin and down the valley of her breasts. Y/N threw her head back as if were the greatest thing she’d ever tasted, exposing the column of her neck that Harry loved to mark up and bruise with his skillful tongue and lips.

“Yeh tryin’ t’ make me hard right now?” he all but growled in her ear when she’d joined him behind the camera so the next model could have their turn.

She simply cocked her head to one side and smirked up at him.

“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it? I’m going to the bathroom. All of this watermelon’s making me have to pee.”

When it came time for the portrait and everyone was being distributed their designated slice of fruit, Y/N found herself confused when Harry pulled her out of line.

“What are you doing, H?”

Harry held up a hand to signal that he’d be right back, to which he returned with an uncut watermelon. Quite possibly the biggest watermelon that she’d ever seen at that.

“Yeh don’t get a slice, yeh get the whole damn watermelon.”

They’d all piled up on the bench and stared stoically into the camera, only instead of raising the wedge to their lips to take a bite, Y/N sat on the grass at Harry’s knees, a whole watermelon resting in between her legs in front of her bump.

//

Y/N’s day ended up being far more fun than she’d ever imagined it could have been despite her constant nagging and jabs at Harry’s expense. While she’d initially only agreed to be a part of Harry’s music video under the condition that her role would be minimum, she was secretly hoping that all of their side conversations and what would be considered “outtakes” would actually make in into the final cut. 

In fact, she’d had so much fun that at the end of the day when filming had wrapped and her and Harry were on the way home, the gentle hum of his convertible and the cool breeze that followed a blistering day on Malibu beach had slowly began willing her eyes shut. 

“Baby,” Harry beckoned her from the driver’s seat.

“Hmm?” Y/N picked her head up from where it was leaning against the window to look over at him.

“Don’t go t’ sleep on me now.”

He reached over to grab her left hand that had settled itself on top of her round stomach. Before lacing his fingers with hers, he kissed her knuckles tenderly.

“Still got t’ go down on yeh when we get home. Bet yeh gonna taste like strawberries.”

[mickstart]

what do you think are some iconic/memorable schumi moments? i just got into f1 and would like to know more about him bc somehow i can’t really find anything like that about him.... just stats which are incredibly impressive but i can’t find anything about how he behaved or just anything about his personality..... thanks <3

:) Hi anon, thank you for unleashing the beast.

Ok I love you for asking me this thank you SO MUCH. Welcome to the circus I’m glad you’re here! Also yeah, Schumi is often talked about in terms of statistics and not as a human, Which is a shame bc like! Schumi is fascinating and the dynamics on the grid in late 90s F1 is so much fun! Also, this is mainly going to be late 90s -> early 2010s stuff bc I was born in 98 so uhhh I didn’t properly witness ANY 90s stuff and had to learn about it.

OK so I got super carried away but I’ve divided this into 3 sections: Drives/races that I think showcase some of his talents, human moments we need to talk about more, and Chaotic Little Bitch moments. The key thing to remember w/ Schumi is that he personally tends to be nice but as soon as you put him in a competition, Bastard Mode activates like a cat’s pupils going wide.

I am so sorry for the following short essay. Also some crashes are briefly mentioned but only ones with absolutely no injuries and there’s no details.

Chaotic Little Bitch Moments

Schumi debuted as a SUBSTITUTE driver for Jordan when one of their drivers was in police custody (yes. really.) The highest a Jordan had qualified all year was 10th and in his DEBUT at SPA, one of the toughest tracks, in the middle of the season, Schumi qualified that Jordan 7th! THEN his clutch failed before the first lap was even complete, but Benetton and Jordan WENT TO COURT to fight each other to sign him for their team before the next race in Monza. He couldn’t debut normally he HAD to cause a scene and set the tone.

The Red Strings of Fate: He qualified 7th, his iconic 7 starred helmet, his first victory next year was ALSO at Spa - his first complete race would be at Monza, Ferrari Holy Ground, and he finished 5th which 👀 1) he was immediately racing with The Greats. 2) Mr 5 Championships With Ferrari.

Winning a race by taking a stop and go penalty on the last lap, crossing the finish line in the pits, and making such a complicated argument about said penalty that in a hearing that was SUPPOSED to be Mclaren protesting the race result the stewards scrapped the entire penalty and the 3 who awarded it handed in their licenses??? Iconic.

Austria 2002 where Rubens was ordered to give the win to Michael. And then Michael fucking made him stand on the top step on the podium like “oh no no no RUBENS deserves this” and made a big SHOW out of it and its like “Michael stop you’re not making it heartwarming you’re making it WORSE Michael STOP” The Tension of germany 2010 podium VS the theatricality of THIS podium.

Team orders were banned because of this which also makes this indirectly responsible for Fernando Is Faster Than You having to be a coded message. You can’t escape him,

Blocking Alonso in Monaco qualifying and then, years later in 2010, overtaking Alonso technically illegally at Monaco (the race was ending under safety car, but the safety car doesn’t lead them over the line it pits and they’d crossed the safety car line and the regulations were NOT specific about the rules) and getting a 20 second penalty bc Damon Hill was a steward. Haunting FERNANDO specifically at Monaco like the ghost of christmas past? Getting a harsh penalty because ANOTHER driver he’d fucked over was a steward? Forcing the FIA to rewrite the rulebook to account for his nonsense when he was in his FOURTIES? I don’t know another chaos king.

Winning the 1995 championship by crashing into Damon Hill, getting AWAY with it for some reason, and then trying to do the same thing in 1997 to Villeneuve, failing to do so and simply rebounding off of him harmlessly, almost COMICALLY, and beaching his own car in a gravel trap at which point the FIA said “I have had ENOUGH of you Wacky Races Man!” and disqualified him from the entire championship

Forcing Mika off the track so bad at Spa 2000 that Mika realized the only way he was gonna be able to get past him was to re-invent the overtake and go for it whilst they were passing a backmarker. (The overtake itself is at 2:05 in the video but the build up to it is Important bc the key part it’s not just badass, it only happened bc Mika knew who he was dealing with.)

Spa 1998 was a Ridiculously Chaotic race it truly was the Mugello 2020 of its year, and after a crash at the start that took out almost the entire grid Schumi accidentally collided with Coulthard later in the race. (The teams used to have a spare car at every race then, so the race was able to continue after a restart.) This wasn’t a racing thing, Coulthard was getting lapped. So something in Schumi SNAPS, and he storms down the pitlane and tries to fight Coulthard while the mclaren and ferrari mechanics both hold him back and finally drag him away. He projected into the future, saw Coulthard was gonna talk non-stop shit about Seb, and acted accordingly.

Monaco 2012 Pole don’t talk to me about this I still can’t believe the audacity of this man to get the only pole of his comeback, at MONACO, at the ONE RACE where he had a 5 place grid penalty to take!!

In general, I know Cheating Bad but. I HAVE to admire the brainpower it must take to have the rulebook so memorized that whilst driving an F1 car Schumi could spot a loophole the size of the eye of a needle and then dance through it, forcing the FIA to add ANOTHER page to the rule book specially for him bc nobody else even REALISED that loophole existed.

Human Moments

A quick rant about Mika and Schumi’s entire friendship. After Spa 2000 Mika goes up to Michael, says something like “Don’t ever do that again” then they’re friends again. They had this mutual understanding that Racing was not Reality. This goes all the way back to their F3 days they were rivals AND friends for their entire career. They truly were the Sewis of the era if Sebastian was like 50% more evil. Their entire dynamic is “You’re the only motherfucker in this pit lane who can handle me”. Schumi would do some bullshit and every other driver would throw up their hands in frustration and Mika would just go “Okay” and drive better to put him in his place bc he was the only one who could keep up, and Schumi very visibly LOVED that he’s grinning after Mika owns his entire ass with that overtake at Spa. They were unstoppable force meets immovable object and I’m so sad their rivalry isn’t more talked about bc the way Mika is the only driver who can get him to behave like a normal human being is SO entertaining.

This is a sad one so I won’t link it but he started crying in the 2000 Monza press-conference with his brother and Mika when he equaled one of Senna’s records. The press kept trying to ask questions about it and Mika just has this death grip on his shoulder and tries to get them to stop or let them take a break and it’s so sad but also important to know about.

Once said he didn’t want Mick to race in F1 bc the pressure of his name would put Mick under so much stress and he wanted his son to be happy. (He fully supported Mick in his endeavors! But only after making absolutely sure it was what Mick wanted, and making sure he knew he could just race for fun if he wanted and it didn’t have to be F1)

This whole interview just after Mick was born with the Schumacher family. Special shout out to Gina on his head the entire video and also Corinna talking to the press while Michael is captivated by Mick. Me too Michael.

Once allegedly pleaded to take a stray kitten home from the track?

I reblogged this yesterday but. Sticking like glue to Sebastian at an F1 test and immediately being like “This is my new son he’s gonna go far”. There’s a lot of pictures out there also of Michael being a guest at the karting races Seb went to as a kid and baby Seb visibly losing his fucking mind at being given a trophy by his idol. Every day of my life I think about him trying to ruffle Seb’s hair through his helmet at Brazil 2012

WInning the championship in 2000. Him thanking the entire team individually and pausing mid-celebration to kiss his wife Corinna so tenderly it’s in the F1 opening. Also, the way it literally cuts from the rest of McLaren looking like they’re attending a funeral to Mika grinning at him and hugging him fucking SENDSSSSS me.

Schumi was a little shit in all the 2010-12 press conferences like, lowering Lewis’ chair, playing with a microphone wire, but ESPECIALLY corrupting baby Seb and getting him to mess with Nico Rosberg.

He’s just GOOFY! Like I refuse to let him be remembered as a terrifying force of nature he was so goofy kind of similarly to Seb. PLEASE watch this incredibly awkward interview he did with Coulthard on a golf buggy where they both had to pretend they hadn’t thought about murdering each other at least once. I think Sky F1 should force Brocedes to do this when covid’s over. “Do you mind if I drive?” “Yes.”

EDIT: I CANNOT BELIEVE I forgot the 1999 Canada press conference where Eddie Irvine and Mika Hakkinen get into a water fight and Schumi immediately grabs a towel and hides behind it and is like “I had NOTHING to do with it” 🥺 adorable, actually

A lot of people at Ferrari, including Rob Smedley (who was on the other side of the garage with Felipe Massa so not in his inner circle) have said that a lot of the success of the team came from Schumi’s LEADERSHIP more than anything, that he’d make the team get together to bond all the time. When Schumi moved to Ferrari in 1996 they were NOT dominant. He did the same thing Lewis did - went to a team that everybody said would be a huge mistake and helped build them up behind the scenes.

THIS bit of the Canada 2011 Rewind where his engineer gives him the strategy and he’s like “... OkaAaAaAay?” and then when it turns out to be the wrong strategy he cheerfully tells them it’s too late. Little shit.

Speaking of Mercedes I also wanna say that like. They were a MESS in 2012 and his car DNF’d because of a failing on their part MULTIPLE times. (In Canada qualifying his DRS was stuck open and they couldn’t close it.) He did not say a single bad word about them EVER even though the press used this to attack him non-stop as washed-up and bad without Ferrari to cheat for him. At Ferrari he was the exact same with the team, any bastard antics Schumi had for his rivals did not extend to the engineers and crew.

OK this one is soured bc Top Gear is trash BUT if you were like, a kid in England who followed motorsports? Schumi’s fake reveal as The Stig on Top Gear was like the coolest, sickest thing,

Please view this image of Schumi and Mika when they were young and stupid

Iconic Races

ok so I have limited myself to a few races that show off some of his key strengths!

Hungary 1998 / France 2004 - STRATEGY/SPEED - Schumi switched to a 3 stop strategy in 98 and a FOUR STOP strategy in 04 and won both races. In order for the strategy call to work he’d have to basically make every single lap a qualifying style ‘flying lap’ and you best fucking believe he DID THAT. God I fucking miss when Ferrari was the king of strategy.

Argentina 1998 -  has it all. Talent, battling Mika, pit lane mind games with mclaren, and bullying coulthard xxx

Spain 1996 / a majority of the wet races - RAIN - One of Schumi’s nicknames was Rain Master bc he was so fucking good in the wet. If it started raining and you were a Schumi stan you were cackling evilly before the red lights even went out. I single out 1996 bc it was his first win for Ferrari and it was unexpected but in most wet races, even Canada 2011 post comeback, you can see Schumi thriving.

Malaysia 1999 - Schumi missed pretty much the entire second half of the season with a broken leg, came back for the last 2 races with everybody murmuring about whether he would struggle, and immediately put the Ferrari on pole. Also worth noting is that he was the number 2 driver for these 2 races bc his teammate Irvine was fighting Mika for the championship and he went along with that without complaint, allowing Ferrari to win the constructor’s championship if not the driver’s.

Monza 2002, 03, 04, or 06 just because it has the energy of the tifosi kneeling at the feet of an idol to their red god.

Brazil 2006 - Fuck All Y’all - Schumi’s last race for Ferrari. He got a puncture and ended up almost lapped, and then drove his way back from that to 4th bc he couldn’t go out without reminding us he’s a bad bitch.

Monza 2012 - Defending - Don’t tell F1 Twitter that there’s actual footage of Lewis and Michael having a genuine lengthy battle on track but DO watch Michael defending like a motherfucker and Lewis breathing down his neck for half the race we need to talk about this more.

Valencia 2012 - This isn’t necessarily anything special but I cried in my living room over the only podium of his comeback so it goes on here. It doesn’t have the same impact if you haven’t been watching him struggle with the car for years, DNF-ing from car failure most of 2012, and having BBC F1 telling you he’s washed up every single weekend, but you can just enjoy one of the best drives of FERNANDO’S entire career as he DRAGS that Ferrari by its hair to a home grand prix win and then watch the crowds embrace him like jesus and also Schumi being happy on the podium. Also, the very start of this clip from the press conference: him forgetting what language he’s supposed to be speaking 

Basically, Schumi was a hyper-competitive ambitious bitch who turned into a goofball as soon as he switched the engine off. This is by NO MEANS everything if I was making an exhaustive best races guide I’d do more research and another post but I hope this is what you were looking for?? THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting me go MAXIMUM SPECIAL INTEREST and I apologize.

[shadow-scenarios]

Date Headcanons | Everyone

Thought I’d write something for everyone so that I can get used to it & you can see my style of writing.

- Nexus.

Joker { Akira Kurusu }

✧ Akira is definitely the type of partner who indulges in more casual dates. Although he has the money & resources in order to do something more classy due to his moonlighting as a Phantom Thief, he prefers more quaint locations where both himself & his partner can enjoy each other’s company instead of the location.

✧ He fundamentally believes that if he can enjoy himself around his significant other without needing to spend vast amounts of money, he’s found someone he can rely on for life. His life is naturally very very stressful so he finds solace in moments where he can simply be himself.

✧ During the date itself, he is the epitome of a gentleman { he does have max Charm, after all! }. Offering to pay for the meal; blatantly flirting but not crossing any unspoken boundaries; Casual touches of affection to fluster them. All in all, Akira simply enjoys having company that’s not related to Phantom Thief business & having someone who doesn’t only want to see him in order to seek out comfort.

Skull { Ryuji Sakamoto }

✧ Another one who likes casual dates. However, he is much less formal about it. Although confident on the outside, on the inside he is very nervous about a date. Ryuji is of the opinion that if he cannot be himself during a date, it would not feel natural. So, he takes his significant other places that seem like fun.

✧ Being the athletic type, Ryuji encourages his significant other to run with him. It is rather cathartic and good training. Starting out with shorter routes, they would be encouraged by him all throughout. Afterwards, there’s a high chance that the two of them would head out for ramen together as a ‘ treat ’.

✧ Other ideas would include the arcade or simply heading to his house. Introducing his partner to his mother is a key part of the relationship, since he desperately wants them to like each other { it wouldn’t be difficult, Ryuji’s mother is just as sweet as his son!! }.

Panther { Ann Takamaki }

✧ There are two types of dates with Ann: Food dates & Fashion dates.

✧ Food dates are usually more common. They consist of going to a restaurant she recommends or finding a dessert and ordering two. Ann encourages her significant other to try new things & expand their horizons much like how she’s trying to strengthen her heart.

✧ Fashion dates occur when Ann’s side job as a model comes into play. If she is in need of new clothes for a particular style or wants to try something new, it is likely to be turned into a date.

✧ Ann knows exactly what fits the body type of her partner & clothes that would make them look good. She wants them to be able to express themselves and feel good about it at the same time!!

✧ In return, all that is asked of them is that they honestly critique the clothing choices she has selected out for herself { she looks great in everything though }.

Fox { Yusuke Kitagawa }

✧ Yusuke’s interpretation of dates is... Strange. No matter what, it has to be visually stimulating & help inspire him in his career of art. He would die for art without a second thought and that reflects in his choices of location.

✧ For example, Inokashira Park is a perfect spot. It costs little money, has beautiful scenery & has a relaxing atmosphere. Throughout the entire experience, there is small gestures of casual affection. Not enough for people to be staring but just enough for it to be noticeable by them.

✧{ After his scuffle with searching for true beauty with Akira, he learns a little more about social ettique & how the boat ride they took could have been misinterpreted as a date. }

✧ However... Sometimes he forgets that going to places costs money. If a local art museum has a special showing, Yusuke will buy two tickets impulsively & invite his significant other to the event. Then he’ll be crushed by the reality of the train fares.

Queen { Makoto Niijima }

✧ At first, Makoto has no idea how to plan a date. She would definitely flunk a test about love, so to speak. However, it is very endearing. Study dates would be the most common, where they could go over any material either of them didn’t understand in classes. She prides herself over being able to assist her significant other.

✧ Once she becomes more adapted to stereotypical teenage life, there is a higher likelyhood of more outdoorsy dates. Her favourite spot is Chinatown because of all the vastly different stores and foods.

✧ She finds it a relaxing experience to people watch. Usually it’s done through the window of a cafe where she offhandedly comments about how different people are dressed & how they interact with each other. Makoto is very insightful.

Oracle { Futaba Sakura }

✧ Going anywhere is mostly out of the question. Futaba struggles with socialising & although she is trying her best to open up a little more, it will be an ongoing process.

✧ Playing video games until 3am or talking about the latest manga edition released from the comfort of her bedroom is one of her favourite things to do with a significant other. It is the one time where she feels comfortable to talk & even if they do not quite understand every thing she is saying, she is very happy to go into depth and explain.

✧ However, there would be one or two occasions where Futaba wants to push herself & go out somewhere. Beforehand, Sojiro would be lecturing her partner about keeping her safe & making sure she’s okay but wishes the two of them a good time.

✧ Although there’s moments where Futaba is overstimulated & needs a break, it is a fun experience! Akihabara is definitely a good place to start & buying a game as a reward for braving it will earn them a beaming smile of sunshine.

Noir { Haru Okumura }

✧ Haru has very few qualms about spending extravagant amounts of money on a single date. She thinks like a celebrity & aims to impress her significant other. Just because she spends a lot of money does not mean she is not thoughtful, though. Most dates will be something her significant other has mentioned interest in. She pays attention!!

✧ Throughout the entire outing, she is not afraid to initiate physical contact. Holding hands is a common & subtle gesture that she never really achieved with her previous marriage so she cherishes gentle intimacy.

✧ However, it eventually becomes known that she prefers cheaper & more heart-to-heart style dates. Making a picnic for her partner with the vegetables / fruits from her garden brings unparalleled joy. Especially when they give advice and talk about the taste & how they could improve. Her dream is to run a homegrown café after all!!

Crow { Goro Akechi }

✧ Akechi is either the most gentlemanly man anyone has ever been on a date with or he wants to unwind from a stressful day. Dates are few & far between with his particularly busy schedule, alongside the influence of his female fans bothering him particularly turns him off the idea most of the time.

✧ So, there are two solutions: Dates that are indoors so that no one knows where they are & incredibly extravagant dates that the media cannot gain access to.

✧ Indoor ones usually involve attending the Jazz Club in Kichijoji. It is a relaxing place with few people to bother his significant other, since there are few that know about the place. Throughout the entire occasion, he makes light conversation and is hesitant about accepting physical contact for fear of his reputation but eventually settles on taking his gloves off and interlocking hands with them.

✧ The other solution is usually reserved for special occasions. Although Akechi is wealthy due to his work as a detective, he is more deliberate with his purchases and understands the value of money. In these situations, he intentionally plays up his role as a detective prince & is even more suave than Akira. There is a lot of flirtation in a very polite manner, almost as if testing the waters.

✧ Although he genuinely enjoys these sessions, it is his job to play the role of a prince, even for his significant other. Akechi is practised at pretending.

Violet { Sumire Yoshizawa }

✧ Incredibly flustered at first, no matter what happens. Every step with her is filled with stuttering & a face the same colour as her hair but she’s willing to try her best!!

✧ Absolutely wants her significant other to come to her routines & competitions. If they are not there, she feels incomplete. It throws her game off which in turn creates more issues in the future.

✧{ At some point, her coach comes to speak to them and essentially demands they be at every session so Sumire can achieve her best. }

✧ Sumire also really likes different scenery. The aquarium in Shinagawa is a breathtaking sight from her perspective. No pressure to perform & the ability simply be herself allows for a much more natural date.

{ Yuuki Mishima }

✧ Mishima is much like Futaba in that he would prefer a date indoors. Although he is more confident after everything that happened with Kamoshida, he is still more shocked that he actually has a significant other.

✧ Most of his spare time when not doing schoolwork is spent on running the Phansite so when Mishima wants to spend time with them, he prefers low energy activities at home such as watching a movie with snacks or sitting & talking together.

✧ If he ever attempted to take them out somewhere, it would be adorable. There would be a lot of doting on them and ensuring that they’re having a good time & he needs this validation because of his self esteem issues. { Telling Mishima that the date was fun or that they enjoyed it will result in an adorable smile & red face }.

{ Hifumi Togo }

✧ Much like Yusuke, Hifumi enjoys dates with her significant other that are practical. If there’s a new book on some of the lastest Shogi techniques, she’ll take them to the bookstore in Jinbocho & make a date out of it.

✧ Although she sometimes struggles to articulate her feelings properly, it is often made up for with the purchase of a gift. Nothing expensive since she is still a high school student but instead something deeply personal that will mean a lot, such as a piece of jewellery or a particular book they are interested in.

✧ Also loves going to the church in Kanda for a practice game. Even if they are not very good at Shogi, she’ll teach them how to play and encourages them to develop their own style of play. After each game, she analyses all of the different moves used in that game & how they changed the game.

Word Count: 1.7k

Publish Date: 25.09.20

[entryno17]

For ask game Gaster

Its inevitable

yeah uh. this entire post should probably be under a read more. sorry </3

favorite thing about them -

personally, gaster was what elevated my love for undertale into full blown infatuation. somehow, he manages to appeal to literally every stupid thing that i love. he’s absolutely my favorite character in the game that’s not a character in the game. (papyrus is my favorite character, but gaster is my favorite non-character, you see.) i’ve basically always had a fascination for strange things in technology, starting at age 4 when i played my first video game. with access to action replay and all kinds of weird cheat codes, i found myself running into tons of weird glitches and oddities. they were scary, but they were incredible to me. they shattered the veil of immersion and revealed the game’s true nature: it wasn’t magic, it wasn’t real; it was lines of codes strung together. but that didn’t disappoint me—actually, it thrilled me. my interest grew further after discovering video game creepypasta (at a far-too-young age of course lol.) that stuff horrified me, the idea that something organic could be born from lines of code, whether it was an evil murder ghost or just a strange glitch—something about the concept just captured my imagination like nothing else. i’m still in love with the idea; i’m always reading about computer viruses, artificial intelligence, the mechanics of games and programs; anything that captures the strange wonders of technology. unused content in video games is another love of mine because of the unique insight it gives on the development of games. this interest has led me to learn and do so much, from writing simple code and romhacks to inspiring me to develop a game of my own. i don’t think i can explain just how much i love this stuff. SO. imagine how i felt when a certain game (that i already adored) had an entire character literally stuck in the game’s data both in and out of its universe, at the time only accessible through datamining and file editing. even though my first fixation on undertale died out in 2016, gaster has occupied a special place in my mind for all this time. but now that i’m once again obsessed with the game, i think he just is my entire mind at this point? deltarune’s next chapters cannot come out soon enough i'm going insane here

least favorite thing about them - the fact that he managed to dissolve my brain into goo. also that there’s so little content of him in game of course </3

favorite line - wow i get to pick something from his like 3 lines of dialogue!! anyway it’s the quote in my blog’s description, “I LOOK FORWARD / TO CREATING / A NEW FUTURE / WITH YOU.” it’s just... so ominous and exciting. and he’s talking to YOU!

brOTP - alphys probably? they might seem really different from each other at first glance but at heart they’re both just kinda dorky and weird. in my personal pre-core headcanon universe they’re really close—alphys and sans were both his assistants and they were all best buddies basically. alphys has always been really insecure but i think gaster would be good at reassuring her (one thing sans would probably absolutely suck at,) they’d both just be really positive presences in each others life and that idea makes me happy.

OH JEVIL TOO, this would be post-core gaster so like. man i don’t even know. they’d both just be fucking insane together and i love that

OTP - still got nothing. honestly, i don’t ship in general unless there’s really good reason to?? kingdings is kinda cute though, mostly because the name is fucking perfect and amazing it makes me cackle. OH MY GOD i forgot, i saw gaster x jevil referred to as jeviled eggs and just. why are these ship names so fucking good i can’t stand it nOTP - grillster I’M SORRY I JUST DON’T GET IT. no hate at all towards people who like it though, it just doesn’t interest me at all. also sanster because i personally believe gaster is related to him so like....... yeah no. (AND EVEN IF HE WASN’T I’D STILL HATE IT TBH. SRRY.)

random headcanon - gaster’s body is made from coagulated black goop of unknown origin. there could be a skeleton under there, but there’s probably not much of it left, if there is one at all. he has a white turtleneck, but only the neck part. his sweater fused into his body at some point—it’s literally just stuck there and he can’t do anything about it. he doesn’t have legs; the definition of his body terminates just below where his ribcage would be, and everything beyond there is an amorphous pile of goo. he can manifest arms (for hugs), but he usually floats his hands around since it’s easier. when he’s stressed or excited, his body melts a bit. he slithers on the ground like a slug, though he actually can move unnervingly fast? he may or may not leave traces of goo everywhere he goes. it’s horrible.

unpopular opinion - alright this is my hottest take in the entire undertale fandom: dadster is GARBAGE. grandpaster is clearly superior. i KNOW you fuckers just want to draw gaster as a hot dad BUT HE’S AN OLD SLIMY PILE OF BONES. YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MIND. (YOU COULD JUST DRAW HIM AS A SEXY OLD SLIMY PILE OF BONES. IF YOU WEREN'T ALL COWARDS.)

song i associate with them - umm i can’t actually think of anything. maybe tout petit moineau - igorrr??? mostly putting it here bc it’s just one of my favorite songs like ever LMAO. it’s just very haunting, and the absolute chaos it further falls into with each passing moment is so incredible.

maybe also database batadase - gangpol und mit??? this association is even MORE nonexistent but fuck you i can do whatever i want. i associate gaster with synthesized voices in general and i really like this song. yeah that’s it.

favorite picture of them - GASTER ON THE UNDERTALE VINYL SET.

THIS IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL GASTER ART ASIDE FROM HIS SPRITE AND HE’S FUCKING ADORABLE

i still can’t believe i actually own this thing LMAO. as far as i know, he’s only on the cover if you preordered on the day of undertale’s anniversary which i happened to do. although the second set of prints haven’t been shipped yet??—he’s been removed from the boxart on fangamer’s website so there’s honestly a fair chance that he’s not going to be on those copies at all... if so, jesus christ i’m lucky. i can sleep so much more comfortably knowing that he is haunting my room.

[thatfunkyopossum]

whys it a worthless video essay? genuinely curious on your thoughts :0

The racism mostly!

Disclaimer: i’m white, and not meaning to speak for any person of color! My opinions on this are formed based on what i noticed in combination with what i know about racism, and I believe that in this case i’m right about what i’ve observed. That said, my observations are open to criticism from any black people who might be reading this and feel like weighing in, as my only personal experiences in bigotry are with my identity as a queer person. In short: i’m not an expert, but i do have eyes and what they see is repulsive. Anyway this will be rambly.

First and foremost, The Tragedy of Droids by @popculturedetective’s editing directly connects the Droids in Star Wars with the atrocities of chattel slavery in the americas, and the perceived connection is at times hinted at in the script.

@4:10 into the video “...they’re also bought and sold like cattle” is a quote i caught when trying to find the following time stamps, because the editing is the real beast here.

There’s also @ 4:35 “you can probably guess where i’m going with this, because the social arrangement i’ve just described is one of property and owner. And a property relationship between two intelligent beings that gives one absolute power over the other is called slavery.”

In this video essay, there are multiple times when the visuals cut between Roots and the droids of Star Wars. This is important because Roots is a mini series based off the family history of the black man who wrote the book, Alex Haley, and the scenes being directly juxtaposed with Star Wars droids are the scenes from it where black people are on slave ships or being sold at auction. TToD essay, which was at the very least presented by a white man, wants the viewer to connect robots and black people for the sake of the essay’s argument. TToD essay wants the connection between real black human beings who actually lived and suffered and died in the real damn world to, i cannot stress this enough, machines.

To anyone who is reading this and not seeing why thats fucked up, because they view the droids as people, here’s the problem. Droids aren’t people. No matter how you slice it, no matter how much you love them, theres actually no way for us to be sure that 99% of droids are sentient beings, that are self aware, and that feel things. Droids in the Star Wars universe are constructed to be tools that talk to you and have fun personalities. Some droids might be self aware and sentient, but the likelihood is that the vast majority aren’t due to being what they are. Tools. This is in stark contrast to black people, because black people are, uh, people!!

At 4:00 into the video essay, we start to see the cuts between Roots and Star Wars. Pop Culture Detective cuts between C-3PO/R2-D2 being sold to Luke’s family and a black woman being put in front of a crowd of white people to be auctioned off. This same sequence of cuts is used again later in the video essay.

At 28:20 into the video, a clip from Star Trek: The Next Generation is used wherein Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg, a black woman) is talking about slaves and slavery, how there have been disposable people in history. This clip on its own is so, so good. It aired in 1989, and I have no idea what the political climate was like for black people then (im not as well versed in history as i would like) but i can guess it probably wasn’t good!

“...They do the dirty work. They do the work that no one else wants to do because its too difficult or too hazardous. You don’t have to think about their welfare. You don’t think about how they feel. Whole generations of disposable people.”

And then Pop Culture Detective uses this (to me) powerful line about atrocities done to human beings... and cuts to R2-D2 serving drinks to Jabba’s crew. PCD says some bullshit about how star wars is using the droids as an allegory for slavery but has nothing to say with the metaphor, and then it cuts back to Guinan to finish her speech. Might i say: what the fuck. What the fuck.

I can’t find it right now, but i distinctly remember there is also a bit where the visuals cut straight from a black man’s face to the face of an astromech.

And the cherry on top is that the clones are in this video... and never mentioned. Okay actually i’m going to talk about this video’s treatment of the clones and how utterly fucked up it is because i was so caught up in the “this essay wants you to think of the horrors of chattel slavery done to black people as being even remotely comparable to the existence of R2-D2” that i forgot to talk about the clones.

Okay so this video does not mention the clones at all. It uses clips from the clone wars and clips from the prequels movies with clones in them, but the clones aren’t even so much as talked about in passing. The closest we get is this brushing off of the issue in general @29:50:

“Remember, this is a universe where humanoid slavery exists as well, but its presented as unambiguously negative, though not exactly something the heroes are in a rush to abolish.”

Which is said about Anakin and his mother. And its not like they forgot about the clone wars and to talk about it at all! No, they had this to say on it @15:10. See if you notice anything.

“...But what about Battle droids?... Well, the separatist droid army in the prequels seems specifically designed as little more than canon fodder. Making the bad guys unfeeling robots avoids the messy moral complications and mass casualties that would result from an interstellar war. If battle droids aren’t alive then the audience doesn’t have to care when thousands of them are killed in extended battlefield scenes. Indeed we’re encouraged to think of these types of droids as mere objects and to cheer at their dismemberment.”

Drink it in y’all, i’m still absorbing it. I’ll note that sections of this were played over clips from the first battle of geonosis, and there were clones on screen. So, PCD completely sidesteps the issue of the clones, seemingly unaware of the actual explicit enslavement of brown men who are unquestionably living thinking feeling people, in favor of projecting humanity onto every single droid including the infamously poorly programed B1 Battle droids.

I don’t know what else I can say on that besides the fact that some obscure ass clips from the clone wars are used to humanize the robots, implying that PCD watched tcw and missed the episode where Slick calls the Jedi slavers.

There’s other problems with it as a whole, like the essayist completely failing to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that all droids are sentient, or that even most droids are. No consideration is given to the purpose, construction, or make/model of droid into the question of “are they sentient”? And we’re left with the implication that your average mouse droid is at all relatable to a black person.

In fact, PCD in this essay seems to actually imply that r2-d2 and bb8 being sentient-ish robots we’re supposed to empathize with, and the battle droids being not that, is due to a failure/breakdown of internal logic. And not that they’re, you know, different machines...?

I have so much to say on this mess, but this is long enough as it is. In conclusion, Pop Culture Detective’s video essay should have been about the clones, but it chose to focus on droids instead and in doing so dehumanized black people in an attempt to humanize robots.

I’ll leave you with this quote from the video, but edited slightly to be instead about the clones.

“[Slick]’s observations about [clone] slavery could have been an opportunity for Star Wars to finally grapple with the uncomfortable fact that...the good guys seem to have been keeping sentient beings in a state of perpetual servitude.”