#i know i'm posting it twice but this is for aesthetic purposes

[wyrd-syster]

FANFIC ROUNDUP: 2023

LIST OF FANWORKS

POSTED

lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor) | Haladriel neighbors AU | E | 2/2

tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all) | Haladriel "This is How You Lose the Time War" AU | E | one-shot

it's a dangerous game | Haladriel Venetian-style "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" AU | E | one-shot | dead dove

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone) | Haladriel canon divergence | E | 9/? (wip)

living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you) | Haladriel "Stepford Wives" cult AU | E | one-shot

take a chance and roll the dice (say it once, say it twice) | Haladriel Halloween-themed drabble collection | M | 8/8

there is a light (and it never goes out) | Haladriel Hanukkah-themed canon divergence | T | 1/2 (wip)

sugar and spice (and everything...) | Haladriel neighbors AU | E | sequel to lend me some sugar | one-shot

Total words: 127,458, almost triple my output from last year. I am flabbergasted.

UNPOSTED WIPS

oh boy. Not including wips noted above:

we were angels, once (don't you remember?) | Haladriel immortal soulmates au | M (probably?) | one-shot

break the lock if it don't fit (love sticks, sweat drips) | Haladriel "Ocean's Eleven" AU | E | one-shot (title subject to change)

and on the creature scratches (it doesn't know how to get out) | Haladriel mob AU | E| multi-chapter sequel to oh, can’t you hear that scratching? (there’s something at the door) 

Untitled third installment of the Haladriel like a good neighbor series

Untitled Haladriel Rumpelstiltskin AU

TOTAL # OF COMPLETED WORKS/FANDOMS WRITTEN IN

Six completed works written for the Sauron (Halbrand)/Galadriel (Haladriel) fandom, The Rings of Power

OVERALL THOUGHTS

it's like I can't consume media anymore without being like "*leonardo dicaprio meme* this could be a Haladriel AU!"

PERSONAL FAVORITE?

I'm going to say living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you), mostly because of the amount of work I put into it. Honestly, I never thought I'd finish it! I restarted this story six or seven times — I just could not find the voice. But I am so pleased with the outcome. I think of everything I've written this year, this story really underscored to me that, beyond "flashes of inspiration," writing is a lot of hard work that needs consistent attention and practice!

MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED?

I definitely think this one is it's a dangerous game, my Dr. Jekyll and Hyde AU. I initially started writing this for a Gothic-themed challenge, abandoned for a bit, then finished in a flurry for Haladriel Week. This fic is also a close second for my favorite of the year. I love a Gothic aesthetic and I made sure this story was chock full of it. I was also so purposeful with my writing voice for this story and, to me, it doesn't sound like anything else I've written.

MOST POPULAR?

Oh without a doubt, lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor)! 

STORY WITH THE SEXIEST MOMENT?

I mean, this is so subjective, but I think the somnophilia scene from it's a dangerous game takes the cake for me! I wrote it in one sitting during my lunch break and my god was it hard to go back to work after this...

An excerpt from the end of the scene: Instead, he adjusts her skirts and melts into the darkness, leaving her as he found her; boneless and wet, flushed with heat and ripe for the taking. 

MOST FUN STORY TO WRITE?

Fun is a strong word, but I was the story I felt was most fulfilling to write was tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all). I already had some of the template letter concepts in my notes from a twitter conversation much earlier in the year, and expanding on them, while building the scenes around them, was a really fun exercise.

HARDEST?

I'm not going to lie, most of them! I used to be the type of writer who would have one flash of inspiration, write it up at a mad sprint, then quit writing until I was struck with another mad idea. I wrote for so many prompt and themed challenges this year that I was required to be more intentional about story building and more consistent with my writing — even when it was hard, even when I hated everything I wrote down. Felt a lot like muscle training at the gym!

BIGGEST SURPRISE?

My output really surprised me!! I complain to my therapist all the time that I'm shit at finishing things, but it's hard to deny the truth when it's staring me in the face: six complete stories, two wips that I will complete! And not just the quantity of my output, but the quality too. I am proud of, and really like, everything I published!

I mean, don't ask me how my social life is going lol, but at least my writing life is going well!

DID YOU TAKE ANY RISKS IN WRITING THIS YEAR?

Dipping my toe into Dark Fics for sure, which is new for me. But beyond that, just engaging with the fandom as a whole! I firmly believe that writing/story-telling is a communal activity and I am beyond grateful to have found that community. It's the first real fan-space I've been a real part of, and it's definitely improved my writing.

MOST UNINTENTIONALLY TELLING STORY?

My life is too boring to translate to fic lol. But I did not have to dig very deep to write the depression beats in living la dolce vita (I’ve been saving all my summers for you). A lot of what Galadriel goes through — the listlessness, the anger, the selfishness — is stuff I also struggle with during depressive episodes.

FAVORITE LINES/SCENES?

I like them all lol but these are a few that I know others, including my fiancé, have really liked:

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone): “My lady, if I had a dragon’s tooth for every time you told me not to worry while you went careening off into peril, I’d have a smiling crown for my troubles.”

lend me some sugar (I am your neighbor): And she shatters, then, like glass; a thousand glittering pieces sailing off into the light. Irreparably damaged, ground to dust — edges sharpening as they fall into a mosaic of destruction. There is no end and no beginning. A lifetime of little deaths folding in on themselves, one on top of the other.

tell me something true (or tell me nothing at all): I am drowning in this ocean of blood. And you — you are not here to pull me to the surface as you once did. How could you, when you are wave and anchor both?

there is a light (and it never goes out): She can offer him no words of comfort, no platitudes to ease his sorrows. But she can offer this. The soft touch of her lips to his, the gentle stroke of her fingers across his cheek. She cannot mend a broken heart, but she can hold it for a while, cup it in her palms and keep it safe. She can pour her light into his darkened soul, weave together a dream where they are bound and they are whole. If only just this once.

MY FAVE PART OF FANDOM IN 2023

Literally just having this fandom. Having this community of wonderful, kind, incredibly talented people I can talk to, get advice from, brainstorm with!! I have made so many wonderful friends and I will be forever grateful.

2024 WRITING AMBITIONS

I want to continue developing a consistent writing habit, preferably once a day. Ideally, I'll become to type of girlie who wakes up at 5am and writes for two hours before work, but let's be real, I'm way to sleepy for that!

I also want to focus on two specific things: writing faster and writing less. First, I am, in my eyes, a slow writer — without that "flash of inspiration," it can take me a few days to write a single scene. Mostly because I do not follow my own advice and have to get everything perfect in the first draft. Second — as you can see from this post!!! — I have always been the type of writer who goes "why use one word when you can use ten?" I want to be able to write shorter stories without feeling like I'm compromising on my vision.

2024 FICS ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON

chapter two of there is a light (and it never goes out) 

the immortal soulmates AU

dig up the bones (but leave the soul alone)*  (which I think will be on hiatus until I can get a few chapters ahead before posting).

Thanks to @liminal-zone for the format, @conundrumoftime and @thecoziestbean inspiration!

[hyperactivetransdrone]

Drone god/goddess concept art I drew more information under the picture:

First of all: I don't have a drawing tablet or like a large touch screen and pencil and I don't like the screen moving except for maybe tiny details so I need a large screen with art that is locked in place like paper to draw digitally so I did it on paper

Anyway on the left is the full art which I now realize was a stupid decision as I should have done it on the right to minimize the art streaking because I'm left handed but on the right is the line art. I didn't draw hands as that's the hardest part. I did draw the hands on the glove concept just to show what it would look like if done correctly, same with the heel concept but reverse.

The mask itself has essentially a "breathing hole" in the front. The god doesn't need to breathe so it's there for aesthetic purposes and if anyone wants to make this an actual mask. I took a lot from drones I saw on the internet and tried to incorporate as much as I could into it's design. The tubes on the mask just go into the suit as shown with the head concept the tubes on the mouth go back and into the head and combine onto the larger tube in the back of it's head going to probably an oxygen tank or something. I realize as I was finishing this that it's sort of like the Pokémon Mewtwo but that was entirely coincidental. The visor is, well first and foremost it's eyes but Secondly it can make that visor into a Hypnotic spiral to create more drones although I will go over it's personality later.

The hair isn't actual hair as it doesn't even have a scalp the "hair" is there to make is seem both more intimidating but also less at the same time as the more human it looks the more approachable something is.

It's skin is made entirely of a latex-like substance hence all the shiny bits I did mess up on the legs on that part as I originally used marker but after I did that I couldn't draw in the shadows so I opted for a metallic black paint painting over the original marker so the legs do look a bit jank compared to the arms. The shoulders I stole from some of Lady Gaga's outfits, it also helps to make it's shoulders seem wider, therefore more intimidating.

Originally I wanted to do ballet heels for it's feet instead of normal heels but I wanted it to be more of a "mother of all drones" type thing so it would have to look more dominant so I chose to not do ballet heels, instead opting for near-thigh-high-boot-heels as the lip of the boots (and also elbows) would prevent it from moving comfortably when walking (or doing arm gestures)

I purposely put her in an A-Pose as I just wanted to see her in her base standing form before I put her where she basically lives, which I may also post when I finish this. I would have posted this on my soon to be general blog where that would hold all my story telling things, however as this character is more... erotic in nature I opted to post it here

Anyway with its personality it fully thinks that being a drone is first of all must be completely consensual, anyone caught forcing someone to become a drone against his/her will (Including their but this is storytelling so just assume I mean anyone when I say his/her) due to it being the top of the hivemind and is the only drone capable of independent thought they WILL be caught will be Hunted down by it (or some kind of drone, it depends on how I want to take this story, maybe all active drones) and have something done (don't know what yet) and the person force droned will be taken extreme care of by the goddess and given an option of whether or not that person wishes to leave. Nextly, all human drones (so drone converts) must be human at least once or twice a week, for example if you are being a drone because you are depressed and just don't want to feel, that's perfectly okay with the god but if you never want to come out you will be kicked out of being a drone for 24 hours if you stay a drone for too long. Then it doesn't care why you decided to become a drone, it could be for sex, depression, productivity, but all it does care about is if you take care of yourself. Anyone who does decide to be a drone, however will always not only be taken care of by it but also it will always try to protect it's drones. Finally it will never force anyone to become a drone (except maybe those who abuse the power of dronification to have power over people) and will gladly show anyone who think that what it does is evil, the reason why people come to it to be a drone.

There is of course a hierarchy of drones but I haven't ironed out all the details yet. The place where it basically lives, however, is in a ceo like office on a computer behind the desk where the central Hive of drones go to. That place is sort of like a hotel for drones, and it's free to stay in if your a drone as well.

Final note about my artwork:

Please do not use my artwork without crediting me, if you see some of my art without any credit, please either ask them to credit me or report it to me, with a link, thank you! :3

[fuzziekins]

For the purposes of this post, i'm gonna go with the last movie i watched fully and go a few weeks back to when i convinced my friend to watch Brother Bear. Originally my friend and i were gonna watch Peter Pan and Wendy cause they love Peter Pan but we could barely make it halfway through which really surprised them, and i wasn't following what was happening. Before we settled on that we were trying to figure out what else to watch, preferably something they haven't seen before. One of my suggestions was Brother Bear which i loved when i was younger (it was the first movie i saw in theaters twice) and, for reasons i don't understand, they never saw it. So they ended up deciding to give it a try.

There are a lotta things i love about that movie. The obvious one is the classic hand drawn animation cause that's something that's basically extinct by this point especially in movies since everything is computer animated. The music is fantastic for multiple reasons. One being that it matches the aesthetic of the movie perfectly and the other being the songs were written by Phil Collins (aka the guy behind Tarzan) and you know Phil Collins goes hardcore on things. I also just loved the younger bear, Koda, in the movie, and how he was always bugging Kenai. i thought he was hilarious. This was one of the movies where, when i was younger, i could memorize a buncha scenes and try playing it out with plushies (in some cases, to the actual score which the only movie i could really do before then was The Lion King and now as an adult i could also do Beauty and the Beast). Being older now i have even more appreciation for the movie. Aside from the fact that it's one of the few original ideas Disney created - cause you know Disney does its best when it retells fairy tales or classic stories in their own way - and you know they can do original ideas just as well [when they want to and don't hyperfocus on remaking movies they already put out]. Personally i also love looking up facts and learning about movies after watching them, especially Disney movies. The movie actually plays in two different resolutions. The first part of the movie is...i guess for a better wording, more narrow and the colors are on the more de-saturated or darker side. After Kenai transforms into a bear, the movie shifts to more of a widescreen and the colors get significantly brighter (or, at least they do to me since having been an art student i was trained to notice more differences between color so obviously as a kid i wouldn't've picked up on it). They specifically did that to show the difference from Kenai's pov as a human vs a bear. It's things like that, that are little reminders of not only how much effort goes into making these movies but also how much research is done and how much people really think about what they're putting on the screen. Also sidenote the characters are completely POC because of the location and time period and during before diversity was more pushed than it is now, that feels kinda significant.

This was also the second friend i convinced to watch the movie and who thoroughly enjoyed it (be warned of course, there are sad parts in the movie especially considering Kenai believed he got turned into a bear cause he "didn't do anything wrong" (spoiler - he did)). One of my other friends, we watched the DVD of Brother Bear i had cause she didn't have streaming at the time and she enjoyed it so much that another time we hung out she wanted to watch it again. That being said, i highly do NOT recommend the sequel. Animation not being as good (obviously) and different voices (also pretty normal for direct to video/DVD sequels) aside, they very clearly only made Brother Bear 2 to give Kenai a girlfriend. And being the hopeless unromantic that i am, it only took one watch for me to decide HELL NO. The sequel is dumb and pointless (as are many sequels but this one absolutely).

And trust me, if you want more than a review and an actual recap of events in the movie to wanna make you feel to a small extent like you're watching it, i can very easily type that up [without actually watching the movie again, though writing it probably would take the same length of time as watching the movie lol].

I did also watch about half of the Addams Family from 2019 when it was on, but that was only to have something on in the background to fall asleep to. I think i got up to the part where Wednesday when to school with regular kids and shortly after that was when i fell asleep, so i can't really comment on anything about it except the designs for the Addams Family was much better than the other humans in the movie. I did also catch bits and pieces of the first Paw Patrol movie though, again, something to put on while i was falling asleep, but that i have no idea what happened except the Paw Patrol was going into the city to do a thing and i'm still waiting for my friend's kids to tell me how the movie ends.

wait guys. reblog this and tell me what the last movie you watched was. bonus points if you add a short review <333

[thepevertedwizard]

Hi! I'm Calvin. If you know me in real life, you probably don't want to follow this account. Yall know how much I share in the tags, and having an nsfw sideblog is gonna ramp that up to a 10.

I know kids want to snoop because I did some snooping myself, but think about it this way. I want to share my thoughts with people who are interested in the same things as me, and potentially me. I'm not interested in 18-19 year olds, let alone children. Stick to YA romances for a couple more years.

If you are incensed by the following statements, you're not welcome here.

Trans people deserve to exist. Transfemmes, especially Black transfemmes/transfemmes of color, are disproportionately assumed to have bad intentions on social media and face a world of discrimination and violence. Transmascs are in an interesting predicament where they may benefit from gender essentialism/TERF ideology that says that characteristics normally associated with being male corrupt individuals. At the same time, some transmascs (most often white ones) will do their best to assimilate into the patriarchy. This environment is a complicated one, and I try my best to avoid stereotypes and construct a better masculinity for myself merged with queer liberation. All that goes to say, FUCK TERFS!!!

Decolonization and antiracism should be at the forefront of every political movement and ideology. Free Palestine, DRC, Ayiti, Borikén, Aotearoa, Turtle Island, etc. Nazis and the alt-right have no place in public (or among the living).

Actual discussion of kinks under the cut.

DNI if you're into forcefemme/forcemasc as a way to force people to detransition. Same with so-called "corrective rape." I don't want to write off ddlg or other such dynamics entirely, but I hold great trepidation with people that do sexual things when one or both people are in a state of age regression. I treat the people in my life that age regress with the same care I would treat a smart kid when I notice they're in that state, so it rubs me the wrong way.

I will try my best to tag anything remotely nonconsensual with #cnc. #free use kink will also be a common tag. Incest fantasies sometimes squick me out despite their common overlap with free use stuff, so I'll tag #incest if I do reblog anything like that. #somnophilia, #intox kink, and others might show up for the same reasons. If I have to censor tags, I will tag twice with the correct spelling and then add a slash after the first letter, so #somnophilia #s/omnophilia. Otherwise, I think the rest of my kinks are not common triggers for people (so you'll probably be safe relying on previous posters' tags flagging any terms you've blocked).

I'm a switch who likes to service sub and pleasure dom. I like a lot of content surrounding monsterfucking, "mommy domming," and free use fantasies.

I have 2 story ideas that I'm thinking of and may wrote posts about. I'll tag one as #gender potion story and the other as #the venue story. The former is a t4t erotic fantasy in a setting aesthetically based on the medieval kingdom of Sicily (so a bit Italian, a bit North African, plus some nautical influences). In this society, the majority religion has instituted a unique gender system that affects the clergy and regular people. The religion has its clergy members consume a potion that changes a person to the "opposite" sex (it's intersexist on purpose) because they believe the dysphoria created by cis people transitioning is a form of holy suffering. However, some people have taken this potion and used it for their own gain. A lot of nobles have used the potion to strategically change the gender ratios of their children. For the main character, a priestess loyal to their family decided to give him the potion shortly after he was orphaned. She thought it was best for the main character to be the male heir of the family instead of a daughter who would have been married off to someone chosen for her by her guardiana as soon as possible. Luckily, he liked the change! The story will follow him as he grows up, falls in love with someone who was also given the potion (they're genderfluid, so the change wasn't fully welcome), and meets people with more nuanced approaches to the state of their society, with as much freaky t4t sex as you'd expect.

My other story is an attempt at avoiding the misogyny that plagues free use society conjecture and hopefully makes the dynamic resemble cruising more than anything else. Imagine there was a company that bought up a bunch of abandoned real estate and turned those spaces into membership-only sex clubs. So for the price of a fancy gym membership and insurance-covered monthly sexual health screenings, you could have sexual encounters every day. Members have a fitbit-like band they use to enter spaces and log sexual encounters if STDs were to spread despite the monthly required tests and the "condoms unless they request otherwise" norm. Most people also flag their sexualities, whether or not they're into cnc, and perhaps a kink they're looking to engage in that particular visit. The club has standard safe words and gestures, but people initiate by asking about hard limits and safe words, cnc-favorable or no. Each space has several employees there to clean, top up lube and condom dispensers, and use their mouths and hands to service people if the ratios are off (and they're paid well enough that tips aren't necessary! I control the narrative). I'm planning one story focusing on a woman's Friday after work commute on the metro, and another on her or someone else's time at a medical kink experience they decided to spring for after their monthly test (they wear gloves and use toys that can go in an autoclave after, just in case they test positive).

I think that should be a good start to things! Send a non-anonymous ask if you wish to dm me.

[fadingrp-blog]

COME JOIN US!

http://fadingrp.jcink.net http://fadingrp.jcink.net http://fadingrp.jcink.net

[white-tulips]

Whoops i tried sending an ask previously but i encountered an error so im trying sending it again, sorry if you recieved it twice! I meant to ask about the whole deal with the White egret orchids symbolism. Whose thoughts are following whose dreams? Why are they Mari's flowers, and what's their purpose in Basil's grandma bedroom? Also what's the meaning of the Basil's hope ringer shirt? I find it all quite confusing, but maybe it's easier than that and im just not seeing it?

I think basil knows about the orchid symbolism though, after all he's a flower expert, he might have read in one of his books that those flowers can help you communicate or opening a path with a loved one, who's distant (sunny) unresponsive (grandma) or even dead (mari)... That was my idea but Im not sure anymore really

admittedly, I'm not very good at interpreting symbolism and finding meaning in certain things. I was trying to research white egret orchids to see if it could help me answer this but man, it was actually kind of difficult to find information on the flower language for it. what I did find out is that the meaning of "my thoughts will follow you into your dreams" is specifically from Japanese flower language (if what I found was correct); I'm really not that knowledgeable about flower language at all and I feel like every time I try to do research about it there's always different information everywhere jfhgjfhg so I don't know about the rest of the flowers in the game, if they're based on American flower language or not. anyways, I just thought that was interesting

when you say they're "Mari's flowers" I'm assuming you mean because they were shown surrounding her in her casket? I don't think associating them specifically with Mari is technically correct though, because I think they're a flower associated with Basil (hence the t-shirt). since the flowers surrounding Mari was in Sunny's dream (and a cg during Final Duet, but I always took that as representing said dream,) I've always interpreted that imagery as being more aesthetic/symbolic rather than literal. not to mention, while I was researching I found that these orchids are intensive to grow and care for, and are a little rare so I think having so many of them to fill a casket is a little unrealistic (not to say it couldn't be taken literally bc it's fiction and w/e but, I personally do think it's more symbolic)

the reason it's in Basil's grandma's bedroom is because Basil put it there, and since they also appear by Mari's grave, and at the lake, it can be concluded that Basil is leaving them there too. if we think about the flower language, I think it's clearly because he wants his thoughts- his hopes, his wishes, his regrets- to be heard by the people he loves. I'm not good with words but in my research I did find this blog post that described it in a way that I think really gets the sentiment across: "of waking ideas and things invading dreams, stable, sure things becoming evanescent and haunting, from established objects to transient shadows that cannot really be grasped, but stay with you."

and I think Basil's thoughts do seep into Sunny's dreams as well. that's why I think there are so many of the orchids present like surrounding Mari's casket and being all over the Lost Library. and while writing this I remembered this Stranger line too-

"My problems... my hopes... my dreams... You knew them all. So if you're still there... Please let my words reach you one more time."

whether there is some supernatural quality to these flowers or if it's all symbolic, whether Basil is aware of it or not, I think his thoughts are reaching Sunny, and hopefully his grandma, and hopefully even Mari too. this is why I think the t-shirt is called "Basil's Hope," because white egret orchids are like a manifestation of everything he's hoping for, and wanting to say but isn't able to

[serpentstole]

Can I ask what's wrong with Michael W Ford's books? I never read them but I've seen often people recommending them, so I'm curious. Thank you and have a nice day.

Thanks for the question! Sorry if this gets a little long, TL;DR is at the bottom but I've broken down some more specific examples in point form.

I'll preface this by saying that if people get something worthwhile from Michael W Ford's books, that's their business and I'm happy for them. However, there's a few things about his writing and him as a person that I don't really love and struggle to get behind. Most of the specific textual examples I give are from the Bible of the Adversary specifically, as it's one of his more famous books and the only one I personally have had the mental fortitude to page through so far.

- I'm immediately leery of anyone who's often described as a "visionary" or "luminary" on websites selling or listing their books, especially when I've gotten the feeling that it's just that his books are accessible and plentiful. Even among fans of authors like E. A. "Become A Living God" Koetting, the general opinion seems to be that his books lack a lot of consistency and are a bit poorly written. Can confirm for the Bible of the Adversary, at least. There's some parts of that thing that could have used a once-over by an editor.

- I try very hard not to use what happened to the Greater Church of Lucifer/GCoL against him. Another member of the community that I do still (loosely, infrequently) interact with was also involved, and while I sincerely wish they'd both more deeply researched the man they were signing up to run a very public and scrutinized church with, I think his turning into a scam artist who publicly converted to Christianity was enough punishment there. Likewise, I'm a bit uncomfortable with his past involvement with the Order of Nine Angels/ONA/O9A given the fact that they're a pack of murder advocating nazis, but apparently he left when he discovered that fact, so I try to give him the benefit of the doubt that he truly did distance himself from them immediately upon learning of their beliefs, as I don't know when these things became more widely known. However, both of these fumbles alongside how he presents himself and his books just don't sit well with me, as the most generous interpretation is that he was twice-misled in some pretty dangerous and harmful ways by those that are damaging to the public perception of Luciferianism, but still likes to be some figurehead of the Luciferian community. People make mistakes, and people can be misled, and people can learn from past experiences, but his track record is a bit upsetting for a supposed authority.

- His work includes pieces and ideas from occultists or practices that I tend to avoid in my own practice and study, such as Thelema and Crowley's writing as a whole, inspiration taken from the Temple of Set/Setian magic, Qlipoth (because it wouldn't be a Luciferian grimoire without pilfered Jewish mysticism), and forms of Gnosticism that embrace the idea of God as an evil demiurge (which i explained my discomfort with in my previous post). I'm also not a huge fan of his "all magic comes from within" approach (and find it hard to reconcile with his frequent use of Luciferian deities/spirits and demons), nor that he'll talk about Cain's role in "Luciferian grimoires" without actually naming any... though given how similar a piece of Lilith themed artwork he's done looks to Andrew Chumbley's illustration, I assume he means the sort of books the Cultus Sabbati was writing. I wish I still had the Ford version saved or could remember which of his books it's from, the side by side comparison is painful but without it I risk looking like I'm making things up.

- Heavy, heavy use of Lilith, which I don't love for reasons I outlined before. She mostly seems to appear whenever spooky lustful sex magick is being discussed, which is great, that's great.

- He also uses the Wiccan wheel of the year sprinkled in among his more Luciferian focused holy days, which is just really funny to me. Why are we celebrating Beltane, Michael? Why are we celebrating Imbolg? (Page 69)

- He likes to use a lot of "black magic" and "vampyre magic" stuff which tends to feel very sensationalized and over the top to me. I've seen discussions of vampiric magic I found very interesting, but so far his hasn't been one of them.

- He sometimes seems to conflate Lucifer with Samael which I really truly dislike, though it's admittedly not the most baffling or out of left field take I've seen.

- Ford at times seems to either willfully misrepresent or misunderstand information he's passing along. For example, in the Bible of the Adversary he says that Cain's name comes from "...root ‘Kanah’ which means to possess. This by itself presents the antinomian nature of his essence, while instead of sacrificing his most bountiful items to the Lord, he kept them for himself." As I understand it, discussion surrounding Cain's name possibly coming from the Hebrew word קנה (kana) lean more into it being the word for to get or to obtain, referencing Eve's declaration after his conception that she'd gotten a man from the Lord. I'm all for alternate interpretations, but it feels like needless edgy-fying to fit the narrative he's trying to present. (Quote from Page 58)

- He'll say some absolutely bonkers shit like "Abel in some Luciferian Lore is considered a lower pre-form of Cain, thus the sacrifice was not literal" with zero citations or references. Like sir what the fuck does that mean, what Lore, please give us the lore please. (Footnote, Page 59)

- His interpretation of the Watchers and the Book of Enoch is so insultingly bad that I won't even relay it here, but if I see one more person claim that an angel, demon, or spirit they want to distance from Christianity or Judaism is actually a Babylonian god I'm going to go feral.

- As I've hinted at above, it feels like he'll just cherry pick and regurgitate for no real purpose. A few spirits from other texts like the Lesser Key and the Grimoire Verum get mentioned for... mostly the set of names, it seems like, he just kind of lists them out of context.

TL;DR, Michael W Ford feels (to me at least) like someone who has picked out the more appealing and edgy occult trivia and magic he could find from a wide range of sources, recontextualized the parts that didn't appeal to him until they fit his aesthetic and purposes, and presented them as a workable entry point to the Luciferian religion and its potential magical systems that is all flash no substance... and then could barely polish the flash. I don't like that he's many people's first exposure to the concept of theistic Luciferianism, and I don't like how authoritatively he presents his jumbled works as what the religion is truly about when it's so broad a label. Again, if there is something that someone finds useful within his books I am very happy for them, but I have struggled to find anything I could point to that make them worth the read... even for me to investigate further keep critiquing.

I honestly do not know why so people recommend them, unless it's just that they're easy to buy, reasonably inexpensive, and specifically have the Luciferian label on them. If that's truly the case, those people are being lazy and uncritical in a way that doesn't speak well to their apparent Luciferian ideals.

[modesty-blaise]

Since I'm curious, what caused you to become very possessive of your gifs? Not out of rudeness but curious, since no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr which automatically credits you at the bottom of the gif.

Hey. Tbh, at first I didn’t wanna bother with yet another anon but since I see no ill intent behind this, I decided to go and answer it. Unfortunately, half-way through I realised my reply is turning into incredibly long semi-bitter rant and expands well beyond calling out just one person in Psychonauts fandom (and yes, this is related to Psychonauts fandom – you do know that these anons are not really that anonymous, right?) so… buckle up! All that beneath “read more”.

I’ve been on this hellsite for like…7-8 years? Maybe more? Can’t really tell cause I moved blogs and my old blog now consists of only 4 posts I’ve made close to leaving so I honestly have no idea how much time I’ve spend here before moving. Anyway, during those few years I’ve spent on my first blog I’ve met a lot of creative gifmakers who enjoyed sharing their love for fandoms they were in. I’d like to point out that this was waaaaay before tumblr created that insert-gif option so, back in the day, the only way to add gifs to your post was to: 1. make them yourself 2. take them from someone else. And a lot of people were taking them from someone else which resulted in many gifmakers giving up on making gifs and leaving fandoms and/or even leaving tumblr – and I’ve had many of my friends give up on what they love and have their games/shows/movies/whatnot ruined for them cause people would not stop stealing from them. And many of my friends eventually left tumblr cause they couldn’t deal with it anymore.

Tumblr adding insert-gif option, in my opinion, honestly, just made it worse for gifmakers. Cause now people had the opportunity to use gifs for their posts, with or without creators’ permission/knowledge, but it was alright and it was perfectly fine cause creators were credited. There’s their name at the bottom. It’s alright. Like… it doesn’t matter if they’re actually okay with people using something they’ve put hours into making or if they’re not – tumblr gives them credit so they SHOULD be okay with it. Simple as that.

Well, we’re all different and some people are not okay with that. I’m not okay with that. It took me weeks to figure out how to use photoshop correctly. Took me countless hours of looking through different tutorials and basically trial-and-error-ing my way through the process. Whenever I make gifs, it takes me hours to record videos and then hours trying to achieve that 3mb limit on gifs (thank lord these days we’re beyond 1mb limit). After all that effort I put into creating gifs for games that I love and enjoy, someone is going to make 2 clicks and have that same gif added to their post, without even asking. So how is that okay?

Back to your question. Yes, “no matter what you do a lot of them show up in the gif function on Tumblr”, that is true and that is something I was aware of when I saw you-know-who announcing they would be starting 30 days Psychonauts challenge. So, hating to see my gifs used against my will, and not wanting to start any unnecessary drama and threaten people in advance with reporting them if they do use them, I’ve made my blog as private as I could. It was only accessible through the dashboard, it was not showing in ANY search engines inside and outside tumblr, and my gifs were impossible to find through insert-gif function – I’ve made sure. I did all that cause I just knew that during those 30 days, someone would use my gifs and I would get mad and I desperately wanted to avoid that (hence going extreme). And you know what happened? You know what creator of this challenge (who prevously already reposted my gifs) did? *drums* They used my shit anyway. :3 They just uploaded it from their computer, where they’ve saved it earlier.

And like… a lot of people see pretty pic and decide to save it - I mean, we all do that. Heck, even I have a folder full of shit I saw online and liked it – but i’m not uploading it online cause I haven’t made it. It’s not mine to share.

But some people are not like that.

Some people see fanart of something they like and they want to share their opinion on it – and instead of making their own post, maybe drawing the fanart themselves, they decide to use someone else’s art for their post. Do they know who made it? Do they have creator’s permission to share it? If the answer is NO, then they should be a decent human being and not do that to creators. Oh, they shared it anyway but now people in fandom are calling them out BUT this actually happened on accident? They know who the creator is but, somehow, they accidentally forgot to credit them? OK, well, it’s possible, shit happens, but they better make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Then sometime later these same people decide they want to make a post appreciating their fav character and they want to include pics cause duh, you can’t have character appreciation post without pics, right? Now they have several options: they can get their own screenshots, make their own gifs, maybe draw something… or they can just take someone else’s creation. Do they know who made it? Well there’s my fuckin name on it, and since they’ve stretched it from 245 to 500px, it’s really hard to miss, plus it’s not like there are that many people making Psychonauts gifs. Do they have permission to share it? Hmmm, nope, didn’t ask me. Is this also an accident? Could be. I mean, I’ve seen stranger things happen, so accidentally forgetting to credit content creators twice… kinda suspicious but still possible. Who am I to say?

Now if these people then decide to make a post appreciating their fav ship and they want to add a cute pic of the loving couple – yup, you guessed it! They can either create something or take something. Again: they know who did? They asked for permission? Got the permission? No?!?! But they posted it anyway?!?! :o Could it really be, that after being called out publicly, after being told that reposting is bad (something that’s very easy to understand), after even having tumblr staff intervene and remove stolen shit from their blog, after all that - could it really still be an accident?

Nah, man.

They just don’t give a shit.

Cause if they did, they’d stop with that crap first time they were called out.

(and if you think Psychonauts fandom is their only fandom and that they’re not doing this crap in other fandoms too - hoooo, boy, do I have some bad news for you! Do you know how many stolen and butchered HP fanart is on their blog? Hobbit stuff? They seem to be one of the most accident-prone users on tumblr. And honestly - it’s a real miracle their blog’s not been terminated.)

Back to what I was talking about - I’m not okay with people using my gifs and I’ve made it very clear. I literally do not give a shit if I’m credited or not, I’ve made it very clear that I don’t want my gifs used without my permission. If you like them and want them on your blog, there’s a fuckin reblog button. It’s sole purpose is to allow you to share other people’s creations. Or shitposts, cause lord knows we all love those.

So that’s why when someone spends hours going through my Psychonauts tag and goes as far as to send me “I love your gifs” anonymous message, but the very next day makes stim moodboard post including one of my gifs, now cut and resized to fit 3x3 format they’re going with, I get mad. And that’s why when someone uses one of my gifs to promote their RP blog, butchering it to fit their aesthetics, and later when confronted going as far as blaming their good friend on it cause god! they’ve had no idea it wasn’t theirs, I get mad. (makes you wonder though: if they friend has such skills, why not making them gifs themselves?)

Like…. I’ve had my gifs stolen plenty of times. I’ve had them stolen for roleplaying, for headers, for imagines, just for notes… I’ve had them stolen by people claiming to run official fan sites (that’s a real wild story but I won’t get into that now)… I’ve seen them on pinterest, weheartit, FB, all those random gif sites… and I’ve seen EVERY. POSSIBLE. EXCUSE. ranging from: “well i found it on google so why should i credit you” “lol dunno who made this but its pretty so im posting it” “ive had it on my computer for years so i don’t remember where i got it from” “i dont know how to make gifs so im using weheartit as a source” “credit to whoever made this” (that’s my fav) to “its just a gif so who gives a shit” (it’s not – it’s hours of creator’s time and lots of love that you’re now shitting on so thanks) and “i have an /illness/ and getting notes makes me feel better so dont u dare blame me for stealing” (I don’t remember exact excuse but it was something along those lines and like… how do you even respond to something that without looking like an asshole?).

And sometimes it really is just an accident. Sometimes people really do forget to credit you and/or ask you for permission. And I’ve had my fair share of those accidents. People in Psychonauts fandom have been using my gifs for various crap but, when approached, they’ve removed it and apologised. And it’s something I really appreciate. (if they actually bother reading this and they recognise themselves: i’m really grateful and thank you for not being an ass)

But you know what I don’t appreciate? People making a call out posts about me, asking about my gifs when they know very well they’re the main reasons why I’m not making those gifs anymore, at the same time failing to address any of the issues I have with them and instead rather explaining to others what happened BUT explaining only the parts that make me look like a villain cause how I even dare be mad about them stealing? How I even dare call them out on it? That is so ridiculous and criminal of me, and it’s so so sooooo bad that they need to call me out. I deserve to be called out by the very same person who’s been stealing my shit.

And their explanation is…well… it’s something.

They were sympathetic and polite? When did this happen? Did I completely missed that part? Please someone fuckin enlighten me with such post/message where they expressed their sympathy and politeness and I’ll apologise right this second.

I told them to “literally fuck off”? Yeah, that did happen, I admit that. Did they bother explaining why I told them to fuck off in the first place? Did they say they were caught stealing from me and had tumblr stuff remove my shit from their blog? Did they get into details of how they demanded the proof of my so very wild and obviously false claims but then when I showed it, they just deleted that “how dare u call me out cause I would never do such thing” post? No, they didn’t and geee, I really wonder why.

Instead, what did they choose to address? Out of all the things I’ve said. Hm? What did they choose? Me telling them to fuck off. Me dropping the F-bomb on them, rudely rejecting their obvious kindness and politeness. Nothing else.

Back to what I was talking about before I got derailed again: no, I’m not mad cause this person used my gifs without crediting me. I mean – I am, but that’s not my main issue with them (and they know it). My main issue is that this is someone who will continuously lie and steal and still deny any of it, even when there’s plenty of proof (and you can always count on me to show up with proof tbh), and then go as far as to publicly ask about my gifs and try to call me out. Like me getting mad that something I’ve put hours of work into, and something I’ve made cause I love the game and I want to share my love and appreciation for it, is now being shared against my will and my knowledge - like me getting mad over something like that is so unreasonable that they need to make an entire post about it while pretending they have absolutely no idea why I’m even mad and why we have issues.

And I have every fucking right to be mad. 3 times is not an accident. 2 times to the same person is not an accident. They know it. But yeah, playing stupid is their defense so it’s not like I expected them to actually address their actions this time either.

And you know what? Just because I swear a lot doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Doesn’t mean there’s no solid ground for my claims. People on tumblr have always been and always will be stealing shit. Sometimes they will credit you, often they will not, and that’s just how it is, doesn’t matter if you’re okay with it or not. But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna sit quiet and accept someone’s shitty behaviour. Especially when it’s directed at me.

TLDR: giving credit =/= having permission

but my previous posts leading to this ask were not about that

you knew that already

[mvdipetsch]

hey luna, i'm a big fan of your blog! when you get a chance, could we trouble you for an opinion please? we're a medieval rp about an ongoing war between kingdoms, and we open at 10 apps. thanks in advance!

hey there! thank you so much for the compliment; of course you can have an opinion! it’ll be under the cut, since it might get a little long and i, in no way, mean to offend or bring negativity to your roleplay. this is merely my opinion and may not represent the whole. 

starting with your icon, it’s a little too dark for my liking. i’d like it to be more prominent. due to the darkness of the crown, and the deep red, they both sort of ‘morph’ together. this can be easily ‘fixed’ simply by playing with the brightness and saturation of your icon! for your url, i don’t immediately think medieval, but i would guess some sort of war element. the war and the crown make me think it’ll be a royalty rp, so i guess combined, you’re sending the right message!

moving on to your theme & aesthetics! i really enjoy how light your colour scheme is, but i do think the red-white-black combo may be a little.. done? i think having a purple (since purple is a royal colour) or even gold could bring an elevation to the theme as well as tying in rather nicely with the royalty idea. i don’t know if this is the theme itself or if you’ve done it, but i don’t like the icon in the middle of the graphic on your sidebar. it holds no purpose and looks somewhat messy. when i use your navigation, there’s a lighter pink and it doesn’t fit the rest of the theme / colour scheme. the navigation page is very light and thus it’s not giving a sense of cohesion. i recognise the sidebar graphic from reign (at least, now i hope it’s reign. i’ve never actually seen the show!) but if i didn’t, then i wouldn’t have guessed that you’re a medieval / royalty rp. that said, if the icon wasn’t there then it’d probably look better and you would be able to see more of their clothing, faces, etc. so it’d be more obvious you were medieval! 

my favourite part (and the only part that truly matters) of any rp, the plot! immediately, i notice your graphic for the plot doesn’t fit the width of the post space. i’d consider having the word “plot” on the graphic and getting rid of that top title. also, something tells me you’ve accidentally put bullet points in the plot? i’m hoping that’s a minor html error, as it doesn’t make sense to have the points in. regarding the writing of the plot itself: first thing is you mention there being four kingdoms, yet only mention food, music and clothing as trades. i’d mention all four, personally, as it seems odd only mentioning three. the whole sentence regarding it doesn’t make sense; “one providing food for every article of clothing another provided, for every beautiful melody rang through the air.” using the noun “provide” twice in one sentence, especially in two different tenses, is a little bleh. use synonyms and try to keep the tense the same. “for every article of clothing produced, food would be traded, music would be shared and (INSERT OTHER KINGDOM PRODUCTION HERE). the four kingdoms had a system, a currency of bartering, each only as strong as its weakest.” something like that may fit a little better. the remainder of your plot, i’m a much bigger fan of. i would advise that you show and don’t tell. the first sentence about the affair feels very heavy and dense. break it up. describe what happened – without being too vulgar, of course! go more into the apology that was rejected, into when it happened, why it happened, etc. of course, you can keep the reader in the dark as the public are, but give a little bit more. dress it up a little, so to speak. 

this next part will be the miscellaneous, so extra pages, your rules, etc. first thing is i would love, love, love some more in the locations. yes, you’ve told me what that kingdom produces, but give a few exact locations so that characters have places to interact. also, double check that the images for these pages are the same dimensions (eden’s image is bigger!) and you don’t need a title for a page if it’s already on the graphic.i will always recommend having an actual banned fcs list. always. there will always be fcs that make people uncomfortable but aren’t always explicitly banned and if an admin already has a list, it can help to make a player / applicant feel more comfortable with coming and saying “hey ____ makes me uncomfortable, could they be a banned fc?” this is going to sound really nit-picky, but alphabetize your jobs list. it sounds small, but it’s a little detail that does go a long way and shows organisation on your behalf! your application needs to have a gender identity portion, giving pronouns isn’t enough. as well, the commoner application says “he/she/they” but the royals one says “pronouns.” just make them both “pronouns” since some don’t like the given options! 

overall, i think there are minor aesthetic issues and a handful of things you could add to your plot to make it more dynamic and intriguing. that said, there aren’t any serious red flags with the rp. it’s not my personal cup of tea, i’m not big on historic rps, so i probably wouldn’t recommend it? then again, i know naff all about history and medieval times (i don’t even watch downton abbey) so i could be totally wrong. one thing i would really like to mention though is that you (the admin with blake lively, i don’t know if there are multiple admins!) seem really sweet and lovely and really excited for the rp, judging by your posts. i truly wish you the best of luck! 

[audarkmist]

Hello! I love your blog's content, always giving me new perspective on God's love. I am a devout follower of Christ and I use my blog to display a sort of aesthetic that I like. I don't feel much conviction about it, because I try not to post or reblog anything that goes against Godly principles. However, the content usually is "dark" in a sense. Would you mind checking it out briefly and letting me know what you think, if I'm toe-ing the line? Thanks so much!

Dear @100-proof,

Ifind this to be a very interesting question. Is it fine to have a sociallydeemed “dark” or “creepy” type blog as a Christian? I must be careful not to put in theopinions of man or society because that is not the scale weighing thedifference between right and wrong.

Ihave not reviewed all of your posts just some of the most recent. I have so farnot found anything sexual to promote sexual sin or particularly gory to promoteideas of violence. I followed you for a reason because I would not follow a blogthat crosses those two lines. I was intrigued by the idea of a “creepy”Christian blog. I wanted to see how this would pan out. I wanted to take achance on you by observing you breaking stereotypes. I never liked the idea ofputting people neatly into one little box. I mean we are made all different on purpose.

Ithink by this point I have a couple of concerns.

1.     Yourmotives.

Whydo you want to post “dark” content? Is there sadism? Is there depression? Isthere a desire for mysticism? Is there some form of turmoil? Is there a desireto be close to evil? Is there pride? Is it the rush from facing darkness in theface? Why “dark” when you are called to be “light”?

Idon’t know your intentions or your heart. I don’t want to judge solely on the “appearance”for God judges the heart.

1Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or onthe height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth notas man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord lookethon the heart.

Titus1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled andunbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

2.     Theresults.

Iknow we cannot control anyone I just find it is best not to tempt anyone. Iwonder if your blog could incite fear to someone. In this case I would at leastsuggest either making sure your content is for adults only or putting a warningin the description.

Iasked a friend to check out the blog just to get a second pair of eyes. I donot want to be too bias so they suggested they had concerns about the “grimreaper” without my recommendation. I having a satanic background found this oneto be the most concerning posts. I know there is “reaper”type figures in the bible. I found something interesting in Revelation 14:12-20.I would suggest in order to avoid confusion for people that you include the versesin the post.

Whatdo the dead animals mean to you? Does it relate to animal sacrifices? I amcurious about the reason for the dead animals. It could be perceived as promotinganimal sacrifices by the tone of the blog. I will just reiterate that I advice you to self examine. I would add a note at the bottom describing the reason the image stuck out if your intentions all mark the check.

Conclusion.

Ido not think you necessarily have to get rid of the “dark” theme to the blog. Imay seem harsh. I was just going at it from different angles to see if itstands. I think it’s just important to examine your intentions while being able to thebest of your abilities eliminate any undesirable results. Depending on your answers to thesequestions it might mean removing the theme, thinking twice about certain posts,putting up certain precautions or so on. I hope that with these rhetoricalinquires and some prayer you may find the best route to serve God.