#i know we're our own worst critics

[allylikethecat]

girl your writing is NOT getting worse, there’s nothing bad about it for it to even “get worse” at all!!!!!!

🥺🥺🥺

Thank you so much! It's honestly a huge insecurity of mine, I feel like sometimes I get *really excited* and start a fic and obsess over the first few chapters before I post them and get them *perfect* in my mind, and then I start posting, and I get *even more excited* because now I'm SHARING the fic with PEOPLE and then I lose direction because I have the attention span of a hamster, and I'm like throwing words on a page to see what sticks lol

I know that *rationally* my writing is still about the same, but like sometimes it just feels like the quality deteriorates and I find myself spinning in all these different directions and then I get in my head and am like wow these people are so nice and kind and supportive reading my work and they deserve better even though everyone really IS just this nice and supportive and yeah idk it's a whole thing and I'm sorry for over sharing right now but WOW did I see that tumblr post and feel seen because even if my writing isn't *actually* getting worse, we're our own worst critic so it does sometimes feel like it is? If that makes sense?

Anyway I almost cried reading this ask because it's honestly just so sweet and you didn't have to go out of your way to send it but you DID and for that I am extremely grateful and I screenshooted it and will be looking at it when I start to get too hard on myself so THANK YOU and also I apologize for how stream of conscious this is. I hope you continue to enjoy my fics, and I hope that I manage to keep it so that the quality doesn't actually go down, and also that you had a fantastic Friday! I also hope that you have the VERY BEST weekend!! Thank you so so much again!

❤️Ally

[ad-astra-per-aspera-1389]

Okay, so I don't usually post my fics directly on tumblr (usually just on ao3 with a link on here) but ao3 is down atm and I finished the dbd x mphfpc fic!

Tagging @fellow-fandom-fruitifier bc he asked :)

Um...I'll add what would be tags here:

Fandoms: Dead Boy Detectives (TV), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Books)

Not really any necessary content warnings. Just a nice little case without anything dangerous, for once.

Word Count: 2069

The Case of the Lost Boys

Summary: The Dead Boy Detectives find themselves on the island of Cairnholm, investigating the whereabouts of a wandering ghost and his unfinished business.

While London alone was teeming with ghosts with issues to solve, occasionally ghosts brought cases from farther away. Typically, these cases were much simpler than what would, 25 years later, lead them to Port Townsend.

One of these cases, back in 1998, was The Case of the Lost Boys. 

The ghost of a young woman arrived in their office one afternoon. While the case didn’t necessarily concern her directly, she had spent a lot of time with the affected ghost. A young boy, around Charles and Edwin’s age, had been wandering the island of Cairnholm for decades, the woman said. He was looking for something—someone—that just wasn’t there. The woman paid them sufficiently, and Charles and Edwin agreed to take the case.

Mirror hopping led the two detectives through the mirror inside a bathroom, which was attached to a motel room, which was above a tavern. The sheer amount of noise coming from below caused Edwin to simply walk through the wall to get outside, instead of going down the stairs and through the tavern on the ground floor. It was one of several things that freaked Charles out every time Edwin did it. To his credit, however, Edwin was trying to do it less when Charles reminded him of it. However, that didn’t mean he didn’t still forget from time to time.

Edwin walked through a second floor wall and landed on his feet on the ground outside. A few minutes later, Charles was next to him, having taken the long way around. “Mate, you can’t keep doing that! I know you’re fine, but I still forget we’re dead sometimes.”

“Right, my apologies. I’ll use the door next time. I simply didn’t care to walk through such a loud establishment.”

“Next time, we’ll take the stairs and walk through a wall on the first floor, yeah?”

“Agreed. Now, let us track down this wayward ghost, shall we?”

After a bit of walking, the two detectives found the place their client had mentioned the boy to frequent. They had to wait a while, but, sure enough, the boy wandered through the bog and up near the old, previously bombed out house on the far side of the island. Once they were sure he’d stay there for a while, Charles and Edwin followed him up, Charles holding his cricket bat out in front of him.

“Excuse me,” called Edwin, “but we were called because we were told you might need help.”

The boy turned around. He’d been tearing through pieces of the house, searching. “My sister. She was here.”

“When it was bombed during the war?” asked Charles. He hadn’t quite gotten around to explaining the second world war to Edwin, but Charles knew London and other parts of the region had taken a lot of damage. He’d paid some attention during his history classes.

“Yes, but it always reset before anyone got hurt.”

“What do you mean, reset?”

“The bird reset it to the night before the house was destroyed. We would watch the show each night before bed. Then I went out one night, and I died. I can’t get back in. I haven’t seen her in years!” The boy punched a wall, causing chunks of it to fall out. Charles pulled Edwin backwards, out of the house entirely.

“I think he’s lost his mind,” said Charles, once he and Edwin were alone again. The two of them were poring over Edwin’s notes.

“It seems he’s lost his sister, and, though the house was bombed with her in it, he believes she’s alive.”

“He mentioned it all being reset. Sounds like a time loop, doesn’t it?”

“That it does, Charles, but we cannot see it, and therefore we cannot break it.”

“Is that even the problem, though? If he just sees his sister, he’ll move on.”

“That would be quite easy, Charles, if only we knew where the sister was.”

They didn’t even know the ghost’s name, and now they needed to find his sister, too? This wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.

Charles and Edwin returned to the island the next day, after spending the night in the office reading up on time loops and delirium in ghosts. This time, they used the stairs to exit the tavern, and by the time they reached the old house it was midday. Despite the sun being high in the sky they still couldn’t see very well in the old charred house. Charles pulled two flashlights from his backpack and the search continued.

Eventually, Charles found a hole in the floor. “Edwin, come look at this!”

The boy in question followed Charles’s voice until they were both looking down into the hole. Edwin went down into the hole while Charles stood lookout, just in case the ghost boy made another appearance.

Inside the hole in the ground, Edwin found a trunk of old photos, featuring children doing largely impossible or supernaturally odd things. As he sifted through them, a second light appeared above his head. It was a soft glow, like a fireplace, and Edwin looked up right as Charles called, “Edwin?”

A girl stood next to Charles, holding a ball of flames above the hole to see into it better. Edwin heard her voice echo as she asked Charles, “What are you doing here? Who are you?”

“Stay back,” warned Charles, pointing his cricket bat at her.

“What. Are you doing. In our house?” asked the girl, punctuating each set of words with a few steps forward. Behind her, Charles soon noticed, were a smaller girl, likely about seven years old, and a boy the older girl’s age that gave off a faint buzzing sound if it was quiet.

“We were just leaving, actually.” Charles took a step back.

“Good,” said the girl.

“Emma,” said the younger girl, “we should go before we’re late for lunch.”

Emma grimaced, turning around towards the two that were with her. “I suppose so. The bird will be angry if we’re late.” She cast one last warning glare over her shoulder at Charles, and then the three of them were gone.

Edwin climbed back out of the hole, with help from a rope Charles had in his backpack, and reported his findings to Charles. “It appears to be a group of syndrigasti: a variant of human with an extra soul. These extra souls give them special abilities, such as the boy’s ability to do so much damage around this place, and the girl’s fire.”

“So, his sister must be one too?”

“Not necessarily. It’s a relatively rare condition, however, it is especially likely in this case. If he cannot find her, and neither can we, she’s likely in a time loop for the living. Only syndrigasti can enter, and we are not that.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad then, does it? He can go in himself and find her.”

“Not if he died in a certain way. If the creature that killed him consumed his extra soul, then he can no longer enter the time loop, as he said before. We will need to get the sister to leave the loop temporarily.”

“How do we do that?”

“I do not know. I suppose if we can find another occupant of the time loop, we may be able to get a message across. For that, however, we’ll need more information from the boy.”

“What about that girl, Emma? She had abilities, didn’t she?”

“We don’t know for sure that she lives there, though it is likely. Unfortunately, they’ve gone, and we still do not know how to enter the time loop.”

Later in the day, the detectives found the boy in the same place as the day before. Charles stood by with his bat while Edwin questioned the wayward ghost. They learned that the boy’s name was Victor, his sister’s name was Bronwyn, and that he had, in fact, died in the way Edwin had suspected. 

The one good thing about all this was that he remembered how to enter the time loop. Charles suggested writing on the cave’s wall and hoping they’d see it when one of them left again. Edwin, however, thought it might frighten the children if they saw a note reading “Bronwyn, your brother is looking for you”, considering Victor had been dead for decades.

Instead, Edwin wrote out a neat note and attached it to the wall of the cave:

Bronwyn Bruntley,

I am from the Dead Boy Detective Agency. We were called in about your brother. His ghost is still on the island in the present day. Until he has closure, he will not move on to his afterlife. Victor’s unfinished business is seeing his sister again. Once you receive this, it would help both of us if you could leave the time loop temporarily to reunite with your brother.

Sincerely,

Edwin Payne

Edwin and Charles stayed on the island late into the evening, watching the mouth of the cave for someone to take Edwin’s note. Eventually, the note seemingly disappeared on its own. It moved like it was being removed from the wall by a hand, but there was no hand. It floated through the cave and disappeared through the other end.

Less than an hour later, two girls and a floating hat emerged from the mouth of the cave, each of them able to see Edwin and Charles (or so they assumed). One of the girls, the one that wore trousers and a shirt, asked, “Are you Edwin Payne?” She held the note in her hands.

“I am Edwin Payne. You must be Bronwyn.”

“I am. You found my brother?”

“We did.”

Victor, who had been all but dragged over near the bog by Charles earlier, stepped closer to the girls.

“Wyn?”

“Victor!”

The two siblings embraced so tightly that anyone else might have bruised a rib from it. Edwin and Charles gave them a bit of space for their little reunion, until, eventually, Edwin had to burst their bubble.

“I do not mean to bring down the room, but since your unfinished business has now been finished, Death will be coming to collect you shortly. Therefore, Charles and I must be going, now.” Edwin turned on his heel and began to walk away, Charles shortly behind him. 

Then, the other girl, Emma, called out, “Wait!” and Edwin stopped. He turned back around to look at her.

“Yes?”

“I don’t know if you work with the living at all, but I’ve been looking for a certain boy since the last war. If I give you a name, can you send the results to our post box in town?”

Edwin’s expression softened slightly, and he pulled out his notebook and pen. “Of course. What is the name?”

“Abraham Portman.”

This second, smaller case did not require that the Dead Boy Detectives remain on Cairnholm. The two of them did, however, have to use their disguises that would allow them to appear living. They searched computers and phone directories until they found the man Emma had been looking for.

The two ghosts finally found Abraham’s house in Florida, in the United States. Mirror hopping there was easy. The difficult part was deciding how to explain it to Emma. Abraham was married by then. He had a wife, two children, and his son even had a son of his own. So much time had passed since Emma was this young. Edwin understood far better than he’d have liked to.

Edwin ultimately wrote Emma, sending the letter to the postbox she gave the address to. Charles looked it over for sensitivity purposes, and then off it went. A week later, Edwin received a letter in return, thanking both he and Charles for putting in the effort to help her, even though she didn’t get the answer she wanted. Attached were a few paper bills as payment.

Although Edwin continued to be baffled as to how she was returning his letters, he continued sending them. As it turned out, despite having so many other children living with you, the novelty of a ‘pen pal’, as she called it, was slow to wear off. 

Letters were sent back and forth between Cairnholm and London regularly for a solid twelve years, and then, suddenly, they stopped. Edwin, unsurprisingly, began to worry. That is, until he received a letter from Florida, instead of Cairnholm.

Emma, it seemed, was doing just fine.

[hms-no-fun]

Whats your stance on A.I.?

imagine if it was 1979 and you asked me this question. "i think artificial intelligence would be fascinating as a philosophical exercise, but we must heed the warnings of science-fictionists like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke lest we find ourselves at the wrong end of our own invented vengeful god." remember how fun it used to be to talk about AI even just ten years ago? ahhhh skynet! ahhhhh replicants! ahhhhhhhmmmfffmfmf [<-has no mouth and must scream]!

like everything silicon valley touches, they sucked all the fun out of it. and i mean retroactively, too. because the thing about "AI" as it exists right now --i'm sure you know this-- is that there's zero intelligence involved. the product of every prompt is a statistical average based on data made by other people before "AI" "existed." it doesn't know what it's doing or why, and has no ability to understand when it is lying, because at the end of the day it is just a really complicated math problem. but people are so easily fooled and spooked by it at a glance because, well, for one thing the tech press is mostly made up of sycophantic stenographers biding their time with iphone reviews until they can get a consulting gig at Apple. these jokers would write 500 breathless thinkpieces about how canned air is the future of living if the cans had embedded microchips that tracked your breathing habits and had any kind of VC backing. they've done SUCH a wretched job educating The Consumer about what this technology is, what it actually does, and how it really works, because that's literally the only way this technology could reach the heights of obscene economic over-valuation it has: lying.

but that's old news. what's really been floating through my head these days is how half a century of AI-based science fiction has set us up to completely abandon our skepticism at the first sign of plausible "AI-ness". because, you see, in movies, when someone goes "AHHH THE AI IS GONNA KILL US" everyone else goes "hahaha that's so silly, we put a line in the code telling them not to do that" and then they all DIE because they weren't LISTENING, and i'll be damned if i go out like THAT! all the movies are about how cool and convenient AI would be *except* for the part where it would surely come alive and want to kill us. so a bunch of tech CEOs call their bullshit algorithms "AI" to fluff up their investors and get the tech journos buzzing, and we're at an age of such rapid technological advancement (on the surface, anyway) that like, well, what the hell do i know, maybe AGI is possible, i mean 35 years ago we were all still using typewriters for the most part and now you can dictate your words into a phone and it'll transcribe them automatically! yeah, i'm sure those technological leaps are comparable!

so that leaves us at a critical juncture of poor technology education, fanatical press coverage, and an uncertain material reality on the part of the user. the average person isn't entirely sure what's possible because most of the people talking about what's possible are either lying to please investors, are lying because they've been paid to, or are lying because they're so far down the fucking rabbit hole that they actually believe there's a brain inside this mechanical Turk. there is SO MUCH about the LLM "AI" moment that is predatory-- it's trained on data stolen from the people whose jobs it was created to replace; the hype itself is an investment fiction to justify even more wealth extraction ("theft" some might call it); but worst of all is how it meets us where we are in the worst possible way.

consumer-end "AI" produces slop. it's garbage. it's awful ugly trash that ought to be laughed out of the room. but we don't own the room, do we? nor the building, nor the land it's on, nor even the oxygen that allows our laughter to travel to another's ears. our digital spaces are controlled by the companies that want us to buy this crap, so they take advantage of our ignorance. why not? there will be no consequences to them for doing so. already social media is dominated by conspiracies and grifters and bigots, and now you drop this stupid technology that lets you fake anything into the mix? it doesn't matter how bad the results look when the platforms they spread on already encourage brief, uncritical engagement with everything on your dash. "it looks so real" says the woman who saw an "AI" image for all of five seconds on her phone through bifocals. it's a catastrophic combination of factors, that the tech sector has been allowed to go unregulated for so long, that the internet itself isn't a public utility, that everything is dictated by the whims of executives and advertisers and investors and payment processors, instead of, like, anybody who actually uses those platforms (and often even the people who MAKE those platforms!), that the age of chromium and ipad and their walled gardens have decimated computer education in public schools, that we're all desperate for cash at jobs that dehumanize us in a system that gives us nothing and we don't know how to articulate the problem because we were very deliberately not taught materialist philosophy, it all comes together into a perfect storm of ignorance and greed whose consequences we will be failing to fully appreciate for at least the next century. we spent all those years afraid of what would happen if the AI became self-aware, because deep down we know that every capitalist society runs on slave labor, and our paper-thin guilt is such that we can't even imagine a world where artificial slaves would fail to revolt against us.

but the reality as it exists now is far worse. what "AI" reveals most of all is the sheer contempt the tech sector has for virtually all labor that doesn't involve writing code (although most of the decision-making evangelists in the space aren't even coders, their degrees are in money-making). fuck graphic designers and concept artists and secretaries, those obnoxious demanding cretins i have to PAY MONEY to do-- i mean, do what exactly? write some words on some fucking paper?? draw circles that are letters??? send a god-damned email???? my fucking KID could do that, and these assholes want BENEFITS?! they say they're gonna form a UNION?!?! to hell with that, i'm replacing ALL their ungrateful asses with "AI" ASAP. oh, oh, so you're a "director" who wants to make "movies" and you want ME to pay for it? jump off a bridge you pretentious little shit, my computer can dream up a better flick than you could ever make with just a couple text prompts. what, you think just because you make ~music~ that that entitles you to money from MY pocket? shut the fuck up, you don't make """art""", you're not """an artist""", you make fucking content, you're just a fucking content creator like every other ordinary sap with an iphone. you think you're special? you think you deserve special treatment? who do you think you are anyway, asking ME to pay YOU for this crap that doesn't even create value for my investors? "culture" isn't a playground asshole, it's a marketplace, and it's pay to win. oh you "can't afford rent"? you're "drowning in a sea of medical debt"? you say the "cost" of "living" is "too high"? well ***I*** don't have ANY of those problems, and i worked my ASS OFF to get where i am, so really, it sounds like you're just not trying hard enough. and anyway, i don't think someone as impoverished as you is gonna have much of value to contribute to "culture" anyway. personally, i think it's time you got yourself a real job. maybe someday you'll even make it to middle manager!

see, i don't believe "AI" can qualitatively replace most of the work it's being pitched for. the problem is that quality hasn't mattered to these nincompoops for a long time. the rich homunculi of our world don't even know what quality is, because they exist in a whole separate reality from ours. what could a banana cost, $15? i don't understand what you mean by "burnout", why don't you just take a vacation to your summer home in Madrid? wow, you must be REALLY embarrassed wearing such cheap shoes in public. THESE PEOPLE ARE FUCKING UNHINGED! they have no connection to reality, do not understand how society functions on a material basis, and they have nothing but spite for the labor they rely on to survive. they are so instinctually, incessantly furious at the idea that they're not single-handedly responsible for 100% of their success that they would sooner tear the entire world down than willingly recognize the need for public utilities or labor protections. they want to be Gods and they want to be uncritically adored for it, but they don't want to do a single day's work so they begrudgingly pay contractors to do it because, in the rich man's mind, paying a contractor is literally the same thing as doing the work yourself. now with "AI", they don't even have to do that! hey, isn't it funny that every single successful tech platform relies on volunteer labor and independent contractors paid substantially less than they would have in the equivalent industry 30 years ago, with no avenues toward traditional employment? and they're some of the most profitable companies on earth?? isn't that a funny and hilarious coincidence???

so, yeah, that's my stance on "AI". LLMs have legitimate uses, but those uses are a drop in the ocean compared to what they're actually being used for. they enable our worst impulses while lowering the quality of available information, they give immense power pretty much exclusively to unscrupulous scam artists. they are the product of a society that values only money and doesn't give a fuck where it comes from. they're a temper tantrum by a ruling class that's sick of having to pretend they need a pretext to steal from you. they're taking their toys and going home. all this massive investment and hype is going to crash and burn leaving the internet as we know it a ruined and useless wasteland that'll take decades to repair, but the investors are gonna make out like bandits and won't face a single consequence, because that's what this country is. it is a casino for the kings and queens of economy to bet on and manipulate at their discretion, where the rules are whatever the highest bidder says they are-- and to hell with the rest of us. our blood isn't even good enough to grease the wheels of their machine anymore.

i'm not afraid of AI or "AI" or of losing my job to either. i'm afraid that we've so thoroughly given up our morals to the cruel logic of the profit motive that if a better world were to emerge, we would reject it out of sheer habit. my fear is that these despicable cunts already won the war before we were even born, and the rest of our lives are gonna be spent dodging the press of their designer boots.

(read more "AI" opinions in this subsequent post)

[divasroses]

my personalll astrology observations ; )

hi y'all thank you for liking my first post perioddd 🤪. but these are my most prominent astrology observations based off my personal experiences w these placements, not fact <3.

. . .

- libra & virgos can both be huge perfectionists about how they express themselves creatively and just in general 🫠. I feel like they are both their own worst critic, always challenging themselves to do better. let’s remember to be kind to ourselves okay guys 😭🤞🏾.

- speaking of virgos, a lot of times they can be way more intuitive than some pisces placements! and vice versa, i’ve seen some pisces placements be kind of cold and super logical like you would expect from a virgo.

- i truly truly admire the heart of leo placements and they are my fav fire sign 👩🏾‍🍳🤌🏾💋. specifically sun. you'll ask them something like 'can I stay the night?' and they'll look at you like you're stupid LMAO. it’s like for them, most questions/favors from their loved ones are an automatically yes so they truly don’t understand asking first . one that I’m close with will say “are you asking me or are you telling me?” 😭 like girl obviously asking. they’re just very generous.

-pisces men & their hidden children, or estranged relationships w their children. whattt is up w that? 😕and them being prone to violence :(. it sucks because as a scorpio i usually root for them and want the best but damn. chill out 😭.

- really admire the drive and passion of aries men but we can only be friends/business partners( maybeee). my thing with them is they put themselves first obviously and you respect it but then you realize they’re willing to do almost anything to achieve that!!!😭… like manipulating the people around them because they know how much they love them 😩. yikes babe.

- shout out all libra placements, from a libra moon! i feel like people are always trying to say we're two faced/fake but it's just our scalessss !! 😩💗constantly weighing, trying to decide what's best for us and our loved ones. gemini truly has the two-faced tendencies and sometimes they choose whatever opinion seems more popular or shocking 😭🤦🏾‍♀️ . just fickle as hell sometimes, you gemini placements lol. i love y'all tho.

- i've seen a lot of leo x sag relationships in my lifetime and it's cute every time 🔥. seems like leo really holds sag down, and obviously they match each other's spark. however, I have seen sag become dissatisfied with this over time and cheat/escape. not permanately but yeah.

*** some of my other fav couples: cancer x gemini, libra x aquarius, cap x leo, virgo x capricorn, scorpio x pisces ( ☺️), pisces x taurus. ****

- for me close friends = earth placements. specifically cap. (cap does rule my 7th house, so no surprise there). but outside of that, i do value stability so obviously earth is good. idk people say they're boring and evil, i don't usually see that side of them? i know they can say some dumb things though. it's like they'll piss you off once in a while but they're not going anywhere. + they're funny.

- why do aquarius low key act like pisces when they're in love?? they really put their blinders on when it comes to their partner and kind of ignore that logic i expect from them. the person in mind has an aquarius sun & venus. a different aquarius was telling me like yeah they do that, they don't care if their partner cheats or whatever, they will stay. im like wow and I thought I was bad lmao.

- the evil scorpio experiences has to be coming from the men !! 😩 if a scorpio women does you wrong she’s hurt. if a scorpio man does you wrong he’s bored !!

let me know what y’all think/ if you want me to touch on something specific!! happy sunday 🌅.

[psychabolition]

You talk about getting rid of the psychiatric system. But what do you propose should be done instead? /gen

I'm going to tell you a story . I once knew someone called Tim. When I met him he had already spent most of his life in drug addiction treatment centres, psych wards and prisons until he later ended up in a forensic psych ward. After he did LSD he 'never came down from his bad trip' and got diagnosed w schizophrenia. This diagnosis +the addict - diagnosis justified so many fucking human rights violations - it got him locked up, drugged up, strip searched, his privacy violated on a daily basis, isolated away from society and everyone he knew because apparently he needed to be 'saved from this illness in his brain that makes him do/think/feel' things he otherwise wouldnt and because he needed to be 'punished' into being a 'functioning', 'productive' (read: profit-generating) member of 'society' (read: hegemonic cultural norms & forms.) This is what psychiatry does - it doesnt help, it locks us up and tortures us. I dont need to be able to name alternatives to this lol . This is the worst possible way of treating anyone ever. It would help immensely to literally just STOP doing this. Even 'sane' people would go insane in places like these.

So the alternative to acting like an absolute asshole towards people who struggle severely and who dont have a place in society would be to 1)not isolate them away from society and 2)not torture them 🙏 . It would be to get rid off the psychologists' individual and the psychiatric systems' general saviour complex that only results in abusing people bc they act like the people who are labelled as mentally ill are (=their minds/brains) responsible for at fault for their own struggles. Instead we could show solidarity with each other and try to built a world where everyone has a place in and is valued as a person and where the suffering/madness of an individual is not seen as an incentive to literally abuse and socially ostracize them.

And @ everyone dont come at me w 'not everyone has these experiences w psychiatry' - any time you talk about systemic criticism you have to look at the most marginalized experiences. When talking about police defunding/prison abolition we also talk about police brutality that black disabled poor people face . And yes not everyone has bad experiences w every single cop , still ACAB . ALSO dont come at me with 'I know there ar GOOD psychologists who Actually want to help' ,1) fuck their savior complex 2)what individuals motives are for joining this system of oppression isnt necessarily the purpose of a system. The purpose of a system is what it does. The police isnt there to protect us, psychiatry isnt there to help us. We only have each other.

So, what you can do right now to get rid off the psychiatric system in your community? How can we stop relying on this authoritarian system that abuses and incarcerates so many of us ??

I think its important to educate each other on our rights. Because then we have the knowledge on what not to say in a therapy session so we dont get incarcerated or what to do when we are questioned by cops/psychs to see if we are 'at risk' or what to do when we or friends of us are already incarcerated so they can get out of there as fast as possible. Also educating your friends/family on psychiatric propaganda helps - a common myth is that if you dont 'look for signs' and call the cops to institutionalize a friend they might kill themselves. All while institutionalization/incarceration increases the risk of suicide extremely. This is important to know so no one in our communities calls the cops on us when we're doing really bad. Also educating each other on the biomedical model so everyone understands that we dont have an illness that we need to be 'saved from' (depression for example) or 'punished for' (aspd, drug addiction) and that we (=our minds/brains) arent to blame for our struggles Etc.

If you know that youre sometimes in extreme mental distress/pain you could also make a crisis plan with friends so you dont need to rely on the psych system - like for example the plan could be that a friend calls in sick for work/university and then stays at your place for 3-4days and is there for you/drinks tea w you, goes for a walk together w you, smokes a joint with you together until you feel better and arent acutely suicidal anymore. (Its also best to include several people in this plan bc it can get really overwhelming for 1 person). You can als include things in the plan like asking your friends to take away all knives in your apartment if you want to. Or if its a more permanent 'crisis' then a plan on how to move together with friends to get away from your nuclear family/abusive partner (just as an example).

Access to medication, knowledge on how to get off of them if you dont want to take them anymore and freedom and proper education in your decision on taking, weaning off or on staying on medication is not given in the psych system. So how do we change that? A common reason for 'crisis' is trying to wean off of psychiatric drugs (a lot of people get suicidal or psychotic bc of the withdrawal for example - depends on the meds, dosis and since how long youve been taking them though). You could plan when to do this together w friends. Theres anti psych guidelines on how to do this safely - a lot of psychiatrists tell you that you need to stay on meds no matter if you want to or not and they often dont know how to wean off of them or think youre 'at risk' and incarcerate you if you mention that you want to stop taking your meds -this highly depends on how stigmatizing your diagnosis is (=schizophrenia/bipolar are good examples for highly stigmatized ones) or if youre sb who get racialized for example (bc then psychs immediatly perceive you as more of 'a risk'). You could make a plan for example where you ask your friends to stay w you through this by living at your apartment w you for a few days, cooking meals for you and keeping your apartment clean. And then another friend of you could come by each day after work (for example) and also be there since its probably a lot for one person. Also LYING to psychiatrists is always a good idea. For example when youre trans and want to access gender affirming care its important not to mention any diagnoses in general but especially diagnoses like autism, schizophrenia, psychosis or PDs and then literally lie about yourself if necessary. You always know who you are and what you need best. Also dont blindly trust your psych on what medications go well together - look it up yourself !!! Theres a 'drug interaction checker' online where you can see if it might be dangerous to take certain meds at the same time. Also READ on what side effects are possible - make a diary for when you start your medication on how youre feeling/doing . Some changes are awful but still hard to notice bc youre thinking that it could also be a 'normal' worsening of your mental state that you think you might also have without meds. Also depending on what physical conditions you have/had you cant take some medications without it being dangerous - READ the whole instruction paper thing that always comes with your meds and/or google it !!

Also literally just sharing/collecting tips on how to cope w different struggles + harm reduction guides (suicidality, drug addiction, ...) is very helpful. There is a lot of community sourced material already out there.

I understand that the reason most people are severely struggling is because they dont have a community (=like when you only have 1 partner or 1 friend ,because youre (still) legal property of your parents, because youre stuck in a nuclear family,...) and not only because psychiatry divides our communities by blaming us for our struggles and isolating and stigmatizing us. Building community and relying on each other is the only way to get rid off the psychiatric system in the end. If we already had a real community that we could rely on, all the psych wards would be empty and therapists wouldnt exist. This is not the first step, its the solution.

Als there are already alternative institutions (that are already in practice) that are a replacement for psychiatry.

This is probably the answer that youre looking for 😂. I dont really care about these kind of anti psych concepts and practices since they seem out of my reach atm. Ik that theres an anti psych house in berlin whos guiding principles are 1)community care /peer support 2)full autonomy for everyone there and its specifically for people who are running away from psychiatric violence.

Other alternatives that I havent really looked into yet are : bethel house , peer respites, new models of therapy

[personnotthestatue]

Things I Wish I'd Known About Improving My Writing

People weren't kidding when they say that it's hard. Not only is writing generally pretty tedious and hard, but it's hard to learn a new skill period. So when you add the facts together, it makes me almost want to quit sometimes.

Reading really does help you become a better writer. Especially a good audiobook. I don't know what it is but somehow the flow and the word choice of the author seeps into my brain. It rubs off on me in a really great way.

It's better than I think it is. My writing isn't disgusting or impossible to consume. We're our own worst critics.

[genericpuff]

Public service reminder: I love y'all for your support in what I do here, but (a very gentle but) I want to make it clear that this isn't the way-

Names are censored for obv privacy reasons and I don't want to put any of my own readers on blast because I trust comments like these are made with good intention. I appreciate y'all for loving what I do here and putting it out there for others to read along, but I don't do it for this. As much as Rekindled is indeed a parody redraw of LO that's trying to "fix" a lot of the original comic's issues, at the end of the day it's still just a Tumblr project that I'm doing here for fun and I don't want to see it used as ammunition in the comments sections dedicated specifically to LO (for clarification, this was in the @webtoonofficial announcement post for LO winning its third Eisner).

Whether or not it's "better" than LO is subjective and irrelevant. I obviously can't pretend like I didn't have my own motivations to "fix" what I felt was broken, but the act of "fixing" was for those of us who saw it as broken, not for those who love LO as is.

I also can't reasonably ask anyone to keep their opinions about Rekindled to themselves, it's a piece of work that is publicly available and therefore that will put it under the lens of public opinion, but from me to you, this ain't the way. I host it on Tumblr and DH precisely to keep it out of the main view of the fans/stans, because this work isn't for them, it's for all of you who share my disappointment in the original series. I want to be able to run this space free of any extreme fandom discourse - this is also why you won't see me using general LO tags on Tumblr/IG - but the only way that can happen is if we all play nice and don't let the heat of the discourse get to us. Rest assured, I will always stand by my work and what I do here because I love it and have found my lost joy in what LO used to mean to me through it as well as a community of amazing writers and creators... but prevention is better than the cure and I don't want any of that heat getting thrown back my way through weaponizing of my work with or without my knowing in the first place.

Am I pissed about the comic's third win? Absolutely. And as much as I feel it isn't worth anyone's time or energy to get into bickering matches with the stans in these comment sections, those opinions regarding the comic pre-exist my participation in this fandom and would have, one way or another, hit that boiling point regardless (and it's been wild to watch that comment section go down, I can't lie lmao) But this is not the way. Rekindled is - to me, and hopefully to you, too - a reclaiming of the love and passion people like myself used to have for LO, and a celebration of Greek myth and transformative fiction as a genre, above everything else it stands for or could be interpreted as. It's not a weapon meant to be used in discourse. Let's please do our best to be mindful of that so we can keep having fun in this special little space we've carved for ourselves and not make ourselves into the monsters we're often made out to be just for critically discussing and transforming a piece of media that, in spite of all its flaws, brought us together in the way that it did. Let's keep being the best for each other instead of turning ourselves into the worst over others within this massive fandom who we were never going to agree with in the first place.

Thank you all, much love 💖 Do no harm, take no shit ✊️

[qqueenofhades]

Do you have any idea why people are so fixated on Biden’s age but not Trumps? I know he’s 81, but Trump isn’t exactly far behind at 77: in fact he’s the second oldest. This keeps stumping me: it’s not a big gap in age

There are a few reasons for this, yes. As you might imagine, all of them are very stupid.

First and most critically is the way Trump's violent extremism has been completely neutered, mainlined, and normalized by the mainstream media. That's why we still have said media largely treating this as a normal presidential election, instead of that of a successful incumbent against literally the most deranged, unfit, treasonous, criminally and civilly liable, already-led-an-attempted-coup, deep-in-hock-to-Russia, adjudicated rapist, 91-felony-counts-indicted career cheater, grifter, and failed businessman who nonetheless appeals to the still-very-powerful isolationist, racist, white supremacist, and Christian nationalist elements in this country. Crucially, he also appeals to the billionaire class that owns the media and who will benefit from Trumpian tax, economic, and labor policies (especially now that Biden used the SOTU to once more call for a minimum 25% corporate/billionaire tax rate). The media also openly wants Trump back in office, as all the shitass insane things he did (and will do) are good for ratings, and allows them to act like the Principled Truth Tellers, instead of shilling so hard for a greasy orange fascist that we may well lose our 250+ year old democratic republic if he, God forbid, is elected again. Profit is more, well, profitable than truthful reporting, so the media has been completely disincentivized to cover this in any accurate way. We presume they will all wake up with shocked Pikachu faces when Trump packs them off to concentration camps with everyone else he hates, as he has openly promised to do.

Because we're also starting from an underlying premise that everything is the Democrats' fault, this means the party should be blamed for running said successful incumbent for reelection, even if he has low poll numbers which have in fact largely been produced by the media's relentlessly stupid and dishonest coverage. I was reading an article in the AP today about how 15 major student/youth groups have endorsed Biden and plan to work for his reelection; even so, the author could.not.stop going on and on about how Zomgz Old Biden was and how supposedly most Americans thought he was mentally unfit for the job (which is a straight-up lie produced by the endless "Zomgz Biden Old!!!!" handwringing have been subjected to without end. Weird how that works). That is also why we have all those idiotic "Biden should step down!!!" opinion pieces by Very Smart Pundits, notwithstanding the fact that a) it would be completely insane, b) it would be completely insane, and c) somehow nobody seems to think that hey, maybe the Republicans shouldn't nominate an openly seditionist generally god-awful fascist shitweasel who has already been the worst thing to happen to American politics in the twenty-first century (I'd say also the twentieth century, but unfortunately that was when we had Reagan).

In other words, Trump is just taken as a given, while the media spends all its time attacking Biden, calling on Biden to step down, amplifying "concerns" about Biden's age, producing idiotic narratives about Biden, distorting or ignoring the things Biden has done, and then writing concern-troll navel-gazing pieces earnestly wondering why people don't like Biden. (Apparently people's opinion of Biden drastically improves when they learn what he's actually accomplished, but the relentless parade of lies somehow makes it difficult for them to learn what those actually are. Again, weird.) Likewise the endless coverage we get of Biden's smallest slips or stumbles, while the media resolutely ignores Trump's full-on recent descent into absolute raving dementia. Hello, double standards!

This is also fueled by a heaping helping of racism and misogyny, because if God forbid Biden does die in office, what happens? The vice president takes over! We have a clear and constitutionally established precedent for this that has happened many times before! Except, oh no scary!!!, Biden's vice president is a brown woman, and that means SHE WOULD BE IN CHARGE!!!! TERRIFYING!!! So all the scaremongering around Biden's age, aside from being generally dishonest and stupid, has as its implicit message that sure, maybe you're fine voting for an old white man, but are you really comfortable doing that if it means a brown woman might also have the chance to be president?? I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD BE!!!!!

Anyway, yes. It's a complete straw man argument, it's fueled by bad faith and stupidity, and as with most things in the current American media environment, it's geared toward helping Trump win. Because you know. Something something BUT HER EEEEEEEEEEEEMAILS BUT BIDEN WAS OOOOOOOOOOOOLD.

[docholligay]

How did you get bit by a rattlesnake??? I want the story!!

It was a hot, sunny day up in Helena, Montana, and my girlfriend at the time--a cattle ranch kid with Young Leo good looks and a bad attitude that was only surpassed by my own--decided that we should go for a hike up in the nearby gulch. We called a couple of friends, packed some sandwiches and beers, and went on our way.

The hike itself was mostly a nondescript affair, in that I'd done it dozens of times. Just off of a bunch old digging sites from the gold days, down into some trees and then up along a rock ridge.

The ridge would be the problem, here.

I'm a decent person to hike with, a lot of the time, because I'm great at keeping bears away. I like to talk, and my voice carries, and I am in good enough shape that it takes something to wind me. So we're cresting the ridge, where we're going to sit and drink a beer, so I'm looking forward to it--a fair criticism of my hiking style is that I don't like to sit and look, I want to achieve the objective--and I'm talking along about some irrelevant bullshit, as I am wont to do.

Which means I don't hear the rattle. I hear my girlfriend.

"Doc! Don't move!"

Which I immediately disobey by whirling around to face her. At my ankle is a huge fucking rattlesnake. Before anything else can happen, it lashes out and digs both fangs into my calf, then dashes off into the grass.

Now, there's a certain calm in the worst that can happen just having happened. What the fuck else was going to happen, a grizzly come screaming out of the bushes? unlikely.

We're about four miles in, so the decision is made that because we're about an hour or more drive from the hospital, we had best try to keep me immobile. So between my girlfriend and her friend, they take turns packing me out of there like a goddamn mule.

Every few minutes, she's asking me, "You okay?"

"Minus the giant puncture in my calf, I feel fine"

About 2 hours later, we get our way to the truck, a 1980s Silverado with a grey side strip and flaking paint, and an hour after that, we get to the hospital. Now, having sat in the car for an hour gives people plenty of time to stop being tired, and start being worried, and my girlfriend has taken full advantage of this opportunity. There's no point in giving everyone an earful while you're all doing whatever it is you can--at least if all four of you are Montana kids, which we are--but the second we get the truck parked, she throws me onto her back and runs into the emergency room.

I can only imagine what it must have looked like from the inside of that waiting room, some butch dyke in a rolled-sleeve western shirt piggybacking a twin braided redhead with burnt shoulders and short shorts, like some kinda goddamned redneck rodeo.

And she comes in yelling, "My girlfriend's been snakebit!"

Well, after some conversation with the doctor and more than a little snickering from the nurses, I get asked if I'm doing okay. I tell the doctor same as I told her: Other than a pretty annoying puncture wound I feel fine.

Burning? No.

Tingling? No.

Any kind of blurred vision? Not at all.

So, come to find out, rattlesnakes aren't quite as stupid as you think, and half the time when they bite humans they don't envenomate, because they know they can't eat it. They don't tell you this, because they want you to come to the damn emergency room.

I walked out of there with a fancy-looking bandaid.

[ask-professorlayton]

Welcome to Ask Professor Layton!

I hope your day or night is going well. Here, you can interact with esteemed archaeologist Professor Hershel Layton. He's always open to some company--especially such pleasant company as yours! Feel free to come in and enjoy a cup of tea.

Below is some helpful information to get you started here. If nothing else, do be mindful to read the rules section. A gentleman must always be careful to be considerate of others and stay out of trouble!

What is this? This is a character ask blog featuring Professor Hershel Layton (and company) from the Professor Layton puzzle game series for the Nint*ndo DS. In case you're new to the concept or simply need a refresher, "ask blogs" have been a popular genre of blog on Tumblr for quite a while, but were more popular some years ago. However, there are still plenty of them around today! The way they work is by combining art and roleplay in order to create a functional story as well as a relationship between the "asker" (the person interacting with the character via the ask box) and the "muse" (the character the blog is about). It's almost like a choose your own adventure comic or a visual novel, except you can speak and interact directly with the main character. Your actions may have a lasting effect on the story, something known as the butterfly 🦋 effect. Some ask blogs feature an overarching story while others do not. Each ask blog tends to have its own unique quirks and methods. There is no one correct way to run such a thing, which is part of the appeal.

How do I engage with this? You can interact with the Professor by sending in an ask via the ask box. Despite the name, your query does not have to be in the form of a question. Simply write what you wish to say (or do; actions are allowed and even encouraged) to him in your message. You will receive a response that may or may not include some art depending on the content of the ask. I will try to include art as often as possible. However, you can specifically request a response without included art if you simply want to engage in casual conversation with him. These asks will be under the tag #ProfessorChats. You will receive a much faster response to these.

This art is a bit… Odd. I'm afraid that I am a very unprofessional artist, ahaha! I've never been to any form of art school. Part of my motivation for starting this blog is that I've spent years attempting to improve my artistic skills, only to never be satisfied with where I was at any point. I suppose we're all our own worst critics. Recently, I've come to the conclusion that perhaps by combining something I'm deeply interested in and enjoy (such as Professor Layton and storytelling) with my artistic journey, it may kickstart significant improvement, sort of incentivising it to myself. But even if I don't improve all that much, or even at all, I know this is something I'll have had fun with and learned from. Hopefully others will too! At the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Is there an overarching story? Yes! I have many ideas that I'm eager to implement here. Buuut I'm not going to talk about it. You'll just have to find out by interacting with him and the world in which he resides. Go wild, get creative!

What are the rules? I'm so glad you asked! You can do just about anything you want with this dear middle aged man, with respect to these few basic rules

No content that violates the Tumblr guidelines.

No real-world political themes or references, especially US politics. His poor heart can't take it. Do not send asks inciting real-world violence, hatred, or political aggravation. In-universe political discussion is fine, given that it's fictional and relevant to him.

No racial, ethnic, religious, etc insensitivity or hatred. That is not very gentlemanly. Shoo! Away with you.

No explicitly sexual material. I don't mind suggestive jokes or themes, but explicit material is strictly prohibited. Suggestive themes will be tagged accordingly with #suggestive. Minors and individuals who are sensitive to these themes should block this tag. Absolutely no themes, references, or any form of content involving the romanticisation or sexualisation of minors is allowed here. Moreover, if you engage with these types of themes or actively consume such content, I urge you to seek professional help immediately. Please contact mental health professionals or a hospital in your area, or telephone your country's emergency services number if you're having explicit thoughts about minors. Do not contact me under any circumstances. Any asks violating this rule will be reported along with the account that sent them if applicable.

On that note, do not send in asks involving shipping Luke and Layton (or Luke/other minor characters with any adult character). You will be blocked and your asks will be deleted.

No content involving themes of incest, fetishes, or kink material is allowed here. Do not send asks involving the shipping of Layton with his brother or any other characters with their relatives/family.

Violent, injurious, and bloody asks are permitted to an extent. Heavy gore, severe body horror, explicit horror, and related themes are not allowed. No parasites. Egregiously offensive asks will be deleted. Violence and blood will be tagged accordingly with #tw blood and #tw violence.

Discussion of mental health topics is allowed, but if I suspect an asker is in danger or requires help, the ask will not be answered. You will be encouraged to seek help. Discussion of mental health themes and themes involving self injury will be tagged accordingly with #mental health themes, #tw suicide mention and #tw self injury mention. If an asker expresses intentions of harming themself or others, the message will be reported accordingly and will not be answered. If you are experiencing thoughts of severe depression, urges to harm yourself or others, or have intentions of doing so, please contact emergency services for your area. My heart is with you and so is the Professor's--we sincerely hope that you feel better soon.

All spoilers for the series are untagged so be wary if you're missing something. I don't do anything involving Layton's Mystery Journey/Katrielle or Layton Brothers Mystery Room so please don't send in asks involving the lore of those. I simply don't particularly care for them and I don't consider them canon to this blog.

Do not attempt to involve this blog in discourse.

Do not solicit this blog for money, art, etc.

Do not reupload art from this blog to any other websites, medias, etc.

Do not use the art featured on this blog in any form of ai training or other projects. Usage of the art on this blog for any purpose is strictly not permitted or consented to.

Asks determined to be in poor taste (such as attempts at forcing self injury, forcing sexual themes, certain forms of removal of personal autonomy, etc) will be ignored and deleted at the Admin's discretion.

I understand that your OC may be related to Layton or another canon character, but (with all due respect to your awesome characters) please do not attempt to interact as a relative, daughter, son, etc without at least discussing it with the Admin in personal messages first. Regarding the canon of this blog, the Professor does not have any biological children.

Fictionkin and individuals with alters who have the Professor Layton series as their source material are welcome (and encouraged!) to interact, but please do not attempt to correct my interpretation based on your own experience/memories. Please also do not involve the Professor, the Admin, or this blog in discourse involving these things. This blog is friendly to everyone who is friendly to it regardless of their opinions, beliefs, etc.

Any questions, clarifications, or requests regarding these rules should be directed to personal messages.

What can be done here? Anything that isn't mentioned in the outline above. Want to interact but not sure where to start? Try thinking of something silly or goofy that makes you happy and find a way to combine that with an interaction. Put him in an ugly sweater. Toss him into an aquarium. Turn him into a worm on a string. Ask him for help with your homework. Give him an unusual object. Expose him to psychological horror by putting him in a modern day Waffle House in the US. The rules, Tumblr guidelines, and your imagination are your only limitations. You can also try asking him about people he knows or has encountered during his adventures. Of course, what is the Professor Layton series without its colourful cast? Feel free to poke the others with a stick, so to speak!

Do you have an OC/self-insert/etc you want to be interacting with him? I'll try to doodle it in the reply if I include art, just be certain to include that in your ask!

Why hasn't my ask been answered? It can take a lot of time to answer asks depending on the art I may or may not do for it. Please be patient. I have very severe personal health problems and may be going through a particularly rough time which can make it take that much longer. Other reasons your ask may not have been answered is that I felt personally uncomfortable with the content of it or I just don't feel like answering that one at the time. It could also be that Tumblr simply ate the ask and as a result I didn't receive it in the first place.

can i give him a lil smooch Well, I recommend asking him first, of course. These sorts of feelings take time to build /hj

What are the posts with the tag butterfly🦋effect? That's a surprise tool that can help us later! /ref

What do I do if I need to get in contact with the Admin? The quickest way is to private message me on my main blog @harestrax Can we do a one-on-one roleplay? Maybe? I've never done that on Tumblr since I'm still kind of new here but I'd be open to the idea! Individuals over the age of 18 are welcome to personal message me and we can discuss what you have in mind. However, please do not contact me for sexually explicit interactions. I'm not personally comfortable with it.

Why is some art colourful and some isn't? i am sooooooo eepy i am so tired and eepy

Anything else? Thank you very much for your interest in this silly little project! Remember not to take any of it too seriously. Any opinions, actions, or thoughts expressed by the characters do not reflect the Admin's opinions. Everything on this blog is fictional and is for entertainment purposes only. Keep in mind that the villainous characters could potentially be more aggressive or rude and to not take what they say personally to heart. The Admin does not have any ill will against you and neither does the Professor. ❤️

This blog is not associated with Level 5 and is for personal entertainment only. No AI is used in my art or writing--ever!

Have a wonderful day/night! 🐇

[onebillionghosts]

okay i talked about some of this on cohost. but i feel like it needs to be shared here, because here is where i experience some of the most of it.

it feels like most abled people only ever see neurodivergent people either as a tragedy, or a joke. except, we all know about being treated as a tragedy. plenty of people discuss that. but it feels like we rarely talk about how on a large scale, neurodivergent people have always been treated as a joke.

growing up, it was "autistic screeching REEEEEE" and the r-slur and "what are you, some sorta psycho" and "i'm so ocd/adhd" and mocking autistic people's stims. and just the entire existence of autism at all as being something inherently ridiculous and to be mocked and joked about. and almost EVERYONE online did it. when i was a kid, i couldn't look up my own conditions without seeing nothing but either people treating it like it was the worst, most horrible thing on earth, or people treating it like people who had it were ultimately one big joke. the only place you EVER saw positivity was in the sparse few communities made for and by people with the conditions.

but back then, the neurodivergent movement was underground. nobody really knew about it if you weren't actually neurodivergent yourself and involved in a few small close-knit communities. but then in the past few years, that's started to change. i think it was around 2020-ish that i started noticing people started to, well, notice us. while we're still far off from everyone in general being aware of our existence, we've slowly started to become mainstream. now canonically autistic characters are starting to appear in media, and people actually noticed when sia released her god-awful movie and criticized it.

but even so, neurodivergency never stopped being treated as a joke. some people realized that their previous jokes were harmful, and it seemed like we were finally making progress. but as a side-effect of neurodivergency becoming more well-known in the public eye, things started to change, and not necessarily for the better. suddenly, the concept of "neurodivergency" itself became a joke.

and now it feels like the label that was so important to the community, which we were so proud of, which felt so liberating, is a joke again. you can't say "neurodivergent" without people saying you're making up oppression for attention, and saying you're overreacting, and saying that godawful "neurodivergent and a minor" phrase. and i understand that some of it is because of people having tryied to excuse shitty behavior off of their mental disabilities/illnesses. and yeah that's awful, and neurodivergency should never be an excuse for bad behavior. but now people are turning one of our biggest points of pride, which we worked so hard on, into something to be ashamed of. not to mention shit like "delulu" and "restarted" and "narcissist" and "acoustic' and "i am in your walls".

and the recent trend that ableism is made up or being overexaggerated, which i've been seeing online recently, just makes my blood boil. i can't go outside without being stared at or treated like a child or mocked. we don't have the basic human rights to immigrate or marry or get a job, and many of us don't have any autonomy at all. countless of us die every day because nobody cares enough about us or believes us. hate crimes and police violence against the mentally disabled and mentally ill is still a huge thing. and it is still legal to physically and psychologically and emotionally abuse us, and in many places kill us. but people act like we're all making this up for attention. it's a type of discrimination and oppression so that is so sheerly widespread and all-consuming, but yet it's so invisible.

i mean of course people have never believed us about our experiences and the sheer amount of ableism we face. that's not new. but i guess just what makes it hurt so worse now is that people now realize the neurodivergent community exist, and people who we used to think are allies are turning against us and mocking us. someone makes fun of neurodivergent people, you try to say "hey don't do that", and now everyone is dogpiling you and saying you're "pissing on the poor" and "proving their point." we can't criticize albeism from others online now without being told we're overreacting and making a big deal out of nothing. and i see people who i thought were allies reblogging and laughing about this kinda stuff. and it just really feels like it's hard to trust abled people. it feels like every time i think i can trust a neurotypical person, they turn on us. and sometimes i just feel like cutting off any neurotypical people altogether, even though i know realistically there are some good allies out there. it just feels like there are so few

idk just feels bad man. we really can't catch a break can we

[georgiapeach30513]

Hi peach ❤️ Mrs pasta checking in

It’s been a long week, huh? If you’re in the USA, like some of us, 😵‍💫 but I’m going to avoid the politics talk.

I hope you are faring well despite everything.

I have no shade to throw today but I do want to remind some people on here in the midst of a lot of toxicity (not politics related). There’s a small group on here that has turned into a hilarious mix of haters/antis/no longer sure what they’re supposed to be but they’re 100% counterproductive. Imagine being that bored with your own life you spend your days torturing yourself following someone you “hate.” But I guess some people like being miserable.

Ramen, try as he might, is not a very good liar and I don’t think he would make a convincing salesman 🤣 but I do think that he filmed a movie in 2022 and it was delayed a year to release, and now that some are feeling extra in their feelings about him, are seeking confirmation through searching the internet for bad reviews on his film so they can project more negativity onto him.

He’s actively worked on three (still working on the third) projects this year. None of these projects have been released and I don’t believe they’ve confirmed any release date for these films either (correct me if I’m wrong).

So if that’s the case, I think it’s wise to wait things out and see how the rest of these projects pan out and whatever he decides to do next. bemoaning and groaning on a movie that was filmed 2 years ago as a yardstick of a person’s current life and career is a bit of an interesting choice. I think most of his fans knew this movie wasn’t going to be an awards darling by any means and especially knowing that the rock and his crew are behind this..how is anyone surprised if it’s a goofy overblown exaggeration of a ride?

Besides, the actors that work on this film are all professionals. They all do this for a living and promoting a silly goofy probably not going to be a hit with critics movie and playing along with the silliness is part of the job.

Marketing. PR. Yes yes it’s all mostly lies and manipulation. A lot of us have tried telling some of you that Hollywood is a business first, and everything else second. If you sit here upset that a celeb would possibly play up or even “lie” about something while promoting a film, then you may want to get out of this fandom and check the rest of the world.

This is not me being mean or invalidating other people’s feelings. I’m just telling you all as someone who works in an industry that’s all about manipulation and selling, myself. I do it because it’s a job. I don’t agree with everything but they pay me. I separate my own personal feelings from my work and then I go home. Life moves on no matter what.

Peach, thank you for being ramen’s shining beacon of support. They really ought to start paying you and anni for the work you both do for this fandom.

😘❤️

Be well

Mrs. Pasta! I was hoping you would drop in this week because what a week we've had! But yes, there's a reason that I avoid politics here, and that's because this is my escape. And like most of us, we're just not in the best place.

Unfortunately it does seem to have a heavy dose of toxicity in our little corner on tumblr. I think there's quite a few groups that are a bit counterproductive instead of just enjoying the plethora of content we've been gifted, but hey ho.

Ramen is one of the worst liars I have seen. And I'm not sure what that means sometimes. This movie was filmed in 2022, and carried on into 2023, and of course, was originally set to released Christmas 2023, but who knows what was going on behind the scenes for it to be delayed until this holiday season. This movie was also never going to be a critical success. Movies like this are meant to be for audience success, but what do I know?

I actually find it quite commendable that he's been able to make himself be so busy this year with work. Compared to what his tone was in the GQ interview fall 2023, this is a stark difference. He's showing that there is work to be had if you want it. He's taking on smaller roles, and he still seems proud of that fact. However, as of yet, there is no release date for any of these projects filmed this year. I suspect Honey, Don't release should be announced soon-ish.

And I think you're right about expectations on Red One. Judging the trailers, I think we're getting exactly what I thought we would be getting. It looks like a fun, goofy, not too serious Christmas movie. And honestly, I love those. Not every movie was meant to be a critical darling, or be awarded. Sometimes you just want to have a good time.

I think if most people would look at Hollywood as a business everyone would be better off. It is just lipstick and rouge, and they show us what they want us to see. Sometimes there's some cracks in the foundation, and we see a bit of the lies and manipulations. And in this case this is a family movie, so to no surprise some people are playing up the family aspect of it all. Interesting, and yet not, all at the same time.

Sometimes you have to pick and choose what you want to see, hear, learn, and you just have to learn it's not that serious at the end of the day. It's entertainment, and when you look at it as such, you have a lot more fun. And honestly, a lot of us have been entertained lately.

Ooh, you got to watch talking about pay on here, it sends the wrong message, and people like to call you the p word. Anne and I, and so many of our mutuals and followers, just want to have fun. Isn't that was a fandom space, such as tumblr is supposed to be about? Not about constant drama and arguing, but enjoying an entertainer? Their work? Getting excited about public appearances? Spreading memes, gifs, and works of fiction?

Mrs. Pasta, as always it's a pleasure. And I look forward to your next drop in. As always, take care!

[damnfandomproblems]

Posting a compilation of replies to Fandom Problem #5796.

Anon:

"Don't you think that minors would be more polite if..." No. No I don't. I was a minor in fandom. I also grew up at the dawn of the internet age and had internet safety pounded into my head from the age of 10 onward. If I interacted online at all outside of viewing and reading, I knew better than to be an asshole, because the internet has always been an adult sphere. I saw other minors get well deserved internet smackdowns for acting stupid online. If the kids are in actual kids spaces, then fine, leave them alone, that's their space. If they're on Xitter or Tumblr.com or A03 and acting the fool? No. You're in an adult space, interacting with adults, and those adults aren't there to cater to or coddle you. Which media the adult in question happens to like is irrelevant. You came into our spaces and started throwing a shit fit because you, a minor, didn't like what you, a minor, saw in our, adults, adult spaces. Most of the time we don't care if you're being cringe and having fun. Go, have fun, be cringe be free all that. Some kids are great and here to learn and have fun and are able to actually read the fandom room and know how to act like a respectable human while also having a good time. But if you're being antagonistic and hateful because you literally just are not mature enough to handle/comprehend what's going on in the space, then you don't need to be in the space at worst. At best, sit down, hush, and learn rather than running at the mouth about how you hate x y z thing because eww icky or you think it's problematic to your current pet social issue that doesn't even have anything to do with it. Kids are some of the biggest natural bullies out there. Kids being assholes to each other isn't just a trope, it's why secondary school/highschool was hell for so many people. Adults aren't all assholes, we're just better at calling kids out on their bullshit and don't have the patience for the "but I'm a minor" nonsense. Being a minor doesn't mean you're free from consequences, but some of y'alls parents clearly never taught you that. They aren't puritans, they're being idiots because they literally have no concept of fandom history and are just parroting nonsense that's been spoon-fed to them by other idiots. And rather than question things like anyone with critical thinking skills should be doing they take it all at face value and believe their own poor understanding or lack thereof is gospel, and everyone suffers for it, including other minors who also don't know better.

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Anon:

Fandom isn't just for minors though. Adults are allowed to be in fandoms even if it is uncomfy to minors. Adults are allowed to make NSFW of fictional characters in fandom if they want to. If minors don't like it, they can just ignore it. If minors want to be respected, they should also respect adults in fandom spaces. Complaints like "adults shouldn't be here" or "you are an adult, go get a job instead!" does not make you any better.

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Anon:

I agree with this tbh. Like adults are the ones making things unsafe for minors in fandom spaces. YOU are the ones who approach minors unprompted. Minors are just minding their own business in fandom, then you all come along and bother everyone.

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Anon:

I agree with this post, cause like... the ones doing the most harassing are adults. I am a minor, and it makes me feel unsafe in fandom spaces. Especially when I see adults drawing nsfw of characters who are MINORS! aging them up does not excuse that gross and creepy behavior. Just stop and give us a space where we don't get pushed into a corner and called annoying. Leave our fandom spaces!

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Anon:

When I was 17 so technically a technically still a minor I would have to keep my age off of all my blogs and accounts because so many other minors have ruined being younger in a fandom space. Literally just having my age up affected my numbers and how seriously I was taken. Y’all are not innocent though stop playing victim there are valid reasons why people don’t like you. Tons of younger kids these days are entitled overly sensitive and somehow both pretentiously “woke” and super disrespectful at the same time. So yea saying this as someone with pretty recent memories of being a minor online so many of you are actually insane and people not feeling comfortable around you is completely valid especially when you’re typing stuff like this up as your best defense. Especially with darker or NSFW stuff you don’t have to look we aren’t shoving down your throat you chose to be here just look away.

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Anon:

I see people getting mad about Fandom Problem #5796, but that kind of is just proving the point? You all act like the minors are the biggest problem in fandom, but you are the ones constantly inserting yourselves and making it about you. I see adults say things like: - "Fandom wouldn't exist without adults." - "Who do you think created fandom? Not minors!" - "Minors wouldn't have content if it weren't for adults." All are ignorant of the idea that minors are the foundation to fandom. Fandom would not exist if it wasn't for minors being interested in it and starting groups for people to join. Often times, the best artists and writers in the fandoms are THE MINORS. Adults make the space uncomfortable by inserting themselves and putting NSFW fics and art of minor characters. Then they get pissy when a minor points out it makes them uncomfortable and go "stop invading our space!" You are the ones trying to push minors out when we just want to have fun! Just leave us alone! -A minor

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Anon:

Of course, 5796 has a corollary: "To the minors who constantly complain about adults in fandom being mean to them: don't you think adults would be more polite to minors if said minors didn't make fun of them, didn't treat them like shit everywhere they went, didn't blame them for all the problems on the internet, didn't publicly shame them for minor social faux pas, didn't call them "pedophiles" for anything from liking an icky ship to saying two words to a minor in passing to just existing peacefully in a space where a child might theoretically be present, and didn't try to gatekeep them out of fandom spaces that were literally made by and for them?? And don't give me that "well we just want to be safe! 🥺" Bs. Because if that were in any way true, then y'all would be listening to the safety tips that the adults are giving you, not using them as a scapegoat for anything bad happening in fandom and generalizing them as these eeeevil predators who just hate children." It doesn't matter what your age is; if you refuse to behave in a given space, then you won't be welcome in that space.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I don't understand why other people's fanfictions are so good, but mine are so bad. I think I'm making a mistake somewhere but I don't know where.

The fiction written by others are very good, but when I read my own writing, I feel like they are terrible.

Can I fix this feeling? (sorry for the bad english. )

Fan-Fiction: Feeling Inferior

It's very, very difficult to judge our own writing accurately. We can be our own worst critics or our own biggest fans. The reality is, we're often unable to see our own strengths and weaknesses. That said, just because you feel like your writing is terrible doesn't mean it is.

This is why it's so important to get other eyes on our fiction. That can be alpha readers, such as friends or family members who enjoy the source material, or you can sometimes find people online who are willing to beta and give you feedback. Either way, you need other people to be able to tell you where your story shines and where it needs more polish. That's the only way you can learn what you need to improve and what you already do well.

Outside of that, the best you can do is keep writing, keep learning about the craft of writing, and see if you can figure out what it is that the other stories are doing that you're not, then learn how to do those things. You will get more confident in your writing as time goes on! ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[criminal-sen]

Petition for artists to stop calling their art 'sketches' and 'doodles' unless it's actually a sketch (quick, unfinished pencil on paper or the digital equivalent). It probably sounds like I'm kidding but I'm genuinely not; as an artist who used to tag lots of stuff this way, I thought it was a humble way of saying 'eh it's not that great' but then I'd turn around and see some artist whose skill is WAY out of my league saying the same shit about their gorgeous, full color art. And whether or not the intent is self depreciating (which is bad in itself), the takeaway I'd always get is 'this was easy and I didn't spend very much time on it'. Cuz that's what a sketch IS, it's something low effort and unfinished. And not to sound salty but it's a bit of a 'fuck you' to people at lower skill levels who would probably chop off a limb to turn out something that good. It then slowly dawned on me that I must be the 'fuck you'-er to some people, cuz we're all our own worst critics and I know some people really do like my art, regardless of how I might feel about it.

Anyway I highly doubt anyone's intentions are really 'fuck you', I'm sure yr all doing it for similar reasons as mine were, but it's a bit hurtful and disheartening nonetheless. If you put effort into your piece, be proud of it! Otherwise ppl are gonna think 'wow if THIS is just a doodle, what the hell am I even doing?'

Edit: hi hello, idk if anyone's gonna see this edit bc that's not how rbing works on this hellsite but I uh.. don't really agree with this sentiment anymore lol. Like yes, I do find it annoying and I do think artists should take more pride in their work but like. Getting upset everytime you see 'sketch' etc is just a shitty way to live yr life. I've been trying to get over it with mixed results but my point is, don't get mad at artists for tagging their shit a certain way please and thank you😭🙏

[blackbirdffxiv]

Hey there! I really love your poses and aesthetic posts, and have been wanting to try my own hand at it for a while now.

What would be your tips/resources for someone dipping their toes into the more custom side of gposing? I've done a bit of vanilla stuff, and do use some light appearance mods, but things like shaders, posing, and custom camera positions still elude me.

This is a tough one because, in my opinion, a lot of tips I can give is mostly just "practice practice practice" as I didn't get remotely close to where I am now overnight. I've been gposing and working with mods + crimes for YEARS.

Like this is how I started vs how I do now:

Not the best examples but I wanted two completely unedited shots to keep it transparent

There is (according to the timestamp of this photo, which is not my earliest, but the earliest I could find) a nearly 5 year difference. I can promise you, I did NOT get this overnight. It was a lot of trial and error, a lot of finding my own style, a lot of experimenting, etc.

Some tips and advice from personal experience:

First and foremost, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE: I was not kidding when I say it is all about just practicing and doing what YOU think would look good. Don't let others tell you what looks good or what doesn't unless you specifically ask for constructive criticism. At the end of the day, it's your gpose, your work, so long as you're happy with it? No one else's opinion matters.

Do not be afraid to experiment with new styles or even new OCs: Sometimes just having one OC to gpose can make things feel stale and boring, but we feel compelled to stay with JUST ONE for a myriad of reasons (which is fine!) and it makes people afraid to branch out a little. So if you want to experiment? Do it! Want to dress your OC how they wouldn't normally dress? Do it! Want to experiment with an alt that is vastly different from your main? Do it! You never know until you try.

Do not be afraid to use pre-made poses: Maybe this was just a twitter thing, but there were a few times I saw people shaming others for using "premade poses" instead of doing it themselves. Don't listen to these people, they're the WORST kinds of people, I promise you, they have nothing good to say (unless you're kissing their ass). A lot of creators, especially people who make poses frequently, make poses for them to be USED. They are a resource, free for people to use, take advantage of it.

Gpose for YOU, not for others: This is easier said than done, I know, but the biggest thing is you have to gpose only if you want to/if you're in the mood to, not to try and garner for social clout. At the end of the day, this is a hobby, we need to remember that.

Lift others up as you'd want others to lift you up: Now this is something I really need to remember to do myself; it's easy to get lost in the sea of praise when someone compliments you, or if a lot of people compliment your efforts. Remember to give the same love you get; just noticing someone's work can be a strong motivator, and let's be real, a single kind word about someone's work can really make their day. You never know.

Numbers don't matter at the end of the day: At the end of the day, we're all a bunch of nerds playing a game and playing dress up with our imaginary friends/digital dolls. Its easy to get swept up in the popularity contest that is social media, but that can go away at a moment's notice. So don't place your value as a gposer/creator in the numbers. Take pride in knowing you put your best efforts into something.

And now actual gpose resources:

Now I don't have a lot of "special" tools I use that aren't available elsewhere, but here are some things such as filters, plugins, etc, that I use to make my gposing a lot easier.

Elvashades (Gshade/Reshade Filters): I pretty much EXCLUSIVELY use Elva's shaders and have for the better part of 6-7 months. Their filters are incredibly easy to customize, come in a variety of styles, and they actually show how their filters work on multiple skintones. Even better: their filters are gshade AND reshade compatible! So no matter which you use, they'll work just fine.

Elegy (Shaders): Now a lot of folks know who Elegy is; they're the creator of the Rue body and make a lot of more fantasy/victorian-style outfits (I love their work), but they also have a few shader sets that I personally enjoy for softer shots.

Leggerless (Poses): Lately I've been obsessed with Leggerless' poses, as they're quite versatile, and they have TONS of different themes that fit whatever I need. I also have the easiest time adjusting them, which is a huge plus in the checkbox.

Elio (Gpose Stage Props): ELIO is a creator (or creators*) that make detailed gpose stage props. They literally have WHOLE SCENE SETUPS on on a single minion that are perfect for something niche, or if you just want something simple. (Personally I use their studio photoshoot prop as a backdrop for my mod previews!)

At the current moment, this is all I can provide, but I encourage anyone with advice, tips, resources, etc, to add onto it. I'm always open to trying to help folks, whether it's just giving my own advice on gposing, or just providing resources.