#i unfortunately do not have the time to browse on this website

[paepaerest]

clog up my ask box with toa reqs for this week, i have prom on sat this week so im so so excited and cannot wait to sit back and draw like im 14 agaun.. can't promise anything but i would absolutely like to read ur most intriguing thoughts, headcannons, ships, personal thoughts of lore, whatever wanders in that big mind of yours

no nsfw/problematic , you know

[maikelfist]

Working Title: Man With Big Dick Fucks His Precious Boy

Okay so I had the weirdest, most random ass idea for post-breakup BuckTommy and it just got more and more random the more I kept going. It's all over the place, I kind of rushed near the end, I have no idea where I was going with this. I would call this a fever dream more than I would call it a fic but it's here now so might as well throw it at you guys PS: Don't get fooled by the working title, this is more sappy than sexy

Edit: There's a more refined version of this on ao3 now and I updated it here as well

Buck's sex life went from mind-blowing, life-changing and so-so-active to Missing In Action in what felt like seconds, and unfortunately, his libido hasn't gotten the memo yet. He'd been advised to throw himself out there again multiple times now, but every single cell in his body recoils at the idea. I'm not your last, I'm your first. Yeah well, we'll see about that.

It feels like a no-brainer to start watching gay porn since that's what Buck's currently missing the most. He jerks off to a handsome guy—the hint of cleft in his chin may or may not have been the reason Buck clicked on the video—fucking into a pretty twunk, and honestly, Buck is having a good time. It’s only when tears begin to swell in his eyes after he comes with Tommy’s name on his lips that he realizes he should not do that again.

The next videos he watches pointedly feature plump bears and dainty twinks, but even then, Buck can't help but make comparisons. Can't hold a rhythm, not attentive enough, where are the reassurances?

Buck comes to a visceral, gut-wrenching realization: Every single guy he considers will have to measure up to one Thomas fucking Kinard from now on.

So.

No gay porn for Buck anymore.

He moves to het videos, and the second realization of his latest porn binge hits him a lot quicker. There is absolutely no way he will ever be able to go back to regular straight sex again. Buck is very, very bi, and even relationships with women will have to be queer from now on.

Of course, porn isn't reality, but being confronted with the exaggerated heteronormativity of it all—the idea of fulfilling a society-given role after Buck learned what things can feel like when he's allowed to be himself—makes his stomach churn.

Living in a post-Tommy world is not an easy feat.

Buck's baking bouts aren't enough to distract him. Doughs need chilling, batters need baking, and before the waiting time can make him spiral, Buck keeps going on a Goldilocks mission of trying to find just the right porn that would help him take his mind off Tommy.

Luckily, after browsing the most obscure, likely virus-infested websites the internet has to offer, Buck finds a video that instantly becomes a staple in his tabs—a comforting presence whenever he feels lonely, which these days is all the time. He doesn't even bother closing it.

As long as it took him to find the video, it’s quickly forgotten when Tommy and Buck make up.

The reunion is messy and like a balm for Buck's wounds. It is filled with tears and Tommy's ability to make difficult conversations feel easy—something Buck had desperately missed when Tommy chose to walk out of his life. It’s a skill Tommy can apparently lose when he’s petrified with fear. Buck vows to chip away at all of Tommy's worries now that Buck is aware of them. Now that Tommy lets him.

It's strange and not surprising at all how much like coming home it feels to have Tommy back. How easy it is for Buck to cook for them in his kitchen while Tommy looks for something they can watch later on Buck's laptop.

"I found this documentary about hyper-regional food," Tommy says.

Buck perks up from the herbs he's cutting. "Like Threads of God? Do you know that only three women in Sardinia know how to make that type of pasta?"

Tommy hums at that. "Sounds like we don't need to watch it."

Buck laughs and lowers his eyes to the herbs again. "No, I want to. But isn't there a new part of that car restoration series you like?"

"We can watch that later." Tommy emphasizes the last word in a way that makes another part of Buck perk up.

Early in their relationship, they found out that there are few things that can make Buck relax and fall asleep quicker than the sight of competent hands making old things look new to the rhythmic sound of metal being hammered and ground. This means Tommy has to make sure it's him that gets to tire Buck out before his favorite mechanics have a chance to. Thankfully, Tommy seems to be fine with Buck never reaching the end of any of the restoration videos he enjoys.

Tommy makes an intrigued noise of interest that breaks Buck out of his musings. "Ooor we can watch this."

Buck listens to the sounds of shuffling and smacking coming out of his laptop's speakers, confusion furrowing his brows before recognition seizes him by the throat.

"Oh my God!" The parsley Buck is holding ends up somewhere in Nirvana as he frees his hands to grab his laptop. "OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod—" Since when is closing a laptop so fucking difficult?

Tommy lets him fumble for a moment, a teasing smirk playing at his lips. It’s infuriating how he can just calmly wait till Buck, wide-eyed and pink-cheeked, finally meets his gaze. Only then does Tommy speak, slowly and deliberately, savoring each syllable.

"Woman With Dragon Dick Fucks Her Precious Girl."

Buck is glad he wasn't cutting chili because there's no way he can stop himself from pressing his fingers into his eyes as he whines, "You don't have to say it out loud!"

"I simply appreciate the originality of the title."

God, why was Buck a firefighter when he couldn't even do anything about his face being on fucking fire?

"Look, I missed you, and I-I couldn’t watch gay porn because they—they either reminded me too much of you or they weren’t you, and regular straight porn was tedious, so I found this feminist porn site, a-and I didn’t feel bad about supporting them, and please, please don’t judge—"

"Evan." Tommy says his name in a way that allows no ifs and buts. "I'm not judging." Whenever Tommy's voice falls into that no-nonsense sternness, something in Buck stills. He has learned to hold his breath when Tommy speaks to him like that. It's a Pavlovian reaction that only Tommy can ignite and it sends shivers down his spine. Tommy raises his thumb to the birthmark on Buck's temple, gently brushing it as his voice softens. "I'm taking note." Buck exhales shakily and leans into the touch.

Tommy reaches for the laptop, opens it, and enters the password that Buck shared with him even before they broke up. He moves to stand behind Buck, arms wrapped around him, as he hits play again.

The titular precious girl is on all fours surrounded by luxurious wine-red pillows and candlelight, purring kittenish noises into the mattress as the woman, adorned in gold and jewels only, kisses her neck and shoulders, murmuring sweet nothings into her skin. She's fucking her strap-on in between her thighs, making sure the dildo rubs against all the right spots.

"The shape is interesting," Tommy observes. He glances at Evan, curious about what kind of reaction his comment will provoke. Maybe some more bashfulness or a sweet sigh, similar to the ones the girl is making on screen while the dildo enters her.

Instead, Evan turns to him with an excited smile on his full lips. "Yeah, right? I found this website! Wait, hold on—" Evan pauses the video, opens a new tab, and Tommy is greeted with the sight of colorful, artfully crafted fantasy dildos. Handmade, apparently.

Evan starts rambling about which ones he finds the most appealing, what media they're inspired by. Tommy has never heard him talk this much about pop culture, and no one is ever allowed to know that Evan learned about Avatar this way. Howie would get an aneurysm.

Having Evan in his life means being in a constant state of whiplash, and Tommy has learned that he wouldn't have it any other way.

Tommy keeps in mind which ones Evan pointed out and makes a mental note to check out the cock sleeves the store offers before gently nudging Evan back to the porn.

"What else do you like about the video?" Evan relaxes back into him as they keep watching. Tommy can guess what Evan might find hot about it, something that has nothing to do with pretty girls kissing, but he would like to hear it from Evan before making assumptions. He also just wants to hear Evan, period.

"I like— I like that she's sweet to her? Women in straight femdom porn are usually just mean, like men being dominated by women is automatically degrading. I don't like that."

Tommy hums in acknowledgment, enjoys the small gasp he receives as he dips his fingers into a gap in Evan's button-down shirt, soothingly playing with the trail of hair on Evan's stomach. That Evan likes sweet talk isn't new information, but hearing it is always lovely. "Keep going," Tommy encourages.

"But she's also kind of… possessive about it? She calls her 'my treasure' a couple of times. I love it when she does. It's like—it's—she—she's—"

"Cherishing her?"

Evan sighs and nods, rubbing his temple against Tommy's.

Tommy leans in, noses at the pulse point of Evan's neck as he goes in for the kill. "Claiming her?"

Evan's moan sounds like it was punched out of him, and Tommy barely has enough time to hold onto the laptop to keep it from being dragged down as Evan turns to kiss him.

Tommy braces himself, gathering more and more courage with each kiss, praying to whoever might be listening that he's not mistaken when he asks, "You want me to hold on to you? Make you mine and never let go?"

A heart-wrenching sob escapes Evan's mouth, and Tommy swallows it greedily. "God yes, please!"

Evan keeps pressing pleas against his lips, and Tommy desperately wants to give in, but there is just one small thing that needs to be done first.

"Evan, the thing you're making, can—can that wait?" The last time they allowed themselves to get distracted while cooking, Evan kept pouting afterwards over the food being 'ruined'. In an attempt to cheer him up, Tommy had said that he couldn't tell the difference which had just made things worse. He wouldn't make that mistake again. There are many mistakes he wouldn't make again.

Evan utters a dazed noise before clarity settles into his beautiful features. "Oh. Yeah. It'll just marinate."

Tommy nods and moves to turn off the stove, Evan clinging to his side. He returns his attention to Evan, fingers playing with his curls.

The stove was a short distraction, but long enough to ensure that Tommy's next words are spoken with all the gravitas they deserve.

"My treasure."

Another broken sound escapes Evan's throat as he burrows into Tommy and continues what they started.

Tommy hates breaking things, but, God, does he love repairing them. He knows he has a lot to make up for, and he will do it happily. If that means wiping away his boyfriend's tears and indulging in his trauma-induced dragon kink, so be it.

[scam-alerts]

🔎Scam Exam(ination)🔍(updated 2/12/25)

Seen as: Selling HRT / Testosterone Scam Type: Fake Product / Fraud

Platform: Tumblr

Accounts running this scam: sirwinz

-----

This scam mostly targets LGBTQ+ individuals, mainly Trans folk who post in such related tags.

Those who do may receive a DM, comment, ask, or any such related contact from another tumblr user who claims to be a certified™ Doctor, Therapist, Pharmacist, ect, who is trying to offer you a 'new and amazing' drug that's not on the market, or a 'cheap alternative medicine' to name brand HRT or Testosterone.

One such account that popped up recently of this is drfelixortega.

Here is what their tumblr page looks like:

And this is the ask that they are sending users:

(Screenshot taken from this post.)

If you visit their page, you will only find six posts.

All very generic in nature.

None of which link to any sort of certification or credentials that prove that this person is a 'real' doctor. They just say they are a totally real (no fake) Doctor and expect people to go with it.

Like most scammers usually to do.

Here's another version of where another HRT scammer leaves comments on peoples posts:

-----

Why this is a scam:

1 - The risk.

Purchasing any sort of drug online from a shady dealer is not only a good way to get scammed, it's a good way to get sick and possibly even die. You have no idea what sort of ingredients are in the pills these supposed Doctors online are trying to sell you.

There was a story that surfaced on my local news station that talked about how in South Korea, capsules were seized that contained the contents of herbs and a mixture of human flesh/DNA.

When tested, the human material was found to belong to infants.

If you wish to read more, you can find the 2015 article here. But be warned, it is very disturbing. (No pictures)

2 - The scam.

I know that getting HRT or even Testosterone can be hard, and I know how the struggle and the desire to truly be yourself can become overwhelming. Your insurance may not pay for it, or you might not even have insurance to begin with, leaving without hope at all in your journey to begin transitioning.

But that still doesn't mean you should believe every offer that seems too good to be true the moment you're offered it online. In more cases than none, you will give these people money, and never receive a product.

Think about these things for a second:

Why would a doctor, surgeon, pharmacist, what have you, be on Tumblr of all places? Why would they browse the trans tag, or other such related tags, to find potential 'clients?' Don't you usually have to make an appointment with a doctor? For your insurance to then pay for to cover your medicine? How can a board certified pharmacist.. be a gender assessment surgeon at the same time? (it's a lie, that's why.)

3 - The truth.

The truth of the matter is, you cannot, unfortunately, get HRT or Testosterone without seeing a doctor for a prescription.

And buying it online from any sort of 3rd party website or manufacturer is simply putting not only your wallet at risk, but your life at risk.

Here is a screenshot taken from this GoodRX article:

Here is an article on the risks and dangers of buying unregulated / unlicensed HRT. One big one being that they can be contaminated.

And a final, general consensus from google:

-----

Final Thoughts:

As I've said in a few of my past scam Exam(inations), if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is. I know how life changing something can be and how desperate wanting it can make you, but please don't risk your wallet, or your life, for it.

Remember: These are just words these people offer you.

Ask for proof. In most cases they will not send you any and will get combative that you asked. If they do send you any kind of images, remember, you can reverse image search them to try and find the source. If you get pushy in asking for their credentials they'll probably end up blocking you and just want you to 'trust them' or send you clearly edited photos made in photoshop.

Never give anyone your personal information such as name, adress, phone number, occupation, birth date, SSN, a photo of yourself or your ID, or any kind of credit card information online who is selling you a product, especially if it's via a DM or chatroom type service or e-mail.

And never go to a strange website you don't know or have never heard of without googling it first.

You can also run it through something like VirusTotal to check if any of the big/main websites like Bitdefender or Kaspersky that detect things like phishing, viruses/trojans/maware, and all that fun stuff, have picked up on it being malicious.

Just... Be safe.

Please make sure you think before you talk to people like this.

Take care everyone. <3

----

Disclaimer: Tags are relevant to the content of this post. This is not 'tag spam' or 'unrelated'. I'm just spreading awareness about this scam targeting people taking hormone drugs like HRT which also includes people other than just trans folk. :)

[strawberrystepmom]

cw: omegaverse. alpha!narumi x omega f!reader. breaking news: commander gen narumi of the jakdf has proudly announced his search for a mate is over! | word count: 2.4k, reading time: 10 minutes.

The wool and silk dress you spent big money on when you were first given a role which required quarterly presentations hangs next to the mirror. You sigh looking at it. Briefly, you wish you’d packed something that felt more romantic than this.

It seems like it confirms how you know Gen feels about the whole process that brought you two together. It’s professional - an arrangement. No love is to be found here.

You remove the dress from the hanger, pulling it up over your legs, smoothing down the midi length skirt, and securing each of the olive green cap sleeves securely over your shoulder. It’s professional looking enough you probably won’t stick out next to your alpha who is going to be in full dress uniform.

It doesn’t feel right but there isn’t anything you can do about it now, adjusting the neckline to cover the wrong spots and show off the right ones. Fiddling with your hair is next and finally slipping into the shoes you always wear with this dress.

Smoothing the fabric down over your hips, you walk carefully on your heels lest the residual effects of the most intense week of “mating” one could imagine render your still sore and achy knees and thighs unable to manage.

You could hardly walk the first day after the two of you fucked. Gen tended to you as well as you’d expect for someone you don’t feel even enjoys your company, holding you and marking you with his scent between trips to the small en suite kitchen to figure out meals. The frenzied mating began to slow into a drip as the week passed but you still feel everything, every position you were folded into and every possessive touch he left behind.

Unfortunately, you think you may actually like him. Terrible news for your heart when you consider he’s spent no less than 10 days running his mouth about how much he doesn’t like you.

“There she is, the lucky lady.”

As you clack toward the set, Director Miyamo from the partnership program beams at you, one of her arms spread and fanning out over the small room in front of you both. She’s a fairly unassuming looking woman, middle aged with a tidy bob and perfectly pressed pantsuit. You know from the fact sheet beneath her photo on the official website for the match program that she has overseen over 150 pairings, calling it her life’s purpose.

She’s an excellent representative for her country.

You’ve met her American counterpart, Mr. Shand, more times than you can recall throughout this process and it wouldn’t be out of line to say that they’re strangely similar. They know what they have to do and what this program means to the governments of both countries though you’d much rather have a fellow woman guide you through this awkward process than a man who says the word omega as though it’s a problem for him to solve and not a biological disposition you didn’t pick.

Narumi hasn’t arrived yet and you don’t imagine he’ll do so in a timely fashion. Slight disregard for other people’s time is something you’ve come to find out is a feature and not a bug when it comes to him. You have much more to learn and adapt to yet, it just so happens that this is the habit that is currently irritating you the most.

“I know this is a strange formality,” she starts to catch your attention, browsed raised enthusiastically. “Still, it means the world to our program and its future when our participants agree to share their success with others who are hoping to find mates of their own.”

You thought you’d feel more comfortable on your own instead of standing by his side like you will be shortly. You were wrong, instead standing with your arms folded over your stomach, palms hugging their opposite elbow. Nodding quietly, you offer her a tight smile that hopefully doesn’t give you away.

“How are you settling in? Have you continued your work with the geological service?”

At least work is something familiar that you know you can discuss. Another polite smile and nod, you unfold your arms and let them dangle at your sides.

“Things are going well so far, thank you for asking.”

She smiles at your intentional politeness. How different you are from your mate whose lateness becomes more rude with each second that passes. The back of your neck burns but you can’t tell if it’s the fresh bonding mark that your hair and neckline manage to only barely cover or because you’re embarrassed.

Work talk at least makes the burn stop so you clear your throat and return to it, that same tight smile on your face.

“I have been granted special permission to maintain my role from abroad which surprised me. They’ve accommodated me so much more than I expected.”

The stinging feeling at the base of your neck returns, the uncomfortable sensation no longer something you can ignore. Your face twitches, nose scrunching slightly. The director smiles knowingly, closing the distance between the two of you by leaning in.

“Is your mark burning?”

You nod, embarrassed by your inability to stay cool.

She shrugs to try and comfort you, the practiced smile on her face becoming something a tad more natural and warm unexpectedly. She’s perhaps too used to having these discussions with woefully uninformed alpha and omega both.

“It means he must be close by,” she explains and you once again nod wordlessly, reaching to covertly press your fingertips against the outline of Gen’s teeth.

It’s no longer just your neck that feels warm, your entire face heats while your mind replays the exact events that led to said mark. There are many things you could say about this man you barely know who you are now linked with in ways you cannot take back but he is far from a selfish lover.

“Thank you for telling me, I had no idea.”

That same smile remains on her face, surprisingly patient.

“Most people in the program know very little about what comes after mating. Part of what we do is education and emphasizing the importance of i —“

Halfway through her sentence, the man of the hour makes his appearance. The burning sensation of your mark turns into something far more pleasant as he approaches, a gentle shimmery numbness overcoming your tense and stressed body. The few heads in the room turn toward the commanding alpha who saunters into the room looking every bit the recently satiated and mated man he is.

“There you are.”

He nods in your direction, looking you up and down. You do the same in return, face heating while you greedily take in the sight of him in dress uniform. He’s a good looking man but you’ve seen him nude or in nothing but boxers and a white t-shirt more times than you’ve seen him clothed.

The perfectly tailored uniform rests across his broad chest, medals decorating the front of it. You swallow thickly and smile at him, tilting your head to the side and shifting your weight to your heels.

“You look good,” he reaches out and fixes the edge of your sleeve, hooking his finger beneath it and pulling it downward while you glance away.

Sneaking a glance at him, you find him already looking down at you with his usual little smirk. Despite yourself, you smile and reach to straighten out the pockets of his jacket in return.

“So do you, handsome. Definitely looking like Commander Narumi today.”

Now he looks away from you, turning toward Director Miyamo and letting her fill him in on how today will work. You’ll pose for a few photos, give a brief taped interview to go on the website and to be sent to news networks, and then you’ll be allowed to return to the temporary quarters you’ve been granted until a space the bonded pair can share becomes available.

You wish you knew better how to deal with the deluge of feelings Gen creates inside of you. A little bit of you is scared, terrified that he will never care about you more than beyond what your body means for him. A little bit more is cautiously optimistic that you can win him, “likable” being one of the things always written at the top of your performance reviews at work.

The problem is that you don’t want to have to win his affection, you want it to come naturally. He reacts so strangely to your blatant attraction toward him, how can this ever happen?

Sighing softly, you return to the prior posture of your arms crossed over your stomach and your elbows resting in your palms. It’s safe, you’ve done it your whole life when feeling insecure.

Narumi places his hand on your elbow, turning from the director toward you.

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

You smile and follow along, letting him gently guide you. A few steps lands you both in front of a large photography backdrop, a plain gray watercolor pattern that you both manage to stand out against.

“Okay, can you two stand very close together?” The photographer motions with their hand from behind the camera and lights, indicating how little space they’d like between the two of you.

Gen’s arm falls naturally around your shoulders, thumb rubbing a small circle against your bonding mark. You yelp but he shushes you, tossing you a look with his eyes that makes you smile and shake your head in response.

“Actually Commander, can you put that arm around her waist? And you,” the photographer points at you. “Hold hands with him in front of you and put your other arm at your side.

It feels awkward at first to lace your fingers with his but the fit is arguably perfect, his long digits that have curled inside of you more than they’ve curled around your palm suddenly holding your hand delicately.

“Perfect. Now look at each other, big smiles.”

You do as instructed and he does the same, eyes half lidded when he glances down at you. This is what makes you believe you aren’t just imagining things. If you didn’t know any better you’d say he looks positively smitten. Or he’s just the world's best actor. You haven’t really decided yet.

“You look beautiful together,” Miyamo opines from behind the photographer. Your smile deepens and so does his, the two of you locked in eye contact that is making your skin crawl and that clawing at your insides feeling return.

Are you about to go into heat just because he’s looking at you? It’s like a jolt of caffeine to your system to realize what’s happening but you play it off the best you can, shifting your feet slightly.

“You’re acting weird. You okay?” He asks and you smile tightly, nodding. All you can do is nod and nod and agree and agree and..

“Can we have a second?”

It surprises you that he speaks up on your behalf at all but his word is law so everyone agrees.

“Of course, we’ll give you two the room for a few minutes. We’ll begin shooting again in five minutes.”

The small team shuffles out and shuts the door behind them, leaving nothing but you two behind.

“I’m sorry,” you blurt out unexpectedly. It’s shameful that you’re struggling to adapt the way that you are and you look toward the ground, remaining locked in your weird embrace with Narumi.

“For what?”

His eyes don’t move from you, still locked on your pretty little face. It definitely makes things easier that his mate is beautiful and patient and sweet and accomplished in her own right.

“Being weird, I guess.”

Chuckling, he slides his hand from your waist back to your shoulders and begins rubbing your bite again. Your back arches and eyes flutter closed, a humiliated groan escaping you.

“I think I’m going into heat again.”

The rubbing stops, his thumb simply resting on the mark now while his eyes widen.

“Again?”

Stomping your foot petulantly, your face twists from pleasure to irritation.

“Yes again and apparently this bonding mark stings when you’re close but not close enough.“ Huffing, your bottom lip twitches. “I‘m hot and horny and I feel so weird and nobody cares about my opinion anymore and you don’t even want to be around me and…”

Trailing off, you notice he’s frozen in place.

“I’m sorry,” you spit again and he shakes his head. His thumb remains in place against your bonding mark and his face becomes an unreadable mask.

“Stop apologizing for nothing. It’s fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Attempting to compose yourself and exhaling loudly, the director peeks into the room to check on you two and quickly it fills up again. The photographer begins snapping photos immediately and before you know it, you’re being ushered into comfortable seats to answer a few questions.

“Commander, what were your thoughts upon meeting your mate?”

This is not one of the questions you anticipated hearing him answer. You shift in the chair, keeping a smile across your lips while stealing a glance at him.

“At first I was skeptical and surprised but in her initial interview I remember thinking she seemed like a good person.”

The director smiles at his answer, looking into the camera. “And is she?”

Narumi nods, hiding a little smile of his own. His slicked back hair hides nothing and he has to wear whatever his feelings are on his face, turning to look at you with that same smile.

“Yeah. I think she is.”

Now it’s your turn to smile, feeling even more awkward about your prior outburst. Maybe you’re just crazy and he isn’t sending weird mixed messages constantly.

“And you? How did you feel about your alpha?”

Thinking for a moment, you clear your throat and recross your legs.

“I thought he seemed like someone I’d enjoy spending my time with and he is. We have a lot to learn about each other but I look forward to learning it all every day.”

The smile on his face grows and the director continues her explanation of how the program works while the two of you bask in probably the most honest example of whatever is going on here yet.

As of today, not only Japan but the whole world will know that Gen Narumi has met his match in more ways than one.

[kingofthering-two]

Hi guys, Maïna / kingofthering here. You might have heard or noticed that I got my account terminated yesterday (and had the joy to discover you don’t just lose your sideblog but all the blogs associated with your account).

What happened? As I mentioned last week, I received my 2nd strike for copyright infringement on the 11th of December and I protested it (sent a DMCA counter notice) on the 12th. Tumblr forwarded the counter notice to the claimant on the 16th, leaving them 10 business days to answer before I could get the strike taken away and the content restored. Unfortunately, yesterday, on the 19th, I received my third strike and it came with the termination of my account. 

How is it fair that tumblr lets you receive a new strike so soon after the precedent one, when you couldn’t even have the time to finish fighting the first one? I legitimately don’t know. I’ve tried to contact them about this but they don’t treat the messages since it’s coming from a terminated account. I think I need to send the message with another email address, which I might do later.

Could my account come back? In theory, from what I’ve read online, yes, but that remains to be seen from my end for me to be completely sure of that. My only current hope is for the blog to reappear when I get my first and second strikes removed (the first is from January but I never thought of fighting it before because it was videos so I thought they didn’t stand a chance but now I genuinely believe the type of content doesn’t matter). 

In September, there were 14 days between the counter notice being sent and me getting my content back (10 business days + weekends) and I suppose we might have to take into account Christmas here. I think that in the best case scenario, I might hear from tumblr on the 30th of December, maybe the 31st.

What now? I briefly considered using this as a (forced) break from tumblr. I tried to have one earlier this year and failed miserably. I think that the older I get, the less patience and tolerance I have for things that annoy me (and get past the filtering system) (but also things outside of tumblr, seeing my gifs get reposted to twitter, something that happened again recently, really annoys the fuck out of me). But, at the end of the day, the good outweighs the bad (annoying) far much, when it comes to this website and this community. If I check my tumblr app screentime on my phone, I might cry at how bad it is. I do want to finish the projects I have ongoing (the RPF survey answers will be studied and treated and shared) and keep in touch with everything happening on here.

I’m going to use this current account to browse tumblr at least until the end of the year. I’ve already seen glimpses of stories that I need to catch up on and I’ve seen you guys being very supportive already (thank you) so I felt like making myself reachable here was better. Posting wise, I’ll probably post about things that I know are safe i.e. things of my own (stats, my progress on the 2025 journals) and gifs of things not coming from Dorna (e.g. reels/tiktoks, podcast videos).

What then? The only thing I can tell you for sure is that no matter what happens next, I’m going to create an archive blog on a separate account (with a dedicated email address). This blog will not have posts of its own but only reblogs of content I originally posted on kingofthering. If I can have my old account back, the job will be made much easier (and will obviously be more complete). If not, I’ll have to rely on a lot of research to get things back as best as I can. Don’t worry about this for now, I’m going to wait until I know for sure about my old account to start the process (since the method will be very different depending on the answer on that).

For 2025, we will see. The thing is, even if I get my account back, I know that I will keep getting strikes (even if I’m not posting anything because old posts of mine have been targeted as well) and honestly, even if fighting them works, it’s both stressful and exhausting. Also, people have been winning the battles against the strikes for now but who knows how long that will last.

And like I mentioned, it’s a sideblog connected to all my other blogs which also depend on kingofthering’s faith. That includes my main blog that I’ve had since 2011 (I don’t use it much but I use it to keep all the useful stuff like the photoshop tutorials, writing prompts, etc), my hockey sideblog (not been using it much either lately but it does have some history I’d like to keep) and a bunch of others.

A solution to keep those other accounts safe would probably be to move everything motorsports related to a new account (maybe this one if I can get my main back) and delete the original kingofthering. It would pain me because of the history of this blog and what I would lose in the process (mostly the asks I haven’t gotten to answer and obviously the following that I had grown but I suppose that I can grow back little by little). It would also mean I couldn’t see anymore the posts in my notes and the tags people add to their reblogs (which is like half the purpose of posting in the first place) and that’s annoying as well but I suppose I could grieve that too, in theory.

If I don’t even get the account back, well. I talk about creating a new dedicated account but if it also gets striked (which I suppose will happen), it will be equally exhausting to fight fo it so, I don’t even know if I want to do that.

At this point, I know which content is safe for sure (or what has been safe so far for me) and there are still a lot of stuff that I enjoy sharing with you and getting your opinion on but giffing race weekends was the major part of my blog and I don’t know how I feel about giving that up. Anyway, much thoughts to have still.

Can you do something to help? I don’t think so. Or, well, not with recuperating my account. In regards with the copyright issue as a whole, though? I don’t know what to say because I don’t know what’s the best course of action there. I’ve seen some discussions around about emails and a petition and involving other social media and bigger people but I genuinely don’t know what’s the best thing to do. I’ve personally always considered tumblr as this little (safe for everything) bubble and I don’t exactly feel comfortable “exposing” some of my content here to the rest of the world (some people on tumblr are already mean enough about RPF, I don’t need to see what people not on here have to say about it). That’s obviously just me and I’m not going to keep anyone from doing what they think is right. Part of me wants to believe that things will fix themselves once Liberty Media take over but that’s not a sure thing and the frequency of strikes lately has been quite worrying so I understand the need to do something. Some thinking over to do there too.

Where can you find me? For tumblr, on here for now. I’m going to post this on the motogp tag and I’ll try to follow my mutuals (from memory so, going to miss a lot of people for sure, sorry in advance). I might appreciate a reblog of this post to spread the word. I still have my twitter (mostly talking stats), the blog and my tiktok (barely being used but still in existence).

If I do the set ups correctly I’ll have my DMs open here and askbox open to anons. I am still bad at answering those, though, so apologies in advance there as well.

(Also, I just got home for the holidays and literally learned about the news when I was in the train yesterday afternoon, so, worst timing ever.)

[yosefinasays]

In Defense Of Electronic Civil Disobedience

There has been some criticism lodged against us. Claims have been made that our activism is merely engagement. That our movement is sort of sofa ersatz activism. However, in order for this argument to hold true, you must make a central conceit. That the concrete world is somehow more real than the digital. Members of The Kollectiv do not view the net from this narrow scope. We see the digital realm as an extension of the more abstract plain of technology. We see the space, though incorporeal on a macroscale, to be very real.

The average user in 2024, spent a 1/5th of their life online. Whether engaging with shopping, posting, or just browsing the net this is a significant portion of time. Enough time is spent on the net that a culture has emerged around various social media sites. Artifacts are made that can only be interacted with in the digital space. And people can become totally enmeshed in a digital world if they wish. Interacting with the greater world almost exclusively in the digital realm. 

An extreme example would be an individual who works as a digital nomad, does all their shopping online, and interacts with others exclusively through social media. Although this individual would be seen to be living a fringe net lifestyle, this way of life is very possible. To argue that activism should not be done through the medium of technology is only alienating. It does not serve one's greater purpose. 64% of the world is online. That is 5.52 billion souls. 

Though The Kollectiv adopts a view of the internet separate from those informed by commodity and corporate interest, the economic activity on the net can’t be ignored. Imagine the disruptive potential of a boycott. The sheer volume of activity allows the activist to make lasting change on the world. We can look back to The Gamestop Short Squeeze. A grassroots political action originating in Wallstreets Bets. To go further back in history we can make reference to the initiatives of net.artists. Groups such as the VNS created works like the “A Cyberfeminist Manifesto for the 21st Century”. Work like this advanced both feminism and digital art. To write off the digital landscape as a lesser landscape of reform, activism, and engaging art, one would have to ignore the efficacy of these movements. 

Going further into the political landscape we can look at the example set by Net Strike. A software that was deployed by activists in the 90’s for digital sit ins. It essentially was a tool for groups to orchestrate DDOS attacks. A vector of protest, that has unfortunately been taken from the general public and is now deployed heinously by state actors to suppress movements. This reversal if anything shows that net activism should be more staunchly defended. The internet is now often the first point of contact individuals have with any movement. And it is also the center of global operations. Are rights on the net should be defended, advanced, and clearly defined. The right to protest should not just extend to the physical space, when the digital space is becoming such a driving factor in our lives.

The Kollectiv’s digital graffiti campaign and its current food disparity initiative is only the beginning. We plan on continuing to mobilize people to be the change they want to see in the world. By establishing our ad hoc hyperlink structure: essentially a website built within the framework of another. We will be raising awareness for our cause. Making people think about the effects of food disparity, while considering new ways to experience the internet. Are either of these aims ignoble? I do not believe so.

We are continuing in the footsteps of activists such as The Electro Hippies. Advancing methods of protest into the 21st Century. We are also continuing the efforts of situationist thinkers. Now that globalism taken home and the internet has pushed commodity and spectacle into our home. We must attack it at its source if liberty is to continue to flourish and grow for future generations.

 To ignore the possibilities of change now is rob the children of the future of their potential fruit. That is why I continue to call for the development of net.art and methods of activism on the web. Not only to raise awareness for causes affecting us here and now, but to change the landscape of the internet for the people of the future.

[hellaverseconfessions1369420]

Long confession ahead, apologies in advance.

Look, I don't get heated about shipping. I like what I like, and I look at things I like. If I don't like whatever someone is posting, I'll filter the tags, and if they aren't using the tags appropriately, I will block them. It's fairly easy for me to avoid ships I personally dislike most of the time. I do all of the things I'm supposed to, and yet I'm still having this problem.

There is one singular ship on God's green earth that kills all of my enjoyment for both of the characters involved, and it is radioapple. I have never felt such strong emotions about any other ship before in any of the fandoms I'm part of. It's fucking everywhere. I genuinely cannot use this website if I want to see Lucifer or Alastor fanart/fanfic, and I'm not moving sites.

But God. I'm so fucking sick and tired of seeing "this post contains filtered content: #radioapple." When S1 first came out, I counted 37 blocked posts in a row on top of #Alastor on one given day. I had to scroll through 37 blocked fucking posts before I found ONE that wasn't about fucking radioapple. And that isn't counting all the OTHER Alastor ships, because of course that's all anyone gives a shit about anymore.

I'm on mobile, so I can't use browser extensions to make Tumblr's filtering system actually do what I want it to (delete every radioapple post, forever). I also don't feel like buying a laptop for fucking Tumblr. I've been getting back into HH after falling out of it for a while for related reasons, and I forgot how much angrier and more unhappy I am coming out of #Alastor or (to a lesser extent) #Lucifer than when I went in. Which is super awesome considering they're my two faves.

I wish I was kidding when I say I have actually cried real tears more than once over this. I'm aroace, and I thought maybe for once I'd get to feel at least a little bit included and represented in fandom as a whole. I thought having a canon aroace character would be that for me, at least one tag I could semi-comfortably browse and feel like I'm actually part of shit and not a spectator for once, but obviously not. I don't even get to look at fanart of a character I enjoy without being constantly reminded of how different and alone I am, even when that character is different in exactly the same way as me. Even characters like Alastor that are written to be like me aren't written for me. Because why would anyone create anything for someone like me to enjoy when they could instead jam a little more sex and romance in there?

I once scrolled through #Alastor blocking all the radioapple posters for so long that I reached the bottom of the page. Tumblr would not show me any more posts and I had to reload it. I blocked 209 different blogs, and it barely made a dent. 209. I can't curate my way out of this. I genuinely think I just don't get to like those characters anymore, and it fucking sucks. I want my deer man back.

TL;DR: I cannot enjoy these characters I deeply relate to with how prevalent and fucking inescapable this one ship is, and I'm not sure how to fix it. Frankly I'm not sure it's fixable, but I would love it if this wasn't something else I just don't get to have like everyone else. Someone tell me what to do about this. I want to have fun too.

I understand why you would think that. I’m probably aroaceflux and I can see some alastor in me (aroacewise, not serial killer wise) and why you wouldn’t want to see the ships you don’t like. Unfortunately that’s how many fandoms work, they’ll just keep shipping.

to be honest, I don’t know what to say, but thanks for the confession and I hope things get better for you

[catenary-chad]

Some sources I get my train info from (mostly US-focused)

-Clive Lamming is all in French but can be machine translated. Outside of that he is my favorite rail writer and covers many of the themes/topics relevant to Stex. Fanciful, beginner friendly style that's fun just to browse random stuff on. Writes about electric trains in a romanticized way no English-language author does.

-Wikipedia is a decent starting place for most topics and will have a list of sources for fact-checking and even more info

-Historical societies for specific regions/railroads can be GREAT for more specific info

-Train museums/tourist railroads usually have decent websites with historical info on their equipment and you find some… interesting things at them.  Not always the biggest and coolest, but lots of weird stuff even at smaller ones (Chinese steam engines built in the late 80s, the tiniest diesel switcher I’ve ever seen, and a wild array of redneck retrofits of old circus trains are things I’ve seen).  They’ll often have more info on niche local industries for fun freight characters.  

-You’ll probably have a LOT of success finding physical books about trains at libraries, The Internet Archive, and antique stores (or anywhere with used books). 

https://www.cruiselinehistory.com/

^this site has a TON of articles and photos of 30s-60s era high-end US trains, which most of the replica coaches are based on.  Absolute gem for finding historical context for them and refs/ideas for OCs.

The Railway Series and first few seasons of Thomas The Tank Engine are unironically good at explaining British steam train mechanics circa the early-mid 20th century in a more whimsical way.  They’re very specific to their time and place though.  

r/railroading on reddit is for actual railroad workers to discuss their jobs and problems. Here there be discussions about whose employer sucks the least and which lines/engines have the worst toilets. It’s an interesting look at a very different side of things…

Electric-specific sources because they're a pain to find:

My youtube playlist with some favorite videos

ocs4rail.com - free, modern, English-language book with more than any non-professional would want to know about rail electrification. First few chapters have a great summary of the politics and history of it in the UK, the chapter on electric traction has great info on how the actual trains work. it gets technically intense fast outside of that and you might get lost if not mechanically/electrically inclined.

William C. Middleton- When the Steam Railroads Electrified- considered one of the definitive books on earlier US electric heavy rail, BEAUTIFUL photos and encyclopedic scope. Not cheap and probably a pain to get outside the US. Unfortunately most other books on pre-70s US electric trains are this way.

-Central Electric Railfans Association has put out a lot of stuff mostly on Chicago-area lines

-If you are ever in Boston, The Wardmaps/MBTA store is an awesome spot for books on this topic (and old passenger rails schedules, maps, and tokens)

-trolley museums often have very high quality presentations on random topics. Searching for Frank Sprague on various platforms will dig up something, he's a very important inventor in the train and elevator sphere many don't know about.

-Substation, elevator, and general heavy industrial tech and maintenance videos can be helpful since they share basic tech (various types of motors, variable frequency drives, big transformers).

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Hyce777 (steam and diesel train mechanics, run by a guy who actually works on them. Gets very technically detailed in some videos) 

Railnatter (British podcast, discussion about political, technical, and cultural aspects of trains, host works in the industry and guests often do too)

Banks Rail (Modern US train politics, some international issues. VERY thorough and specific but beginner friendly.)

Charles Smiley Presents (20th century US trains, lots of nice video and very chill and beginner friendly without ignoring deeper problems)

V12 Productions (mostly modern US freight operations but very approachable style and shows a wide variety of stuff)

PAN UP (newer on the scene, one of the few with coverage of old US electric trains, very calm and chill)

Trek Trendy (very detailed reviews/vlogs of modern luxury trains)

Amtrakguy365 (aimed at railfans, histories of specific Amtrak equipment and lines)

Alan Fisher (focused on modern US transit/train issues, Philadelphia-focused and VERY leftist, aimed at non-railfans)

How We Get Around (even more Philadelphia focused but less political, lots of nitty gritty on the specific area’s network but also assumes you’re stupid and explains the basics very bluntly)

Specific references I use for Electra:

Electra is real and can take you for a ride if you ever go to France

CC 6500 info from an organization who restored and runs one today

AEM-7 Manual (Dense and technical but very detailed. The Swedish Rc class locomotives, AEM-7s, and similar derivatives are a pretty popular fanon basis for Electra and relatively well documented in English due to being used by Amtrak for nearly 40 years and in Sweden from the 60s-80s to now. Those models are my main source of Electra Extended Lore.)

Head-End Power info (sales website with detailed technical info on modern US-style HEP)

[milksockets]

hi, i saw your latest post. i randomly found your page earlier this year and, through you, i've discovered many books and many artists i'd never heard of. it's been unfortunate to see various independent publications and unique blogs that have offered so much that social media and mainstream outlets don't. i understand that you've been on tumblr for a long time and have felt discouraged because of many things that are changing about the platform and more, which is fair. everything is changing for the worse and it's been difficult to adjust. i don't know when it'll get better. so if it's any consolation, i really admire and appreciate all the work you do to share and archive art and knowledge, and i hope things turn around for the better. i hope your website will be a success! even though it's run into a bump right now. i've been browsing through it and feel very moved by all you have shared, especially your journals and collages. <3

thank you, i really really appreciate this message.

i feel petty about this whole thing because obviously in the grand scheme of the fucking *world* it doesn't matter at all. i'm just very much over being on platforms that are making decisions for me, and that operate via anonymous sadsacks' flagging, reporting, etc.

it's ridiculous, as well as discouraging that it truly does seem that everything is changing for the worse, as you wrote. i mean, since FOSTA-SESTA--even though that feels like eons ago--it's just been downhill and it's frustrating since obviously this is how information + other content are shared. especially when you're priced out of every irl space, it feels like there's nowhere left to go.

i find it disheartening because i do care about documenting + preserving imagery that may otherwise be lost quite soon. but i'm also not going to waste my energy putting effort into something when the Powers That Be could arbitrarily wipe it all out whenever they so choose.

[sashayed]

I love how much poetry you reblog and post. I'm really bad about finding newer poets, I typically only know how to find poems that have already been part of the literary canon for a long time and poets I studied in school. what websites do you go to find the new work?

Thank you so much, beautiful friend! Wish I could give you a more useful answer but unfortunately the way I find everything I like, including poetry, is to dig openmouthed through the World Dumpster (books, podcasts, The Whole Internet) and then drag what i find triumphantly back to my hoard (this blog), sometimes with correct attribution, often uhhh not. As far as websites, sometimes i go to the Poetry Foundation or Academy of American Poets and search by theme or browse dreamily thru old issues or subject collections. If I find a poet I love, I google their interviews because 1. poets' interviews are often very weird and beautiful and also 2. they often talk about who their favorite poets are. And I discover things through better curators #onhere, like @apoemaday, and through poetry mutuals (LETS GO GIRLS) who i don't want to list for fear of forgetting someone but, u know, maybe they'll comment on this post and let u know they're out there.

[dj-of-the-coven]

Thanks for asking @vivi-mire and @goldensunset! To answer your questions, I'll preface this by saying I don't actively seek out character playlists that often, but I like making them. Unfortunately this leads me down some dismal fucking roads while looking for other people's thoughts on the subject.

Possibly to the surprise of some, offline I am known mostly for 2 things: anarchy and music. Music is my life. I have one million other hobbies, and in online spaces I mostly talk about video games, but my true essence is music--particularly rock and punk. My collection spans over several mediums. I have a 2018 Victrola record player that I've repaired by hand, a 2004 CD-radio player, a 2021 cassette-CD-radio player, and a 2007 Insignia MP3 player. Most people around my age ditched CD players by the time they were in high school (no judgement there), but I used mine this morning. I have two books in my bag on cassettes right now. I play two string instruments and have considered picking up a third! I don't say any of this to brag--it's just what I choose to do with my time and money, same as anybody else. The reason why I bring it up is to emphasize that I both know and care a lot about this particular subject. And let me tell you. What I feel when I see the same 6 artists over and over again in every character playlist is not simple haterism... it's pity with a dose of concern.

What bothers me more than the music being ill-fitting for some fictional character is the tangible evidence that most people do not have the means to discover new artists; also, to some degree, the foreboding conclusion that we are losing a diversity of taste. There used to be magazines and independent radio shows, local performances, older kids in the neighborhood you could talk to to find new bands, but the rise of streaming as the primary distribution method has severely limited the ways through which interested parties can discover music. Ask someone you know how they discovered their favorite artists--for real!! Most of the time, they'll answer, TikTok, Youtube, or Spotify. Algorithms. Mathematical processes designed to funnel people into profitable avenues of advertising. These are the things determining the music taste of today's listeners, and it's powerful fucking stuff, to the point that even radio stations have been affected by the algorithms of these unrelated websites. When I was living in Los Angeles, I had to watch the station 106.7 KROQ slowly go from playing 90s grunge and nu metal to running the Arcane theme song by Imagine Dragons 27 times daily, because it was being played to market the show. Everything is morphing into profit sludge! An equation on somebody's computer somewhere determined that this specific pool of artists would be able to turn a bunch of queer 16-24 year olds into a marketable demographic, and thus Tumblr is overrun by the same 8 or so bands in every poll, every uquiz, every embedded spotify playlist. You guys ever heard of Hozier? I've been listening to a rad new artist lately, yeah! It's Cavetown. You should listen to Mitski! Did you hear about Mitski? I think you should listen to Mitski. What about Mitski guys. What about Mitski.

Again, it really doesn't have anything to do with the quality of any of these artists (except for Imagine Dragons, which I'll never hesitate to shit on). I just think it's... odd, and upsetting, that so many people are trapped inside this tiny little bubble of music that has been algorithmically determined for them as the genre they can be arbitrarily sorted into for marketing appeal reasons. It's like hearing someone say they've never seen it rain before. I discovered many of my current favorite artists by browsing through secondhand stores, talking to older punks in my community, renting CDs from the library, reading magazines (I recommend Razorcake), and going to local $5 cover shows held in the basement of a record shop. It physically pains me that this method of discovery is dying. It hurts to think of how few people are engaging seriously with the music scene in the places they live. It devastates me to see so many people being restricted by their circumstances from finding the music that will speak to them, specifically, not every single young, white, very online gay person living in the United States.

Basically--this is not okay. Something has to change.

[bouncybrain]

The Ellipsus Experience*

From someone who’s been using Google Docs for over a decade and LibreOffice for. Idk a year, probably.

*I don’t have a collaborator helping me out with this, so this is a solo-writer’s experience: please keep that in mind

Ellipsus is a writing website (not an app) that can be considered a collaborative alternative to Google Docs. They are [anti-AI] and don't plan on going back on this "barring significant regulatory changes." It has been compared both to Google Docs and LibreOffice. As stated above, I've used both of these other products (heavily) for a while and feel I'm properly familiar enough with both of them to say this one is... well deserving of the comparisons.

TL;DR

Ellipsus is essentially a GDocs/LibreOffice lovechild that is currently in open beta, works well, and I do recommend it as a Google Docs alternative for any collaborative needs just because it’s free and anti-AI, though it is only on par with LibreOffice so far as I can tell for solo work.

I was made aware of Ellipsus through a Blazed post here on Tumblr, though I haven't actually heard of it anywhere else, but I could just have completely and utterly forgotten if I'd ever seen them elsewhere. They also have a presence here on Tumblr, @ellipsus-writes, if you would like to have a browse for yourself.

All hyperlinks will be underlined and associated words will be between these [ ] brackets.

Getting Started

Ellipsus does not use a password system. You sign up/log in with your email, which will then send you a one-time code to get in. While signing up, the site asks a few questions while setting up, such as if you write with others (options boil down to yes, no, and not yet) and where you heard about Ellipsus from. You also initially choose your light mode/dark mode preference here. It can also use your system setting.

Once you’ve gotten through that, you’re taken to a document to introduce you to the features and capabilities of Ellipsus, though it doesn’t appear to really be… properly up-to-date… but it isn’t too badly divergent as to be too confusing (notably, there isn’t a “merge this draft” button to click like the doc tells you). It also offers several links to useful posts they’ve made to help you get started.

You will then be brought to the dashboard and unleashed.

Their layout is very simple, clean, and minimalist. There aren’t a thousand features, but sometimes you don’t need a thousand features. The site itself is easy to navigate and none of the toolbars or pages even look a little bit crowded, which is nice. Unfortunately, this does mean your settings are also very barebones. You can’t delete your account directly from the settings, but you can change your display name and email from the account settings page. Here, you can also download your logs or stored data. Unfortunately, though you can have an avatar/icon, you have to use Gravatar for it, with no exceptions. Other than that it displays the first two letters of the email associated with your account. This may be visible when collaborating with others.

On Desktop (and basics)

The dashboard (home page) shows your works, with a separate tab/page/button to show anything shared with you. Here is where you make new documents or manage existing ones, or make and manage folders.

Folders are named, and can have descriptions of their contents. They can be repeatedly nested for your highly-organized needs. (Or for organizing parts/arcs/chapters/etc. for your stories.) They can be bulk deleted by deleting the parent folder (the very first folder they’re all in).

When making a new document, you can either make a completely blank one or import a markdown (.md) file. Documents can be named here and renamed later. If you’re coming from Google Docs, you’ll have to use a desktop to download your documents as a markdown (.md) file in order to reupload it directly to Ellipsus. This is currently the only way to upload a file from elsewhere.

While writing, Ellipsus offers a focus mode (the cup icon) that will automatically hide all other panels/icons except for the outline (table of contents) and the icon to leave focus mode.

The other panels available are on the left- and right-hand sides of the screen. Both panels can be collapsed to increase screen space for the document. The right panel can be collapsed directly from within its additional menus through the arrow icon on the top left of the panel or returned to the expanded panel menu through the squares-in-a-square icon on the top right of the panel. It also has a keyboard icon (which the welcome doc calls a controller) to check available keyboard shortcuts, as well as a gear icon, both on the top right. (Will expand on the gear menu later.) The right panel also contains the “create a new draft” button, which becomes “compare changes” within drafts (expanded on later).

Formatting can be done through the bar on the bottom (basic* only) or through the formatting icon on the right panel. The default font is Literata and the default font size is 16pt. The default font color will change depending on your choice of light/dark mode, but you can pick from ten colors (nine, plus the default that changes per light/dark mode). If you don’t want to use the formatting bar/menu, markdown (like Discord) is also available for use while writing, and can be set to apply automatically.

Outline is simply a table of contents that allows you to jump between headers in your document. This makes it much easier to navigate a document, particularly if it’s long and you want to get from Point A to Point T but they’re a few tens of thousands of words apart (or more. Idk how much you write).

Find and replace is exactly that. It also has “match case,” “whole words only,” and “use regular expressions” toggles to better finess the find and replace experience.

Spellcheck will be elaborated on in the writing section.

Version history will open either the main document or the specific draft you’re on in a new page, where you can go between versions and pick on to overwrite with, if that’s what you want. I don’t fully understand how this works, but you can go through each day the document has been edited and pick a time you would like to replace the document with. These versions are saved at what appear to be every ten minutes of the clock, as every version of my stuff has shown only //:/0 am/pm as available within the version history.

Comments, chat, and collaborators will be expanded on in the collaborating section later.

Share and export is expanded on in the export section.

Document info becomes draft info when on a draft. This just gives you information like when it was made and last edited, as well as who edited it last and owns it (I think?). It also shows the word count, character count, and the estimated reading time.

The last option is “get support” and just opens to show you buttons to where to share feedback, find overviews/guides, or contact support from the team.

The left panel is where the main document and all associated drafts are kept. Remember to name your drafts appropriately so you don’t lose them; these can be duplicated, deleted, or renamed at any point.

*Basic formatting includes bold, italic, underline, and undo/redo. Ellipsus’s floating bar has these as well as a shortcut to the formatting menu, indent and unindent, and search. This is “basic formatting” for this review.

On Mobile

Since I first logged in on desktop, I’m not sure if this pops up when you do an initial login on mobile, but there was a pop-up that offered extra guidance in using the site on mobile, though I declined it. This is still a good feature, and not something you stumble on all the time. The site does look and work identically across devices, and the icons used are all identical. This is also a good thing.

On mobile, the basic formatting bar is moved to the top of the screen to account for pop-up keyboards, and side panels are hidden away. Thankfully, across screen sizes, the buttons for basic formatting aren’t absolutely tiny, though this does mean you may have to scroll to access parts of the basic formatting bar depending on the size of your display. The left panel has a “papers” icon on the top left, to the left of the cloud icon, and the right panel is within a “hamburger menu” (the three lines stacked on each other) on the top right, to the right of the bell icon (notifications for collaboration reasons).

Actually typing and working on mobile tends to be a bit buggy, but this is a beta so I’m not going to hold it against them. I’ll likely be using mobile as desktop through landscape full-screen on my iPad instead of vertically. The screen tends not to follow as you write, disappearing behind the basic formatting bar and/or the keyboard, which is a bit annoying. It says it will default to device settings with the double-spacing (expanded below) but doesn’t appear to always work on mobile.

Additionally

There are a few more settings on the right panel in the gear menu on the top right. These include features regarding smart formatting, collaboration, and display. This is the “editor settings” menu.

Smart formatting has quotes (from " to “ when typing quotation marks), ellipses (changing the three periods to one symbol …), markdown shortcuts (*and* such, like Discord), double-space period (tapping space twice will insert a period; unchecked will do as your device does), and en and em dashes (– and — from -; there is an option of “- - for —” or “- - for – as well as - - - for —”).

Collaboration has toggles for live cursors and collaborator avatars for when collaborators are viewing alongside you.

Display allows you to turn off the floating basic formatting bar (desktop/landscape only), turn on “invisible characters” (like paragraph symbols, spaces, etc.) or the word count, and is also where you can change from light/dark/system.

These additional settings (aside from light/dark/system) apply across your account, so you don’t have to do it per device as with other settings.

Actually Writing* With Ellipsus

*I used pre-written things for this review

Ellipsus synchronizes practically immediately. I don’t have anyone else to do this with, but between my own account on different devices, there’s a negligible amount of lag, which is notable considering my laptop is currently trying to die on me.* Different users** (or yourself on another device) are flagged with a colorful live cursor with their display name attached, which moves accordingly and swiftly to wherever they are in the doc, including if they’re navigating through the text using the arrows on their keyboard (for mobile hiding the keyboard might not remove your cursor, and for desktop opening a different window will not remove your cursor). When the other user** (or, again, yourself) highlights something, it is replicated in yellow for the other. The highlighting is surprisingly reactive and can follow per-letter (again, between me, myself, and I).

Spellcheck can add languages, has “accept” or “ignore all” options, offers multiple suggestions for (detected) misspellings, remembers what was “ignored” after leaving the document and returning. This has to be run through for every device you open the document on, which is a pain when you have fifty characters who have names the dictionary has beef with. The English dictionary appears to be on par with LibreOffice (disappointing) (the “se” in “per se” gets marked) (fanfiction will be painted in red). Detected misspellings (whether they are or aren’t) are both underlined and highlighted in red; the “first” detected misspelling with have both a highlight and an underline, but subsequent instances (“inactive” instances that you do not have selected) will only be underlined.

Additional languages currently available (Jan 2025) consist of: English (US, AUS, GB, CA), German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, and Ukrainian.

If you want to change the font or text size, it currently (Jan 2025) applies across the entire document or draft’s corresponding paragraph style. This means the only way to have differently-sized portions in your document at this time is to have an individual paragraph with a different paragraph style (headings 1 through 4, paragraph/body, caption) applied, as they all have different font sizes associated with them.

There is also an optional word count displayed at the top of the screen next to the focus mode icon/notifications (depending on long or tall screen). It does display the word count with commas where appropriate.

My most favorite feature is that you can tab indent the start of your paragraphs. I’m not even kidding I love that so much. I don’t actually like the double-spacing (hitting the enter key twice for a new paragraph) format I do for fanfiction even though it looks better on AO3 that way, but having the ability to insert a tab indent just once and have it automatically carry through to each following paragraph…….. that’s so tasty. I’ve always hated writing on mobile because there’s usually no tab!!! It’s just there on Ellipsus!

Drafts are like a copy of the main document at the time of the draft’s creation. These are stored on the left panel menu and can be accessed simply by clicking them. This is useful more so for collaboration or when you’re struggling to pick an idea you like more. You can create these at any point, and merge them into the main document in order to make the content of the main document match that of the draft chosen.

Drafts can be compared to the main document through the “compare changes” page, accessible either from the “…” menu attached to the draft card on the left panel, or through the button on the right panel when you’re already in the draft. This “compare changes” page is where you’ll be able to do just that; additions are highlighted in green and anything removed is highlighted in red. On mobile you have to swap between the draft and the main document with the highlighted changes, but it’s laid out side-by-side on desktop. You can merge a draft with the main document from here.

You can also just make an empty draft and use it for things like notes and outlines and all that good stuff. They don’t have to be merged at any point. If you want a blank draft, though, you’ll either have to delete the whole doc within the draft or make a base blank draft at the start of your doc’s lifespan to later duplicate to edit when you need/want a blank draft.

*The responsiveness between me, myself, and I is notable because Google Docs lags so much for no reason, even if it’s just yourself on different devices in the same room. I’m doing this across three different browsers (Firefox, Safari, and DuckDuckGo) and three different devices (actively dying Windows laptop, iPhone, and iPad) it’s reactive and barely stutters, as opposed to how Google Docs needs to think about it across… itself (mobile app and Chrome browser, even!). Yes, I tested it to be sure.

**Disclaimer, again, I do not have friends to collaborate with to test otherwise.

Available Fonts

Here are all the currently available fonts (defaulted to 16pt when using the paragraph/body style). Photos* of just a few included because I’m doing this on mobile Tumblr and I can only use a few images so I’m picky. Also, this is all on dark mode, and the text color would be black if I were on light mode.

Baskerville

Caveat (#1)

Comic Neue

Courier Prime

EB Garamond

Inter

Literata (default font)

Merryweather

Monteserrat

Open Dyslexic

Raleway

Whatever this is? Doctor handwriting? Cursive Russian? (#2)

Roboto Mono

Sylexiad Serif (#3)

Ubuntu Mono

*Excerpt used is from the original concept Maddox and Li Hua, my ex-military dragon dad and his dragon daughter, were used in. It was originally in outside POV before I got bored with Darren. Sorry, Darren. (He’s still present later, just not as the POV character anymore.)

Importing

If you have a markdown (.md) file on hand, then go ahead.* Everything else you’re going to have to copy/paste in. Copy/paste will not automatically tab indent paragraphs like I extolled above even if there was a tab indent in the original text copied. The font will likely change to fit whatever you’re using on Ellipsus (it did for me between Liberation Serif -> Literata and Helvetica -> Literata) but it also won’t remove every single bit of formatting, so it’s not a completely exasperating exercise to copy/paste your works over. It won’t copy over things like headings properly, either, though that’s much less of a hassle than having to go back through and add all your italics back in.

For the sake of this review I did make my very first markdown (.md) file and... I honestly don't know what happened but about half of it was stuck in the "code" mode in the formatting section, which I couldn't figure out how to undo, outside of just copying the text (triple-clicking/tapping would select everything within the code block) and pasting it as plain text (ctrl/cmd+shift+v). I'm not sure you can paste as plain text on mobile (couldn't figure it out myself) so I, personally, am not going to be doing a whole lot of uploading previous stuff to Ellipsus. Other than this, importing a single-spaced (hitting the enter key once for a new paragraph) document will merge everything into a "single" paragraph, so I had to go through and separate all my paragraphs again so I could properly indent/unindent/apply other formatting as needed. I'll just completely re-type or batch copy/paste everything else in the future so I can have a better grip on the formatting.

*As stated way up at the start, you can upload a text file to Google Drive, open it in Docs (which makes into a .docx file, which they're working on allowing you to import as well), and then download that file as a .md file. This requires a desktop you can download/upload from. If you've never done this before, you can download as .md (and other file types) through the "File -> Download" section on an open document.

Exporting

This is accessed through the document directly instead of on the dashboard. It’s under “share and export” on the default right-hand panel menu.

You can “share” through two different methods. You can share a link to a document (logged-in users only or anyone with the link), which only allows for viewing the doc with zero editing abilities, and the entire document will be visible. The other option is a “snippet,” which is primarily what you’ll see pictures of when browsing the Ellipsus tag here; it’s a .png of a selected section of text* to create a slightly more interesting excerpt of what you’re working on. This helps your excerpt stand out without having to make it yourself. Example of a snippet with the default white background color:

(Snippets will export in only this font, but you can choose to keep any colored text.)

Exporting the entirety of the main document can be done by downloading as a PDF or markdown (.md) file. You can also copy it as HTML, markdown (.md), or rich text (.rtf). Most notable is a direct export to AO3 button! Ellipsus might tell you your blorbo’s name is spelled wrong, but it’ll let you upload your fic straight from the draft. ([Here’s] the official post about it.)

*You MUST make a selection of text in order to make a snippet; it won’t work if you don’t highlight anything for it to process. It also might be a bit slow, but a bit of patience will get you your .png to share.

Collaborating

… aha. I don’t know anyone currently using Ellipsus to review this with. Here’s paraphrased info off this [link].

Collaborating is done through email: your collaborator(s) have to have an Ellipsus account in order to actually work on the document. Inviting collaborators is done through entering their email, which will send them a link, which will bring them to the site where they will either make an account or log in to access the document. The owner of the document therefore knows the email of any and all collaborators, though other collaborators will only be able to see everyone’s display names. Collaborators can be given one of two roles with different permission levels: “can merge” means they can merge drafts into the main document, edit the main document, create drafts, as well as everything the next level can do; “can edit” can create drafts, edit existing drafts, and use the chat/comments features. Collaborators cannot invite or manage collaborators. Document owners can remove collaborators or change their role/access level at any time.

Information from Discord says this might be laggy and buggy, but the staff is looking into it.

Comments can be left through highlighting parts of the doc/drafts. Chat is a live chat to use while working together, or something, because I can’t test that.

Extras!

Their Discord server consists mostly of adults (age 18 or over) and offers opportunities to find collaborators of all stripes that also use Ellipsus. It has nearly 1600 members at the time of writing, though not everyone has chosen their roles, but of the approximately 500 reactions on the bot’s age role message, only nearly 40 chose the “under 18” role. It is a fairly active social space for the size, and doesn’t have an absolute hoard of channels. There’s even an art channel, with the description reading “original, human-powered art or credited or linked to the respective artist.”

They have a [blog] with resources/templates you can use to get started. You have to scroll through to find them since you can’t sort by the resource tag, but they’re pretty good templates for worldbuilding, story planning, and character information. I would recommend saving these as individual docs on their own and then copy/pasting the templates into the drafts of your stories to keep the information connected to the main doc you’re using it for. (Don’t forget to appropriately name all your drafts so you don’t lose anything.)

They have been in open beta since May 2024. There were apparently nine months of closed beta before this. They are also a former sponsor of NaNoWri(teNo)Mo(re) but [dropped them] when they made the stupid announcement about AI (2024).

Yes, you can use emojis on Ellipsus. Yes, you can have your leads text 🥴 to each other.

They are ellipsus_writes on Twitter/X and TikTok, ellipsuswrites on Instagram, and ellipsus-writes here on Tumblr (as mentioned way back at the start).

[sadgayeddie]

hi! can i ask how you make your gifs and have them retain their quality when posted to tumblr or other platforms? i’ve been following very good tutorials on how to make gifs for tumblr but every time i post they look hd on tumblr but veryyyy blurry on the app and anywhere else id so appreciate any help😭

hello! i think a good sharpening is the main thing, and for them to look good on tumblr they have to be the exact size in pixels for it to look the sharpest. that's 540px in width if it's a full gif! here's a chart over how to size them.

however, i discovered that my laptop screen has a 125% zoom thing going on apparently.... so it looks blurry there even though i have made them the right size. but my external monitor is at 100%, so i just make my gifs on that one and browse tumblr on there to make it look the best.

and they ARE blurry on mobile, unfortunately. there's really no going around that. and when posted on other websites than tumblr, like twitter for example, there's probably some compression going on there we can't do anything about. it's probably always for the best to create the gifs for the place you intend to post them.

[aceofwhump]

Hello @crispyliza !! So I'm replying in a separate post because this is too long for a reply on the post. Hope you don't mind. I also think it might benefit others who have asked me in the past and those wishing to start gif making. Especially with whumptober just around the corner.

So here's a full look at how I make my gifs. This got very long so I put it under a read more

A quick thing before I start: I use windows and google chrome. If you're a mac or firefox user I'm not sure of this will work for you in terms of programs. The techniques I use in photoshop should though.

Okay for this demonstration I'm going to show you how I made the gifs for this gifset

To start we need a video. I don't torrent because my internet connection will cut out a random which makes using vpns rather pointless. I've tried. My internet would cut out halfway through a torrent download and then my internet provider was notified to what I was doing. It was just not great. So I found a new way to download videos off the internet! You can use torrents though. If you've got a vpn, go for it.

There are several streaming sites that I go to to get my videos. 1movies, and bstsrs are my go to right now since soap2day is gone (rip i miss you).

Now there are three ways I can get a video depending on what website I'm using. Bstsrs is the easiest because they have a whole bunch of links available. I always go with mixdrop because it has an easy to use built in download button. Unfortunately this site doesn't have movies. Just tv shows and sometimes it's not the best quality or there aren't links available. That's when I go to 1movies. Once you've found your video I use the chrome extension Cococut to download it. Click the extension button to open, then the download button. Then you just have to wait until the video is rendered. Click save. Wait until its downloaded.

Okay we now have our video! The next step is to turn the scene you want to gif into frames. For this we're gonna need KMPlayer. This video player makes it really easy to turn scenes into frames/screencaps. Open your video. Find the the scene you want and pause the video. Type control-g to open this screen:

Here you choose the destination you want your frames to be saved. Decide what to name your frames and match up your settings with mine. You want to continuously extract frames, original size, and I stick with every 2 frames. Then, and this is important, choose video images only.

Now click start then start playing your video until the scene you want to gif is done. When you've got everything you wanted, pause the video. Hit ctrl-g again to reopen that screen and click stop. You now have all the frames you need so go ahead and exit out of KMPlayer. You don't need it again unless you need to redo frames or get the dialogue or something.

Next up we are gonna open Photoshop. I use Photoshop CC 2014.

Click on File -> Scripts -> Load files into stack -> Browse.

Go wherever you saved your frames and select the ones you need. Click okay and let the frames load completely before doing any thing else. Depending on how many you've selected this could take a while.

Once all of your frames are loaded, click "Create Frame Animation". Next click the little arrow button on right followed by "Make Frames From Layers" so we have all of our frames laid out. Now we need to reverse the frames because they're backwards so click that little button again and then click "Reverse Frames"

Okay you've got your frames loaded and all set to go. Time for all the cropping, resizing, setting the speed, and editing.

First thing I do is set the speed because otherwise I forget and it's important to do and a pain in the ass to do after all the editing is done. So do it first and get it out of the way. Select all of your frames. Click the little button beneath a frame where it says 0.0 and pick your time. I usually go for .1 seconds but .05 is also a popular speed. Just test one out and see which one you like best for your gif. You can hit the play button at any time to test your gif.

To set speed:

After this I do one of two things. Either I go into cropping and resizing or I separate frames. Depends on how many frames I uploaded. If I uploaded all the frames needed for an entire gifset this is the part where I separate them out onto individual gifs. So let's do that.

Originally I was just gonna do one gif but I have 115 frames uploaded which is waaaay too many for just one gif. I like to keep my gifs between 30 and 80 frames. So I'm going to split this into 3 gifs I think. It'll make a nice balanced gifset.

Select the frames you want for the first gif and copy them using the copy frames option in the same menu as the make frames from layers menu. Open a new document with the same dimensions as your current document. Click "Create Frame Animation" and paste the frames over the selected frame. Make sure that first frame is the same speed as all the other frames. Repeat until you have your desired gifs.

Next up I crop and resize. For this gif I'm going to first crop out the black bars above and below the image because we don't want that in the gif. Use the select tool to pick what you want to keep then "Image" then "Crop".

Now I could leave it as it but I think for this gifset I'm gonna focus more on Geralt so I'm going to crop it in a bit more.

Once cropping is all set i'm going to resize the gif to tumblr dimensions. Click "Image" then "Image Size" and change the width to 540px. The height can be anything and best not to mess with it so your gif keeps it's proportions. 540px is the width of a tumblr post and I plan on making these gifs stacked one on one.

Okay the gifs are all cropped and sized. Now it's time to do some editing. Go back to your first gif. We'll do all the work on this first gif and apply the same things to the other ones later because the scenes are the same. If they were different each gif would be colored and edited individually. First thing to do is turn it from frame animation to timeline. Timeline mode makes applying things like sharpening and brightness much easier and smoother.

So just click this button in the bottom left corner to go into timeline mode. Next up select all your layers. They're on the right side. Make sure you've selected ALL of them. Then click on "Filter" -> "Convert for Smart Filters" THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP! We can't edit until this is done.

This button to switch from frames to timeline:

First thing I do is sharpen. You can use one of the presets or try to do manually do it with smart sharpen. I use the preset labelled "sharpen" because I'm lazy and this one does a fine job for my gifs. I also add a layer of surface blur to smooth things out. Just a small touch. Like barely any blur but I think it smooths noise a bit and makes it look better.

Next up: Editing!! This step is going to be different for each and every gif you make. It all depends on the colors in the scene your giffing so you're gonna have to do a lot of experimenting to get the right look you want. Personally that's what I like about it. Makes it fun.

All your adjustments can be found found on the right side of the screen:

I almost always start with the "Levels" layer to brighten up the image because as we all know, every freaking whump scene is sooo dark. So with levels you just slide the little arrows around until you get a look you like.

Then I add a layer of "Curves". I love curves. With curves you can select the whitest white and the darkest black and the middle tone to change the brightness and colors of your gif. Or you can use this part and just brighten or darken a specific part. It's really versatile and i love it. It does take some practice and experimenting though.

Now a layer of "Contrast" and a layer of "Vibrance".

After this it's all about the selective colors, photo filters, and color balance to work on the colors and brightness. For this gif I'm only doing a tiny bit of editing cause I like the coloring but sometimes I'll have multiple layers of these to create a good coloring.

Once you're satisfied with how your gif looks it's time to save it!

Click "File" -> "Save for Web" and wait until it's all loaded. Important thing too look at here is the size of the gif. You can't upload any gif that is larger than 10mbs so make sure it's under that. Sometimes even 9.8 is too big because tumblr is a butt. I go for anything below 9.8. If your gif is too big try resizing it or removing a few frames. Make sure you gif is set to loop forever. Otherwise it'll just stop after a little bit. Don't forget to change this!

Here are the rest of my settings:

After that you can click save.

And that's it! You've made a gif! Congrats! If you have any questions or want clarification feel free to message me :)

[usergreenpixel]

MALMAISON MEDIA SALON SOIRÉE 21: THE ACADÉMIE (2012)

1. The Introduction

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Did you miss me?! I missed you too!

Life has been hectic, but I’m back with a review of a book I came across by accident while browsing Goodreads. The setting of Madame Campan’s school isn’t used that much and has a potential, so of course I was interested.

The book itself is seemingly only available for purchase so far. On websites like Amazon that is. I couldn’t find it in the database of archive.org at least. But perhaps someone will upload it in the future.

Anyway, I’m always a sucker for more obscure media, so let’s proceed with the review already!

(Dedicated to @pobodleru and @josefavomjaaga )

2. The Summary

“Eliza Monroe, daughter of a wealthy Virginia lawyer, is sent to France by her family to get a better education fit for a lady.

At the school, she is quickly roped into manipulation games between two bitter enemies: Hortense de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte.

Each of the girls will also experience love, betrayal and many other aspects of growing up.”

Coming of age stories are a classic for a reason, so let’s see how this concept is executed!

(Trigger warning for mentions of physical abuse, murder and suicide.)

3. The Story

First of all, there are too many POVs. Eliza, Caroline and Hortense EACH have their own POV chapters, where they narrate their side of the story in first person.

While this concept of switching between POVs could potentially work, the problem here is that there is too much switching, which gets very annoying and confusing. Basically, too damn much of a good writing device.

Secondly, for a fairly interesting premise, the story doesn’t do squat with it for two thirds of the book. Eliza doesn’t pick sides, characters don’t develop properly and the love subplots don’t get resolved.

For two. Fucking. THIRDS. Of the book!

The conflicts only get sort of resolved in the final third of the book, which, as you can probably imagine, just isn’t enough time to do it properly. And guess what! The author DROPS THE BALL WITH THE RESOLUTION and, as a result, nothing makes sense like she pulled the resolution out of her ass.

Another side effect is that the characters barely change at all over the course of the story, when growing up after facing adversity is the entire point of a coming of age story!

Which brings us to…

4. The Characters

I don’t like Eliza Monroe. The problem isn’t that she is a bratty teenager, by the way. The problem is that she doesn’t change over the course of the story and barely has agency, especially in the beginning.

Hortense and Caroline just play her like a fiddle most of the time, while Eliza herself just waits for something juicy to happen so she can gossip with her mother via letters.

Eliza is just a character blander than unseasoned oatmeal.

Caroline Bonaparte, as usual, is the bad guy. She is a selfish, manipulative cunt who only cares about herself and MAYBE Murat. Then she suddenly speed runs a sort of a redemption arc in the end, and even then it’s ambiguous if it was genuine or not.

Hortense de Beauharnais is supposed to be the good character, depicted by the narrative as better than Caroline in every way and almost beatified by the story.

Unfortunately, this makes her lack depth too and makes it very jarring when she does really shitty things, like trying to drive a wedge between Eugéne and his love interest due to believing that said love interest is unworthy of her brother and should know her place.

She never gets called out on her bullshit either! Our saintly Hortense, Neighbors! Oh, and she has an inappropriate relationship with her stepfather! Or well, implications of such a tryst.

Eugéne is a cinnamon roll personified. At least, until her accidentally kills his love interest, Madeleine. Supposedly, this happens because Madeleine is unstable due to enduring abuse and pining for Eugéne, yet all that happens is that she gets conveniently killed off by Eugéne and we never get to see if she truly was unstable or not. We are TOLD this, but not shown evidence.

By the way, Madeleine had the most potential out of all the important characters. An aspiring biracial actress horribly abused by her jealous, drug-addicted mother and pining for Eugéne, hoping to be rescued like in a fairy tale.

Madeleine is depicted fairly realistically, in my opinion, but then she is suddenly killed off to conveniently resolve the conflict of Josephine not accepting her as a match for Eugéne. No buildup, no significant consequences, ZILCH! Only Eugéne seems shaken by her death, but we aren’t really shown much of this either, merely TOLD.

Josephine, while definitely capable of kindness, has her own selfish bitchy moments, like not giving a fuck that Madeleine died or that Eugéne is shaken up by accidentally killing her. Her own past as a slave owner is also mostly conveniently omitted and she isn’t shown as being called out for it, unlike Eliza, who IS called out for thinking slavery is normal.

Letizia Bonaparte is a scheming snake just like Caroline, almost to cartoonish levels.

Napoleon Bonaparte is a stereotypical shortie, and also almost being a pervert to his stepdaughter. Ewww…

Madame Campan is a stereotypical kind and strict mentor.

So yeah. Most characters don’t feel interesting at all.

5. The Setting

The setting is mostly just mediocre, with occasional common cliches like claiming Robespierre REIGNED in France or that nobility during Frev was automatically in danger. But these are far from the worst offenders, so eh.

The descriptions are surprisingly good though, in that they are integrated into the book in a balanced way, so here at least one win for the author!

6. The Writing

Problems with the writing start WITH THE TITLE. More specifically, combining French spelling of a noun with an English article. “THE ACADÉMIE”, “THE TERREUR”, etc.

It’s unjustified and clunky at best. At worst, it looks like the author is just throwing in French words because the book is set in France. I would understand if it was a foreign character trying to show off and making these weird mistakes, but ALL CHARACTERS speak like that!

It’s… definitely an odd choice.

Other than that, however, a bit of props to the author for at least trying to write realistic bratty teenagers.

7. The Conclusion

Honestly, this book isn’t the worst I’ve ever seen. Not by a long shot. However, I would still recommend to give it a hard pass. It’s not bad. Not even so bad that it’s funny. And not even rage inducing.

Just… meh. Bland. Nothing to write home about.

On that note, I declare this Soirée at the Malmaison Media Salon as finished. Hope you stay tuned for more future reviews though!

Love,

Citizen Green Pixel

[crookedtines]

hi!!! i'm sorry to ask, but i saw your post with your fountain nib collection, is it okay if you took more photos of them at different angles?

i need some references for a fountain pen weapon i'm drawing, and i can't find any. your post is really good inspiration for it. feel free to ignore my ask though 🙇

Hey! So I don't have the time to take more pictures of all of these guys at the moment, but I can help send you off in the right direction to find the references you're looking for.

The nibs in my collection are actually dip pen nibs, which would explain why you had trouble finding them! It's also incredibly hard to search up a particular nib if you don't know its name. Fortunately, I've already drafted up writing samples for all of these nibs that include their names and model numbers! It's attached to this in depth post about dip pens, which features some close up shots and gifs you might also find useful.

To see dip pens like these in action, I'd recommend checking out pointed pen calligraphy videos. Product listings are also a great place to find high res images for both modern and vintage nibs. The index nib and eiffel tower nib are still produced today, so if you want refs of fun shaped nibs, those two should have plenty!

Now if you're strictly looking for fountain pen nibs, you'll want to browse the websites and social media pages of fountain pen retailers. Unlike dip pens, they're sold with the pen so you'll have better luck looking up the fountain pens themselves. Sailor, Lamy, and Pilot are a few good brands to start your search with. The youtube channels of fountain pen collectors and stationery influencers are also a great place to look.

Unfortunately, fountain pen nibs don't come in the whimsical variety of shapes that dip pen nibs do. They tend to all look about the same, with some differences in the proportions of the nib, the shape of its vent hole, its color, and its engravings. It might seem unimaginative or boring, but they've actually got to be about that shape to work. They do make up for it with fun and pretty pen bodies though!