#i'd do it on reddit but they're mean on there sometimes

[pabulumm]

PUTTING THIS SO THE TEXT WILL GET BEHIND THE DAMN CUT

idk what a healthy response would be to being, like, ghosted or left on read etc

like maybe if you're secure enough in yourself, you just give them the benefit of the doubt. "must be busy, hope they're okay" but when more time passes and there's nothing...then what? because my mind goes to "it was me, i wasn't funny enough, i knew i shouldn't have said [xyz] that was so stupid." like that's probably normal to a degree- but only to a degree. especially since i even think this way with, like, my sisters. who i KNOW are not on their end of the phone rolling their eyes or bashing me. (...probably.)

idk but it happens so often on the dreamwidth rp scene that i almost feel like i need to quit for my own sanity. i had posted on one of those comms where you're looking for rp partners and someone responded to me with a character i was looking to play with. great! amazing! we took it over to private messages to hash out what we wanted to thread. their last message to me was basically "i'm excited to thread more with you!" (it turned out we'd threaded before with other characters)

and then nothing. it's been over a week now, when previously they had been responding within a day. and, like, i hope they're okay, but my mind is already bracing to see them around tagging other people. i'm going to wonder why this keeps happening and i'm going to blame myself.

i don't have a lot of money these days, and this hobby is basically the only free, semi-social activity i have left. that's probably a large part of the problem. idk what to do about that though. idk. sucks to suck.

[theoutcastrogue]

I've come across many posts on tumblr claiming or taking for granted that there's a d&d 5e play Culture™ out there where the dm is expected to do all the work, to the point of players NOT being expected to learn the rules, not even how their own characters work mechanically.

This is several light years away from my personal experience. Of course, I'd never generalise or extrapolate anything at all from my personal experience, so I'm not presenting this as anecdotal evidence to the contrary of the claim. But I would ask for (similarly non-anecdotal) evidence to the support of the claim. Who THE FUCK are these people who think it's normal to not even try to learn the rules of the game they're playing? Where do they congregate? Are they somewhere online?

The 5e-related online spaces which I visit from time to time (roleplaying forums, reddit, etc) are, broadly speaking, Not Like That. Sometimes they're the opposite, and there's a lot of rules-lawyering going on. Sometimes there'll be a story about a Problem Player who refuses to learn their own character's abilities, but, and this is very important, it isn't presented as a norm, as THE Culture™. It's presented as a faux pas, a deviation from the norm. And I've NEVER come across such a story told from the Clueless Player's perspective. Like, I've never seen anyone go "lol my DM expects me to know what my character can do, that's your job, stupid!".

But just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Perhaps the internet is full of stuff like that. So I ask all of you, and especially those who do consider this phenomenon "a 5e culture", where is it? Where do I find it? (I'm curious!) Are there like discord servers dedicated to celebrating your own ignorance at the expense of your poor dm?

Or do we have scattered anecdotal evidence and personal horror stories here and there, which somehow led to the theory that this a whole-ass 5e Culture™?

Note: I'm assuming we're talking about deliberate ignorance. No one should expect a first-time player to know and remember everything. Rules mastery comes over time, with experience. Even the most experienced and engaged player/dm will occasionally forget, misremember, or misunderstand the rules. (It's d&d! There's a fuckton of them!) Some rules slip through the cracks because the books aren't well-written (the best feature of the 2024 PHB is undoubtedly the Rules Glossary). And if you don't play regularly, if there's a long gap between sessions, if you're very busy or distracted or stressed IRL, of course it's more likely to forget things. So I'm not talking about any of this, I'm only referring to stories about players who clearly think it's not their job to learn the rules of the game.

[i-miss-summertime]

THE ianthony song for me rn is Birds of a Feather by Billie Eilish, from Anthony's POV (this one is gonna be a little more on vibes since the song lyrics are admittedly a bit simple)

ill be real, this one is purely vibes considering the lyrics of the first verse are pretty vague but still feels like it fits into our gloomy boy's style of how he thinks of love. A serial monogamist, he self admits to falling hard and fast for people. These morbid, grand statements of love feel really in line with Anthony (iykyk, watch his insta stories if you dont).

The line that really sticks out to me is the "I know I said I'd never think I wasn't better alone" like reflecting back on the days that Anthony felt like he was taking on more of the work of Smosh and his eventual need to go independent.

Also the "might not be forever/But if it's forever, it's even better" is so "if we burn this to the ground, im happy to do that with you"-core. Like no one knows what the future will bring, no one can guarantee what's going to happen but they want to continue Smosh and be friends for the long haul.

Lastly, I just feel like even the term "Birds of a feather" really apply to them. So many commenters, even people who got into Smosh post-Anthony leaving, were commenting how Anthony's the other half of Ian's weird humor. Amanda said, in their "We React to Your Compilations" video when watching the I&A compilation, "they are the same." It was just a short throwaway line but it feels like even people around them feel like they're two of a kind.

This pre-chorus is actually so Anthony. He's so transparent with his fondness for his friend. That's his BEST FRIEND who he's known since he was a little kid.

Plus, I love Anthony and jokes about his emotional, crying content aside, he's so emotive and sensitive. Not in a negative way like sensitive can sometimes mean, but just wears his heart on his sleeve more than many men (him crying during his ISADW with Ian, tearing up during the Reading the Angry Letter video, even crying during that one reddit story about two best friends falling for each other). He just seems like the type to cry from how much he loves someone.

now THIS is the verse that makes me clock it as Anthony thinking of Ian. In this era, he's hyping Ian up so much and a compliment machine in contrast. We know Ian doesn't give himself enough credit as said by Anthony and Shayne on Smosh Mouth and with his history of downplaying his work, I could definitely see an interaction of his friends being frustrated on Ian's behalf of not being able to accept compliments.

Like literally, can you not see him responding to a compliment with insistence that it's just a "bit" as resident of Bit City lol. I also love the "don't be stupid" line like as much as Anthony is so fond of Ian, what would their relationship be without a bit of heckling in a loving way.

Finally, the post chorus gets me so much fr.

In a metaphorical sense, they've talked about how they've had to let go off who they saw the other as, let go of their past friendship to meet each other again.

Yes, they're different people now and this in many cases mean they aren't compatible to the point of being able to just be best friends again. This is where the metaphor of knowing someone from another live KILLS me. Yes, they look different and act different but you still know them where it matters. You can love them for who they are at their core and learn to love the new pieces of them as they evolve. Even if they're different in so many ways to old Ian and Anthony, "you had that same look in your eyes" that brings them back to that bond

"I love you, don't act so surprised"

Look, I know I just rambled about how this song is so from Anthony's perspective but can you not imagine Ian saying this after the funeral roast. He said I love you and everyone, including Anthony was so shook. I think they both knew that Ian loved Anthony, it was just never said, verbally. Kinda teasing but still endearing, the line reads as "I'll tell you because you love the verbal validation but you already know <3"

I just love how you can easily interpret this song as platonic and it's still so sweet and describing this deep love. I just can't help but think of them when I hear it <333

[velvetvexations]

can I be honest I feel like people in the fandoms (and to an extent the IH) treatment of KLCK compared to Fabian is a clear case of misogyny

our rich privileged soft boy vs their rich privileged annoying bitch

our boy who makes race insensitive remarks sometimes but it's not his fault vs their bitch whose mental issues make her make bad remarks in private

our self centered but adorable cute boy vs their self centered narcissistic bitch

idk if I'm onto anything honestly I'm very tired and have my brain on npd mode and if I posted anything about KLCK's mental issues on the subreddit I'd be ridiculed so I need to scream at someone who gets it. hope you've been doing okay! fbdnfnds

Brennan really honeypotted all the NPD members of the D20 fandom with her, huh?

But I think you're half-right. The immediate and insane reaction to KLCK having an annoying tone of voice and going hogwild on her to the extent that the fandom did, especially the infinite repetition of calling her bitch and cunt, definitely smacks of misogyny. There are other factors, though, chiefly the parasocial relationship making the fandom not only reflect but greatly amplify the opinions of the Intrepid Heroes. Like, if Brennan said he didn't like mustard this fandom would riot in the streets until mustard was removed from store shelves. With Siobhan and Ally going as hard as they did on despising KLCK, the urge to partake in the activity with your fake internet celebrity best friends did what it does.

The fact that Kipperlilly's parents were in the housing market in particular did not do her any favors. Like, the fans call Brennan a decolonial philosopher. Like I've said a few times before because it's the perfect metaphor, the fandom loves to LARP the Cultural Revolution - and that's barely even a metaphor as opposed to just literally what they're actually doing. The political aspect combines with the parasocial one, too, because now you're saving the world with your fake internet celebrity best friends. The moment, I mean the exact moment I started getting into KLCK, because up until then I was right there with everyone else going wHaT aRe YoU FoUr DiFfErEnT DoGs, was when I noticed fans on Reddit calling her a nepo baby. I started a thread about it trying to just, like, educate these children on what that term actually means and the replies drove me completely out of my mind.

So it's like, Fabian mainly gets a pass because he's a PC, because the fandom is wrapped around the cock of every PC and stubbornly refuses to accept them as anything less than perfect baby angels. Like I said, though, you are for sure correct in identifying that misogynistic element of how fans pounced on KLCK and identified her as a bitchy cunt bitch whore because her energy is very slightly grating. Or really, not even grating, honestly? Like she's clearly supposed to come off as obnoxious, but she's nothing but polite and mildly cheerful all the way up until "I want you to go fuck yourself", and even THAT was in response to the Bad Kids picking a fight.

[tame-a-messenger]

Damangela lives rent free on smoshtwt

...but in the most unfortunate way because have they not seen from this fixation of theirs that there's a section of us who will have a field day if Damien surprise us one day as a guest in a Starkid prod? Or another variant at Smosh where both Angela and Damien can showcase their talents and intellect? Their chaotic bickering is like treats because there's also other Smosh duos that have it too. But those fewer times where they truly shine, whether they're in the same video or not, really feels like a reward to witness it unfold.

(I am one of those who like this duo because of their musical inclinations and astounded by their way of thinking)

I simply don't know what they are trying to impose. The perfect person podcast really sealed it to me. That if what they imply is she only tolerates every interaction she had with him is simply off the marks. The pièce de résistance they can't ever refute.

Is it also not a tad reaching to practically put it on blast with their straw picking speculation that it was a Damien thing where they perceived him not being as socially adept in a way he is not in good terms to his coworkers? That's not a good look to give to someone who was masking before.

Smoshtwt can be too much sometimes,

I think I finally figured out why the interactions between here (tumblr) and there (Twitter) are so different - They partake in 'Stan' culture, while over here is a bit more rooted in classic 'Fandom' culture.

If you didn't know, 'Stan' comes from combining 'Stalker' and 'Fan' (I believe originating in the K-pop community) (though if you google it, it says it comes from an Eminem song. Funny, but I don't think that's right) so it's a bit more... intense. (either origin for 'Stan' is pretty extreme though)

That and Twitter in general festers a more hostile community. The more you make someone mad the more they interact with you, so Twitter pushes that content because of that.

(Back to your ask)

I don't know if I could physically watch a Starkid production with Damien in it, PURELY because I'd be TOO DAMN HAPPY. I'd be pausing every second and hyperventilating lol. (fr though, that would be SO FUCKING COOL!!)

It's maybe a little bit of a weird relation but, their dynamic to me is like watching a movie with incredible writing? For example of what I mean by that- Their Reddit Stories Ep really had me thinking totally different about all the situations. Literally every story Shayne would read out I would be thinking about what I thought about it, (I like to see if anyone on the couch is going to have similar opinions to me) and every. single. story. Angela and Damien came up with points I never even thought about, but were SO RIGHT!

He'd bring up something, then she'd dunk it with the most factual thing I've ever heard! (that guy not being able to wear that watch ever in front of his girlfriend !!) That whole episode is so good just for the way they both problem solve and how well they compliment each others opinions! They just have such good dialogue with each other. (Genuinely Oscar worthy writing in that episode of RS)

Every time I come across a post ANYWHERE talking about how they don't get why people even like Damangela because "Angela doesn't even seem to like Damien" it makes my eyes pop out of my skull.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?? DO WE KNOW THE SAME ANGELA AND DAMIEN???

Like the sheer amount they both have gone on record saying how much they enjoy each others presence and love each other doesn't mean anything to them?! The amount they make each other laugh??

Like it really does come across as these Accounts just really not liking Damien more than anything to actually do with his and Angela's dynamic. (I could talk about reasons why Damien comes across as 'awkward' or 'bad with coworkers' to some people at length, but I'll save that for another day)(<-signed, Another Neurodivergent person with people issues <3)

I'm also totally convinced all the people hating on Damangela haven't seen much content with both of them in it. That's the only reason I would accept as to why they hate Damangela so much lol, they truly just don't know what they're missing out on <3

[reggieblk]

omg i never come on tumblr anymore and had to remember all my logins but i didn't know if u had a Twitter but saw your Tumblr linked in ur ao3 so hi

I JUST FINISHED YOUR FIC IF WE WERE LOVERS AND I HAVE SO MUCH EMOTIONS. first of all I knew I was gonna like this fic because I LOOOOVE your other fic 'equals in life (partners in death)'. i saw if we were lovers being recommended on the tomarry subreddit. I never read non magical AUs like this was forreal my first ever one!! I've never really been interested in them since I love the tension and angst harry and tom have in canon because of their backstories and shit so non magical AUs never appealed to me much for tomarry specifically but man I saw if we were lovers on reddit so i clicked on it and it sounded so interesting. I never was a theatre kid or really cared much about it but always thought it was cool and respected people who did it. hell i would love if I could do shit like that on stage LMAO but this fic sounded really good so I saved it to read! and I'm SO glad I did. I literally just finished it and now im here writing this. first of all I love how you wrote ALL these characters. I really need to bring up theo especially because I never really cared about theo as character tbh and in fics I'm usually like eh whatever but you bought SOOOO much life to his character in this fic that I literally would read a fanfiction featuring your theo lmao. I loved his personality so much even tho I'd probably punch him and get so angry at him if he was my friend because sometimes he really needs to shut the fuck up but this personality also seems to REALLY suit him and I just loved him so much. I loved all the characters!!! you just wrote them so well that I never got bored because they were all interesting!! tom and harrys relationship was the best thing ever I literally wanted to strangle them both so much I loved it. I love how much they love eachother and the PINING and SLOW BURN HAD ME SCREAMING AT MY PHONE LIKE CAN YALL FUCKIN KISS ALREADY HOLY SHIT???? and your writing was absolutely phenomenal. I didn't really know what the fuck was going on during the plays because like I said I don't know much about theatre lol but man it was so awesome to read and I could just imagine it all in my head when i was reading it 😩 also I really loved how you wrote Sirius I cried when harry called him and he relapsed but im so happy he got sober!!! I loved all the professors and how you wrote them as well. I was almost losing my shit during harrys first class with snape and im a snape lover LOL but I was like what the FUCK. later on I'm like ok nvm he cool. I loved how Dumbledore came to visit harry and tom during the Christmas break when they literally were high af LMAO. I feel like Dumbledore would smoke weed too tbh. Also this is such a specific moment but I laughed when all the students were graduating and theo made McGonagall do a fist bump with him i can picture that so well it made me Crack tf up. Ugh I just loved this fic so much I would pay you to write a sequel (jk... unless...haha...) but no fr soooo good. I am on my hands and knees praying that you have more ideas for more long tomarry fics again in the future 😭🙏🛐

oh my lord HI this ask is so nice i love love love getting comments or asks from people who literally JUST finished a fic and have so much to say about it!! it's so flattering as an author bc i get the feeling my passion for the project got spread to my readers!!

my characters....my babies.... this fic really revealed a passion i have for making people LMAO i am so happy you enjoyed these characters all together <3 there exists in my docs a version of these characters together in a canon setting and oh my shaylas... my children they're babies in it!! unfortunately that fic SUCKS so it will most likely nawt see the light of day lol sorry but trust the characters are so sweet in it

believe it or not i am by no means a theatre kid!! in fact in france we don't even have theatre at school, other than analysing texts for the more literary classes! it's just a small passion i have, love how pretentious it is! but honestly thank god most readers are not theatre kids bc i'm sure there are things in the fic that are like....girl this is bullshit... writing is like lying and pretending you know things about things when you don't lol

(dumbledore definitely used to smoke weed, but by the time in which the fic is set he most assuredly discovered edibles)

i am SO happy you discovered ethel cain via this fic!! preacher's daughter changed my life fr! however, listening to it on shuffle....a thousand years in the dungeon!! crazy behaviour i cannot lie

thank you so so much for the ask! (and sorry for the late reply) it really makes me happy seeing people like this fic in particular <33

[catherine-clover]

Allow us to introduce ourselves

Half a year active, over a hundred followers, the majority of which are veteran tumblers from that one 60k note explosion, and we still haven't properly introduced ourselves. Time to fix that.

We are Clover, an endogenic plural system. That means we are multiple people sharing one brain and body, and we aren't plural because of trauma. We do not have DID. (nor do the vast majority of endos)

I am Quincy Eliza Bethany Madeline, the headmate who fronts the most. Rose may also post on here sometimes.

There are a lot of people on here who say that it's impossible for a plural system to form without trauma, but as you may have seen from our syscourse reblogs, they rarely cite any credible sources, and that's because they're wrong. I am not a LARPer and I do not claim to have DID. This really is every hour of my life, online and offline. If you have any more questions about plurality, feel free to send me an ask.

Though if we're talking about origins, "not from trauma" is overly vague for my taste. If we're really talking about how the system formed, I prefer "dreamgenic", because everyone originated from some combination of nightdreams and immersive daydreams which I had varying levels of control over.

The second most active headmate, Victoria Penelope, has her own blog @victoria-penelope-clover. She posts more infrequently, when she's able to front/cofront/proxy, and is currently mostly focused on syscourse, with occasional slices of life. She's my older syster.

Headcount is currently in the upper teens. Some more may be mentioned occasionally but I'd rather not have a list of private details about everyone easily accessible here for anyone to see. For the most part, all you'll see every once in a while is some colored text indicating a distinct voice.

Anyway, enough plural stuff! Now for typical bio stuff!

Fleed Reddit to come here and wow Tumblr is way better. Always happy to commune with fellow Rexxitors!

For obsession I circle between Chess, Minecraft, Geometry Dash, Warrior Cats, and Undertale. Fandoms I am on the edge of getting sucked into include The Amazing Digital Circus and Death Note. I also plan to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender at some point. Ever since our syscovery, I've consumed next to no fiction for fear of more headmates.

I have a few projects in the works but I've promised myself that I won't post them publicly until I've actually made substantial progress!

No DNI! Maybe it's just because I'm not jaded by years of wasted time with unproductive trolls, but I think assuming someone is in bad faith just because they disagree with you about something heated is bad actually, partly because I've seen what happens and how long progress takes when left-of-center people generally refuse to interact with, for example, transphobes. Relatedly, I will only block you if I think you're a bot or if you really, really fuck up.

Do not be surprised if I casually shit on something you believe in without warning.

I have an ever-growing queue set to post five times per day, and I try not to post too much more than that. I also try to keep my dash at less than 100 posts per day, which is apparently uncommon here.

Reblog reblog reblog! Not just my posts, but everyone (unless you have a good reason not to, like with this intro post). Reblogs are what keep Tumblr alive! Likes do next to nothing.

That's all for now! If you have any more questions, send me an ask and I might add it to this post!

[brokentoys]

sometimes i fear i come off as a bitch due to my constant negativity and heavy criticism regarding my interests, but really? at least i'm only grouchy about *fictional stuff*. i never insult anyone or go after anyone. in fact, i'm supportive of them even if they disagree with me. if somebody told me they think t0m king writes the best eddie ever, i'd say "i disagree, but i'm glad his writing has been feeding you good!"

the way ppl now treat each other online is absolutely abysmal. the way i see ppl just insult each other and call each other horrible names (or even slurs) over minor opinions. like somebody saying they think disney songs are just for kids and op replying to them saying "you're stupid then." like really? and it's not that i witness this happen, but i've had it happen to me before. i've made posts on reddit saying i didn't like something in a game in the nicest way possible (saying it's not even bad, i just prefer what used to be) and i get called slurs for it, i get called fucked in the head for it. it's actually gotten to the point where people online are willing to treat fictional characters better than real living persons.

i saw somebody else address this on twitter, too. they said they didn't realize something was a turkey, and they got all kindsa replies saying stuff like "IT'S A TURKEY, YOU DUMB BITCH." the majority of internet users nowadays needs a damn attitude adjustment. or recent controversy where somebody made what may be distasteful fanart of a new popular (fictional) game and everyone just attacked them to the point the creator had to step in and tell them not to do that. which they then tried to claim it was criticism. because yeah, telling somebody that they should die or that they smell like shit is "criticism".

it's actually crazy how rabid people are, how quick they are to either insult you, or "backstab" you online (i mean, look at the tumblr RPC. there are ppl making blogs DEDICATED to tumblr drama) and some ppl explain this by saying "ah, ppl have gotten comfortable with behaving this way online because they're anonymous!" but... noooot really? i mean, yeah -- usually there aren't any real life consequences for this behavior. but like. many ppl online, ESPECIALLY SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE TWITTER, use their real photos for their profile pics. so many ppl online have gotten comfortable with sharing a lot of sensitive irl information on their profiles. it's like, you're gonna act nasty with your FACE plastered on your comment?

and i know the internet has always been full of trolls. but almost everyone i've asked has agreed with me, that over the last decade or so, it feels like things have gotten much worse. it's just... damn. ppl rly need to learn to behave again, to be polite again, and to not go ballistic when they happen to come across an opinion they don't agree with (not even a political one! but just a "i like this game" or "i don't like this game"!!!!!)

[mermaidsirennikita]

why is it uncommon to find a more assertive/dominant FMC in FANTASY romance that isn’t bdsm or complete kink role reversal? Fantasy romance seems gender conforming than contemporary. I thought this was fantasy so why are the roles so rigid and a FMC who sometimes holds the power is somehow kink/fetish

I went to Reddit for recs and honestly found nothing to my taste

also i dont think ppl realize that a not submissive FMC does mean the mmc is weak, feminine, etc? everything is so binary ahhhh

i’m not even someone who wants to deviate from the norm that much

Hmm, I don't know that I experience the same issue with fantasy romances? Maybe it's a Reddit problem; I find that on Reddit (compared to, say, Instagram) I see a lot more people requesting books featuring actively submissive heroines. That's where Alice Coldbreath gets recommended to me every time I ask for anything though, lol, so I feel like I could be a little skewed in that direction.

And it's fine for people to want that, I just struggle with books in which the heroine is SUPER submissive in her everyday life (her sex life is another thing entirely).

That said, I also don't think I've read a lot of fantasy romances I would categorize as truly kinky or BDSM-related. But my standards may be high, I think of a lot of books as "kink positive" but not About That Life, if you get what I'm saying.

I'll also say—in my experience, Reddit skews very indie, and while there are a billion indie books I love (including books recommended below) I personally find that a lot of Reddit-popular books are kind of like... one-handed reads. Which is fine, totally valid, they just don't have a lot of thought in terms of plot. Or, tbh, sometimes in terms of sex (I don't find their portrayal of kink to be great all the time).

That being said, if you do want to read fantasy romances with assertive, strong heroines that also feature strong heroes, I'd recommend:

The Witch Walker series by Charissa Weaks. A recent favorite of mine, has several couples (I'd say three prominent ones as of now, two m/f and one m/m) but the core couple is m/f. The heroine is strong and stays strong. The hero is also, though I'm rather delighted by how often he hurtles himself into trouble and is like "WHOOPS" until she shows up. Their sex life is really like... mutual. I'd say he's a bit more dominant in bed, but they both show the fuck up.

The Hurricane Wars series by Thea Guanzon. Both the hero and heroine are virgins, they have a very mutually giving sex life (though that doesn't really fully kick into gear until book 2, which is out in December), and she's definitely a very strong character, I'd say.

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson. The hero is definitely more immediately strong and sexually experienced in this book (it's definitely more historical romance-aligned worldwise, and she's a virgin) but the heroine is very powerful and their relationship becomes an equal one. And in bed, once she's on the up and up of it all, there's a lot of mutual give and take.

The Princes of Hell series by Kerri Maniscalco. I love the heroines of this series (there's a trilogy to begin, then a spinoff book). They're both quite different, incredibly strong, and more than a match for their heroes. Plus, I appreciated that you really don't have the same characters or relationships repeated between the two couples. They're super distinct.

[bkblaise]

I'm dumb as hell, so can you explain me why JPtwt is so pressed about Manga leaks?

I mean, I have heard that those who leak spoilers earn some money out of it, so does this money come out of the Mangaka's pocket? If yes, then I'm against it. If not, then what's the big deal? I think there are many bigger issues than this to focus on.

Further, spoilers come weekly, I guess? That too, in Japanese language, so it's the same amount of time as the official release of a chapter—you getting me?

Hi there! Sorry the response is so long. Basically, JPtwt considers leaks ("hayabare") as a crime (it is), engaging with them is something they find extremely distasteful. Not sure why the reaction is so strong, but it is. Maybe it's being protective over manga bcs it's a big industry nationally. However me being Korean, a LOT of people pirate manhwa... so... (though manhwa is generally not as big so the gripe is spoilers & not leaks.) It's upsetting in my opinion specifically because of the fact that the spoilers themselves only come out like 2 days earlier, but, this time it came out on a Friday when they were originally on Mondays (officials come out on Wednesday. But a long time ago, I heard these came out on Fridays and in Korean? Lol. I wasn't there.) Most of the people who were targeted including myself are artists. This is the source of my gripe with this callout/block list, because we never reposted the official copyrighted material in the first place, so bombarding us with blocks and possibly getting our accounts locked when there are people who rely on commissions and a platform to gain said commissions/communicate with commissioners, for instance, is a bit... odd? They could mute us instead... Yes, there are also plenty of people posting the official panels as well, and I get their frustration. But a Japanese twitter user put it well, saying something along the lines of "these users were all also forced to see leaks just like you, except they're not being [immature] about it". In my opinion if I could disengage with leaks regarding manga I would, since this was my policy up until me getting super excited about Kaiser's backstory specifically. I previously did not post about leaks on twitter. The issue is the people posting the original leaks, but they didn't even put them front and center, which I just found confusing. I think technically since English has (online?) simurelease with Japan, it can affect sales. By how much, I'm not sure, because Twitter isn't a real good gauge of just HOW many people see the leaks (a user called Rayuga is the main one as far as I know, and their main has like 90k+ followers, so I'd imagine their reach is still above that follow count... but it also can be less, because twitter is twitter.) I apologize if this is already common knowledge because before joining twitter, I mainly got my leaks from Reddit without considering the source. Scanlations (A group called PO2? is currently scanlating Blue Lock) also probably has the same effect, which when I was in Scans, in my group we had a hard rule that an English official copy being released would warrant us to drop a series so that the author would receive fair support. So not doing that when there is an english copy, is probably damaging. I never checked if PO2 takes donations or have a Patreon or anything like that, which from my time in scans is GENERALLY looked down upon internally within the community. If they do, this is something that I wouldn't really condone openly, specifically because it's still unauthorized redistribution. Attempting to profit off of that usually is because sometimes scan groups will pay their staff. Me, personally, I always worked for free. But if they don't, then I have nothing to say. I don't think people who would have not bought the chapter even if that was their only option would've ever contributed to sales in the first place, right? So it depends. In conclusion, I'm sure there are losses. But it's hard to gauge by how much, so I simply listed all the possible factors for you to judge by yourself.

[hot-crossedbuns]

being trans is so weird.

I'm trans masc. in transitioning towards presenting more masculine. if I could I would have a hysterectomy and top surgeryl right now.

but I just saw a Reddit thread about "girl secrets" and I found myself in the comments of hundreds of people describing the mundane aspects of their womanhood, like making sure you get the leftovers out when you shower at the of of you period or the weird adjustment thing you have to do with your boobs sometimes when trying to sleep.

My hair has always been a source of dysphoria for me, always being complimented on my hair, long and thick, natural highlights and gentle curls. all I ever wanted until I finally gave in at 17 was to chop it all off. I'd get a buzz cut if it meant people stopped seeing me from behind and immediately clocking me as a girl because it went right down my back even in my ratty ponytail.

but I saw this tiktok on how women often swoosh their pony tails behind them when they walk, because it's fun. and it is! I always found some joy in that before I finally cut it off and felt pride in my hair for the first time ever.

my co-workers are all women, cisgender women who don't know that I'm not one of them. to them I'm just the short haired lesbian that works shifts with them. but this means they include me in their monthy girls nights and I get to feel the joy of being the inside of some secret club I never really felt a part of as a kid. it's fun hearing them chat shit about their exes, talk about those weird things that only happen to women because of our anatomy.

and yet, I'm taking steps to turn away from that, because while these spaces are safe and familiar to me, they what's felt unnatural and like I was intruding on something not meant for me.

I'm taking these steps to look and be seen the way that makes me confident and empowered, and yet I'm time I'll lose the experience of talking to random women fixing their make up in the at the mirrors in public toilets, or seeing 5 drunk women tell a random stranger she's beautiful when they find her ex left her for someone prettier.

Men don't have that support. and I'll lose that forever when I transition.

and yeah, once I visibly transition I don't have to be as afraid of walking home at night, and yeah i won't have to hear drunk old men hit on me after telling me I look like their grandaughters, and yeah I won't have to deal with sexist jokes made at my expense by my guy friends.

but once women stop seeing me as a woman and start seeing me for me, suddenly my past, my whole childhood, where i believed I would be a woman the rest of my life, suddenly changes meaning.

if I were to talk about those weirdly sexual and creepy comments my best friends boyfriend made for months, it's just guys being dudes. if I mention the time my boss's boyfriend smacked my ass during a busy shift, it's just a bro tap. if I mention how random guys at work often try to hug me or hold my hands or call me pet names, it stops being harassment and just starts being guys messing about.

if I mention how my cramps can immobilise me, or how much I hate wearing tampons or how dogs do that weird thing where they just keep sniffing your crotch or how sometimes my ovary cramps and it's rock hard beneath the skin, or how frustrating it is when your period comes 2 days early and ruins the underwear you liked or it's a week late for absolutely no god forsaken reason and your hormones are all over the place, and you're moody, tired, angry, sad, hungry bloated and nauseous all at once, they're just look at me all funny because his could I, someone who looks and presents as a guy, possibly know what it's like to be a woman.

as if I didn't live as one for 20 years.

as if I didn't plan to live my life as a woman.

as if I didn't grow up being someone's daughter, sister or niece.

as if I didn't expect to be someone's mother, wife or aunt.

being trans is weird, because once you realise it, all of your life experience slowly stops mattering.

it's weird because yes I want the world to separate me from who they always assumed I would be, yes I want them to stop seeing me as that little girl who didn't quite know how to be a girl. yes I want them to see me the way I've always felt I was supposed to be... but I don't want them to only see the masc side of me.

my girlhood, my femininity, my lived experience as a female in the 21st century all helped shape who I am now, and just because I'm trans doesn't mean that goes away.

but no one really sees that.

and yeah, it's a good thing, it means the world is finally starting to see me for who I've always known myself to be.

but knowing that part of me is slowly fading is weird.

being trans is so weird.

and so frustrating.

all at once.

[free-luigi-mangione]

i'm actually more like a ghost on here, sooo lol idk, i did think about it but I don't know if I'd be able to post somewhat regularly. it's def something i'd have to think about. (and if i'll create a luigi blog ofc i'll tell you!!)

and i get what you mean, sometimes i open reddit because I hate to say it but everyone's pretty active on there and there's a lot of discussion and I'm not american, so I get to see what they think and how things work there. but sometimes, when reading comments i just get so mad because very few people seem to be in the right mind on there. they're either delusional and sound like little kids or they're people supposedly supporting him but are haters in disguise imo. sometimes i just feel like telling everybody to stfu lol

but honestly, what are we supposed to do? contributing like we can and trying to educate/make people think it's all we can do rn. couldn't even bring myself to write him a letter because everything i write sounds awful and at the same time i have so many words of support but i'm afraid it would come off weird sooo… if someone is reading this and can write to save their life please write him supportive words to make up for me lol

yes!!! do tell me about the blog if you make one!!

i open reddit for the exact same reasons and i really dislike reddit for the same reasons you do too. even then, i regret opening the floodgate that is hating on reddit on this blog, because it really distracts people from the issue we're gathered here for. and since i opened the floodgate and flooded my inbox and this blog for days, only i can stop it. so i'm urging you and others to please not shit talk about people shit talking about Luigi, unless that person/group of people are extremely influential and could/are actively trying to sway the jury pool in their favour and effectively tainting the jury. like sure, if a certain nazi canadian speaks about Luigi on twitter again and i haven't said anything about it, tell me. and even if i have, you're free to send me an ask about it. or if NYT comes up with another article shilling for the authorities, i will talk about it and you're welcome to talk about it here too. otherwise i will not be allowing random substackers and rednoters and tiktokers vile opinions to be the main theme of the blog, because that's not what this blog is about.

and to everybody reading this, if possible and if you can write to Luigi and spread a word of support, please do. it'll mean a lot and i'm sure everybody's favourite letter writer would like to continue getting letters and connecting with the outside world the only way he can right now.

[thathattedcat]

"The pregnancy plotline won't ruin Helluva Boss, but sometimes babies are annoying"-An essay I wrote on reddit and copied here in hopes it'd gain more traction

I don't want Millie to keep the pregnancy (which fun fact by the way, ya'll are allowed to have opinions on that because she's not real) but I don't think that would be a guaranteed killing blow to the show. For one thing this is a baby we're talkin about, they're basically derpy little monkey creatures (I mean that affectionately. But seriously, babies are the easiest way to tell humans evolved from primates) and there's not exactly a wealth of ways to characterize them, so the amount of shit that could go wrong here is actually pretty limited unless we get a Stewie Griffin clone (which would never happen because if it did it would ruin the show). To me the best case scenarios would be something like Maggie Simpson or Jakjak Parr, they're funny and derpy like babies are in real life but they don't cry all the god damn minute like babies in real life. The worst case scenario would be that the baby ruins sections of episodes with its obnoxious god damn crying (a thing I don't think would be all that likely and even if it did happen there'd be enough complaining for it to be toned down). The medium case scenario is AN episode dedicated to the baby being loud and annoying. And a scenario that could be GLORIOUS and set a new standard if it worked would be if as a gimmick there could be AN episode about trying to firgure out how to get the baby to stop crying so much that thankfully doesn't make the viewer's ears want to commit suicide because it could be presented as a style parody of silent film which would mean no crying sounds!

*Celebration by Kool and The Gang plays*

In conclusion I'm not worried about the baby wrecking the whole show. The worst it can do is wreck a few episodes until getting retooled to not do that, and I don't even think the baby's likely do THAT much damage even. So while I'd prefer that Moxxie and Millie don't have a kid, I don't think it'd ruin the show.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Companion Quests

I have to give Veilguard credit for this if nothing else: they make absolutely zero bones about the importance of companion quests. Like, they literally come out and say, "Your companions have other shit on their minds that will cost them their focus; if you don't take care of unfinished business, you're all fucked". I guess some people didn't take it all that literally. Hell, even people who played ME2 and should understand that Bioware uses the "Everyone needs to be on their A-game or you're fucked" mechanic every once in awhile did not take it literally, at least according to Reddit. Then again, Reddit says a lot of things.

One thing I did discover is that it is still worth wandering up to companions, even if there's no actual option to speak. I first noticed that you get ambient dialogue if you approach two companions talking around the Lighthouse, and noted that sometimes they're around on their own and will talk to you. So I wandered up to Lucanis after eavedropping on a Bellara / Tash conversation ... and lo and behold! There was a "Press E To Talk" option. I did, and got the answer to a question I'd been asking myself pretty much since I recruited the suave bastard: "WHY THE HELL DO YOU LIVE IN A PANTRY?!?"

(Because he's paranoid. That's why. I'd say "whatever helps him get to sleep at night", but he doesn't because a) we apparently don't have night at the Lighthouse, exactly, and b) Spite.)

(Also because "it means I'm closer to the coffee". I feel you, man.)

Anyway, I've spent most of the early afternoon running around Dock Town. I was going to do the Hossberg Wetlands stuff first, but I felt bad for putting Neve's stuff second. Anyway, I thought, "It's just the one quest, and then I'll get to Taash's stuff and maybe even sell all the darkspawn crap I'm somehow carrying around to the survivors of Weisshaupt!"

(Side note: Weisshaupt was insaaaaaaane, especially the final fight there. I thought it was going to be just an archdemon - and doesn't it say something when I can say "just an archdemon"?!? - but I began to have doubts when my ultimate one-shotted it because ... no. I've seen tougher mini-bosses. And then ... Taash is right; TOO MANY HEADS!)

Point is, I thought it was going to be just the one quest, but Veilguard quests never just have one. I tripped over several more, a couple of which were two-parters. But hey, I did murder a lot of Venatori, ended a demon of Desperation under the city (which ... I wish I'd been able to pay more attention to the names of the adds but I was kind of dodge-rolling for my life half the time), found out a little bit more about Neve's "personal business", and saved not one but two iterations of Matt Mercer from Venatori. (The Viper is one; the other is this busker we tracked to a dive bar in the city. We don't get quiiiiiiiiite as much NPC!Matt as we did in Pillars of Eternity, but it feels close sometimes.)

So Minrathous is a little less awful, and I was just going to come back to the Lighthouse to give Harding a present, but then other people wanted to talk to me and hey, now not only have I got stuff Taash wants me to do and the "new quests available in this area" I saw when I hovered over Hossberg on the map, but Emmrich wants to visit a manor outside Nevarra, Bellara wants to hunt up some demon in Arlathan, and stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuff!

Anyway, seriously, I've seen people complete this game in 40 hours and I have no idea how. ...Actually, yes I do. They don't do companion quests and end up like in ME2, without even a Joker to play Ishmael.

[littleapocalypsekitten]

Something I've been thinking of lately in regards to how much I mistrust people. This time, politically. Alright, I know enough that Conservatives Cannot Be Trusted. Even the "mild" ones who aren't full-bore MAGA kind of truck with them, share like-mindedness, even if the milder ones might not like a big orange blowhard because of optics. He's making them look bad by yelling the quiet parts out loud, but those parts are still there. However, I am thinking that Leftists Cannot Be Trusted, either. I truck much more on that side of the political aisle. I want Universal Healthcare more than anything. I'd like to break the backs of corporations. I want to give everyone free homes and utilities as a basic human right. Even a Universal Basic Income might be nice. Work for the luxuries and a higher standard of living, but no one starves. (Hunger doesn't drive people to work, starving people are too weak to work). I am very much on the same page with not just the "liberal" values, but even some things that are considered outright leftist. But I do look askance, sort of have a feeling of looking over my shoulder because of some things I hear from self-proclaimed Leftists and some of the historical leans they've had. I mean, first of all, some of the people I've seen on Youtube are pretty abelist, actually. I see a lot of throwing around of the r-word and poking at people for being autistic. (Granted, even if you're making fun of Elon Musk, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth). There's a lot of down-punching on people with any kind of psychiatric condition (but that's nothing new, the entire world, right, center and left does that, it's just that the left pretends that they don't do it and do it, anyway). There's even someone I talk to on a forum who has severe kidney disease and takes dialysis who has been told in response to pointing out that the aftermath of a Revolution is going to leave things a mess for good while, the kind of mess where he cannot get access to medical care that he should be willing to die for the Revolution. He does not want to die for their idea of a Revolution. People who claim to want to ultimately save people like him are ultimately telling him that he needs to die. Another thing that makes me nervous is just how many "reddit atheists" / "fedora atheists" are self-proclaimed uber-leftists. There is nothing wrong with being an atheist. You do you. I'm theistic in my beliefs, but I don't believe in eternal conscious torment Hell - I gave up being an Evangelical when that belief and being a spiritual used car salesman wasn't working out for me. Still, yes, even though I haven't been to church in decades, I have some religious beliefs. They're a personal method of getting through life for me, nothing less, nothing more. I was very online in the 2000s, including on religious fora. These places got a lot of trolls. I encountered a lot of AGGRESSIVE attempts at deconversion. A lot of leftists were of this stripe and wove their politics into it. It seems like "that crowd" since 2017 or so, split off into two factions: The guys who followed the rather blatant Islamaphobia of certain popular authors and listened to junk about women being "more religious" and therefore inferior because of our soft, tender ladybrains, a fear of trans people and the like getting them really alt-right and in bed with some of the Christian fundamentalist people they used to despise and... those that stayed leftist, went even harder leftist and anti-capitalist and actually started to recognize that Progressive religionists exist and are good allies in the fight against common enemies. They took off their fedoras and got to work in allyship against those who oppress minorities and the poor. Good for us all. However, I look at these same people sometimes and I think, "Alright, once we achieve a more equitable world together, if it is even possible, are you actually a leopard that's going to eat my face?"

[chironsister]

Ok guys. I've come full circle with my insanity. The root of all my problems is that I'm a repressed lesbian with serious mommy issues. I keep feeling magnetic attraction to older women and I've never vocalized it.

Jen has been there for me as a mother figure nonstop replying to my texts and caring about me and bringing me to appointments and crying for me. In this time I've come to realize I have a huge lesbian crush on her that I can't deny. I really really tried to shove it in the back of my mind and be like "oh, I don't really feel that, that's not true bla bla bla" but when it's just this consistent ache and longing and constantly checking texts and you realize omg ... This is what people act like when they have crushes.

The problem is I've only ever felt this strongly about older women. I don't know what it is or why but I am so sure this is how I feel in this moment and it's embarrassing but I've ALWAYS been like this and I feel it so fervently.

I posted on Reddit and everyone was so mean Lol ("cut her out of your life!!! Leave the married woman with the 50 children alone!!!!")

Then one commenter suggested something I had literally NEVER considered: TALKING to her and telling her.

I imagined me doing that and it going well and I thought, what? Is it that easy? Is this a joke?

I don't think she's going to be like, "oh I've loved you all along, too" but I do think she's going to be like "you're mentally ill" at least HAHA and try to comfort me but I really don't know.

She is very straight very normcore and very pretty. I don't know what to do. I do know I have to drink for this. So tomorrow I am buying beer and maybe sending her the following message ... Please someone read and reply or message me or send me a message in a bottle and be like "hey your idea is really good" (best outcome) OR "HEY Megan do NOT do that your idea is really REALLY bad!!!!" (sad :()

Ok Jen,

In maybe my most insane feat ever, I am going to admit something humiliating for me to you. I know I have mommy issues. I know I'm insane. Anyway, I guess somehow the intensity with which you cared for me somehow touched me in such a way that I somehow developed some sort of romantic feelings for you. I obviously know how unrealistic and crazy that is and I'm sorry. I don't know how that even happens but I can't control my feelings.

I found myself really clinging onto your responses and really emotionally affected by them, good or bad, and I don't know. I don't know how that is possible. I thought really long and really hard about whether I was just confusing my feelings of admiration with romantic attachment but I don't think I am.

This is perhaps the most vulnerable, honest thing that has ever come out of my mouth and while I'm proud of that I'm deeply ashamed as well.

Ideally this would not ruin our friendship but I think you're kind of a no-nonsense person who values practicality and status and you may even be ashamed and embarrassed of me, especially after learning this. But I realized it's probably better for me to say something than to hide it both from you and from myself.

I'm sorry, I wish I could control my feelings and I am truly the most repressed lesbian alive. Autocorrect changed repressed to depressed and that works too.

Anyway, I'm sorry. I'll give you time and space and if you want to talk again that's ok, and if not that's ok too.

You're kind of my lifeline right now also so the idea of you completely distancing yourself from me is scary because I don't know what I'd do. I have no idea what is wrong with me. I think some things are inside thoughts but maybe sometimes inside thoughts feel better when they're outside thoughts.