#id like to clarify we're not even dating

[whoisenver]

imagine waiting for a call for three hours that ends up lasting 10 minutes..

romance is dumb tbh

[coelpts]

alright, guess we're complaining now.

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Friday, May 26th, 2023 changelog which reads, "On web, clicking anywhere in a post’s header now opens that post. Previously, you had to click specifically on the blog name."

Second image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 changelog which reads, "To clarify a point made in last Friday’s post: on web, clicking the reblogged-from blog name in a reblog’s post header now takes you to that blog, not their reblog. Clicking in the empty space in the post’s header, and in the header of each reblog trail item, now takes you to that specific post in the blog view popup. This is one of a series of updates we’re making to the reblog consumption experience across all platforms, to make it more intuitive and consistent, especially for new users." End ID.]

Tumblr, this change is bad. A lot of other people have already shared their own complaints for this new and awful system, but it's time for me to properly throw my hat in the ring instead of at-ing you directly due to user error. Whoops.

[UPDATE 6/11/2023] HORRIBLE NEWS, EVERYONE! This change has hit mobile. There is no longer any way to access the previous version of a post except through theme reblog chaining on desktop. I've added some extra fun comments both as an edit to this post and as a reblog so nobody misses out.

All my complaints are in the read more because this got LONG.

TL;DR- This change breaks a major signifier used across the site, removes post functionality only to replace it with redundant blog links, and completely destroys a primary mode of social interaction that's been used on Tumblr for over a decade. Here's the Tumblr Staff support link so you can give feedback on how bad this change is.

Part One: Signifiers and Consistency

This is my biggest point, so it will be a bit of a doozy. Strap in.

This change is about making Tumblr operation 'intuitive and consistent' by unifying behavior between like-designed parts of the site. Now on the face that's not a bad reason to do things, and making sure users are able to intuit what a button does based on its properties is good design. I'll give an example:

Hearts symbolize the 'Like' function on Tumblr. The heart button on a post adds it to your Likes, the Likes option on your account is accompanied by that same heart, and Likes show up in post notes with that heart. This heart, then, becomes a consistent and reliable signifier. If you see a heart button on Tumblr, then whatever it's attached to probably has something to do with Likes.

So, back to the change. This change relates to the signifier of the 'Tumblr blog url link'. The idea is thus- on other parts of the site, such as the Search tab on mobile and on a blog in the dashboard tray, you will see related or similar blog suggestions like these:

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example blog with the 'Blogs like this one' tray visible, populated with four example blogs.

Second image: A second cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example of the Search page on mobile with the 'Check out these blogs' feature highlighted, where two example blog cards are shown. End ID.]

These suggestions are Tumblr blog urls paired with their icon and a little bit of their blog, either the title or some recent posts of theirs. If you click on that url title, the link follows through to that blog. So there's the signifier: click on the url, go to the blog.

But now we have a bit of a snag. What about these?

[Image ID: A cropped reblog screenshot. The crop shows the Tumblr urls of the reblogger @coelpts and reblogged @coelpts-artchives with the reblog symbol between them, the rebloggers icon, and the date that this reblog was posted. End ID.]

Well, these LOOK like Tumblr blog url links. They're styled in the same way. In fact, the reblogger even has a blog icon next to it! So all signs point to these url links pointing directly to a Tumblr blog if clicked on. After this change, that's exactly what they do- so, like, no problem, right?

But, hold on. There's another signifier here! These aren't JUST Tumblr blog url links! This is…

[Image ID: First image: The former image of a cropped reblog screenshot, focused on the urls and reblog icon.

Second image: The Tumblr reblog icon. End ID.]

Our good friend, the Reblog button! That's another classic Tumblr signifier, and it sits right next to the Like button I pontificated about. Reblogs are an integral part of Tumblr, and on top of every single reblogged post you will see that icon. And would you look at that- it's even the same color as the second url link!

Those url links that established the 'url link' signifier that we talked about before, in the search page and on the dashboard tray, aren't attached to any posts. But this url is, and the reblog symbol is right next to it. The reblog signifier modifies the url link signifier. This link should go to the reblog from this user. Right? Because it is a reblog FROM that url link- so that's where it should go! And that's where it used to go, before this update.

[EDIT] I came back to fix some typos I noticed but while I was away I tested mobile to see if this change hit the app yet. It has not, but what I saw instead confirmed the above point- on mobile, selecting the reblogged's url ALSO highlights the reblog icon next to it! These two signifiers are connected, and should be read together.

By changing the url links to be more 'consistent' with other url links across the site, a major signifier that keeps the site together has been broken entirely. What should lead to a reblog- something that is clearly shown through use of a recognizable, consistent symbol- no longer does.

Part Two: Redundant Redundancy

Okay, so that's not all this change does. It also adds a brand new functionality to the post header- the white space is now clickable and serves as a replacement for the original 'to this post' link on the reblogger's side of things. These headers also generate for anyone who adds to the post, and you can click through OP too.

[Image ID: The cropped reblog screenshot from before, but with the word 'Clickable!' written in purple in the blank space above the date. End ID.]

This is also part of that design unity thing; on mobile tapping anywhere on the post header takes you to the post, and you can only tap on the blog url of the person the reblogger reblogged from. That makes sense, since on mobile you're maneuvering your fingers on a small screen and tapping a tiny url next to another tiny url is bound to cause problems.

I don't necessarily have a problem with this on the base of it. I have opinions about mobile and desktop parity that aren't really important here, but it does nicely showcase an issue I DO have- most of the changes made to reblogged posts are completely redundant and unnecessary.

---

[UPDATE] This change has hit mobile now, and it's added a fun new complaint about desktop-mobile parity that is now very suddenly a problem; the headers generated from reblogs with content don't have any responsive feedback for tapping them on mobile. OPs does, but any old Joes doesn't. This is not true on desktop, where on-hover a post header will change color; on mobile they stay completely white and plain with no on-tap color change. On top of that, the new headers are actually harder to see on mobile! There's no clear way to actually see where the header starts and the post continues! Tapping a header was deeply confusing because I got no confirmation I did anything of value until I was wisked away to a post- there's no signifier on mobile that this is a thing you can press.

This is what I was talking about in regards to desktop and mobile parity that wasn't important at the time- what's good for mobile isn't always good for desktop and vice versa. Having a post header be tappable on mobile instead of op's url link, where you have less fine motor control and there's a lot of small buttons clustered together, makes sense; but making all post headers into buttons on desktop isn't a good idea because they aren't 'buttons' and it's very hard to make it clear they are. I mentioned signifiers above and that applies to this change- there just aren't enough signs that show these are all buttons now and where they go. The fact that they're completely unresponsive on mobile really is the cherry on top, because you do not KNOW it's a button unless you tap it accidentally or already know from desktop that all headers link to reblogged posts. The design has been made more confusing; what was a functional affordance on mobile has been applied to desktop without limits or concern, making the original mobile affordance more confusing and producing a poor signifier.

Alright, that's enough from future me. Let's get back to the original post, about how this change that introduces a bad signifier is also redundant.

---

First of all, it's not like clicking the link url just threw you into a post abyss when you clicked it. Clicking through to a reblog…still took you to that blog, both on mobile and on desktop. On mobile all you need to look through the blog proper is to pull down and refresh; on desktop it's even easier, because following a link pulls up the dashboard tray for that blog with the blogs url immediately below their icon.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now shown on the blog @coelpts. The post is on the left, and the user info card is on the right. End ID.]

This change then removes one step to get to the front of a blogs page, and puts the original longer path on the new clickable header. They go to the same place, the first is just exactly one click faster. You could do the exact same thing by clicking the user icon instead.

But wait! We can get even more redundant! You know what else is standard Tumblr functionality on desktop? The hover card!

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the card for @coelpts-artchives below the icon. It has the blog title and description alongside three popular posts. A purple arrow points to it from the url. End ID.]

If you hover over any url link for about a second, a card for that blog will pop up. This tray lets you follow a blog, send asks, report them, check their popular posts and do a bunch of stuff straight from the dashboard. It also takes you directly to their blog if you click the url link on the card itself! That's right, there was already a way to go directly to the blog the previous user reblogged from! And every single blog url link does this, too- not just on post headers, but even in the text of a post itself.

So before this change, you had five ways of interacting on a post:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's post.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's post.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

One of these is redundant, but that's fine- it's just how url links work, and it's better that all urls can do that. Signifiers, we talked about this. But every other link goes to a different place, including the previous version of the post.

After this change, there's six, with changes in bold:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the white space header next to a user > User's post.

We now have three ways of getting to the blog of the person who reblogged this post, two ways to get to the blog of the person they reblogged from, ONE way to get to the post, and ONLY if someone added to it!

This change removes functionality and replaces it with needless redundancy. As I said near the top of this section, we could already get to the blog through a reblog link- so all this does is remove getting to previous post iterations.

Part Three: Broken Chains

And hey, let's talk about previous post iterations. Y'know, something that's super important on Tumblr? Different versions of a post float around the site for years- some have been around for a decade or more. And some are only available for one post.

As I'm sure everyone knows, unless a group of tags are peer reviewed and added to the body of the post itself or are appended to the next reblog in the chain, they only exist on that version of the post. This means every iteration of a post is functionally unique, and long before we were given the ability to check the tags on a reblog directly, the only way you could check the tags for a post was by checking every iteration. This practice still exists today with 'prev tags'- users still find it useful to gesture to a previous version of a post and show what other people were thinking or add their own thoughts.

Remember the new redundant links? All that means you can't get to a previous version of a post anymore. Those tags are functionally lost now, unless you dig through that persons blog or through all the notes of a specific post. Sure that may not be a problem for a post with 300 notes or so- but what about 27,000? What about a post that was reblogged three weeks ago? If you're trying to wrangle Tumblr's dodgy search function on the blog itself, what if the post has no text to search for, or if the blog has it's search function turned off? Any post tagged with prev tags now directs to literally nothing. Anyone arguing or conversing in the tags is now speaking at air to everyone else.

There is still one way to trace reblogs. You can access the blog itself- not the dashboard tray, but the actual url.tumblr.com blog- by using a hidden link in the meatball menu off the side of the post.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the meatballs menu accessed. The first option, showing the date of the reblog, is highlighted. A purple arrow points to this option from the meatballs menu icon and a circle is drawn around it. End ID.]

From there, you can track a post backwards through proper blogs. The reblogged posts will have a 'via Blog' note on them, and you can follow that trail all the way up a chain.

…Unless someone doesn't have a theme enabled. Without a theme, a user won't have a url.tumblr.com domain and it will redirect to the dashboard tray, breaking the chain. And, as of an older update, blogs by default do not have themes enabled- so any and all new users suddenly roadblock this process. Oops.

All of this means that what was once a convenient social aspect of Tumblr has been completely severed with little to no alternative. Trying to wade through hundreds upon hundreds of notes to find the one you're looking for is tedious, time consuming, and potentially impossible if the post is large enough.

Finale: What Now?

Right, so- this sucks. I didn't even go into how this makes it tough to find and block cr/pt/t/rfs if a post passes into their hateful space, or how this makes it harder to copy post links without tracking shit because it's in a different menu now, or how it's now more difficult to access a previous post for reporting purposes. All that shit's also true, but they're side effects of the big three problems the changes introduce.

This change is ultimately user-hostile and seems to follow the worrying trend of 'other sites are doing it, so let's do it too!' Tumblr's been kicking about recently. Tumblr Live, the new change to images and videos, gating viewing posts behind making an account, and attempted algorithm feeds through 'Best Stuff First' and 'Based On Your Likes' are what immediately come to mind. Tumblr's defining, driving aspect for it's continued existence has and always will be its uniqueness. Pretending to be Instagram and TikTok and fucking Twitter will do it absolutely no favors- all it does is undermine what actually makes this site, as a social platform, interesting and vibrant.

But it's one thing to just complain and it's another entirely to provide feedback. Here's a link to the Tumblr Staff support page. They've walked back on new features before when we've made a ruckus- the Shop icon replacement is on the forefront of my mind right now- so it's time to make another.

TL;DR 2- This change makes browsing Tumblr more difficult than it needs to be. It breaks previously established signifiers and removes vital social functions only to add redundant and empty features to cater to a new userbase instead of actually improving the site for the users they already have. It's not a good change.

Thanks for reading ✌️

[melliotwrites]

hi again!

as a follow up to those that asked for a more detailed breakdown of your shows, i was wondering if i myself would be able to create a traditional (wiki style) synopsis of the show to improve accessibility? i know it’s a pretty laborious process, and totally get why there isn’t a broken down summary yet. if so, id have no problem passing it on to you guys to share, rather than posting myself :)

Sure, you can make wiki-style synopses of the current Adamandi and TAOPP YouTube recordings (with the caveat that it's specific to the date of production -- we're revising both shows, and with only one production of each online right now, it's kind of impossible for an outside eye to differentiate actor/director interpretation from what's actually written down in the script. Accordingly, we'd personally be a bit uncomfortable with a summary of, for example, the Youtube recording of the Princeton University Players 2022 TAOPP performance standing in as a summary of TAOPP the Musical, if that makes sense.) And as long as people don't think we wrote the summaries, you can feel free to write them and share them on your social medias/with other fans. Obviously, the full story of Ghost Story is not yet available, but you can feel free to similarly summarize the concert on YouTube in a wiki-style article.

To clarify, we do have outlines of all the shows, we just don't feel comfortable sharing them online for intellectual property reasons. What we share of Melliot musicals are works in progress, unlike companies that make their revenue from online streaming or are based around providing online content (e.g., Starkid Productions.) It's more like offering you a peek into our sketchbook than displaying a painting at a gallery. While we do post silly snippets from our writing process on Tumblr, at the same time, we are actively writing and rewriting and shopping our shows around to professional theater places (that would be very angry to find an outline of one of our shows online, etc.) Heck, we're still working on our current Ghost Story draft until our residency's up, so we don't even know what our outline will look like in a week, much less by the time a producer might dredge it up by Googling the right combination of Ghost-Story-related keywords.

We also wouldn't feel comfortable with giving people any sort of "official synopsis" to read instead of watching the musicals. We worry a centralized, simplified explanation would take away the kinds of complicated ideas and competing readings that we want fans to have of our shows -- they're the length and complexity they are for a reason. As long as a fan-generated summary is just one of many interpretations and not intended to take the place of people interpreting the show for themselves (or to take the place of watching a production of the show itself, especially ones that will get clearer with a fuller production like Ghost Story), that's fine by us.

I hope that makes sense! I appreciate the sentiment of sharing the show with your friends right now, but it will definitely be in a fuller, more public, and more accessible form later down the line that will hopefully clarify some things. For now it's just fun to have fans excited about this peek into the show, and we're looking forward to showing off more when we get the chance!

~Mel and Elliot

[m34gs]

Twisted Wonderland Saw AU Ask Time! 👀

Everything is perfectly set. Months of planning, preparing, testing, and many late night are finally paying their dues. Victims? Secured. Traps? Tested and will work without a hitch. Witnesses? Never been a problem. Now, time to sit back and watch what will... what's this? Why is their phone ringing? Who would call them at this...? Wait. They pale and scramble to dig their phone out of their pocket. Caller ID says "Yuu". Reflexes snap and the phone call is answered.

"Uh hello? It's me. We're still on for tonight, right?"

Tonight? They blink before everything rushes to their brain and the only coherent thought is, "Shit, I had plans with Yuu".

Please tell me... 1) What were their plans with Yuu 2) What is their excuse? and 3) How long do they keep Yuu waiting?

I am SO EXCITED to answer this ask!!!! (further discussion with Kim clarified that rescheduling is a last resort; the boys would much rather avoid it if possible, and I fully agree!) In the interests of this post not becoming an entire novel all on its own, I will be grouping the characters into their respective dorms and giving one response per dorm.

No explicit details on the traps in this one; I don't think there are any warnings I would put for this. The rest is under a cut simply because it is so long! Hope you enjoy :D

Heartslaybul:

What were the plans with Yuu: The plans were tea-time with Yuu's five Heartslaybul friends, and then a sleepover with Ace and Deuce. Trey is the only one who showed up on time, though Cater said he is on his way. Riddle is the one Yuu called, as it's very odd for him to be late.

What is their excuse: Riddle would have gone over his plans meticulously. There is no way he would miss anything that was written on his calendar for the day...except that he wrote "tea with Yuu" on the wrong date. He owns up to that mistake easily without letting on as to what he is currently up to (he's gotten much better at owning up to his mistakes and allowing himself to have human errors). He then says he is just out for a walk with Ace and Deuce, to cover for them as well.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: He tells Yuu it will likely be an hour as they "need to come back home and then get dressed in appropriate teatime attire" (Yuu doesn't question this, since they figure there probably is some rule about teatime attire that Riddle wants to observe).

Savanaclaw:

What were the plans with Yuu: Watching a Spelldrive Tournament on TV and having snacks together. Something cozy and casual. Except, the tournament comes on in 5 minutes and Yuu's Savanaclaw friends haven't shown up yet, so they call Ruggie (Yuu finds Ruggie to be the more responsible one when it comes to being on time, though it should be noted that Leona tries very hard when it comes to spending time with Yuu).

What is their excuse: Ruggie spouts some excuse about how some family stuff came up for Leona. Leona's trying to manage a crisis from a distance. They'll still be there, he says. It's a good excuse because Yuu is the kind of person to be understanding and not pry into the affairs of the Royal Family.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: Ruggie says Jack will be there in 10 minutes. Ruggie and Leona will follow when the "crisis" is dealt with. Leona makes sure the trap will be over in less than 30 minutes.

Octavinelle:

What were the plans with Yuu: Dinner and drinks after hours at the lounge, and Yuu would be spending the evening at the trio's home (firmly believe those three live together in this AU). Yuu shows up a little before closing time, but now it's last call and the waitstaff are starting to clean things up and it's creeping closer to the closing hour, and it's entirely unusual for Floyd to not have found them and hugged them by now...

What is their excuse: Azul answers the phone. The excuse he gives is "there was a disruption at one of our other locations in the city; and unfortunately it escalated to needing myself there to resolve it". Yuu understands customer service jobs well. They shudder to think what awful kind of customer must have caused such a disruption that Azul felt the need to go there with both Jade AND Floyd.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: Floyd advocates that they should completely abandon the trap and go find Shrimpy. He's upset that Shrimpy has been waiting so long for him and he wants to hug them immediately. Jade shows a bit more restraint but does suggest they move the trap up to tomorrow. Azul will not allow this; he insists it needs to be done tonight. However, he's willing to compromise. He sends Floyd and Jade to greet Yuu immediately and make them feel comfortable and happy, and he will oversee the trap by himself this time. He will join them when he arrives (estimated time for Azul: 2 hours. Less if the victim dies before then).

Scarabia:

What were the plans with Yuu: Going to a festival together. (Listen, your mafia au has given me Festival Brain Rot, lol). Yuu is ready to go, but Kalim and Jamil, who insisted on picking them up, aren't there yet...and they're worried plans have changed.

What is their excuse: Yuu calls Jamil. He quickly spins them some sort of tale of Kalim not being able to decide what to wear. At the same time, he uses Kalim's phone to text another worker for the Asim family and request they come to a location nearby to deliver festival clothes for both him and Kalim to put on, and for the car and driver to wait at that location for them.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: It's Kalim's trap, and he always has his designed to run from a distance so that he doesn't have to watch the person die if they fail. They can leave as soon as it is set up; so Yuu only ends up waiting twenty minutes. This time would not change much with Jamil's traps, as he makes inescapable ones, so it doesn't matter to him if the person makes it through or not. Jamil only has to step away momentarily to deal with the trap if the person succeeds and survives the trap, which he can easily excuse as some duty or other to the Asim family that he needs to manage.

Pomefiore:

What were the plans with Yuu: Spa night. It was going to be a really relaxing time for all of them.

What is their excuse: Vil is extremely upset with himself for forgetting (He stuck a sticky note to the calendar regarding something related to his acting work, and the note covered up the spa night with Yuu). He tells Yuu honestly what happened with the calendar. As the cover story, he says that he is just out with Rook and Epel on a walk.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: Vil doesn't want to leave the trap because he feels it's his responsibility. Rook volunteers to go and look after Yuu immediately. Epel would feel guilty leaving Vil alone, so he stays. Besides, Rook is better at lying than he is. He needs Rook and Vil to help him out if Yuu were to ask any questions. Rook tells Yuu that Vil and Epel are getting some groceries to cook a late dinner, and they are all back within an hour.

Ignihyde:

What were the plans with Yuu: Idia and Ortho were going to have an anime marathon with Yuu. Yuu is at their place, waiting outside to be let in. Idia actually receives the notification from their doorbell/surveillance system about half a second before Yuu's call lights up his phone. Luckily for him, all his traps can be managed from a distance.

What is their excuse: Idia makes up some excuse about misreading the time and going out to pick up a specific snack food he wanted to have for their marathon night.

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: They are nearly there instantly, just stopping on the way to buy a metric fuck-ton of snacks to add credibility to their story. Yuu only waits about 10 minutes. Idia checks on the trap periodically using his phone which is connected to the cameras, but Yuu is used to him checking his phone once in a while during conversations or movies since he plays a lot of video games with time-sensitive quests.

Diasomnia:

What were the plans with Yuu: Dinner and movie night together as a group. Yuu is hosting, but no one has arrived yet...did they get the date wrong? They call Lilia.

What is their excuse: Lilia tells Yuu a (far too detailed) story about how his lunch disagreed very much with his bowels and the other three were helping him out with getting medicine and lost track of time. They will be there shortly, sans Lilia who will stay behind for his "stomach troubles".

How long do they keep Yuu waiting: Malleus teleports there instantly, and he is deeply sorry (perhaps he kisses their hand in apology?👀👀👀). Silver and Sebek have to travel across the city. It takes them about 20 minutes. Lilia stays for the duration of the trap. He arrives about an hour later, claiming his stomach issues to have "resolved".

Here are my thoughts! Thank you so much for this ask, it was a lot of fun to answer!!! Let me know what you think :)

[justalilpearlie]

Hey. I just want to put this here. It's... a little bit fucked up to try to force your partner to kin a character? Especially if they're a pyschological kin, which from your posts so far, I'm pretty they are, as I think you said they're a fictive in a past post. Which is also a little bit fucked up, because, like... you're trying to force somebody to form an fictive alter (alters are formed out of trauma. Not only is it unhealthy to try to force them to form, but literally the only way to form them is fucking trauma, and you said you're 'trying to make them kin', which?? Is implying you're traumatizing them???). Yeah. Just maybe... maybe think about that one a little bit. Maybe re-evalutate a few things there, pal. Even if they aren't a fictive, trying to force somebody to form a severe pyschological delusional attachement to a character is probably not the healthiest thing to do to anybody, let alone your partner.

1st of all you dont know my partner or me at all

second of all, he's a fictive yes, but he has one set source, im not forcing them to "form a fictive". my partner is a fictive already, that has nothing to do w anything.

third of all, my partner has both IRLs and Kins, I have nothing to do w either of them other than sometimes poiting out "oh this character is kinda you coded", sometimes he just identifies w them and puts it as ID, idk in what way he kins, ik some are psychological and some are unlabeled/he hasnt told me.

what we do in our friendgroup in general is just "kinassigning" which is fairly normal- i JOKE about "forcing him", but I've showed him my own artwork of majormoon and said "oh yes thats us", specially the unicorn hybrid scott takes.

we have a mc server recreating Last Life block by block. he willingly offered to do that with me/for me and spent time making a modpack so we could play together and he could get into Life Series. which mind you the only reason they havent yet is cause theyre already hyperfixed on other medias, its the same issue i had w outsiders for months til i finally decided to get into it and i LOVED it.

you got no idea abt my partner and i's relationship, we're just very likely to kin couples most of the time, I've gotten kins/attachments to his media partners, he's shown me new animes or games he gets into saying headfirst "this is me, and this is my partner, you!" and ive gone "yeah seems fair", EVEN if i dont end up getting attached to them cause it just makes him happy, just like it makes me happy

we already planned ahead to match majormoon pfps once he gets into life series cus he doesnt like having pfps of shows he doesnt personally know to not have those awkward "omg u like this??" "no i barely know abt it.." interactions

my partner and i have actually the most healthy relationship ive had in a long while, we've been going 9 months pretty strong and i aint forcing that man into anything, yet again why i try to CLARIFY every single time i make a joke of that kind.

also when i say "my partner", he's a fictive, not a whole system, he's part of a system. i think tahts where you got the "you're trying to force them to split" thing from. no, im not dating the whole system, my partner is only one member of the system.

you barely even know my partners name and their sys name, if you even do know that from my intro post. this is honestly baffling to me imma show em this on discord, specially my husband once he fronts again

[princesscedar]

The fact that I don't have any more goals for the future besides wanting to /live/ a long time is kinda sad n funny if u think about it lmao I'm just stagnate

[nachotrash]

MORE INCORRECT QUOTES WITH MY MOOTS

ft: @catchmewiddershins @lilikags and @paradise-creator // no haikyuu boys this time

Pauline: No more making fun of me when I misuse dated cultural references, alright? Are we cowabunga on this? Wid, sighing: Fine. We're cowabunga.

------------------

Pauline: We're having a baby. Shiyu: Oh, congradu- Wid, slamming adoption papers onto teh table: It's you, sign here.

---------------

Pauline: Why are there little handprints all over the walls? Shiyu, whispering: Why are there little handprints all over the walls? Wid, whispering: Because I have little hands. Shiyu: Because they have little hands.

------------------

Wid: I was born for politics. I have great hair and I love lying.

--------------

Lili: Life keeps fucking me and I can't remember the safeword.

---------------

Wid: Pros and cons of dating me. Wid: Pros. You'll be the cute one. Wid: Cons. Holy shit, where do I begin-

(cons. you're the smart one😔)

----------------

Shiyu: Sure, you're verified on twitter, but are you verified in the eyes of god?

-------------

Pauline: Theater kids are just choir kids who joined forces with the band and strings kids.

-------------

Shiyu: Did you just call me a shrimp, you asshole?! I'm still growing, dammit!

(*lipbites in 166 cm*)

--------------

Wid: I don't dab. I stab.

(nOw WhEarE HAvE i SeEn ThIs BeFoRe)

----------------

Shiyu: I scare people a lot because I walk very softly and they don't hear me enter rooms. So when they turn around, I'm just kind of there and their fear fuels me.

(t-pose to assert dominance)

---------------

Shiyu, as a child, reading their school assignment out loud: I love my library because... Shiyu, mouthing words while writing: I love reading, fuck you.

(lmao baby nacho really be bold)

--------------------

Shiyu: The ‘how the fucks’ and 'why are you so dumbs’ don’t matter. All that matters is that I have a new gun.

------------------

Lili: It's not ugly, just aesthetically challenged.

----------------

Pauline: The last time I went to an urgent care clinic, I checked off 'excessive crying' on the symptom list, and then the nurse got really confused and said that was meant for babies.

--------------

Pauline: All of your existences are confusing. The Squad: How so? Pauline: Your presence is annoying, but the thought of anything bad happening to any of you upsets me.

(we are the squad now)

---------------

Lili: Blackmail is such an ugly word. I prefer extortion. The X makes it sound cool.

---------------

Wid: Real life should have a fucking search function, or something. Wid: I need my socks.

------------------

Pauline: New year, same me. Because I'm perfect.

(yes yes you are how dare you)

------------

Shiyu: Yeah I'm LGBT. Shiyu: cuLt leader. Shiyu: God hates me personally. Shiyu: cowBoy hat. Shiyu: *sniffles* Trying my best.

(my asexual ass be like;)

-------------

Wid: *plays shreksophone* Wid: Woo. Wid: Time to listen to this on loop for all eternity. Shiyu: ...Genius coping mechanism my friend

---------------

Shiyu: Treat spiders the way you want to be treated. Pauline: Killed without hesitation.

----------

Pauline: The next time I open up to someone, it'll be my autopsy.

---------------

Pauline: Sometimes, I don’t realize an event was traumatic until I tell it as a funny story and notice everyone is staring at me weird.

-----------------

Pauline: I hate Lili. Shiyu: "Hate' is a strong word. Pauline: I have strong opinions.

(oh no)

----------

Wid: How does that even work? Shiyu, mocking them: hOw dO yOu UsE a cOmPUteR aNd KnOw wHaTS GoiNg oN iT DoEsNt mAke SeNSe?! Wid: Your face doesnt make sense.

(...fair enough)

------------

Pauline: Get in, loser, we’re committing vehicular manslaughter!

-----------

Pauline: My stomach growled super loud in French. Pauline: I would like to clarify, my stomach did not speak in French. It growled during French class. Shiyu: Bonjour. Lili: Le growl. Wid: Hon hon hon, feed me a baguette.

(reminds me of the 'ill speak french between your legs' tumblr legend and im wheezing)

------------------

Shiyu: *tapping fingers on table* Lili: *taps fingers back furiously* Wid: …What’s going on? Pauline: Morse code. They’re talking. Shiyu: -.-- ..- .-. / - …. . / -.-. ..- - . … - Lili: *slams hands on table* YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

-----------------

Shiyu: For self defense reasons, I'm going to pretend to be a burglar and you guys have to act wisely. Wid, Lili, & Pauline: Okay. Shiyu: If you don't want to die, give me all your money. Wid: Bold of you to assume I have money. Lili: Bold of you to assume I don't want to die. Pauline: Bold of you to assume I can die.

(pauline is a goddess. goddesses cant die)

------------------

Lili: If I punch myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong? Wid: Strong. Shiyu: Weak. Pauline: An idiot, is what your are.

(as long as you dont flinch or scream youre strong. unless you get punched in the gut by someone like ushijima ofc)

--------------------

Shiyu: Those darn tall old people. Wid: Darm em' indeed. Pauline: Don't worry, they'll be gone soon enough. Lili: *sharpening knife* Yes. Dead. The Squad: Lili: Hahaha. Lili: ...Is this self-destructive behaviour?

-----------------

Wid: Oh god, they texted you ‘hi.’’ punctuation only means one thing, Pauline. They're mad at you. Pauline: No, it's Shiyu. They're just being gramatically correct! *meanwhile* Shiyu: And then I used a period so they'd know that I'm mad at them. Lili: A period doesn't say 'I'm mad', it says 'you're dead to me'. Shiyu: I stand by my choice.

------------------

Wid: What do we think of Shiyu? *pause* Lili: *sighs* Nice pal. Pauline: I think they're gay.

=------------

Wid: Where is Shiyu? Pauline: I'll do you one better, who is Shiyu?? Lili: Here's a better question, why is Shiyu?

(i dont know man. ive been trying to figure it out for the last few years)

--------------

Wid: On the count of three, what’s your favorite cake? Wid & Lili: One, two, three- Wid & Lili: Chocolate cake, peanutbutter frosting, and chocolate chunks! Shiyu: Our turn, Pauline! One, two, three- Shiyu: Vanilla! Pauline: I’ve never had cake before. What is cake?

----------------

Pauline: I am darkness. I am an power. I am your worst nightmare. I could kill a man in more ways than you can imagine. I am the night. I am fury, I am a weapon, I am- Wid: A doll. Shiyu: A cinnamon roll. Lili: A sweetheart. Pauline: Pauline: ...stop it.

(cant deny the truth bby)

---------------

Wid, Pauline & Shiyu: *screaming* Lili: *runs into the room* What's wrong, Shiyu?! Wid: Wait, why are you asking Shiyu that when Pauline and I are also here? Lili: Because Shiyu wouldn't scream unless it's an emergency. You two scream whenever you have the chance.

(i mean... its true )

-----------------

Pauline: What’s wrong? You look 10 seconds away from ripping someone’s throat out. Wid: Fucking Shiyu and Lili were trying to invoke one of the minor gods again last night. I didn't get an ounce of sleep, thanks to their bloody chanting.

(manifests dvalin cause i wanna ride on their back and fall off)

-------------------

Lili: Wake me up- Wid: Before you go go Shiyu: When September ends Pauline: WAKE ME UP INSIDE

(cant wake up- WAKE ME UP INSIDE)

--------------------

Shiyu, watching Pauline & Lili panic : What's going on? Wid: Pauline is having a midlife crisis and Lili is just having a crisis.

--------------

Lili: *Gasp* Pauline: wHAT?? Lili: What if soy milk is just milk introducing itself in Spanish? Pauline: *inhales* Wid, in another room with Shiyu: Why can I hear screeching?

(shiyu: same shit different day)

----------------------------

Shiyu: Christmas is cancelled. Wid: You can't cancel a holiday. Shiyu: Keep it up, Wid, and you'll lose New Year's too. Wid: What does that mean? Shiyu: Lili, take New Year's away from Wid.

--------------------

Pauline: So, are they your friend or... Lili: They’re like Wid, but if Wid was ordered to be around you. Pauline: Oh, so Shiyu. Lili: Precisely!

(if its about how annoyed i always look then you ahve a point)

----------------

Wid: You’re just being paranoid. Again. Pauline: When have I been paranoid? Wid: Um, when you first met Lili you thought they were an undercover cop…? Pauline: No one has a wart that big, I thought it was a surveillance camera! Wid: And last year you were sure Shiyu was a mermaid! Pauline: They hate wearing shirts! COINCIDENCE?! *Later, when Pauline’s theory is proven wrong* Wid: Do you have anything to say for yourself? Pauline: I still think Shiyu is a mermaid.

(id gladly be one)

--------------------

*Wid drunkenly wanders around the manor and Lili is drunkenly giggling* Shiyu, completely sober: *sighs* Well, looks like it's just me and you against the wold, Pauline. Pauline, going to their room: Nope, just you. *shuts door*

----------------

Wid: We need to distract these guys. Lili: Leave it to me. Lili: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss. Pauline & Shiyu: *immediately begin arguing*

(*pulls out dictionary*)

------------------

Police: You’re under arrest for trying to carry three people on a single motorcycle. Shiyu, with Wid and Lili behind them: Wait, what do you mean THREE?! Police: Yes…three. Shiyu: Oh, my God— What the fuck!? Police: Wha- Shiyu: Pauline FUCKING FELL OFF!

----------------------

Wid: What is love? Pauline: An emotional minefield. Shiyu: A neurochemical reaction. Lili: Baby don't hurt me.

(BECAUSE FUCK EMOTIONS)

--------------------

Pauline: I currently have 7 empty notebooks and I have no idea what to put in them. Any suggestions? Wid: Put spaghetti in it. Pauline: I am currently taking suggestions from everyone but you. Lili: Put spaghetti in it. Pauline: I am currently taking suggestions from everyone but you two. Shiyu: Put spaghetti in it. Pauline: I am no longer taking suggestions.

------------------

Shiyu, pointing to the wall: What color is this? Pauline: Gray. Lili: Grey. Shiyu, turning to Wid: Now tell them what color you think it is. Wid: Dark white.

[lesenbyan]

[Image ID: screen shot of tags reading "#i've always thought people give Hitomi too much of a hard time for this #it's more kyouske's fault than anything the damn boy ain't worth it #even rebellion is like yeah he's a shit bf actually hitomi's not having fun" (punctuation and typos fixed by me) /end ID]

See I do not at all agree with this take. Why is it Kouske's fault that two girls are in love with him? Why is it his fault Hitomi's ultimatum helped fuel Sayaka's depression spiral? He didn't do anything. Even if he is a bad bf neither of them would know it bc neither of them have seen him in a relationship before Hitomi. He hasn't manipulated either of them into this, he hasn't asked, he's not even aware. Why would this be his fault? He literally did nothing to contribute to the situation other than exist.

Like I'm not gonna argue fault bc I don't think there is fault or blame to lay. This is just how life works sometimes. Sometimes you do the right thing, the polite thing, and it hurts someone still. Sometimes you don't know there's something else happening and you decide to put your foot down, or you do know something is happening and you have to put your foot down anyway bc you gotta take care of you and sometimes doing that means confessing to a boy before waiting makes it fester into resentment for the friend who also likes him but won't make her move. There is no fault.

And I'd argue, regardless of what Sayaka says, we don't see enough in the nightmare arc to call him a bad bf. What we see is her asking if he's free for a date and him saying he has to practice his violin. He was a violinist before Hitomi and he will be after, he's not a bad bf for prioritizing what he wants to do with his career. Perhaps not a good bf for her, but not a bad bf overall. I'm not a bad SO if I tell the gf we can't have a date this Friday bc I got a Dr's appt, it's the same thing. She asked if he had plans. He had plans. They're both established to be very busy kids. Sure! She gets upset and we're told this isn't the first time, but that doesn't mean he's never made time for her, that he doesn't go out of his way in other ways. A relationship is far more than the mistimed dates. We literally do not see enough of the relationship to judge whether or not he's a bad bf bc Hitomi's not one of the focus characters and neither is Kyouske. It's not their story.

Sure, Sayaka says the nightmare was inevitable since she's dating 'captain oblivious' (as my subs translate anyway) but she's not a reliable narrator and has been proven such by claiming Homura waited for Mami to die before jumping in and not giving Madoka time to correct her. Plus as a teen seeing a friend date someone you do/used to like? You're gonna make rationalizations like that until you actually get over it and getting over it can take time. Sayaka doesn't wanna lose her friendship while she sorts her emotions. And maybe he is oblivious, maybe he doesn't realize she's trying to spend more time with him. But that doesn't make him a bad bf, it means he and Hitomi need to communicate better- and every relationship has those moments.

Like, of course, tagger can keep their opinions. It's fiction and we're all allowed our own ideas and hcs. But I felt like clarifying my stance bc I find Hitomi a fascinating character study as the one who would be the MC if this was a slice of life anime and not the tragic magical girl one we have.

God how shitty do you think Hitomi felt when Sayaka's body was discovered? To know their last real conversation was backing her into a corner and giving her a 24hr ultimatum to confess to a boy she's been unable to confess to her whole life? Do you think she was horrified by that? To think that the days Sayaka just "stayed home" after she could very well have been dead or kidnapped? Do you think it weighs on her and colors how she views her relationship with Kyouske in the long run? Does she feel guilty? She knows she didn't do it but does she blame herself for not being able to support her? Sayaka was oddly quiet during that talk after all, maybe something was wrong. Maybe she should have asked. Maybe she should have been a friend instead of a romantic rival. Do you think she goes to Sayaka's funeral? So you think she silently asks forgiveness from a girl who can no longer give it?