#im not saying it’s easy to answer but like

[catgirlstalin]

Hi! I hope it's okay to ask this but would you happen to know any books on Stalin that don't repeat the same old stuff about him being a bloodthirsty dictator etc.? I wish to learn from more nuanced and anti-anticommunist sources since I'm learning about communism and ussr rn, and you seem to be someone who might know about these! Thanks if you're able to answer!

hii of course im happy to recommend stuff :3 mutuals feels free to add stuff as well

Another View of Stalin. Ludo Martens (1994) – one of my go to recommendations, it goes into the most commonly brought up issues such as collectivization, the great purge, and the molotov-ribbentrop pact

Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend. Dominico Losurdo (2008) – another go to; in addition to addressing historical facts and myths, this one also criticizes the concept of 'totalitarianism', and the resulting conflation of fascism with communism as equally bad (something that is still done to this day, see 'horseshoe theory')

those two i would say are the most prominent books specifically about him, and for good reason as they cover the most important myths about stalin

another author ive had recommended to me who has multiple books about stalin and the ussr is grover furr, but i havent read any of his works yet

also while this one isnt specifically about stalin as a person, i also wanna throw in The Soviets Expected it by Anna Louise Strong. It was published in 1942 and covers the years leading up to and including the second world war. its not really an analysis, as anna louise strong was not a historian, but a reporter who lived in the ussr at the time and she reported a lot on the living conditions and experiences of the people which provides a really interesting view into the 1930s and early 1940s in the ussr. its also a rather short and easy read

then theres of course also first hand accounts from people who knew him, like Molotov Remembers (done in a sort of interview style, the author is anti-stalin but molotovs accounts are interesting nonetheless), or Next to Stalin: Notes of a Bodyguard (also very short, not particularly well written but interesting and at times also entertaining)

also in my opinion one thing that also provides some insight into how stalin was and how he thought is just to read his own works. theres a whole collection on marxists.org

i find his interviews fairly interesting to get a bit of insight into his thinking, and theyre very short and easy to read

Interview with H.G. Wells Interview with Emil Ludwig Interview with Roy Howard

i hope some of this will be interesting to you!! have fun with your reading, theres a lot to learn and discover out there

[trans-axolotl]

so im going into therapy (or social work, more broadly) as a profession (in school rn). i know that not everyone in anti psych would support that, understandably, and im not under an illusion that therapy isnt tied to the whole system and process. but i want to bring a liberationist, anti-racist, pro-mad, and abolitionist ideology to help who i can

do you have any suggested resources or reading recommendations or idk any insight on how to inform the way i go about juggling anti psychiatry in a profession that is considered going hand in hand with it?

Hi anon.

I think there can be ways that people working in the psych system can leverage power and resources in a way where they're acting in solidarity with psych survivors and mad people, but in reality, this very rarely happens, even among professionals who identify as radical or as having lived experience.

Fundamentally, the psychiatric system is one that perpetuates structural violence, and in smaller and larger ways, anyone who works within the system to legitimize it contributes to and is complicit in that violence. So I think that for anyone who is planning to work within the system, you need to be upfront with yourself that there is harm occurring and that isn't something you can just ignore or act like that's something you're separate from. Even if you're not working inpatient or facilitating forced drugging of someone, there's still a lot of ways that therapists can be complicit in psychiatric violence.

One of the most obvious ways is through mandatory reporting. I believe that in order to be an ethical therapist you must break the law--mandatory reporting is a dangerous way that mad people are surveilled by the state, and therapists must work to interrupt that and prevent it. There are a lot of therapists out there already talking about practical ways to avoid mandatory reporting and how to be upfront with clients about it, and I can link some of that at the end of this post. I won't say it's always easy, but we have an obligation to each other to do everything we can to stop psych incarceration from happening.

I think there's a lot of ways that even outpatient, therapists are asked to enable other forms of psychiatric violence. Even if in your practice, you're really focusing on liberation, respecting autonomy, etc, there are ways that other psych professionals might try to get you to help them perpetuate different forms of harm. And because of your degree and licensure, there's this power imbalance between you and your client that means you do have the power to enable these kinds of harms. The degree next to your name means that you will always be believed over your client and that is a lot of power to hold. If you're working with a client with an eating disorder and their dietitian gives an ultimatum that they have to be hospitalized or they're refusing to provide care, what do you do? If your client's psychiatrist is refusing to answer questions or let them switch to other types of medications, what do you do? If your client is involved in a court case and you're getting subpoenaed for their medical records, what do you do? If your MSW program requires you to do one of your internships in an inpatient program, how do you prevent that from happening? There are a lot more examples I can think of, but these are just a few things I wanted to highlight for ways that therapy is still entangled in the larger system.

Another thing that feels important to me is to make the distinction between being a "good therapist" and helping people, because I don't think those things are the same. I see a lot of "radical" therapists get fixated on this idea that they need figure out ways to make the psych system run smoother, to improve access, to overall make the psych system better, and that this is the only way to help people. It's really important to be able to separate those ideas. For me, psych abolition is a project of building up our capacity to care for each other while destroying the systems that currently enact violence on us, and reformist ideas about expanding psychiatric systems, increasing funding, and legitimize psychiatric authority gets in the way of actually transforming care. I think in order to help people, you need to commit to being a "bad therapist" in the eyes of a capitalist healthcare system.

One recommendation I have is to read Franco Basaglia's writing and learn about his approach of the democratic psychiatry movement. As a psychiatrist, he saw his role as a way to disrupt the system and deinstitutionalize. He has this quote where he talks about how they weren't focused on eliminating problems, but rather on how deinstitutionalization would create more chaos and new problems--and how that created so much possibility for transformation. I think he's proof that there are certainly ways that psych professionals can act as accomplices who actually are in solidarity with psych survivors, but it's rare.

Last point I have is that although you gain something from professional training and licensure, there's also a lot you lose. MSW programs often don't actually teach you the skills you want to learn about how to actually support people--there's a lot you're going to have to learn from continuing education credits. From my friends who have gotten their MSW, I've heard a lot of complaints about how surface level a lot of information is, and also about how a lot of the way that information is taught reinforces hierarchal ideas and doesn't respect patient autonomy. I'll also say that gaining licensure oftentimes creates barriers for radical action--I've seen so many therapists who then become so attached to holding onto and not losing that licensure that they weigh it above mad people's lives. I've heard so many therapists say "Oh I can't speak up against restraint because I'll lose my job/I can't ignore mandatory reporting because I'll lose my license/etc etc etc." And I think that can be a really damaging mindset that harms your potential to actually help people. There are several therapists I know who are in the process of intentional de-licensure because of this, but regardless if you pursue that path or not, this is a mindset you need to be on guard against.

All that being said, I think there is a need for more abolitionist therapists who are able to help support our communities, both in terms of creating that space for individual support and on a collective level. There are ways that you can leverage your access to resources and the way you're seen as legitimate in the system to help advocate for people, get them support, and interfere with psych violence. I have a therapist comrade who keeps working in inpatient psychiatry specifically so that they can continue to sneak in banned materials to the ward, prevent illegal restraints, be involved in court proceedings as an advocate, connect people to mad liberation resources, let psych patients use their phone, document psychiatric abuse with the plan to fairly soon release that information as a whistleblower, and more that I'm not going to talk about publicly. They still grapple with the fact that they are currently perpetuating harm at the same time, but to them, it's worth it to be able to sabotage things in that way. And I think that there are ways that you can take the information you learn in your program that is actually useful and find ways to bring that directly to your communities, and that there is good you can. I just think you have to be very intentional and aware of what it takes to actually do that, rather than just staying complacent with the label of being a "radical therapist" without doing anything to make that true.

For resources--here's my psych abolition drive with a lot of different zines, books, workbooks on different psych abolition topics. I really would recommend reading Psychiatry Inside Out by Franco Basaglia as an example of successful psychiatric resistance.

I would also suggest checking out Mutual Aid/Self Social therapy--the people who created this project are trusted comrades of mine, have both gotten their MSW or LMFT, and they have a lot of helpful insight into how to navigate things like avoiding mandatory reporting, de-licensure, etc. They have a discord server and also have regular online MAST meetings to train people on what MAST is and how to set up a MAST collective.

Genuinely wishing you the best of luck through school and appreciate that you're actively thinking about these things.

[yunazxxx]

heyyyy im a silence reader (always voting for your posts tho !!) I love your wooork so much, you were the first writer I followed on here, thank you for your love for the katseye girlies !!

also idk if you're taking requests rn but can i suggest a marz one where one day Lara sees Manon and Sophie make out by accident, and it makes her see Manon in a different light so she starts avoiding her bc she's scared of what she's feeling and like a week later or something Manon is sick of Lara ignoring her so she enters the bathroom while lara is taking a shower and confronts her about it (since it's the only place Lara can't escape from), Lara clumsily puts her towel on and confess ashamed but like Manon reassures her and kisses her bc she also has feelings for her and like they fuck in the bathroom right after

ps: if you don't like the prompt it's fine I'm not good at it sorry 😭 but can we pls have another hot/smut marz one, we are in a drought :((

pairing ≫ lara rajagopalan x meret manon (ft. sophie)

content warnings ≫ cheating , bathroom sex , slight angst , lara's crushing , established relationship (situationship/fwb) , getting caught , cunnilingus , slight argument but also toxicity? ,, etc maybe?

word count ≫ over 2.7k

author talks ≫ firstly would like to say merry christmas/happy holidays to those who don’t celebrate! i hope you’re all safe and doing well — now with the fic i wanna say i did go a little off plot but its still with the plot for the most part. — btw you did fine don’t worry i rlly enjoyed writing this!!

—

it was a dark snowy night in their city, tempatures dropping to about -1 degrees celcius, so much snow on the floor that even the roofs were covered on every inch, the build up of sniow was honestly surprising.

the girls of katseye gathered in their living room, it was christmas eve and although they all come from different parts of the worls and celebrate different holidays and celebrate christams differently, they managed a way to celebrate it all the same.

sophie and lara were missing, once again inside of the kitchen, making dinner for the girls. lara would peak out sometimes, looking at the brunette girl who she had been crushing on for the last seven months easy, or that's when lara really realized she liked her.

lara also knew of manon's "friend", sophie. lara never had a problem with the woman, why would she?

oh, because she's fucking manon.

lara always kept the fact it bothered her to herself, but while they were cooking and something was almost burning under lara's care, sophia had to ask her after she fixed the situation. "daniela?" sophia called out and daniela left from where she was, coming over to the pair.

"mhm?" she answered, "could you watch this stuff please? we need to talk" sophia said, pointing between her and lara, and daniela nodded. sophia grabbed lara's hand and they ran off to another room, not wanting to have that converation in front of the others.

"what's been going on? you've been so discombobulated" sophia said, her facial expressions following as she spoke, "it's just.." lara said, trailing off trying not to say what the actual problem was but sophia could easily read that girl like a book.

"its sophie" sophia said, her voice flat, but not like emotionless, lara looked at the black haired woman, "what..? no?" lara tried lying but sophia just looked at her until she admitted, "okay, yeah, sophie" lara said, she took a deep breath after saying this.

"but, why?" sophia wasn't all too confused, her and lara talked often, but this was something she never really got information on. "why are you like this over sophie? did she do something? do i need to kick her out?" sophia asked but lara shook her head "no no, its nothing. just, please?"

sophia nodded, "lets finish cooking then, i'm sure the girls are hungry" and lara smiled, "yeah" as the pair walked down the hallway, lara had to break off to grab something from her room, while she searched, she remembered that she gave it to daniela.

lara ran to the front asking daniela for it and she said it was in the room, lara wasn't paying much attention to anything around her, she just wanted to make sure she got what she needed. lara just casually opened the door like she would every other time.

but stopped dead in her tracks, she saw manon and sophie, kissing. manon's shirt was off, and sophie's pants were missing, sophie was on top of manon with her hands moving all over her body. lara quickly shut the door, her heart both racing but it also dropped.

she went to her room, holding back her tears while "looking" for something, but she really wasn't, she wanted to distract herself because megan was in the room now, "woah woah" megan said when she saw lara, "what happened?"

megan looked so worried and it made lara feel bad, "i just, got something in my eye" lara said, smiling while a tear trinkled down her cheek, "l-let me see, do you need eye drops?" megan asked, her voice starting to panick a bit.

"no no no no, i'm good megan, thank you" lara said, holding her hand to prevent the ginger girl from running away, "are you sure? it's no issue really" megan said but lara stayed content wit her answer and megan let it go.

lara and megan walked from their bedroom, to the places in the house they just were. sophia succefully distracted lara while they cooked, they were playing and laughing a lot, even making references to lara's old cooking/baking channel.

slowly the night began to turn into early morning, it was already 2am and yoonchae was dozing off, "yoonchae?" sophia said to her younger while the brown haired girl's head was resting on her lap, "mm?" she could only reply, too tired to form words.

"megan?" lara tapped her roommate, "hm?" megan looked up from the puzzle she was doing, "could you take yoonchae upstairs?" and the ginger woman nodded, taking yoonchae and guiding the young girl upstairs.

manon and sophie had been downstairs for a while now, lara rolling her eyes each time she looked over at the couple, it wasn't like she hated them but the having to act nonchalant was her only other way to cope with this.

it was almost three when sophie announced she'd be leaving, all the girl's gave sophie a hug while lara left to the kitchen, before sophie left she came up to lara, "g'night" sophie said and hugged her and lara could feel herself physically cringe at this.

"yea, goodnight" lara said, hugging sophie back, happy once she finally broke off of her. manon walked sophie to her car and they stayed out there for a bit, lara catching them sharing another kiss before sophie drove off.

something about that sight made lara feel sick to her stomach, and right when lara was about to sleep, she saw a message in the groupchat with their staff, saying they have a video to record for youtube for their fans to see.

lara shut off her phone, sighing because she couldn't stand being around manon right now but it's for the cameras.

the nex morning came, sophia calling for a house meeting to make sure everyone knows about the scheduele. normally when house meetin were called, the girls would gatherup, megan and daniela sittting together, yonchae and sophia and of course lara and manon, but lara stood beside the leader instead of sitting by manon.

this didn't really strike manon as weird behaviour, but still she took note of this, it wasn't until they were on set for the video when she saw how weird lara was acting towards her. lara was the last on set because she finished getting ready later than the rest of the girls.

lara would be so talkative with everyone but manon, she would be physical with everyone but manon when there were no cameras on them but right when she noticed that red light on the cameras she was all over manon like she would be normally.

this had been going on for so long, manon got tired of it, lara had avoided her off cameras for at least a month now but this was really fucking with her.

after they got home, lara rushed to the shower, wanting to rid herself after the hours of filimg, manon also following behind her. the brunette tip toed inside of lara's room, opening the bathroom before closing it behind her.

"megan?" lara said through the water running on her body, "could you grab my hair mask?" lara asked, and manon grabbed, but got undressed first, lara had her eyes closed while she ran water through her red hair.

manon handed the mask to her while sneaking inside, "lara.." manon said and it made the red haired woma freeze in her actions, looking at manon, "h-hey" manon stared at the redhead for a bit, "why have you been ignoring me?" manon asked but lara just sighed, "not here manon"

manon's eyebrows furrowed, "what do you mean not now?" and lara sighed again, "let me shower in peace" she answered, her voice emotionless. "manon clenched her jaw before swallowing, "fine" she got out of the shower, collecting her clothes and sitting on lara's bed until she was out.

megan was inside of the room when manon walked out, her hair was slightly wet, "hey? do you need the hair dryer, or a wtowel?" megan offered but manon shook her head, she lied down on lara's bed for a while, looking up at the cieiling before asking, "megan?"

"yeah?" the ginger aswered, "has lara been acting, strange, lately? like anything you've noticed?" and megan shook her head, "mno, not really. is she alright?" and manon nodded, "yeah, yeah she's fine, it's just been... odd?" and megan tilted her head, "what do you mean?"

"it's nothing megan, could you go for a bit? we need to talk" the redhead interrupted, and megan got up, walking out odf the room. lara was fresh out of the shower, her body still wrapped inside of the towel while her skin glistened, steam coming from her body like an arua.

manon looked at the woman, the anger but guilt was telling on her face. lara looked through her closet, fishing for clothes to put on while manon struggled to get her words together, "so, what? you can say it now." lara said while she was searching through the closet.

"why have you been avoiding me?" manon flat out said, making lara pause, "that's really a question?" lara said as she continue searching, "yes! you've been so weird to me lately, ever since that night sophie was here, you've been acting so different"

"you must assume every emotion i experience has something to do with you or that bitch" lara said camly which took manon by surprise, "what?" manon said, still trying to process the words that left the younger's mouth, "i mean, you're right. how would you feel if you walked in on your crush sleeping with someone"

lara said, shrugging her shoulders while she slipped on the clothes she found, manon closed her eyes and sighed, opening them to be met with lara's brown eyes, calmly rested while she waited for the brunettes response.

"why didn't you say something sooner?" manon asked, "do i have to say everything? spell it out for you? do you not feel the same?" lara asked, her voice raising towards the end, "of course you don't, you're with sophie" lara said, her voice as bitter as over brewed tea.

manon swallowed, "obviously, you have nothin to say" lara said and scoffed, walking away to the bathroom to finish drying her hair and styling it. manon followed her, "i do feel the same, lara" making the red haired woman scoff, "right, whatever you say"

manon walked closer to her and snaked her arms around the angered woman's waist, gently kissing her neck through the small space not covered by her hair. lara's head feel back against manon's shoulder, "this won't always work, you know that" lara said

"i know, but it will this time and that's all i need" manon softly whispered against lara's skin, making her tingle. "m-manon, we can't" lara tried pushing he off, her words weren't following her actions or thoughts, her body craved manon's touch and attention while her thoughts ran saying the most vulgar things.

manon sighed against lara's skin before backing off, "guess you're right", she tuned around and began walking away from the bathroom but lara grabbed her hand, turning the brunette around and pulling her into a kiss.

it started off so sweet and soft but overtime it grew more and more passionet, lara began pushing herself against manon's body, they broke off, "fuck i've missed this" lara sighed out before they pulled each other into another kiss.

lara shamelessly moaned into the kiss, manon's hands pulling the girls small waist closer against her body, while slowly pushing her on the bed. lara held manon's neck, pushing the kiss deeper, manon broke the kiss off and began kissing down lara's neck again.

lara threw her head back, allowing the older more access. lara's hips began moving on their own, rutting against manon's leg that was right where she needed her most. manon's hand traveled on their own down lara's body, her fingers and palms tracing lara's abdomen, making the younger one twitch.

"i need you.." lara whispered, low enough that only she heard it, making manon lift up, "what did you say baby?" and lara whined, thinking manon was messing with her, "no baby, repeat yourself" and lara said this time, much louder.

manon slid her hand past lara's sweats and past her panties, her fingers on her clit using one and slowly rubbing in a circle. lara whined pretty loudly, manon crashing her lips against the redhead. manon sped up her hands, slingher fingers down, now pushing two digits inside of lara, causing her to gasp.

manon broke off the kiss and began kissing down lara's body, the red haired woman failing to keep quiet while she allowed her older member to do whatever she wanted with her body. manon reached her other hand up, exposing lara's stomach, manon bit at the brown girl's flesh, making her hips buck.

manon pulled her hand from lara's pants, pulling them down to her thighs. manon made her way down to her thighs, gently caressing them before kissing them, making her way between and kissing lara's inner thighs.

lara’s breath hitched as manon’s lips touch her inner thigh, her body trembling in response to the pleasure coursing through her body. she lets out a soft whine, her legs automatically opening slightly wider for the brunette.

manon continued to pepper kisses down the girl’s inner thigh, getting dangerously closer to where she craved her the most.

she stopped once she was there, looking up into lara’s hooded eyes, manon’s hands slid between her legs, slipping two digits inside of her again.

her pace was slow but steady, lara’s body immediately responds to her touch, her breath coming out in ragged gasps as she begin to provide her with the friction she yearned for.

“m-manon..” lara moaned softly, her body arching as she feels the pleasure begin to build within her. manon would speed up then slow back down randomly, making lara’s mind wonder and turn into mush.

she felt the brunette’s soft lips against her skin, marking her and leaving hickeys. lara’s moans picked up the closer she got, making manon speed up. lara clenched around manon's fingers, the older girl now kissing at her clit, looking her in the eyes while she whimpered out that she was close.

manon went back up, now kissing lara, "i love you so much.." manon sighed against her lips before moving down. the redhead whimpered in manon's ear, "i love you... shit" before she came. manon's hands didn't slow down, she kept with that same pace, making lara be much louder than she should've.

manon pulled the redhead into a kiss while she felt the younger's body spasm under her, pulling her fingers out and gently carrasing her body. manon kissed down lara's body, cooing to her gently while lara tried catching her breath.

manon got up and grabbed a towel and some warm water to clean lara up, when she finished, lara pulled her down beside her. "you know, you didn't have to.." lara said, her voice low and shy, manon shrugged, "wanted to" she said and kissed lara again.

the pair sat in silence for a while before manon spoke, "lara?", "uh huh?" the redhead replied, "you know you didn't have to say it back, right?" and lara grabbed her cheek, "you're a loserrrrr you know?" lara said and manon chuckled, "no but, you didn't" and lara rolled her eyes before pulling the brunette into another kiss, this time the kiss had no lust but was more love.

the lips moved in sync against each other, and while this happened sopie was opening the door after getting word from megan that manon was in lara's room. she had knocked but neither girl heard it so she assumed they were busy doing things and didn't hear it.

when she opened the door she looked around and saw them, the bit her lip before closing the door, the girls saw her walking out but they didn't know what she saw, and they didn't know whether it was good or bad.

they weren't in the house and actually had just made it back home when sophie came over, manon and lara came from the room, lara was leaning against manon barely walking straight with her hair a mess. "oh..." the other four girls all said in usion, now they see why sophie ran out as fast she did.

[blossoms-phan]

dan is so fake he’s always like “this is your chance to ask us important, hard hitting, deep philosophical questions” someone asks how do you feel having an entire generation look up to you and he’s like physically? yeah haha we’re so tall 🤪

[empyreansentinel]

never understood why jack had a portrait of moxxi up in his casino. the place went under after BL2, and at that point they hadnt been together for years. and its not like what they had together was particularly happy or long lasting, either. they were together for maybe a month before breaking up pre-TPS, and thats not even mentioning what happens between them during the game itself, so... maybe its a trophy? it doesnt feel like one when theres also one of angel. but its all i really got because presumably hes been in a much happier relationship with nisha for years, even though the portrait does feel too sentimental for a woman hes hated for the past Forever. speaking of nisha, there's no portrait of her or his wives. which is doubly weird because surely theyd be here too if moxxi is. idk, moxxi and angel are just a strange pair to have it just be them. by themselves is fine, moxxi alone is easily a trophy. and imo its just weird for a portrait of angel to be in the casino in the first place. some secret siren, huh? but together? idk. it gives mixed messages.

[ratatatastic]

quite honestly we should have a canadian whos sole job it is to make a finn giggle do pressers together more often just for the chaos

if i had a nickle for everytime this happened id have two nickles which isnt a lot but its weird that it happened twice.

2024 nhl global series finland game 1 postgame interview | 11.1.24 (x)

[beatcroc]

Mecha-Sonic, Dr. Robotnik has created other robots based on Sonic and thrown them away before he created you. Do you have any thoughts on this?

[lightbulb-warning]

i used to freehand comics all the time as a child and since the part i liked was the drawing part i would just draw panel after panel because i didn't want to stop drawing to think about icky icky words, plus the story TOTALLY still made perfect sense! to me! and noone else, but 'whoooo caaaaares omgggg its not like comics and sequantial art are a communicative meeediummmm lmaoooooo'. i spent my entire childhood telling myself stuff like "oh pfft I know this story by heart- ill SIMPLY remember the dialogue and write it later" ...and. I can't help but admire baby maiora's (call that a minora ba tm tsk) fucking audacity? hubris? confident wrongness? kid couldn't even remember to finish the comics in the first place? INCREDIBLE levels of unearned self assurance, wish that were me, genuinely- what an icon!!! anyway i think i have forever cursed myself

[icewindandboringhorror]

"We can get through this by working together, reach out to your friends, community is all we have, a social network will be your security in the world, now is the time to lean on others!"

I do agree, and it's scientifically sound (pretty sure there is data about how people with better social networks live longer and etc) but also....augh..... what about the severe social issues, difficulty to leave the house, physical issues which lead to like zero socialization energy a majority of the time, etc. etc. Social support can be a replacement for structural support, but.. I guess I just wish it didn't have to be. Community is extremely difficult to build, even moreso if you're someone who has issues with social cues or group conversations or even just being around others in the first place. And blah, nuance, of course I'm just complaining or maybe being too negative or maybe misunderstanding, but, I hardly have the energy to brush my hair once every 2 months.. how am I supposed to maintain a wide social network and be active in a Community and Join Groups lol... sometimes it kind of feels like "er.. well if thats my only option then...... ruh roh". It's overwhelming

[xxplastic-cubexx]

OKAY SO- AHEM

There's this game??? i think it's a game I'm not into marvel games called Marvel Rivals and there's x-men characters in it (not many tbh) and there's magneto

i just saw it on twitter. bro. BRO

magneto's thic, like, he's literally a fucking wardrobe in terms of size, he's a big boy literally-

if theres anything marvel rivals magneto has got its the fact he's built ASTOUNDING and thats the only point it gets from me

[heph]

Hey, I remember you mentioning on your IG something about two types of popular artists and one being good at social media and the other being good at art or something like that (I can't really remember lol). But it got me thinking, any tips for how to be good at social media? Cuz I'm certainly not even after posting art for six years lol

Heya!

What I meant by that is that there are traits that allow you to grow on social media, and traits that determine what a highly skilled artist is, and those traits do not always necessarily overlap.

I've seen so many amazing artists that post artwork that blow my head off, and yet they don't have many likes. On the other hand, some artists at the same skill level who draw more popular things will get way more attention.

That is not to say that either is the correct way to create art, but there is definitely a formula to social media that is in play.

There are a lot of posts about how to grow a social media account, particularly on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram art spheres, and imo you really need to examine what you want from your art before jumping into social media mode

The stuff you create to pander to social media might not be art that you want to create at all - I'm lucky, because I am less artist more storyteller, and what I enjoy is telling jokes and silly stories to liven up people's moods :] this, of course, conveniently does well on social media. On a personal note, I have a history of being a recluse and not connecting well with people, and art is my way of trying to communicate my feelings, one way or another.

So of course, if you draw for any reason other than my own, my approach to art and it's relation to social media might be inappropriate for you.

All that being said, if u take a look at those "get big on social media" videos they always cite the same few points... And you can look into that, for sure, but this video sums up how I feel about all that.

I spent like 20 minutes drafting words after the above paragraph, but I really ended up regurgitating sentiments from the video... So really don't listen to me, listen to that video

EDIT:

I just realised I didnt actually answer the question with my anecdotal experience, so here's a list of things I did

1. Posted like 3 doodles a day on social media

I did this for 6 months on a side account on Twitter recently and got the account to 11k followers... And I did this for 3 months on Instagram a few years ago and I think got 3.5k followers. Of course, do not spam maliciously and make sure your art is still of good quality, but for those artworks I posted quickly, I did not colour, and mostly did clean sketches. This also trains you in the matter of line confidence haha. Again, this worked for me because of my set of circumstances (love for the media, want to tell stories, simple art style)

2. Focus on my favourite aspects of media

This helps with respect to burnout - kinda hard to burnout when you love what you're making! For me, it's character interactions and comics. I want to see my blorbos kiss and if I'm not the one drawing it who will?!

3. Interact with people

People eat up work that they can interact with. A choose your own story situation, one of those like/rt to strip a character 😭 those do numbers for a reason.

Additionally, if you post stuff people love, people will respond to it with comments, maybe their own headcanons, adding on to the work... I've gone into long looong Twitter thread conversations with people who added onto my ideas that I threw up onto the screen and I think it's also a nice thing to do to respond to positive comments haha... I'm not very good at this (read: bad at communication)

I think that's the key points... Hope this helps!

[cheemken]

Greetings! What would be the outcome of the au? A bad end where everyone is defeated by the Timekeeper? Vertin sacrifices themself to protect everyone or do the suitcase fam capture her and attempt to free her ? this au is kinda stuck in my head now lol, like the idea of arcana revealing herself like the geto scene with the brain if u seen jjk.

Hi hey, I'm so glad you're interested in my au hahaha

Idk much abt jjk tho like idk what scene that is but that sounds cool hahah

Anyways

My initial concept is that Vertin came back yeah, and a few starts to notice, I think it'd come to the point where Sonetto and Regulus confronts her?? Bc there's clearly smth wrong w Vertin

Ofc, Arcana plays her part well, and as Vertin, she deflects, saying she's fine, just tired and still a bit shaken after escaping from Manus Vindictae. It was a miracle how she escaped, she thought she'd die then and there

But they know there's more to that. It'd be funny tho but also on brand if Regulus herself knew smth was amiss bc ofc, Vertin using her wand more and more, but the thing that set Regulus off was the fact that Vertin was using her left hand, she's right handed as far as Regulus knows, and ofc, how she uses her tuning arcane skill, how it's like a seasoned magician

And it got to the point that while they're still in the Foundation, Vertin kept her distance, always wandering off by herself, wandering the halls like a ghost, everyone was starting to get worried

And until one night, where Vertin was there in the courtyard, well,, Madam Z and Tooth Fairy tried to talk to her, to go back inside, it's dark out already, and hey c'mon, she's their daughter at that point, and they just got her back from Manus, so seeing Vertin like this, it worried them

Imagine as they try to approach her, Z just stops dead in her tracks, grabbing Tooth Fairy's arm, stopping her, as they both hear Vertin chuckle darkly, slowly turning towards them, and as she did, Arcana's wand formed at either sides of Vertin's head, and her silver eyes turned pale yellow, and she smiles ay them, the same godforsaken smile Arcana always has on her face

And ofc, that lil drawing comes to play, the strings on Vertin, it would be so so fun if like,, w those, and w the influence of Arcana's magic, she managed to take control of a few arcanists too. Like can you imagine her just attaching the strings on the arcanists Vertin had saved, and taking control of them like puppets, that'd be so cool and bc ofc in c2, wasn't there a part titled Puppet, and bc if I remember right, Arcana also called Vertin her puppet

Like that'd be such a cool concept, Arcana using Vertin as a puppet, and w Vertin's hands she uses other arcanists as her puppets too

But also the mental image of all of the arcanists in Vertin's suitcase just fights off Manus followers on each floor of the Foundation buildings, look, I have a concept, I wanna write it, I just don't know how to execute it well, it has Schneider in it, Arcana brought her back or smth to make it hurt more, and the Schneider and Sonetto fight is just cbmxnd ough

But yeah, her defeat, idk, I want it to be some temporary defeat, ofc me being biased, as Sonetto was fighting off Schneider, Regulus rushes to where Vertin is, and ofc, she and Arcana fight lmfao

But do you see my vision when I say Arcana uses Regulus' line against her, y'know the thing Regulus says before her ult right

Imagine Arcana using that, just having Regulus pinned, one hand on her neck, the other on her cheek, her thumb trailing upward to her lower eyelid, pressing down hard, as she whispers in Vertin's voice, "are you ready... To be blinded?"

And Regulus spats out, "are you?" And uses her ult on both of them

Look look it's good on paper and it's a good mental image I can't just execute it well here but I hope you see the vision cbsmnd

But yeah, after that, and more psychological mindscape stuff of Regulus trying to save Vertin, Vertin was saved! That's a good thing right? Arcana was gone, so were the Manus followers, but it was so sudden, it shouldn't be that easy, right

Ofc it's not, Vertin wasn't saved, she never will be. Arcana's wand was still w her, lying dormant, waiting to be called out again, waiting till it finally corrupts their precious little Timekeeper.

[lucabyte]

uhh 7 for the ask game 👍🏻

(For (x), list of characters here (x))

7 - which of your ocs would you be the LEAST willing to befriend irl?

Hmm okay so there's some copout answers here in the form of villains like Cobalt because even outside of him being a shitty moneyman i don't know that "befriend" is One Of The Verbs he's Capable Of. (Like, I'd gladly get into his inner circles to scam him but I genuinely don't think i could pull that off. He simply would not give me the time of day.)

So exlcuding antagonists, even if i WOULD be down to chill with approx 50% of them, we'll stick to good guys...

I think... most of the celebrities kind of suck. Giles and Hainu especially are both grimly megalomaniacal. Almost everyone in the 'Moraine' folder/story/location has some level of either Real Stardom or Internet Stardom and are thus all a little bit tetchy in that way. That whole cast is meant to rub up against each other's egos and be prickly.

But out of all of them there, I do think Giles is the worsstttt. He's the most likely to try and use you to bolster his own ego, and will *also* come crawling back the moment he hits a low point. He sticks around and simply will not go away once you let him in.

He's also just generally the kind of guy to push your boundaries and be skeevy. However, he IS charming and famous, so unless you've kept up with what his former friends have said on the downlow, it'd be easy to be starstruck and bowled over by him...

This was a hard question lol because I write a lot of characters i'd find insufferable IRL, even good guys. Gabriel, Naga, Lollie, Chrome... Though with enough effort I think i could befriend those guys and maybe talk some sense into them. But with Giles that ship has saaailed.

(and as for hainu? ehhh 50/50 that i could fix him by tearing his ego asunder and building him back up again. otherwise he may be just as hopeless)

[royalreef]

you're the top of a mountain, the bottom of a well, the deepest darkest pit in the ocean. sublime and dangerous, terrifying and distant, many want you, many need you, many die because of you, of you, for you.

you're the blood they spill, their last breath, their final moment, and that fills you with pride, and fear, and guilt, and hate, and love, so so so so much love you can't keep much more.

are you keeping those gifts or are you those gifts to begin with? was that last moment yours? it should've been yours.

you want it to be yours

Is it love? Love is such a strong word. She's fairly certain she would know if it was love, theoretically, at least.

She's not the most experienced in love, not really. When she was younger, she didn't really experience even the puppy love crushes that others might speak about. Not many candidates for that in the first place, after all. It was just her and Bellanda for so many years, the two left together because it was just easier to treat them as one entity which offerings of basic necessities were made to, to be tossed to the nanny staff to ensure they didn't manage to get themselves killed in the interim.

Neither of them were allowed around other children, children which would've come from other families, other lineages, and thus would be expected to be loyal to them. That would pose a risk, could muddy things as they got older, either distracting from their duties or creating another avenue from which their positions could be exploited. It was just her and Bellanda, and Bellanda didn't like anyone else enough to get close to them, so Miranda followed suit and kept her nervous distance.

When they got older, even Miranda's entrance into romantic fancies could never be called one of love. Education, maybe, if she was being kind. Once Miranda had settled into her new lessons, was permitted around those who began to show an interest in her, then still yet, could she call that love?

They came in two varieties. The suitors were the first to make their gestures towards her, curtailed at first as her suitors' court opened. They were gentler then, but firmer in a certain way that's hard to name. They spoke and moved with experience, expertise, did not leave Miranda room to question nor doubt them. She thought she had loved a few of them, eager and ready to guide her and to provide structure into the new pains of settling into her title and her duties for what they were.

And if she had entertained them for longer than they really deserved, then, well, that was just to be expected as well. Nothing new was being written at that point, and there had been plenty of other Crown Princesses who had come before who had first enjoyed flights of fancy and impulse with the first suitors to swim beside them, so when Miranda's mistakes came, they were brushed away with ease and forgotten.

Miranda learned quick, as such lessons tend to do. Bellanda learned quicker, and it was Bellanda's education that drew the tentative early period to a close quickly, that taught Miranda to respond first with her jaws and not to entertain sweeter bait. Romance was for physical benefit, after all, and that was why they came.

The second were those who came to her not bearing romantic intents, and the second were those where she learned the swiftest. Like all others of her station, it was best not to spend too much of her time among her fellow royals, all ulterior motives and their own lineages to tend. To keep commonfolk around her was to find someone who couldn't pose such a risk to her, who she didn't have to worry about overstepping or watching what she said around them, and that was a great benefit to any royal needing someone else to occupy their time.

They would come, as staff or as notable individuals that she invited in, offering her time or treats with which to sate their appetite, and they would be thrilled at the attention she lavished onto them. A Crown Princess like her doesn't just pay attention to anyone, after all. To capture her eye was to have something special, something that had to suggest that they were special too. Crown Princess Miranda, Cees'rril'ta Yhtun-Tswe Slz'Exkii, was right at their fingertips, and they could taste the decadence that dripped off her, could have her at their beck and call, were so close to her that they could dip their fingers in and drink it up from the tap. She was a drug, exhilarating, thrilling, the cusp of danger cradled in the hand and burning hot against the thigh, greater and grander than they would ever again touch, and she got them high.

They would come to her, debase themselves for her, beg her for more of her time, more of her attention, more of what she could give. They would think they could keep her, could hold something like her tight in a little box, keep her tucked to their chests and never let her go. They thought they could take her home, that she was something that ever could exist in a home, and if she even so much as vaguely alluded to the idea, they took it as confirmation.

They were cute. Miranda could pick her favorites from among them, select which ones she thought looked the prettiest, or complimented against her scales the best, or said the nicest things about her, or entertained her the most. She wouldn't even pretend that they provided her the same deep need that she fostered in them, but not for lack of trying.

She did try. She had to try, that time was filled with the pangs of loneliness, the deep and desperate urge to find connection, to find a place in the world. Maturity had done something to her that it did to all merfolk pups when they came of age, and it had filled her with a new and sudden interest in people, and that was when she really began to notice the lack of it elsewhere. She depended on Bellanda still, yes, but she was a void, a massive sucking pit of need, and she was starving, hopeless, lost, clinging to Bellanda tighter and tighter as neither of them found they could survive without the other.

But it never worked. Miranda couldn't have explained why it didn't work, only that it didn't. Maybe they didn't, couldn't, understand her? Maybe there was something that was lacking in them, something that made them speak and talk as though speaking to someone else in Miranda's place, someone other than Miranda herself. Maybe there was something in Miranda, still hiding behind the projection of someone so much larger than herself.

Or maybe it was that they had fallen in love with that image of Miranda, the Crown Princess that lavished them with everything they could ever want, the same image that made her enemies quiver and made the courts look upon her when she spoke.

She didn't know. They ended poorly, irregardless. At first Miranda attempted kindness, but something like her is never capable of full kindness, not really. Then she gave up, and stopped trying, and focused solely on the dual needs of keeping them away from anything they might ruin and entertaining herself. It was entertaining, really. Pretty things remained just as pretty when they broke, and Miranda enjoyed the long tease, the leading up, the betrayal, the sharp cut of emotional high as adoration spilled over into the deepest fear. If they loved her for her danger, then they should expect to eventually face it. It was only common sense.

No... She found the ideals of love to be more enticing. After all, just because that need couldn't be met in her suitors' court or in toys, didn't mean the need for connection went away. It just grew and grew, stubborn and furious in her chest, a deepening want that swallowed up the ocean around her as she imagined all the theoretical people who would be able to meet it for her. Someone who would listen to her, hear her, see her first and foremost for what she was and not get lost in what she pretended to be. Someone who could comfort her, and hold her, and knew exactly what to say. Someone who would keep her safe, make her feel secure, could vanquish the yearning from her heart and leave her whole enough to become her own person again.

That was what love was supposed to be, wasn't it? Someone that she could rely on. Love wasn't worth anything if it wasn't someone meeting her in kind. Everything else would be so much easier, so much simpler, if she could find someone to love, someone to confront the world with her.

Maybe she had done something wrong? That could be one reason why love hadn't come to her yet, wouldn't come to her. That she had made a poor nest for it inside her heart, so that it couldn't nestle inside, couldn't make it a home. Or, maybe she had driven her love away? It could've been in any of the people who had come before, people who Miranda had tried to love, who she had thought she had loved, but now wasn't sure. If she had loved them, then surely it would be more potent than that, and so maybe she just hadn't gone far enough, pushed along longer and deeper and simply tried harder to love them.

This was around when her training for her ambassadorship had begun, and the fairytales her tutors had given her to help her learn English only furthered this point of inquiry. Maybe there were only a few people in the world who she could love, select and special people, and she just hadn't found them yet? That made sense to Miranda. That maybe love was something she was destined for, but it just hadn't happened yet, so it floated around unfulfilled until Miranda managed to luck up and find them.

Or maybe find her? She liked the thought of them finding her. That maybe this need for love in them was felt too, great and massive and despairing, and so they needed her too. And maybe they needed her so much and so badly that they'd do anything for her, risk anything, run blindly into danger if it meant simply looking upon her face for once, for just the potential of knowing, oh! That's who I love!

And she had felt the want again on land! Which was not to say it had ever really gone away, no. If anything, it had gotten worse in the span of time she spent away from Bellanda for the first time in her life, a rampant loneliness that threatened to kill her with no one else in the world who would check up on her.

But, after a year, the want did come, and it came directed and purposeful this time, pointed in the direction of other people, other people who she could say she wanted! She could not say if this want was love, but wanting had to be the first step to love, right?

Well. Except that her love, the love that she wanted, the love that she was speaking of, was the wrong love. The thought would've been preposterous earlier in her life, that there could ever be a thinking, feeling person who did not have such a love, such a need for others there in their life, but Miranda had learned better quickly.

She had learned that landfolk do not, could not, love that way. They did not arrange themselves in groups, did not become one with their loves, focused on unimportant things like kissing or sex, things which only ever existed to serve the love, by all of Miranda's accounts. The love that she did have, the love that she had for Bellanda, was something different to the landfolk, and she couldn't explain it to them, because they never would feel that way for anyone else and never could.

So it was want. Miranda would not allow herself to be tricked into thinking it was love again, even if she wanted it to be, and even if the way the landfolk touched her and talked to her made them act very much like the love was supposed to act. And love did require a mutual aspect, Miranda had learned that already, from all the times she had tried to make herself love but failed when someone else said they did.

Times which were rapidly repeating, Miranda was learning. Sure, they might not know love and might not be capable of it, but they were just as capable of everything that had come before. Plenty of landfolk wished to own her, and they were just as willing to try everything that had come before to do it. It didn't really matter if they wanted to shine her and put her on a shelf or if they wanted something more substantial out of her, it was all just a different form of ownership.

They would talk about possessing her, wanting her. They would discuss the ways that they would do it, ways that they could capture her attention and her time, and sometimes Miranda would humor them. Most of her usual company was back in the Merkingdom, after all, and they were harder to call up and insist that they come keep her company now that she was on land. She still had her other needs, other forms of enjoyment, and landfolk were just as capable of providing, even if she never grew any more interested in them.

She really didn't know what to do at this point. The love had to be coming, there had to be someone out there who would love her, who she could love, that she could sink into and close her eyes and be able to relax for a moment. But if her love was coming, then it had to be a terrible tower they were traversing up to her. It had been so long now, and Miranda was getting so cold.

[spidergirl-fibula]

listening to any music lately?

Trans women yelling at me, mainly

[chilapis]

Last post before I crash and no-one hears from me until I return from my first final the morrow’s eve (a changed man no doubt) but there’ll never be anything funnier to me than consistently being viewed as a composed and calm saviour by peers while I’m, actively and uncontrollably losing it.