#it is going to get zero traction but i had to make it so could get it out if my system

[mynameisbillandimaheadcase]

(made by me)

[usomads]

Finisher // Roman Reigns x Reader (Pin Me Pt. 2)

Author’s Note -> Hiiii everyone! So many of you requested a part two to Pin Me, which again thank you so much for all the love on the first part. I honestly didn’t think of making it multiple parts when I first wrote this, but here we are and here it is lol! Happy reading!

Plot -> After pinning the Smackdown Women’s Champion in your mixed tag-team match with Roman Reigns, you gained popularity and with that your first singles title opportunity. You’ve never been more nervous for anything in your life, so your Tribal Chief helps ease your nerves before your match…

Pairings -> Roman Reigns x Fem!Reader (Y/N)

Warnings -> Cursing, Oral Sex (Fem!Receiving), Fingering, Gagging, Implied Smut, Not Proofread, MDNI

Word Count -> 3.0k

(time skip to the first Smackdown episode after Saturday Night’s Main Event)

“I’ve been your Smackdown Women’s Champion for nearly five months now, and since becoming your champion I have proved that I am the irresistible force and nobody can take this title from me. Not Bayley, not Naomi, not Tiffany, and esp-” Nia’s promo was cut short by your entrance music hitting, the crowd rising to their feet and popping loudly for your theme. Since pinning Nia at Saturday Night’s Main Event, you had taken the WWE Universe by storm; your social media following went up, more and more people were recognizing you in public, you had gotten exactly the recognition you wanted all along- and it was all thanks to Roman Reigns.

Since last Saturday and your “celebration” post-match, you’ve grown closer to Joe. You were getting to know each other better, spending more time together, and what you initially thought was a one-time thing in the heat of the moment was clearly not. Joe got his hands on you every chance he could, it didn’t matter where or when, if he wanted you he was going to have you. And who were you to turn down your Tribal Chief? 

Now, you two hadn’t defined your “relationship” just yet but you both were perfectly fine with the way things were at the moment- taking things slow and really getting to know each other (among other things) before making anything official. You were doing pretty well for yourself; you were gaining more traction than before and you had a fine ass man to go home to- you had zero complaints with how your life and career were going at the moment.

You emerged from backstage, microphone in hand, as the crowd roared at your entrance. You signaled for production to cut your music, walking confidently to the ring as you spoke. “Now, Nia, I know damn well you didn’t come in the ring to talk all this mess about ‘no one can beat me’ after last week… did you hit your head too hard during our match or something because I,” you paused, signaling to the crowd filling the arena, “as well as the entire WWE universe remember very clearly that I pinned you last week at Main Event.” The crowd cheered in response, boosting your already high confidence as you smirked at Nia. “If you’re soooo confident you can beat me one-on-one, then do it. Put your title on the line next week and let’s see how much of a ‘force’ you really are.”

“Oh, Y/N…” Nia mocked you, “it’s so adorable that you think you’re a threat to me and my title. That win you got last week, pinning me? Was pure luck.” Nia stepped to you, with little distance between you too as she glared down at you, “But unlike you, at least I don’t have to sleep with anyone to get my main event spots, I work hard for what I have. Do that first, then come talk to me.” That wasn’t in the fucking script, is she serious right now? Oh, if she wants to improv, best believe I can too. You swung without thinking twice, using the microphone in your hand to hit her on the side of the head. It was time for a fight. 

You and Nia took turns trying to go at each other, both of you countering the other until she blindsided you out of nowhere with a hit that made you see double for a second. You knew you were done after that, feeling blood trickle from a cut on your head created by her. She continued to attack you while you were down, the crowd booing with every hit she delivered. After your body had slumped in the center of the ring she grabbed you by your hair and pulled you up, showing your beaten and bloody face to the crowd and cameras. “This isn’t fantasy, Y/N, stop playing pretend with Roman and go back to catering where you fucking belong.” She threw your head back onto the mat and exited the ring as security and medical personnel rushed to the ring. You dragged your fatigued body out of the ring and backstage, refusing treatment from medical despite their protests. You walked into the locker room Joe and you now shared, while Joe was screaming at someone on the phone.

“Nick, are you fucking kidding me? There’s gotta be some form of punish- I don’t give a shit what the higher ups thought about it, she could’ve seriously injured Y/N, I-,” Joe paused, turning around and seeing you enter the locker room, “I gotta go. This conversation isn’t over.” Joe hung up on the GM and rushed over to you. “Baby, are you okay? Did she hurt you? Have you gotten looked at by-”

“No, Joe, and I’m not going to. Just please, drop it. I’m over it.”

“Well, I’m not. Why the fuck would she even say something like that? How would she have known about us?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know, Joe! Now leave it alone, seriously, I’m not in the goddamn mood.” You went silent, thinking about what you were going to do about Nia. You needed to do something different, something she would never see coming. Your priorities shifted completely after that segment, you now no longer wanted just the title. Your biggest priority, maybe even more than wanting the belt, was to beat the shit outta Nia Jax, no matter what it took.

“Babe, c’mon, you need to sit down. You’re gonna stress yourself into a heart attack if you don’t quit pacing around the room like that,” Joe was currently attempting to calm you down, you had been completely fine this past week you were training and promoting the match, but now that the show had officially started your overwhelming amount of confidence had completely vanished.

“Easy for you to say, title matches are second nature to you. Muscle memory. I  have never competed for a title before, I have every right to be freaking the fuck out right now, Joe,” you sighed. “It feels like everything just did a 180 degree turn, like I have so many eyes on me now and they all want me to beat Nia’s ass, and I just don’t know if I-”

“Hey, none of that. Y/N, look at me,” you slowly brought your head up to meet his eyes, the same ones that completely captivated your being just a couple weeks ago. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t. That crowd out there knows exactly what you’re capable of, you know what you’re capable of, and I know what you’re capable of. I believe in you, baby, and if you can’t find it in you to believe in yourself then I’ll believe enough for the both of us. You got this, Y/N, I know you do.” Your heart melted at his words, the soothing and reassuring tone in his voice providing you some much needed comfort. 

“You still nervous, baby?” You nodded your head, looking down at your lap as he scooted closer to you on the couch. “I think I have an idea on how we can fix that. Do you trust me?”

“A-always, Joe.”

“Good girl.” He lifts your chin with his finger and passionately presses his lips to yours, resting his palm on the side of your face as you moan into the kiss. Your stomach flutters at his soft demeanor, feeling some of your nerves dissipate as his lips caress yours. He lays you down on the couch, hovering over you as he deepens the kiss. Breathless, he pulls away, leaning his forehead against yours and looking lovingly into your eyes. “You still feelin’ nervous, baby?”

“Y-yeah,” you breathed out, “a little less, but still pretty nervous.”

“I guess I’ll have to keep going then, don’t I?” His lips find their way back to yours, resting there for a moment before trailing along your jawbone and down your neck, leaving a few wet kisses at the base of your throat before continuing his path downward. Your breathing had picked up, and you were now looking down at him as his lips left a trail down your abdomen.

“A-are you sure we should… now? I mean, I have my match later and I-”

“Shhh, I promise I’ll be quick. Just wanna take care of you, help my baby out,” he muttered against your hip bone as he teased the lining of your ring gear you had been wearing. You sighed contently, leaning your head back against the arm of the couch and allowing yourself to relax into his touch. His fingers interlock in the lining of your bottoms as he looks up for you, asking for permission to remove them. You lift your hips off the couch, allowing him to slowly drag the material down your legs and throw them to the side. He snakes both hands up your legs, kneading the soft flesh of your thighs before splitting them apart and exposing you to him. Your body was so reactive to him- Joe loved how goosebumps would scatter across your skin at the brush of his lips or how your eyes would flutter closed and your eyebrows would scrunch together with just his touch, but most of all, he loved how how wet he made you without doing a thing to you. 

“Fuck, ma, always so ready for me,” you moaned loudly and bucked your hips, desperate for any sort of friction, “you gon’ have to be quiet for me, don’t want nobody to hear us, right baby?” You nodded and bit your lip, trying to hold in your cries and his fingers danced up the smooth skin of your inner thighs and through your folds, leaning down to make his face level with your core and presses a soft kiss on your clit before wrapping his lips around the swollen bud, nipping and sucking while he continues to drag his fingers along your slit before pushing a finger inside. His thrusts are slow, putting his focus on his mouth as he eats you with a burning intensity. His tongue works itself in ways that set your body on fire, the scruff of his beard along with it only adding to the sensation he’s giving you. The lip you’re biting to keep quiet is nearly drawing blood. You want to cry out, you want to moan his praises loud enough for the crowd inside the arena to hear, but you know you can’t so you continue to restrain yourself despite wanting to do the complete opposite.

He replaces his fingers with his tongue now, pumping it inside of you and using one to pin your hips down and the other to draw slow circles into your clit. This time you can’t help yourself; your clit is so sensitive that the second his fingers brushed it, you were done for. He pauses for a moment to remove his t-shirt he was wearing and you whine from the loss of contact, watching as he morphs the cotton material into a ball and hands it over to you, bringing his hand back down to your clit. “Bite down on this, since you can’t keep yourself quiet, I’ll make you.” You hesitate for a moment and look down at him, his features darkening and giving you a sly smirk before nodding his head. You bring the material to your lips before biting down on it, your senses being completely filled by Joe. He goes back to eating you as you moan into the cloth, the material successfully muffling your cries. Joe’s movements become more and more desperate, moving his tongue and fingers faster as he can sense you’re close. You can’t stop your moans now, saliva drooling from the corner of your mouth as you feel yourself getting closer to your release. Your legs begin to shake and Joe, noticing you were close, dives his head deeper into your pussy, trapping you with his mouth. Your eyes squeeze shut as you inhale, breathing in his scent and cologne you were using as a gag, triggering your own orgasm. You came on his tongue hard, shaking and moaning into the fabric of his shirt as he laps up your juices like an animal deprived of water. You even your breathing and throw his shirt back at him, the both of you laughing as he crawls on top of you.

“Oh, you wanna throw things at me do you? I might just have to teach you a le-”

Joe was interrupted by someone knocking on the door to his locker room. “Excuse me, Ms. Y/N? It’s almost time for your match, we need to head to Gorilla to finalize some things real quick.” You both sigh, him getting off of you as you put your bottoms back on in a rush. You make a run for the door to hurry and get to your position, but he grabs your arm to stop you. “You still feeling nervous?” You smiled at him and shook your head, going to thank him but getting cut off. “Good luck out there, baby. I’ll be waiting for you in Gorilla for you to show me that new title,” he kisses your cheek and you blush.

“Thank you, Joe, for everything. I mean it, I wouldn’t be doing this without you.” He gives you a soft smile and ushers you out the door, as you prepare yourself for possibly the biggest match of your entire career.

“Ughhh,” you groaned as Nia dragged you from the center of the ring to the corner, preparing to give you an Annihilator and win this match. From the jump Nia had punished you, much to the crowd’s distaste. It seemed like everybody in the arena had been behind you and you felt it, right up until the bell rang and she started throwing heavy combinations your way. You managed to sneak in a couple pieces of offense but none were convincing enough to give you any sort of edge. Nia got on the ropes, and performed the move. She remained seated on you, trying to get the pin. 1… 2… kick out. You pushed her off of you and sat on your heels, gripping your side. Jesus, my fuckin’ ribs. 

Finally to your feet, you unload on Nia as she laid on the ground. Kicks, punches, springboard moves, you threw the whole arsenal but each pin attempt gave a 1 or 2 count, and never close calls. You knew deep down you were going to have to do something completely insane to get this win, so you start stringing things together to get it done. You start by giving her a drop kick to send her to the outside, following her out, then throwing her into the steel steps. You dragged her by the hair to the announce table, laying her on it as you ran to the ring and climbed to the top rope. You made sure everyone near the table had cleared before crossing your heart and doing a senton, landing on Nia as the table and collapsing along with it. You could tell that Nia was nearly to the breaking point, so you mustered all the energy and strength you could to drag her back into the ring and climbed to the top rope once more. You hit your finisher, but wasn’t satisfied. You wanted no doubts, so you climbed up and hit it again, straddling her shoulders and hooking your arms around her legs. The arena was so loud you could barely hear the ref’s count. 1… 2… 3… ‘Here is your winner, and the NEW… WWE Women’s Champion… Y/N!’

You couldn’t even process what had just happened, all you wanted to do was get the hell out of that ring so you snatched the title from the ref and escaped. You slowed down when you made it to the stage, clutching the title in your arms and looking down at it with tears brimming your eyes. Your knees felt weak, and your heart was beating out of your chest. You did it. You triumphantly raised the title in the air, tears starting to fall as you smiled and took the moment in. After the cameras had cut and you had taken a few pictures with fans, you walked backstage only to be greeted with cheers. You made your way to everyone, getting pictures, hugs, and everything else in between before locking eyes with the man you wanted to see ever since your hand was raised. Joe. You practically ran to him, jumping into his arms and wrapping yours around his neck, hugging him tightly. He spun you around and smiled from ear to ear. 

“I’m so fuckin’ proud of you, baby. You had a helluva match out there, I knew you had it in you,” he kissed you sweetly right there, not caring who was watching as you grinned widely. “Now, let’s get you home,” he winked at you, setting you down before whispering low in your ear.

“We’ve got some more celebrating to do tonight.”

[whysamwhy123]

Huh. The first OrangeHook fic I wrote now has the most hits out of anything I've written in the last two years. Weird.

I guess you never really know which fics are gonna take off. But still, this is hard for me to wrap my head around. I figured nothing would ever overtake the previous top dog, since that was for a very popular pairing (at the time) and also I wrote it as part of a fandom event, so naturally it was gonna have a few more eyeballs on it than usual. For a rarepair fic, of a pairing that's almost completely dead (the 'almost' being there due to the tireless work of my good buddy Dah, single-handedly keeping the OrangeHook train a-rollin' in 2024 *blows a kiss*) to overtake that, and still be getting traction here and there after over a year, is kinda nuts.

I have a weird relationship with that fic, in general. When I posted it, I really wasn't happy with it. It has Problems, LOL. The more time that passes though, I've kinda warmed to it more and more. It still has those Problems, for sure, but it came together pretty good in the end, I think? Probably some of my best dialogue, at least. That fic was only supposed to be two scenes - the opening scene with Best Friends, and the Awkward Hotel Room Seduction Scene - but it kinda ballooned as I was writing it, and I kept adding more and more. I don't think I realised at the time that OrangeHook was gonna become My Pairing for a good while. But it certainly did.

I'm in a...weird place, at the moment, regarding writing. Well. I don't know if I'm even qualified to say that, because the short version is - I ain't writing no' mo'. Haven't finished a fic, or even written more than a couple words, in over two months. Considering I was averaging one fic a month since January 2023, that's a downgrade for sure. This definitely isn't one of my usual writing slumps. I have Ideas (Such Ideas!) but zero motivation to write any of them. This isn't fandom's fault, to be clear. I do feel very out-of-touch and like the fandom's passed me by, but that's just because I don't watch AEW anymore because *almost falls back into old habits and launches into one of my annoying hater rants that I used to do all the goddamn time before I realised how lame that was and made myself act my age for once* reasons, and so I'm not particularly interested/invested in any of the popular pairings these days. The only pairings I do care about are ones like OrangeHook - microscopically small rarepairs where it's literally just me and one other person, and that's it. As much as I adore those folks (Gato <3 Dah <3), it's hard to find motivation when you know there's no audience waiting for you. Makes you feel like there's no point, y'know? Doesn't help that all of my ideas these days are goofy, self-indulgent AUs or bizarre crackfics. Even if I could put pen to paper, so to speak, I wouldn't exactly be giving the people what they want, LOL.

After I failed to get my Halloween fic done (it was, predictably, a goofy, self-indulgent OrangeHook AU about Jim falling under the sway of Hook, who's an incubus. Y'all are welcome that I didn't put that out into the world, LOL), I kinda figured that I might be done with writing again. Before January of last year, I hadn't written a word in years. I gave up on writing after some Bad Stuff happened. It felt like a gift to be able to do it again, after so much time. Kinda sucks to think I might be back to just Not Being Able To Do It At All again. Kinda really sucks.

There is this one idea. I've had it rattling around in my brain for a long time. It actually started as a Hookhausen fic (remember them? Where does the time go?), but I ended up adapting it to be OrangeHook over time. I have a lot of scattered ideas for scenes, bits of dialogue, and a pretty strong sense of what The Point would be. I did toy with the idea of starting it a while back (or at least trying to) and making it my swansong for the fandom/my writing in general. One last self-indulgent rarepair fic that no one cares about, and then I could peace out. To draw a line under things, y'know? Tie a little bow on this whole writing experiment of mine and then move on to...I don't know. Something else. Nothing? *shrugs* But that fic would be a big undertaking, at least for me. Would probably take a long time. A lot of work. And I ain't exactly drowning in free time. Plus, the aforementioned not-having-written-a-word-in-ages thing. I don't know.

We'll see, I guess.

If you read all of this, first of all - I am so very sorry, LOL. Second, thank you. If you're someone who's read anything I've put out there in the last two years, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. There's been...a lot of ups and downs, but overall, I'm really glad that I was able to get back into this, even if it didn't last too long. I'm pretty proud of a lot of the fics I managed to write, and while I know I was never the most popular girl in school, I hope that some of my silly stories entertained you. Made you laugh, or distracted you from the awfulness of reality for a spell. God knows, that's what all of your fics, and this fandom in general, did for me. Y'all are so nice. Creative, supportive, funny. It's kinda comforting, knowing that the fandom is still going strong. You kids have fun! Maybe this is goodbye, or maybe I'll channel that wrestler mentality and have 'One more match!' and then I'll retire. Who knows? But regardless, I'm glad I got to do this. No regrets. Well, maybe some, LOL. But for the most part...yeah. Shit was fun, yo. I did the damn thing.

OK, I'll shut up now, I promise *awkwardly finger guns my way out of the room*

[kamari2038]

Alright, just finished Heavy Rain.

Who all has played this game???

Because I need to CHAT with someone about this game.

Also, now that I've played Heavy Rain I have come to realize that DBH is sort of a really good AU fanfiction of Heavy Rain 🤔

Like there are sooooooooooo many common elements even though the vibes are completely different. It's like some actual competent writers came in and were forced to keep all of DC's favorite parts but were like "we're making this better"

!!!(Spoilers Below)!!!

Dang, I kind of loved Scott, though his sexism unbearably pissed me off. I can't even tell you how little it even occurred to me that it could be him. Unlike the Alice twist, I thought this one was actually pretty neat though! Like I REALLY should have thought twice about this one, but I was so into playing him as this maximally nice guy, plus so thrown off by the Gordi Kramer nonsense, that I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on (seriously though, what's the deal with the Gordi Kramer crap?).

Why didn't Ethan die of the poison??? Why was he having blackouts?? What did he do during the blackouts??? Was it planned??? Was no one drugging anybody??? So Madison's nightmares were completely irrelevant to the plot???

I wanted them to KISS. I DID NOT WANT TO GET RAILROADED INSTANTLY INTO A FULL NIGHT OF SEX. HELLO??? The ending of them being together frankly made zero sense, but it was cute so I'll take it. Bad nonsensical dialogue and all (part and parcel with any DC game at this point).

Guys, I killed Norman 😭. I can't believe it. My table has no traction for my mouse, so I have this folder with a rough surface stacked on top of a notebook and their fight was so dang long that the folder fell off and I failed the QTEs and he got SLICED APART??? AND NOBODY CARED??? NOBODY EVEN CAME TO THE FUNERAL OR THOUGHT TWICE ABOUT HIM??? AAAAARRRGGGHHH. Honestly though. Okay but the part where he's became a ghost inhabiting Ari and haunting Blake was pretty awesome. And there's something so sad and poetic about him dying and nobody cares. I have to play through more to see if it really made a difference, but I guess it was good that he kept Shelby distracted? I want to believe that...

Edit:

Norman was also apparently supposed to have a tragic backstory with a dead gay lover who had helped invent his cool glasses? 😭 Why? Why didn't this get made? Sad.

[smackins]

Not to be THAT guy, but I really need to bare my soul here.

I don't know if I want to do Artfight anymore.

While I'm extremely grateful for the attacks I did receive this year (I still owe 2 revenge pieces, don't worry, I'm working on them ❤️) it's become less fun and more of a reminder of how isolated I feel as an artist. I got a total of five attacks this year. I have friends who were attacked right out of the gate, on the very first day, by a barrage folks who were chomping at the bit to draw their ocs.

It's not Artfight's fault, and not really other people's fault, either. I'm not like, "How dare you not attack me!!111!!" It's just it amplifies so many insecurities I've had for years and makes it hard to ignore them.

I get an overwhelming feeling like there's something wrong with me as an artist, not even that I'm medicocre skill wise (though I feel that, too), but that I'm just fundamentally uninteresting and forgettable. My characters and my stories aren't worth asking about. They aren't worth anyone's enthusiasm or curiosity, they're not worth the encouragement. I can share a piece that I spent 6 hours on and just get "cute" as a response, while others could share a non-serious doodle of their ocs that took 5 minutes tops and get responses like "AHHH I LOVE THEM THEYRE SO AMAZING YOURE SO FUNNY."

And I know it's not good to compare yourself to others, but sometimes it's hard not to when everywhere I go, it feels so blatantly obvious how I'm barely worth anyone's time.

At first I thought it was the fact I draw non-human characters, because those are hard for people, so I made a little note on Artfight that I'll accept humanized versions. But plenty of people draw nonhuman characters, all the time, and recieve lots of encouragement and feedback from other people. Then I thought, "maybe it's my original comic characters that intimidate people" you know, my weird scorpion aliens. But that's not it either, because they're admittedly a lot less "alien" than they could be, and I know people with some absolutely WILD speculative-biology-type character designs who, again, get loads of enthusiasm and feedback. Plus, that doesn't explain why my fan ocs go ignored- plenty of people like Digimon, Mass Effect, and DBZ.

I feel like I'm just weird and tainted and cursed somehow, which I KNOW is absurd, but that's the best way I can describe this frustration. And yeah, I know if I posted more art and more about my characters, I MIGHT get a little more traction, but when I get so little encouragement from so few people, it's so hard to feel motivated to share. And it's not like I'm looking for huge, detailed responses or specifics about why people like my technique or whatever, because God knows I struggle to form specific words as to why EXACTLY I like something, but I just want to feel like people give a damn and ACTUALLY want to know more. Very few people ask questions or get curious. I have a lore blog for my original comic that has been up for 7 whole years, yet the only questions or comments I get are from the same 2 or 3 (very lovely and appreciated) people. Most of those posts have zero notes, a ton of them have been reblogged to my personal blog over, and over, and over again and still get ignored.

This isn't about popularity, or notes, or anything like that. I just want to feel like what I put into the world matters. Yes, I do get satisfaction from drawing for myself, but that can only go so far when I feel like I'm the little kid in the corner playing alone because the other kids don't notice me.

[nathanielbuildsatesseract]

This is the sort of post that'll probably get me in trouble and I shouldn't trust y'all to behave with it, but I'm in a dismal state and willing to take high-risk moves in an attempt to improve things. Nobody uses Tumblr on Friday nights anymore so it's not like many of you will even see this.

Recently I realized that my experience of being long-term single feels a lot like my experience of being unemployed. I met all the basic qualifications for all sorts of positions but couldn't get an interview. As far as I could tell, I was qualified, just a little light on experience. I was applying to jobs literally every day for months and maybe every couple of weeks would get some sort of indication that my resume had been advanced before ultimately getting the rejection email. After graduation, I was unemployed for a full year and got four (4) interviews in that time, one of which was a follow-up interview for a job I didn't get. Finally I threw in the towel and went to grad school. Two years later, I got plenty of interviews and multiple offers. When the job I took didn't work out, I got an offer for an even better position in just a few weeks. It's hard to express the difference between those three job search experiences. I never even finished the degree!

My attempts at romance feel very similar to when I couldn't get an interview after undergrad. I might not be an amazing catch, but I think I'm more than qualified for a serious boyfriend role. And yet, even when I'm active on Bumble every day for weeks at a time, I'm doing well if I match with someone every couple of weeks. Usually they send their mandatory first message, I respond as appropriate and ask a question in return, and I don't get any sort of response. I assume they're getting plenty of matches with men more attractive and neurotypical than me, just as I assume engineering firms were flooded with resumes from students at better schools with higher GPAs. Believe it or not, that doesn't make me feel any better about getting zero traction for months on end.

Just as when I was trying to get a job, it ultimately feels like getting into a relationship is a matter fundamentally outside of my control, that I have no ability to influence. All I can do is wait and hope that something turns up despite mounting evidence that it never will. Getting to a first date feels like a Herculean task when even the women who explicitly said they were interested choose instead to ignore my attempts at conversation. Actually being in a relationship is starting to feel like pure fantasy.

Perhaps I'm looking for love in the wrong places; neither of the firms where I've worked full-time were places where I applied when I was unemployed after undergrad. Of course, trying to figure out where women who want to date a nerd like me might be is not exactly easy, just like trying to find new firms that have relevant openings isn't easy when you have a niche resume and interests. (Tumblr worked once and never again since for reasons that are basically inscrutable to me.) Ultimately, the way I found those positions was just being systematic in checking the careers webpage for every aerospace firm I heard about and putting openings in a giant spreadsheet. I'd apply to at least one position a day, and started getting interviews that eventually led to an offer.

But I think what actually made the difference was going to grad school. For the life of me, I can't figure out what the dating equivalent of an MS would be. The only thing approaching a real suggestion that I've heard is Vibe Camp. Beyond the logistical nightmares I hear about every year, I'm very skeptical that something like that would meaningfully increase my odds of getting a girlfriend. I've been to special interest conventions (with better ratios) before and there doesn't seem to be any romantic value—immediate or long-term—to the experience. So as far as I can tell, I'm just stuck until I luck into meeting my wife randomly.

[atopvisenyashill]

Pol!jon anon again I was thinking more of the version of pol!jon where he like forces an abortion on her and reveals that he loved Sansa all along. When I watched the show I was thinking he was attracted to Dany and wanted to be with her initially but grew more and more fearful of her and eventually did not want to be with her. So he wasn’t manipulating when the relationship started, but staying in it was a scheme. Imagine my shock when I read the script for the finale and it said that Jon loved her even after she burned KL. Bad writing and bad chemistry between actors. I can definitely imagine Jon remaining in a relationship for safety and politics as a defensive play, but the offensive angle of pol!Jon in which he initiates the relationship with no feelings or desire with the intention of killing her feels wrong especially if a forced abortion is involved

Okay I’m gonna go point by point here just for organization sake.

Pol!jon anon again I was thinking more of the version of pol!jon where he like forces an abortion on her and reveals that he loved Sansa all along.

Oh no lmao, I forgot about all the baby theories for s7 and 8 😭😭 No, I don’t think what MMD says is a prophecy at all, I think people focus on the WRONG things out of that whole scene, and while I think george is clearly cooking something re: dany’s fertility, that’s gonna be something so central to the story i don’t think anyone is gonna guess it 100% right so everyone’s guesses are weird as FUCK on this subject. but also not for nothing, i’m fairly sure the moontea theory was like one (1) person and then everyone just kept going “wow so ALL pol!jon people think he’s gonna force an abortion on dany they’re so evil” no, actually most people who thought pol jon might be real didn’t think for a second that boat baby was real lmao. it was just like a “making up a guy to get mad at” theory that got traction bc of the ship war.

i DID see some people theorize he might tell dany he’s in love with sansa but like thee Moment he had zero reaction to finding out he was Rhaegar’s child was thee MOMENT i knew we were not getting a single satisfying jon snow scene again and that whatever it is that happens in the books for him clearly went RIGHT THE FUCK OVER dumb & dumber’s heads 😭😭😭 so like, yeah i just didn’t think anything at all even a lil but juicy was gonna happen and what do you know i was pretty much correvt akskkd

i DO think there’s a high chance that threatening sansa is the most pressing reason for why jon & arya would attempt to kill her and i’ve definitely played with some gruesome theories just based on lines that i thought could be hinting at what they do but i don’t think there’s going to be any moontea drinking, forced or otherwise, involved. i certainly HOPE she’s not pregnant when/if she dies because i fucjing. hate that shit. but idk.

When I watched the show I was thinking he was attracted to Dany and wanted to be with her initially but grew more and more fearful of her and eventually did not want to be with her. So he wasn’t manipulating when the relationship started, but staying in it was a scheme.

Yeah I think that also makes sense and could plausibly happen in the books - I mean that’s basically what I kinda imagine in my head, that Jon may be fascinated with Dany initially bc she’s a Targaryen & dragon rider then turn on her but only in secret, just, without the sex lmao. I just personally did NOT see the chemistry and I remember when they made that “oh you got a lil crush Jon Snow?” comment in the show and i was flabbergasted and when they banged I was actively cringing and I thought maybe it was just my aversion to them as a ship but then everyone online was like “but they’re so cute in interviews what’s happening??!” aksjd. so i think like many people i was hoping there was a deeper reason he seemed so disinterested, like even completely putting aside the shipping aspects, i thought jon seducing dany so he could get a dragon made a sort of sense with his character. he’s certainly willing to play nice with stannis for help, and this would be a much more morally murky but logical next step. but i had zero faith in the writers, so i DID just assume it was going to be (the much more boring route imo) that he did initially love her, realized she’s too dangerous, but stayed in a relationship with her to get her support.

Imagine my shock when I read the script for the finale and it said that Jon loved her even after she burned KL. Bad writing and bad chemistry between actors.

LISTEN. The conspiracy theory HOLES i went down after that fucking finale. i was just like. there’s no way they wrote an ending THIS BAD. there’s NO FUCKING WAY. and then we get the script and it was WORSE???? he was really just snowed by her THE WHOLE TIME???????

i guess apparently being hot is NOT enough to compensate, we need ACTORS for chemistry okay, at least ONE PERSON needs to be able to emote to sell a love story lmaooo

I can definitely imagine Jon remaining in a relationship for safety and politics as a defensive play, but the offensive angle of pol!Jon in which he initiates the relationship with no feelings or desire with the intention of killing her feels wrong especially if a forced abortion is involved.

Yeah that was basically what I was getting at and why I made the Ygritte comparison - he has sex with Ygritte while actively plotting to betray her in a very personal way so I don’t think it’s a reach to say he could something similar again. I can also see it stretching into like, Jon makes the decision he has to kill her/help kill her but he hasn’t broken things off bc like, KL exploded and he’s busy rn or whatever. So certainly still offensive in that he’s actively manipulating her for his own ends and unlike with Ygritte, he doesn’t even return her feelings in any genuine way. VS like the completely defensive “he falls in love, realizes she’s too far gone, THEN betrays her” take. But starting a relationship with her with the express intent of murdering her and forcing an abortion on her if she gets with child? With everything we know about Jon Snow as he stands, that one is a reach. That could change in the future I suppose but I personally don’t see it likely to happen that way.

[jfhikes]

Day 22: MM 327 - 341

I got a late-than-normal start, around 8:20. I only had about 20 miles to Roosevelt Lake, where I needed to be on Friday, so I didn’t need to make crazy mileage. The first bits of the trail continued going through the same juniper/manzanita forest mixed with grassy open areas. Within a mile, I passed through the ruins of Reavis Ranch, an old outpost in the Superstitions.

I then did a medium-sized ascent and descent before arriving at my first water source, a small metal trough in the ground. I scooped fairly clear water from it, though I did accidentally acquire a snail that I freed as soon as I noticed him floating around my dirty bottle. Sorry big guy.

After leaving the source, I saw a helicopter flying into the canyon that I stood partway up the side of. The pilot took it deep into the canyon before ascending over a peak I hadn’t crossed, then returning and exiting the canyon. Not clear what the purpose was. I hadn’t seen anyone else all day, but it was possible they were looking for someone.

After this, the trail did a nasty thing. In two miles, it descended 1000 feet (mile 1) and then ascended that 1000 feet right back (mile 2). This put me on the next ridgeline over, but the trail was steep and full of loose rocks that made traction poor. On the way down, lots of sliding unless I went very slowly. On the way up, lots of energy lost to pushing rocks down instead of me up. Eventually, I made it to the other side and put some electrolytes in my water to make up for (sizable) losses in this area.

Shortly thereafter, I ran into a guy doing this section southbound, and we chatted for a few minutes. Then I was off again, through a mix of burn areas and shorter vegetation, with one more ascent to go before the descent to the lake. The descent was on a steep jeep road, and I once again had to use my poles to stop myself from sliding down on loose rock. The views were nice, though, and I could see the lake for a good portion. After this, I ended up in Cottonwood Canyon, which I followed down to Cottonwood Spring to fill up water for the night. I backtracked a little for a camp spot, as the better one about 0.2 miles down the trail had already been taken. Mine was a little slanted, but nothing too bad as long as I aligned my tent with the direction of sloping.

From my tent, I can hear dirt slipping off the embankment into the wash below thanks to the efforts of some enterprising birds. These include one very pretty cardinal that I couldn’t get a good picture of. They’re surprisingly loud, which is a good reminder that even small animals can sound much larger if you can’t see what’s making the sound. Realizing this is key to sleeping better outside. If a truly large animal came by, they’d sound like a freight train, so don’t sweat the small stuff. I can also hear a bunch of bees buzzing down the wash, but I made sure I wasn’t camping right near them so they shouldn’t be a problem.

Tomorrow, I have 5ish miles left into Roosevelt Lake. I’ve covered 341 miles in 22 days of hiking, at which pace I should take about 52 days to finish the trail. While I haven’t taken a full zero since I left Tucson, I have taken neros in Kearny and Superior (unplanned in Kearny, planned in Superior). Tomorrow will be another nero, but my next planned full zero is in Flagstaff (roughly 200 miles away). I’ll only have about 200 miles left in the trail at that point, so I want to make sure I’m going into it fresh.

[user-generatedcontent]

How GetAFollower Helped Me Skyrocket My Instagram Likes Instantly

Growing on Instagram isn’t as easy as it used to be. These days, if your posts don’t get likes quickly, the algorithm just moves on - leaving your content in the dust. I spent way too much time hoping for organic engagement, and found out that…waiting doesn’t work. It just doesn’t.

So I decided to try purchasing Instagram auto likes to give my posts the push they needed. After some digging, I landed on GetAFollower, which claims to offer legitimate services from real people, so I gave it a shot. And honestly, it worked out way better than I expected.

Why I Choose GetAFollower

For the past few months, my Instagram engagement had been pretty much non-existent. No likes, no traction—just a lot of pointless posting. I finally decided to see if paid engagement could help and started looking into social media growth companies.

GetAFollower stood out - they had a solid reputation, affordable pricing, and promised legit engagement from real people (not sketchy bots). Plus, their 60-day retention warranty and refund guarantee made it a risk-free move. I wasn’t expecting miracles, but what I got for the price I paid was seriously solid.

Here’s how it went down…

What Happened After I Placed My Order?

One thing these guys do right - keeping things simple. Picking up social media services from GetAFollower really is as easy as it gets:

1.  Visit the Service Page – Head to the Instagram Auto Likes section on their website.

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8.  Enter Your Instagram Username – No passwords needed—just double-check that your username is correct.

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And that’s it. No complicated sign-ups, no weird verifications - just a quick and easy way to get the ball rolling.

What truly amazed me was the natural delivery speed. The likes weren’t dumped all at once, making it appear organic. It genuinely looked like my content was resonating with people, which helped me attract even more organic engagement.

The Impact on My Instagram Growth

Right after placing my order, I got an email confirmation within five minutes—always a good sign. A few hours later, I was ready to put it to the test, so I started posting. Sure enough, just like they promised, a steady stream of likes started rolling in within minutes. It wasn't a sketchy flood of engagement, but way quicker than real people would typically notice and react to a post.

The impact? Way better than expected. The instant engagement made my posts look more credible, which boosted their visibility. I even saw an uptick in organic growth—more people checking out my profile, more follows, and more real interaction. Over 25 posts, delivery stayed smooth and consistent, with zero drops.

Turns out, having auto likes working in the background made everything easier - definitely a better experience than I thought going in.

What I Loved About GetAFollower

GetAFollower brings a lot to the table when it comes to social media engagement—especially if you’re tired of fighting the algorithm on your own. Here’s what stood out the most:

·   Automatic Likes Delivery – No need to keep reordering. The likes start rolling in automatically every time you post.

·   High-Quality Likes – These aren’t random, empty accounts. The likes come from authentic profiles, so they actually add credibility instead of looking fake.

·   Affordable Packages – Whether you need a small boost or something bigger, there’s a huge range budget-friendly options for everyone.

·   Secure Transactions – Thanks to SSL encryption, payments are completely safe. Plus, no social media account passwords needed to get started.

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·   Non-Drop Likes – Engagement stays steadily increasing over time, thanks to the drip-feed delivery process, so there’s no sudden drop-off.

Bottom line - real services that actually deliver.

Impact of Using GetAFollower

Using GetAFollower isn’t just about getting likes - it’s about making Instagram’s algorithm work for you instead of against you. Early engagement gives your posts a better shot at landing on the Explore page, which means more visibility, more reach, and ultimately, more real interactions.

A steady, ongoing flow of likes also builds credibility, making your profile look more active and appealing to potential followers. Over time, this can snowball into real brand growth, attracting an even bigger audience. Whether you're an influencer, a business, or just someone trying to grow their page, it’s the kind of boost that can make a serious difference.

Final Verdict: Is GetAFollower Worth It?

Based on my experience, yes—definitely worth a shot. GetAFollower's service quality stood out from the start, with fast delivery, reliable engagement, and a smooth ordering process.

I've tried other social proof sellers before, but this was the first time I was consistently impressed. If you're looking to purchase social media services that actually make a difference, this is a solid investment for boosting your visibility and credibility.

Tried GetAFollower or any other growth services yourself? Drop a comment below - I'd love to hear how the whole thing worked for you!

[talenlee]

2024 Wrapup!

At the start of the year I pitched a specific idea; I wanted to make what I made with purpose and I didn’t want to flatten what I did by describing it as ‘content.‘ I promised, essentially, to write with purpose, and without considering whatever I was producing as generic. Every article (aside from the t-shirt design articles) was going to be a thousand words or more, and I had limits on genres of post.

Now, this is largely going to be a list of articles I’m very happy with this year and why, reviewing my own writing, and there are going to be a lot of links. If you’re already familiar with the blog, and if you’re familiar with the category and tag system, those will help you navigate through these articles and find them on your own. What I’m doing this time is looking at the broad categories of writing I did this year and directing you to check out articles in that space you might have missed, and what I think of how good a job I did.

Basically, right now, you might be broke and bored. Here’s some stuff you might enjoy reading that will cost you nothing, thanks to my wonderful patrons giving a buck or two a month.

Some stuff that’s not in contention: By default, Story and Game Pile aren’t here because I cover those in other posts. The posts about the month starts and wrapups aren’t in, either. I didn’t include any of the monthly posts summarising my Magic: The Gathering set material, because that’s basically a special interest (and we’ll talk more about it next year).

D&D 3e

First of all, here’s the tag for just browsing this kind of article. Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition is an edition of the game I had a lot of experience in, and own a lot of books for, which means that any time I want to think about old game design and TTRPG experience, I can just go grab an old book and flip it open, then answer any questions the resulting page asks me.

Monk Attacks — If you understand what monks were doing in 3e, you could easily tell the way the mechanic wanted to work, but there was zero way for the game rules to explain it. Just say monks iterate on 4!

The Love Potion — I examine an omnipresent fantasy trope item that is bad, but also, the way that 3rd edition included it in a way that was also obviously bad.

Sticks and Stones — An examination of the standardisation of psychic powers and the resultant expansion of what those powers could do.

Objection to Formula — A reflection how I’ve been making new game material for the games I play for thirty years, starting back when I was a child sharing magical items to Usenet.

The Missing Step — A conversation about how Wizard Prestige Classes are so unbalanced that there’s no way to balance them without making them all immediately worthless.

The PHB At The Pride Parade — I mean this is basically just fanfiction of the characters. I think this is a great example of an article that would be uplifted by the addition of character art but there’s no way to get the art necessary on my schedule at my costs without basically opting into Generative Slop art.

Psychofeedback — I relate one of my favourite stories of older mechanics from the history of the game, which also ties into a time when I remember getting a book errata’d personally.

Eberron is A World Of Locks — A chat about the way that rising technology in a world creates diversity in the kinds of villains you’re able to have, all told through the lens of Eberron’s relationship to ‘Disable Device.’

Winners and Losers In Lawful Space — Probably the most popular article I wrote this year, comparing the Modrons (perfect weird little guys) to the Inevitables (the world’s narcs). This article has some errors (I did not know that Modrons were from 1e!), but it still caught traction in tumblr and it was cool watching people react to it. This is probably the best article in this group this year and I recommend it.

Kythons — An article about the horror bug crabs that were introduced in the Book of Vile Darkness, which serve as a sort of idealised horror ‘animal’ for players to fight.

The Nemuranai System — Finally, probably the best single mechanical system in 3e’s supplementary material that was introduced to address the looting problem that didn’t fit with a particular genre, as imagined by people who weren’t experts in that genre.

D&D 4e

Again, here’s a tag to browse these articles and further. D&D 4th edition is my weapon of choice when I want to play a dungeon crawler with tactical combat and highly structural character building.

Iron Hearts And Minds — An examination of heritages that are popular amongst players, but don’t necessarily have a place in my D&D campaigns for reasons of legality (the Warforged), power (the minotaur) or boringness (eat poop, gith).

Backgrounds Are Weird — I talk about the way the background system ‘works’ and the way that it’s just not clearly written anywhere in a convenient core part of the books.

4e For Two —What if you want to play 4th edition but don’t have a lot of people to play with? Well, here’s a way to approach it as a two-player game.

Many Hands Make Fight Work — A conversation about the term ‘action economy’ that serves as the underpinning design framework for how 4th edition tried to fix certain fundamental problems that 3rd edition introduced accidentally.

Why Is Druid? — An article explaining the lineage of the Druid from 2e through to 4e as I experienced it. This is especially illuminated by the contribution from Claire about interesting rules wrinkles introduced by the half-assing of Druid healer abilities. This is the best article of this type this year and I recommend it for its own sake.

Having A (Weapon) Type — Know how the weapon system in 4th ed works? You do? Then read this article and giggle at my funny jokes.

The Cultures Of Gender — In Pride Month I tried to investigate if there were any D&D heritages that didn’t have a strict and specific conception of a gender binary. I found more than I expected but fewer than I should have.

The Blackguard Sucks — Somehow this one got popular on Reddit? I don’t know what happened to that, but it was very cool to see people discussing my writing. In this case it’s about one of the worst striker classes available in the game that, by existing, kinda accidentally makes its competition better.

The Power Of Trickery (in 4e D&D) — There are some ideas that have no application to any other articles I make for 4th edition D&D. Normally I can find a place in the How To Be series to show off interesting mechanical wrinkles, but I cannot imagine a holy character with a chain weapon and a sense of trickery to work with here oh wait why didn’t I think of the Belmonts.

Spooky Heritages — I took some time to look at 4th edition options for playing something monstery and what problems they did or didn’t have.

I Like the Ardent — And finally, my last major article about 4th edition D&D was a consideration of one of my favourite classes in a category of favourite classes. I love 4e Leaders, and I love the things they enable. The Ardent combines things I love! The psychic power point system, melee character support, physical violence, risk!

World-Building As A Practice

Here’s the tag to look at this list of articles from this year and earlier. The nature of worldbuilding writing is that sometimes there are articles about something in Cobrin’Seil (my D&D setting) that still is a principle I think can be generalised.

In terms of big, world-wide systems, I wrote about how you structure the Planar Cosmology, and what those different models let you do, and the potential pitfalls they have. There’s also the idea of Number Systems and the way Language Structures Power In The Community. Of course, if we’re talking about power, there are multiple ways to structure that, such as Whiteness, and Competing Magical Theories. I wrote a treatment on the question of how you determine truth usefully, or rather, what is truth (in game worldbuilding)? Finally, I suppose, no getting around it, I really liked my article about the power to consume, and the question of whether or not it’s okay to eat people, and if so, Who Can You Eat?

But more grounded elements, like, setting specifics? I wrote about a Useful Template For Street Food, because I think every culture everywhere is going to make food that they can easily have and exchange. I asked the question does Your World Have A Pride Parade? and about the somewhat depressing question of what can cause Pride, since Pride is explicitly a response to a system of abuse. There’s also a piece about widely distributed ‘small’ magic cites in cities, titled I Just Think Mr Minit’s A Wizard which makes sense if you know Mr Minit’s a business in Australia in almost every mall that does stuff like shoe repair, key cutting, and fixing watches. I also wrote about Lanes in Space, the effect that spacelanes generate and what you can use them for, which puts them on the same level as Marriage.

Oh! And also, communication speed is important, and it changes the world. Consider the impact then of the Speed of Words.

Exploring the World of Cobrin’Seil

I do generic, abstracted world-building material, in the context of ‘here’s a way to think about what your setting is doing’ but the thing is, what I really want to do, what I really feel like I have the most fun doing is talking about my Dungeons & Dragons setting, Cobrin’Seil, a world I made up when I was a kid because I figured that if I had my own world to work with nobody could tell me I was doing it wrong. Since then I have also become a big weirdo about how game worlds should work and the world of Cobrin’Seil betrays all the thumbprints of things I care about!

This year saw the codifying of some locations to solve some problems. I’ve written about necrostates in the past, and this year I wrote about Hecsenfore, (Part 2, Part 3). It’s a city ruled over by a vampire whose Special Interest is running a city well, because how hard could it be to run a city well? Duh? I also wrote about the Wizard University of Laewaes, two of the six provinces of Dal Raeda, and the blasted ruins of the former nation now known just as Selpera.

While talking about places, I did talk about the extremely big idea that the Blood War and Hell’s self-represented image of a war of equal ideologies was perhaps, not actually true and maybe a culture of liars weren’t telling the truth. This is part of a kind of ongoing consideration of ‘villainy’ in the cultures of Cobrin’Seil, like reflecting on the idea of ‘evil ogres,’ the missing history of the Tiefling Empire, and most of all, the way that corporations manufactured their own version of a Warlock Patron.

The people of Cobrin’Seil are all meant to be very material even if they don’t exist because of very material causes. That’s how the weird history of the Aarakocra wound up happening, and their cousin species the Harpies. That involves learning about the undercurrent of what the fey realms are like and what models of reality represent it, which wound up being a full three parter (1, 2, 3).

Finally, and the topic in Cobrin’Seil I found myself most excited to write about: Drugs and how they’re regulated.

Pokemon

Pokemon is, after Magic: The Gathering probably one of the most complicated games I’ve ever played and also love. This year I wrote some articles about the game and the game’s surrounding cultural material.

Like, sure, the Speed stat is really important in Pokemon, that’s about the mechanics of the competitive game. The Pokemon Who Have Never Been Legal is also about the things that don’t even exist in the competitive space. The story of Flygon Isn’t Gunna Happen, People is also a story of competitive play, where a Pokemon got caught in the explosion of another Pokemon.

But there’s also the conversation around worldbuilding in Pokemon. For example, there’s the way that Paradox Pokemon represent a new kind of prehistory of the world. That means questions of like How do Pokemon Breed? or that Pokemon Choose Expressive Identities (To F*ck). While we’re talking about breeding and fucking, what about clothes, where Finding Pokemon That Wear Pants was at issue, and then who was wearing the pants and who was wearing a dress in the context of Crossdressing In Pokemon. Once you have dresses you can have pockets and I can work out which Pokemon are interested in emptying those pockets by Stealing Your Money. Maybe they’ll even Act Spooky while they do it.

Finally, I try and address the question Well What if I Was In Charge Of Pokemon If I’m So Bloody Smart?

Transformers

Sometime this year, an old friend got into contact with me, and wound up checking out the blog. One thing they mentioned, which was pretty funny in hindsight was that they didn’t know I was such a fan of Transformers. Which, just to be clear, I’m kind of not? But I do write about them, and Transformers is such a wonderfully deep canyon of nonsense, just this enduring leviathan of middle-grade Media Culture that there’s always something cool to elevate or something dumb to tease and sometimes you can just have fun gawking.

Anyway, I tried to grapple with some questions in Transformers that could be interesting to investigate. My favourite article of the whole year, for example, which was about what Transformer was the fastest one, based on things we can track and observe rather than just ‘they can travel from planet to planet fast.’ I also dug into the semiotics of Starscream and what kind of queer representation he is, and the nonsense consideration of the ‘guns’ they carry. There’s also the idea of Naming Rights and how there are sometimes good names or bad names and. The toys also present their own boundaries, like, there are limits on what the toys can represent, which is how we get shellformers.

I also looked at some Transformers in terms of their characters, with treatements of Powerglide, the horror monster gestalts, Wheeljack, Optimus Prime and Swindle.

Magic the Gathering stuff

Oh hey, here’s that most complex game I like!

Sometimes I write about Magic as a player, like when I wrote about Wife Guy Decks, or my exercise in trying to get better at drafting (and I think I am!) with Outlaws of Thunder Junction Draft In Retrospect. I also reflected on the exciting news that we have Canon Dinobots, an entirely unbased fandom ship that it was really fun to see happening because essentially, one artist who thought it was cute drew fanart that became popular. Oh and I reflected on one of my favourite cards from Magic The Gathering Arena, Propagator Primordium.

Most importantly, and most generally useful, I think, though, are the articles I wrote for the Custom Magic design space. That is to say, things I think are useful lessons and ideas for people who are also, like me, making our own cards to enjoy the experience of making them.

In that, I wrote about Whybrid, which sought to be a useful guide to explaining to people who are new to the game about how hybrid mana works and what it’s job is for. Oh, and also, there was a reflection on the New Mechanics of 2023. I also wrote about the unhinged idea that players need special tools to end the game on their own terms, when the fact is, You Can Just Concede. Finally, I wanted to address the trend of Modern Horizons 3 inspired and adjacent designs of people consciously or unconsciously making The Everythingamajig.

Game making

I make games, and this year I wrote some articles on that. Not the central focus I want them to be (and we’ll see about that in 2025), but throughout the year I did put out some articles that, while a bit rough, are summaries of the game development process.

A Mechanic For Love

Bloodwork Update 11

Wip Assessment 1

Lysen Co and Forebears

Don’t Forget Simple Tools

Academic Topics

And while there weren’t as many as I would have wanted, I did spend some time this year talking about topics that are for lack of a better term ‘academic.’ This is stuff that’s a little denser and I hope it was a good explanation for these concepts.

Gdcn’t 1 — Understanding Others

Gdcn’t 2 — Incomplete Authorship

Gdcn’t 3 — You Don’t Know Apples

Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Critique

Privilege Is Without

Fundamentalist Christian Experiences

Something else I tried out this year was writing a series of articles that were built on my experience as a former Christian fundamentalist and the mindset of the culture I was raised in that I have since seen taking prominence in the world and online spaces around me. It’s sometimes a downer, but it is I hope, at least, something interesting.

First of all, I wrote about just the experience of being a fundie and the way the churches create strange behaviours, in the articles Fundie Divorce and Other Dramas, Fundie Fucking (god we were obssessed with sex), and Fundie Vibeology.

I talked about the unfairness that builds around when you do the ‘right’ thing and it doesn’t work, with Shoulds Don’t Matter. I reflected on what it means when as an atheist, we’re framed as being smug by people who claim to have a unique access to the mind of god. This is particularly important because I also think that all Fundamentalists are, under the hood, at best, liars. These lies build up and create the phenomenon I borrow from Formons that we call The Mormon Shelf.

Still, I also looked at the Bible a lot! The Bible is a super interesting book, and I considered The Floating Significance of Moses and the way that his name betrays something, something that he was built out of. I talked about the weird law against stitching pillows your elbows with Pillow-Stitchin’ and Soul-Snitchin’ that led to Zandra making a really lovely short story. I also wrote about the Trinity, specifically with the beautifully titled St Nicholas, The Trinity, and the Miracle of the Brick. And because I was paying attention to Bible academics, I learned about how the Bible Is Stolen Labor.

Finally, and probably the most important article in this type that I wrote this year and which I feel anxious about because I feel it makes me look bad, I wrote about Dealing with My Dad.

And A Bunch Of Other Stuff

And then, if all of that wasn’t particularly interesting to you, there are other things I wrote this year that I just think are good articles and interesting and enjoyable to read. For example, I wrote about three thousand words about Oshi No Ko, an anime I really enjoyed but which also provoked a host of thoughts about things like, well, what we call ‘anime bullshit,’ and where the focus of a story naturally lies. While talking about anime, I also wrote about The Unhinged Performative Heteronormativity of Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie

That neatly segues into a bunch of queer themed writing I did, because y’know, I’m a queer guy and that means my hand has been stamped and I’m allowed to pass opinions on it. First I explained Disney’s Conversion Therapy Story in Chicken Little and how, y’know, maybe Disney are bad. I gave some information about my Blahaj sticker, in A Year of Blahaj. Since that story goes Decay-adjacent, I should also mention the article, ‘Let Me Tell You About Ligma‘ which got started by goofing around with Decay. It’s almost perfunctionary at that point that I wound up writing about The Queering of Ocs and the ways my cohort of OCs has gotten queerer over time, and my deep-seated rage at Fortnite‘s whole model of uncreative commodification, in Faces For Skins.

With all that talking about gay stuff, how about we talk about stuff that’s definitely not gay, like Taylor Swift? I wrote about Gaylors, Apes, and Quanon, which are leaderless cults of self-reinforcing divinely revelated incoherent realities. I wrote about playing for money, and the way that games are deformed by the pressures around them, which games studies likes to circle around and pretend doesn’t actually exist. Pressures that can lead to you being left to think that you need to cheat, like with The Three Repeat Cheats of Twenty Twenty Threet.

Since at that point we’re talking about down turns and people cheating at games, what about the conversational cheat of recruiting the absent, where you reframe a conversation in order to make someone who isn’t even there the offended party. Then I wrote in October, the month I like to focus on miserable topics, about the Union Carbide Bhopal Disaster, which sucked and hurt a lot of people and nobody can ever fix it. Speaking of things that can’t be fixed, there was also the meme of ‘Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself,’ which y’know, that’s a complicated space of feelings but just because people you don’t like are in charge doesn’t mean it’s time to bust out tinfoil hats to explain the world. Maybe it’ll be that bad incompetent people do bad things incompetently. And hey, speaking of incompetent people, and bad people, did you see my article about The Executioner of Nuremberg?

While every wrapup had a diary moment, one or two times in the year I made specific posts diaring experiences. Like that time I Felt Bad So I Went To The Park, and the deflated feeling of Giving up on Fighting Games.

I suppose for this point, for the last thing I have to say for this year, it’s the writing advice, that you’re always designing, to create tension when you can, and

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[lily22223]

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

Hey there! If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for ways to grow your business without breaking the bank. One strategy that keeps coming up is digital marketing. Whether you're thinking about diving into it yourself or hiring a Digital Marketing Agency to do the heavy lifting, there are some pros and cons worth considering. In this post, I’ll break down the key advantages and disadvantages of digital marketing, specifically for small businesses like yours.

The Advantages of Digital Marketing

Cost-Effective One of the biggest perks of digital marketing is how affordable it can be, especially when compared to traditional advertising methods. Gone are the days when you had to spend thousands on newspaper ads or TV commercials. With digital marketing, I can target my audience for a fraction of the cost using tools like social media ads, email campaigns, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This allows me to reach potential customers without draining my budget.

Measurable Results Another huge advantage is that digital marketing allows me to track results in real-time. With tools like Google Analytics or Facebook Insights, I can see exactly how many people are visiting my website, where they’re coming from, and what they’re doing once they get there. This data helps me tweak my strategy on the go, something that's not really possible with traditional marketing.

Targeted Audience Reach When I use digital marketing, I can zero in on the exact audience I want to reach. Whether I want to target local customers or expand nationally, digital platforms allow me to specify demographics like age, gender, location, and even interests. This means my ads or content are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in my business. SEO, for example, helps me show up in front of people who are actively searching for products or services like mine.

Flexibility I love that I can try different approaches in digital marketing and see what works best. If I’m running a social media campaign and it’s not getting the traction I want, I can pivot quickly. Whether it's running a new ad, adjusting my SEO strategy, or trying out a new email marketing approach, the flexibility digital marketing offers is incredible.

The Disadvantages of Digital Marketing

Time-Consuming If I’m handling digital marketing on my own, it can take up a lot of time. Creating content, managing social media accounts, optimizing for SEO, running ads—it can feel like a full-time job. This is one reason many small businesses turn to a Digital Marketing Agency. They handle the nitty-gritty details so I can focus on running my business.

Steep Learning Curve While digital marketing tools are accessible, they’re not always simple. SEO, for instance, can get technical. Learning how to optimize your website to rank higher on Google, figuring out keywords, and staying on top of ever-changing algorithms can be overwhelming. And then there’s managing paid advertising campaigns, where a little mistake could eat up my budget with nothing to show for it. This is why many business owners opt to hire professionals.

High Competition Let’s be honest—digital marketing is crowded. With everyone moving online, standing out can be tough. I’ve learned that just having a website or running a few ads won’t cut it. I need a well-thought-out strategy, whether it's through SEO, content marketing, or social media. And sometimes, even with the best strategy, the sheer amount of competition can make it difficult to see immediate results.

Requires Constant Updates The digital world is constantly changing, and that means I need to stay on top of trends, algorithm updates, and best practices. What worked for me a year ago might not work today. This constant need for updates can feel overwhelming, but it’s also part of the game.

So, What’s the Verdict?

Digital marketing is a powerful tool for small businesses, but it’s not without its challenges. If I have the time and the know-how (or if I hire a Digital Marketing Agency), it can be a game-changer. With the right strategy, I can reach my target audience, grow my business, and track every dollar I spend. But if I’m not prepared for the learning curve or time commitment, it could end up being more of a headache than a solution.

At the end of the day, it’s all about finding the right balance. Whether you go it alone or get help from a Digital Marketing Agency, the key is to stay flexible, stay informed, and keep pushing forward.

[girlierest]

The long debate of what is it really that makes everything I draw so fucking fundamentally hideous that it appeals to zero people. And whatfuckingever, draw for yourself as if my concepts and driving force was never for myself, I'm still mad someone who literally only draws half naked men facing left said that to me, who actively went out of my way to challenge myself by doing something new every time I pick up my tablet pen. Like are you fucking serious there isn't a ton of repetition or even a hard pattern between my body of work. Even the colour palettes I try to mix up to cover my bases. I don't want a weak spot/a colour I can't work with.

I know it's the style. It's too western, ofc it doesn't fit Gnshn standards. I could, and have, illustrated whole scenes. Never gets as much traction as someone's 15 minute doodle. The style is so ugly and western. The colouring style isn't painterly, isn't cel shading, isn't clean enough. I'm working on the colouring, idk if I even want to change my style or if I'm even capable. It took forever to even get to a point to step away from anime eyes and weak necks.

It's also not realistic enough. Not painterly/perfectly rendered enough. It's too cartoony, not a flawless portrait.

Idk where I'm even going with this rant. I would love to be an artist, and yeah whatever if you draw that technically makes you one in some capacity, but unfortunately I love art. And I'll never be good at it evidently. And it's fucking frustrating that I still care enough about it to try. It's not even remotely innate. Never had a talent for a damn thing in my life so it's just been conscious practice, drills, mistakes, experimentation, and repeat. For years. Nearing a decade. That's so fucking pathetic.

Idk what exactly to do. Putting it down and stepping away means I will need to relearn everything again inevitably because it has always been an acquired skill with years of daily practice in to improve, still going. If I step away from digital I will literally forget the already shit skills I have now, which means I have to relearn everything again. Hell, getting a Surface Pro and using it regularly for one semester in college resulted in having to relearn drawing on a normal tablet on my other computer all over again.

The dissatisfaction of accomplishing nothing also stems from broken childhood dreams. I've always wanted to be an artist. Since circa 2016-2017, I found a viable way to actually be one and aspired to it. Should I just fucking stop? I've had to talk myself down and out of my stupid fucking delusions of grandeur that I might one day succeed at these seemingly impossible goals for me specifically, but easily attainable for literally anyone else. It's so fucking frustrating.

[twopoppies]

Why do you think Harry doesn't do more to help Louis in his career? Like get Louis signed to a decent record label that people have heard of, get Louis promoted, interviews etc. Harry has contacts. I'm sure he could do so much more. He only has to ask the Azoffs. They can keep it private. I've seen the Azoffs work with Niall. Why don't they do more for Louis? Or did Louis sacrifice his career so Harry could be successful? I've seen Larries say that. Because at one point Louis was more successful than Harry, when he released back to you. I also wonder if Louis was lumbered with a kid that isn't his because of Harry, and one of them had to go deep into the closet? and that person was Louis. So did Louis suffer a lot because of Harry?

Well, first of all, we have zero idea of what goes on behind the scenes. So we don't know what Harry does or doesn't do to help Louis. You seem to be assuming he does nothing because you don't think Louis is where he should be. You're also assuming that Harry (or the Azoffs) can actually just snap their fingers and make things happen. We have no idea what sort of contractual obligations Louis has been tied up with all these years. What have the Azoffs publicly done for Niall? How do you know they're not doing anything for Louis? How do you know that Louis doesn't want to be with BMG? I mean, I'm not quite sure what BMG are going to do for him, but there's no record label that's actually "good". Also, I'd really wait to complain until we see what changes will be made when LT2 is released. It'll be his first time releasing music not being signed to Syco. I would imagine there will be plenty of interviews and promo. Frankly, I think this idea that it's Harry fault that Louis isn't where certain people, personally, think should be is absolute crap.

I don't know any larries who think Louis sacrificed his career for Harry. That sounds like a bunch of rad bullshit to me. And I'm not sure what you mean by Louis being more successful than Harry at one point. Back to You was definitely a big hit for him, and then Sony pulled it just as it was gaining traction. Again, we have no idea wtf was going on and whether that was related to what Sony wanted from Harry. I don't know what criteria you're using to determine "success". HS1 came out just a couple of months before BTY and I'm pretty sure it was a pretty solid success (although clearly not as successful as his next two albums). Anyway, that's neither here nor there, I don't think it makes sense to compare them that way.

No, I absolutely do not believe Louis somehow volunteered to be deeply closeted so Harry could fly free. I think BG may have begun as a promise to raise Louis' profile with some classic PR bullshit, but then it backfired and he's been saddled with this situation since 2015. I do agree that his career was definitely sandbagged, but I've always felt that what happened to Louis was as much meant to punish him, as it was a way to keep Harry in check. Louis may have suffered because he and Harry are a couple. But he didn't suffer "because of Harry". And I'd bet the farm that Louis would still have been held back even if they weren't together because Harry was always the chosen one, as far as Sony was concerned.

[noodleblade]

Chance and Unlikely Circumstance 1/6

AO3 Link Next Part

A very self indulgent fic of these two being friends despite faction ties. I just like the idea of Smokescreen having a bit of hero worship over KO.:) uhhhh Enjoy?

Smokescreen knew he was probably disobeying orders but, in all fairness, he was bored . How much danger could a completely deserted open stretch of asphalt really be? He knew that line of question was asking for trouble, but it was the eighth dull patrol run he’d been sent on with no activity. He felt it was safe to assume the risk of danger was resting at the predictable zero percentile. 

See, Ratchet , Smokescreen thought bitterly, I do use my processor.

When he had joined the Autobots and Team Prime, a not so small part of him thought “this is my moment.” He had been hoping for it, counting on it ever since he was hand selected for the Elite Guard. He was destined for greatness…one day! It just hadn’t come yet, but surely now a member of Team Prime, his moment would come. Smokescreen had thought he was finally going to get a taste of the action, to be able to throw himself helm first into the fight. 

He hadn’t considered the fact that their numbers were so few on this organic planet and anonymity amongst the native species was crucial. He hadn’t realized how vulnerable their position was, how necessary discretion was. Still, he was willing to play by their rules and learn…or at least try.

Ratchet had not been happy with his selected vehicle mode. “Flashy racers,” the medic had grumbled as he scanned the alt for his database. Smokescreen would have been offended if the medic actually had taste. 

What was actually offensive was the medic’s insistence that he not use his alt for its intended purpose unless strictly necessary; something about speed limits and law enforcement. Why let the gage go that high if he wasn’t allowed to actually push it there? Smokescreen was finding that he was never going to understand the organics of this planet and their contradicting rules. Why make something if there was never an intention to use it for such a purpose?

Bee at least sympathized, knew the urge he felt to spin his wheels as fast as they could. He offered to spar instead, it just wasn’t the same. But Smokescreen ducked his helm and played along. His entry to the team hadn’t been as smooth and welcoming as he had hoped and he didn’t want to ruin his chance to be a part of something great, to help get their home back.

It didn’t mean temptation wasn’t there and patrols were the worst source. Alone on the road with no one around, Smokescreen could feel his resistance wane. 

One quick joyride couldn’t hurt, right? There was no one around, hadn’t been since the start of his patrol. He’d clock 120 in a matter of nanokliks and then he’d hit the brakes and no one, Autobot or human, would be the wiser! It was his best chance to burn off a little energy with almost no repercussions and the threat of being caught was basically non-existent. 

Smokescreen swept the area twice more for bots and humans, both visually and with his adaptive scanners. The most readings he got were the teeny-tiny furry ball creatures Jack called desert mice and they certainly weren’t going to rat him out. He grinned at his pun, knowing Jack would find it funny. Immediately, his grin dropped in realizing he’d have to keep that one to himself if he wanted to keep in good graces with the rest of the team. 

His reasons for holding back dwindled to nothing and Smokescreen tuned out Ratchet’s whiny voice from his processor. 5 kliks, that’s all it would be. No harm, no foul and no one had to know.

He floored the gas pedal. His wheels squeaked, struggling to grip the sandy road for a moment before the traction caught and he was off. The flat, straight road left no resistance, letting Smokescreen gain speed quickly. Internally, he was cheering; his field wide and giddy as his speedometer ticked past the double digits and toy with the triples. The dry, chilled desert air whipped past mirrors, whistling along his spoiler. His spark soared. 

Of course , that’s when his scanners picked up another presence. Great .

Twin headlights appeared in his rear view. Smokescreen hastily slammed his brakes to a more acceptable level, sending a quick prayer to Primus that it wasn’t one of those police officers Ratchet had hounded him about. He had received an audial full and was haunted by mental images of “the boot .” Miko had promised she’d bail him out if he ever got impounded but the very notion of being stuck in his alt and unable to move sounded like a hell worse than offlining. 

The headlights were approaching…quickly. They were gaining on him, especially now that Smokescreen had slowed himself to the appropriate speed, even going 5 miles slower than the speed limit to be safe. It was clear whoever was behind him was going much, much faster than the sensible 55 mph. He pulled himself to the right lane to allow them to pass ( yes, he had been paying attention to Jack’s driving lessons!!!). 

They didn’t look like police; glossy red finish with gold accents, not at all the matte white and blue he’d seen of the police vehicles of Jasper. Even the vehicle type was different, lower to the ground, more streamline…speedy. It was missing the obnoxious overhead lights too, though Ratchet had insisted that was not a sure-fire way to identify the local law enforcement. Perhaps they were just civilian humans on a joyride. That, at least, Smokescreen could approve of. Especially with a sweet ride like that.

The vehicle pulled up beside him, lowering their speed to match. The windows were tinted and Smokescreen couldn’t tell how many humans were inside. His alt only accounted for 5 which seemed typical but Jack had told him about some humans that liked to pile double the amount in even if it went against the safety guidelines. 

The engine revved and the humans flashed their headlights in a taunting gesture. Smokescreen couldn’t help but grin to himself. Organic or not, Smokescreen knew that universal request to race. 

Gleefully, he let his engine rev back, speeding up a touch before pulling back to their synced pace. Ratchet’s warnings fell to the back of his processor, a gentle whisper that easily was drowned out by the sound of twin revving engines. The red vehicles headlights flashed twice and that was all the warning Smokescreen got as it sped off. Smokescreen, left in their dust, could hear a mocking double beep of their horn, laughing at him. 

Cheater!

Well, two could play at that game. 

Smokescreen floored it, chasing after the red vehicle. The humans straddled the middle lane, making it impossible for Smokescreen to pass as he caught up. Mockingly, the humans tapped on their breaks, forcing Smokescreen to slow as they resumed their breakneck pace. They did this a couple of times, each time Smokescreen felt himself getting more and more frustrated. Maybe he should stop brake checking the citizens of Jasper, it was annoying. He pulled back a few feet, allowing some space between him and the humans blocking his path. 

Stuck behind them, Smokescreen eyed the emergency pull lanes. They were crumbled with red sand and debris littering it. He’d probably do more damage to himself than have an actual hope of successfully passing. Still, he weaved as if that were his plan, the red car before him following to block him. Quickly, he spun his wheel in the opposite direction, gunning it for the opening left. He managed to pull alongside, the humans just barely stopping themselves from clipping him as they attempted to swerve back into the middle. Smokescreen had to guess they paid a pretty penny for a car like that, not to mention the maintenance. For drag racing in the desert, the finish was immaculate. 

Smokescreen was astonished by the humans’ skills. For a few kliks, they stayed neck to neck, neither of them quite able to pull the lead from the other. Despite this, Smokescreen felt exhilarated. This was exactly what he needed. Already, the tension was leaving his frame, stress melting away as adrenaline took its place and for the first time since he crash landed on Earth, he was having fun .

A slight curve in the road was approaching and Smokescreen cursed to himself. It was curving to the left, forcing him in the inner lane. It would mean his opponent would be able to maintain a faster speed to still make the turn but Smokescreen would have to slow down, even just a few degrees. He wasn’t exactly sure when they would call for the “finish line” but Smokescreen knew he couldn’t risk putting even a few feet of distance between them. 

Recklessly, Smokescreen sped up , pushing himself faster than before as the red racer slowed to safely make the turn. Hopefully, if he timed it right, he would be able to pull ahead and then cut the brakes to make the turn safely. 

Unfortunately, the turn was approaching too quickly. He could get in front of the other vehicle but slowing down would be dangerous. Smokescreen knew he’d be fine. Ratchet would be pissed but ultimately, the damage to his frame would probably be quite minimal and could be repaired with ease. 

The humans were a different story. 

As part of his education , Ratchet had forced him to watch through an hour of human traffic accidents. It hadn’t been pretty. Car frames and Cybertronian frames were completely different and the metal of Earth was very thin and very fragile. Smokescreen could still remember the horrible crunch of the video as the cars crumbled like tin. Not to mention, human bodies were even more fragile and even if the crashes weren’t fatal, the injuries themselves could be grave enough to affect a human for their entire lifespan. 

He couldn’t risk that to the humans behind him. No just for his purposes of staying disguised and not causing trouble, but all he could picture of Jack, Miko and Raf in the car, crushed up, broken beyond repair. 

Smokescreen hit the brakes hard, the loose sand on the pavement making him lose traction and skid for a second before he regained control. The humans in the red car had no issue, overtaking him on the turn and zipping past him. As much as he hated losing the distance and knowing he probably couldn’t pick it back up, he knew this was the best decision. Everyone would be safe and Smokescreen could withstand a bruised ego, despite what Arcee might think. 

Ahead of him, Smokescreen watched the humans slow suddenly. Their brake lights flared brilliant red as they drifted, spinning 90 degrees until they came perpendicular on the road. Beside them, planted in the dirt was a green sign, making the Jasper City limits and unofficially marking the finish line.

Smokescreen pulled himself to a slow stop. With the humans blocking his path, he would have to wait for them to move before he could make an exit. Internally, he groaned. If they were anything like him and Jack when they pulled their little stunts around Jasper, then he knew they were going to be smug afts about it.

The windows of the red vehicle went down an inch, not enough for Smokescreen to catch a glimpse of who was in the car but low enough for their voice to carry. 

“Nice try, kiddo,” the human practically purred in self-satisfaction. “ Try being the operative word. I’d say you almost had me worried at that turn but you chickened out. Quite sad really, you might have had potential but-”

Irritation blinded Smokescreen. It was trash talk- trash talk by humans no less -and he knew it should affect him. And yet it did. 

“You only beat me because you cheated!” Smokescreen snapped, revving his engine threateningly. “Round two you won’t be so lucky.”

There was a pause from the human and Smokescreen for a moment grinned victoriously. That was, until, the human let out a bemused, “Oh my.” Then, he raised and lowered his window in a demonstrative measure.

Smokescreen realized his grave error immediately. His windows, unlike the humans in their car before, were still rolled up tight. Smokescreen may not completely understand humans, but he was pretty sure none of them had the ability to talk through a car’s closed windows. 

Fear gripped his spark as panic flooded his systems. He screwed up and he screwed up bad . Without a second thought, Smokescreen put himself in reverse and floored it, spinning around and taking off.

If the humans in the red car responded, he didn’t hear them over the wind whipping against his frame and his inner panic screaming in his audials. They didn’t follow and Smokescreen took it as a small blessing in this horrible scenario crafted from his own hubris. All he could do was pray that no one at base found out, that the human in the red car would think he was just a figment of their imagination and nothing more. 

Knock Out watched bemused as the little speedster scrambled away.

Young, dumb, and rebellious. Reminded him a bit of himself in his younger days, though not with such a tacky paint job. There was little doubt in the medic’s mind that the kid had aligned himself with the Autobots. There was no way he would have survived too long otherwise; too naive, too trusting. Knock Out knew he probably should report it, alert Megatron of Optimus’ newest recruit. It’d certainly earn him some brownie points and with Breakdown…absent, Knock Out was in need of some allies. 

Then again- Knock Out narrowed his optics at the fading tail lights -it had been a long time since he had a racing buddy. Maybe he could wait on that report for a bit, let himself have a bit of fun before passing him up to high command. 

Knock Out slowly pulled away from his parked spot, turning the opposite way the kid sped off too. He should be returning back, before his absence was noted. Not that it matters , he thought bitterly as he peeled off. If it was the grounders missing, then there was no reason to worry. Afterall, Breakdown had been missing for nearly two weeks and not a single mech aboard the Nemesis had even bothered to question why.

[n00bpunk]

Amateur's Guide to the Hellsite: a Post Written by Someone Who Stayed Up Way Too Damn Late

So, you've decided to make your first Tumblr. Maybe you're sick of TikTok/Twitter's shit. Maybe you just wanna live on the website where all the wacky shit comes from. Maybe you just want to try a longform blog format. That's cool. You're welcome here no matter what your reasons are.

However, it's very important to know that this site is not at all like most social media. There's a reason why this site has such a unique following, after all. If you try to approach it like you would Twitter or TikTok, you are gonna have a hellish time. I'm by no means an expert, and I can't exactly tell you how to become "Tumblr famous". I doubt any of the more influential Tumblr blogs know how they got there either. However, there are a few things you should and shouldn't do for the optimal Tumblr experience.

Reblog shit. I know this is the first point a lot of those "dear Tumblr newbies" type posts address, so I won't linger too long, but I cannot stress how important it is to reblog things. Due to the way Tumblr's algorithm works, you're more than likely gonna be recommended things similar to blogs you follow and tags you post in. Likes don't have much to do with anything, whereas reblogs directly help spread that cool post further and up the chances of it gaining traction. If you want to keep a certain type of content on you main blog and think that whatever you want to reblog won't fit, that's fine! There are always...

Sideblogs. Learn to utilize them. On Tumblr, you get a main blog that all likes, asks, and submissions will be tied to. However, you also get a massive number of sideblogs to work with. I'm not sure if there is a limit to the amount you can create. I have nine right now, and Tumblr has yet to tell me to stop. This blog is one of them. Sideblogs can also be password protected and set up to have multiple admins. If you're shy about reblogging to your main, set up a sideblog with zero ties to your main and dump everything there. Hell, that'll probably be very beneficial to you anyways because...

Tumblr is jank as hell. I adore this mess of a website, don't get me wrong, but it is a floundering pile of code with a lot of weird quirks and differences between mobile and desktop. For instance, you cannot enable asks on mobile. It is impossible. You have to log into Tumblr via a web browser just to turn on asks. The search function is better than it was, but still bad. You could remember a post by heart and Tumblr's search still may not be able to find it. There are a ton of visual glitches that we've just learned to work with. Posts that seem to have no notes but are Tumblr Famous. Asks disappearing into the abyss. It's a thorough wreck, and expecting it to be super streamlined like most modern social media won't get you far.

Don't look like a bot. Tumblr had, and honestly continues to have, issues with bot accounts that post explicit content and scam content. These blogs tend to have a distinct appearance and behavior, and accidentally falling into the patterns they use could get you blocked and reported without explanation. A few things that could get you pegged as a bot are: having your actual face as your pfp, making a lot of posts that link off-site, liking posts but never reblogging them, having your name as your username, and having a default blog theme with no additional color tweaks. A few of these behaviors on their own might be fine, but too many in conjunction will get you mistaken for a bot.

If you're going to bring discourse to this website, honestly just assume we either 1. Have already discussed it extensively five years ago or 2. Think it's the stupidest thing to argue over and will laugh at you. Because honestly, those are the two types of discourse I tend to see off-site. Besides, I don't think you really want to get into discourse on a site where people can and will write entire books to rebuke you.

There is no algorithm on your side here. Like I said, Tumblr's algorithm isn't as precise as TikTok's by any stretch. This site isn't tracking how many seconds you spend looking at each post, if you left a reply on it, if you wound up sending an ask to the blog, nope. You can use tags, sure, but that just means your posts will reach the people who browse or follow those tags. I don't think anyone on here really knows how to get Tumblr famous. And honestly, that's fine, because...

Tumblr is not a numbers game. If you don't announce it, no one will be able to see your follower count. Sure there are the notes, but sometimes posts will reach a high number of reblogs only because of someone else's contributions. Tumblr is less about amassing an army of faceless followers and more about building small communities centered around a few blogs. Each community has its own kind of subculture too. Just look at the difference between webcore aesthetic blogs and roleplay blogs. Self-ship blogs and animal husbandry blogs. If you join a community and interact with the other blogs in it for the sake of building connections and contributing to the community at large rather than just gaining attention, you will have way more fun here. Trust me.

That's all I can think of right now. If anyone else has anything, write it down. I'm going back to work.

[thiswasinevitableid]

52 or 41 for the meet ugly? sternclay, nsfw if thats chill

Here it is!

52. you think I’m leering at you in the gym but really I’m studying your form and trying to learn how to make mine better Sternclay NSFW

This is the toughest part of Joseph’s workout, so he could do without the audience.

He first noticed the guy during his turn at the squat rack; taller than him, in a grey t-shirt and black shorts that show he has muscle to spare, with brown eyes that were on Joseph’s ass whenever he looked away. Were Joseph not in the middle of the kettlebell burpees sequence, he might even spare a glance of his own to see how he fills out the front of his shorts, but he’s tired and he’s been dealing with behind the back stares all day.

When he’s done, he takes a final look over his shoulder to see the guy still staring at him. Joseph locks eyes, watches his face flood with guilt as he becomes very focused on his shoes. He continues studying them, as if holding still might keep Joseph from coming closer.

“Okay, I sense you’re new here, so I’ll be polite: everyone checks people out at the gym now and then. But the rule is you don’t do it so fucking brazenly the other person notices.”

“I, uh, I wasn’t-”

“I counted you staring ten separate times, even when your workout had you facing away from me.” He crosses his arms, annoyed that the man has the gall to deny his blatant ogling.

“I, uh, I was studying your form” the newcomer rubs his wrist, sheepish, “I’m kinda new to, like, formal workout stuff, and you clearly know your shit, so I was trying to use you to figure out how to do my circuit without fucking up my spine.”

Joseph rolls his eyes; that’s the first lie anyone tells when they get called out for staring.

“I’m serious!” The man has the audacity to look perturbed. Joseph has zero interest in an argument but every desire to call his bluff.

“Well, if that’s the case, if we cross paths again you’re welcome to join me and I can give you pointers.”

With that, he heads towards the locker rooms. He doesn’t feel eyes on him once the whole walk there.

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

“Hey.”

Joseph looks up from setting his fitbit to see his not-so-subtle admirer beside him. The taller man smirks, “you didn’t think I’d take you up on it, did you?”

“No. But I’m not about to go back on my offer. Or modify my work out if you join me. Make your choice accordingly.”

“Okay. What’s first?” His smile is friendly, but there’s a challenge in it. Joseph, who's been bored the entire day, is more than ready to rise to it.

“Jump rope. Nine minutes total.”

They find a spare rope for the other man, but he keeps getting his right foot caught.

“Drop your elbows some, when they’re too high it’s easier for the rope to catch.”

“Oh, thanks.”

His new gym buddy is winded when they’re done, but follows him eagerly over to the mats for his core workout. He’s better at that, though Joseph still has to correct the position of his back the first time. They move through cardio, weights, and cool down with no conversation that isn’t directly related to body position or technique. By the end, the newcomer is soaked with sweat. And..smiling?

“That was fucking brutal. Can we do it again some time?”

If you, um, really want to?”

“Fuck yeah.”

Joseph smiles back, “I’m here every day after work. So you can come find me…”

“Barclay” the taller man fills in his unasked question.

“Joseph. Oh, and try to get some shoes with better traction soon. You’ll have an easier time.”

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

“You okay there?” Barclay looks at Joseph from the treadmill on his left, “you seem kinda low energy today.”

“I ate too small a lunch.” He hits the stop button, walks as the belt slows, “I’ll be fine once I fish my power bar out of my glovebox on the way home.”

“Or you could, uh, you could come get dinner with me? There’s a great spot two blocks from here; it’s my favorite stop after you put me through my paces.”

Joseph thinks about downing a protein shake while wandering his empty apartment.

“That sounds great.”

Barclay leads him to a diner, all yellow lights and red pleather. His friend orders a stack of waffles and fried eggs (“I’m not a big fan of syrup”) while he opts for a french dip and, on Barclay’s recommendation, a chocolate malt. When the server asks if it’s one bill or two, Barclay pays for both of them.

“Least I can do in exchange for the free personal training you’re giving me.”

“It’s not like I mind” Joseph offers him access to his french fries, “I like working out with you. I’ve, um, never had a gym buddy before. UP agents are considered weirdos at work, I’m considered odd for one of them, and, well, you’ve done my workout; it intimidates some people.”

Barclay looks at him across the formica, beard still a bit mussed from drying it after his shower, “Yo--uh, I mean, it is pretty intimidating. But like, in a good way. The kind that makes you wanna push yourself.”

Joseph allows himself a flirtatious smile, “I’m glad you appreciate it.”

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

Barclay: gonna miss workout tomorrow. Got a date. Promise I’ll let you work me twice as hard on Friday.

J.S: Have fun. And you know I will, big guy.

Joseph slips his earbuds in; he’s gotten so used to their easy conversation that his best of the ‘00s playlist is jarring in it’s place. But he falls into his rhythm, is halfway through his workout when a tall, familiar shape in grey shorts hurries through the door and drops it’s water bottle next to his.

“Is everything okay?” He pops his headphones out as Barclay shakes his head.

“Date was a bust; guy was so pushy I bailed after one drink. Figured if I caught up with you the night wouldn’t totally suck.”

Joseph grabs a second mat, lays it out, “I can’t do dinner tonight; since I thought you were busy, tonight is for running errands.”

“No big.” Barclay lays next to him, their fingers brushing for a moment before Joseph counts them down.

As the evening ticks away in sets and reps, he gets increasingly worried about Barclay; his friend begs off both squats and rowing, and doesn’t join him for the ten minute cool-down jog on the treadmill. He hopes it’s just a side effect of having a beer before working out and not something more dire.

The locker room is empty on their side, and he finds Barclay leaning his forehead on the wall outside one of the shower cubicles, taking long, deliberate breaths. His shirt is off, but he’s still in his shorts. When he turns, startled by Joseph asking if he’s okay, it’s immediately obvious why.

“Sorry” Barclay is doing his best to conceal his hard-on, “this is hella embarrassing.”

“It happens” Joseph aims for a pleasant shrug even as his own cock starts acting up, “lots of friction and, um, and all that.”

“It’d be less humiliating if it was that. I, uh,” Barclay is redder than Joseph’s ever seen him, “I put a plug in before my date and, uh, I was in such a hurry to come find you once it ended that I, I didn’t take time to pull it out.”

He forces his voice to stay gentle, to not reveal the heat burbling up from his stomach, “You could have just asked me to wait a second once you got here.”

“Didn’t think of it until I sat down on the mat and realized how much I could feel the fucking thing. Like I, uh, I said, I kinda had a one track mind when I got here. I” his brown eyes are Bambi-wide when they skitter from Joseph’s gaze, “I wanted to see you.”

Shoes squeaking on the wet tile, Joseph nudges him into the stall, “Is that really it, big guy? You went through all that discomfort just for a few more seconds of being near me?”

“Uh huh” Barclay whimpers, his big, broad frame shaking when Joseph presses him against the wall.

“That’s sweet. Do you know what happens to sweet boys when they’re good?”

His friend shakes his head, hair catching across his eyes. Joseph tips his chin up, lips slightly parted in invitation. Barclay groans and drops his head down to meet him. It is, without a doubt, the messiest kiss of Joseph’s life, all sweat and odd angles like his first time in his boyfriend’s den in the July heat. The parallel is heightened by Barclay instantly grabbing his hips and humping him through his shorts.

“Joseph, babe, please, please say this is okay.” His hands tighten their hold when Joseph licks a stripe up his neck; it’s sweaty, sticky, the kind of thing he hates in porn but damn him if the doesn’t want to lick and suck Barclay until he can taste him in his sleep.

“No, it’s not.” Joseph cups his face to keep the panic he sees there at bay, “because if you cum like that, I won’t get to show you the rest of your reward.”

“Re-reward?” Barclay actually squeaks, and what can Joseph do at such a sound but kiss him once more.

“Shorts off, water on. I’ll be right back.”

Water obediently patters on the tiles as he shoves his hand deep into his gym bag; god bless emergency laundry quarters and bathroom vending machines.

He strips, joins Barclay in the shower and discovers his cock is even more pleasing than it’s outline suggested.

“Lord almighty, you’re gorgeous.” He lowers to his knees, traces the path of droplets through the hair on Barclays stomach and chest. Then he removes the first condom from its pack, rolls it down the thick cock that’s just tempting him to abandon his plan, then slips the second one on his finger.

“Fuck, this has gotta be a dream, right? Because it’s the same one I’ve jerked off to for fucking weeks.”

“No, big guy, it’s not.” Joseph reaches between Barclay legs, “oh shit, you’ve been wearing this all night?”

“AHnnnuhhuh” Barclay moans as Joseph toys with the base of the plug.

“And you still did a huge chunk of our workout. I’m impressed, big guy, impressed and very, very, very pleased.” He kisses his cock on each very, Barclay letting out an “uhn” at each one. As he slides the plug free he continues, “To think, your date was so unpleasant he missed out on not only your charm and your handsome face, but the fact you were prepared enough to prep for him.”

“His loss is my gain ohfuck, Joseph, baby, please-” Barclays cock bobs in the air as Joseph teases his ass. When he presses in Barclay gasps, Joseph praying the droplets hitting the walls lend any escaping sounds an air of plausible deniability.

“Nice and open. Good boy.” Joseph slowly works his finger in and out, building up to two almost immediately. He nuzzles Barclays cock, “do you always bottom?”

“M-most of the timeOH, god” His head lolls back when Joseph takes his cock into his mouth, sucking lazily as he fucks him open, “I like it, makes me feel taken care of.”

Joseph eases in a third finger, let’s his cock fall from his mouth as water collects in his eyelashes. Barclay is staring down at him, hair several shades darker as it plasters to his face and eyes hopeful.

“In that case” Joseph times his upstrokes to his thrusts, “how about you come to my place on Sunday? I’ve got a whole box of cocks to choose from; we could work our way through them.”

“Yes, ohfuckyesplease.”

“We could play around with positions too” He can see Barclay’s muscles flexing in new ways as he begins bucking his hips, chasing the tender pressure of Joseph’s fist, “I bet you look great on all fours, and I know what you look like with your ass in the air already. You in my lap, that could be fun--oh, ohshit” he laughs as Barclay nearly fucks himself off his fingers, “you like that, like the idea of sitting in my lap like the big, sweet boy you are while I fuck you, like the thought of cumming on my cock and then going to fetch the next one, of me not letting you stop until we’ve been thorough and found your favorite because that’s what you deserve-”

“Fuck!” Barclay moans, hands slipping on the tile as he floods the tip of the condom. Joseph adds “get tested” to his mental to-do list while the other man slides down the wall like a slasher victim until they’re face to face on the floor.

“You okay, big guy?”

“Can’t feel my legs.”

“That’s just the lunges talking.”

“Please” Barclay kisses his shoulder, “please let me suck your dick.”

Joseph smacks the handle until the water turns off, scrambles to his feet and clings to the “no-slip” bar as Barclay shoves his face between his legs. He sucks his cock, occasionally opening his mouth enough to licks his folds. He’s so eager, even tries fucking into him with his tongue, big hands groping his ass while Joseph stifles his moans in his forearm. He’s going to cum in the gym shower, he’s going to cum from his first blowjob in years, he’s coming to cum from the astounding, impossibly hot man below him who he intends to dom into next fucking week-

He cums hard, the hand not bracing him on the wall dropping down to stroke Barclays hair. After a moment, he tries to grab his towel from where he tossed it, Barclay smiling up at him.

“Hey, Joseph?”

“Yes? Hah, got you” He pulls the towel in.

“I was staring at your ass that first day. I mean, I was mostly looking at your form but there was for sure some ass appreciation.”

“I fucking knew it.” Joseph begins drying him off, “just for that you owe me dinner again.”

“Thought you had errands.”

“Shit. How do you feel about a romantic, pre-dinner Target run?”

“I’d love it.”