#not that I'm popular enough for people to impersonate

[ariaste]

My god, IWTV fandom has some of the worst comments-to-hits ratios on fics I've ever seen. I've got two chapters of this fic I posted, 1600 hits, and 52 comments. In other words, only 3% of readers left a comment, and that's with me being a DAMN good writer. I just looked up the most kudos'd fic in the whole fandom, and this poor fucking writer has ~27,000 hits, ~2700 kudos (10% kudos-to-hits is a normal and expected standard for a Good Fic) but 80 comments. 0.3% of readers left a comment. The second most-kudos'd fic is an outlier with 50 chapters, so we're setting that one aside, but number three has 15k hits and 112 comments, which is 0.7%. wtf wtf wtf. My 3% is considered doing really well? WTF WTF WTF.

(For a control group so that we all have a sense of perspective, let's compare this to my most recent fic in the Nine Worlds fandom, which has ~2800 hits and 237 comments (8.5%), or one of my most popular fics in the Untamed fandom, which has ~63,000 hits and 1082 comments (just shy of 7%).)

Now here's the thing. I'm confident enough in my abilities as a writer to brush this off and go about my day, but not everyone is. A LOT of people out there are writing fics because they want to connect with other fans and share something they love, so posting a fic and getting near-total radio silence can feel really disheartening. If you liked the fic enough to leave kudos, take two extra seconds to comment. It doesn't have to be complicated or long! Even just "Loved this, so fun!" or "Kudos!" or "Thanks for sharing!" is GREAT.

Commenting on fics is part of a healthy fandom ecosystem. Fic authors who get a lot of positive comments are very often encouraged and energized to write more of that thing you like. You are directly contributing to your own happiness by commenting.

And listen, I hear people worrying that it's going to be annoying or bad if they leave impersonal "bland" comments, so let me preempt that: No, it is not annoying. I once had someone leave the same boilerplate comment ("Thanks for writing, I really liked this" or something along those lines) on every chapter of a fic that she binged in one sitting so I saw them all in a row. My reaction was, "Oh yay, I'm so glad she liked it <3 And how kind of her to comment on every chapter!!!"

We have a GREAT show -- IWTV fans Never Stop Winning, right? ...Except when it comes to fic comments. So just consider being the change you wish to see in the world, ok? Two extra seconds of your day to feed and water your local fic authors and to carry that "we never stop winning" and "oh we are SO back" energy through the hiatus until s3. <3

[junegirl06]

Some spamton art and rambling

Spamton is a very interesting character. Anybody who had payed attention to Deltarune after chapter 2 would know this. And his sheer popularity makes sense. His odd way of speaking, the perfect mix of quirkiness and terrifying insanity, the tragic backstory. The elements are all there to make a insanely well written character. But uh- I'm not here to gush about how good of a character Spamton is. (I mean, technically I am) I'm here to look at his character specifically through the lens of him being a spam bot.

Despite what the addisons said about Spamton being "like the rest of us," I think Spamton always was meant to be a little different. The way his appearance is very similar to the addisons but not quite the same - I'm pretty sure his marketing tactics followed the same principle. Whether it was because he was simply a bit more pushy with his advertisements, or that there was something a bit unnerving about his character even before gaster/the mysterious entity came into play, I'm sure there was a reason the customers ignored him. Just like how people ignore real life spam emails. They're annoying, unsafe, weird, stupid. Spamton was always meant to be ignored. To be that one email guy popping up at people with advertisements on the streets. People just DON'T LIKE SPAM.

Then the mysterious entity came into Spamton's life. Somehow, defying all logic, they made spam emails popular. They made Spamton popular. But they also gave him knowledge on the nature of their world. That everything is controlled by the plot and other such unseen forces, and that nobody can truly make their own decisions in this world. With this, Spamton knew his popularity really wasn't supposed to have happened in the first place, but everybody already loved him, (well, the addisons left him- but that was just because they were jealous! He didn't need them!) and he'd ride the wave as high as it'd take him.

But it all came crashing sooner than even Spamton expected. Without the entity's help, the world corrected itself, and everybody went right back to hating spam emails. Spamton would go back to being that forgetful email guy. No, it was even worse now. At least back then he had some people that were friendly to him. Now... he had nobody. He didn't even have a house.

He was always meant to be this way, wasn't he? No matter how hard he tried, the world simply wouldn't let him be a big shot. Spamton absolutely hated that. He wanted to fight back against this cruel world. Now, he didn’t just want his popularity back, he wanted freedom. To escape the confines of this story and his role as a personified spam bot, to become something… more. To truly become a [BIG SHOT]!

But that didn’t change the fact he was still a spam bot. And what do spam bots do? They just keep sending emails to as many people as possible, just in the off chance somebody will click that link. That’s exactly what Spamton does to try to gain his freedom. He latched on to a ray of hope- that robot in the basement- and repeatedly attempted to sneak inside the queens mansion to get to it without regard for exactly how good his plans are, in the vain hope one of those attempts would succeed at one point. He just kept trying. Over and over and over… slowly losing his mind even more in the process. There is evidence that he tries multiple times to get inside the basement, with Sweet Cap’n Cakes mentioning a “funny little man” asking them for help to sneak in the mansion, and Swatch mentioning an impersonator- which is probably Spamton. Which uh… the image of the tiny dude dressing up as this huge bird guy and thinking it’s a clever enough disguise to get past everybody in the mansion in a funny thought- but kinda sad at the same time. Seriously- did Spamton really think there was a chance that’d work??? But I digress.

Even with his repeated unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate the mansion- there was one attempt that worked. When Kris and the player came into the picture. But even with the help of a lighter and a literal god-being on his side helping him with his plan… he still failed. That neo robot didn’t do anything for his situation. He was still trapped. And so he turned against Kris, and by extension the player, in a last ditch attempt to get his freedom. That was what fully solidified his utter failure. He was going against us. But even if he hadn’t attempted to fight the player, he would’ve have failed in any other attempt anyways.

From the very moment Spamton decided to oppose the rules of this video game world, to try to become something more than a spam bot, he was destined to fail. Even if he managed to get Kris’s soul. Even if he somehow became as powerful as Asriel in undertale, he still wouldn’t get the freedom he wants. Because he is a character in a video game, and he will never become anything more than that.

[undertalethingems]

Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but...

Reminder that I only officially post the comic here on Tumblr or my alt account on DeviantArt; and only respond to folks here, on DA, and sometimes on Youtube when people have dubbed my comic. I only post fanfiction here and on my Ao3, and of course reply to comments there.

If you see 'me' anywhere else, let me know.

I'm still trying to find out the details, but apparently i'm popular enough to have impersonators =_=;

[spinfader]

It hasn't happened to me, largely because no one knows who I am really but, I'm not comfortable with how easy it is to impersonate people on tumblr.

I've seen sex workers just flat out have their content stolen so some weirdo can pretend to be popular with their identity. I'm not a sex worker, but I have many friends who are. Since sex work is work, it's something I think about often enough.

There really isn't an easy reporting system and I'm never sure what to do when someone is being impersonated.

Is there any recourse there?

[jeffbytes]

shares appreciated just so i can get the offending accounts taken down or at least just make people aware as apparently telegram barely deals with impersonation cases 😳 DONT MESSAGE THEM, JUST REPORT.

if you receive any messages from these accounts, or see them post anything to any telegram channel just be aware this is NOT ME, i don't use telegram (i took the UN JeffBytesOfficial just to spread awareness, deleting the app after) any actions taken by this account are not my own and don't represent me‼️

gawd what a weird week this has been already! 😵‍💫 a kind user on here dropped me a DM about this and i sent bestie to investigate it and gather these screenshots. i'm not even anxious or worried, i'm just confused lol, we've collectively deduced it's some kind of bot account. i have no recollection of the characters in the ref sheets they left behind (likely also stolen, do let the artists / owners know if you know them!) i'm not like popular or a big name artist or anything, why choose me of all people to dupe on telegram lol 💀

boring warning post that ill remove once the impersonator has been dealt with. should i be flattered 💀 someone cared enough to hijack the identity of someone sub 5K slfkfksk

[linesofink]

Buckle up yall, I'm going on a rant about how I think Junko got power over each Remnant of Despair (ignoring the canon brainwashing because I hate it, it makes no sense). Warnings for death mentions, different levels of manipulation, and trauma being used against people.

Y'all ready? Okay.

Imposter was a tiny bit difficult, but nothing Junko was unable to control. They probably felt empty and wanted a chance to exist without impersonating someone, so Junko likely just made a promise and used a little bit of sweet talk to trick them into believing that her plans would let them just exist and be able to do what they want. The despair of knowing that you basically don't exist would break them eventually.

Teruteru, simple leverage and threatening, probably blackmail too. Junko likely has ways to look into everyone's pasts and relationships, so she probably dangled the life and prosperity of his mother and the family diner over his head as a way to force him into things. It probably escalated at some point, and ended up just outright becoming what he wanted to do himself. If you put enough pressure on something, it will break eventually.

Mahiru took a little effort maybe, but Satō's death and the guilt of having a bit of involvement in Natsumi's death weighs down on her and thus Junko was able to make her believe it really was all her fault which in turn drove her into despair.

Peko was simple, all she had to do was get Fuyuhiko on their side and Peko would follow. Junko would've probably just killed Fuyuhiko too if he wasn't useful to her, so maybe Junko threatened his life which made Peko desperate to do anything to ensure his safety. Her entire existence revolved around his, and if something happened to her, she would be useless. The thought made her frantic and plung into despair due to that.

Ibuki wasn't difficult due to her IQ. Ibuki wasn't the brightest, but she was useful in some aspects. Junko probably went with either tricking her, or using popularity and relevance as leverage aswell, maybe even using other classmates again. Ibuki got a little anxious, and it spiraled over a long period of it into a state of despair at the constant worry.

Hiyoko took some time, but her own past was in play and used against her. Junko likely promised she'd be able to see the people she loved again and that the pressure from popularity would stop. Hiyoko likely fell apart when she realized she wasn't going to see her only loved ones again, and like the rest broke and fell into despair.

Mikan was one of the easier targets. Her issues with her past and her constant anxiety made it easy to get her to attach to Junko. Mikan was so used to being mistreated that just a slight bit of positive affection or even just a bit of praise got her to follow Junko around and cling to her, she's traumatized and unstable and was easy to control. Even the slightest bit of negativity from Junko after that would cause her to spiral towards despair and make her desperate for the rare positivity.

Nekomaru took effort, but once again it was likely the childhood. Since he was bullied for his name (at least if I recall correctly) she likely used that as a "Don't you want revenge?" tactic. Maybe she used his heart condition too, "you'll only live a certain amount of time, use it for what's really important." He reflected and realized he was doomed to die and his childhood was nothing but pain, so he tripped and smacked into the floor of despair.

Gundham was simple; his loved ones and his childhood made it easy. She could've easily used the Devas against him or even his mother, and probably made comments about his father and the people around him growing up. The Devas were dear to him, so she likely used an anger and desperation tactic and made him feel despair out of worry for them.

Nagito was both easy and difficult. He was so dead set on the fact that Hope was always triumphant, it took a bit more. She probably made him reflect a lot on his childhood, the treatment he faced daily, probably berated him then gave him rare praise, took time to slowly ease him away from his Hope mindset and into Despair. He was a process, but he eventually submerged to Despair when he finally gave up and thought, "What's the point in continuing on if my luck and presence will only torment everyone?"

Akane was yet another game of Childhood Trauma as a weapon. The childhood she faced was rough and she was still not stable from it, Junko probably exposed her to things that reminded her vaguely of her childhood that got progressively more dark as it went on. Junko used the fact that Akane would jump and snap into action as reflex, and she trained her like an animal to pounce at things. Akane slowly drowned in her thoughts of her life and it turned to a despair-ridden rage.

Kazuichi was merely another childhood and peers case. "You'll never be loved by anyone," she said, "You'll never be loved romantically, and probably never were in a platonic or even familial way." She would repeat. She'd break him slowly by using everyone else and probably claimed to be the only one who cared. Kazuichi is highly emotional, and he fell into despair rather easily since he -like most teenage boys- probably cared a lot about how people viewed him.

Fuyuhiko was easy. "You were raised to kill and hurt others mercilessly, do the one thing you're good at." She told him. Natsumi's death, the pressure of his life, whatever traumas he experienced as a kid. They all added up. He knew what he was capable of, and he probably subconsciously wanted to act on it. Put too many things onto one thing and it'll eventually topple over onto that one thing, he was crushed by the weights on his shoulders till it made him drop to one knee in the face of despair herself.

Sonia was quite literally "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you wanna just go apeshit?" Her life was dictated by her social standing. Taught from birth to be one way, ignore all interests and indulge in one goal. "You are not a person, you're a leader." Junko would remind her, then claim she was so much more than what she was taught. She grew sad, then angry, then cold and sadistic. Despair made her emotional and irrational, so she acted out of impulse and revenge.

We know Izuru joined Junko just because he was bored and wanted entertainment, but I don't believe it was that simple. He wanted entertainment, yes. He was bored, yes. But that couldn't be all, right? He's strong, mentally and physically, at least he was supposed to be. He was so tired of the calculating life he lived, tired of not knowing who he once was, and tired of how tired he was, and it probably gave him a subconscious sadness. He grieved himself without realizing it, and he was probably not mentally stable due to his existence. Junko took advantage of it. She knew he was bored out of his mind, so she promised him ways to feel something other than empty boredom. "In a world without them, you can do whatever you want. You can find out who you once were, you can watch people act out of Despair and Hope, and you can even watch Despair and Hope battle till only one remains." She'd convince, speaking innocently till she brought him into a sense of false security and then turned it all around and left him to his own devices when she started THH.

Of course, there's also Chisa. She was exposed to the first Mutual Killing Game, and it hurt her emotionally. That couldn't break her though, logically it made no sense for that and the Reserve Boy to be what broke her, and the literal lobotomy didn't make sense. Sure, exposure and warping of the mind works, but Chisa'e actions come from her heart. So I think it'd be more fitting if Junko had used Chisa's loved ones as leverage. Kyosuke, Juzo, class 77, they're all important to her and she loves them dearly in their own separate ways. So Junko probably used all of their wellbeing against her, and she acted out of desperation and panic, cracking and shattering into shards of Despair slowly when Junko would speak.

Then, Chiaki was the cake on top of it all for them. Her death would ruin the tiny hints of sanity they clung to subconsciously, and it'd send waves of Despair through them all at once.

Class 77-B was her perfect target, and Izuru and Ryota were what she needed to help that plan become reality. She used her charms and their weaknesses to her advantage, and they ended up worshipping her as a savior. She "woke them up" in a sense, that's what she told them at least. In the end, she had some victory, but we all know how that played out in the end. Moral of the story, don't be batshit like Junko and try to watch out for people like her!

[pensiveant]

Sorry but I'm full of opinions about this and I actually understand what I'm talking about, so I can't shut up. "Ethically sourced AI art generation" is not a thing because "unethically sourced AI art generation" is ALSO not a thing. If you campaign for image generation algorithms to be trained only on data banks gathered """with consent""" (i.e. consent from the original artists, many of which are long dead anyway) and for anything else to be punishable under law, then you better be ready to advocate for the 13 year old drawing anime characters for the first time to be sued, fined, and/or incarcerated too because. it's the exact. same. thing. It's the same principle.

The neural network looks at millions of photographs and art depictions of an apple and learns to recognize what it looks like. It learns to recognize what red means in relation to an apple, what bright means, what dramatic shadows mean. And then it creates an entirely new picture from scratch, putting together the information it collected from looking at all those examples and what they have in common. It does not copy, trace, crop and glue bits together, or whatever else people are imagining. It's not the same technology as applying a filter to an existing picture to modify it.

A budding artist learning to draw does the exact same thing. They look at reference pictures, they look at other people's art and how they depict certain elements of color, shadows, light, etc. They're inspired by other people's art styles. It's not just practiced but even recommended that starting out, new artists trace over reference photos or other people's art for private practice in order to get of sense of how to build certain shapes, how to manipulate perspective, and so on. They learn the exact same way the AI does, and they both need some time and practice to get it right.

It's impossible to legally ban one without hurting the other. Where do you draw the line? The difference between the two might seem clear to you now, but it could easily be argued that it's nonexistent by a determined enough asshole looking to sue someone. And who do you think that is going to affect the most if not people who were already vulnerable in front of the law as is?

Furthermore, it's impossible to copyright art style. That's just not a thing. Copyright is already a nebulous concept when it comes to art (not just the visual type either) and how strictly it is applied depends on how much of a dick someone wants to be. People claim this kind of AI is putting small artists doing commissions out of business, but do you realize that the overwhelming majority of commission artists are regularly selling art of characters they do not legally own? That both the artist and the commissioner are participating in copyright infringement? That neither of them actually owns that piece of art? Or do copyright laws apply only when it makes you angry?

Someone including an artist's portfolio in training datasets even after explicitly being asked by said artist not to do that is a bit of an asshole move, yeah. I agree and I wouldn't want anything to do with someone like that either. But it is not an immoral act. And under no circumstances whatsoever should it be an illegal one. It's just a shit thing to do, but I promise you can live with it. Put your pitchfork and torch down for a moment and think what kind of future you're asking for by asking for stricter copyright laws because I don't think most people realize what a hellish authoritarian system that would be.

The conversations we should be having regarding the ethical use of AI revolve around its use to replace and lay off employees, impersonate actors by using their voice and likeness without their agreement, impersonate real people in general (more easily so, not that this is a new issue strictly related to the rising popularity of image generators), bloat internet spaces with irrelevant or erroneous information and ads, decrease the reliability and general usefulness of search engines, and so on and so forth. Yet what most people froth at the mouth about are topics like "AI art is not real art" and "AI art is stolen art" and "AI art is not valid because a human didn't put in effort" etc. which are all completely asinine topics that will never lead to productive discussions.

If you want to take a stand against AI art, do it for the right reasons, not out of misinformed kneejerk reactionary panic and stubbornness.

[stainedglasssqurriel]

Epilepticon Day 17 prompt

Do you prefer epileptic or person with epilepsy or do you find them pretty interchangeable? Tell us about why you prefer one or the other too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I prefer epileptic, myself. Person with epilepsy is a mouthful, and I trip over my words often.

It also feels impersonal, and I think it puts unnecessary, unhelpful distance between the person and the condition.

It's hard enough as it is to get people to remember that people experience invisible disabilities whenever they aren't at that moment being faced with the evidence without creating unnecessary linguistic distance when we talk about such conditions.

I understand that that distance can be helpful for separating oneself from the stigma of a condition.

But with epilepsy, more often than not, people don't seem to know anything at all. There are some popular misconceptions about how to respond to a seizure, but I haven't run across any widespread ideas about people with epilepsy that aren't about people actively having a seizure.

It's not a label I'm uncomfortable wearing.

I prefer 'People with epilepsy' when referring to a group even though the term has all the same issues that 'Person with epilepsy' does. Which again comes down to 'Epileptic people' is the harder phrase for me to say.

[unnormal-lurker]

Why I made this account

To be honest, I'm a complete loser, both in real life. What do I mean by loser? Basically, I'm perceived as some awkward, quiet guy with no real interests or hobbies, let alone a personality. Nobody knows my true self, not even my few friends nor family members, except for anyone who knows my digital footprint. I normally don't mind, as I'm used to it at this point, but recently, it has been getting incredibly frustrating to see how insignificant I am in even the smallest of social circles. As much as I enjoy solitude and being asocial, I also have ideas and experiences I want to share to people who can relate to me. I don't want my personal philosophies on the world to die with me. Even if it's just a few people, I want to leave my footprints in the sands of time. I've been thinking of putting more of myself out there, both in college and online. I'm not going to self-dox or anything, hell no, I just want to stop putting a facade of impersonality. I want to say, "This is who I really am, what I have done, and what I really think," without shame or embarrassment. I may divide people and likely make some enemies, but you know what? I shouldn't care. I would rather have a few good friends that actually cared about me, than a large following of self-interested opportunists that will turn on me at the drop of a hat. I'm definitely not saying that I'm a genius that is right about everything. I may say things that are inaccurate or generalized, perhaps even flat out wrong. I'm openly self-aware enough to realize that I may even defend my hypocritical beliefs. If I do, always feel free to call me out, because I want to learn from my own mistakes as well. I don't know if this dumb vent-esque blog will gain any sort of traction, and I'm not aiming for my personal popularity. I just want to share my ideas. I don't care about my own legacy.

[dxmedstudent]

Not too sure if you will want to answer this but I saw you wrote you went to a London medical school- I just was curious where. I'm at a med school in London too! I'm currently applying for jobs and I've put EBH down first because I felt London will be a) too long to commute to and b) too brutal of a city to work in, I've heard it's v busy and not as social. Any thoughts on this having worked here for your F1/f2?

Hi, Yeah it used to be something I hid back when I was in med school/first started here, as it felt rather identifiable. Nowadays, where I went almost a decade ago doesn't feel quite so current! I went to Barts, but I had friends or family at all the London med schools at some point, so I feel like I have a good grasp of how they all are. I did FY in and out of London - most posts had one job inside and one on the outside. London CAN be brutal - I definitely have friends who hated working in some of the big centres. That said, I've known people to have great experiences in some of the London hospitals. I do think that people are more likely to live further away from work in London, and may be less social after work for distance reasons - whereas if you are all stuck in a little DGH in a small town with nothing else to do, you're much more likely to socialise with your FY group a lot, out of necessity. This might be less of an issue if you have a lot of friends (or family) in London and so have a ready made support group. My FY1 was in a london placement, but technically at a DGH outside of London, and I feel I personally benefited from that "we're all stuck in this place" cameraderie. That said, having worked at hospitals in the Southeast that aren't in London, I can say that you have busy, disorganised, understaffed hospitals everywhere, and you can be unlucky enough to have a horrible placement anywhere.

I find big hospitals can be very anonymous and impersonal, and often invest a lot less in their trainees - especially if they are popular due to research etc. Sometimes it can help to be part of a more specialised department that does its own thing (for example, when I worked in paeds or renal), because then your working life is more self-enclosed rather than dealing with the entire hospital. I've always preferred a small DGH - they can be busy, but if they are well run there is usually much more of a team feel, particularly in medicine where you spend most of your rotations. I feel that when evryone knows everyone, people are a lot less likely to be rude or unhelpful.

[cottoncandy-cult]

Tw because I talk about a very dark anime near the end of my little ramble. I'll mark the end of the safety zone, under that is enter at your own risk 18 and up territory because the show I'm describing is basically the nuclear darkest side of history and has a lot of messed up events.

Never realized how active the Twisted Wonderland fandom was on Ao3 til now, I've yet to really find a place to stick as far as fandoms so Ao3 stills very distant and impersonal to me compared to places like here and and Wattpad. Like for me so far it feels like Ao3 is really professionally distant, Tumblr is a middle ground of friendly and responsive but still a little distant, while Wattpad feels like a house party. Like you know those Richboy Gojo fics that talk about Geto and Gojo always holding house parties where it's basically anyone who wants to show up can? Yeah that's how wattpad feels. It's where I started writing, so it's kinda like walking into your best friend's house during an active house party. I know where the kitchen is, I know where the drinks are, I recognize a lot of the people there even if I don't know them personally. I feel like Shoko at one of Geto or Gojo's parties.... I'm not sure why this got long, I was just trying to explain that Ao3 feels really solitary. But no, overall my point is I moved my Babification event for Twisted Wonderland on here to there last night. About 8 hours in I have 189 hits, a bookmark and 7 kudos. So I can definitely see that certain fandoms are more active than others. And I'm kinda bummed cause I'm like 99% sure that most of the anime I write for are gonna be dead fandoms or very low activity fandoms. I know this because the fandoms are already pretty low activity even on Wattpad and here. Like Black Blood Brothers, it was an old vampire anime with an interesting premise that fell off because it wasn't immediately popular. (The manga and anime world is cut throat, the underground anime market is saturated.) Now bare in mind it isn't cancelled, they just dropped it after it's first season. (Only 12 episodes but I really liked it). The fandom has been active enough that people have talked about petitioning for a remake or continuation, but not so active that there is a whole lot of interaction with their content. Sometimes these anime don't have any content available, much less limited content. I'd be happy with black blood brothers fluff. And I've always considered doing a rant and ramble series on anime I love but the fanbase is dead or just has a disproportionate number of willing readers to capable producers. Cause some of these anime I genuinely believe need more attention, especially when it comes to ones like BBB. Where they aren't really cancelled, just kind of sat aside. Cases like that would be the easiest to bring back.

🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞🔞

Though I know some anime probably aren't gonna be popular, people won't want to remake them because they're to risky. Like Basilisk (and it's later part Basilisk Ouka Ninja Scroll), this anime comes with so many trigger warnings. It has a lot of basis in Japanese history, but it does have a touch of "magic", but when I say history I don't mean the prettier sides. There is blood and gore, there is sexual abuse (it's once in each part of the series the women that it happens too are "enemy" kunoichi, there is base for this in history as many diaries have been uncovered over the years talking about how female ninja are warned about being caught and in some cases are "prepared" to handle sexual torture. I took a couple advanced history classes in highschool and history is always way way darker than the blood splattered one we're taught in the regular classes. I had a couple classes where you and your parents had to sign wavers stating you knew that some of what we'd be learning about could be very dark and messed up. Not excusing it, just adding context as to where this is likely coming from. As it is meant to be based in history, unfiltered and at its worst ) and that's just the start, political corruption, abuse, torture, trauma, self harm and suicide, manipulation and gaslighting, sexism, and in the second part at the very end a psycho tries to force the 2 main characters (which were reincarnations of the characters from the first part, and came back as siblings raised separate.) Into incest to use the corrupted virgin blood to resurrect Nobunaga Oda. There is kinda boy love but it's in that screwy historical way, it is an overall dark anime that is not meant for the squeamish or easily triggered. It's unapologetic in how it represents the darkest parts of the time period. So I can understand why it never got super popular, and why it can probably never be remade in this day and age. Plus the ending of the whole whirlwind is very bittersweet, so if your mental health is easily damaged or it is currently in question. I wouldn't recommend bingeing it all at once (it isn't a very long series, 24 in Basilisk and 24 in Basilisk Ouka Ninja scrolls. You could probably skip Ouka Ninja scrolls as it takes a very sad ending and makes it sadder. So it's very watch at your own risk.

I kind of lost the plot, I don't really remember why any of this was important. Just kinda felt like talking about something even if it isn't to anyone specific. I was enjoying a bit of rum while I transferred my stuff to Ao3 in case something happens with Tumblr. So uh... I guess check out my Ao3 if you're interested in any of my Ao3 exclusive writings. I have links to 2 of my books in my Masterlist, scroll all the way to bottom and ignore my singular attempt at smut on here. It isn't as good as my Ao3 smut.

[22degreehalo]

The thing is, there are really two different kinds of 'small talk'.

There's 'small talk' which you do with strangers in impersonal situations, like when you're serving them in retail or waiting at the lights when something weird happens you just have to comment on. There's no implication that you will or should know each other, and the conversation exists purely for its own sake.

And then there's 'small talk' between acquaintances (e.g. extended family or coworkers) who are sharing space together. This conversation is about maintaining that low level relationship, finding commonalities and 'keeping up' with what you've got going on.

The former kind of small talk? I love. It's light, it's happy, and it comes with zero commitments or expectation. Someone doesn't respond to my offer to talk? No worries, I'll just get back to what I was doing. I don't need to worry what they think of me because me as a person doesn't matter at all. I can just make a lil joke or observation, and they can acknowledge they heard it and maybe add to it, and that's it. It's just about feeling something and offering to share it with something else for a moment in time.

I absolutely cannot stand the second time. It makes me so so so incredibly anxious. Because it is about Me, and my ability to keep up a certain consistent behaviour over time. I need to Remember Things about people. I need to express the right level of Interest in certain Popular Topics. I need to agree with the right Opinions. I need to act like we're Friends regardless of who we are. And I can never end the conversation the Wrong Way without breaking social boundaries and/or making someone feel bad.

This is part of why I don't like becoming a regular, especially for something time-intensive like haircuts: the former small talk morphs into the latter. Suddenly, I'm not just a random person: there is an expectation on me to say the right things and perform the same sort of way I did on previous times. It's not conversation because you had something to say, but because You Want To Talk To Me, and I have to figure out some way to go along with that and do it right. Inaction is no longer inaction, it is deliberate refusal to engage. The floor has been raised: acting basically normal is no longer good enough. It's the bare minimum. I can't just exist to someone as 'also doesn't like the humidity.' I need to talk about myself, my life, and who I fundamentally Am as a person in my life. I'm creating the version of me that will exist in their head. And I hate it.

Either that or maybe I just get overly stressed out by the idea of doing something 'weird' and I think other people's own expectations of me count for 'weirdness'. I don't know.

[knittingnightgaunt]

Man I thought DA was -done- transparently trying to prove it hates it's user base more than any other site. I WAS WRONG.

They now have their own AI art generator for core users...

And to avoid it using YOUR art you have to go to every piece in your gallery, find the toggle and tell it no.

I am unclear if being able to opt out is core only, but I hope it's not. Either way, really shitty, especially since they're still ignoring the impersonator account that's copying the names of popular adopt creators, changing one letter and trying to get people from bid chains to buy sold adopts from the popular accounts. (And succeeding in some cases.)

Can you do literally anything about this on DA?

...Yeah you can flag it spam when they contact you.

That's it.

Spam.

There's no forum unless you have toyhou.se which is tracking this, there's no 'hey this person is literally using you to rob people' thing... nothing. They just... keep going.

I've been on DA for AGES, I even currently have core if ONLY to protect my art from being used for NFTs (and even then I'm pretty sure they don't do as much as they imply they do.) Damn though I am getting tired, and I don't have another good gallery. I'm just not good enough for one of the fancy portfolio sites and i just wanted to chill and have fun.

[think-queer]

I just made a new account @thinkqueer to use for replies and possibly asks. I won’t actually be posting anything there so there’s really no reason to follow that account, I just wanted to mention it so people know it’s actually me.

[incorrect-akazaya]

The Akazaya headcanon weeks, Day 6: Ashura Doji

Prompt question: What is something about them that people would not expect just by looking at them?

My take:

Ah yes, Ashura, the criminally underrated chonker ✨

First of all, I'm pretty sure there's layers to this man. On the outside, he may seem big, scary, aggressive, perpetually disgruntled, and generally uncaring. The Akazaya know very well though, that this is just how he carries himself, not how he really is.

Deep down, Ashura can be a softie, especially towards his friends. He isn't afraid to sacrifice himself for them if needed. He actually likes spending time with them and they all make him happy, even if he seems annoyed. He'd quite literally die for them, every single one, including the Akazaya, his bull, and his group of thieves (but especially Denjiro). Besides, even if he lived the bandit life for so long, he wishes for peace and he'll always be grateful to Oden for showing him what it's like.

The reason why Ashura hides his softer side is this deeply ingrained fear of showing vulnerability. Since early childhood, he had to fight for his life to survive in Kuri and be able to get basic necessities like food and shelter. Over those years, he learned (subconsciously) that vulnerability meant danger. Now, he will sometimes show this side of him to his friends: but moments like this are still somewhat rare.

Another thing that may not be expected of Ashura is that he is actually quite reasonable and intelligent. Despite his rough looks, he thinks logically, and can often tell faster than others when something is a ploy (Kin'emon's 'smart plan', Kanjuro impersonating Oden). He's smart and a rather good leader to his people, though not necessarily booksmart.

Ashura is also rather insecure, even if he acts prideful and brash. His insecurities don't have to do with his looks or body though (he's completely fine with that) - rather, with the guilt he harbors. To this day, Ashura feels like he hasn't done enough to stop those who went to Onigashima too early and died. Sometimes, in his head, he calls himself a coward and an idiot who just froze instead of doing something more. He calls himself weak, feels like he failed to protect them, and hates himself for it. Overall, Ashura definitely needs a hug - but he will probably never ask for one.

What do YOU think? Feel free to participate in this event by replying to the prompt question in reblogs or comments! Any other headcanons about Ashura that you’d like to share? This is the time to do this too!

Thank you all for participating continuously and keeping up with this event ❤️ We're getting into the less 'popular' Akazaya now, but hey, they all still deserve lots of love!

Tomorrow’s focus: Inuarashi

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Which BTS member do you think has been the most successful on IG from a communications perspective? JK has been a revelation for me - he went from being the one I connected with the least in official content to such a charmer on IG. But he’s already so popular. I wonder if someone like J-Hope who is relatively less popular will see more of an overall from IG.

From a communication perspective, definitely JK. It seems that he found the most suitable platform for his taste. He's also an introvert so the Q&A where he doesn't show his face and he can select whatever question he wants is quite on brand. He created his own space and his posts are related to his interests, but communicating with the fans is JK doing one part of his job as an idol however he pleases and what is comfortable for him. Now, his presence online in the last days has increased because he was isolating himself. We shall see if he continues to do similar things after he gets back to his usual schedule.

J-Hope may not be as popular as JK, but he is the one who successfully established his brand and who knows how to use IG in his own personal way. More than any other member, J-Hope is a curator, he plans his posts to fit a certain aesthetic that he's going for at the moment and I think that's the main reason why he stands out. Even the members were impressed with his social media brand. J-Hope is a guy that knows how to work with each platform at BTS's disposal and uses all of them. He's one of the most active members. RM's strategy is similar to J-Hope's. He's also a curator on IG but he certainly doesn't use the platform for communication. His plan is to show the intellectual/art side of his interests and IG is definitely a better platform for this, rather than Twitter or Weverse.

It's interesting to see how each of them communicate with their fans and what platform they use. J-Hope, RM and Tae use Weverse to answer questions from their fans, but their self managing IG spaces are just for their interests. Tae may post stuff on IG, but I don't see him use the platform for communication, although he did it once. Usually he jumps to Weverse for clarifications or to answer qs, which is quite funny to see. His IG platform approach is similar to Jungkook's, as he uses it to show his more personal interests and how he wants people to see him, beyond V in BTS: old movies, jazz, golf and art. Tae's brand on IG is the art hoe which is very Tae.

Jimin is a very interesting case here and I'm making my observations based on his social media presence in the last, let's say 6 months, although we can look at the situation ever since the pandemic. He was a very active user in the past, but that situation has changed, for whatever reason. I don't want to speculate on that because it's only fair for me to say that I don't know why. His stans or army in general are only making speculations of what his motives are, but they talk about it as a fact. Anyway, Jimin for quite a while used twitter for selcas posted when BTS had an event, so I always saw it part of the promotional duty. He thanked army, posted a cute selca and then he was gone. It was more of an impersonal engagement. For communication with the fans he uses Weverse, just like almost everyone else. But it's not a platform that he uses quite often. It happens once in a blue moon, but when it does, the notif are blowing up. What was interesting to notice was the slight change after they all got their IG account. Jimin suddenly was more active on Weverse (we have to take into consideration that during that period he had to be in quarantine after he arrived in Seoul from LA), but he used the platform as a personal daily diary. Not too personal, but enough for the fans to feel connected to him. He mostly talked about what he eats, what he watches and showing those glorious extensions before they were cut. He wasn't answering that many questions, as he kept adding comments to his initial posts.

Now, onto IG, which became the talk of army twitter and tumblr. I'm not saying he had a strategy, because Jimin does seem like a guy who couldn't care less about IG, especially at first (he doesn't know how to post a story) but his absence became his brand image on IG. Which in turn, made the occasion in which he actually posted something, to turn into an event. It's a classic strategy. Jungkook used to be like that before IG. On the rare occasion he posted something, it was after months of complete absence. With Jimin, it doesn't seem that he's looking to create some kind of image of himself on IG, which does seem like him. He's a private person who doesn't make a showcase out of his interests, but he doesn't have to. He turns the focus from himself to Army and it's effortless. It's like he found the perfect balance of being loved by his fans because he's well and soft spoken and oozing love, while he doesn't need to reveal too much.

Lastly, we have Jin and Suga who are also not very active on IG, but the buzz and the created ''discourse'' about their presence or lack of it is almost non-existent, as compared to Jimin, despite the fact that all three of them have the least amount of posts, although both of them are more active than Jimin. It just seems that Jin and Suga really don't care too much about it and I get the feeling that for Suga it's just part of work, as he mentioned that he doesn't know what to post when they have 3 platforms at their disposal. Jin used to go on Weverse quite often at some point, but it's not something that he does now. The man can't be bothered, lol. Both Jin and Suga use IG to post the type of photos they would usually do on twitter.