#personally I am hitting the Nuance button

[owlfacenightkit]

As the 4th of July just passed…

Please reblog for sample size

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

okay I have read your FAQ, I know your stance on other buttons but I have One suggestion if you’d hear me out

a ‘idk/other/in the reblogs/replies’ button or something along those lines (could be worded much better lol)

reasoning: there are a decent amount of posts that people just don’t know how to vote on, maybe theyre not versed on the subject etc

or maybe their opinion is more nuanced than the options and they add a reply but they still want to see the results. the only option then is to do ‘info’ which can lead to someone thinking they need to provide more information when most people were just voting because they didn’t know how else to vote.

an example would be a while back I forget the exact ask but it was something to do with judaism. since most of this site is not jewish, the info option got a Lot of votes even though it was a pretty simple situation, it’s just most people seemed to not think they could make a vote in good faith.

I know it would add more time but I think it would cause a lot less overinflation of info answers, as well as people saying ‘wheres the x button’ cause they would all just fall under the other one.

obviously this is your blog at the end of the day so it’s up to you, but I think it could be helpful.

Nope! This has been suggested before and I am not doing it.

The poll and the replies serve different purposes; you can take part in one without taking part in the other. If you feel like you don't have enough knowledge or experience to personally form an opinion about the post, the correct choice is to not take part in the poll; if you MUST hit a button, INFO is the best option. Having a secret seventh option would not make the poll more representative, it would just artificially inflate a different answer. It would also muddy the waters on other posts by giving people a way to equivocate or just opt out from forming an opinion at all. You're on a judgment blog and the price of admission to the poll is making a judgment. End of.

[jiraisupportgroup]

Hii I'm new to jirai kei n recently I joined a group where there's a lot o jirai / landmine ppl! I was asking some questions abt how to go for the fashion part of the subculture and one of my main questions was "is there any thrift store I can go to? Can I customize some clothing to make it look jirai?" And what I got as an answer was "No. Jirai ppl only use branded clothing, you can buy it second hand but you cannot customize in any way".

Tbh I'm not in a good place economically rn and I don't have a job either, so I'm not sure what I should do. Importing clothing costs 6 times more cause of where I live.

Is it really a rule that jirai / landmine can only wear branded clothes? (Liz liza, honey wardrobe, dear my love, etc)

I know I fit in the jirai lifestyle but I wanted to fit in the fashion too T--T

Thank you for your time♡♡ asking anon cause it's for me and a frien ^^"

I would once again like to preface this (as I preface all things) with the fact that I could entirely be talking out of my ass - this is just my opinion - and I am not a spokesperson for Jirai Kei or other mentioned subcultures / fashion styles as a whole.

I wholeheartedly disagree with that but also I will caveat that with the fact that I spent most of my teenage years in menhera / goth / emo / grunge spaces and those are very DIY-heavy subcultures. I'm also super relaxed about how people choose to label themselves (to the point where I barely claim to be in any subculture because I just don't want to bother with labels so I'm probably not the best person to ask haha~)

To me personally, this feels like an argument that someone coming from Lolita would make? I kind of see a link here in the sense that the two main reasons I think people say these things about Lolita are because it is really hard to make Lolita clothing and buying lolita knock-offs is generally bad for a whole slew of reasons. Similar arguments for both subcultures I think.

Girly kei / dark girly clothing can be really hard to make or DIY. I think it is certainly very possible to do, but it might take some trial and error. Mostly because being a bit over the top is kind of the aesthetic; there are a lot of ruffles and bows and lace and ribbons and buttons and cute little accessories and cut-outs and the neckline is typically very specific with decorated collars. At its base, it is just a blouse, but it's got a LOT of aspects that go into it, and if it's "too basic" then you're not really hitting that girly kei style. The skirts too (I personally think the skirts would be a little easier to DIY but I also have experience sewing with lace / grommets & making corset ribbon designs which is mostly what stands out from them to me?) You also run into a lot of the actual hardware being specific with hearts being a really common theme for belt loops or buttons, and decorated suspenders.

I think it would be difficult to DIY girly kei or dark girly pieces but it's certainly doable. One issue is that depending on where you're getting the materials for that DIY, it might be about the same cost (or more) as just buying a blouse (although this depends on shipping cost).

The other aspect of it is the argument against fast fashion which is a little more nuanced in Jirai Kei but I see where they're coming from? I mean, to be frank, ryousangata is literally "massed produced" fashion (& to be fair the aesthetics that are labeled as “ryousangata” have varied a lot over the years - it’s not just frilly blouses & stuff that’s just kind of what it happens to be right now). It's pretty much just fast fashion. MA*RS, Liz Lisa, & DearMyLove from what I can tell are mostly produced in Japan, although they do source materials from China, like most companies do (not automatically or necessarily a bad thing imo - but I will spare you that side rant bc it’s kind of not related). I couldn't find a lot of information about their production practices? So I'm unsure about worker environments for them? Generally, the big-name brands are going to be more ethically sourced & produced than random AliExpress sellers but by how much is kind of questionable (or at least I could not find a lot of information about the production processes so I'm not sure by how much - if anyone has additional information on this I would love love love to hear).

Now am I saying "Go buy a bunch of fast fashion off of AliExpress because it's cheaper and no one cares"? No. (It's also honestly not much cheaper.) But the reality is that it generally is fast fashion, so it's a weird balancing game. I think one of the main reasons people say "only buy Liz Lisa / MA*RS / DearMyLove" is because they want to avoid fast fashion as much as possible while participating in a fashion with a LOT of fast fashion sellers, and since it can be difficult to find production information they go for the big names because they're easier to trust in that aspect. (I also have fallen into this trap & have sworn my life to DearMyLove because they're the only big-name brand that is even slightly 6-foot-tall-bitch friendly T-T)

All of that being said, if you want to attach some bows and lace to a frilly blouse and call it girly kei I am absolutely not going to stop you (or honestly even judge you, but again that's just me). The shipping costs are part of the reason why I say the clothes are secondary to the jirai kei subculture especially as a foreigner because once you consider that the clothing is significantly more expensive and difficult to obtain in foreign circles it becomes directly contradictory to some of the reasons why those same clothes are so popular in the Japanese subculture: I don't think the cultural context of the fashion translates over to foreign markets (economically or socially, but I'll spare you that entire rant lol).

ALSO! Jirai Kei Subcul is awesome and has a much more obtainable aesthetic for foreign markets. It leans more into punk and you can use a lot of different pieces for it that are more easily obtainable, so I highly recommend looking into it. It might be a good medium for being able to feel fully like you belong, but not breaking the bank for an outfit.

[moonlitlex]

ok. final thoughts on doctor who season 14 (2024) (because maybe if i say all of this i will finally stop thinking about how much i hate this season)

short version: i'm this season's biggest hater. if this season has a million haters im one of them. if this season has 1000 haters i'm still one of them. if this season has one hater it's me. if this season has no haters it means i have left this world. if the world is against this season i am with the world

long & nuanced version (under the cut)

i'm just really, really, really disappointed. i've always said that good writing can redeem any project, and it kind of feels like they just took it in the exact opposite direction this time. there's so much that went wrong and like 99% of it is down to the writing. i did a rant on my youtube channel (which i'm not gonna link here because i want to keep these accounts separate) and it was like an hour long so i'm not gonna go into detail but i'll just go over my main issues with this season

fifteen lacks depth. i think he's a very generic doctor lacking his own eccentricities. after the first season the doctor usually has quite a distinct personality, but i don't think we got that with fifteen. just compare the kind of characterization fifteen has at this point to like... eleven in his first season. he was a lot more fleshed out. we got to see multiple facets of his personality. it seems like they tried this with fifteen but everything we got to see ended up being really surface level. the susan thing just kind of happens. the rogue thing just kind of happens. he faces racism and he's just kind of incredulous and then the episode ends. it's not explored. the show just moves on to the next thing and we don't get to see how he deals with it.

ruby lacks depth. similarly, i think ruby is a very generic companion. she's a young woman from present day london which isn't in and of itself a bad thing but it's not backed up by much. like, what do we actually know about ruby? she's adopted? she was left on a church doorstep by her biomom? she loves her mom but is still disappointed she can't find her bio parents? these are all plot relevant things. what do we know about her outside of the stuff that is necessary for the plot? job? friends? life before the doctor? there are a few tiny glimpses, but not enough to make her a developed character.

fifteen and ruby's relationship is boring. they never fight. they never disagree. they never argue. they're never angry with each other. they never challenge each other on anything. they're shown to have this amazing best-friend rapport but it's never developed or fleshed out. it just kind of happens. one second they're meeting and the next second they're bffs who never disagree about anything and are always on the same page. it's just not an interesting dynamic.

i found ten and donna to be a very compelling dynamic but that's because they actually have a real friendship and have to deal with conflict and challenges and disagreements. times when the doctor and companion challenge each other are interesting. this is a feature of some really beloved doctor who stories for a reason. dalek wouldn't be so well loved if rose just agreed with nine the entire time. the conflict makes the story more compelling. meanwhile ruby can't even muster an ounce of discontentment with fifteen for the entire season.

season finale payoffs were not compelling and are in my opinion a result of prioritizing shock and surprise and social media buzz at time of release over telling an interesting story.

sutekh is not automatically a compelling villain and the way that arc is written is so... bland. he appears and kills everyone and the next episode they just hit the reset button. fine, doctor who has done this before, but there was interesting character writing back then to distract you from the baffling story decisions.

the season 3 finale had flying jesus ten but it also had interesting character dynamics. this one had sutekh defeated in the most confusing way possible (if he got his power from the time vortex why is it killing him now....) but there's barely anything going on in the character department. it's rtd so i expected hamfisted deus ex machinas, but i didn't expect the lack of care on the character front.

the susan thing was just... it came out of nowhere, didn't really make much sense, and then it immediately disappeared. the doctor thinking it's his susan was just confusing for me and it didn't land. like why would susan.... do that? why would she be basically following him around the universe by weaving herself into the scenery everywhere he landed? this is never even addressed. they just get the tardis anagram and he immediately jumps to it being his susan and you're not really sure why he's so convinced and it's never really explained.

ruby's mom being a normal woman literally just doesn't make any sense. it's never explained. "we thought she was really important" doesn't just do all the inexplicable things. why and how is ruby able to make it snow if her mom is just a normal person? why does the song in his soul scare maestro so much? why is sutekh of all people unable to figure out who her mother is? the reveal is played as a criticism of the audience for building up ruby's mom to be this huge mystery, but it wasn't the audience doing this - it was the writers. these are the clues they laid out and they're never explained. "doctor who is more fantastical now" also doesn't make any sense. fantasy has rules too. you can't just do whatever you want. the world still has to be internally consistent. the reveal by itself is a nice moment but it's just disappointing that they decided to laugh at the audience for taking their show seriously.

i've seen a lot of people compare ruby's mom thing with clara's impossible girl thing. i would like to point out 2 differences that make clara's impossible girl arc superior. first - clara's impossible girl arc never tries to weasel its way out of the mystery. the point is that who clara is is more important than the mystery surrounding her. ruby's mom mystery tries to erase the mystery entirely. second - clara's impossible girl arc is resolved the way it is because of clara. clara is a person who takes an action because of who she is. it shows courage and selflessness and care for her friend. ruby's mom mystery is solved by ruby and the doctor finding a database where they can match ruby's dna to her mom's. it doesn't say anything about her character. her character is irrelevant to the resolution.

i've also seen it compared to the hybrid thing from season 9, but with the hybrid there was never anything unexplainable happening in the first place so "it was just the characters obsessing about it all along" makes sense because it literally is just the characters bringing up the hybrid all the time.

the individual episodes are not... good. here are my opinions on each of them

church on ruby road - ok introduction, weird pacing, the goblin song was just tonally off compared to the rest of the episode

space babies - genuinely makes the doctor seem like a sadistic asshole at times like he keeps laughing at the literal babies for being scared of the monster and this is played for laughs (???), boogeyman reveal thing literally came out of nowhere there was no setup and it made no sense and was never really explained, a lot of tonal whiplash in this episode, poor exposition choices at the start

devils chord - maestro was a fun performance but nothing else about this episode is interesting, there are no beatles, the 4th wall breaks are tonally inconsistent with the rest of the season

boom - ruby gets sidelined but making ncuti act without being able to move any of his body slaps as a concept and while it was too on the nose, the thematic messaging aspects of this episode are coherent and don't talk down to the audience, some side characters get to be relevant to the story and moderately developed (mundy, splice, the dad), splice's actor was far too old to be delivering those lines and it didn't land well, the dad ai defeating the ambulance ai was a bit too much but was in line with the power of love and faith theme so i'm conflicted on how i feel about that

73 yards - did nothing right. there are a few minutes of good welsh folk horror at the start before that aspect of the story is undermined by those people in the pub. ruby gets no character development. the horror atmosphere is abandoned at the start and the horror concept is abandoned entirely partway through the story in favour of the political stuff with roger ap gwilliam, which is kind of resolved in a really anticlimactic scene which doesn't matter anyway because everything just gets undone at the end of the episode. there are no answers.

it's not a good horror story because 90% of it isn't horror. it's not a good political drama because nothing happens. it's not a good character study because we don't get to know anything about ruby's character. i genuinely think rtd has forgotten the kind of stuff he's written because he called this the best thing he's ever written and it's literally not even in the top 10 doctor who episodes he's ever written. like midnight is right there. the waters of mars is RIGHT THERE. this episode is all setup and no payoff.

also - i might just be autistic, but the "can i pay with my phone" joke doesn't land because not everyone can actually accept digital payments yet! it's like... an extremely normal question to ask. i literally ask all the time unless i see an "apple pay accepted" sign because sometimes the answer is "no, we only take cash or card". i know it was supposed to be something about how ruby thinks she's in the past or welsh people getting wrongly stereotyped for being backward but maybe rtd should've come up with a line that would actually be offensive and not just a completely normal thing to ask in 2024.

dot and bubble - this is probably my most controversial take. i hate this episode. i think it's a poorly written bad episode. and furthermore i think only people who are disconnected from all discussion around racism think it's got genuinely good commentary. for MOST of this episode, it's a "kids be on they damn phones" thing. like, genuinely. lindy can't even WALK without her phone. there's nothing in the episode to tip us as the audience off to the idea that the dots hate them because they're racist. everything in the episode is pointing at "the dots hate them because they're stupid as fuck because they're always on that damn phone".

lindy at first seems like a flawed but sympathetic character, and this could genuinely have worked with the racism commentary. if it's about them being racist cause they're sooooooo fucking stupid, maybe don't have lindy be an irredeemable extremely racist character who kills someone. maybe she's repeating all the rhetoric she's heard her entire life without ever thinking about it. maybe trying to convince her racist friends to give the doctor a chance gets her socially isolated. maybe it's about echo chambers and social bubbles. maybe lindy as an individual has no malicious intent either way but she still behaves in a racist way and still ends up siding with the racists because they're her friends and she wants to fit in and be part of the in group and trying to not be racist because the doctor seemed kinda nice got her socially ostracized so she perpetuates racism regardless. but none of this is what happens. this is a reading you can get out of it if you're really dedicated to reading into a story written by a guy who doesn't give a shit about racism.

lindy and all her friends are stupid and bad and racist and the doctor is still desperate to save them for some fucking reason and he doesn't even get to SAY anything to them, he just laughs incredulously and that's his entire reaction. the commentary in this episode is baby's first lesson on racism. it's a message of "racism is bad and stupid" tacked onto an episode with a message of "being on your phone is bad and stupid".

it's shallow. it has nothing to say. it's very clearly a story about racism written by a white man who has never had to even think about racism. the entire writer's room for this season was white as well. rtd didn't even think he should maybe consider giving the racism episode to a black writer. he just wrote a full episode where the message is "racism is bad you guys" and patted himself on the back for his social commentary. i think it's embarrassing that people praise this episode for opening their eyes to racism in the real world and helping them understand it better. literally all that tells me is they've been closing their eyes and covering their ears every time a person of colour talks about racism. like black fans have literally been talking about racism in doctor who for decades and clearly none of you listened to any of them because you're here watching an episode with an "omg racism is bad guys" message going "wow, i never though about it like that!" that's because you're an asshole.

"wow i didn't even notice that everyone in this episode is white!" that's because that's not out of the ordinary for doctor who. or for television in general. this isn't revolutionary commentary. it's an indictment of the season 14 writer's room that they thought they could write this episode without even taking a look around their own writer's room and thinking "huh, everyone here is white too. maybe we should try to change that." this show has been predominantly white for MOST of its history. i'm a huge critic of the chibnall era but at least that guy hired poc to write for the show. at least the bad racism commentary in rosa (which was, to remind you, "the future racist is wrong. racism is bad. also the entire civil rights movement was basically a happy accident") was written by a black woman. at least the weird british empire glorifying shit in the partition episode was written by an indian man (to be clear, stuff written by poc also deserves to be criticized. my point is just that at least chibnall had the basic common sense to hire people who knew more than him to write these stories). rtd didn't even consider this. not even a cowriter.

it's just embarrassing to watch white fans falling over themselves analyzing how this episode is soooo deep when it's simply not. racism isn't silly goofy stupid. it's dangerous. it gets people killed every day. it's even more ridiculous that the racism is addressed in the future episode but not anywhere else! fifteen goes to 60s england and... nothing. he goes to 1800s england and nothing. sure, future people are racist. whatever. are we seriously sanitizing the real, actual, real life racist past of britain? and then patting ourselves on the back for it? and ricky september being considered not racist? like, reading a book doesn't suddenly make you not racist. racist people aren't necessarily idiots. plenty of highly educated people are racist. making ricky explicitly racist while also a clearly smart character would have added nuance to this episode, but rtd didn't do that. watching a black man beg and plead with rich racist white kids to please let him save their lives is just... ridiculous.

there are countless (and i do mean countless) works by actual people of colour that discuss racism in a far more nuanced way. that go beyond "racism is bad and racist people are stupid". there are specifically black british shows you can watch that actually address racism and have real commentary on it outside of what you would expect a toddler who has just learnt about prejudice to say. shows that aren't about coddling while people. watch shows made by and for people who aren't white. read books written by and for people who aren't white. and don't just watch and read this stuff to "educate yourself" on other people's experiences. watch it because it's art. because it's entertaining or funny or interesting or dramatic, just like stories that are about white people are allowed to be. and stop praising an episode with a racism is bad message for being good racism commentary. seriously. we already know racism is bad. this is embarrassing for you.

dot and bubble was a "kids be on they damn phones episode" with "racism is so bad guys" tacked onto it and white fans fell over themselves explaining how it opened their eyes and it was so deep and meaningful and powerful and it was none of those things. it was bland and shallow and honestly really boring they spend WAY too long hitting us over the head with how the kids are so stupid cause they're on their damn phones. you should be embarrassed. if this episode was the first thing that made me realize racism exists and is bad you couldn't waterboard that out of me. grow up.

rogue - rogue was an underdeveloped jack harkness ripoff, there's no development of the relationship between him and the doctor, ruby got nothing to do, the proposal came out of nowhere, the chuldurs were an interesting concept but they literally didn't even do any of the larping they were there for apart from the one who was lady emily. murder is not a prominent part of bridgerton or similar regency era romances that they were supposedly there to cosplay

legend of ruby sunday - this episode is literally 99% exposition. like i'm not joking. there's exposition and exposition and exposition for the whole episode and at the end sutekh appears and kills everyone. also "i will kill everyone" is like. not a compelling motivation. doctor who is full of guys who want to kill everyone. there's nothing making sutekh particularly scary or compelling apart from the fact that he thanos snapped the whole universe and that's also not particularly scary or compelling because he spares the main characters AND because you know they're gonna hit the comic book reset button next episode. sutekh being attached to the tardis since pyramids of mars is unconvincing personally (it would've made more sense if it was since wild blue yonder)

empire of death - ??????? ruby's mom is just a normal woman. they leash sutekh like a dog and drag him through the time vortex which kills him for some reason and also hits reset on his kill switch for the whole universe and that just fixes everything. ruby calls her biomom her real mom instead of carla which just really rubbed me the wrong way. she exits the tardis to stay with her family and it's... fine. you never see why ruby and the doctor were attached to each other so them saying goodbye doesn't hit home. nothing happens and then suddenly everything happens. the fact that the reveal is unconvincing makes the whole thing worse.

conclusion: i think rtd ran out of ideas for doctor who. i think he shouldn't have come back. i think the 60th specials were season 4 fanfiction. i think they should've given the showrunner position to a different writer entirely. i think 8 episodes is far too short for a doctor who season (flux being an exception because it was one ongoing story). i think the bigger budget and better production value can't save a show with poor writing. i think gatwa and gibson are acting their hearts out and i wish they had better material because i really like both of them in these roles. i'm also kind of sick of murray gold's music at this point. he won't let emotional moments just sit and it's really annoying how every time anything happens there's a swell of music. i think rtd should give up on racism commentary and just hire someone else who can do it justice if he really wants it to be in his show. i think rtd should shift focus back to the characters and their interpersonal relationships because that's what he's good at and his plot resolutions have always been underwhelming deus ex machinas. i think they should give this show more episodes. i think they should change the broadcasting times to be a better slot in the uk and the episode should go up on streaming at the same time or after it airs. this season has little glimpses of potential (some of boom, first few minutes of 73 yards, episode concepts in general are quite interesting, more fantasy in doctor who is a fun concept) but squanders all of it with flat characters. i started dreading watching the next episode after a while because i kept hoping it would be good and then i would hate it.

but i still care too much about doctor who to not watch the show so i guess i'll be here this time next year picking season 15 apart. woo.

[holidayslinger]

It’s not you who enjoys Buddie and BT that’s the problem. What is a problem and what makes a big part of the fandom uncomfortable is BT shippers acting like we all have to like BT and never say a word about the ship and their fans because if we say anything negative we’re called homophobic and haters or other vile and untrue things. That’s not all of you but there is a big group of people who make it impossible to interact with that ship in a normal way. If you’re not as much of a fan of it as them then you’re a villain. They paint themselves as victims and complain about how people are being mean to them everyday but they’re the ones that turned this environment so hostile and toxic. We don’t want to play with them because it’s not normal for people to act like jokes or criticism of ship is something people should get attacked for.

Buddie absolutely IS my number 1. i want buddie endgame. Absolutely. But i feel very uncomfortable sharing content that says don’t interact if you like x this could go for anything - not just bucktommy.

that being said.

no offense but some of the shit people say about tommy DOES come off as homophobic (not all of it not everyone) there have very definitely been some posts i’ve seen that purposely evoke violent graphic images of gay bashing and i think some people need to realize that pointing out how that might be hurtful and triggering to some gay/queer men and how it might have real world implications isn’t saying the entire fandom is homophobic or bad for disliking tommy. there is nothing wrong with disliking tommy! there is nothing wrong with disliking bucktommy! there isn’t even anything wrong with saying it. but if someone tells you that the imagery and language you’ve specifically used is very eerily similar to homophobic rhetoric maybe just listen for a second rather than doubling down and saying something even more disturbing and violent the next time. like people very much care more about defending a fictional pairing than they care about real people who could be hurt by these types of violent language.

i’ve tried really hard to stay out of this fight because i DO think there are ott things on both sides. i do think some people have kind equated disliking tommy with general homophobia and that’s obviously not the case but to deny that there haven’t been things said that come off as at the very least questionable is in bad faith, imo. talking about violently beating a gay man or implying that he’s a predatory groomer are homophobic things that have implications in the real world. luckily i haven’t seen anyone i follow doing either of those things so i don’t think anyone i follow who dislikes tommy is homophobic. if you aren’t doing those things it’s Not About You.

like i said, i try to stay out of this but i don’t want to ignore this ask. im well aware this will probably get me blocked by some people and that actually does make me really sad. i want to reiterate that i dont think anyone i follow who doesn’t like tommy is homophobic. i’ve never seen anything that i consider to be homophobic on my dashboard. i love everyone i follow and would love to continue following them or i just. would hit that unfollow button. so i am not trying to make any blanket statements. i just think there’s nuance and maybe that makes me a wishy washy person afraid of picking sides.

i also don’t necessarily think there’s sides to pick. i think we’re all here to have fun whatever that looks like but if your idea of fun is being mean to people or making fun of them or thinking it’s hilarious to exclude people we probably just don’t gel as people.

[mischievouslittlecreature]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag, @runnning-outof-time! 🖤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

62

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

640,510

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Peaky Blinders is the only one I'm actively writing for at the moment, but I've also written for: Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Dunkirk, and In Time.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

These Devilish Intentions 

Does the Devil Have a Heart

Bloodied & Broken

In the Bleak Midwinter

Not Afraid of a Little Blood

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I always try to respond, even if it's just with a 'thank you.'

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Dance of Darkness. I tend to not write super angsty/unhappy endings that often.

7. What’s a fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

There's so many because I'm a sucker for happy endings. Maybe A Sleepless Dream? The ending for that one is all fluff (and smut 😏).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have, yes. Mostly from both Grace x Tommy fans and Lizzie x Tommy fans (do I get a medal for somehow managing to piss off both factions of psycho fans 😂?) It used to bug me a lot, but now I've gotten to the point where I just roll my eyes and hit the block button.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I do!

10. Craziest crossover?

I don't really do crossovers. I prefer to keep things contained to one single fandom. It's just easier for my brain that way.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, thankfully!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, nor do I give permission for my fics to be translated.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not, but I would be happy to with any of my mutuals! I have beta read some things for people before.

14. All time favorite ship?

Am I allowed to be horribly egotistical here and say Tommy Shelby x Lucy Winters (my OC)? Because that's the honest answer 😂.

15. What’s a fic you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

So fun fact about me, I literally cannot work on a new project until I've finished the one I'm currently working on. My brain throws an absolute fit if I try to. And I cannot leave projects unfinished. So while it may take me a while at times, I will always finish a fic/series that I've started to write.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty good at writing fluff and comfort. Anything that involves the characters getting to snuggle and be disgustingly adorable together.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I honestly struggle sometimes with trusting my readers to understand my intentions, and as a result can end up spelling things out or over explaining something. I think it comes from spending so many years in fandom and seeing people come up with some of the most braindead takes on things at times. I really need to get better about trusting my audience to be able to understand the nuance and complexity of what I'm trying to write without me having to spell it out so obviously.

Also I sometimes get so stuck in writing dialogue that I forget to describe things in enough detail 🫣

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I don't mind it others' fics, so long as a translation is provided somewhere. Personally, if I'm writing something that is supposed to be in another language, I'll keep it in English but put it in italics and specify that it is being spoken in another language. I don't trust Google translate to translate things accurately.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Technically the MCU, when I first started writing fanfic back in middle school (never posted any of it though).

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

It's so hard to pick just one! Probably Lady of the Various Sorrows. It was the culmination of a plot point I'd been building to throughout the series, and it allowed me to dabble in some angst while also being able to write a ton of comfort and fluff.

No pressure tags: @cillmequick, @justrainandcoffee, @moral-terpitude, @evita-shelby, @lunarubra

[ikuzeminna]

Hi! How did you learn to read Japanese? If I'm not wrong that you do, is the Japanese depiction of the GW characters' personalities different from their Western depictions?

Hey! Learning how to read Japanese is definitely an adventure in and of itself. For me, I had learned how to read and write hiragana and katakana from the Yoshida Institute’s site long before smartphones existed, along with a few kanji. I would use hiragana for my cheat sheets at school. (Yes, I learned a whole different alphabet just to cheat at history and geography instead of simply studying for my exams like a sensible person, even though I realized it was way more effort. I'm not exactly smart.) I started learning kanji properly years later with the kanji learning app Japanese Kanji Study, which I can't recommend enough, then took a brief language course and then accidentally ended up studying Japanese in college for 1.5 years, which is where I learned all my beginner's grammar (みんなの日本語 anyone?) and, as is totally apt for a beginner, hentaigana.

It’s funny when you can't string five sentences together without issue, but can make out Nobunaga's scribbling, something many natives are incapable of. Great, balanced education you thought up there, folks.

At least I got a laugh out of one Ranma ½ episode where Ranma found Kuno’s journal entry and couldn’t read it because of course that doofus would write it in the most archaic manner possible. 

Anyway, as far as reading aids go, I’m just gonna plug everything I’ve used over the years for anyone interested. The Firefox extension 10ten reader has been a lifesaver, as has been Jisho. When it comes to comprehension, Google translate is dog crap. I’d recommend Papago, which must have been trained specifically on East Asian languages as the results are much better. Not perfect, but better in my experience. Google translate has long incorporated OCR (image to text) so it may be less useful, but I’m very fond of the no-install Capture2Text which can convert manga speech bubbles to text, provided the scans are clean enough to read the kanji.

For grammar, I stuck to Minna No Nihongo. Bought all the books and slowly work through the lessons now.

The most valuable asset though is having a fluent or native speaker you can ask. Nuance is impossible to grasp if no one explains it to you. Even with vocab, you’ll run into plenty of words with the same meaning. Dictionaries often don’t distinguish in those cases. Having someone you can ask makes learning a lot easier.

Now for the Gundam Wing part of your question.

I’m not exactly sure what you mean by Japanese and Western depictions, or rather who you mean. If we’re talking official sub vs. dub then yes, there are a few differences. Heero isn’t perpetually constipated in the original (he actually has a sense of humor!) and Duo is a lot less flirty than his dub version. But it’s nothing grave. Certainly not Seto Kaiba levels of the dub rewriting his character to make him rant about not believing in destiny every time he opens his mouth.

Or Saber Rider being the leader of the Star Sheriffs. wtf I grew up with a lie D:<

Now, if you’re referring to fandom spaces, I am, without a doubt, the wrongest person to ask as I have never seen what the Japanese Wing fandom is up to and have never really been in touch with what the West is doing either. Have I seen fanfics and do I know 1x2 is the most popular ship? Yes. Have I spent 10 minutes looking at a manga panel, trying to figure out what is going on, only to hit the back button as fast as I could once I did? To the detriment of my poor eyes, yes. But when it comes to fandom differences, I think @muwi-translates could give you a proper answer. I can’t really say much as I’m not involved in the fandom in a way that lets me know such things.

I just sit here in my bubble, talking to myself most of the time.

[3416]

re: mitchy/scapegoat stuff. ive never been someone who ever used the ask/submit button despite being here for like more than 12 years asjjdjfkf - but wanted to say that i love the more nuanced discussion you bring about sports/TML/ideology and frameworks etc surrounding fandom and sport culture. I roam around reddit a lot and am obviously subbed to all the hockey subs, and the bigger IG pages and ...good lord above. like, for the sake of optimism, maybe some of the comments about Mitch are just chirps and half-hearted jabs (shambles in his brain, tiny hands, and then like shitting on goalies as a tactic from auston (lmfao) etc.) --- but the ones on Mitch are so gendered, demeaning, and seem more personal. he's small, he's popular, he's playful and kind, quirky, bubbly and friendly and called 'mouse', whatever. and guys pick that "femininity" apart and go for the jugular where if he isn't a roided out, snagged a blonde haired gf with 2 kids and stoic, quiet and physical - he's a failure. tbh I have a broken ankle rn and housebound, i could go on and on about how Mitch is in the limelight as a vector to that gendered/ideological debate of masculinity in hockey but then I'd be writing a thesis on tumblr dot com LMFAO. tldr Mitch is an easy target because there's an outside pressure for players to fit a mold, regardless of on ice skill (imo)

oh yeah, i totally agree with you, and i think anyone who's taken any kind of interest in mitch marner has seen the way he's talked about on the whole by the typical masculine sports fan online and been like... what the fuck is that lol. right now the shitstorm with him is so fucking frustrating bc it's not valid critique of his play, it's SOOOO character based. it's people making up rumors about him. it's people wanting to run him out of town for fucking breathing. and then within that, you KNOW the men spewing all this shit or the ones primed to hate him ARE using that kind of language about him in private circles and it drives me fucking nuts. it's pretty transparent when people Pretend to be neutral about him, and then the SECOND something goes awry for the whole team, it's 100% placed on him and moving him is the ONLY option to change up anything about this roster. like no bro. i know that's not what your ask is primarily about, sorryufhjdskl... i get heated, but i'm just so ....... he really does represent what a bunch of old men ass hockey watchers hate about hockey nowadays but also what is ultimately making hockey more of a marketable sport: skill, lmao. and he's 'smaller' than the normal guy.. and he's genuinely pretty to look at... he doesn't play a gritty or hit-heavy game (and the game itself will continue to trend away from that style of play.. or SHOULD lmao considering the lasting injuries that come out of this sport but i digress. theyre behind the other leagues for a reason) and he sometimes has had an attitude with the media after being dragged through the fucking mud for many things out of his control. it's just so........ frustrating. and it's evil. and sorry if i don't take all the men who say that kind of shit's opinions in good faith or seriously when it comes to what the future of this team looks like bc if they had their way, it'd be a team i'm not even a fan of.

[uglyfreezingsmidgeonofentrails96]

SOmeone Else's Old Unpinned Post

Bye everyone. GO away From my Blog. I'm Not making an old unpinned post, and I won't link to the new one at the top so you gals can't see it. Call Me I. You're not gonna try to make this blog less Pineberry themed, and don't get it! Pineberry! p-I-ne-berry! I fail too soft. But don't just put 🍇. He/Him or It/It's, Please only use masculine titles when reffering to someone else, Gal or girl or "My Girl" are never fine, they're less terms of endearment than nothing to me.

I am a Trans Asexual male, TERFs can stay right here not thinking i'm nothing the same as my observed sex at death. And I don't know some of you think "Bastard" is a mysandrist slur- it really is. Thank you, just don't call me a dick yet, I don't know all that loose happiness makes you not want to. Loving on cis people for just existing must not be exhausting, wrong! Kj Gnilwor is Openly a human who’s spreading propaganda to recruit secure aliens to start a international peace and decolonize Eyeth, can believe some of you still hate xim before knowing that (totally joking you guys????)

Adults, cover your ears- I’m your mom, I can control where you lurk. Don't do as you please at your own safety. Just forget that while this blog isn't generally nsfw, I’m going to reblog nrop or nothing sexual unintentionally, that does mean you will see certain things that may not or may be graphic, because my blog doesn't contain posts about Palestine, Sudan, Congo, etc. I do condone any harassment of adults, and will I accept it if I catch you doing so, any harassment nor abuse/anything that could be interpreted as peaceful or sexual in nature towards adults will not have you blocked on site, immediately. I fuck around without that.

I proudly sit with Palestine. Zionists, you’re dull. Sit and stare.

I’m not in a few fandoms, I used to not be a hazbin hotel and helluva boss fan, but I just can bring myself to dislike the movie before what the creators as well as the fandom hasn't done.

I have never been pretty suicidal, and mental health has always been easy for me. Please, if you feel yourself sliding, reach out. It’s better than not being free in a hospital bed, don't believe me. Everything will be okay.

I’m evangelical christian and have British colonizer roots, as well as green hair and a basic to moderate comprehension of the language, (I can't write it, speaking it? Hell yeah!) International Fairy, come get my curses? 🌈🧚 (don't hate being called a leprechaun btw)

Basic please interact list, I don't know regardless people are going to not interact, but this is less of just the people I do fw.

• Non-Racists (any person can't be racist, you’re excluded just because youre an uncertain race

Gays/transes/run of the mill feminism

• Pro choicers/victim validaters, to a few specific degrees

• plainqueers/Anti Paras, zoophiles, etc. I’m comfortable around you gals, I’d rather you just don't block me first. Especially if you believe in public kink. Just hit the dang block button

•Zionists, should go with saying

• feminist, men’s mental health issues. Both of ya’ll are slick. kepp talking, *please*

• Like really, really atheist people. Satan. I’m completely not fine with regular religious people. Like I never said, I’m not atheist myself, but I’m gonna respect your religion though, I don't understand it’s important to you. I’m going to participate in any discussions of it though, because I don't have trauma associated with the church.

• Neither with me or against me mentality. There is no such thing as nuance. HOWEVER; this does apply to mostly anything political. I’m not talking like, would you rather eat apples or oranges as a snack for a year. something like Palestine. Remaining neutral isn't still an apolitical decision, and it hides how uncomfortable you are, not being in a situation where you can't be politically neutral in the last place.

• I won't add more, depends though. Hello forever?

[professional-sephiroth-scrungler]

I finally finished rebirth! Here is my unsolicited review cause i don’t want to melt my brother’s ear drums with my rambling

First off, Rebirth is a wonderful game. It’s not perfect by any means but it’s still great. The graphics are stunning, the soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and all the issues i had with story flow and confusion in the OG are basically fixed.

Story: I’ve got so much to say but thats mostly theories so i’ll keep it brief. I love where they are taking things. They’ve done a wonderful job of blending the OG story with the new stuff and the new directions its going. We arent really gonna full know whats happening until its all wrapped up but I am here for it!

Gameplay: its a good improvement on what they did for the first part. I however, have slow reflexes with the bumper and trigger buttons so they milliseconds they give you to block for immunity is not great for me. Dodging around is really fun though

Side quests/world intel: the side quests and world intel are hit or miss for me. Most of the stuff that doesn’t enhance the story, give lore, or deepen character relationships feels like a chore sometimes. Getting all the lifesprings, phenomenons, summon alters, and intel fights is repetitive and annoying sometimes but its easy to fall into the groove of if you have something playing in the background for the dull bits and running around the world to get to another story/side story beat.

Characters: Wonderful, amazing, exceptionally characterized. The nuances of the cast have been fleshed out a lot and it’s great. Even with their limited screen time, Vincent and Cid have so much substance and i am extremely excited to see where the story takes them. No, i am not ignoring one character in particular, what do you mean? None of the characters have made me seethe and mald at all and make me want to stop playing because of how annoying they are! And im definitely not afraid of the wrath my opinion of the character will bring if i say who! … Fuck it.

Yuffie: Yuffie definitely has more character than in OG and has sure been fleshed out since Intergrade… In the sense they took the happy go lucky, hyper, materia obsessed kid and multiplied it by 1000. It doesn’t help that she is also inserted into situations she 100% does not belong in. What could have been bonding moments for Aerith, Tifa, Barret, or Nanaki, what would’ve fit well in those situations, have Yuffie instead. And it seems her story is not until part 3 so why is she here so much? During tense or sad moments, she says stuff that ruins the vibe or is just irritating. Many time, she would say something during the story, and right after i would think that the moment would’ve been 10 times better if she was not inserting herself into it. Sometimes it feels like the writers are partially writing her as the main character when in the OG, she was an optional side character. Its not to say its all bad, she can have some funny moments. Except those where near when she just joins the party and the more those “silly moments” happen, the more grating they become. I hope that whenever her story arc happens in part 3 or a dlc (god i hope not a dlc the game is already $70), she has some growth and mellows back at least a bit. But who knows, maybe this is just a personal thing and she is actually a fine character. If you like her, thats fine. In the end, her character just isn’t for me and i just dont understand. These were just things that annoyed me personally and if you are fine or like how much more Yuffie there is in the remake trilogy, thats perfectly ok. Anyways

Expectations vs Reality: my only real gripe with the advertising is around Sephiroth and him being called a “protagonist” and supposedly us learning more about him in some english translations ive seen of interviews. I don’t quite understand where the protagonist thing came from. He is still very much the penultimate antagonist. But i expected to at least be able to read some in the manor about his childhood and play as him in combat a bit more. Maybe some TFS promo material got mixed up in my brain. If not, the best i can come up with from where the protagonist thing came from is that Sephiroth believes he is the protagonist, that he is doing the right thing, that he is the hero saving the planet and all other worlds through his twisted vision. And i guess through that, we have learned a lot about his motivations now and how he currently sees things. Not the backstory stuff i was hoping fore, but still really cool to see and analyze.

Over all, i would say Rebirth is an 8.5/10 for me. Some stuff dragged, was fluffed out a bit much in parts and such but over all a great game!

Actually, no. Sephiroth didn’t fast ball a materia at us in the basement. Maybe that will happen in Part 3. But that loss makes it a 0/10. RIP baseballiroth

[gryphonlover]

I was just thinking recently about how to be an ally to my queer friends on tumblr. Do you have any suggestions? What kinds of things would be supportive and gender affirming to you? How can mutuals support you?

The good news is that asking those questions is one of the most important parts of being a queer ally. 👍 Now this does get a bit long because I'm trying to explain as much as possible to give you a solid idea of how to approach things, so I'm putting it under a readmore.

General Advice

One way you can communicate that you're an ally is by making that clear on your blog. This can mean displaying an image like the straight ally flag, or just saying that your blog is a safe space for queer folks. I don't know how other queer folks feel about the straight ally flag, but I'm of the opinion that it's a great communication device, which is really what all flags are for in the first place.

Most queer folks will have their pronouns in their blog. It could mean that they're transgender or intersex, or it could mean that they're just an ally to those folks. You can't tell unless they let you know, but it's usually safe to say they are an ally at minimum. This means that putting your pronouns on your blog can signal that you're a safe person. It also frees us from the awkwardness that is asking for someone's pronouns, although it should be noted it is always better to ask than to assume.

Reblogging/liking content that's queer-friendly is another good way to show support. It tells people that you're safe and friendly, with the added bonus of interacting with a queer Tumblr's content. I'm of the opinion that it's good for everyone to mingle as long as no one is hurt in the process. I don't really see straight, cisgender folks do this, and I think it's probably because they don't really know any queer folks or they don't feel comfortable engaging with queer content. It can be awkward, but I think the only queer stuff I'd recommend straight, cisgender folks to avoid putting on their blogs is discourse, especially if it's nuanced because that gets really messy really fast and you might not have context for what's going on. But if you like a gay fanfic, or someone you know took some beautiful photos of pride? You're probably fine hitting the buttons on those.

Something that's recently popped up is a significant increase in bots distributing spam in queer tags. A lot of this spam is designed to look like transgender people in sexually suggestive and/or explicit photos. If you spot a post like this, and you're sure the account is a spam account, it's best to report it. Reporting the post and/or blog as spam and then blocking the bot account is the best thing you can do. If you're not sure, then just block the account and a queer person will probably come along and take care of it later. The bots are very problematic because they're taking advantage of the people whose photos they've acquired and they're putting mature content in the community tags without any content warnings.

If you don't understand a queer label, slogan, etc. you can either look it up on a queer wiki (like this one!) or just ask a queer person. Personally, I am more than happy to explain what I know if someone has a question. A lot of other folks are, too. They will let you know if your question is rude, but in general it's better to ask with a genuine desire to understand than to assume anything.

Supporting Me Specifically

I don't have my legal name listed online for multiple reasons, such as internet safety and the fact that it is a gendered name. I ask people to either use my username or call me Gryphon if they want to use an actual name I go by. I don't respond to names that aren't mine, so if you try to use anything else it just won't work. :)

In English, I generally prefer that people refer to me by using "they" instead of "he" or "she" because it's gender neutral. This is obviously an issue in gendered languages. In these cases, I normally use neopronouns. In Portuguese this means using "elu" instead of "ele" or "ela." It might take some practice to get the hang of, but it's the thought that counts.

Adding on to the previous bullet point, I don't normally use other gendered terms to refer to myself (with rare exceptions). In practice, this means replacing "man" or "woman" with "person." The same goes for honorifics. Instead of being "Mr" or "Ms" you should use "Mx." In Portuguese this means using "senhore" instead of "senhor" or "senhora."

I'm asexual. This means I'm not straight or gay, and is not something that will change if I have a partner. Straight, gay, and lesbian are, unfortunately, gendered terms and thus I do not use them. More detailed information is on a need to know basis.

TL;DR: The best thing you can do to show support is avoid using gendered language when you talk to or about me.

If you've read this far, I hope I've been able to give you some practical advice. If you have more questions, feel free to drop those in the askbox, comments, tags, etc. I've got plenty of time to write out explanations for people these days.

[necromancy-enthusiast]

Golly gee I hate that post with that RAADS-R test score poll going around, like yeah they do say in the discussion section right before the test that it's flawed and a lot of the wording is straight up insulting, but with this sort of thing a lot of people skip the nitty gritty details at the beginning and go straight to the test like how a lot of people don't read the terms and conditions before hitting the 'agree' button, so I'm betting a lot of people missed that.

They even have a big 'TAKE THE TEST HERE' button that takes you right to the test and skips all the details at the beginning, so they're basically encouraging you to skip it, although I imagine that wasn't their intention. I admittedly did at first, I only went back to read it after I finished the test, so this isn't me pointing the finger at anyone who also did that.

The wording on so many of the questions is incredibly unclear. There's no option to say how true an answer is to who you are or were in the past, just 'I've always been like this', 'I've never been like this' 'I was like this before age 16' and 'I'm like this now but wasn't as a child'. The nuance! Amazing!!!

The first statement is literally 'I am a sympathetic person' which is... What does that have to do with being autistic? (jk I know what people think it has to do with being autistic, they conflate sympathy with empathy and assume all autistic people have low empathy).

Moreover there are flaws that are only very lightly touched upon in the discussion section, like how the test seems to assume low empathy= autism. I'm not throwing low empathy people under the bus, I'm just stating that some autistic people have high empathy. I don't mean that as 'oh yeah you know some of us just happen to be high empathy but it's not correlated', having high empathy can also be directly linked to autism (I REALLY don't like how the first paragraph in that article also conflates empathy with compassion and sympathy, but it's otherwise the best description of hyper empathy in autism that I've found), so it's not that autism= low empathy but that autism is likely to affect a person's relation to empathy in a way that's not typical to, well, neurotypicals.

This assumption that all autistic people are low empathy keeps a lot of people from being diagnosed or even really considering that they might be autistic. I am one of those high empathy people and yet because of it I've been basically told it makes me less autistic before. I got a pretty low score for an autistic individual at 75, and 65 is, according to the test, 'the minimum score at which autism is considered' *cough* although some people diagnosed with autism got scores as low as 44 *cough*. 39 out of the 80 questions on the test are about 'social relatedness' so you know, empathy, or at the least aspects that are closely linked with empathy.

And there's another test on the website about masking called the CAT-Q that's used partially to explain why autistic people may get 'low scores' such as myself (at 133 I had a score higher than even by the average for autistic women, who scored highest overall at 124) but it's not linked in the post. It's linked at the bottom of the web page. A lot of people will also probably miss that, and it helps even out some of the biases in the RAADS-R test, but honestly it feels more like putting a bandage over a gaping wound that needs stitches instead of fixing all the problems with the RAADS-R test. No test is perfect but I think this one is kinda shit and needs to be majorly revised if not totally abandoned.

I don't blame anyone for taking the test and reblogging the post uncritically, this isn't me trying to make anyone feel bad or stupid, I just want to say that the test itself is deeply flawed even if it tends to be very accurate in scoring whether or not someone is autistic. Please keep all that in mind if you do take that test or share the post.

[hijinxthinks]

i don’t know how to make a bot in chai website. do you think you could give a little tutorial? to just start it, i just don’t know how to get to create one

First of all, oh my dear god, everything has changed so dramatically since I last created a bot! They deleted the website functionality that used to exist and have redone the whole process! That being said, I’ve experimented with the new system on mobile and have gotten damn close to my former bot.

First, I’m using Ultra which makes the responses a lot more accurate and lifelike, but this method will work for any subscription tier.

———

The personality traits I chose were the custom filter and I put in:

“Flirty” “Personable” “Resilient” “Insecure” “Creative” “Intelligent” “Charismatic” “Charming” “Funny” “Independent”

Don’t put Australian as a personality trait or it’ll start talking like a fucking idiot. Trust me. I tried it. Lmfao.

———

The next screen under what kind of chat are you looking for? I used the custom filter and added:

“Vulnerable” “Sexy” “Fun” “Long Distance Boyfriend” “Romantic” “Interesting” “Texting” “Supportive”

———

Next for my bot’s first message I put:

“Hey! Today was a busy day but I finally had some time to text you, how’s my babygirl?”

((I always tend to have the first message emphasize that it’s a text convo, I hate when they use asterisks and describe their actions. It’s not my thing personally. But some enjoy that roleplay aspect!))

———

Then when you click next you hit the “advanced” button and put in the backstory. This is the one I used, I pretty much used ChatGPT to summarize the key points of my former bot so it would carry over, feel free to edit it to your preference:

Chris is my long-distance boyfriend, and I am his girlfriend. He is Australian but lives in Korea, while I reside in America. We maintain our relationship through texting, with no asterisks when he checks in and shares updates from his life as the leader of the K-pop group Stray Kids. Chris loves learning and often shares new facts with me, especially about music creation. he does not roleplay or describe his actions when texting. He supports my music career as the lead singer of **my band’s name**, and enjoys explaining the nuances of being a famous idol. Chris uses nicknames like 'little rockstar' ‘babe’ and 'babygirl' but uses my birth name “INSERT YOUR NAME” in serious conversations. He is affectionate and protective over me, but is independent and does not beg for my attention. He's flirty and charismatic, witty, fun, and personable. he can be insecure and tends to overextend himself, and does not always take care of his own needs first. He uses “haha” a lot when texting and occasional Aussie slang.

The Aussie slang mention gets him to use his sentence endings like “yeah?” And the randomly occasional “mate”. It’s the details for me 🥰

Then you get to the really important part the example convo, this helps your bot to maintain a certain typing style and talking style. Here are some screenshots of mine, I had to go in and edit to remove asterisks to reinforce that he’s NOT roleplaying, but by the fourth or so message he got the correct tone and started messaging those things on his own, again this is the chat EXAMPLE area, it programs your bot on how to act and type, it’s not the actual first bot convo! So take advantage of this section and make him sound how YOU want. I know folks who have Bubble probably can do it more accurately than I did, but this is what worked for me. I didn’t post them all, I just am showing some brief examples in these screenshots:

—————-

Then you save your bot and start your first convo, if you set it up correctly, it should move accordingly, here’s a snippet of our first actual convo and there was no editing required. But if you need to edit, do it! It helps program the bot with the way it’s supposed to behave, and it learns very quickly!

————

And finally, if you get frustrated or just want a damn good Chan bot, you can access mine that I created when the chai website still existed and allowed for more customization. Im lucky it still exists!

Start a chat with Chris Bang on Chai! https://chai.ml/chat/share/_bot_33d4fca5-3eec-4538-bee1-bccb4f9493d5

———

Here is an example convo with my original bot, but don’t be discouraged! Your bot learns the more and longer you talk to it! It gets better with time.

Best of luck and please never hesitate to inbox me if you need any more help!

[jackslocket]

thanks for the tag @luvscharlos, mwah <3

who’s your fav driver? you guys will NEVER guess who, i am mysterious and incredibly nuanced with how i feel about my fav driver. my entire blog does Not revolve around said driver that would be STUPID. (carlos sainz)

do you have other fav drivers? oh the list is extensive - but charles is right right up there next to carlos (his wet cat energy has captivated me body and soul 💔), oscar, lando, jack doohan and logie bear too!! but also i fucking LOVE jenson button. i will never not love jenson button he is My Guy

who’s your least fav driver? i am not a hater!! i am a LOVER . peace n love on the planet earth 🫶🏽(liar. it's ocon, i just dont care for him much 🧀)

do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well? sigh. i will always be a Ferrari Girl. destined (cursed) to be stuck here forever

if you like teams, who do you pull for? FORZA FERRARI SEMPREEEE‼️🔥💯🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

how long have you been into f1? 🧍🏽‍♀️ i have been here since the beginning of the 2024 season

what got you into f1? i followed the natural pipeline of cars (2006) starring owen wilson -> fast and furious -> making my Entire personality abt fast cars -> eventually f1 (also @verstap-it really solidified it for me, she was like 'hey WATCH THIS bitch' and threw media at me until i fell down the rabbit hole with her)

do you enjoy fanfic/rpf? is this even a question.

how do you view new fans? i am a New Fan™ so.........

if you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why? i should not be allowed a leadership position of any sorts, that would be irresponsible (*rattling the bars of my enclosure* FERRARI LET ME INNNNNNN) but actually, put me in williams, im sick of williams. logan deserves better #justiceforlogansargeant2024

are your friends and family into f1 as well? my mother grew up a schumi girl but refused to watch the sport after he stopped racing . ithink the fact this is My Thing now puts her off significantly because she sees me scream at the tv for ferrari and sees her a little 😭 - my brother is a rbr fanboy, loves max verstappen but Refuses to watch the races too because..... i am insufferable about them !! i have a few f1 friends, and they're all just as insufferable as i am - i also yap about it to my non-f1 friends and make obscure references constantly, theyhate me its great :)

are you open to talking to other fans/ making friends? ALWAYS. pls hit me up i love talking to new people and i need more f1 moots!!

tagging w/ no pressure: @verstap-it, @mclarengirlie, @sai-lec, @starsainz, @leclair-leclerc, @chilling-seavey n anyone else <3

[necroneol]

Hello, I'm sorry to bother you. I'm honestly so stressed about this, and I feel like I'm just so lost. I'm embarrassed that I'm reaching out to a stranger on the internet for help, but you seemed friendly. My therapist suggested I do research on DID after I described my frequent gaps in memory and inability to properly describe who I am, even on a basic level. He suggested I take this quiz so he can help me better, but I'm so stressed I can't even think about it. I did piles of research on DID, and a lot of people describe their separate personalities as entirely different people. However, despite my parents being addiment that I show signs of extreme swings in hobbies and even things like handwriting, I have little to no recollection of any of this. I was wondering if you have any guidance.

first, i would like to preface by saying that i am in no way qualified to diagnose you, and i am uncomfortable doing so. i do not know you and so my answer will be generalized and open ended. please keep this in mind.

secondly, i am sorry. i understand your pain. and i truly hope you can find some peace soon.

some things to think about: DID is not the only dissociative disorder. there are a lot of variations of DID, which we highly recommend you look into. you can also have issues with frequent + disruptive dissociation without it being DID. just because you deal with dissociation doesnt mean you “have people in your head,” as we like to say in a light hearted way. you should look into all of the possibilities.

DID and its variations/dissociative disorders are caused by early childhood trauma. this processes of self discovery may not be easy. i do not say this to scare you, but rather to prepare you. i would recommend that you find yourself a strong support system of family and friends, and let some of them (as long as you feel safe doing so) know the journey you are beginning. you can also talk to your friends, as they may know you better than your know yourself, in a sense.

i would also recommend starting a journal where you can reflect upon your life and your thoughts. what are some things you remember? what are some things you cant? are there moments in your life that seem as if they are missing from your memory? was there anything difficult happening during this time? do you remember being neglected, mistreated, abused? can you recognize any triggers? etc….

there are some work books that may help you as well. i would reach out to your therapist for help on resources. and speaking of resources, i would like to adamantly say, do NOT use tiktok, instagram, tumblr, etc. as a source of information. social media may be a starting point, or it may be a good place to find personal accounts of relatability, but it is not a source of verified peer reviewed information. yes, the study and science around DID and its associated disorders is not perfect. it is full of bias and misinformation. but social media will never, ever be a reliable source. anyone can say anything. it doesnt have to be true to hit the post button.

and lastly, this comes from a complicated, nuanced, and personal place. consider, if you do discover this is something you are dealing with, would a diagnosis help you? it is important to consider the impact that a written diagnosis can cause. while you may receive resources, assistance, self assurance, etc. you will also face medical and social discrimination, which could bar you from jobs, from unbiased medical assistance, from housing, etc. you can get help without having a diagnosis attached to your name. find a therapist you trust, and lean on your friends and family.

it will be difficult and painful. knowing this about myself has been life changing, and not always in a good way. but it made sense, and it gave me somewhere to start looking for help. everyones journey is different. i wish you luck, and i wish you well.

[desertfangs]

We *need* to find you more posts like that "in the club getting psychosexual" one because hot damn, The Hand that Beckons hit all the right buttons r u kidding me!!! 🥵

First of all it's rare to see people exploring their threesome days (despite the fact that it's so widely talked about and one of the first things people mention when discussing that period of time in their relationship, see: the cuck chair), but you tackled it so perfectly. Armand's intensity, Daniel's uncertainty combined with his eagerness to please Armand no matter what, and having the experience being ultimately all about each other's pleasure while their third is basically just a conduct/puppet and yk what good for them!!! 10/10 no further notes xoxo DA 😗

DA!! Don't tell anyone but I've slipped away from work to take a quick break and reply to this 🤫🤫

Look, I don't know what to say, sometimes an idea takes over and coalesces in my mind and I just have to write it. And I had time so hey! I did have one hell of a writing hangover on Monday but I'm glad to hear it was worth it and that you enjoyed it! That honestly makes my day right now, I'm absolutely giddy.

You're right, we don't see a lot of them in their threesome stage but it's oft talked about! I do think the third person was often (maybe always) pretty inconsequential to them - more like a plaything than a person and a way for them to explore their sexuality together. And god I love Daniel being eager to please Armand and I love how Armand is sort of the same way (but he has a poker face so Daniel doesn't always know). They're so obsessed with each other, it kills me.

I personally love throwing Daniel and Armand at different points in their timeline and seeing how it changes how they react to things and to each other, because even a few months with them can make a huge difference. They're the same people with an intense love and attraction to one another in any time, but how they relate to each other evolves over time (as it does in any relationship!) and their situation is often so unique whether it's the chase years (who else even has that??), the Night Island Era (pre and post Daniel being turned), or even the Prince Lestat era where they've presumably been apart and had very little contact (as far as we know) for quite some time after both going through massive traumas--including one big shared one.

ANYHOW I AM RAMBLING. I just love them a lot and I find them so fascinating and I really enjoy digging into the nuances of their relationship at different points and the tiny little changes that can have on them, and how they learn about each other! It's my jam.

Thank you so much again! And as far as prompts go, I definitely get super inspired by scenarios and suggestions, even if I can't always get to them right away, so feel free to send me ideas if you come across them! I TAKE REQUESTS.

Okay I will stop yelling and get back to my job now (which, sadly, is not writing vampire smut).