#so much has happened since that even my username is different (sorry about that for anyone that might get confused due to it)

[esbielle]

please forgive my most passionate disruptions, written by @pumpkinpaix and read by esbielle, is now finally complete! You can check the whole podfic now on ao3!

[babeydollx]

If you are the author of the JJ Maybank “Safe with You” I have to say I’ve been reading fanfics for like 10+ years and that was the best EVER!!!!!! I was so heartbroken when I couldn’t find the link to it 😭😭😭 PLEASE bring it back to life! 🫶🏻🙏🏻

Safe With You | JJ Maybank

୨୧ Warnings: Cursing, smut, angst, soft!sex, unprotected sex, soft!JJ, abuse, violence, has a fluffy ending, 18+ MDNI.

୨୧ Pairings: JJ Maybank x Female Kook Reader

୨୧ Summary: In which JJ helps his girlfriend get away from his father when she goes over to his home to see him.

୨୧ Word Count: 1.5k

୨୧ Author's Note: ahhh, tysm for the sweet comments! I'm so sorry about the link thing, my links have been broken recently because of a recent username change but I am working on fixing them all. In the meantime, here's the fic, I decided to repost it <3

I arrived at JJ's house to see him. JJ and I rarely got time to see eachother since we were on different sides of the island. My parents always had me busy with some shit all the time. It was exhausting and annoying.

I never had time for JJ anymore and I hated it. So, I decided that I would surprise him at his house to see him. I missed him so much and I knew that he missed me too. I couldn't wait to see JJ again and be in his arms.

I walked up to the house and knocked on the door. I waited for a minute or two but there was no answer. I could hear movement inside of the house so I knew that someone had to be home. You decided to try and open the door.

When I turned the door knob the door easily opened. I slowly walked inside and looked around. The house was messy and I could smell beer and weed. As I looked around, I jumped when I herd glass shatter. 

What the hell was going on? Was JJ okay? Was someone trying to hurt him? Millions of questions and thoughts flooded my head as I looked for JJ. The sounds were coming from the backyard. I dashed out to the backyard to see JJ on the ground with an older man on top of him and punching him.

"Stop! Stop hurting him! Please!" I screamed as I ran over to the two men in the backyard. I couldn't pull the older man of of JJ so I grabbed a empty beer bottle off of the ground and smashed it over his head.

Luke stopped punching JJ and got dizzy before collapsing on the ground. JJ sat up on the ground and looked over at me in shock. 

"What the hell are you doing here?!" JJ asked.

"I- I came to see you.." I said.

"Didn't I tell you to not come here?" He asked.

"You did but, it had been so long since I saw you so I thought I could surprise you. I didn't expect for any of this to happen. Who is he? Why was he hurting you?" You asked.

"He's, uhm... he's my dad." JJ mumbled. 

"He's your father?!" I asked in shock. JJ nodded. "Why would he hurt you?!" I yelled.

"I don't know. Cause he is constantly drunk and high I guess." He shrugged. "I'm use to it by now, he's been doing it for years." JJ said. I could feel tears pooling in my eyes. This was absolutely heartbreaking. How could a parent do this to their child?

Before I could say anything else to JJ, someone tackled me to the ground harshly. I screamed when it happened. 

"GET OFF OF HER!" JJ yelled. Luke was on top of me. I tried to fight Luke off but he began to hit me hard. I screamed and cried more as he continued to hit me. I could hear JJ yelling and trying to pull his father off of me.

Finally, JJ had got Luke off of me and began to beat the shit out of Luke. I scrambled to my feet and watched the scene go down. I could feel tears streaming down my face still and I was in pain. After a few minutes of JJ beating Luke up, he finally got off of him and ran over to me.

He hugged me and I hid my face in his chest. I finally felt safe. I knew that even if Luke woke up again that JJ would keep me safe, he would make sure that Luke wouldn't hurt me again or worse. 

"Are you okay, Y/N?!" JJ asked worried as he checked me for any terrible injuries. 

"I'm okay." I said with a sniffle and nodded. 

"I am so sorry that this happened to you. You shouldn't have had to see any of this." JJ said with a frown as he hugged me again. 

"I'm sorry that you have had to go through this for years.." I said with a frown. "Why didn't you tell me this was happening to you?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want you to worry. This isn't your burden to bare, Y/N.." He said. 

"JJ.. we're a team. You can tell me anything and everything, okay? Whatever you are dealing with, I want to be there for you to help you." I said. JJ nodded slowly. "Anyways, did you want to stay the night at my place tonight? My parents are out of town so we have the house to ourselves." I said with a smile.

"That would be nice. Thanks, Y/N." He said with a smile.

"Anytime." I said as JJ and I get ready to go to my house. 

We arrived at my house and went inside together. I got both of us a water bottle and then we both went upstairs to my bedroom. I gave him his water bottle and sat down on the bed beside him and we talked for a while. After we both chatted for a bit, we both went silent not knowing what to do next.

"So, what now?" I asked looking over at JJ. He sat there thinking for a moment before looking back over at me. A smirk spread across his face.

"I have a few ideas." He said with a smirk. Before I could ask him any questions he kissed me passionately. I kissed back, melting into the kiss. The was he kissed me was magical. He always knew how to make me feel a certain way without even trying. 

As we made out, he gently pushed me down onto my back onto the bed. I ran my hands through his soft, blond hair as the two of us made out. Once we got both of our clothes off and out of the way, JJ was positioning himself between my legs.

I held onto his shoulders tightly and sucked in a breath as JJ slowly pushed inside of me. I gasped and moaned out softly. He groaned quietly as he bottomed out. He then began to thrust into me.

I gently threw my head back and groaned out. I held onto him tightly as he fucked into me, slowly picking up the pace. He continued to slowly pick up the pace until he was fucking me at an ungodly pace.

I moaned out even louder than I did before. I arched my back off of the bed and moaned out, almost screaming at this point. I could feel that familiar knot bubbling in the bottom of my stomach and I knew that I was going to cum any second now. I then clenched around JJ, signaling to him that I was going to cum. 

"Fuck, you gonna cum, princess?" He asked as he groaned out.

"Yes, fuck! I'm gonna fucking cum!" I yelled. 

"Come on, cum for me." JJ said. With that my eyes rolled back and my legs began to shake as I came hard on JJ's hard cock. He thrusted into me a few more times before coming himself, shooting his load deep inside of me.

JJ pulled out of me and I laid their trying to catch my breath. He laid down beside me and he was also trying to catch his breath. After we both took some time to come down from that, JJ smiled and gently pulled me over and snuggled me.

I giggled when he did so. I always loved to be in JJ's arms. He always made me feel so safe. We both laid there together and talked for awhile while we were tangled in each other's arms. After we both talked and snuggled, we both fell asleep together.

I woke up the next morning to see that JJ was no longer in bed with me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before looking around my bedroom. No sign of JJ. As I was about to go look around the house for JJ, I saw a note on my bedside table.

I took the note off of the table and unfolded it before reading it. 

Thanks for letting me stay the night at your house, Y/N. Again, I am so sorry that you had to witness all of that yesterday and go through that. I promise I will come back later, I just have a few things to sort out with my dad. I love you, Y/N.

- JJ

I smiled at the note that JJ left me. I thought it was so sweet that he had decided to write me a note. I missed JJ so much already but, I couldn't wait to see JJ again.

Author's Note: tysm for reading, lovies!

[biocrafthero]

"I'd rather have you than three meals a day.": a thematic analysis

In February of 2024, a comic sprung up created by tumblr user Diesel (username rontra) based off of the Persona series. This comic, known under the title of "I'd rather have you than three meals a day." (which I will refer to as "failteacher yuri" for short), follows the story of two characters from the series: Isako Toriumi from Persona 3 and Sadayo Kawakami from Persona 5. These two characters find themselves entangled in each others' lives by complete happenstance, the comedic framing slowly revealing its fangs of intrigue and drama as more and more of both of their pasts come to light. Today, we will be discussing how the author explores themes of self-acceptance and facing one's past.

A small foreword...

As of the time I'm writing this, there are currently only 19 updates out so far of failteacher yuri, with a 20th on the way. I tried not to rush this analysis, but I also got really excited to write it! And also it's 4am!! So if I missed anything I am so so sorry...!!!

Next, I will be partially referring to characters in accordance with this chart, since this is important to the themes of the self in my opinion. Sometimes I don't specify. Bear with me a little please...

The True Self

There is the obvious point to start with, which is Toriumi accepting the fact that she is a lesbian. This is our beginning conflict in the story—quite literally in the very first page of the series—and it is the spark from which this story begins. As the story progresses, she grows more and more comfortable with her sexuality, trying more and more things with Becky.

The opening to #10 puts it quite well:

Toriumi is simply known by that when at work, a formal and polite guise. With her friends online, she's known under her username Y'ko. When fully alone, she is simply Isako. We meet her in the reverse order of this, knowing her first in a causal setting and graduating into higher grades of formality.

On Kawakami's side of things, we see that the idea of the persona is much more literal in the character of Becky. In a way, we meet her in the opposite way we need Isako, the difference between wearing the mask and having nothing to hide behind.

When she isn't under the guise of Becky and known formally at work as Kawakami, we simply are left with Sadayo. We meet her in this order, knowing her first with the mask on, watching it slowly slip as we begin to know more about her personal life.

These lines are neatly drawn for us and the characters at the start, the divide between these social masks cleanly cut. However, as time goes on and the relationship between the two deepen to new depths, the idea of the mask begins to mix with the true self, most notably in Kawakami's arc. As put nicely in #18...

Comparisons to the Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue have already been made by others, and even though failteacher yuri is noticeably different from the psychological horror story that the film covers, there are those elements of self-identity and the "real you" that make the comparison extremely interesting.

In the comic, it begins to grow increasingly more unclear for our characters which persona they're exactly speaking to in the moment—which words are intended for which mask, both to leave the lips of and fall upon the ears of. Which "you" is the "real you" if they all begin to feel the same—if the lines begin to blur?

The Burden of our Histories

Kawakami is the clear example of the two to start this section out with. The main thing Kawakami is hiding from Toriumi has to do with why she needs all of the money she scrambles for in the first place, which is revealed to us in #17.

Kawakami has a secret to keep, and it's that she has been sending money to a former student's family, the student's name being Taiki. While in the comic it is unclear what may have happened to him, the usage of the word "forgive" implies that he had died, and that incident is either related to or has been blamed on Kawakami somehow.

The family demands money from her, more than her normal teacher's salary could possibly provide, so she turned to working at Victoria in order to make payments on time. With the tolls going up, though, who knows how long she can keep destroying herself...

But, of course, this isn't her only secret that she's kept. In #11, it's revealed that she took the Kanken at Level 1, the highest possible, and consequently the most difficult of all. At first, it's presented like it's an incredible feat, but this perception is shifted by Kawakami's own, believing it to have been something useless for the direction her life ended up going in.

The narration and informative boxes even begin to bend to the character's thoughts, becoming more and more unclear if the information the black boxes give in this update are objective or subjective, blurring the lines.

As much as Toriumi tries to hype up Kawakami and her accomplishments, the latter will simply never be able to see beyond her own self-perception.

Something that I also want to point out is how failteacher yuri utilizes onomatopoeia, creating a sense of pressure on our characters. It's almost comparable to the manga The Summer Hikaru Died, in which onomatopoeia is used to either create or alleviate tension in a scene, the sounds of the environments becoming almost deafening. The specific update from failteacher yuri I want to point towards is #18, which uses the sound of the rain in the background to create a barrier between Kawakami and Toriumi, with a side-by-side with a more recent update of The Summer Hikaru Died:

Kawakami isn't the only one keeping secrets, though. Toriumi, while much more subtle about it, is keeping a key part of her past hidden up her sleeve, and this has to do with the moon. Blink and you miss it, only overtly pointed out in update #13 and then much more quietly in #19, she continuously shows aversion to the moon, specifically the full one.

It's not like Kawakami hasn't caught on, either! During a small scene with Becky talking towards the audience at the start of #15 (the nefarious Becky is known to break the 4th wall), if you look closely, you can see that one of her notes reads "Scared of moon." I haven't played Persona 3 yet, so I can't give any fun lore insights, but what I do know is that the moon in that game is important and that Toriumi likely witnessed something she shouldn't have.

Additionally, there is also all of the stuff involving "A," which heavily has to do with Toriumi's arc of self-acceptance. Likely, something may have happened to "A" outside of Toriumi's control, and thus giving her a lot of complicated feelings about the subject. I personally don't expect a clear answer for what happened to "A," but it's still important to bring up.

Both parties are taking notice of where the other lets a part of their history slip, but neither have enough on them to be able to bring it up reasonably and not sound like they're taking crazy. Although, an inevitable tipping point is bound to be reached, especially with both of their troubles growing and growing. Something is bound to give.

How it comes together, in simple words...

Both Toriumi and Kawakami are dealing with very similar struggles, but they fight themselves tooth and nail on two different fronts, creating miscommunications and conflict between the two of them (and in some cases, outright lying). They are trying to navigate their increasingly dire presents all while their pasts haunt them, figuring things out and what they truly want from both themselves and each orher. What they want may not exactly be what they need, either, leading to further internal and external conflicts.

#13 succinctly states the ideas presented in the whole story so far, along with an amazing visual to boot:

(I can't fit it here, but I highly encourage checking out the tarot meanings from #13 as well, which are linked at the end up the update, which you can view here.)

To put it simply, to lie to yourself and to others means to sacrifice, from relationships to self-perception. The only way to break free is to let go, to be your true self and to accept and face your past. The only way out is through.

[give-grian-rights]

Could you help spread this! SimplySwifty is a ex crew member for Sam and has posted a doc talking about their experience. Other crew members are trying to get people to not listen to it and blaming swifty for what Sam did.

https://twitter.com/SimplySwiftyMC/status/1754780744864375201?t=P6GT67QuVJIwok0jcs1CVw&s=19

Almost forgot about posting this since I went over it all and talked about it with my friend.

I really wish that Swifty had managed to keep more of the conversations, and while I don't understand particularly extending the trust to the person they did, I cannot blame anybody for not taking screenshots prior to any major incident. It's just not something you really think about in the moment, especially not if its coming form someone you trust.

I do NOT have to imagine what its like to deal with the fall-out of any interaction with Sam, with reactions, responses and accusations from his supporters and friends (in my case, his sister??) and I know it's incredibly stressful. I'm sorry that they had to deal with him for so long, and be known by so many of his vocal supporters.

I have heard of the current claims that Sam is spreading rumors about G, but but i did NOT have the context that someone in a screenshot Swifty also shared was Sam on an alt.

I am a bit frustrated with the knowledge now that Sam is using so many alts, however, I am able to confirm that at least some of those screenshots are real. I can't imagine many people outside of his crew would know Sam's current username. The username Sam is using in which he accuses Grian of removing videos including him, is the username his old primary account had, which he used during his "visit" to the Discord I was in.

Due to my memory disorder, I'm bit foggy on what Swifty is talking about in regards to "making peace" with me and my post and iii. feel a bit weird about that. if anything ever happened with "making peace" it would've been all the way back in 2020, 2021 at the latest. Which, by the way. Sure am feeling Some Way about Sam and his crew members fucking talking about me as recently as FOUR MONTHS AGO. Like, this isn't about me, but let me fucking tell you I was very startled to see mention/reference of myself in such recent messages

Anyway. Fuck Sam. Don't work for him? Like, even if you had NO IDEA what went down in late 2020 with him, a general rule should be to NOT trust people who have had maybe over a hundred different people quit and denounce all ties with them. "all my friends leave me :(" looking ass.

Or the way Sam puts it, which is so much worse and has me questioning his intelligence, "every person i ever talked to (including children and teenagers) are horrible people and pedophiles and i fired them. they never left me i left them" like okay. thats a (PARAPHRASED) statement to make.

[bookofmirth]

i know this sounds silly, but i recently received my first anonymous hate message - i really don’t have much of a presence in the acotar fandom, i have a blog where i basically just reblog, have made a couple of posts but they’ve only got a few hundred likes - nothing major. and i got a really nasty message in regard to my username ( it’s related to elain and lucien ) and the things i post and it’s just so deflating. i’m just here minding my own business, have never even received an ask before now - and upon opening it, i just felt like the air was sucked out my lungs. it’s so deflating and kind of makes me want to just delete the app for a while. i just wanted to ask how you deal with this sort of thing ? ive been on tumblr for years and been involved with all different fandoms - percy jackson and hannibal and harry potter and have never had anything like this :/

Hi friend, I am so sorry that someone did that to you. It's so freaking unnecessary and rude, and until it happens to people, I really don't think they understand how horrible it feels. I have gotten super upset at messages I've received in the past, and it's easy for other people to say "oh just ignore it" but experiencing it firsthand is completely different. I totally get how different it is to see it targeted to oneself, rather than at someone else. It can definitely knock the wind out of your sails, but you can get back up! All this is to say that it absolutely does not sound silly, because I know exactly what you mean.

If I ever get messages that seem rude, I do a few things:

I don't read the whole thing. It's pretty easy to tell if someone is being a jackass, so I just delete the message right away. This is why I said messages that "seem" rude, I rarely read the whole thing haha, I roll my eyes and delete

Block the anon, since that's an option now.

I go about my day like nothing happened. I love to delete those and then answer other messages and/or reblog and imagine them refreshing my blog constantly, waiting to see they've upset me. Never gonna happen! mwaahahaha choke, bitch.

I think the most important thing to remember is that the things they have said are a reflection of them, not of you. If someone feels comfortable leaving vitriol in your inbox, then that's not someone you either want to know, or whose good opinion you want. Personally, I only care about what my friends and family think of me - and even then it's on a sliding scale. If some random on the internet who doesn't actually know me has an opinion of me, that's their problem.

If you want to dm me, feel free! Don't let them take away your enjoyment of the things you like. They aren't worth your time or attention.

[iloveolderman0]

Fluff headcanons

Sweet tooth x reader fluff headcanons!

Thank you for the likes and reblogs! I’m happy people have found my page and supported it, this means the world to me! Thank you guys!!

Btw sorry for not posting much, I have been struggling with my mental health and I tried to write as many as I can and I’m very sorry for thoughts who had to wait a whole month for one writing, I’m sorry 😔

Thank you to @x-filthyghoul-x for giving me this idea for you guys! 💕

- he loves holding you a lot, every where you go he HAS to hold you

- his kisses are very sloppy but you can’t help but love his kisses since they show how much he loves you

- If you gift him like a bracelet or necklace he will wear it for ever and if it’s hand made and it broke he would come back to you with a bunch of guilt and asks if you can fix it

- if you recommend any music to him he will definitely listen to them and see if he would like it or not

- he knows what Spotify is he would definitely make one playlist for you

- loves to hold randomly lollies on him so if he’s munching on something he asks you if you want some

- if you draw or you’re a artist please draw him he will be so happy that he will be your muse

-loves cuddles and he likes laying between your thighs or on your lap, he also loves embracing you

-loved your hair loves touching it and playing with it

- your way to talk to and make decisions in front of people if it’s serious you communicate with your eyes and expressions

- he would be the leader and you will be the one who accepts the decision or not

- he wants to be on the same path with you so if you have a disagreement with something he will definitely try another way to make you agree or allow

- When he’s out with people and he’s roaming around the shops he’s always thinking about what you want or what you would get if you were with him

- half of time don’t let him go shopping by himself because he buys the whole shop

- always goes to the lollies Isles when he first enters the shop

- you guys have a strong connection and a strong relationship, if you guys get into a argument which is never, he always makes sure to fix the situation and go back to the lovely dovely relationship

- loves your personality and loves it when you become confident

- he laughs a lot at your jokes but if it was for someone else he would be very judge mental towards them

- if he has a phone and he knows what tiktok is and Insta he would send you so many reels and tiktok vids like 99+ or 20 on Insta, he would make some videos but mostly about you or doing something random

- has a lot of photos of you in his gallery

- if you taught him how to play roblox he will definitely have his user as y/nsbigman10 and for the cover username is just sweettooth

- he would love to play horror games and multiplayer games when building houses and more.

- he’s built different

- if he sees a scar on you he will ask you so many questions on how it that happened or who did it even if it was a random bruise

- he loves you a lot

[abreathsecho]

Hey, I saw you changed your username! I just wanted to say I thought it was a lovely sounding name! /gen

Sorry for the late reply, but thank you! Very much so!!

Honestly, I expected to change my username and drop that post for anyone to see and it to be just another drop in an ocean, completely and entirely ignored. Especially since I so very rarely have posted anything myself on here, on my blog, and have gotten no attention before.

But it's pretty nice to see a few people like the post, even reply back about it. So thank you for sending a message! It's very much appreciated.

As for the username, I've just never fully felt alright with Vexchief. I liked the concept I was going for then (a mixture of Vixen and Mischief smashed together, but because I didn't like the look of Vixchief, I changed the first i to an e) but I never liked how it seemed that anger defined me via Vex. Mischief and Anger. I didn't like that.

And in real life, I've just- *A very long sigh...* A long terrible story, but my life has not been great. A hell not of mine own making that I've been stuck in my whole life, and have been trying to get myself out of no matter what. But when I try, it's never seemed enough. Not anything close to enough. And especially these last few years since Covid happened (didn't get it, just life stuff that happened around the same time), I've just been like a boat lost at sea, adrift. And if I tried to move, to leave my situation, it's only felt like I've gone in a circle, like I'm just chasing my own tail, going nowhere.

("All things that lose their way can find it again. There is no inertia in the ocean.")

Sailsunfurled is I suppose my own declaration to myself. I feel like things are truly different this time around. (Maybe? Or maybe not and I'm just delusional. But I have to think that everything before, every attempt has helped me get to this point.) So it's me saying I am letting down the sails, and I am going to journey forth, once and for all. This is it, this the attempt. I will make it work. I will get out. And I will live. And I will be okay. (Okay, it's certainly a bit delusional. But I feel like at this point I'm just a bit desperate for it to work.)

Anyway, long story short, Adrift has been stuck in my head, haunting me ever since I first heard it. And lately I've had some little obsession of a thought of a boat, a sail. (I might have delved a little into some sea shanties the other day lmao.)

[erithel]

Ah, no, it's not like I think you have a hit list of Commentors Who Piss Me Off The Most or anything. For one, who has time for that? For two, especially on tumblr, writing out those usernames would probably make me laugh too hard to be mad anymore. I mean, ymmv and all that, but it's a bit overkill ;)

Precise apologies are a bit of a me thing, and online I tend to assume I'm the one that was in the wrong. My humour is *very* sarcastic and relies heavily on tone and body language, so it's very easy to misconstrue online. Even with people I'm quite good friends with in real life that switch can be jarring and confusing for them, and I usually apologize when that happens. That's why I'm a stickler for the difference between things like "I'm sorry you're dealing with that", "I'm sorry to hear you're upset", "I'm sorry I accidentally contributed to this", and "I'm sorry, I did this on purpose but didn't expect this result". It helps me clear up the issue, it makes the other person feel heard, and it still only holds me accountable for things I actually did. (Pro tip: this works really well with customers/clients as well, and since I deal with them in high-stress situations by default it's even more helpful). On a personal level as well, I feel like it cheapens my apology to give them for things I don't think need an apology or that I didn't do. So I just don't.

I also know I get caught up in the rising tension as a story approaches it's climax (wink wink nudge nudge) and can't easily promise I wasn't in the chorus chanting KISS KISS KISS KISS KISS. Not because I want them to at this point or think they will, but just because the story is affecting me the way it's supposed to and I'm excited.

I feel you on the repetitive replies to comments. I'm not much of an active writer anymore, but I remember it. It's not that every single one isn't appreciated and cherished, it's just that replying to them gats really dull at a certain point.

So this is both an interesting and important thing to talk about.

Because obviously tone can't often be conveyed through the internet, and it is very easy for something to come off in a different manner than its original intent.

I am a firm believer in giving people the opportunity to understand how their words made someone else feel without resorting to a blatant, personal, and public call out.

People make mistakes, and it's important that they be given the opportunity to change without immediately resorting to shaming them for something they may just not have known.

It's important for people to learn and grow, and become aware of better ways to convey their thoughts and feelings.

What you've mentioned here with apologies is a great example. Because it gives you an opportunity to learn from your mistakes without feeling shamed for them, and it also gives the other party the opportunity to express their feelings and discomforts without feeling shamed, as well.

Wording is important when tone is taken at face value in an online setting.

There is a huge difference between reading a comment that says:

"I NEED THEM TO KISS ALREADY! STOP DRAGGING THIS OUT!"

and one that says:

"I know this conversation is needed, but I am also just really excited for them to kiss."

The essence of it is that most people don't do well with demands, or things that made them feel invalid.

[avenyl]

Hello.

Is saying hello even appropriate at this point?

Uh, hi. I’m not back yet, I think. But I’m working on it. I’m sorry for the radio silence on literally every front but I’d be lying if I said I knew why it happened.

I just want you all to know what’s up in case that’s something you’re curious about. For those who are, read on. Those of you who aren’t, that’s alright. I’m glad to have you around anyway.

TL;DR I tell you what’s up but in like, ~700 words because I have no self-control.

I’m pretty sure my last login was sometime around February 2022. Can’t believe it’s been over a year and a half! Feels so weird to acknowledge that I’ve been away from art, something that’s been a constant in my life up until this point, for almost two years! Wow!

Those of you who saw the last of my posts already know what my mindset was like at the time. Honestly, I can’t really say it’s improved much, if any. Looking at the art I’ve put out so far makes me feel miserable, for a lack of better word. I’m not gonna elaborate on the feelings because I’m certain all of you have had them at some point. I had hoped they would vanish in time, but they did not.

I can’t tell if these feelings are related to what was going on in my life at the time (they probably are but I haven’t connected the dots yet), mostly because I don’t feel like anything particularly bad happened that could’ve boosted these feelings for me. In fact, a lot of good things happened. Some bad things happened too, as they usually do in life. So, to spare you the details:

-I met someone and we’ve been in a relationship sinch March 2022 (he’s great and we’ve been living together for almost a year now);

-I failed to graduate in 2022 but I managed to fix that at the beginning of July this year (finally!);

-I worked three different jobs in the meantime (not simultaneously) to afford rent, and those took up most of my energy;

-I’ve been on and off different meds while trying to figure out what works for me;

-A lot of family-related events happened in the year I’ve been gone and I’m sure there’s more to come;

-I’ve been reading a lot, and I honestly feel like that sort of became my outlet when drawing felt like too big of a challenge;

-I’ve become even less interested in pursuing the major I’ve been working towards so far, and I’ve decided to stop at my bachelor’s and maybe try my hand at some other profession somewhere along the line.

The last one did me in, honestly. Seeing all my colleagues and friends graduate while I sat back really took a toll on me and I don’t think I’ll be able to recover from that one for a while. The inferiority I felt regarding my art and the progress I’ve made so far combined with not being able to do the one thing everybody around me seemed to be able to do almost effortlessly and, well… it didn’t feel very good.

I believe this is what made me disappear. Honestly though, I’m not 100% sure—it could’ve been something else, and it feels weird to blame my sudden departure on something like my mental state, given that I don’t feel much different now, and I didn’t feel particularly different then. Just existing and getting by has been challenging for years.

But I feel like I might be ready to try drawing again sometime soon. I’ll probably expand my horizons a bit. Don’t get me wrong, dragons are fun and I won’t give up on those, but you’ll probably be seeing a bit more variation from me in the future. I might even give humans a go! Oh boy!

(Not yet though. But soon, hopefully.)

Lastly, I think I want to rebrand my online presence. I feel like I’ve changed quite a bit since I opted for this username, and it no longer feels like me. So, if you see a stranger on your dash, fear not! It’s probably me, trying out something new. I think that’s going to be my first move.

It’s a start. It’s more than I’ve had for over two years, and I might just give it a go. I hope to see you along the way!

[canni8al]

hi! i’m so sorry this is gonna be weird and out of nowhere.. but i just started getting into league of legends/arcane recently & going through the grapevine of old posts & fanart (from 2012-2017), and i stumbled upon some of your old jinx cosplays!

first off, just wanna say ur cosplay is very cool, even like, a decade later.

secondly, i noticed some of ur old reposts & commissions of vi/jinx, and i thought it was interesting! i’ve pieced together that they weren’t considered siblings back then since ive came across alot of different ship art of them from that era.

i also noticed that you and your (maybe former?) gf cosplayed them together & had matching usernames and i thought it was sweet. there were a few other people that i came across who did the exact same thing with their partners & it was so cool to look at. unfortunately i couldn’t ask them anything as they’re inactive 😞.

to get to my point,,, i basically just wanted to know if the ship was popular at all? what were peoples reasonings for liking it? and when they were confirmed as sisters, were people disappointed? were you? and when did that confirmation happen?

i’m asking this because i saw that some people still ship them to this day, and i thought it was odd at first but then i wondered if i was in any place to judge, as i’ve just learned that them being sisters wasn’t always a thing. so i’m assuming there’s just still people out there who’ve shipped them for so long and just can’t let go despite what happened.

if it was MY favorite pairing that got turned into siblings, i know i’d be super pissed. that’s alot of passion, art, cosplays and more down the drain immediately. i could tell that you used to like them a lot so i just wanted to hear your experience. & maybe ur thoughts on their new sibling dynamic in arcane as well!

again, this is SO weird and out of the blue. you absolutely do not have to answer if you feel uncomfortable, but any kind of response is appreciated. i also don’t mean to sound like a stalker or anything like that, i’ve just been extremely curious since i joined the fandom not too long ago, and just wonder what everything was like before arcane. i also like to see how people perceived certain characters and ships before the show, and compare and contrast them. i’ve been in ask boxes pretty frequently today so ur not the only one😅, just trying to learn. if there’s any other information you’d like to give me for my journey, please feel free.

thank you so much if you answer and have an amazing day! really hope u see this ^_^

this is totally not a DM i ever expected to get, but hi!

thank you so much!! i really appreciate that!!

yes, that's my ex. we broke up well before arcane was released so i can't speak for how she felt about it, but i can totally talk about how i felt.

honestly? the story that's been cultivated with them and their sibling dynamic has surpassed anything i could have ever expected. i adore it. i love love love arcane.

when i was roleplaying jinx, i felt that i had come up with some random sort of headcanon backstory just to have something (being in the roleplaying community, it didn't always feel like you had to have as much information as possible, but it definitely felt like i should and that it helped, if that makes sense), but i never jived with it. it was just there to fill an empty page for the sake of filling it (and having a little fun with it).

in hindsight, it's obvious that they were sisters--but i think that (for me at least), because my ex and i loved them both so much, and we were together, it was sort of unthinkable that they'd be related. so in a way, with that hindsight, i believe it was a bit of projecting LOL

as soon as it all came out, i had that sort of "ew" moment thinking back on all of the shippy things we'd done, but i didn't like, make myself feel too bad about it because we really just didn't know. and especially with when jinx came out and in the years following her release, riot reworked a lot of the lore, did away with "the league" altogether, and revamped their entire world. it has us thinking, "well, is any of this info to be trusted anymore?" about everything they'd written and released pre-change.

once it was absolutely confirmed that they were sisters, i logged into my old jinx blog and started deleting or hiding what i could easily find of the shipping content. it felt a little gross to leave up if i had the ability to do away with it. there is no sense of posterity in keeping it.

as an unasked-for-addendum, i love cait/vi. i always have. it's a fantastic dynamic to say the least. i absolutely feigned childish hatred for it for awhile because of the ship i already had, but cait/vi is, without a doubt, where it's at.

i'd imagine that jinx/vi shippers had a similar feeling of "oh, ew, this feels kind of gross--but let's move on, because we didn't know any better, and now we do." or at least i'd hope so.

[cynicalmusings]

🦴🍅☁️🦷! for the ask game :) — @milkstore

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing?

[looks guiltily towards the 138k word-long hmc book au] perhaps there is, yes… in all seriousness, i’m very often inspired by media which i integrate into my writing—you can tell by how many aus i’ve got in the works at the moment. it’s just very interesting to me to speculate how the same character would act if you placed them in a different environment, so the aus are an exploration of that interest as well as my love for both the characters written about and the source material. on a more technical level and regarding books specifically, i also tend to absorb some of the writing styles i’ve come across quite quickly into my writing, so that’s another form of ‘inspiration’, in a way.

🍅 ⇢ give yourself some constructive criticism on your own writing

i suck at writing passages of time, or at least varying them. whenever there’s a pause in dialogue, or a progression of time, i find myself recycling the same lines/ wording, e.g. ‘a moment of silence passed’, ‘there was a brief pause’, etc. it’s also fairly annoying because it’s not like these moments matter very much to the overall narrative, so it’s kind of a nitpick which always pokes at me. also, i think i need to start writing for a larger cast of characters, because i’ve become quite good at writing dynamics between two people merely due to the nature of x reader fics, but i rarely go out of that zone and juggle with a larger circle of characters who all have separate dynamics and differently developing relationships. (i do actually think this is something writing hmc helped with, even if i frequently looked to the original book for inspiration and the skeleton to base it on, because rather than there just being the reader and jing yuan alone on the ship, you’ve got the whole crew of reader, jing yuan, yanqing, fu xuan (and mimi), who all interact in different ways.)

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

the original username of my main blog was ‘humans-are-rubbish’, but once cyno’s release slowly began to approach, i changed it to ‘perpetualcynicism’ because of the semi-cyno pun, as well as it maintaining the same vibe of the original username. i wouldn’t actually say i’m all that cynical of a person, so that’s a bit ironic, but i also really like how the words ‘perpetual cynicism’ roll off the tongue. it’s quite rhythmical, almost? maybe that’s just me. for the side blog, i wanted to keep the cynical aspect, since that’s what contained the pun, and just stuck ‘musings’ on the end because this is more of a sharing-thoughts blog than a writing blog. again, i also really like the sound of the word ‘musing’. it’s very smooth.

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on

i’ve mentioned this before, but if you’re ever in a place where you want to be creative and your brain is refusing, start small. just look around your surroundings and pick up on the details of what you see. then ask questions about it: how would you change it, if you could? what makes it look like it does? how would this look if x happened? (i couldn’t really think of any other advice and this has been sitting in my inbox for a bit, so… that’ll have to do. nothing very profound, sorry /lh.)

[amaounghususssy]

I think I just became a pariah on an mspfa fandom

There's this mspfa called deadlock that is like really fucking amazing and I read the whole thing in one sitting and t was like 700 pages and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Anyways 2 days later after my second readthrough I get to the end and go to the new pages that were added after I finished it the first time and keep in mind this thing has been updating for 8 months before I found it. On the page, the creator said they were unhappy with where it was going and was rebooting the whole thing from the start and unlisting the old one. If you haven't experienced content grief let me tell you it is horrible especially when the obsession is fresh. I kind of freaked the fuck out I admit and even though I knew the new one was probably going to turn out to be better, I was still planted firmly in the anger stage of grief at the time and commented something along the lines of "(character): do nothing. Nothing matters since that comic you like got rebooted" and then kind of immediately left and forgot about that comment. I'm sorry I swear I was in a bad place and it was the middle of the night. The next day I checked my notifications and saw that someone tagged me saying more or less "SHUT UP (USERNAME) NOBODY CARES" and it ratioed the hell out of me. Fight or flight kicks in and I delete my comment but the angry one still has my username in it to call me out with and I kind of felt like actual garbage for a while. There was another comment from the creator and I don't know if it was in response to mine but it pretty much said (regarding the decision to reboot) "I write for myself not other people" and i'm a visual thinker as soon as I see the comment I made, the angry one, and that one in conjunction my mind conjures a picture of an angry criminal or something (me) being hauled away by the cops and screaming "I'LL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS" at a tearful child (the creator) while the creator's parent (angry commenter) says "never go near my child again or you're dead, you hear me?" And I couldn't get that image out of my head for a while. Sucked. Anyways after deleting the comment I don't know why but I still felt like idk expressing this somewhere. I went into an unrelated fanventure's comments and AFTER THINKING IT OVER SO I DON'T SAY ANYTHING TOO REGRETFUL HOPEFULLY I just write "I can't believe (creator) rebooted deadlock". I know it sounds like I'm being dramatic going to these lengths and I probably was but you haven't read this thing man. Nobody reacts to the comment so mission accomplished I guess.

A couple days pass to today, and I've recovered to an extent. Not sure how much of an extent but the change was noticeable I guess. Basically I go on the deadlock discord and it has this channel where people can plug their own random mspfas for whatever reason. I decide why the hell not and do that. This is where the real unbelievable shit happens. As soon as I post the link and a quick message about having posted it there, someone types the exact comment. That I wrote on the other fanventure. It was like "page 349, 9 Apr 2024, (username), I can't believe (creator) rebooted deadlock". This was SECONDS after I make a message in the discord. You can't make this shit up. I said "What" and the other person never responded. Nobody else was on that channel. I know it wasn't a bot because they had a normal bio and servers and they plugged their own fanventure a ways upward in the channel. My discord username and mspfa username are completely different and there wasn't enough time by far between when I posted it and when they said that for them to click on it, click on my profile, click on my favorite fanventures, happen to select the correct one, and look at the comments, like it's an astronomically low chance. It was sburb.exe so I guess it wasn't the most obscure one it could've been so it's not out of the question that they saw it before, but like, how did they have it ready to copypaste? How did they know my discord and my mspfa are run by the same guy? The discord username is related to sburb.exe I guess and it's on the deadlock discord so maybe how many people are fans of both? But even if they did that yagami light ass deductive move how did they have it ready to copypaste and what's the fucking chance they were the only other person in that server at that time?

I waited until they got offline and deleted the "What" message so hopefully more people don't pull an fbi on me again because that message (correctly) implies I am the one that said that. Creator I'm sorry for badmouthing the deadlock reboot please don't kill me

[metalgonemeta]

MAJORLY LONG POST IM SO SORRY

This whole post is a comparison of Isane-the-shiny, aka my older version of this blog, to its resurrection MetalGoneMeta

First things first, im sending development for this blog into motion. And although everyone who saw and i interacted with under the Isane-the-shiny/-and-muses usernames are now 2 years+ inactive and/or archived, i feel its best to put up the similarities and differences between then and now both for their sake should it be of interest as well as to give myself a blueprint for resurrecting under Metalgonemeta.

Isane-the-Shiny/-and-muses (2018?)

ItS was a Non-Selective, Independent, Pokémon/Metang OC Roleplaying blog

While I ran ItS (and later IaM) I was very VERY new to Tumblr RP and didnt know what anything meant besides a blog being Selective or not. And if you even had Semi-Selective in your bio, I posted the Same. Damn. CopyNPaste Ask of basically:

THIS GD ASK HAS PLAGUED MANY A USERS INBOX, and yknow how i said i didnt know the terminology of RPBlogs? That included those who had “Mutuals Only” as a rule of their blog.

To those whos blogs i did invade, I do apologize. I will say that i have improved since then.

(Also SHOUTOUT TO THOSE WHO ACTUALLY RESPONDED DESPITE THEIR OWN RULES /pos Istg i look back on this Invading copy and paste ask with HEAVY cringe, but I also remember feeling so ballistically happy seeing the “X answered your ask” notification. I hope all is well for you ^^)

Back to this list of how things were, pretty much said above but to put it shorter and more organized, Back when i ran IsT/IaM i was very Invasive and i was unaware of boundaries. And this was mostly due to it being back when i was about 14-15. (Im an Adult now dw ^^”)

Lastly and pretty much the only last changes and differences… Isane, the Metang OC of this blog, Is getting a name change and Overhaul. This is primarily for finding purposes ig? Basically, There is a character from a different fandom i follow, Bleach, with a character of the same name. (If anything i legit just stole the name cuz i liked Isane lmao). I do not have a new name decided *yet, but am actively searching so i can get it set in stone for the blog. And in terms of the actual overhaul, im going to look into updating, aka giving, her lore as well as (likely the only thing anyone i interacted with gave a shit about if at all) a redesign. Whether im going to turn her into a default blue and silver metang, or my Orrian Metang design is also still to be decided (you can find said design here )

Metalgonemeta (2023 onward)

Now all the big stuff i will admit is under the previous section by accident and ive noticed this post is getting pretty lengthy so ill try to keep this section short and to the point.

MGM is likely going to be identical to ItS in the fact it will still be an Indie NonSelective Blog. Though if i wanted to label every applicable term i found to give a better idea of what itll be: Indie, Pokemon/Metang OC, Based on Canon events that happened in both the mainline pokemon games as well as Pokemon Colosseum/GoD:XD, though will likely focus mainly on Unova B2W2* in writings.

Now i will say, factually in my stance, i should NOT go around peoples inboxes all wild andlikely childish. Even if i didnt make the other person uncomfortable, there were cases where i did make some uncomfortable… likely those who had stated mutuals only and yet here i was, a complete stranger banging on the ask box. Im probably going to just stick with those who interact with me first because of this and keep me going into inboxes at a minimal (i.e posted staters, prompts, etc.)

Kinda to keep parallel with the previous section, in terms of age rating im thinking ill have this blog be 18+. Not because of any mature material (if anything this blogs gonna be pretty sfw since its a gd METANG) but to avoid any uncomfortable complications regarding me, an 18y/o adult interacting with teens/minors of any age tumblr allows (I dont know what to even think of this cuz i just turned 18 not too long ago so from what ive heard i shouldnt have to worry about this type of stuff in the way say a 24y/o should), im just deciding in the hopes to just avoid any complications just keep the 18y/o me in the 18+ audience.

And that about wraps up all there is in terms of blog comparisons.. this was mostly focused on the blog technichalities and i will look into setting up a accessable Rules and About page when i get everything set up and can move onto a theme.

Im sorry this was so long but i felt it was best to post this now while everything i want to do is still fresh in my mind.

Thank you for reading through,

—Tamer

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: June 6th, 2021

I’m back with more ask responses! You can also check our Frequently Asked Question sheet if there’s something you’re wondering that’s not answered here.

FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

Thank you for the patience with these questions  ♡

Hey in very beginning of step 3 in the scene where Mr.Holden had a thought dancing on the tip of his tongue but he kept it to himself after MC and Cove were being cute (idk if it makes a difference but this is when they're dating)... Can we know what he was thinking/ wanted to say? It's been bugging me lol 

He would’ve gone into a “look how much you’ve grown”, “your dad is so proud of you”, “I’m so glad things worked out with the MC”, and etc spiel, haha. But he resisted the urge to fawn on his baby boy, at least for that scene.

If we planned to move away for college/future plans in step 3, is it implied that MC and Cove would have a long distance relationship for sure? Could MC have convinced Cove to come with them? How is the dynamic of their relationship going to be addressed in Step 4, if that makes sense? 

Cove is willing to follow the MC where they went after everything is settled for them there, and if they’re sure they want him to come! You’ll get to decide how things shook out during those transitional years just by making choices about it during the opening prologue of Step 4.

Hi! First off, how does it feel to have created one of the best games when it comes to inclusion for lbtq+ peeps? I've never felt as validated with my identity and sexuality when playing a game and I'm seemingly not alone ♥ Second, and this might be a little too specific, but what kinds of drinks does Cove like as well as dislike? Thank you, you're the best ♥

Thank you for very much! It’s really nice to hear the game felt inclusive. Cove likes regular water and fruit juices/smoothies most! He dislikes coffee and cola, and he’s not super into most teas either.

Hi, may i ask what gb patch stands for? Specifically the gb part lol

It stands for my old, silly username I used in places like Neopets as a kid, aha. The company name wasn’t super thought out since it was originally just me making VNs as a hobby. Luckily, “GB Patch” kind of seems like it could mean something reasonable, so I didn’t have to rebrand when it did become a more serious, commercial group.

If we chose to not propose to cove in the step 3 dlc would he propose or would the mc propose in step 4 or the wedding dlc? 

Yeah, you or Cove can propose in Step 4 if you’re not already engaged! The Wedding DLC takes place after the engagement so the proposal scenes aren’t there.

will you guys announce if the early access for the new game is out on patreon ? 

When beta builds of Step 4 or whatever start coming out on the Patreon we will mention it here on social media too.

Heyy I just had a quick question about Baxter if that’s okay :)?

I saw in an ask+answer that it’s possible to casually date Baxter In step 3, but what leads up to that? I have the step 3 dlc and I’ve tried playing them In a different orders and ways but it doesn’t seem to get anywhere ^^;

The Step 3 DLC is Cove-based because he’s the default guy. There’s a separate Baxter romance DLC that’s not out yet. That’s where you can get him to date you. I’m sorry for the confusion!

Will we ever get any LI's or side characters with physical disabilities or deformities? I think your games would be a great place to have them in since they're always so accepting and safe! 

Yeah, we do hope to have representation for that in future projects ^^. Thank you for the confidence in us.

Is it possible to get Cove to take the bed and MC to sleep on the floor? 

Not in Step 3, I’m afraid.

So, I have played the prologue of Our Life countless times and I haven't gotten the [Your Life] achievement, why is that? 

Steam sometimes isn’t connected properly when an achievement unlocks and so it remains locked on your account. If that happens, unfortunately getting the scene again won’t unlock it. The achievement becomes inaccessible because the game thinks you already have it. Playing with the same Steam account on a different device or fully deleting your game data (more than the only the save files) are the only work arounds we’ve found.

Since when you talk with Jeremy in step 3 it's mentioned he goes on dates with someone (which assume is JB because who else would take this boy on dates) that makes him happy, does that sort of make JB and Jeremy the canon relationship in the first game?

The default for XOXO Droplets is that JB casually goes on dates with each of the jerks! Shiloh would’ve been harsher if Jeremy was the only guy getting her attention, haha. But the player can change that default by dating just one person the whole game for their own story and who she ends up with for real has no default.

Hi, hello! Huge OL fan, thank you so much for the wholesome content, it was very much needed during these times. Managed to get several people to join team Cove, so that's very exciting, I always have people to fawn over him with. I have a little question and I'm sorry if it was asked before, but does it ever come up in the game what Cove has told his mom about us? (who knows, with so many options, one can miss it) Or, alternatively, will it come up in the Step 4 DLC? 

Thank you very much for sharing the game with people <3. It’s really great to hear people are liking it. Right now that doesn’t come up in game. Kyra is willing to keep her mouth shut and Cove isn’t gonna have that conversation either. At least not when he’s younger, but yes, perhaps when he’s a fully grown big boy in Step 4 you can ask him about it.

I’ve been thinking about this ever since it has been confirmed that there would be two love interests for OL2, would there be the possibility of forming a polyamorous relationship with both love interests? I’m sorry if you answered this previously, I’m just curious. 

We are considering it, but it’s not a guarantee yet. It’d be really great to have but it’d add so many extra alterations that’d need to made, aha.

Hello! You mentioned how Cove would be uncomfortable with kids at 23, but how old would he be when he’s comfortable with having/adopting kids? (Same goes for the other LI’s.) btw, love your game!! 

He’d want to be at least 25, but even older would be good. Derek would want to have kids when he and his partner could reasonably support them, the age itself wouldn’t matter. If they were doing good at 22 and wanted kids, he’d be up for it. Or they could wait until their 30s or whatever. Baxter is also more of a “when it feels right” guy rather than having a specific age requirement. Cove is just especially wary of being a young parent because of his own parents. I’m happy you like the game!

does step 4 immediately play after you press "end summer" in step 3? or is there another button/transition (like the story text thingy) before the epilogue begins? what happens after the epilogue? roll credits? 😂 

Step 4 will have transition section always and there will be an extra button, if you own the Derek or Baxter DLC. By default the Cove-based version of Step 4 just plays once Step 3 is over. However, having the other guys’ storylines will mean you get to pick which version of Step 4 plays; Cove Step 4 (the basic one), Derek Step 4, or Baxter Step 4.

Happy pride, thank you for all you do for us🥰

I have a quick question though, I recently got a MacBook after my old windows computer broke, and now steam says I cannot download it, but it has no issues with other games, what can I do to download it?? I’m sorry if my English is bad

Happy pride month! Unfortunately, Our Life isn’t available for Mac on Steam right now. To be an approval application Apple requires having special notarization and we as a small group haven’t gotten that. Itch doesn’t care and lets us release the game for Mac there anyway, Steam does care so we’re locked out of putting the Mac build up on their storefront. Feel free to email us and we can try to help the situation out further!

support@gbpatchgames.com

Hello! I was jus wondering if the Baxter and Derek DLCs are still happening? I haven’t heard anything about them on here or patreon in a while so I just wanted to make sure ^^

They’re still coming and we just released a new sprite sketch on the Patreon for the Derek DLC c:. But right now Step 4 is still much more of a priority. Once that’s closer to being done we’ll focus way more on sharing previews for the other guys.

is it possible to tell cove you love him (platonically) at step 3 fondness/selecting him as basically family? i just love the mc and liz sibling interactions and it got me wondering about it (especially if you've selected that option)

You and Cove can be as close as family, but there’s not a specific scene in Step 3 where you say “I love you” in a family context. But there’s always Step 4~

do you intend on ever adding a collectors mode to Our Life? Like a way to collect achievements and CGs for the gallery without it effecting any save files? 

We weren’t considering it before. But if a lot of players would find that helpful, we could start thinking on that!

Sorry if it's a silly question haha, but (in crush/love) is Cove really aware of how cute and cuddly he seems to MC? If so, what does he think or do about it? Or does he just ignore it? 

He isn’t particular aware. Cove never truly stops being surprised that the MC is interested in/attracted to him, haha.

Would you say that the alone ending of xoxo droplets is worth playing again to get? 

Nope, haha. The goal is to make friends/get a boyfriend and so the alone ending is kind of the bad ending for the game. Though there is a consolation prize if you get it by accident.

Is there any possible situation which would ever prompt Pran to bake for his girlfriend? Like I know it's unlikely I mean even if JB broke her leg somehow I'm pretty sure he'd still be like "I considered baking you a cake and doing the frosting the way I think looks interesting but you don't deserve a cake, no one does." right but also ahhh it would be super nice if some day he just surprised her with baked goods one day out of nowhere. JB would be so shocked it would be cute. So is there any possible situation where that could/would be a thing that he would do? 

He might bake out of spite, like if he felt he had to prove her wrong on something. Or if JB used some good reverse psychology on him. Or he might do it in a relatively nice way if he could make his GF so shocked by the kind gesture that his amusement with that overrode his insistence on not being sweet. Pran is very difficult in high school, aha.

Is the "one route (where) it can be seen that Everett will drop his seemingly eternal waging with Jeremy pretty easily and can start getting along without thinking much on it" the Lucas route? I'm curious! 

Yep! Everett will side with Jeremy if it’s between him and Lucas.

Hi I hope you guys are having a great day :) I just had to ask how Cliff would feel about Cove's partner/fiancé Mc calling them dad whether it be accidental or otherwise and secondly I also wanted to ask how he would feel about being asked to be the one to give the mc away at their wedding. 

He would be very touched and excited! I hope you have a good day too :D

Hello! I saw an ask relating to whether Cliff "moves on" after Cove's grown up and stuff (and he stays single), but what about Kyra? Will she be with anyone else or will she stay single? 

She does start dating again, but she takes it slow.

Hi! I absolutely love the art for characters in OL and I wonder is this fine to draw my MC in same drawing style and upload online later? Is this something artists would be okay with? Thank you! 

Yeah, you can certainly do that C:

Hey there!

I wonder if I'm just being stupid here.. Is Step 4 a DLC? And if so, where can I find it? I can't seem to find it on Steam :< Thank you!

Step 4 is a free epilogue! It’s not done yet, but once it is finished you’ll just update your game file and Step 4 will be there after Step 3 ends.

hi! are step 4 and the wedding dlc two different things?

They are. Step 4 is a free epilogue that’ll be a default part of the game once it’s done, the wedding DLC is an optional paid expansion that takes place after Step 4.

Why did Baxter not receive a step 2 sprite seeing how he shows up later

Sprites are time consuming to draw and take money out of the budget that could’ve gone to other things. His tiny appearance in Step 2 wasn’t worth all the effort to make a sprite, aha.

I just realized, what happens if if you get the patreon exclusive moment but at a later date, when you don't have the membership anymore, it's updated (like a bugs fix update for example)? Would you have to get the membership again? 

You would have to get the membership again to redownload the build. But there’s very little chance there’s going to be an update once it’s been out for over a month. If a build gets released with errors, players catch/report them within the first few days. So by the time the first subscription period ends, any problems that were noticeable would already have been fixed. And we’re certainly not gonna be adding new content to it once it’s been released for a long time. There’s no need to worry about missing out on something worthwhile in the future if you cancel your membership. It’s being made with the idea in mind that many players are gonna be getting it and then going.

Hello! Wanted to ask about gaming choice in step 3? Once upon a playthorugh I got the option to buy Cove a bracelet for his graduation present. I played the same basic character again and that option wasn't there anymore. I'm not sure where I went wrong. My Cove wears a bracelet on each hand and my MC is into fashion and jewelry. Do I need to put an earring on him or? Sorry, love your game so much. 

He also needs to have liked bracelets in Step 2 for that to be considered a good gift option for him. Sorry for the confusion! I’m happy you love the game :)

Is Step 4 being released at the same time as the Wedding DLC or will the first come before the latter? Thank you! 

I’m not sure. Ideally they’ll come out at the same time, but the wedding DLC has a lot of art to get done and we may have to release it after Step 4.

Can mc still get confession from Cove at the end of step 3 even if mc casually dates Baxter in step 3? Such as in crush mode? 

I don’t think so. Maybe that’ll change, but generally there’s differences to the Step 3 ending if you were dating Baxter and those differences likely will conflict with getting the Cove confession.

For the patreon moments/dlcs, will it be available for all tiers? 

It’ll be available for tier 2 (Fans) and up!

[o-pandora-o]

Brothers in the Human Realm

No one was a demon to begin with (maybe luci though but-). You meet the brothers as human in the human realm. How would you meet them?

Lucifer:

Apparently some schoolmate of yours have done some violations in the school grounds and they used your name

You were sent to the Principal's office where you were questioned by Principal Diavolo about your wrong doings

You were trying to defend your innocence, but it was no avail

Coincidentally Lucifer was just dropping paperwork to Diavolo

Lucifer is your strict and scary and handsome college professor

He overheard the conversation and he defended you since he knew that you weren't lying

"Mr. Diavolo I must say, MC is one of my exceptional students, they would not do something as idiotic as that, and I clearly observe the behavior of my students"

Your H E R O

The next day, someone gave Principal Diavolo evidence of those who did wrong

Your name was cleared

Apparently you saw Lucifer giving those schoolmates detention, threat, and punishment. You may or may not seen a hint of killing intent in his eyes

You decided to thank Lucifer

"No worries, I just clearly observe the actions of what is mine"

H O L D U P

"Wha-" you replied

"Ah MC I have to go to my next class, take care"

Mammon:

Is a famous model, often the cover and centerfold of the monthly Majolish

For you Mammon was okay? I mean he is famous and many people likes his face

You were going to buy a limited edition  sunglasses that have hint of yellow and orange

You went to a sunglass store and asked the attendant if they they still have it but apparently the one on the display is their only stock

You decided to buy it

Apparently, Mammon also came to that specific sunglasses store looking for sunglasses that is the same as the one you bought

"I'm sorry sir, but apparently it was already bought and we have no stock" the attendant said

"Who bought it?"

"They did, sir" the attendant said as they point to you

"Oi! Can I buy the sunglasses from you? I'll pay double, no one can refuse the great Mammon"

"I'm sorry but I have to refuse. I really wanted it." you said

"Don't you know who I am? I'm-"

"The Great MAMMON, who is a famous model and often seen on Majolish magazine" you cut him off. "R-right! Now can i buy-"

"Nope sorry" you replied as you rushed to the exit

"Oi! What's your name? And contact details" he asked

"the name is MC, thats all you can get from me" you said as you rushed to the crowd

He was swarmed by the number of fans who saw him

He managed to find you and he chats you "Can I buy the sunglasses now?"

In the end it wasn't just sunglasses you talked about, you also talked about his struggle of being a model and your life

Leviathan:

Your username DestructoSheep is well known in the realms of Obey them

You always rank 2nd in pop quizzes

However no matter what you try, you can never beat your enemy, L3v1

Today, you got a letter from obey them, acknowledging the top players and giving them limited edition items

Ofc you have to go (there are limited items after all)

So you arrived early at the meetup place, no one was there yet so you played some obey them

A purple haired male entered the room, he looked fidgety, nervous, and he was mumbling something about normies

Cue giving of merch

The purple haired male tripped on the tiles and he dropped his phone in front of you

You helped him up and picked up his phone only to see his player name is L3v1.

"You.... You are L3v1." you sai

"Y-Yeah?W-Why?" he said as he was going to grab his phone away from you

"Waaaah! I'm DestructoSheep nice to meet you, oh but you can call me MC" you said as you reached his hand for a handshake

"I-uhhh I'm sorry I'm not used to touching, thats very normie-ish" he said as he averted his eyes

"My name is Leviathan, levi for short"

"I've always thought that the top player is always prideful and such but here he is being shy" you said as you chuckled

"H-hey! I'm still the best one in obey them mind you! I got every event cards at lvl 150 and skill lvl 10 and-"

"Yeah yeah I know" you said

After both of you received the merch, you both talked nonstop about obey them, other games, and anime

It was more like Levi bragging the amount of games and anime he played and watched

It was almost dusk till both of you notice the time

"Ah i got to go early, need to cook dinner. Chat me sometime!!!" you said as you gave him your contact details

Expect no sleep cuz both of you kept chatting till dawn

Satan:

He saw a kitty in a box in an alleyway near his apartment

Everyday, he often stops by to give the kitty enough food for the day

Is often disgusted by the fact that most people dump their pets in trash because they don't have anything to feed it

Saw you going to the alleyway

He suspected the worst and he thought that you were gonna harm the kitty he was feeding

"Hey don't harm-" he stopped

He saw you feeding the kitty

"Ah I assume you thought that I was gonna harm it?" you asked

"Well I thought the worst, humans are naturally scum anyways, but even so I do apologize"

"Ah it's alright, it's not a big deal anyways" you replied

"You come here often? I mean to feed the kitten that is" he asked

"You can say that, but not as often as you do" you said

"How did you know?did you perhaps-"

"Ah I happened to saw you feeding the kitten, I was just shy to approach you" you said

"Well I come to believe that people who are close to cats are not necessarily bad"

"I have to say I have to agree" you replied

"Ah I have to go, let's chat here again next time" you added

The alleyway became your meeting place to chitchat about cats

Asmodeus:

The famous M.A.D. Company released a new and limited edition Devil Set makeup and you were dying to get a hold of one

You spent a day looking at different stores but it was either unavailable or sold out. However, you were lucky to find another store that has one last stock.

You didn't notice someone else was also going to get it and so both of you grabbed the last set

"Uh... I'm sorry I have been looking this for the whole day, may I have it?" you politely asked

"Awww sweetie, I have been doing the same thing! Can you be a dear and let go of it?" the male with champagne-colored hair replied

Cue 1 hour of both of you saying "let go" or "it's mine"

"I have an idea! Let's just buy the set and divide it" you said

"Ohh! Good thinking! I will take the lippies, Devil shadow palette and the foundation!"

"That's literally EVERYTHING IN THE SET"

Cue two more hours of bickering.

Both of you didn't notice someone took it while the two of you are bickering

You noticed that it was gone

"Um... Someone already bought it while you two were... fighting" the saleslady explained

Both of you left the store empty handed and sad and you decided to break the atmosphere

"Pffft I'm sorry for fighting because of a Makeup set, btw my name is MC" you said

"I'm also sorry dear, although I wanted it I still didn't get it. I even missed my appointment to the salon!"

"And my name is Asmodeus, perfect name for a perfect being!" Asmo added

"Alright Mr 'Perfect' " you rolled your eyes

Let's just say that both of you talked about makeups on your way home.

Beelzebub:

Beel is your classmate during Physical Education class at college

Is a famous football player in your campus and he is also known for his handsomeness

His practice hours were often morning to late lunch and late lunch til dusk

During late lunch you saw him in the cashier by the cafeteria, asking if they still have cheeseburger available

But to his dismay, the cashier said "I'm sorry you already bought the last cheeseburger, and that's the last quota for the day"

He seemed sad and still hungry

You still have a cheeseburger to eat, but when you saw the time you knew you weren't gonna make it on your next class

When no one was looking, you decided to approach Beel and gave him your cheeseburger

"Are you giving this to me?"

"Yeah, I was going to eat it but I don't have much time for my next class" you replied

"Thanks, I owe you one"

You saw how happy he was when he got the cheeseburger

You were shocked how fast he ate it

Did he like inhale it or something

After your class, you noticed that he texted you saying "Thanks for the cheeseburger, I'll repay you next time you get hungry"

Let's just say you both got closer after that

Belphie:

It's your first day of online class, and your first subject has a 4 hour lecture

You forgot to disconnect your meeting link and you didn't notice until you were about to do homework

As you were about to disconnect, you saw that you weren't alone and you're classmate is still connected

You didnt want to leave him so you tried your best for your classmate to notice you. You tried spamming and saying " hello"

After 1234 attempts he finally noticed you

"Ah I'm sorry I slept during the boring lecture, thanks for waking me up"

"Ah it's no problem" you replied

"My name is Belphegor as you can see, but you can call me Belphie"

"My name is MC" you replied

"Say... How are you still here after hours after the lecture?"

"I forgot to disconnect" you replied

"Uh idk if this is too much of a favor to ask, can you wake me up again next time? After lecture that is, I don't want to be late for other classes"

"Sure, I don't mind I guess" you replied

After that, both of you got to know each other and you forgot to do your homework and you became a personal alarm clock

[cassandraclare]

I'm sorry to hear that your hard work was leaked but I was curious about what happened. I hope the person faced consequences because that was a very selfish thing to do leaking your work like that :(

I haven’t taken action against the person who leaked the book. I know who they are, since they uploaded the page I signed for them, and I was able to match that against my records. 

I haven’t refrained from taking action because I feel sympathy for them. I don’t. It’s beyond shitty behavior to receive an early, signed book as a gift, and to then leak the entire book online. It’s a shit thing to do to the authors and an equally shit thing to do to other fans. However, I don’t want to put myself (and Wes) through the exhausting, grim and expensive process of legal repercussions. It doesn’t mean what this person did isn’t horrible, and it doesn’t mean they haven’t cost the entire fandom any chance of there ever being an early contest giveaway like that again. They did. There never will be. There will be no ARCs of Chain of Iron, either, and you can thank them for that, too. 

Part of what makes piracy such an issue for authors goes far beyond the individual assholes who upload and distribute and translate stolen books. It’s that the whole system is set up to make it incredibly difficult for us to do anything about it. Publishers do little to nothing to prevent piracy, and authors shoulder the entire burden of searching out and reporting illegal copies of their books. And even then, we’re dependent on whether or not the reported website feels like complying with copyright laws or not. Twitter is incredibly slow to respond, Tumblr is about fifty-fifty on bothering at all. They’re legally required to take action, but they also know that the effort of doing something about it if they do not falls on exhausted, overburdened artists who often can’t afford to follow up with a lawyer’s letter.

And like, I get being broke and wanting to read books; there were a lot of books I had to pass up reading when I was broke (I will be forever grateful to the library system of New York and Brooklyn, which is how I read books at all from about 2001-2004.) I was broke enough that I slept on a bare mattress because I couldn’t afford sheets, but I’m pretty sure if I broke into Bed, Bath and Beyond and stole a bunch of fitted percale bedding I wouldn’t have encountered much sympathy if I got caught. 

I talked about this on Twitter before, and I’ll say it again here though I know it will make very little difference: pirating books doesn’t just hurt the author of those books. It hurts everyone at the publishing company, where the margin of profit is razor-thin (and yes, publishers should do more to protect themselves against piracy; I agree there); it hurts bookstores, especially indie bookstores (I remember doing an event at a store that told me, sadly, that they were likely going to have to close because people “came into the store, looked at the books, took notes, then went home and pirated them.”) It hurts libraries, who rely on circulation for funding, and the shutting down of libraries hurts people who actually can’t afford books.

Now, I know is no way to talk people out of piracy; the internet has normalized it, and besides, people will generally do the cheaper, easier thing — you can’t talk people into not doing something they want to do by telling them it’s wrong, in my experience. They’ll find ways to justify it, whether it be that they can’t afford the book or it isn’t yet available in their language or that they find the author “problematic” and this is the way they’ve chosen to punish them. 

The reason I put “problematic” in quotes is because yes, of course you can read and enjoy work that has problematic elements. Pretty much everything has some element that’s going to be found problematic by someone — which is exactly why deciding that it’s morally excusable to steal from people you think are creating flawed work is more than problematic. Holding creators accountable for their work means critiquing that work, not stealing it.

I listen to a lot of political podcasts, and some of them review work by extreme right-wing politicians etc. who have written books that the podcasters find morally despicable but wish to, or need to, review and discuss. Since they don’t wish to give money to the authors, they buy second-hand copies or take the book out of the library. They certainly don’t steal, translate and distribute copies of the books because they genuinely do not like them and do not want more people reading them. That’s what it looks like when you have an actual moral problem with a book or author. 

However, running multiple fan accounts for a book series, naming your internet identity after characters from that book series, and talking endlessly about “your favorite parts” and how this is “your favorite book” entirely invalidates any argument that you’re doing this because you think the books are bad, evil, etc. If you claim a book is actively homophobic or racist but are so desperate to read it that you’ll steal it, so excited about it that you’ll share that stolen copy, so obsessed that you’ll illegally translate a whole book and provide that stolen translation to as many people as possible, and so dedicated to the fandom that you’ll name yourself after the characters in the books and write poetry about them, I have to tell you: the last thing that looks like is that you actually find the books problematic, regardless of what you say to the contrary. It looks like you like them but don’t want to pay for them, because in fact, that’s the case. (Either that or it looks like you’re really into racist, homophobic books, and making sure as many people read them as possible, which is your problem.)

One of the issues I have with piracy is that it teaches you to hate creators. You have to hate them, because you’re doing a fucking awful thing to them and you have to justify it. This results in lying about creators — about their process, their translations, their research — as if somehow, even if they were bad researchers, that would justify widespread theft. (It doesn’t.) Those who steal books wind up in a headspace where they are obsessed with the content of the books, and entirely unwilling to accept the reality that those books were created by a real person that they’re really harming. It encourages the mentality that I didn’t create Jem or Magnus or Will or Cordelia: they came from some kind of sparkly outerspace planet and I was just lucky enough to get to write down their adventures. It invalidates the hard work creators put into what they create, and in fact, erases their very existence. The internet attitude toward creators is already incredibly toxic (especially if they’re women, LGBT+ and/or BIPOC) and the feeling of entitlement to free content, and vicious hatred toward those who aren’t providing it (even though a lot of creators, me included, provide a great deal of free content) contributes to that. Genuinely, if you’re stealing someone’s work, the least you could do is not also be an asshole about them. (Or pretend you’re Robin Hood. He stole from the rich who had taken property and goods from the poor, and returned that stolen wealth. He didn’t steal from artists and independent bookstores and use that stealing to benefit himself and his friends. The idea is actually kind of funny.) 

 I understand there is a pressure to be up to date on the books that are being released so as to participate in fandom, and I do get that. Unfortunately, piracy has real consequences that stretch beyond just hurting me and Wes. Because LGBT+ books are pirated at such an incredible rate, and we’ve definitely seen that with TEC, I am left wondering if there will ever be an actual Spanish translation of TEC, or whether the publisher will decide not to bother because it’s already been so thoroughly pirated in Spanish. I have to wonder if there will even be a third book of TEC at all, or whether publishers will feel it isn’t worth doing. And I have to wonder why the people who create this situation so often have usernames that include Jem or Magnus or Alec or Cordelia or Julian or Tessa. What an incredible misunderstanding of those characters, to imagine a world in which Will Herondale or Magnus Bane or James Carstairs would approve of stealing books and harming writers. And why name yourself after a character who absolutely couldn’t stand you? I don’t know. I don’t get it, any more than I get hating someone who provided you with something you claim is your favorite book. 

That was a much longer answer than you were probably expecting or hoping for, and I know I’ll get yelled at quite thoroughly for writing it. Writers always do, when we engage with the issue of piracy. I know most of you reading this acquire your books honestly; most of you are not like this at all. But like most things on the internet, a small amount of people really do have the power to make things pretty rotten for everyone else.