#so yeah. off the soapbox now.

[aburstoflightpdf]

.

[recitedemise]

𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲, 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗲. After ridding himself of the orb at last, in fact, the wizard becomes a force that's once more unstoppable. He can cast spells without a word, capable of summoning infernos with a wave, and the ease in which he harnesses storms is frightening, but only as frightening as it is an art. Of course, Gale, however, had proved long ago his more prodigious talent. Still, to see him in action beats just listening to this talk. Gale is powerful, relearning all that he'd lost with alarming speed, and that's all a testament to his blinding brilliance--and, of course, his ingrained ambition. With the orb, the wizard had to limit all manner of casting. He had to sate his hunger, was forced to draw back as to not tempt fate, and with the orb in place snuffing his most powerful spells, was something of a tempest in a thick glass cage. However, with the orb finally gone, those limits have at last been lifted. He had became a level 12 wizard with a hell of a handicap, and with that handicap absent beyond its lingering scar, it's like all his previous mastery finally returned--and with force, mind you, like a strike of lightning. In a way, one could compare him to a runner stripped of their weights. He'd learned unparalleled control with an arcane bomb strapped, but now no longer fearing his imminent explosion, is free, as goes the metaphor, to cast a god damned marathon. And Gale is learned. Rather, he's disgustingly learned. He knows all schools of magic, is qualified to teach every field in Blackstaff, and he doesn't serve his city or own his own floating realm, but he'll once again become archwizard in those ways that matter--in his ability to cast and his hellish ferocity. Maybe he won't become as great as he had been with Mystra, but as a former chosen, it's a helluvan accomplishment. In time, Gale Dekarios becomes Gale, professor at Blackstaff, but as a testament to his ability, the city again warms to the idea of Gale of Waterdeep--because she's really only one Gale one could possibly need.

Of course, he doesn't advocate for the title... But it still delights him.

[awsydawnarts]

I hate you weight loss ads I hate you packaging that prominently displays calorie content I hate you menus that don’t show how much something costs but instead show the calories I hate you magazines that blast weight loss strategies in your face I hate you influencers promoting detox teas I hate how the world is so unfriendly to people recovering from EDs who are just trying to get through their everyday life without being reminded about it under the guise of a “fitness girlie” lifestyle

[juuheizou]

“[character] eats people” not in a condemning hannibal or whatever as immoral art kind of way but “they eat people” in a trying to get people to appreciate the lack of easy answers to tokyo ghoul morals way

[webslingingslasher]

hey, i loveee your writings! i was wondering if you could write a fic or one shot of peter parker and reader getting into an argument based off of peter parker saying something to his friends behind readers back about reader that hurts her feelings? ending is up to you! thanks!

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii dunno how i feel about this

You were many things. 

Beautiful, talented, smart, caring, affectionate, loyal, honest, needy. 

Needy. 

Needy, needy, needy. 

Needy, he called you needy. 

Were you needy? You didn’t think so, but then again, would you be aware if you were? 

Maybe he didn’t mean it, it was a private conversation. He could’ve been just venting, ranting about small things. You’ve done it before with your friends, it could be harmless. 

But, god it hurt. It was so casual coming from his mouth, like it’s a common thought passing through his mind. 

“Hi petey,” you said with a hum, he had just left yours to hang out with his friends when he called. 

Silence drifted on the line. 

“Petey?” 

Shuffles, maybe a cough? Murmured voices, nothing too solid. 

“Peter, you there?” 

Laughs break through, you understand it was a buttdial. 

You were about to hang up but Peter moved around, suddenly the voices were crystal clear. 

“So, how is it with your girl, parker?” 

You think it’s Mark. 

It’s wrong to eavesdrop but if your partner accidentally called while they were about to talk about you, wouldn’t you listen, just for a second? 

Notes from future self, don’t. 

“Eh,” you imagine him rubbing at the back of his head, “good, good. It’s good.” 

Good? 

Good, that’s it? 

Good? 

You thought everything was great, wonderful in fact. When your friends ask about Peter you take your time on the soapbox preaching, he wants to end the conversation immediately. 

Is that a good sign or a really bad sign? 

“Just good? Don’t tell me she stopped putting out, I know how chicks are.” 

“Don’t talk about her like that, Logan.” 

Peter came to your defense, point one for parker. 

On the other side of the line Logan holds his hands up in surrender, “didn’t mean to poke the bear there, parker. Get your girl to suck your dick, you’ll be fine.” 

Next time you see Logan you’ll clobber him. 

Peter grunts, he’s never liked Logan and neither did the friend group. But every group needed that one person that was mutually hated so there was always something to joke and talk about. 

“She sucks my dick just fine, you sound jealous. I’m sure she’s got a friend that’ll pity fuck you.” 

Your eyebrows furrow, Peter doesn’t talk like that. At least not around you, is this what the ‘saturday’s are for the boys’ boys mean when they say locker room talk? 

Mark cuts back in, he lights up a joint. 

“I’m sure parker is just fine, he can barely rip himself away from Y/N.” He coughs on the smoke between laughs, Peter stays quiet. He’s wondering if he should tell his friends this, it’s nothing serious and it didn’t really bother him, and he didn’t want to say anything to you because he knows you’d take offense and stop it; and he’d miss it way too much. 

“Yeah, that’s kinda the problem.” 

He mumbled it, but he said it and what the fuck did that mean? 

You couldn’t stop now, you pray he doesn’t see you’re connected to the call. 

“Trouble in paradise? Do tell.” Mark offers the joint to Peter, he accepts it and passes it to Logan. 

“Sometimes I feel like she’s all over me and needs me for everything, I dunno.” 

Peter tugs at his hair, he’s not saying it right. 

“I think I feel like no matter how much I’m there it’s not enough, she’s so needy.” 

Gut punch. You took such a sharp inhale you have to stop breathing to make sure Peter didn’t pick up on it. You’re reeling trying to look at it from his side, you didn’t seem needy, but everyone’s idea of needy must be different. 

Sure, you do try to extend his visits for as long as possible but that’s because some weeks you feel like you don’t see him but for a few hours and you’re willing to scrape up as much time as possible. And because you love him. And sure, there have been times you ask him to do things or help you but you love watching him fix things around your apartment and have him take extra time to dote on you. And because you love him. 

You want to hang up, you don’t want to know why he thinks you’re needy. If you do then you’ll spiral and question everything you do from here on out. 

On Peter’s end he pulled his phone out to check to see the time, and if you’ve texted. His eyes widen at the screen, he feels like he stopped breathing before he whispered a “fuck” under his breath, he looked at the screen and tried to pretend it wasn’t real. 

It was. Bold and in his face, your saved name and small lettering below it, ‘call connected’ you’ve been on the line for six minutes. You heard absolutely everything, in a panic he hung up the call which was the worst thing he could’ve done, because now you know he knows, and suddenly you realized that if he thought you were needy you’d show him you weren’t. 

—----------------------------------

There is no surprise your boyfriend is pounding on the door. 

Not loudly, but constant and quickly, demanding to not be ignored. 

Like his four missed calls. 

After two straight minutes of his rapping you finally swung the door open, waiting for him to bombard you with reason and apologies. He looked surprised. Peter opens and closes his mouth, he doesn’t know what to say exactly.

Your eyebrow raises at his silence, “you had forty minutes, four missed calls, seven ignored texts, banged on my door for two minutes, and in all that time you didn’t think of one thing to say?” 

“I’m sorry?” He looks sheepish, he gave a tiny shrug. Hoping you’ll find him cute enough to be let off the hook, like a kid with cookie crumbs around his mouth claiming he didn’t know who ate them. 

You run your tongue over your teeth and click them, “yeah, no.” You try to swing the door shut and he foot catches it. 

“Baby,” he catches your eyes, his own look wet and sad. He looked remorseful for his words but didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.” 

You know what you want to say, you want to tell him that it hurt your feelings, that you didn’t know you were being that way, why he didn’t tell you, why he felt that way, a million things ran through your mind. 

But that would make him right. Needy about answers, about why he would think that. That would prove him right, and you weren’t needy, you didn’t think you were but anything he might deem as needy wouldn’t be done anymore. 

“It’s okay.” 

Peter pulls his head back, he’s unsure if you know what you said. 

“It’s…okay?” 

You nod, “yeah, sure, I understand, you were just venting, and I shouldn’t have been listening.” 

“But that doesn’t make it okay, because if you did that to me I’d be hurt.” 

But I wouldn’t do that, I only praise you around my friends.  

“Yeah, well, fuck around and find out, you know.” 

It feels off, this is why Peter didn’t want to tell you anything. He knew you’d pull away from him, you already are. 

“Wanna watch a movie? I heard there’s -” he tries to move around your shoulder to come in but you move to block him entirely. He looks at you half confused, half offended. 

You didn’t need him. He had plans with his friends and you weren’t about to prove them all right and have Peter come running back to you, like he always does, and try to fix things. 

This time Peter wouldn’t fix things, you were. It was clear what he didn’t like, so you’ll stop doing it. 

“Don’t you have plans tonight?” 

Peter snorts, “since when do you care? You always beg me to stay with you anyways.” 

Is that one? One of the things that made him think you were needy? 

Not tonight. 

“I won’t beg tonight then, go have fun.” 

Peter regrets everything about the past two hours, he should’ve stayed when you asked the first time. 

“I have more fun with you, lemme in.” Peter tried to push past but you were adamant he leaves. 

“Go smoke some weed with Mark, come back when you have the munchies. I’ll make cookies.” 

Peter shakes his head, “I don’t wanna hang out with them right now, I want to hang out with you.” He tries to move past you for the third time, you put a hand on his chest to push him back.

“No you don’t. You feel guilty and want to prove something to me or yourself or whatever, and I don’t need Logan thinking if you don’t grovel at my feet then I’ll stop sucking your dick.” 

Peter jumps in immediately, “that was fucked up, and I know I said some shitty things too but I didn’t want him thinking I wasn’t getting laid.” His eyes blow up, he moves his hands around, “not that that matters! Cause I’d love you no matter how much we had sex, but we are having sex and he-” 

You hold up a hand to stop him, “I don’t know where you think that’s going but it’s nowhere good. You’re just digging a deeper hole.” 

Peter’s voice is panicked, “there’s a hole?” 

You sigh and clasp your hands, you point them at his chest. 

“I’m not mad and I don’t need you here, I also don’t need you trying to make a point about not meaning it. You said it and you meant it, don’t lie to my face. Either man up or go back to your friends.” 

You were right, this is going nowhere good and Peter knows it. 

“This shouldn’t be a fight, right?” 

You shrug, “I dunno.” 

Peter pleads with you, he wants anything, something he can work off of. 

“I’m sorry, I really am.” He reaches for your hands and you let him hold them, he rubs his thumbs over the back of your hands. 

“Are you sorry you said it or sorry you got caught?” 

Peter doesn’t know how to respond yet, he doesn’t know how to be honest without offending you and he doesn’t want one thing to change. 

“I just….” He groans and tilts his head back, “can I please come inside?” 

You take him in and decide it’s okay for him to enter, your head looks at your roommates door to make sure it’s still closed. 

Peter flops on the couch and slaps the coffee table, you take a seat where he called and waited. 

“You’re not needy. Not at all, and don’t think I’m just saying that because I think that’s what you want to hear. Needy is the wrong word, it makes you seem annoying or unbearable and I promise you’re my most favorite person in the world, so it’s not that.” 

You whisper your words, your thumbnail being nibbled on. 

“So what did you mean?” 

“I don’t even know!” Peter stresses his point, you can see how upset he is, that he not only said it, but couldn’t place it. 

“I just think maybe,” he groans, he doesn’t like being vulnerable. He’s the strong one in the relationship, it wasn’t very manly to cry over loving your girlfriend too much. 

Peter rubs at his cheek and shrugs, “I don’t know.” 

Your eyes narrow, “liar.” 

Peter folds his cards, the only thing he has to lose here is you, and he will if he doesn’t be honest. But it’s a whole new level to him, a layer he’s about to peel back, one that isn’t so light and happy. It’s a side very few people have seen, he’s scared to show it to you. 

“Can we talk?” 

You look at him oddly, “we are?” 

“Private.” 

You’re confused but lead him to your bedroom. Peter didn’t know how to tell you he was about to cry, but when he did he didn’t want your roommate seeing it. 

You wait for Peter’s lead when you reach your room, he pushes you towards your bed for you to take a seat, he stands between your legs and cups your face. Peter tilts your head up until he’s looking down into your eyes, he looks troubled. A small tired grin hugged his lips, “hi baby.” 

“Hi, peter.” you whispered soft, his thumb brushed your bottom lip. 

He takes in a deep breath like he’s remembered the task at hand. 

“I’m about to tell you something I haven’t told anyone else, and it’s a different Peter than you’re used to.” Peter presses a kiss to your forehead and steps back, this time he takes a seat at your desk chair. 

“I don’t think you're needy. I don’t even know what to say, cause like, fuck… I don’t, look, spider-man has a lot of people that need him, right? And he works hard all day and has no one to share it with, but I do. I get to tell you about my shit days, and you’ll patch me up and I’ll pretend to leave just so you can ask me to stay over, and honestly? It feels nice to have someone who needs Peter and not spider-man for once.” 

You try to speak but he stops you, he looks like he’s about to cry. 

“I look forward to it too much. I fucking sit here and play pretend, like it’s a chore to spend time with you, and you always ask me how I do it so good and I’m just so used to hiding it. I’m so used to hiding this lonely feeling, like nothing is enough, and then I had you.” 

Peter shakes his head slowly, he wipes at his nose. Tears drop casually with every few blinks as he speaks, you want to hold him to you forever. 

“I didn’t have to do anything because you did, you made all the decisions I wanted to in the first place. I love when you ask me to fix things, and when you want me to spend every second with you, when you want me to skip a night out, when you get me to stay over for the third night in a row.” 

Peter wipes his eyes, he sniffs and breathes out shakily, this is what it’s about, right? 

“Baby, you aren’t needy. I am.”

“And you projected that on me.” It wasn’t a question. 

He laughs, a tear drips down his nose, he wipes it away.

“I’ve never felt so needed and wanted in my life, and I am so terrified I’ll fuck it up and lose it all.” 

You’d never do that, if the relationship ends it won’t be on your terms.

Finally you stand and sit on his lap, he welcomes you and for the first time you notice how tight he’s always wanted to hold you, forever stuck in his grasp. You straighten the collar on his shirt and fix his hair, his eyes shiny from his tears. 

“You could, you could fuck it all up and lose it.” 

You press your forehead against his, “but I need you too much.” 

[bluegiragi]

FAQ + COD series masterpost (MONSTER AU + SOAPBOX UNDER THE CUT)

CONTENT WARNING: This blog contains explicit 18+ content! If you are a minor, please do not follow or interact!

(This counts for people who are 17 as well, 18 is truly the minimum age I'd be alright with.)

Commissions: [CLOSED]

Twitter

Patreon (NSFW and early access)

--

Frequently Asked Questions:

(read through the #askbox tag before asking to see if I’ve already answered! repeat questions and spam will be deleted.)

1. What program and brush do you use?

Clip Studio Paint, and I alternate between two brushes: fat sketcher 2 from stealthnacho’s brushset, and short vertical bar (dual brush) from sparth’s art pack 1

2. What tablet do you use?

I use a Surface Pro 8, which is a laptop where you can draw directly onto the screen. However, this is a really pricey purchase and before I had it, I used an Intuous Tablet for 6 years and loved it.

3.Can I repost your art on other platforms?

You can, but please credit me every time!

4.Can I write a fic/make fanart/ make an OC based on your AU?

Yeah sure!

5.Have you thought of what monster [insert character] would be? / Will you be adding [insert character] to the monster AU?

If I haven’t talked about certain characters already, I probably won’t at all. And I don’t have anything against these characters, but it’s more like I’m largely indifferent and have 0 thoughts. Do what you will, I made my AU as a sandbox for others to play in too, so you decide what to do with these characters!

6.Will you ever draw Konig/Soapbox again?

If I feel like it, probably! But the brainrot where it was the main focus has definitely passed <3

7. Can I use your art for c.ai/ character bots?

I'd really prefer it if you didn't, sorry! I take a largely anti-AI stance on most things now.

-

MONSTER 141 AU

extra | team 141 character introductions

extra | konig + horangi character introductions

extra | las almas crew + graves character introduction

part ? | price/gaz rooftop talks

part 1 | bag of tricks

part 2 | ghost/soap muzzle

part 3 | price+ghost check in

part 4 | ghost + soap + gaz in action (part 1)

part 5 | ghost + soap + gaz in action (part 2)

part 6 | ghost + soap + gaz in action (part 3) 

part 7 | sketchdump 1

part 8 | ghost/soap chasing tail

part 9 | soap/fantasy!ghost (full vers on patreon)

part 10 | ghost/soap docile

part 11 | ghost/price due diligence

part 11.5 | ghost/soap due diligence (nsfw - only available on patreon)

part 12 | ghost/price holding back pt 1

part 13 | ghost/price holding back pt 2

part 14 | soap/gaz doing things blind (only available on patreon)

part 15 | konig/horangi clear

part 16 | sketchdump 2

part 17 | debrief

part 18 | ghost/soap work it out (part 1)

part 19 | ghost/soap work it out (part 2)

part 20 | cockatrice (part 1)

part 21 | cockatrice (part 2)

part 22 | sketchdump 3/puppy playtime

part 23 | new moon (part 1)

part 24 | new moon (part 2)

part 25 | new moon (part 3) 

part 26 | open book

part 27 | face to a name

part 28 | before

part 29 | that’s an order

part 30 | diplomacy

part 31 | mr riley

part 32 | human

part 33 | wraith part 34 | sitting ducks part 35 | negotiations part 36 | monster part 37 | bloodsucker part 38 | the lieutenant's arrived part 39 | he keeps his promises part 40 | i'm sorry john. part 41 | mutt part 42 | limitations part 1 part 43 | limitations part 2 part 44 | limitations part 3 part 45 | hoard (full comic on patreon) part 46 | hoard part 2 (full comic on patreon) part 47 | mask off part 48 | aware part 1 part 49 | aware part 2 part 50 | reward (part 1) (suggestive) part 51 | reward (part 2) (nsfw - full comic only available on patreon) part 52 | reward (part 3) (nsfw - full comic only available on patreon) part 53 | catchup part 54 | brief part 55 | group huddle part 56 | quid pro quo part 57 | wing thing part 58 | generous part 59 | learning moment (part 1) part 60 | learning moment (part 2) part 61 | shy part 62 | the viper and the vampire part 63 | easy pickings part 64 | bogey part 65 | trapdoor part 66 | birdie part 67 | detonate

SOAPBOX SAGA (SOAP/GHOST/KONIG SERIES)

part 1 | konig/soap first meeting

part 2 | ghost/soap kid and a cookie jar (full vers on patreon)

part 3 | ghost/konig spar pt 1

part 4 | ghost/konig spar pt 2

extra | ghost + konig facecanons

part 5 | ghost/soap heart to heart

part 6 | ghost/konig grow a pair

part 7 | konig/soap do something

part 8 | konig/soap/ghost rough part 1 (full vers on patreon)

part 9 | konig/soap/ghost rough part 2 (full vers on patreon)

part 10 | trio feat. price mission start

part 11 | trio feat!unmasked konig

part 12 | trio feat! unmasked konig pull yourself together

part 13 | konig fantasises (full vers on patreon)

part 14 | ghost/konig feat. soap private lesson

part 15 | ghost/konig/soap lieutenant’s room

part 16 | ghost/konig/soap good for us (full vers on patreon)

[chukys-mouthguard]

#21 fluff for Matt Rempe please :)

Prompt: “You’re the only one I have opened up to like this.”

“Did it hurt?”

You hand hesitantly moving to touch the black and blue mark that had found its place on Matt’s eye, trying not to inflict any more pain on him.

“When I fell from heaven? Nah, it wasn’t too hard of a fall.”

Rolling your eyes at him, he couldn’t help but laugh. His humor the one thing you could always count on, no matter the situation.

“Ha ha, you’re hilarious.”

“Well I sure think so!”

The two of you sat in Matt’s apartment as you’d put in your doctor cap and attempted to help his newly acquired battle scars from yet another fight. To be honest you didn’t know how he was still actively participating in the fights. His face surely couldn’t take another punch after 3 fights in a row.

“I mean, sure it hurts. It definitely doesn’t feel good. But, I kind of signed up for this you know?”

Walking the first aid kit back to the bathroom, you’d someone scoffed at his words. “Mmm, signed up for that? I disagree. I don’t know if anyone signs up for that.”

While he understood what you meant, he disagreed. Matt always knew he wasn’t going to be the next Crosby or Ovechkin. And because of that, he had to excel in other areas.

He sighed as you rejoined him on the couch, his demeanor now changing as he seemed exhausted. His body finally waving the white flag that it needed a break.

“I just, I love hockey. So much. And, I know that I’m not the greatest skater, I’m not scoring 80 goals a season, hell I probably won’t even play 80 minutes a season. But I know that I can support the guys who can do those things. And maybe that’s through fighting. Sure, I don’t necessarily love getting my face bashed in. But I’m willing to get punched in the face, if that means getting to put on that jersey and play in a place like Madison Square Garden.”

The emotion in his voice almost bringing you to tears, you knew how much he loved the sport. But hearing him talk about it like this, hearing him be vulnerable and not the joking goof ball he normally was. It was refreshing. For him to just be Matt Rempe, a normal 21 year old guy who is working his butt off to make a name for himself.

“I love that, every single thing you said. And I wish more people got to see this side of you. Because this I’m sure is more meaningful to people. Your love and passion for the sport, I’m sure your teammates would love to hear you talk like this too.”

He shyly laughed as he tried to climb off his sappy soapbox.

“You’re the only one I’ve opened up to like this.”

His fingers intertwined with yours as he leaned in to give you a kiss. A thank you for being by his side and supporting him through it all. And for putting up with him on days he looked like he’d been in a horrific bar fight.

“Well, I’m honored that you opened up to me. Now, let’s get you into bed, I have a feeling someone is definitely sleeping in tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, please don’t wake me until at least 7pm.”

[h0llyw0lly]

THIS!!! This is exactly it!! I studied elementary education in college and taught preschool for 10 years, and I worked SO HARD trying to build a lasting passion for learning that I knew was just gonna be eaten up by the education system in a few years. It is AWFUL to see, and it’s sooo discouraging to the teachers as well as students. I hate that the people who have power to FIX things don’t think it’s a broken system.

And then they expect us to parent these children on top of everything else that’s required of being a teacher nowadays (there’s so much, pls don’t make me list it all) and it’s like…why is it even a question that there are teacher shortages?? Especially when we’re paid crap wages for the mountain of work we do—nevermind that many of the materials we use for the classroom is purchased by ourselves.

This is why. The toll greatly outweighs any benefit.

I’ve worked at a charter school for three months and yeah. It’s a test score factory. It is very much a business that sells test scores. Maybe this is just because I came in during “testing season” but the fact that January through May is “testing season” is exactly the fucking problem.

[jackina-box]

sooo this is kind of belated but happy anniversary to Stage Craft Studio’s Ride the Cyclone!! yknow, the one where Jane and Ocean were dating? that was us!! yes we’re still dating and yes we all still talk !! it’s super cool!!

also some pics! some that we haven’t even posted yet!! whoa!!

now it’s time for me to get up on my soapbox. our production was a labor of love and passion, scout (aka our Jane aka @noodlescout ) and i worked our BUTTS off making this production the absolute best it could be based off our budget, physical capabilities, and resources. it was really cool and im really proud of what we did!! was it the fanciest? no. was it the most high tech? not even close. but it was ours and we made it and we love it !! and it was really good!! that being said, our largest audience only had 40 people in it. yep. 40. i’m not exaggerating, that was our house count. we were not able to celebrate the amazing production we had, because nobody saw it. so this is my call to the void saying COME SEE LIVE THEATRE!!! support local theatre and local artists!!! support small businesses, which Stage Craft Studio is!!!! the audience is just as integral a part of a production as the cast and crew because without an audience… who are we performing for? of course art for arts sake is just as fulfilling and satisfying, but small theatre companies can’t survive without audiences. so yeah anyways i’ll make a fun post after this but this is my call out to the void and reminder to SEE LIVE LOCAL THEATRE IF YOU CAN!!! otherwise it will literally die. the ability to do community theatre is reliant upon the community as a WHOLE, not just the community performing it. we did ride the cyclone at the HEIGHT of its popularity, and nobody really saw it which sucks because i KNOW we deserved an audience. anyways. off my soapbox now.

TLDR: see live local theatre and keep the arts alive!! also long live scs rtc, gone but never forgotten :,) also i know a guy who might have a tutorial about how to make roller coaster themed slime scs version happy anniversary!!

[sparklepocalypse]

Soapbox moment incoming --

We love a rarepair writer, but -- there's evidence that one of the most prolific Alex/Raf posters on Ao3 right now is using ChatGPT to generate their fics instead of actually writing them. They removed the line when they were called out on it, but when they initially posted one of their works, they left "Chat GPT said..." at the top of a chapter. They've also evidently systematically deleted any comments suggesting they're using AI.

This same user "wrote" a POV switch of a fic that another person in the fandom put actual, significant mental energy and time into creating, and there's no doubt in my mind that this was also ChatGPT-generated. I have blocked this user on Ao3, but blocking someone on the site only prevents their works from showing up in search for you, and prevents them from commenting on yours. It doesn't prevent them from seeing your works, or you know, copying and pasting them wholesale into a natural language processing site or app and having it word vomit out "their" version of a work so they can post it as their own "writing."

If your immediate response to this is "Telling people not to use AI to write is ableist," you can shove that bullshit right up your ass, because they're stealing words that other people in the fandom have created and claiming they put the same sort of time and energy into them as people who actually write. But, if your immediate response is "Yeah, fuck this noise, who the fuck does this person think they are," then you are precisely my sort of person.

And listen, I'm not saying AI isn't useful. There are certainly a lot of practical applications for AI. However, there's a line about a mile wide between using AI as a tool to help you when you're stuck or looking for ideas (or hell, using it professionally to turn your recorded meeting transcript into meeting notes), and just saying "fuck it," and passing off AI's regurgitation as your own work. It's not your work, nor will it ever be; it's other people's work and you are using AI to steal it, and then basking in the easy dopamine hit from the recognition that it gets once you hit post. Fucking stoppit.

If you find works on Ao3 that are generated by AI, please note that while AI-generated works are not in and of themselves banned by the site (because, sadly, it'd be almost impossible for the Ao3 team to identify and ban them all at this point), plagiarism is explicitly against the site's Terms of Service and you should report plagiarized works for content violations. (Don't submit more than one report per user; their small but mighty team of volunteers doesn't need to be spammed about the same person to address a concern.)

[fadingtostardust]

Jegulus Gamer - Microfic p2

Needless to say James didn’t get anything done that night. He wanted to, he tried… but he’s a weak man. Whispering Wanderer’s voice was just so captivating. He wanted to listen to every word that dropped to the mic and blessed his ears.

Needless to say it’s been 3 weeks and James hasn’t been back because it’s midterm and he HAS to do well. He does have SOME self control… but it’s been hard because the idiot subscribed to the channel and Whispering Wanderer goes live 3 times a week; James knows from all the notifications he’s had to fight against. 9 times he’s yearned to hear that voice again. 9 times he fought to stay away for his own betterment. It’s not like the streamer would notice anyways. He’d been there once and there were close to 300 people in his stream.

But now… midterms were over and James was free. Coincidentally it was Tuesday too. Huzzah. James had taken his last midterm this morning, stopped by the coffee shop for a good cuppa and started walking back to his apartment. It was autumn and the leaves were changing colors in Edinburgh.

James was studying History of Art at the University of Edinburgh in hope to go into Meusum management or curation later on. He hadn’t quite decided which direction but James knew he loved to observe beautiful things. Not only beautiful things… but WHY something was beautiful to someone or some culture. It was mesmerizing.

James’ mother Effie often teased him about how he couldn’t sit still EXCEPT when he was listing to someone soapbox about a passion or interest. It was just… intoxicating and James was there to soak it in. The small little things that no one else cared to notice or remember.

James had a feeling that this Wandering Whisperer was made of small little things. A collage of things that may seem insignificant to others but were so important when combined into one whole. It was like the hours a curator would put into mapping an exhibit. Carefully placing art and pondering on which pieces should be together either for similarities or contrast.

James’ keys tinkled as he unlocked the door to his apartment, sliding off his shoes, and throwing his coat over the back of the kitchenette chair that was close by. It was a small apartment, but cozy, and James was lucky to have the place to himself. He could come and go as he pleased, host friends, and in most weeks… let it get a little messier than entirely necessary.

James walked over to his PC and booted it up as he changed into his favorite jumper and pair of sweats. The stream had already started but that was ok. He didn’t have to be “on time” and streams usually lasted 3-6 hours just depending. When James opened Twitch the BRB screen was on but everyone was chatting.

Prongs: Hey everyone!

Padfoot: Hey Prongsi boy! Welcome back.

ChaoticChaos: Die. Nah, I’m joking… mostly.

WistfulWhistles: Hey Prongs! I was just thinking about you! Wondered where you ended up but I had a feeling you’ve been busy. It’s midterms season right?

James was surprised at the welcome. He didn’t think anyone would remember him. As he was typing his reply the screen changed and there was Tiny Glade and the star.

Whispering Wanderer: I see you all blowing up chat. What’s going on?

<they all wait as he catches up>

Whispering Wanderer: Oh, hi prongs. Welcome back. It’s been what three weeks? How’ve you been?

James freezes, stunned that he had drawn enough attention to be remembered AND…. he knew how long it’s been.

Padfoot: No one’s been keeping track or anything ^\\\^

ChaoticChaos: @@

Whispering Wanderer: It was a simple guess guys. Calm down.

James kept swinging from the elated feeling of being noticed to the deflate of Wanderer’s previous statement. Of course he could have just threw out a random length of time. It was silly to think it was anything more…

Prongs: Yeah… midterms. Had to study. You know. But I’m back. Ready to watch and have fun on tiny glade.\{^-^}/

Whispering Wanderer: *chuckles* well we’re glad you’re here. We’re still hooked on Tiny Glade. I’m trying to decide porch or no porch.

James thought for a minute and then typed quickly.

Prongs: Porch. You have to have a place to sit and look at the stars.

There was silence for a minute and it made James antsy. Did he say something wrong? This is when he wished there was a face instead of an avatar… input on feelings and processing was SO limited.

Whispering Wanderer: True.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for breaking up with someone over fishkeeping and cat food? I know how the title sounds but hear me out. This happened a couple years ago and I'm still friends with the people this happened with but it still weighs on me. So I have always been kind of militant about husbandry when it comes to the animals I keep(autistic, it' a special interest) and I don't really like to deal with people who don't take caring for living creatures they willingly bring into their home seriously. I sold a fish tank to my, then, partner J who wanted to get into fish keeping. J and D, our other partner, lived together. After taking the tank home and cleaning it up we were throwing around ideas for what to put in it. It wasn't too big but also not small, but he kept throwing out species that would far outgrow the tank or species that would fight and kill each other. Every time I shot these species down J took it well, realizing the space was either too small or they would die and didn't want the fish in improper conditions but D kept telling me not to "squash his creativity" and he could "do whatever as long as it made him happy". At this I obviously hopped on my soapbox about how it's our duty as animal owners to give the animals we keep proper conditions and D went absolutely off on me and mentioned how I care "too much" about how other people keep their animals and had always made her feel bad about how she feeds her cats and now I was doing this. For context my cat eats a raw diet. I did a lot of research and talked to my vet and he's doing wonderfully while one of her cats is extremely overweight to the point he waddles instead of walking and the other two are getting there as well, both of which I've brought up concerns about but I have NEVER shamed the way she fed her animals. She had been interested in the interest I had taken and had ASKED for better quality food recommendations, so I gave them, but NEVER told her she had to feed them a certain way. A majority of our conversations were just me info-dumping and her being happy to listen and ask questions occasionally. Anyway J kind of backed out of the conversation at this and D and I went back and forth a bit before D finally said "I don't think this relationship is going to work out if you won't let this go"(This being I have pointed out one of her cats is grossly overweight a couple times and it's extremely unhealthy, especially since he's aging now) so I said "Yeah I think so too. This is something I clearly care a lot about and I'm not going to be with someone who puts their own or their partner's feelings over the well-being of the animals they are responsible for"(referencing when she said a few times when talking about the fish that it was okay if the fish killed each other or died from improper conditions as long as J was happy with how the tank looked and "it's not like we're putting kittens in with sharks, they're Just Fish") and we broke up there and then. Since then we've still stayed close friends after a short break from each other(I'm actually her Man of Honor in her upcoming wedding to J!) and she's actually made moves to better the quality of the food she buys her cats and is working on getting her obese cat's weight down and J's fish tank hobby is going very well(with proper keeping standards!!). But the situation at the time still weighs on me and even though we're genuinely too busy with work and life to make a relationship work anymore anyway and that was also a factor of the breakup.... AITA for beginning a breakup over animal husbandry?

What are these acronyms?

[exeggcute]

the internet and Tumblr in general was already full of shut ins with anxiety and COVID has obviously transformed many of them into hypochondriac agoraphobes who are well trained on moralizing lol. there are people who still think we should never have ended lockdown and that it somehow had no negative social or economic impacts, or at least that the economy is fake enough that those impacts weren't really real

lol yeah. answering this in daylight hours I feel like I should preface it with a note about how I've been masking consistently for four years straight (and have only recently started easing up in certain situations), have lost respect for and/or ended friendships with people who were doing reckless shit during the height of the pandemic, all that. god knows I have an anxious hypochondriac shut-in streak lol. but if the bitch with contamination OCD who's been doing the "disinfect your phone when you get home" thing for years and years before covid and who has literal nightmares about people wearing shoes in my house is like hey guys I think you might be exaggerating some of this just a bit. well. imagine how literally anyone else is gonna feel...

also for reference the thing that got me on this soapbox was an article I saw shared on bluesky about how san francisco is currently experiencing "the highest covid wastewater rates ever measured," which immediately sounded off to me, so I read the damn article, and what it actually seemed to be saying was that there's a summer spike in CA right now same as there's been for the last several summers, and SF currently has a higher rate than any other region in CA at the moment. (the article was legit poorly written to the point where it was hard to tell, but a different wastewater graph someone pulled up seemed to corroborate my reading of this. the current spike is still a fraction of pre-vaccine spikes.)

which, like, is useful information even without the embellishment! I would appreciate knowing that so I could adjust my behavior accordingly. and I'd like to believe that your average person who's receptive to stuff would also take the truth in good stride. so why do we have to fucking lie about it lol.

and to some extent I really do get the impulse to catastrophize because there's no way around it: we super duper fucked up the initial covid response. many individuals were callous and most institutions failed to protect us. but at the same time (1) barn door situation and (2) I don't think exaggerating risks now does anything to compensate for the downplayed risks being peddled to us for the last several years. it's more than fair to celebrate wins when they come (all the new tools in our anti-covid toolbelt, improved case/death rates) without erasing the many many losses up to this point.

still gonna wear a mask on airplanes and shit for the rest of my life though. I'm glad that's an iota more socially acceptable now (and jealous of places where it's already been the norm this whole time) because people are fucking nasty!!!

[imaginespazzi]

Hiiiii Nivi. Saw a Preath post and now I am back in my Preath days all over again, but I wanted to talk about how similar Pazzi is to Preath 😭

I know we’ve talked about the basics and how Paige = Tobin, and Azzi = Christen. But it’s crazyyy how true it actually is 😭

Paige/PB are your basic white girls that are attractive and have that masculine vibe to them. They both have their flashy ways of playing, but always put teammates over anything. Tobin and PB give “quiet leader vibes” (I think PB is probs more vocal, but that’s just bc of her team and who she plays with). I also would say that Tobin and PB are both all around players. Tobin being a great winger, was amazing in the midfield for us for a while, and also has a good defensive presence and played RB for us as well during that cursed Rio Olympics 😭😭. And obvs PB is a 3 level scorer, but also a 2 way player (I think we do not appreciate her defense enough tho!!)

Azzi/CP are your “they were so pretty they were bullied in school and called ‘pretty girl pretty girl’” meme (LOL). Both are princesses and sweet, but lethal on the court/field. (Azzi and Press being sharp shooters and also quick asfff respectively). I constantly think about how silky smooth Azzi’s shoot is and how you always want her to be taking the shot. Meanwhile, Press is amazing at creating her own shot and any sliver of daylight, she’s pulling the trigger and it’s going to be a GOLAZO. I also think both players could have been in the limelight more, but bc of other teammates (Paige for Azzi, and Alex Morgan for CP) and their bad timing with injuries, people/media don’t appreciate them enough.

All 4 of them have battled injuries, all of them being knee injuries as well 😭 I just think it’s insane how we’ve talked about the dynamic of Preath/Pazzi and how similar they are, but individually, they are all so eerily similar as well LMAO

Okay, I’ll get off of my soap box now. I hope you slightly enjoyed this breakdown Nivi! Can’t wait to see what you say and what other comparisons you can think about haha 🫶🫶

Hi lovely <3

I love soapbox asks. They're my favorite so like y'all please never hesitate to send me long asks.

I think I've subconsciously had all of these thoughts but damn seeing it all laid out like that, the parallels go kind of insane. I think we often talk about it in terms of personality, but yeah Paige-Tobin and Azzi-Christen have such similar playing styles, it's actually uncanny.

Okay I actually do have a parallel that I've been thinking about and it's about Gemini-Capricorn (Preath) parings and Libra-Scorpio (Pazzi) pairing. Both of these pairings are very much opposites attract pairings (which we see in real life obviously) to the point where honestly in most situations, these pairings aren't compatible. Except from what I've read, there are certain exceptions who know how to take their opposite approaches to various problems in life and find the perfect way to mesh them together. As a result the "exception" are some of the most strongest couples there can be and I think that's kinda beautiful because I think both Pazzi/Preath together and individually are the exception to so many supposed rules.

[blackstarising]

oooh people aren’t gonna like this part but when it comes to this discussion of miguel o'hara being racially fetishized (and I do believe it's happening, mind you) I think it’s really important to note - and I am metaphorically sitting down and saying this gently in my Auntie voice - that you're not automatically exempt from this conversation if you're a creator of color yourself. like, you're not, I'm sorry.

I'm not latine so I'm not speaking to latine creators here, but I am black, yeah? and you might not like to hear this but we are Just as capable of perpetuating the hypersexualization of minority bodies as anyone else. we do not get a pass, okay? we do it too, and to be blunt, that shit is not acceptable nor is it at all cute.

now before someone comes in saying “oh, so I can't be attracted to him?? he can't be sexual??” I think you know very well that is not my point here. my point is that the miguel o'hara tag is predominantly sexualized content right now - it's about breeding, it's about biting, it's about possessiveness and aggressive sex, fan art is constantly accentuating his physical size, and it would be FINE if this content wasn't the exclusive majority. but it is so, so dominant and creators of color are doing it too and we have to be accountable.

creators of color, especially black creators, I am not disregarding the time you've spent on your work. I know that some of the content you are creating is also for readers who aren't represented. but, please, I am asking you to be careful. I am asking you to think critically about the content you both consume and create. I am asking you to ask yourselves why you might be inclined to exclusively associate this darker skinned man with violence. I am asking you to ask yourselves if you're only considering him speaking another language in a sexual context. I am asking you to think very carefully about why you might feel tempted to fixate on quote-unquote animalistic traits. I get up on this rusty fandom soapbox every now and then because I do believe that fandom is not without implication. we perpetuate racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other forms of bigotry in fandom as it is modeled in the real world. and the hypersexualization of black and brown bodies is very, scarily real, and it has real world implications that include adultification and sexual violence.

like, that's the issue here. look, I’m not trying to be the fandom police. I'm not telling you to stop writing or drawing. I'm not telling you to turn off your feelings. and I can block tags, I can monitor my own media consumption, and I will. but this doesn't exist in a vacuum and yes, white people should be called out but don't think we get a pass and don't think we shouldn't examine our own works because we're people of color too.

[ratcandy]

After Consideration, I probably won't be outright avoiding PT stuff as god dammit if my brain didn't latch on like a motherfucker, but I won't be posting anything here (or on the artblog) about it for those who may be Uncomfortable

Mostly just holding onto some optimism that something'll be done to fix the lingering issues. Should my hopes be unfounded, well. Piss, ig

Oh for fucks sake