#sounds like of all the online communities it certainly was one of them!!!

[saintbleeding]

anyway you're cool as hell and as someone who decided to generally avoid a lot of fandom stuff while tma was still going I'm glad I ended up finding your general corner of the fandom! So there!! Cool as hell!!

hi this is literally like just mindin my business and having apollo gift me, rather than with prophecy, with a Cool Mutual award, and im just gonna have to live the rest of my life knowing that this once occurred, and i am so normal

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

My dear lgbt+ kids,

I feel like advice on loneliness comes in only three flavors:

"It's all mindset, learn to embrace being alone and you'll never feel lonely!"

"Your head is lying to you, you have friends and they love you!"

"Here's a list of places you can go to hang out with people and make new friends!"

Those are usually well-meant and I'm sure there are situations where they do help someone feel better - but they're definitely not universally applicable.

The first one is even plain wrong: connection is a basic human need. You can't just "change your mindset" and turn that off, the same way you can't turn off your need for food or air or mental stimulation. Humans are group animals. We absolutely need social interactions to stay healthy and sane. It is true that some people do not need a large number of friends and are happiest with just one or two close friends, and it is also true that some people prefer to fulfill their social needs in other ways than what's traditionally defined as friendship - but that's not something you can (or should) try to train yourself to do, that's just natural differences and preferences!

The only thing you could "train" yourself to do would be to learn to ignore your social needs and bury them deep down under layers of denial... and you don't need me to explain to you why that's a very unhealthy idea. It's sad enough that so many people have to do that to not lose their minds in loneliness, we certainly don't need to celebrate an unhealthy coping skill as a "superior mindset".

The other two at least get a bit closer to the truth: the solution for your unmet need is not to kill the need, but to fulfill it... but that's easier said than done, isn't it?

After all, "Don't worry, your friends love you!" doesn't help if you have no friends. Loneliness is not always "all in your head": Maybe you moved to a new place and don't know anyone there. Or you cut off contact with all your friends after a big fight. Or you grew up neurodivergent (or got mentally ill at a young age) and had no chance to learn how to make friends at the age most kids do, and by now you have been friendless for so long you don't even know where to start.

Same with "just go to a bar and talk to some new people" or "Take a pottery class and you'll meet some interesting people there" - that's not factually wrong, but also not helpful if the reason you feel lonely is that you struggle to make friends (or even struggle to just talk to people). Which can also be part of neurodivergence or mental illness, or just be a part of your personality (shyness), or be a result of isolating circumstances (like having spent a lot of time in a closed environment, for example a long hospital stay, and now feeling unsure how to connect with people outside of that environment). 

And those are just a few of the many, many possible explanations why someone may be lonely that require a more individualized approach - which is why we can’t solve loneliness with any one-size-fits-all solution.

That may be a somewhat disappointing-sounding conclusion in a letter on loneliness, so let me also tell you: hope and support are always within reach, even if it might take some time and patience to find them. The key is to remember that your feelings are valid and that you're not alone in your struggle.

First, recognize that admitting that you feel lonely, and wanting to take action based on that feeling, is a sign of strength, not weakness. You’re pretty insightful for recognizing your loneliness and super brave for wanting to reach out!

Secondly, be kind to yourself and allow yourself to take small steps. Small, actually manageable steps are crucial in any healing journey! If it’s not an option to just go to the bar or that pottery class, then it’s okay to start somewhere else. Maybe a therapist, a support group, or even online communities can be valuable “training sessions” for social connections. Even reaching out to one single person can make a significant difference over time. Your journey to finding companionship and connection might be different from someone else’s, but that doesn't make it any less valid (or achievable!).

Lastly, do consider embracing new activities that you may enjoy - but not just for the sake of meeting others. It’s important to nurture your own happiness and well-being when you’re feeling lonely. Those can be activities you can try out alone and even at home, for now! Anything that enriches your life is good. Long down the road, maybe it will lead to opportunities to connect with others, but even if it doesn’t: it’s important to incorporate new experiences into your life.

While there isn't a universal solution to loneliness, I truly believe there is a path forward for everyone. It's all about finding what works for you.

With all my love,

Your Tumblr Dad

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Alright here's the deal:

no, it doesn't really matter if cartoons misrepresent dinosaurs. Almost like most people don't really spend their time critiquing them (I certainly don't, unless someone asks me to, and then it's cause they asked)

The representation of dinosaurs and the deep past actually does matter, because it completely disproves the founding myths of society that have lead to climate change and environmental destruction. I can explain why, but I'm trying to be brief.

If you really think that paleontologists who use social media - ie, all of them, because unfortunately online science communication is now a mandatory part of being a scientist - want to spend all their time critiquing dinosaur designs, you are very, very, very wrong

Thinking that living things matter more than dead things is so illogical (everything living one day becomes dead. the past matters) that it sounds like a twelve year old whining about studying for their bar mitzvah.

Misinformation of any kind is bad and you should be against it. Acting like some is okay while others aren't is just... picking and choosing favorites. Way to be consistent.

The end.

[artist-issues]

this my sound silly, but do you have any advice on how you come up with something to say for a story?

I think you're right that good art has something to say and communicates it well. That's certainly true of every story I've ever loved.

But while I love inventing fantasy worlds, you've made me realize I've never actually planned to say anything with them.

I've got lots of opinions, lots of beliefs, lots of stuff to say, but now that I realize I need to, it's been hard to pick one of those to be the core point of a story.

the trouble is, the dominant writing advice I saw online was the opposite. that stories made for the purpose of communicating a message or promoting something just turn into preachy propaganda, so the best way to make a good story (that, dare I invoke the curse, appealed to a wider audience) was to muddy it so you could take away as many interpretations from it as possible. thus most of the material I've given myself to work with has been slightly poisoned.

I really like how you said all of that! I agree with your assessment of the advice most people give.

Here's how I do it:

A loose concept, like a disgraced knight falling in love with the King's head of staff who's come to live in the village he's hiding in, will pop into my brain. I'll like the concept. I'll imagine one or two interactions between them that I just like.

But when it comes time to write anything down, even just for my own notes—then it's time to find a message. And usually that's not hard, or at least, that's not disingenuous, because:

what I believe, my worldview, was already subliminally shaping the things that I liked.

So then as I go to write down the names, the histories, the plot points, of my fun little knight love story idea, I find that something kind of...readily fits them.

But now here's the catch; it really helps to know what you believe, and to feel strongly about it, for all of that to come as naturally as possible.

About Propaganda "versus" Stories:

It's a lie to say that something which is created to say something is always propaganda, and something which is created with no careful point thought out is always art. Silly thing to believe. It's like saying "all words are propaganda." No, all words are communication. It's not our fault they don't like that we know what we want to say, and we want them to understand it clearly.

I mean. All art is propaganda, if by "propaganda" or "preachy" you mean, "I tried to take what was going on in my head & heart and put it in your head & heart." All art, all storytelling, is that. Otherwise you'd just keep what you think and feel bouncing around in your own brain, instead of doing anything outward (writing, drawing, painting, singing, speaking, reacting with your body language) with it.

I think what people are getting at when they say "avoid being preachy" or "that's not art, it's propaganda" is "you weren't being genuine." And that can be true. Sometimes people can tack a meaning onto a movie or a story where it doesn't fit because they either a) don't believe that strongly in the thing themselves, but everyone around them was clamoring for it or b) they were lazy and didn't do the work to make the story fit, genuinely, with the message, in a way that enhances and makes the message winsome.

But as bad as those two mistakes are, neither of them prove that intending to say something with your story, very carefully and genuinely, that you don't want misinterpreted, is somehow a bad thing.

Look at the fairy tales that the Brothers' Grimm collected. Look at any stories from the time before commercialism: Our oldest stories combined genuine enjoyment with the virtues and meanings that made enjoyment possible/worthwhile.

Anyway. I have a feeling you agree with me already about this so I'll hop down off that soap box.

What Comes First: Having Fun Making What You Like, or Choosing Something to Say?

I don't think it is wrong to tell a story that...you didn't have an intended thesis written down for. I think people like J.R.R. Tolkien and Walter Elias Disney prove that. But the thing is, what they believed got infused into their storytelling, because of course it did. It can't help it. When you want the audience to like your lead character, you make her likeable—but the traits you think are likeable are informed by something.

Snow White is innocent and pure because Walt Disney naturally considered those things beautiful and good and worth liking. He probably didn't even think to write it down and revolve everything around it: it just came out that way.

Frodo is a little scholar, and willing to soldier on with what little he can do, despite his lack of experience, because those are character traits Tolkien felt were good and likeable. Why? Because deep down, in his worldview, he believes being book-smart and doing what you can with what you have is valuable. And that just...comes out, much like his valuing of history, in the thing he creates.

Now, if they didn't know what they believed--or if they were insecure people "blown about by every wind of false doctrine" that comes their way--or if they were focused more on satisfying what the largest number of people liked--they wouldn't have been able to infuse the story with any genuine meaning, planned-out or natural.

That's what I think.

I think it's all a matter of loving what's good and true. Training your affections, so that you care most about things that are worth caring about—the things you feel most strongly about in characters will be the things you feel most strongly about in life. I love Stitch because I love redemption. Not primarily because I love sci-fi characters, the color blue, or the blend of ugly-and-cute—even though I do like those things on a more minor scale. See?

But if you've trained your affections for junk food—you feel most strongly appreciative of characters that are hot, or spout off funny one-liners, or come onscreen to cool music—then that's what will naturally come up in your own storytelling.

There's also nothing wrong with doing it the other way; saying you want to teach a certain lesson, and then coming up with characters and settings to fit that lesson. Coming at it from that direction is just as valid—as long as you put in the work, and care more about that lesson you genuinely believe in than you do what other people think.

Anyway,

To Write Your Own Main Point/Thesis/Armature/Theme

When it’s time to start writing anything down, it’s time to figure out the main point, and that’s when I...typically think about what I'd want to teach the kids I'm around, to be honest.

With my disgraced-knight love story, I go "what is it he loves about the girl, in all those vague vibe-y scenes I’ve been picturing?" And I make the connection between her virtuous character traits to what I want him, the main character, to learn.

So for example, she used to live in the palace, working for the King, but she was humble enough to give all that up and live in a no-name town to take care of her stepfather. He's disgraced and doesn't want anyone to know who he is—well, that's a pride issue, totally the opposite of how humble his love interest is. And why’s she humble? Because she’s not focused on herself. She doesn’t care about her own reputation or status. So then I just reverse engineer that: the point of the story is "Live in the King's name, not your own." Now one of the two main characters embodies that—the other has to learn it, and the story is the obstacle course he’s pushed through to get there.

I wasn't consciously thinking about making her the king's former head of staff, or him disgraced, when I first came up with the vague concept of the story, see? I just liked the "vibe" of a hopeless dude suddenly seeing a ray of light in the "vibe" of a girl from poor circumstances who seems happy regardless of them. I liked that "vibe." Then I traced what I liked about the vibe back to something that is true and worth teaching or appreciating in real life.

I’m in a job I don’t love right now, and it could make me miserable, but if I just remember “in everything you do, whether in word or in deed, do for the glory of the Lord,” then my focus isn’t on myself and I have joy and hope. And that hope can be used to point others, around me, to hope, too. So I’m not “preaching” something disingenuous; I’m living it, because this is what I believe, so no wonder it’s also leaking it’s way into my story. I just happen to be creating a pipe so that the leak flows more smoothly, which can only help, in the long run.

But I’ve done it other ways, too. Once I watched kind of from afar as a friend’s family fell apart. I felt like, from the outside, I could see where one of my friends was hurting and what they needed to accept (from the Bible) to move forward, but I wasn’t in a position to say it to my friend directly. Then I figured, “if my one friend is going through this situation, others probably are too, and this lesson from the Bible is universal anyway” so I…made up an analogy for the way their family fell apart, then came up with an ending that taught the “family” in the analogy the lesson I got from the Bible. So for that, you can see how I first came up with the main point, then built up characters and a world and a story to fit around it.

Both ways work, the chicken or the egg first. But they only work if you are committed to working hard and serving others with your story, not committed to being popular or “only making what YOU like.”

Make sense? I hope so! Thank you for the question!

[queer-ragnelle]

hello..👋👋

as someone who wants to get into arthurian legends.. where do you think I should start? is there a precise canon to follow? oh and.. this might be a stupid question but.. how would you describe guinevere's and lancelot's relationship...? i personally really like them because of what I've heard online, but i got shamed for liking it a while ago from people who really hated guinevere and said gawain or galehaut(not sure if i spelled it right) would be better for lancelot..

Hello anon!

I have a Beginner’s Guide to Medieval Arthuriana pinned on my blog. There’s no precise canon to follow, but you’ll get the most bang for your buck reading the works of Chrétien de Troyes and the Vulgate Cycle. Much of what Chrétien developed ended up in the Vulgate, like Lancelot rescuing Guinevere from kidnapping, but there are more elements added from other stories, such as Lancelot’s upbringing in the lake which originated from Lanzelet by Ulrich von Zatzikoven. On the other hand, Yvain’s journey as Knight with the Lion doesn’t make it into the Vulgate, so that’s worth reading on its own.

Regarding the part about people shaming you: block them if you haven’t already and anyone else who does so in future. I’m terribly sorry those people were unwelcoming as you begin to read and learn about Arthurian Legend. Let that not reflect on the community as a whole—there’s many lovely people here that’ll be happy to help you along. I hope you’re able to cultivate a positive online experience to the best of your ability and start enjoying the legends with us! :^D

But back to the fun stuff—I also really like Guinevere/Lancelot! My favorite dynamic is when Arthur is included too, but Guin is my number one pick for Lancey. ;^) It’s hard to describe them in so few words but I think it’s important to establish that they’re friends. This is an oft overlooked aspect that really deserves attention. They care for each other deeply. She helps him out of his madness and he helps her out of danger. This is something Arthur couldn’t do for either of them, much as he wanted to. That’s what makes the pair special, to me.

As for shipping wars about medieval characters….kinda ridiculous! And shaming other people over it is just abhorrent. I’m sorry you had to deal with that! Personally I enjoy Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot and Galehaut/Lancelot. I think it’s obvious I favor Gawain with his wife Ragnelle lol but Gawain/Lancelot is fine too. Gawain can have a little Lancelot. As a treat. I even enjoy “crackship” type pairings, like Bedivere/Lancelot or Kay/Lancelot or maybe a little [unrequited] Agravaine/Lancelot, and if the author or filmmaker chooses to write her in a positive light, Elaine/Lancelot as well. But that’s just it—there’s certainly no such thing as a “better” person(s) to couple with Lancelot. It’s literally fake. It’s fiction. It’s for fun! Doesn’t sound like the people you’ve encountered were having very much fun and put that on you, which was wrong.

Here I’d like to mention I run a discord server called the Arthurian Theater Server. Every weekend I stream TV shows and movies, mostly Arthurian, sometimes random fantasy. But it’s more than visual media—my friends and I share resources, character playlists, art we made, stories we wrote, we’ll liveblog retellings or newly discovered medlit translations, and discuss anything else Arthurian! We have custom made emojis for all the knights and ladies, a variety of original art stickers of the characters provided by several members, and an array of sounds bites ripped from films and TV for the soundboard to be played while streaming. Tumblr can be a little hard to navigate with the unreliable tag system, so this server is dedicated to an organized and moderated exchange of ideas and content. You’re welcome to join us!

Let me know if you have any other questions, it’s never a bother. Take care!

[jesncin]

Hi I love you guys' work. I know I already sent in an ask before, but I'm also a queer Indonesian creator who loves animated stories and musicals. And plans to make her own animated indie musical show on YouTube. Which is queer and based on space. And the main character is plus sized, queer, and has a non binary love interest. I wanted to ask since Indonesia is still really homophobic, how do you deal with being a queer Indonesian creator making queer content while your country is extremely homophobic. Because I often feel scared to do so because of what the government might think. Sorry for randomly asking this btw

Hello there! That sounds like a very ambitious project! Best of luck to you, I'm all for more queer space adventures.

So I'm sure to a lot of queer Indonesians looking at the work I'm doing, they're thinking "how the heck are jesncin doing all that and being so loud about it" haha. At least so far (who knows what the future holds now that my book is out) I've managed to create queer Indonesian art online for years (including smaller published work) and had very little homophobic pushback. Which I know I'm very lucky with- I've lost a lot of peers to bigoted locals and hate campaigns. It's a mix of strategies and contingencies I keep to foster as safe a space as I can.

It's a common practice among queer Indonesian activists to speak predominantly in english, something I already do because of my language barrier. Most locals don't bother interacting with an account speaking in english- weaponizing their language barrier haha. I stuck to western spaces early on, but because I drew a lot of blatantly queer Indonesian art- queer Indonesians (diaspora or otherwise) naturally flocked to my stuff. The audience filters itself. I don't interact with local discourse at all. I also stayed away from visibility events (on twidder like #artIDN or #ArtistsofIndonesia or even #tetapbangga for Malaysians) until I felt comfortable with the community I fostered to join in. It's common especially for queer tags to be monitored by bigots looking for people to pick on. Speaking of which, block and don't interact with them. Don't give into the temptation of replying to bigots because it just gives them more ammo. Their goal is to exhaust you so you lock your account and "can't spread your agenda" or whatever.

I purposefully wanted to publish my stories through an American publisher for a lot of reasons, but it certainly helps that Lunar Boy can be out and proud out there where it can't get to be in Indonesia. I notice queer authors here tend to publish either online or internationally with an independent publisher too. Still- you'd be surprised how much the local queer community is enthusiastically ready to support you. Because of the state of Indonesia as it is, everything is handled more "under the radar" for the sake of safety. My personal biggest fear is starting another moral panic incident- but the many queer Indonesian communities I've been in have their own strict rules and precautions to keep members safe. They're worried about that too, but they want to help you succeed! Once my book released, the Indonesian queer community had my back and even helped me with some author events and exclusive meetups. At least for me, it was instrumental to be connected to the local community.

That's where I am for now. I created Lunar Boy while being closeted the entire time. I've erased my queer publications from my resume when applying to author events locally. There's always some kind of assimilation that happens in the process. I'll always be scared of pushback or sparking another moral panic incident. But that's the risk this kind of representation is, isn't it? I had no one else to look up to. No other queer Indonesian graphic novelist making explicitly queer Indonesian stories. It was an isolating experience making this book. But now that I'm here, the next person who comes along won't be alone. And seeing the people who've connected to Lunar Boy, especially other queer Indonesians from all around the world, makes it so worth it.

[schizosupport]

hey there

im exploring this all still. i might be on this schizotypal-psychotic spectrum but i have a... confusion.

pretty much everything that i might classify within that diagnostic realm i experience as essentially a spiritual event. sometimes this comes with fatigue or dizziness or other physical reactions to a non-physical event. and to be clear none of this falls neatly into a given religion. i grew up around hippie type believe in whatever you want people.

i guess my question is, is it possible to tell if something is spiritual or psychotic in nature? or even if there is functionally a difference, since theres nothing physical i can point to?? this has been bothering me for a while, but largely the only information ive been able to find online vaguely indicates that having religious experiences is distinct, and doesnt elaborate on why or how, just that its a diagnostic disqualifier.

and also. thank you for this blog, its really cool and awesome to see this happening (both as a community thing and a psych special interest go brrrrrr thing)

Hello there!

The border between spirituality and psychosis can be hard to define. As you've stated, religious experiences and beliefs shared with a subculture generally aren't considered delusional, even if they aren't believed to be true by the wider society. This includes things like religious beliefs and conspiracy theories shared by groups, and it also does include some more personal spiritual beliefs, though it can be troublesome to define exactly when something is "so personal that it becomes delusional".

In my mind one important distinction is about whether you came up with the belief yourself, or whether it's something you have learned from someone else. Another important distinction is whether it's harming you. Those two don't have to follow each other. Being a part of a cult doesn't make you clinically psychotic if you were indoctrinated into your beliefs, but the beliefs can still certainly harm you. But if you got away from the group you would be able to start to unlearn the beliefs as you are presented with new evidence.

And likewise, personal beliefs that aren't shared by anyone else aren't inherently harmful. For example as a kid I believed that if I was tired, hugging a tree would give me access to a bit of its life source, and that would allow me to keep going. It was a completely harmless personal belief. I would classify relatively harmless personal belief systems as a type of magical thinking if I was wearing my pathologizing hat, but I also don't think that it is inherently a clinically problematic experience.

Now it's worth noting that there is a difference between beliefs and experiences. You are talking about "spiritual events", so that sounds like you are experiencing things that are "abnormal", and then attribute spiritual significance to them. Now I don't know the nature of said events, but if we take the most bland view of reality, then such events generally aren't a real thing that occurs, so by that logic the experience itself is a sign of some mental fuckery. And then with the pathologizing hat on, we might say that you are experiencing psychotic events, and interpreting them as spiritual events, which we might then consider delusional.

But by that logic a lot of people who aren't in treatment, and who are leading perfectly functional lives, are delusional/psychotic. And therefore I think that it's helpful to bring in the "is it harming you?" distinction. Because ultimately it's less interesting to me whether something is "psychotic" or not, and much more interesting to figure out whether it's a problem for the person experiencing the belief/events. I don't think there's any sort of moral or even functional high-ground to be found in having a super down to earth view of reality, where you only ever believe something if its been scientifically proven beyond any reasonable doubt. There's nothing wrong with being that way, but it's not inherently more healthy than having some fantastical or spiritual beliefs mixed in there. And you won't catch me arguing that organized religion is inherently more healthy than personal spirituality, either!

A personal distinction that I make is that a delusion is less so something you believe in, and more so something that you are convinced of. Most things that I believe in, I have reason to believe. I've arrived to my opinions after careful research and consideration. If I haven't done a lot of research and consideration, my belief is generally less strong. When it comes to spiritual stuff I believe some things but I'm not convinced of them. They are beliefs and I'm aware that they aren't proven truths, they are things that I believe in. For me, one thing that's a red flag for psychosis is when I'm sure of something. The world is so complex, so how could I ever be completely sure of anything?

I think that as a field, noting that religious/spiritual experiences are different from psychosis has been important, because otherwise we would be pathologizing a lot of otherwise healthy individuals based on a conviction that there's no such thing as a religious experience. Humans have evidently always had religious experiences and beliefs - it seems pretty inherent to our nature! And most of the time, at a personal level, it isn't inherently harmful.

Psychosis is problematic because it often hurts the person who is experiencing it, not because it diverges from consensus reality.

So I can't give you a one size fits all solution, but these are some of my thoughts.

[kurogane2512]

I recently got into Nikke too and the gameplay I gotta say is actually enjoyable. Im also enjoying some of the women. But I guess I've been spoiled by PTN, I just cant get over the fact that I, a woman, have to play as a dude. like hello why cant we be woman? Its minor issue but I dont kmow it just makes me kinda feel not seen and i get little annoyed? women play those games too and we deserve our female MC.

The gameplay certainly grows on you especially as you get better characters, even with just auto play it's quite fun to watch cause it's so active all the time. It's also sometimes just nice to have these relaxing games where you don't have to do much in gameplay and can spend more time with the story.

As for mc, I definitely understand you and it did upset me in the beginning too but I got used to it since I have played so many other similar games having the same issue over the years. I have digged into this and analysed from the perspective of various games so I do have an understanding of why this is the case. For one, most gachas target male audiences even now. While Genshin definitely changed the landscape, there are many layers to this that are quite complex and would take me a while to explain so this is gonna be a long read if you are really interested to hear.

Gacha gaming space has evolved a lot after Genshin and many new games emerged trying to copy Genshin's success in their own way. Genshin in terms of fanservice is super mild, as seen by its age rating of 12+ and its popularity on a global scale is what attracted everyone. This issue has got to do a lot with censorship and the reaction of men and women in the gacha communities. In simple words, it's likely that the devs only intended this for a male audience since the cast is all female and they don't expect to attract many women players. Or, they may deliberately not want women players. It's quite messed up and complicated idk how to explain without appearing rude or something 😅

Lemme give an example of a recent controversy another game had- Snowbreak Containment Zone. Just like Nikke, this game has an exclusive male mc and all female cast. However, in the early stage this game had a male character which was forcefully removed by the players cause they didn't want a man between their waifus. Yes it sounds quite pathetic, but but hear me out more. Initially, Snowbreak was following Genshin's route of having a mild fanservice story to attract a larger audience but it didn't work for them. Their revenue went down and they were on the verge of eos, then they made a crucial decision to change the direction of the game.

Snowbreak bumped up its rating to 18+ and started having a 'Master Love' story which is basically harem route. This worked and saved the game and for now it's doing good enough, but another thing came into light from this. Apparently there were some female player groups in China who reported Snowbreak for it's skimpy designs and the story catering to men, this caused some discourse in the players online and the conclusion that came out was these female players were typical woke feminists who hate seeing fanservice and bias for male players so they demanded female characters to be removed and instead some male characters to be put in.

Now, while this issue is recent and Nikke was released 2 years ago, I believe the causes are similar. It's sad to say this but when these games attempt to target female players, they mostly get straight women who demand more male characters and start hating on the female designs cause it goes against feminist propaganda. Genshin's old censorship of Jean, Amber, Mona etc was another case of this. Yes I know Nikke is Korean so it shouldn't be the same but I really believe it ends up that way. Now you'd wonder, why don't these games just give equal treatment to male and female characters to appease both sides? Imo, it's really not simple to balance this in a fanservice heavy game.

I won't say revenue cause there are examples to show male characters can earn just as good as females. I truly believe it's got to do with gender roles/interests/ideologies etc. I agree that Ptn is impressive in this sense that it somehow attracted such a large yuri fandom and I personally don't think the devs planned for this. From my understanding, it's due to its design being different from the conventional anime style that males weren't attracted as much and there being mostly adult women characters while the majority of men want teen or young girls as waifus. Also the fact that both mcs are treated quite equally in not just role but even design philosophy, it's likely why more women ended up here. Also it has a mature story which doesn't have anime stereotypes that I suppose it just didn't reach the audience the devs planned for.

But okay yeah lemme just finish here. I get your disappointment and I also wish Nikke had the option for female mc but looking at various factors I understand why the devs wanted a harem story this way. There are otome games like Love and Deepspace topping revenue charts which obviously shows women play these games too but I think the majority is still made up of straight women hence why these other games flourish more. But I won't lie, I'm very tempted to make a game like Nikke or love and deepspace for us lesbians like yes we deserve to have this too with hot women 😩

[armpirate]

Soundleasure | Choi San || CH. 21

Pairings: Soft!San x fem!reader || Strangers to lovers, fake dating

Genre: smut, angst, fluff, online sex, ghosting

Warnings: inexperienced!San, fem!reader, masturbation, online sex, camboy, first times.

Summary: You can do whatever you please and be whoever you want on the Internet. And San knew that a little bit too well.

After finally following all the signs the universe was throwing at him, he started living a double life that no one was aware of. Everyone in his daily life knew him as Choi San, the reserved and quiet boy who wouldn't raise his voice, and would barely communicate with anyone outside of his comfort group. But only a few knew him as Soundleasure, the man with a sexy voice and a filthy mind that had their toes curling just with his narrations.

He never thought of the possibility of those two lives ever meeting, he had always tried for them to follow a parallel route and had always played safe to keep his friends from ever suspecting that side even existed. But his plans will start to crumble when he gets a little too close with one of his subscribers and she invades his real-self and altergo's universes without being able to stop it.

Y/n will not only help him to keep his secret from his circle, but will also show him there's more of Soundleasure in him than he'd like to admit. 

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MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 18 minutes

His head felt warm, he felt cozy, there was a mysterious embrace that made him feel protected. And he knew that feeling, but it was never in a situation similar to that one. Her heart beating against his ear was a calming sound that made him feel at ease, his whole body felt even more relaxed after slowly becoming aware of who was hugging him. That thing alone explained how he felt so light, how he felt as if he had been sleeping for a week.

It wasn't like he usually slept bad, but that night with Y/n certainly did have a positive effect.

His head was resting on her upper arm, while the other was wrapped around his shoulders with her fingers diving into the locks on the back of his head. Later he also realized of the light weight on his hip, and he didn't take long to point out how that probably was her leg keeping him held close.

The soft air that escaped her nostrils every time she breathed caressed his forehead, causing his bangs to barely move.

His eyes opened, first meeting up with the strip of her top. With that image, the only thing he wanted to do was hold her tighter and rub his cheek against her skin.

But he held back.

His thoughts were filled with the conversation they had the previous night, with her doubts, with her insecurities. He couldn't explain how she'd ever be so scared of him not liking her. It still was better than her thinking he'd only approach her for her money or her status, it showed she did trust him and the issues that could come between them were way deeper than that. Although it wasn't like he expected her to ever think of him so wrongly.

He pressed his lips tight against one another as he tried to think what he could do to improve their bond.

They trusted each other, they were getting closer, they liked each other, but everything they did to date was always related to planning how to fake their relationship so others would eat it up. They never focused on each other, on what they wanted to learn, or how they wanted to spend their shared time when it was only them both, and not having others in their minds.

And the best way to get there was by having dates where they were the main purpose of it.

San tried to slip his body from her grip, but every time he tried her tongue clicked among the silence.

He omitted the victorious sound coming from his lips when he finally managed to get away, only to hook his feet with the blankets and fall to the ground with a dry sound on the parquet floor, failing at trying to keep the balance by supporting his hand on the nightstand on his side.

Y/n jumped at the sudden sound, sitting in her bed, and just remembering she didn't sleep alone when she started hearing San's whines from his side of the mattress.

—Oh my god, are you okay? —she quickly asked, turning on the lamp on her side to take a peek over the edge of the bed.

—I think I broke my chest —his voice sounded muffled.

—What were you doing?

After checking on him and confirming he was okay, Y/n tried to hold back those giggles as she woke up to help him get up from the floor, but she still failed at having all her features keep a straight expression. She felt bad, but at the same time it was way too funny for her to act like it wasn't.

—How did you fall from the bed? —she asked, while she squatted next to him to help him rest his back against the mattress.

—I didn't want to wake you up, so I tried to be careful. But I ended up falling off the bed because I was too focused on making sure you didn't hear a thing —a short snort came from her, quickly having his eyes glancing at her.

Y/n went back to that serious stance, rubbing her palm against his shoulder to make sure he was okay again.

—Are you hurt?

—Are you laughing?

—No, it's a sound I make when I'm surprised —she lied.

—It sounded like you were —he insisted—. I sacrificed breathing properly so you would rest —he smiled again when his eyes fell on hers—. And, honestly, I probably would again because I love it when you laugh with your whole chest.

—Don't —she smacked his shoulder, sitting next to him—. I rather you in one piece.

Silence came back to them as their eyes met, creating a bubble around them. The tension was so high, his eyes suddenly became so powerful, that Y/n was sure that he'd be able to listen to her thoughts if only he tried hard enough.

—Are you sure you're not hurt? —she asked again.

—I fell on my chest, and I've been exercising it in case something like this happened. I have a good pair of airbags.

His eyes squinted shut while he looked away from her, trying to hide how truly embarrassed he was of himself. He only had one job, which was keeping the standard high with her after the big move they made the previous night, he was supposed to become cooler.

—Hmm, I agree —she nodded, tilting her head.

Her hand reached the lower part of one of his pecs, touching from below to confirm what he said.

—It'll be nice to have you around, just in case.

—Why are we talking about my tits? —San interrupted her.

—You started talking about that pair of airbags —she replied back—. Do you want to talk about something else? Like... what happened last night?

The burning on his cheeks made him regret ever cutting off the conversation about his chest, not being entirely sure if it was a good idea to talk about what happened between them. At least not if he didn't want to turn into a stuttering mess in front of her.

—What happened last night was amazing —he nodded, eyes fixed on his fingers on his lap—, but I still think it wasn't fair.

—Well, it was —she shrugged—. Sex isn't a barter. I didn't suck you off to get something in return. I mean, if it had been a fling, then yeah, I'd have expected something in exchange. But this is different.

—Why?

—Because I expect this to happen a lot of times, and one day it'll be you, another day it'll be me... and most of the time it'll be the two of us. And because pleasure isn't only in the receiving end —she explained—. It was really hot seeing you like that for the first time, it was better than I imagined —she admitted.

—Did you imagine it?

Y/n only smiled at that comment, breathing out slowly as she remembered the background to their relationship. That man, the same one who was able to have her toes curling with just his voice, was completely lost when it came to the topic his channel was centered on.

—What I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to feel bad about that —she ignored his question—. Sex is more complicated than just cumming —she explained—. It's great, yeah. And not reaching the high shouldn't be the norm. But going back to what I'm trying to say —she tried to gain some sense back after realizing how confused he looked—: don't put pressure on yourself, and just let me guide you.

—I'm in good hands, that's for sure.

—Don't doubt that.

As she said that, her hand worked like a pulling string on him, softly pinching his cheek to trap him on a soft kiss. In contrast with the conversation, and with the intensity they went through the previous night, her lips moved to ease all the nervousness inside of him, instead of waking up that side of him she was eager to see coming out. San moved carefully, placing his hand next to her hip on the floor so his weight wouldn't fall on her while she kept pulling him over her.

—I really really like you —he admitted, breaking the kiss to look at her.

Instead of answering back, Y/n pulled him in for another kiss. It never had the intention of going far, it was never meant to act as a wick to the ticking bomb between them. It worked as a connection, as a way to express with actions words that she wasn't used to saying while she invited in a feeling she had closed for years.

She was finally feeling what she had been seeking for so long in different people, and it made her dizzy. As she said the previous day, they were throwing themselves into the void, but it didn't have to be something negative. The collapse didn't have to hurt, it didn't have to be something negative. And it was something that she needed to start learning with him.

The black and dark cloth that covered their eyes turned slightly clearer, interrupting their kiss so the both of them would look at the origin of the sudden brightness.

The warm rays of sunshine were starting to reflect on the windows of the big skyscraper in front of her penthouse, slowly tinting the whole place with the golden tone. She had never seen something as beautiful and amazing as that. At least until she turned to look at San, mesmerized by the way the golden rays kissed his tanned skin gently, giving it a slightly toasted tone.

She had never seen the sunrise from her house, and it didn't surprise her that the first time was with San. It just had to be like that.

He turned instinctively, because there was something inviting him to look at her, only to meet her eyes suddenly and unexpectedly when all he wanted to do was to admire her in secret.

Her smile added a quirky lightning in her pupils, making him wonder if he had ever paid so much attention to those small details on other people.

—Did you know that the sunlight is actually white? —San commented, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.

—Really?

—Yeah. From Space, the Sun is white. But as the sunlight reaches the atmosphere, it mixes with molecules and water drops that change its color. It scatters, and...

Her lips felt soft against his moving cheek, breaking off every thought to just have him thinking about the electricity shock that ran through his body with such a simple contact.

—Let's stay like this —she suggested, interrupting him before he could go on with his explanation.

Y/n liked how random he was, but that time she needed him to be silent just for a few minutes. And he also needed to relax, to understand that some types of silence didn't need to be filled with words. Sometimes it was enough with each other's company, while her head sneaked in the curve of his neck, resting on his shoulder while her fingers traced invisible lines over his forearm.

Her head moved down slightly when his muscles relaxed, smiling to herself when she realized San was finally giving himself some rest.

It didn't surprise her the fact that it was with San when she took the time to admire the pretty vision she had in front of her, and that she had never had time to enjoy. It just made perfect sense for her that the first time happened like that.

A sound of a stomach roaring interrupted whatever thoughts they had on something they both felt special, shifting their eyes from the big windows to her belly. Their gazes met again in between, while her smile hinted at what was hiding inside her head.

—Shall we prepare breakfast? —he suggested, smiling cutely.

—Even better: why don't we go out for something to eat and spend the day together? —she shrugged— It's Sunday, and I don't have anything to do. Unless you have something to do, or want to go back home, I'll drop you off...

His kiss was so sudden and out of nowhere that Y/n could feel her cheeks turning a light tone of red as blood piled up in that area. And it quickly turned into endearment as she saw San's expression turning shy after he realized what he did.

—I still need to drop you off so you get changed —she giggled against his lips—, and showered.

—Are you saying I smell bad?

—I'm saying —she almost overlapped with his question— that it's been two days since you last showered. And you're starting to abuse your pretty privilege a little bit too much.

—Pretty privilege? That's the first time I'm being told something like that. But yeah, I'm kinda hating it —he grimaced—. It's a good idea.

They were walking next to each other, in complete silence while San tried to guess the way to get a word out of her. It was all going well, they actually managed to talk about random things during breakfast, until they stepped outside the cafe and decided to go for a walk.

Panic installed in his brain when he thought about the possibility of Y/n realizing there wasn't much to expect from him. Or, at least, there wasn't much left to discover about them and it was all said and done. Although, almost as if she had felt the way his tension kept increasing with each thought, her digits first rubbed his, slowly moving in between the spaces on each finger to intertwine them and hold their hands together.

—I was thinking... —she finally commented— you've never had a crush or something? No one that got your attention?

—That's why you were so silent?

—Oh, sorry —she smiled cutely—. I tend to go mute when I'm deep in thought. It's even worse when it happens in the middle of a meeting —she admitted.

San just shook his head with a smile filled with relief. Knowing that question was the only reason she was so lost in thought was endearing. It was another detail of her he'd keep in his pocket full of all the details he kept discovering about her.

—Hmm —he tilted his head—, can I be completely honest?

—Nah, actually it was a question so you tell me you only liked me —Y/n joked, playfully hitting his arm with hers without letting go of his grip.

—I haven't —San confessed—. Of course I've found girls attractive, but it never went beyond that. In real life, I never really looked for anything to go forward. In dating apps, I deleted everything before I got to match with any girl. I guess I got so used to the idea of being by myself that no one felt right. What if she doesn't like how quiet I am? What if she turns out to be someone I don't see myself with? I don't know...

—So you were scared of opening up and taking the risk —she softly added.

San's nature was so interesting, yet at the same time so complicated. As much as she thought about it, she couldn't understand what made him to be so overprotective with himself.

—At least until someone showed up in my dms with the worst pick up line I've seen to date —he joked—. What was it? You wanted to mix your moans with mine?

—Oh, shut up —she tried to cover her face with her free hand—. You were so intimidating back then, I was sure you weren't going to answer my message.

—Hey —he called her out—, I'm loyal to fans. Especially those who have stuck around for so long.

—So you're loyal to fans, huh? —her eyebrow raised gave him cold sweat all of a sudden.

—You're making me regret every cent I spent on you —she admitted, trying to let go of his hand.

San's fingers were quicker, holding a tight grip on her hand so she wouldn't be able to escape. Her fake straight line broke out as soon as he motioned her to turn in his direction, moving his arm to wrap it around her shoulder and sneak a kiss on her neck.

—No, you don't —he answered back.

—Don't taste your luck —she pushed him again with a giggle.

His grip was so determined and tight on her neck, that they almost stumbled with her push, having her holding onto him tighter by his thin waist.

—I'm taking every risk with you though —San finally broke the jokes, using a serious tone while he looked at her in the eyes—. I meant it yesterday. I'm willing to do anything to make this work, I'll follow you on whatever you choose and I'll adapt to your pace. That's how sure I am that all of this is worth it.

—Pff, you for sure know how to get your way with words —her words sounded harsh, but her tone was light. Again, she was trying to get rid of some of the seriousness by playing it nice and funny.

She hated saying that, instead of admitting she was willing to take any risk as well. Her heart found a place of joy, and her mind was finally able to rest, to pause for a minute whenever she was with him. Y/n didn't care about how hard it'd be, she was ready to put everything she owned over the table and become the most fragile human being if that meant making things work out. But her feelings never left her lips with those words. She wished it could've been so easy for her so San wouldn't have to accept the small squeeze on his side and the rub of her cheek on his shoulder as the reply to his words.

The rest of the morning went by exactly like that, with their hands mingling on any business that didn't belong to their own bodies, with their lips stealing more than one kiss, and their laughs and cackles feeling like music to the other's ears.

—I'm not sure if I want the Bacon, or the Chicken Burger —San thought out loud, looking at the sign in front of them.

—Why don't we order both and split them? —she suggested.

—Didn't you want the Cheesy one?

—Hmm, I think it has too much cheese —she lied.

Actually, she didn't quite know what to order, but out of all the options, the cheese burger was the one who got her attention, like every single time she ordered take away from there. At the same time, she kept hearing San yapping about each one of the choices he had in mind since they arrived at the place. It was his first time there, and she just wanted him to eat what caught his attention.

Luckily for her, the only ones who knew her were the delivery guys. So her lie was safe with her.

After insisting on paying their order and succeeding, with Y/n almost getting to get away with her attempt to give her credit card, he left to go to the bathroom. He only left for three minutes, she was by herself for only three minutes, and some young boys -not a lot younger than them- had all of their eyes on her, in a way that was making even him uncomfortable.

Before he joined her back on the queue, he tried his best to think of a way to get Y/n to not look in their direction, he even thought about joking around as to make the tension lighter. He knew Y/n long enough to know if he noticed it, she most definitely did, too.

—Put your hand on my ass —she whispered—. There's a group of guys being weird over there —her explanation came before his features could form a confused expression—. If they see someone with just a tiny bit more of toxic masculinity, they'll look away.

His hand slowly moved down her hip, tracing the curve of her ass to dent his fingers on the fabric of her jeans.

—Now look in their direction. Don't do anything. Just look at them with your face as it is now, and bend to kiss me.

San didn't need to pretend he was angry. He was. They made her uncomfortable to the point of her coming up with a scene so it'd stop. Because she knew words would probably make little to no change, or even make things worse.

For the first time since she met him, his lips were owning her. He trapped her mouth, and he wasn't going to let it go until he was done. San was possessive, and tactic, only sliding the tip of his tongue through her lips, enough to make her knees weak and secure his grip on her ass cheek.

At some point, neither of them were thinking about those boys, neither of them were thinking of where they were. They just thought of each other, and how good they felt together, and how good it'd feel to just let it go a bit longer.

—Thirty six —a female voice called—. Thirty six?

The numbers went from an empty sound to a clearer call as Y/n was holding a tight connection with reality, having San moving his head onwards when she suddenly broke the kiss with glistening lips.

—Yes —she nervously answered, quickly turning to the counter to pick up their order.

When San turned again to that same group of boys, they were all back focusing on their own things, trying their hardest not to look in their direction.

Some sense was slowly kicking back in his brain, totally settling in his system as he looked at her when they found a free table. He didn't know what it was, but he always lost control of himself when it came to her. With the only difference that maybe he went a little bit too far that time.

—Did I make you uncomfortable? —Y/n, who was chewing on her fried fry, looked up to him— I mean...

—They were making me uncomfortable, you were just making me horny —she blatantly said, dipping the tip of another fry on ketchup—. I really appreciate how you care about that. Really —she could only giggle when she saw some mayonnaise on the corner of his lip—. But if I pull you in instead of pushing you away, it's because I like it —she cleaned the sauce off his face—. And we will work on that so you don't overthink what you do, hmm?

He nodded with a smile, going back to eating the half of the chicken burger, only leaving it back on the box to tease her.

—I didn't know you had an exhibitionist side...

His sentence was cut off by her feet playfully kicking his leg, making him move suddenly on the chair while he laughed out loud.

The rest of the day was perfect.

For the first time since they started seeing each other, San was the one who kissed her goodnight after dropping her at home, walking back to his place with a stupid smile on his face. Whatever it was that Y/n had, he wanted it forever.

—Oh, look who dared to show up after a day —Mingi called him out from the couch as soon as San opened the door.

—Says the person who went missing for a whole week, and showed up on a random Sunday evening with a goat.

—Ah, Missy was part of the family for so short —he sighed.

—Aww, the lovebird found his way home —Wooyoung joined the tease, crossing his door to sit next to Mingi on the couch—. Is everything alright with Y/n?

—Everything's perfect —San assured them.

—Why wouldn't it be okay? —Mingi joined, looking at the two of them.

—Nothing.

—She acted a bit weird after I had the conversation with her —Wooyoung answered.

—Ahh, did she get mad at you? —Mingi turned to San again.

—No.

—She was acting a bit weird —again, Wooyoung replied on his behalf.

—But you spent the day together, so I'm guessing it's okay already —the taller one focused on San.

—Or it's better than okay. Look how bright his skin is —the man with longer hair pointed at him.

—And his eyes are shiny —Mingi giggled—. I bet they didn't leave the room —he coddled Wooyoung.

—Everybody knows what comes after a fight —Wooyoung raised his eyebrows—. What? You aren't intimidating anyone with those eyes.

San rolled his eyes after his attempt to get his friends to shut up didn't work out.

—Nothing came after the fight, because we didn't fight —he sat on the armchair at their right—. And it's not like I'd tell you if something happened.

—So that means something happened —Wooyoung insisted.

Before neither of them could lengthen the tease, San got up and walked to his room, closing the door behind him to make his instance clear on their bickering.

He needed to talk about what happened the previous night, he needed to talk about his feelings. And the only thing he was sure of is that he wouldn't talk about that as long as they were together, because he knew there was nothing worse than having those two thinking as one. 

[666writingcafe]

Preparation

Levi

Wow. Diavolo's just as bad as the rest of us, isn't he? I mean, literally jumping out of his office window to escape the Devildom and visit MC...that certainly wasn't on my bingo card for this year.

In any case, we do need to locate him. He's known to cause chaos whenever he's left unsupervised, and while I'd love to see a video of him go viral, I know Lucifer wouldn't, and I really don't want to sit through one of his lectures.

Thankfully, I have just the thing that might help.

"This is Crowe," I tell MC, putting the black cylinder in their hands.

"I didn't know you had a smart speaker," MC replies as they examine Crowe.

"I won him at an auction. Apparently he's a prototype. He's created by the Three-Legged Crow Group, the same company that sells D.D.D.'s. As long as someone has one of their phones, Crowe can track their location. All you have to do is ask."

"Sounds simple enough. Hopefully Diavolo has his phone on him." With that, MC asks Crowe to locate our missing prince.

"Lord Diavolo is located at The Drunk Hyena," it answers. "Would you like me to provide the address?"

"Yes." After hearing the address, MC appears shocked.

"Everything okay?" I ask them.

"I had no idea they had a location in the human world." I shrug, trying to hide my surprise. Clubbing doesn't really seem like MC's thing. Then again, Asmo is prone to dragging people to clubs, so who knows?

"The owners must have bought the building and created a portal. That sort of thing happens all the time." I pause. "Still doesn't explain why Diavolo would be there, though. It's the middle of the day."

"Perhaps it was the safest way for him to get here. People tend to not ask a lot of questions at clubs." That's true, I suppose. They're too caught up in whatever or whoever it is they're doing to notice anything outside their bubble.

At that moment, MC's phone rings.

"Good timing," they mutter as they pull it out and answer it. They tell the person on the other end that they're going to put them on speaker before positioning their phone so that it's between us.

"Who's in the room with you?" Oh shit. It's Diavolo.

"Just me," I reply. Diavolo breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. I was afraid it might have been someone else. I've been meaning to talk to you about that anime you recommended to me a few months ago. It's really good."

During my quest to manage my social anxiety, I discovered that one of my online friends was actually none other than Diavolo himself, which was weird, because I "met" him on a pretty unknown online RPG, one that only the most devoted members of the gaming community knew about.

As it turns out, Diavolo's secretly a huge gaming nerd. I don't know how he finds the time, since his duties as prince require the majority of his attention, but somehow he's up-to-date on the latest news in the gaming world.

It was definitely awkward at first when I found out, but then I realized that Diavolo just wanted someone he could geek out with. It's not like Lucifer or Barbatos would; neither one of them are particularly interested in video games.

"Diavolo, what sort of trouble did you get yourself into?" MC asks before he has the opportunity to start rambling. I don't have to look at his face to know that he's blushing.

"Well, I may have gotten stuck."

"Are we talking tight space, or something cursed?"

"The latter." He sounds like someone who got caught stealing. "This place has a cursed karaoke room where you can't leave until you get a perfect score on the machine's vocal accuracy challenge."

"So, why haven't you participated?" Silence. "Diavolo, is this a ploy to get me to join you?" More silence. Then,

"Maaaybe." As Asmo would say, he's definitely down bad.

And somehow I'm fine with that. It's weird, I know, especially since I wouldn't have been fine before. I would have been tearing myself down as I holed myself up in my room, because there was no way I could compete with someone like Diavolo for someone's affection.

That's not the case now. I can't really explain why I feel calm; I just do.

"You know MC can't come by themselves, right?" I ask. "You know who would throw a fit if they did." Diavolo sighs.

"Yeah, I do. Doesn't make any sense to me, but whatever. He can feel how he wants." He pauses. "Ask the others if they want to tag along. We can at least make something fun out of the situation."

[mediumcutsteak]

So I hopped into a free trial of NSO cause I wanted to check out Nintendo Music. I was already under no illusion this would be worth anyone's time as anything but an extra bonus for paying for a service you likely already pay for to play smash and splatoon, but wow this is truly pathetic. Here is the selection:

This is a PITIFUL list. TWO ZELDAS??? TWO KIRBYS???? IN A **MUSIC** APP?????? That's not getting into the other omissions, but this is a pretty glaring one. The only noteworthy thing about this selection is that I guess we officially call the first NA Fire Emblem with its subtitle now. Neat I guess. Also, these are Nintendo soundtracks, so really short musical stings (think Samus or Link getting Power up) bloat these OSTs, which for me is an L. No 3DS games at all by the way, nor any of the few remaining Wii U exclusives.

So what about its two vaunted features, easy music extension and spoilers? Easy Music Extension is mediocre. You can extend some songs to 15, 30, and 60 min. No longer or shorter. No reason not to have more options but whatever. I say some songs though cause the choices seem arbitrary. Obviously the short music stings can't be extended. I thought it was based on if the music would loop in game, but so far three of the OOT dungeons loop. They're all just stupid 40 second tracks that just.... Can't loop. Neither can Sheik's theme???

Spoiler prevention allows you to nix a whole game from rotation on any playlist. Not useful for what it sets out to do, but if you HAPPEN to want to use a premade mixed game playlist (you won't but we'll get to it) and there are games you just straight up don't like ANYTHING from, itll keep them out. I like Metroid music but I really hate the NES sound font at this point so were I to use this app indefinitely I'd certainly throw those out. Can't be used selectively though, so if you do like ONE song from a game, then you gotta keep it open to them all.

Lets talk about the playlists because these are insane. First off, no community playlists. I get that there's no way they could stop profanity if they added those, but thats a massive L already. Ok so fine, no community playlists, whats poppin in premade town. Well its got some staples: top tracks on the app, franchise wide selections (most franchises on here are 2 games tops though right now), each game has a playlist of just the songs that can be extended. Then there's the weird ones. Each game has playlists that vaguely categorizes some of the music into certain modes of play? Take Nintendogs for example

Ok. These make sense for Splatoon at least cause they separate them by in-game artists and game mode. Then there's the mood playlists, all with cringy names like Powering Up or whatever. And then there's my favorite, the character centric playlists! These are hilarious. They are just songs that are related to the characters. And the selection of characters? Well....

Yeah dude, thats sick. I def want to listen to BOO music or Wiggler music. It appears that as I was writing this they also added ones for the ScarVi professors, legendaries, and the DLC legendaries. Swell. The wiggler playlist is five songs, with six minutes total of music. Really gettin into that Wiggler mindset. Wiggler Wednesday everyone.

Its just sad. If you play games online on Switch and the music you want to listen to is on here, it isnt gonna kill you. You're already paying for it. But right now the selection is TERRIBLE, some of the tracks you would expect to be extendable aren't, and some of these loops are under a minute (every oot dungeon except forest, water, and shadow I can't stress enough). And for what? The composers aren't making money off this, they don't even get CREDITS on the songs (the spot where artist would be on Spotify is the game title). Even if they WERE, the service costs less than Spotify, so they wouldn't be making much anyway.

This is basically for no one. Real nintendo music diehards who would lap this up are missing a LOT of big names, and anyone who ISN'T probably doesn't care enough to download the app in the first place. To say nothing of people like me, who would want music from non-Nintendo games mixed in. Also its weirdly hard to find??? I tried searching Nintendo Music on the Play Store and couldn't find it, I had to access a link on Google. So there's your deep dive if you cared. What a waste of time and energy. Just put it on Spotify and Apple Music and be done.

[hanzajesthanza]

"controversial opinion" 👀 ? do say…

(the tag for context; the subject being parasocial relationships)

well. i just don’t think that parasocial relationships are that bad. i haven’t looked into the scientific publishings on it or anything, but…

contrary to the popular opinion of moral panic, sound the alarms, the children are thinking they’re friends with streamers, i knew twitch was the work of the devil…

it seems to me that people have always been attached to people they don’t know in close ways. even if you hear a story about someone, some mythical being, that draws you close to an individual that you’ve never know IRL, but whose “presence” gave you comfort. people have liked and felt familiar with the ideas of people without actually knowing them, from like, day one.

and then, when writing, and later, radio and television, became widespread, ideas and communication did too, with people being fond of and comfortable with the presences of radio personalities and actors in their homes.

i think we’re just seeing parasocial relationships more prominently now, because technology has advanced to the point where, to share your opinions, ideas, artistic expression, while also attaching your face and your voice to it, has become ubiquitous. and this was happening before the concept of the influencer existed, there were bloggers and internet personalities in the 2000s and early 2010s.

we (gen-Zers) were the first generation to have grown up with such technology—maybe not “with a phone or iPad in our hands” (as gen Alpha has) but certainly from a young age—so we grew up with these video platforms, and thus, communication with and absorption of various personalities. and all of this in a time of when our social development is the most intense, i.e., childhood, then teenhood, young adulthood.

and at the same time, we are experiencing a growth in loneliness (“an epidemic of loneliness”), and also an actual pandemic, and other shifts in social environment, such as dating moving online…

so i think it’s only natural that parasocial relationships have risen as a phenomenon, and are more visible and more prominent than, perhaps, what it was like pre-smartphone, pre-blog or vlog days.

my controversial take is this.

i think parasocial relationships only become a problem when it leads to harm: to either the person as the object of the relationship, as in (at the least) rudeness, like assuming you’re actually friends IRL and treating them as or demanding their attention as such, or (at the worst) obsessive or violent behavior like stalking. or, to the person having the parasocial relationship, in being detrimental to their social skills over time.

but i think that, if you’re just looking at your phone and watching a video from a youtuber you’ve watched videos from since you were eight years old, chilling and not being harmful to them or yourself in any way… i ask, what is the harm in not just feeling entertained, but feeling a certain familiarity on an advanced level, feeling like you’re friends—as long as you are cognizant and comfortable with that you’re not actually friends, and that the relationship is one-sided, what’s the harm? i think it’s even kind of normal amongst people who grew up with that kind of technology in their hands, which connected them to such personalities.

in the coverage of parasocial relationships, i feel like it has been a little blown out of proportion by the media, through conflating the (shall we say) “well-adjusted, normal” crowd, with sad and ugly stories of stalkers and worse—because “creepy stalker fan” is a well-known archetype by now in pop culture, so it drives more engagement and outrage.

(edit: stalking and harassment are really bad and scary—im not denying theyre not—my thought, rather, is that the amount of “normal” or even “positive” parasocial relationships probably outweigh the creepy, harassment ones, but the worst outcomes are whats reported on the most)

and i feel like this conflation also happens because the people writing these sensationalized articles did not grow up with such technology, so it’s absolutely weird and alien to them to have such a familiarity with someone they don’t know IRL (like youtubers, streamers, whom are often objects of parasocial relationships), because they basically just didn’t grow up with it—television being different than online video platforms because online video allows you to share a lot more unedited, casual moments (like playing a video game, going shopping, even eating breakfast—you can livestream anything, or vlog anything really, even the most mundane things). and these are (i’d guess) the same people that don’t understand how you can make friends via the internet, and (maybe) believe that all social interaction via the internet is sinister or insincere in some form.

they don’t understand how a parasocial connection could be a normal thing, because they’re unfamiliar with the normalcy of such content which forms the relationship, which makes it bizarre and creepy to them; however, such parasocial relationships are becoming more normal, and are hardly worth fascinating oneself over for people who grew up forming them—so much so, that they didn’t even have to think about it as being abnormal. they (we) were able to form them and at the same time rationalize them, so it never occurred to us as being something to morally concern ourselves with. this also explains why such coverage of it only occured years after such a phenomenon was even occurring.

tl;dr my take is that the concept of parasocial relationships itself is somewhat of a non-issue, and only becomes an issue when individuals conduct unhealthy or harmful behavior, or when we want to talk about parasocial relationships forming as a symptom of larger societal issues (like the loneliness epidemic). but the moral concern with parasocial relationships i think stems from a generational divide around technology and constantly evolving social norms and landscapes :p

[shinesurge]

I'm sitting around waiting for our car to get serviced so I'm gonna take a minute to write a post I've been chewing on for a little bit lol

I think! A lot of creators talk about 'word of mouth' being the best advertising and it's TRUE they are right but I'm not sure the actual like, function of that is getting across because people still get confused about it when I bring it up, and I keep seeing people frustrated that their efforts aren't working (notably in spaces like the obscure webcomic tournament). Recommending stuff to your friends or writing stuff in to promotional spaces DEFINITELY helps don't stop doing that, but what people ACTUALLY mean by this is getting Visibly Excited about things in spaces where it can break containment.

Fandom content is what gets people into things!! Like, think about everything that "takes off" online; it's not because people post the plot synopsis over and over, or go "please read this it's good," the stuff that actually gets people engaging is seeing some cool fan work or clipped out content and going what the FUCK is that. The Barbie movie probably would have done fine on its own, but the insane phenomenon it's become certainly wouldn't have happened if regular internet users hadn't memed it to hell and back; this stuff works.

I didn't give a SHIT about Persona 5, or The Magnus Archives, or The Adventure Zone or any number of things I got dragged into until I saw fandom content for them. Persona 5 sounds like boring as fuck anime shit on paper, I do NOT care about podcasts, but people kept drawing the COOLEST stuff for them or posting insane fan theories until I HAD to know what was going on. That's what we're talking about with word of mouth! Sincere engagement with the thing is better than any advertising could ever be.

It doesn't have to be creative art or writing either! Make Character Appreciation Posts using the source material! Make an essay-length analysis of the story's themes! Set up a weekly post about how much you love a character or a count of how many days it's been since someone showed up, do Incorrect Quotes or paste tumblr text posts over characters, idk man there's entire blogs dedicated to posting every One Piece panel that has certain characters in it, there are no rules

What I'm saying is if you're wanting to help out smaller creators, please get involved, and PLEASE do it outside insulated places like discord servers. A thriving community that only exists inside a closed server still looks like a ghost town from the outside. "please read this it's got lesbians" helps get something on the radar, making a compilation post of the lesbians and posting it with a link to The Thing gets people's attention.

anyway that's all thanks @ Fans Of All Kinds for caring enough to want to help out independent people to the point i felt like it was worth making a post like this; to be clear, nobody is owed any of this stuff and you're certainly not obligated to put in all this effort to enjoy a thing! but i know a LOT of people are enthusiastic about indie media and want to help out, and sometimes a little extra guidance from the creator perspective helps them figure out how to do that effectively. love you have a good day

[growinguparo]

I'm aro but I feel sometimes that I'm not Aromantic. Like, I would love to share my life with someone by my side every morning (maybe not in the same bed, but still) and I've just realized that all of the "crushes" (previously thought I was demiro) I've had were just me wanting that person in my life in a more involved way? I want them forever in the kitchen with me.

At least on social media, this is very different from how I've seen aromantics to be portrayed. Are we not allowed to be soft, to love individually and totally?

of course we are.

people within the aro community have varied opinions on love and closeness. some aros don't feel anything they could call "love". some of us love deeply. i am much closer to the latter end of the spectrum.

i think in terms of online culture, maybe the reason that that particular Aromantic narrative is popular is because it highlights what sets us apart from other people, and thus it is easy to use to build community around. but certainly i've seen lots of aros online talk about wanting close relationships, and the various ways those can look different from the romantic "standard" when you're aro.

queerplatonic relationships (QPRs) are popular in the aro community. this is a type of relationship that is defined entirely by the people in it, which can include love and closeness and commitment, while not being romantic in nature. it sounds like what you desire in terms of sharing your life with someone could fall into this concept.

have you heard the term lovequeer? it's my fave recent aro term - it means rejecting "love" in the strict romantic sense that society has defined it, and embracing other types of love in a queer way. this is one of my fave posts about it.

the aro community is diverse. that's one of the things i love about it. there are aros like you. there are aros building community around these shared experiences too.

[wildpeachfarm]

Awww anon I hope you can feel the telepathic hug, I'm so sorry you are dealing with this :(

I hope you are okay with me responding to this (if not, I am happy to delete if you want me to) because I want to give you some advice and also help you maybe feel a little better. After all, I know you are not the only one who has been in this position recently and I think a lot of people can relate to you unfortunately. The environment on twitter with "ex fans" has become INCREDIBLY hostile and uncomfortable for current fans.

I get it and it can be tough to be stuck in a friend group where people are constantly making you feel paranoid and hated. And there are two things that I feel are important to think about during times like this:

You will not get along with everyone on the internet. It's a hard pill to swallow if you are a people pleaser like me but I think worrying about making everyone like you is such an exhausting endeavor that you shouldn't need to put yourself through. People will have their opinions and unfortunately, the internet is full of very chronically online people who love to fight and be vague and bitchy about things because they think they know how the world works when they don't. (and frankly if they are "hate following" people and pretending to leave the fandom but are staying and shitting on people, it doesn't sound like their minds will be changed anytime soon because they sound like obsessive haters- and what an absolutely MISERABLE life to live lol).

You are in a community of people who will support you and you always have the opportunity to make a better group of friends here- even though it may be intimidating at first. I think you'd be surprised at how easy it can be to make friends, especially on Tumblr just by interacting with posts and going into inboxes. I think it would be a great thing for you to get some new friends because I'm going to be honest: these people around you sound fucking terrible and not anyone you should be trying to keep relationships with. It sounds like you already have a mental strain on you with them constantly being around you and I think cutting them off will be so healthy for you. The superiority complex and the hating and fighting with other people and keeping tabs on people they don't like are all incredibly weird and surround you with a negative environment. You absolutely deserve better than these people <3

Never apologize for being on anon, I totally get it and I'm so happy you feel safe here and comfortable talking about this with me because I certainly understand. I hope to get an update from you soon that you are moving on to better people and better friends because they certainly don't deserve you :)

[khaleesiofalicante]

I'M SO READY.

Not me googling 'gyatt'. 🙈🙈🙈

I feel Jackson so much. So often.

Jackson raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Do you swear it’s not a weird one?”

GAAAAAAAAAAAAH DAVID 🤣🤣

“Right.” David cleared his throat, bracing himself. “How do you tell your professor that one of your other professors wants to fuck him?”

ALEC YOU DISASTER. He did not do that. Omg. I'm wheezing.

He’s pretty sure people have done weirder shit to get into Magnus’ pants, so getting one of your students to play Cupid is fine.

He's a dad without Magnus in his life. 😍♥️

“Jeez, Dad, you need to grow a pair,” 

How can two such bright people be so stupid, I'll never understand. Alec, my baby.

So, he decided to use a middleman. David was the perfect person for it.

Which should give you a hint that he *cough cough* has a soft spot for you, Alec.

Alec knows for a fact that Magnus likes David - he has a soft spot for French people and kids with asshole dads.

Yes. Blame the 'child'. 🤣

Because if all goes well, David can officiate their wedding. If it doesn’t, Alec is going to ship that French fucker right back to Paris.

Who are you trying to fool, love?

“Do you have his schedule memorized?” David asked, the judgy little shit.

“No, it’s on the board, just like everyone’s schedule, and I just happen to remember it,” Alec scoffed again, sounding defensive. “Did you speak to him or not?”

I mean, the things you know... 😎

“He speaks to his son on the phone just before lunch break every day,” Alec informed him,

Oh dear Lord. Jackson sure wants David dead. 😬😎

“Just tell Professor Lightwood you don’t want to be his pimp,” Jackson suggested dryly.

This is asking a bit too much, don't you think, Jackson? It's David. And Alec.

“And you said yes?” Jackson rolled his eyes. “Good God, man. You need to learn how to say no to hot people.”

Oh, David. WAIT TIL YOU MEET THE KID...

He might even be writing fanfiction about them in his head, but that’s no one else’s business.

Jackson pleeeeeease. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

“I’m worried I’ll mess it up,” David pouted, looking defeated.

“Oh, you most certainly will.”

Alec, oblivious fool, MAGNUS DID ASK YOU OUT.

“Only good things,” David winked. “Why? Did he ask you out already?”

“What? No! He just...he was being super weird right now!” Alec groaned

I am not hiding my face in a pillow. I totally am. I don't think this will take the turn David or mostly Alec wants it to.

“I think it’s really nice,” David offered. “Good fathers are so hard to come by these days. Professor Lightwood is a very rare find.”

Like I suspected. Jesus, these two idiots. 🤣🤣🤣😬

“You don’t think it’s weird?” Magnus asked, looking worried.

“Of course, I don’t!” Alec gasped. “Magnus, you can’t help how you feel. I know it’s weird because of the university, but it’s not against the rules-”

“That’s not the point!” Magnus groaned. “It’s unethical! And it’s frowned upon!”

“People frown upon all kinds of shit,” Alec rolled his eyes. “It only matters how we feel.”

HEARTBREAK. My baby 😭😭

“Nor the right person!” Magnus sighed.

Alec swallowed. “I see.”

YAAAAAAASSSSSSS. I am loving the emotional roller-coaster of this conversation.

“Well, I can’t say it’ll be easy,” Magnus mumbled. “I’ve tried, you know.”

“You’ve tried what?”

“Getting over you.”

Which I bet you watched numerous of times by now, sweetheart.

 “He’s obsessed with you. He even found a video of you working out online.”

Whooooooooooop I love communication so fucking much.

“Magnus, how the fuck was I supposed to know that? I’m not a mind reader!” Alec chuckled incredulously. “You could’ve just asked me out yourself, you know.”

“No, I like to be pursued,” Magnus hummed to himself.

Alec cleared his throat at that. “Are you open to being pursued right now?”

“That depends, Alexander,” Magnus said, looking like he was trying not to smile. God, he was gorgeous. “Are you going to pursue me yourself or send another student after me?”

“Nope. Just me this time.”

“Good,” Magnus nodded and hopped onto Alec’s desk. “Now lock the damn door.”

HE'S GOING TO ASKHIM TO PICK UP MAX, RIGHT!?

“I thought you could make up for your fuck-up by doing me a favor.”

Oh Alec. Now you're not playing nice.

“If I messed up, how are you going on a date?” David frowned.

“Thanks to my own charm, obviously,” the man rolled his eyes. “You were no help.”

HE DID, I KNEW IT.

“There he is!” the man waved at a stranger who was running towards them. “Max! Over here! I got you a ride!”

THESE TWO. My loves!

“Hello, Um David,” the boy chuckled. “You can call me Max. I also go by babe, honey, and cutie pie. We can discuss other options in the car.”

And then he turned around and walked away.

“Gyatt!” David slapped a hand over his mouth. Christ, this was going to be a long drive.

You don't. You date him in secret and then go down to city hall and marries him without anyone knowing.

“How do you tell your professor that you want to fuck his son?”

Dani, thank you, thank you, thank you for this crack. The second-hand embarrassment is so strong in this one and I'm loving it so fucking much.

I'm immensely grateful for the laughter you brought me. I especially needed them today.

All my love to you.

The sole intention of writing this was to make you laugh. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

I am glad you enjoyed it! I hope to create more things that will bring a smile to your face 💙