#tbh i've read a lot about those things but have had very little interaction with them personally

[anarchopuppy]

I need at least another $25 to pay my phone bill in a couple days (and that'd leave me no money left for food, let alone rent next month). I'm still unemployed and paralyzed by one of the worst mental health spirals of my life. Anything helps, if you can spare it

This is my ko-fi. Venmo and paypal available by private request. Love y'all

[theveryworstthing]

I'm Alive

I posted this on patreon so I might as well post it again here. Hopefully current and past patrons see this as well as people who have just been generally curious about where I've been.

I'm very sorry for not being around and I'm very grateful to those who stuck around. To those who didn't, I get it and I truly appreciate you passing through. 

Last year and the beginning of this year have been pretty bad. Some of you might have heard about my grandma's death and sadly, she was just the first of the family losses in the time I've been gone. There was also a friend's death discovery, my parents' health tanking, my friends Going Through It, and my own physical/mental problems. I didn't want to talk to the internet about these things because they were/are very overwhelming and private and tbh I used all my energy to help with the household and make sure work got turned in on time. When I had spare time after dealing with the near constant disasters, I didn't really feel like interacting with the internet at all beyond using it as a way to talk to far away friends (mostly to give them the thumbs up that i was alive) or watch/read things when my brain was less scrambled. Social media was an absolute no go and I didn't have any non-work art to post so I just kind of mentally crawled under the porch to die lol. 

I only drew work related things for months due to extreme burnout and it took me almost a month off after my last job to remember how to create again. I couldn't draw or write, it was kinda like art block except it was more like nothing was there at all? It's hard to explain. 

Things are still happening but I need to get back in the saddle eventually so here I am. 

I'm going to post the little art I did in June and all the sketches I did in January when I re-learned how to draw for myself. Again, I'm so sorry for being away without saying anything and I'm grateful to whoever threw me a buck, or even just casually enjoyed my art. Leaving like I did was really irresponsible and there's no excuse for not at least making a post about all of this sooner.  Every month I got a patreon payment was another wave of guilt because I literally couldn't give y'all anything but at the same time that money was letting me book flights to funerals and keeping my mom comfortable while she recovered from surgery right after I spent a lot of my savings in 2022 trying to fight my late cat's cancer. And then not posting about what was going on made me more anxious as time went on because there was more guilt every month so I felt like I needed to come back with a bunch of art and energy and good reasons and it was just. A Mess. 

But anyway.

I'm alive, I'm back. The Horrors persist, but so do I.

Thank you for your patience.

[ot3]

Just curious, what’s your opinions on Kristoph and Phoenix? I see you reblog ship posts about them sometimes and I’m really curious about your opinions on their dynamic both inside and outside of ship stuff, because I didn’t really know how to interpret Kristoph in particular. I think he’s one of the worse villains in AA tbh, it’s been a while so I may be misremembering, but I just didn’t… get that much substance from him?

kristoph is certainly a really hard character for me to fully develop an opinion on in isolation. i think the only area where i'm capable of saying anything about him i can back up with significant references to the text is in regard to his relationship with phoenix, because that's where the meat of his character interactions are. and more broadly because as a #phoenixhead my primary means of looking at the entire franchise is how things relate to phoenix. if you'd like to read about my interpretation of phoenix and kristoph's relationship more specifically i've got a post on that subject here. i think it's a character dynamic that has a TON going for it relative to the screentime if you're able to disregard fanon and look directly at what's in the text.

but more on kristoph individually

kristoph suffers from the same thing that all of aa4's major characters and plotlines do: not getting another game. there was clearly more to the gavin brothers' story we didn't get and will never get, and knowing that there's Something there we have absolutely no means of predicting or unraveling makes it hard to theorize. he kind of exists in a quantum state for me where i can see a ton of alternate perspectives on his character's complexities and just buy whichever one i'm feeling at a given moment. i personally wouldn't say he lacks substance because every interaction he has with any other character is, imo, very compelling and gives me a lot to chew on. but he's a character that's all questions and no real conclusions for sure.

i don't think he's a cackling machiavellian serial abuser. i think hes easily the kind of person who has the capacity to be emotionally abusive and manipulative to the people closest to him without being Pure Evil. because we have so little on him it's very easy to portray kristoph as the kind of sinister that provides whatever OP's favorite flavor of angst is. and i'm certainly no exception to that; i just happen to be a person who is into maybe some subtler flavors.

he's both one of ace attorney's most calculated villains, with poisoning vera's nailpolish being an incredibly cold maneuver that suggests a lot of foresight, and one of ace attorney's most brutal murderers, capable of getting aggressive enough in a moment to bludgeon a man to death with a bottle. i think kristoph can be understood as a character whose primary motivation is control, both over himself and others. there's that critical line in turnabout succession where he tells klavier he's out of control, and klavier says "whos control? mine, or yours?" his reputation is built on his ability to stay calm under pressure, and his ability to stay calm under pressure is built on his tendencies to preemptively engineer situations in his favor. the stuff with phoenix and the gramarye case represents what we can presume to be the biggest failure of his career.

i think this puts him very much in line with AA1's main villains. people like to compare him to dahlia a lot for obvious reasons and there's some fun to be had there but i think it lets people overlook how well he ties into AA1. redd white controlled the press and controlled the judges to get away with his blackmail ring. von karma controlled the witnesses to engineer his perfect cases. damon gant controlled the police and the evidence, and then controlled lana to control the prosecution. although those were all one-case villains i think kristoph justifies his larger scope in aa4 by the significant and longstanding personal connections he has to the rest of the main cast. kristoph represents the mirror image of those AA1 villains; aa1 shows the way the deck is stacked against the defense. kristoph shows what it looks like when someone tries to stack it in the other direction

i think kristoph plays an important part in the larger franchise by showing what corruption looks like from the defense's bench, and how this corruption takes a different cadence when it lacks the systemic power that the villains like gant had. i think his cold, calculated approach to defense works well as a foil to the type of defending we saw from phoenix who is all heart and charges in head first. i think apollo works well representing a sort of compromise between the two, being a little bit shrewder than phoenix but no less earnest. i think klavier, then, as a prosecutor who is much less aggressive than the previous 3 both personally and professional serves to further invert the expectations set by the trilogy in a way that's really satisfying.

is kristoph missing some pretty critical backstory that i would love to see? yeah. absolutely. but i think when you look at him as a story device rather than an underdeveloped character he adds a tonnnnn to the series. that said, i will die wondering.

[changbinsboobs]

If you had to use one word to describe each of skz’s dorm mates dynamic living together what would it be? I feel like some of them would be super chaotic and others super chill (Felix and seungmin lol)

Used the 3rd Eye Tarot. I didn't do the one word thing cuz I'm too lazy to get my creative juices going so i just did a short reading on it:)

*For entertainment purposes only!

SKZ Dorm Pair Dynamics

Chan + I.N - Knight of Cups, 10 of Pentacles, 5 of Swords

They keep their interactions at surface level. As long as they do that their co living goes well. Since they have quite different visions on the world and just overall. They don't see eye to eye and never will - as in u will never see the world the same way your grandma will right, cuz both of u are from different generations. U still love her tho:) as long as y'all don't go into too much depth. Same goes for those two.

I think if they spend too much time together and go to deep in their interactions they'll get pretty pissed at each other pretty quickly😅

I'm also seeing some love stuff going on in there so someone might be inviting their love interest over there.

Lee Know + Han - 6 of Wands, 2 of Wands, Ace of Wands

Very active dorm.

Both of them interact a lot with each other and have plans for places they'll go visit, food they'll try, hobbies they'll do together etc.

Changbin + Hyunjin - 4 of Cups, King of Wands, Death

A funny mood overall.

But actual jokes and fun actually just happen on occasion. Not all the time.

This is a bit difficult to decipher to be honest cuz im not picking up on a consistent energy.

Thats why i think they have like phases (?) they go through. So if they have a lighthearted phase they joke and have fun together.

But then they go back to their hermit mood and each one goes into his own world and hivernate for a while and have their own small rebirth, and then when they're done with that they go out of it and have fun and interract again.

I think thats not something they really are conscious if. If you were to ask them i think they would tell you they're constantly together and having a blast. Cuz those hibernation phases they have, tho long, i think for them feel like one afternoon or something like that. So for them it feel like they're constantly having fun together cuz its like the hibernation phase doesn't count, its like sleeping😂

Felix + Seungmin - The Devil, The Tower, 7 of Pentacles

Honestly seeing those cards scared me a bit, i thought this dorm was gonna be the most lighthearted one but it seems like the heaviest most strained one.

I think each one's in their own world and they have little to no interactions. Each of them works in themselves and their own stuff.

Idk if its something between them that has happened, or one of them had a really nasty experience that they are preoccupied with.

I think one's just minding his own buisenss, not engaging whatsoever in the drama of the other.

While the other is sunken deep into his own suffering and filth and despair.

Its giving victim complex tbh.

Im seeing strong mental health issues. And toxic ways of handling himself and the situation. With every step he tales he sinks more and more into it.

And the whole tragedy thing - i don't think it really exist(?) its more like in his head than in reality. And he brought it on himself (thats why the other one doesn't seem to care that much, im getting the vibe of putting his hands in the air cuz he thinks the other one's just a hopeless case and he should learn to deal with it by himself), from lack of boundaries.

I wasn't planing on saying who it is cuz its none of my business but ya'll already know I think it's Felix so I'll clarify that based on this current energy, and the energy I've sensed from felix before i assume its him. I haven't specifically read about that/ confirmed it with the cards. And i don't intend to do it, cuz i just think we shouldn't stick our noses everywhere. I think the cards just give out enough energy/info for us, and i pick on just as much as i should. If something isn't confirmed by itself, i don't like pestering the poor guys and harassing them to tell us.

[birdiebirdjay]

controversial opinions on characters? (specifically harry potter)

hi anon! thanks for the ask :)

hmmmm i have quite a few

i don't like luna lovegood. i think she's very irritating as a person and i would absolutely go batshit if i had to interact with her in real life. she is the wizard equivalent of a flat earther and an anti vaxxer, not a spiritual guide. hermione wasn't narrow minded for doubting her and xeno, they were the narrow minded ones for never questioning their beliefs despite the MOUNTAINS of evidence against them. rahhh she makes me so angry. (i hate that i have to specify, but this isn't misogynistic, i would feel the same if she was a guy.)

lucius malfoy is a relatively harmless guy, he's just slippery. he gives me such peacock vibes. he just wants to show off and look rich and not be questioned. (also he def dotes on narcissa and draco which is adorable to explore in fics <3 i think he would be an amazing father to a little girl and would have loved a daughter which i like exploring in my fics, but that's just a headcanon)

draco is the same way, i feel. iirc he's usually too scared to start shit unless crabbe and goyle are there, he just makes me laugh tbh. of course he does do and say some shitty things but i am just. unable to take him seriously. this may be because i haven't thought about his character in a while, but as of right now, i don't really see him as evil OR a sympathetic little boy. he's just. a little dude. (he is more dangerous than his father though, i'll give him that.) i mean if marauders stans are allowed to glorify james potter and put him on a pedestal, i'm allowed to have this.

percy weasley! i love percy so much, i think this is an uncommon opinion but i don't really know. i think he's amazing, i've already talked about him a lot on my blog so ye :)

i think the weasley family is dysfunctional asf. i don't think i personally can explain it, but this post by @/arkadijxpancakes does a great job of comprehensively analyzing their history and dynamics as well as showing why each weasley is the way they are. super good read!

albus dumbledore: i don't know why this is controversial but i actually think he was a good character, all things considered. yes, he did some bad things, but they were to help save the wizarding world in the end. he set it all up.

severus snape: i think he's awesome, deserved WAY better, and was a traumatized character who is severely overhated. please don't try to fight me on this, you'll just give me a headache.

lily evans: this is a very new opinion of mine but... i don't think she was a great person. i used to wonder 'how could james potter, a shitty little twit twat, end up with such a wonderful and kind and amazing person?' but i've come to realize, she's really not those things. she was kind of a shit friend from what we know. i still think she's very interesting, but not necessarily a good person.

harry potter!! i want to include him because i think that quite frankly he is an awesome little dude but is super underrated and borderline disliked by a big part of the fandom. though i personally feel like he could have been written better in some ways, i still love him tons and i think he deserves more appreciation <33 (also i adore the idea of an oddly specific au where percy and oliver team up to take care of lil tiny first year harry)

neville longbottom: this may be the most controversial one yet but i just don't feel the hype. i feel like he was largely unimportant in the first six books besides as a side character (but it's been a while since i read most of them, so correct me if i'm wrong) and yeah he was cool in the seventh, but like... i still don't feel it. he was pretty boring imo. i think i logically understand why he's loved, but i don't personally relate :/

(canon) james potter: hate him. -100000000/10. he can go die. (OH WAIT HE ALREADY DID!) i'm sorry, i just cannot like him. fanon james is awesome and super cute and lovable, but fanon james is a whole different person than canon james. if we compare young severus to harry, james is dudley dursley in literally every way. rich, privileged, gets away with everything, and loves picking on powerless and vulnerable people for fun. the only difference is that james potter tended to do it with a partner/group, and dudley could do it on his own. oh, and dudley apologized, i guess. it was pretty half assed but we did see him trying to be better with the teacup and stuff. they both suck, obviously, but at least dudley had a slight turning point. maybe i just don't like james because we never saw him be apologetic or regret anything in canon? idk.

cho chang: i honestly really liked her! i thought she and harry could have been super cute ever since i read the third book. now obviously valentines day of 1996 was a disaster, but i still think that if she and harry had met up again after the war and after they had figured themselves out, they could have sort of talked and apologized and moved on and possibly rekindled. idk, this isn't really as ~controversial~ as some of the others because i feel like cho chang is just more forgotten than unpopular or controversial, but i don't see a lot of charry content out there so i'm putting this here :]

one last thing i almost forgot, VIKTOR KRUM IS A FUCKING CREEP!! i used to be more hesitant about voicing this opinion because he's so loved in the fandom, but GOD DAMN he's a creep. as a famous, rich, popular adult, he asks out a 15 year old and is super nice to her and appreciates her intellect and is generally very sweet to her, but that just. that literally just sounds like grooming to me?? wtf?? i mean if i was asked out at 15 by an 18 year old, i would be VERY creeped out. also he comments on how attractive ginny (15 at the time) is at bill's wedding when HE IS IN HIS 20s. he then makes a comment along the lines of 'what's the point of being famous if all the good looking girls are taken?' HEY HERE'S AN IDEA, FIND A WOMAN INSTEAD OF A GIRL??

there's gotta be more controversial opinions i have but no one else comes to mind right now; feel free to request opinions on specific characters! i have a lot of those :]

[triflesandparsnips]

I'm not seeing enough deep-dive nonsense about the new Good Omens season 2 poster drop on my dash, and by god that means I must be the one to deliver it.

For those who haven't seen it yet, behold:

...there's a lot in here to go a wee bit feral over, if one was so inclined, and lord knows I love an inclination.

The Obvious Stuff

1. There Was Only One Bed Chair

This is the bulk of the commentary I've seen, and tbh, it's pretty great. "I am bored/busy and ignoring you but also what is personal space, never heard of her, we will not be taking questions at this time."

Notably, however, this is the second time we've seen them back to back-- the majority of the poster art we saw for the first season had them side by side. In both cases they're in a position to face some third thing together-- the difference, perhaps, is that side by side might imply equality of situation, while back to back implies implicit trust that the other won't stab you there.

2. The bookshop

Aw, look at them. Look at it. What a glorious little mess. This is them in London. Arizaphale looks pleased with the situation; Crowley looks bored af but he's also squished up on that one dang chair, so there's a "cat sitting next to you because parallel play and mirroring are the Best Interactions" feel to it.

3. Tea and wine

Arizaphale's got a teacup, Crowley's got a wine glass, this is very Them and indicative of their Vibes. Tbh, I think this is just a nice bit of design work, but it's worth calling out.

4. The outside street

The shop across the way is using a Gothic and reads "GIVE ME" before being cut off. No clue what it means, but it probably means something.

5. The tagline

The previous tagline we got was "Something's going down in the Up" (with that grey feather falling between their black and white wings)-- this tagline reads "Everyday it's a-getting closer."

Easiest interpretation is, oho, we're getting closer to the second season, and gosh there will be some Plot in it. And sure, yes, it works for that too, huzzah. But leaving aside the "it" and what that may mean-- "a-getting" is a fascinating word choice. It evokes similar constructions like, say, the somewhat obscure "Sumer is icumen in" (a song about the changing of the seasons and also encouraging a cuckoo to go lay some eggs in other birds nests if u no wat im sayin eyyyyy)-- and the significantly less obscure protest song "The Times They Are A-Changin'", whose ending stanza is:

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now

Will later be fast

As the present now

Will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now

Will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'

Gosh.

Now the Real Fun Starts

This poster is a composite image (as so many ads are), composed of different bits and pieces to form a whole impression -- based on fun stuff like relative pixelation and whatnot, you can often tell what portions of an image were there to start with, and what were specifically added in after the fact. How packed this poster is in tiny details -- which is exactly where I would hide fun hints to things -- is generally a cue for me to take a closer look, and I have been, I think, rewarded.

1. The books with legible titles

Zoom in on Aziraphale's book-- he's reading Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. The "two cities" in play are Paris and London, and the book is set before and during the French Revolution.

It's the story of a man who had been previously imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years, and then was released to go live with his daughter -- who he has never met, what with the whole "imprisoned" thing -- in London.

The opening paragraph is:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The pile of books in the foreground have two visible titles: the topmost one is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (a "novel of manners" that's considered a heavy-hitting romantic classic, and also yes the leads are both prideful and prejudiced and it takes an entire book for them to clear that up) and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (a young adult coming-of-age adventure story about a kid who finds himself on an adventure with a bunch of pirates to discover buried treasure).

Of note: A Tale of Two Cities, Pride and Prejudice, and Treasure Island also all have note tabs sticking out of them, and are the only books that have them. This is reminiscent of how Arizaphale studied and referenced Agnes Nutter's prophecies.

Some of the books beneath the window technically have titles, but they appear to be about as pixelated as the rest of that section, and so I suspect they're just part of the scenery.

Similarly, most of the books on the background shelves are like that as well, except:

Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (A satirical novel set in World War II; Wikipedia briefly explains that "the novel examines the absurdity of war and military life through the experiences of Yossarian and his cohorts, who attempt to maintain their sanity while fulfilling their service requirements so that they may return home." The book also coined the phrase "catch-22," which is a situation someone can't escape because of paradoxical rules-- in the case of the book, you can't ask to be evaluated for insanity so that you can be exempt from flying dangerous missions, because "anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy.")

Iain Banks's The Crow Road (and a first edition, perhaps? I haven't read it, but apparently it's a Scottish family drama about a perfect murder against the backdrop of the 1990s Gulf War. Its opening line is "It was the day my grandmother exploded." The phrase "the crow road" is a euphemism, in the book, for death.)

Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim (Sparknotes says it's "the story of a man named Marlow's struggle to tell and to understand the life story of a man named Jim" -- a young man who goes to sea, makes a terrible and cowardly decision while following his leaders, and then spends the rest of his life haunted by it.)

There's at least one extra, partially obscured title:

It appears to read "THE BODY ------ and ------", which makes me wonder if it's an anthology of murder mystery short stories.

Leaving aside the uncertain book, commonalities between many of these books include:

soldiers, war, and the horrors/absurdities thereof

doubles and parallels

death and murder

a young/inexperienced protagonist thrown in with more experienced/weirder folk

fragmented and out of order narratives, sometimes having to be pieced together from multiple viewpoints

...pirates

2. The strange but noticeable inserts

There are several images that have been inserted into the poster that -- unlike the teacup and wine glass mentioned above -- don't seem to make a lot of contextual sense and are therefore, perhaps, extra information. These include:

a. the three lizard boys

b. the broken smartphone

c. the matchbox with the quote on the side

d. the camera

e. this statuette that seems suspicious

f. this record and scroll that seem out of place

g. the clockface with the missing hand (which may be just for the Aesthetic, but whatever, I'm including it)

What do they mean? No clue. I suspect it will become apparent as we get trailers and/or the actual show.

In Conclusion

Uh.

Look. Design teams can do all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons. All of this could mean absolutely nothing.

But.

Using my magical powers of bullshit deduction, I might look at all this, and that grey feather falling from the earlier poster, and say... well... the war's still ongoing, yeah? So maybe... maybe there needs to be a new angel keeping an eye on things on Earth. Or an eye specifically on Aziraphale and Crowley.

And that would look SUSPICIOUS, right? So this is an angel who's maybe... a little bit Fallen. For the sake of the Mission. Like, they've agreed to sin just a lil bit, just enough to justify being thrown out of Heaven, and they're not actively in Hell because they're, oh, just stopping off, or maybe just going really slowly, or maybe they were sent back up from Hell because they were still "too good" and all that Pureness of Spirit was stinking up the place--

Whatever. Point is, they're on Earth, they're very confused, it sure would be nice if these very Established metaphysical elders could give them a few hints about how to get on. We'd then get to enjoy a Guide to Living a Totally Normal Human Life given by these two disaster dorks, plus whatever nonsense is derived from, idk, various extraneous plot shenanigans, probably involving a Murder and maybe a MacGuffin Maltese Falcon.

And most importantly: this new angel? Wow no they couldn't possibly be a spy because again WOW, what kind of angel would deliberately Fall? Wouldn't that require doing the wrong thing to do a right thing? ...okay maybe, but can it really be wrong if it was done by command? ...well, wait, it surely must be wrong because otherwise the mechanism wouldn't have worked-- but then, wait, which thing was the wrong thing--

And Aziraphale and Crowley would watch this bouncing volley of cognitive dissonance with great interest, also possibly while holding hands.

[boombambaby]

respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better.

roleplayer name: Cas!

roleplayer pronouns: she/her -- though I usually go by character's name/gender or don't really care tbh.

muse name(s): Kuzco!

preferred communication: I'm pretty open everywhere. I'm off Weds/Thurs, and I work from 6am - 2pm EST. At work I have access to Tumblr so I can be reached in DM's, and on Discord on breaks. after work I'm usually here for DM's or on Discord all evening until about 10pm EST (though I should try to get to bed earlier tbh). I'm admittedly terrible at communicating, though. You can reply to me, and I'll open it up and read it and be doing something else, and think 'i'll get to it in a few minutes!' and then completely forget that it exists. On that same note, i'm also always worried I'm bothering someone, so I rarely reach out first for messages unless I have a specific question or something. I love to chat though, or discuss our characters or ideas or. . ANYTHING, honestly. I just sometimes need a nudge.

experience: I've been writing/roleplaying since 2005! Started with Myspace and AIM roleplay, moved from there to LiveJournal for a hot minute and then Facebook, Twitter, and eventually Roleplayer.me. Always said I'd NEVER join Tumblr, bc it seemed so confusing, but. Here we are!

preferred roleplay type: I'm a fan of all kinds. I LOVE banter or crack roleplay. It's my all time favorite, and I think it's the best tool for personality building a character you can have. Thinking on your feet in character can be a BLAST and it's just. So fun. Some of the best interactions come from that or prompts. I'm also a fan of sentence multi-para though I have a tendency (if you couldn't tell) to ramble and turn it into a novella pretty easily.

pet peeves & dealbreakers: I honestly don't have any dealbreakers. I've been doing this so long I've learned to roll with the punches, mostly. I'd have to really think about pet peeves, but I don't think I have any. I've had bad situations in the past, I'm sure everyone has. I don't like overly possessive writing partners. If we ship and we're single ship, that's fine. But don't try to dictate who I can and can't speak to or write with. It honestly takes a lot to upset me. Don't include me in drama, don't count me as a number and never interact or straight up ignore me, don't leave me hanging forever (I'm very lenient with replies, I will NEVER pressure you, but if it's been months I might start to question what's going on.) and we'll be cool. EDIT TO ADD; THOUGHT OF A PET PEEVE. RL issues and politics! I understand that the world is a WILD place right now, and there are controversial topics and that everyone has an opinion. That's all fine and good; BUT I ROLEPLAY SPECIFICALLY TO GET AWAY FROM REAL LIFE AND STRESS, and the very LAST thing I want to see on my timeline is a post endorsing a presidential candidate, or posts showing a war zone, or any of the other trending topics right now. Roleplay is a fictional world we create with other writers. It's not that I don't care about those issues, I just don't think they have any place here. and the black outs and things that roleplayers do for 'support' and all that, I just. I don't get it. I don't want to see it. Same with the asks to support x family from x war torn country. Just. please. Don't.

best time to write: Probably in the morning while I'm at work, other than that I can be pretty sporadic. I love to relax and banter and do goofy stuff at night. But honestly, I'm always up for something!

are you like your muse? Ahhhhh, I'm gonna go ahead and say no lol. I can be quick, teasing and sarcastic when I get to know someone, and I'm pretty extroverted like Kuzco with a lot of things; but the cocky arrogance, all about me, flaunting his wealth and tossing people out of windows bit? Total and complete opposite of who I am. Writing him is definitely a TON of fun, and a very welcome relief from the stresses of real life, and I love writing for him so, so much.

tagged by: @wintersovereign

tagging: @smartylina @musemelodies @emeraldofparis @gunslinginnhogtyin @hellsmayflower @keepmovinjunior @lcafman

[whataboutsimple]

Warning! Under the cut it's just Alex whining about his life and nothing more. So basically useless post lmao- oh, yeah, curses. Lots of. Curses. Yeah, I don't recommend reading this tbh

Now what the fuck, how people manage to live their life normally and than there's me. What is wrong with me?

No, no, listen. I get it, no human can be perfect, but it frustrates me so much that I can't get exactly what's up with me. You saw other ppl on this app? Three posts a day MAX, and what do I do?

Third of August the first very post, all the way to 17 of August.

Tham it's 9 of September and since than no breaks (well, maybe Little like for a day or two)

Currently I have 397 posts, and if math is mathing, than it's about ≈8 posts each day.

8 posts each day, and I haven't posted even half of what I wanted. Or the asks I'm getting (I love them though)

What I'm implying? I can't focus even for a second on my school, better shoot me than make me doing my English, all the homework I've done so far I've done in five minutes before the class itself started. You see it?

AND THAT'S even not the full thing, I can't focus even on writing or drawing, that's why I didn't upload all the stuff, because I can't make myself create it! I have the idea in the head, I want to put it on the paper, but I can't.

The hands, the brain, they work only in a stress situations, when it's either getting an F, or doing the freaking work god damn it.

Sometimes I don't even want to touch my phone or get up from bed. All I want is to, idk, nap until I'll feel myself as if I rested.

Don't even get me started on trying to look through my mental health, I've been doing it, and you know what? I can't normally say to myself "Hey, those symptoms are kind of remind me of ourselves. Maybe we are not as healthy as we pretend we are?" Nonono, because it always will end up in self doubting like "What if I'm lying? What if I just know those symptoms are implying this and try to adjust to them to look so "poor, poor child" like? What if I just try to convince myself that something is wrong with me or simply want attention?"

Okay, like, I've been searching for symptoms of autism and ADHD for so long, reading forums and what other ppl with such things say. God, I even went through thos dumb "online tests" out of boredom and you know what? It's like 90% that I do have both, but yet again what if I'm lying? I'm perfectly healthy, I should be, I'm just lazy and dumb to do the work.

I have autistic cousin for example, and I act a lot like them and a lot like not them. Even my family always compares us, but when it's me, they go like "Well, you're not autistic, so it should be fine for you, stop acting like that!"

Yeah, woman, I'm perfectly fine, I'm just dying everytime I need to interact with ppl in reality and have heartbeat over probably 500 because it beats so loud I can almost hear it.

I've been to therapist like twice after some tragic moment in my life, because I started having horrible panic attacks, so strong even my Mon got worried, and all they managed to diagnose is PTSD after what my mother like. Just stopped the sessions. And those times when I were there, I was too scared to ask them if I may or may not have, idk, ADHD, autism or depression or anxiety or whatever because I just want to know what is wrong with me.

Because normal people won't act like I'm.

You think the dog thing is a joke? Well, yeah, it is, but I'm really eager for any interaction and reaction I can get. I don't even care abt kudos and stuff as long as you commented or reposted saying something. I'm going to die on the spot and if I had a tail it would've 100% wagged.

But when it comes to ppl in real life, I don't want to have them near me, to be in one room with them, to hear them. I can chat, I love chatting, I love talking, but only with texts. There are literally only three ppl who I can call: my mom, my grandma and my online friend.

And online friend waited for 4 years before we had a first call, voice call.

That's not normal, is it?

And like that I'm lost in me thoughts. The point is that I want to know what's wrong with me really bad, but at the same time I'm doubting if there's something wrong and I'm not just a lazy sore looser who tries to hide from responsibility in the internet. And even that I'm doing horribly.

Dang it.

[thewritingcoroner]

I done got frustrated

My desire to keep my opinions to myself managed to last most of the day. New record tbh.

So like I wrote this big long rant a couple of weeks ago and decided against sharing it while I was still frustrated. But I do feel like maybe there is a larger discussion to be had! I think it's important that we as a writeblr community really take a look at why so many of us are getting so frustrated so often and how we as a community and as individuals can work towards an actually community vs a corner of social media. @blind-the-winds did an excellent job of explaining some of what I'm seeing as well in relation to why a lot of positivity and support posts and such ring hollow to so many of us. I wanted to bring a slightly different perspective to things coming from a marketing/social media marketing background. Under the cut out of respect for everyone's dashboards lol

This is going to get INCREDIBLY LONG. So I have a read more here. Behold, the bitchfest.

So this started today when I was chatting with an irl friend and expressing my frustrations about writeblr in general as a community. And what I've recognized now is this: writeblr isn't really much of a community, and it is very rare to find other creators and writers who are willing to treat you (the hypothetical writer) as another human being with a love for the same craft they do. Those people who do treat you like people are some of the loveliest people I've found on the internet, but they are hard to find.

Now, to be clear, I don't think the problem is completely writeblr's fault, nor do I believe it is any one or two or five hundred individual's fault. The problem comes from a number of different sources, and my friend did a great job of helping me see the problem from a number of different perspectives.

The problem being this: it is impossible to get engagement on posts that feature original long-form writing, and it is exceedingly difficult to effectively foster meaningful connections with other writers.

Some disclaimers: it's not impossible, and the people who successfully receive engagement on their long-form writing tend to be the people who are the exceptions proving the rule. Also, by "engagement" I mean any interaction that serves to both consume the content and spread the content. "Original" writing refers to writing that is not fandom related, and "long-form" means 1k words or more.

Do you think 1k words is a little short for "long-form" writing? Me too. I'll get to that.

I'll start my explanation here with what catalyzed these revelations in my little head. Over night, I got quite a few new followers, all directly coming from a post that got mildly popular here on writeblr. So, I looked at what other posts of mine have been popular, and I started to notice a trend.

My most popular posts tend to fit into one of three categories: memes, tag games, and boost posts/recommendations. Memes tend to be popular because they're funny and easy to spread, and as long as they fit the theme, they don't ruin a blog's aesthetic. Tag games get more interaction because I am directly tagging people to see the post. But the popularity for those posts tend to stop at the half dozen to a dozen people tagged in each given post (the person or people tagging me, and the several people I tag to continue the game). The last category is most interesting to me, the boost posts and recommendations.

Here's the thing, I only boost or rec other writers and blogs if I have invested interest and care into the person behind the blog and their content. AKA, I only really boost friends and writers I admire/like their content. It's great to see that those posts get popular with people outside my circle, but out of those three categories, none of them feature my own content.

Why is that?

It seems like every day I see a new post with a few thousand notes at least complaining about a lack of interaction on writeblr and the importance of reblogs and blah blah I rarely stop to read those let alone spread them. And a few dots connected, I think.

If my content isn't getting interaction, and your content isn't getting interaction, then what is? And I think the answer is this: memes, advice, and boosts.

Memes and advice are self-explanatory. But boosts are interesting because you will see everyone hop on to rec other people or more frequently market themselves, but they stop there. And I see my greatest influx of interaction and new followers when I boost other people's works or blogs.

My conclusion is that many people are using writeblr as a hustle and not a community. In a community we engage with each other, talk to each other, enjoy each other's company. And I've found many mutuals to be very lovely people who I do enjoy and who I love to engage with and who I like to genuinely call my friends. I like a lot of yall for different reasons too! Some of you are great hype buddies, some of yall are all about that accountability buddy system, and I really love when I get to have intellectual conversations about the craft and different concepts with different members of writeblr too.

But largely, I find that a lot of people who engage once with my blog, usually on those boost posts, or who ask for engagement more frequently than when frustration strikes, tend to be the people who think of writeblr as a hustle. They see that I (and many other writers) will boost and rec our friends, and jump on that bandwagon, but instead of putting in the effort to get to know us and our work, they say what needs to be said, hop on trends, and avoid any genuine connection.

So what gives?

It's not the individual writers, I think. It's the nature of social media, marketing, and the medium.

Listen, I work in marketing, and long-form writing is a dying art that is very difficult to market. I genuinely think the concept of "tldr" really ruined a lot of people's ability to engage with longer form writing. Whether that be nonfiction opinion posts or actual fiction. Tumblr is one of the only places I can think of where long-form writing is a feasible medium to post at all, let alone gain a following for.

Think about it: instagram is best suited for images, videos, and short-form aestheticized poetry. Twitter has a character limit that requires long threads of individual tweets or images to get your message across. Pitch events are well-suited for twitter because your pitch by definition needs to be short. But sharing actual summaries, snippets, or excerpts? Not really possible. Tiktok is for videos, which as we know can be utilized, but is not the most efficient method of marketing written word. Ao3 is an archive with an excellent tagging system, but to get readers, outside marketing is required. Facebook requires a real name, and isn't really well suited for content creation either. Wattpad, Royal Road, and others are great for posting actual works, but they don't necessarily have well-functioning tag systems that help the author find their audience. That really just leaves Tumblr. Pillowfort is also an option, though it's still so in the beginning phase of development that it's pretty difficult to get started there.

It's well known in marketing that images and videos catch attention and long paragraphs of text (AKA what most prose looks like) tend to be scrolled past. The very nature of the long-form writing medium is against most marketing techniques. Marketing long-form writing needs to look different from any other medium.

All that being said: the culture of social media engagement has shifted, and this is a conversation that fandom has been having and I think has actually been doing well discussing the different facets of how the culture has shifted. Fandom (and content creation in general) is seen as a commodity to be consumed. Consumers want to see the content, maybe save it for later, and then move on to the next piece. This is easily done with visual mediums, but writing mediums are especially vulnerable to this culture shift because it does require so much time and energy to consume, let alone engage.

Creators don't see their work as a commodity to be consumed, but it is now. When consumers view a piece of visual media, they view the image (consume it) and then move to the next, some will spread it to others by engaging with the picture through reblogs or sending the post to someone else. But most often, there will be a "like" to tell the creator good job, and then scroll to the next. This is harder to do with written media unless one has the time and energy to read the piece. There's the extra step of critical thought.

To put it a different way, the market is flooded with content and creators. With so much to choose from, the consumer now does not have to participate in the community to ensure continued creation. There will be another creator tomorrow. The consumer no longer feels connected to a community of their interests, it is simply being sold to them.

So back to writeblr, this is where I am at a crossroads. I am tired of creating content to be consumed, I want community. But also, I have nowhere else to turn. I can either completely withdraw from what sliver of community I have found, or I can keep trucking along, create my stuff, play the games we play, chat with the people I do like and do care about, and hope that I don't get too frustrated one day and leave for good.

[theplumbobguide]

How to Make Your Game More Interesting:

you're so... ~interesting~

Intro: Hello all, Really quickly, I'd like to introduce myself. I have been playing the sims 2 since release when I was quite young, and still play 20 years later. In playing for 20 years, I have read the prima guides like they were the guides to my personal religion. I have deep dived into all the lore, and gone through more than a person who is not a dev should in this game. I've played too much. I've done too much. I also regularly peruse sims 2 subreddits, watch the sims 2 on youtube and generally seem to have made the sims 2 my life (writing this out, I'm feeling a little sad but... worth it). The main thing I see REGULARLY when reading comments and posts on reddit or the youtube comment section is that people generally don't know how to make their game interesting. Why? Well, it seems like generally people get very attached to their sims (same tbh) and don't want to cause chaos, or don't know how to cause chaos. My fun fact: I used to be just like you. Yes you, the person reading this is who is stuck in the loop of creating one perfect family after another and getting bored. I chronically made families of sims with the LTW of Fortune and Family who loved each other deeply, who had perfect A+ children, who succeeded in everything they did... sims who became stale. (how boring!) That was until I decided to use the skills I have learned through reading books, watching soap-opera-y shows, intense movies, and attempting to write my own novels to good use. This is where we come to part of what you came here for. Golden Rules: Rule #1. No good story has a main character who isn't flawed. Creating flawed sims is my main rule; if you had to leave this blog with one thing it's this: make flawed sims. Now, this doesn't mean all sims should be Romance sims or have a Romance secondary aspiration, but rather giving your sims "human qualities". Example: A sim with "anger issues", a sim who always chooses the wrong type of sims to date, a sim who is struggling with their sexuality, AN EVIL SIM. The list can go on. You can do this with your imagination and interactions in-game. You can also download wonderful mods like: Traits Project. This mod will help you create more dynamic sims without needing to think too much about it (OR thinking a lot about it, and adding the traits manually to really build your character). As you can see, there are tons of ways to create flawed sims. I ask you to be inspired by characters from the entertainment you enjoy consuming. You'd be surprised in how many little ways you can make a sim interesting and build a story around them. - A side note in this section: never underestimate a good "mid-life crisis". Quitting a job, gambling addiction, a new romantic interest, shopping addiction, arguing with a partner etc. The possibilities are endless. Rule #2. When in doubt, don't be afraid to take a sim out. No, I don't mean for a night out on the town... Here's the thing, sometimes your sim rolls boring wants regularly, seems to serve little to no purpose, and gives you the general feeling that there isn't much going on behind those pixelated eyes. Regardless of whether or not you like the sim you're thinking of in this moment, it's time to use them to drive the plot or create character development for your other playables. *Grim enters stage left* Never underestimate the storytelling tool that involves making your sim a ghost. Now, with that being said - we all enjoy occasionally letting the intrusive thoughts win when it comes to introducing your sim to the grim reaper; but we can't forget one of the main rules in storytelling plot drivers. You cannot off a character "just because". We must have reason, and this is where we can get really creative. Maybe your sim secretly really dislikes their so-called "perfect life". Maybe they just happen to hike in the desert, during the summer, with their needs really low... Maybe they fall asleep while making family dinner... MAYBE they take a little nightly swim while tired and seem to forget where that pesky pool ladder went.

There are tons of ways you can use these ideas and use it to drive your plot forward. Subjecting their loved ones to the reprocussions of their loss. It is here that I can't fail to mention that while random death can be important; as well as heart breaking. Here are a few ways I make random death possible in my game that I think are great: - Death By Childbirth - More Dangerous Fire - Real Sickness

The big thing I would like to reiterate, is to make sure that if it is not random, and completely your choice as the player, either send them off to the simulated great beyond for passion or pleasure. *Passion would be to move a plot forward, cause chaos, create a character arc for a sim or family, etc. *Pleasure would be just because it makes you happy to have more graves in your cemetary. you're a tad evil aren't you, you little minx. Rule #3. You Can't Always Get What You Want... but if you try sometimes, well, you just might find *you get what you need* Now, as you might have guessed: I am a semi-wants based player. You may be wondering "what that means?" What that means indeed, little friend. Semi-Wants Based Playstyle essentially boils down to: I try to achive almost everything my sim wants to do - but only if I like it for them. Also, sometimes your sim may not "want" something per se, but you've decided that you want to do it and don't want to wait for them to tell you they want to do it. This means, if my family sim decides that maybe they are more or just as attracted to their neighbour as they are their spouse and run a want to flirt with them... we may ruin a marriage or keep a deep dark secret, OR I will feel like it is too far out of left field for this particular sim and chose to ignore it completely. I go off ~vibes~ and suggest you try that too. Story time: I have the "Death by Childbirth" mod in my game. Two of my sims that we're romance sims lived together as a polyamourous couple sharing the sims they brought home. One day the female and male sims did an autonomous woohoo (thank you ACR), and fell pregnant wups. During that pregnancy, though, I noticed them be cute and close and... not have wants for other sims? I thought it was interesting and intended to maybe make them secondary family sims... until my female sim died during childbirth. Now, I could have gone two ways: 1. let the game be as it was and have the male sim be a single dad, or 2. use some cheats and get the resurrect o nomitron. The female sim who died was in the paranormal career, so I figured "why not! DO IT FOR THE PLOT." I resurrected her and decided that both sims underwent such a significant change that they may have also changed their outlooks on life, and changed their LTW. However, I always made it part of their story that while at first things would be good... at one point they would begin to feel like maybe family life wasn't really what they wanted or thought it would be. 3 children later (he wanted it), my female sim is going stir crazy; just wants to make friends and go to work and find the *more* that she knows is out there; my male sim is feeling very alone and like his wife isn't really there for him and his eye is beginning to wander... Who knows what will happen. What I'm trying to (and hopefully) get at here is this: The sims is YOUR game. Your sandbox. While it is fun to create chaos for chaos' sake, don't be afraid to do what YOU want. That's what makes the game enjoyable overall. So yes, maybe something bad happens to a sim, you have the complete ability to turn it around, as long as it what? Say it with me kids: "PrOgReSsEs ThE pLoT." That is what makes interesting gameplay/storytelling. you can really tell my creative writing teachers drilled something into my brain... but what was it? Rule #4. Jump Around! I know not everyone is a rotational player, nor is playing rotationally for everyone. I do, of course, think it's great (however you do it). I don't think it's a *must* to enjoy the game, though. I do stand on the hill that believes that some amount of "changing it up" is important. Once again, everyone is different, so find what you need or speaks to you in this section; but here are some things I do to make sure that I don't get burnt out.

Part 1. "Traditional" Rotational Gameplay: I play for the full EA/Maxis length season (5 days) with each family. You can do more or less. I also play in a pretty regular rotation that only gets changed based on circumstance. For example, if the family breaks apart, the moved family gets played after the original family.

Part 2. I build and/or upgrade all my lots slowly. Whenever I get the itch or inspiration to build I run with it. I usually get the feeling when it's beginning to be necessary in my game. Sometimes you need a coffee shop for a date… then a restaurant… then you think: wow my sims can meet more people at a bar. I build based off my wants and my gameplay needs. With that being said, I also love making my own hoods and slowly building up the town are more sims join the rotations (kinda like a BACC, but not really).

Part 3. I am never opposed to moving sims into a different house/location or simply sending them off on a vacation. Maybe even making sure they leave the house for more mundane reasons. When was the last time you took your kid to the park, you monster? You'd be surprised on how refreshing it can be. Also, how realistic. Gone are the days where your sim lived in the same home from College to Elderhood. Gone are the days where your sim never used their vacation days. Gone are they days where your sim only ever knew the four walls you built around them. Hopefully with doors and windows... but maybe not.. Rule #5. Remember Who You Are, SIMba. Keep in mind that the sims truly is your game. Your imagination. Your little world. You can make it as perfect or as chaotic as you want. As someone who's roots are in "the perfect sim/family" type gameplay, I always allow at least 1 if not 2-3 families who fit that bill somehow, to keep my little heart happy. (Another great idea for you comes from the movie "Don't Worry Darling": think of a town where everything is the 1950's vision of perfect - but everyone *is* happy... until... and fill in the blank as you go.) I digress, you can try out any/all these rules. You can even take inspiration from my game or ideas I layed out in this first ever post here, but at the end of the day, you will always be you. The Sims will always be your game. Don't be afraid to try things, don't be afraid to be your real and truest self. For some of you that means a town of insane sims wearing chicken costumes, and for others that might be trying to actually create the perfect town/family (I challenge you to make sure they have not 1 bad memory). Either way, and all the ways, I hope that this post at the least gave you joy and at the best gave you inspiration. More to come in the future! Have an exellent day, meaghanplumbob xox

[fismoll7secinv]

15 questions, 15 people:

I was tagged by dear @a-very-fond-farewell 💚I hope you get your lobster sanctuary! 💚

-

1. are you named after anyone?

nope

2. when was the last time you cried?

I don't know, I don't really cry

3. do you have kids?

never

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

yeah, quite casually in everyday life, but I try to tone it down

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

I'm bad with faces, I might not recognise someone who's new to me after interacting with them every day for 2 weeks (based on a true story) xdd so what I notice at first is the overall vibe they present, which is a combination of their posture and body language, clothes and accessories, facial expressions etc. This doesn't tell absolutely accurately who they are, but it shows how they want to be perceived mixed with some unconscious elements they might not notice themselves, which is interesting to me

6. what’s your eye color?

eh idk, people say they're blue when I'm in a blue pool, green when I'm among greenery, grey when it's a bit dark. I guess they're a subtle mixture that looks like nothing until there's something external that brings out one of the colors. it's a bit annoying tbh, so I usually just say grey

7. scary movies or happy endings?

i love horror, very high on my list of fav genres, but I also love happy endings, just not necessarily in horrors. In media other than horror I need HE or I feel down. So i'd say: both

8. any special talents?

I've had a music talent since I was little, couldn't understand how other kids didn't know how to play the flute or keep the rhythm. I've also heard various ppl say that I somehow know how to arrange things to be aesthetically pleasing, but I could never explain how to do it, it just looks better a certain way. A bit for drawing, considering how fast I improved compared to some other people, but I haven't pursued it farther than sketching. Sport comes pretty smoothly to me and my body, I've always been "the athletic girl"

I may sound like i'm bragging but i try to be objective for my own self. After all "talent" means nothing and is just bitterly wasted if you're not practising, so for me it can be more of a shameful thing that I let rot rather than something to be proud of. It's also so useless when teaching others, because you don't know how to explain shit when you do it intuitively, which tripped me a lot of times while trying to teach someone. Very annoying and sometimes isolating in a sense that you just vibe with yourself instead of sharing the experience with others

9. where are you born?

in a hospital

10. what are your hobbies?

reading, writing, taking care of plants, pen & paper rpgs, collecting weird trinkets and paintings, drawing, horror movies, detective stories, listening to podcasts

11. do you have any pets?

we have a dog but I moved out of my family home recently and the doggo stayed there, I still visit often and walk him, but it doesn't feel like he's really mine anymore :(

12. what sports do you/have you played?

I did gymnastics and horse-riding for a few years as a kid, used to jog in middle/high school, I also go on a trip to the mountains at least once a year to hike bc I'm obsessed with it. Recently I like to do yoga and fitness to bring my body to its limit and stretch all the pains that keep accumulating. I almost didn't move from my desk for over a year some time ago because i was too busy with uni, work and a few other big things, and it ended up in a neck injury that escalated to a few months of rehab. Now I move a lot so those nightmarish pain and several contusions don't repeat

13. how tall are you?

taller than most women and many guys

14. favourite subject in school?

all languages, math, biology

15. dream job?

neuroscientist, astronaut or pilot of small planes

-

I have no idea who did this already, feel free to ignore as always. Tagging @prommethium @miyakuli @still-gathering-roses @carmine-sunlight @wikipedie

[sotvtaughtmehowtofeel]

20 Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tag @autumnwoodsdreamer 💜

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

47

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

118,647

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Prospect. I used to write for The Last of Us but alas, the rot has shifted

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Uncle Joel

Safe

Home

Tell Her

Tacos

These are all short little one shots for tlou

5. Do you respond to comments?

I really try to but I think the honest answer is no 😭 every once in a while I go on a bender and respond to like 50 comments but I get so anxious responding because I'm like hiii thank you 🧍‍♀️ the best way to talk to me is on here tbh but please please don't stop leaving me comments I love them with my entire soul

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

Probably Joel. It's a death fic, but honestly it's not very good lol I have a death fic for Prospect that is mostly written that's gonna be wayy angstier, I just have to finish it

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

To see myself reflected in your eyes 💜 Cee and Ezra deserve to live a happy life thanks

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't, I've been lucky. People have been super supportive and so so nice on my fics (I love you all).

tbh I don't think my writing is popular enough to get hate lol.

9. Do you write smut?

No

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have written so many crossover fics that will never ever see the light of day lol I do not have any on ao3

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of (again I don't think my writing is popular enough for either of these things to happen haha)

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

Tumblr user tlouobsessed and I cowrote a fic (sobbed in our dms together). I took all the ideas we had talked about and wrote a little ficlet from them and I consider that cowriting

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Oh, how to answer that. Willow and Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) were my original OTP, I shipped them before I knew what shipping was. Nomi and Amanita (Sense8), couple of all time. There are more but I think those are my top two.

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

No Light 😭 I have ideas but no rot left. Maybe season 2 will reignite it, but I just don't know. Also, Stolen Future, the Prospect death fic I mentioned earlier. Idk why but I'm having so much trouble just finishing it. I do hope to actually finish that one day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I can write some good dialogue and fight scenes sometimes

I think I do a good job with storytelling sometimes? Combining different threads across a story to bring it all together. I'm thinking of how the present and flashbacks interact in By Midnight Time and something from Stolen Future

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I cannot describe things to save my life. All of my fics happen in empty white rooms good luck I hope your imagination fills everything in. It's such a fundamental aspect of writing that I am so so bad at lol I'm trying to learn from my friends and reading published books but it's hard!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Prev also said this but I agree, italicize other languages. Otherwise, go for it, but do your research if you don't speak the language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer back when I was a teenager. Didn't know what fanfic was, but my sister and I had a LOT of feelings about Buffy and we had to express them somewhere so we wrote our stories.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

By Midnight Time. Now I just need to freaking finish it 😉

Although I'm also very very fond of Blood of the Covenant and Water of the Womb, a one-shot told from both Ezra's and Cee's pov

Absolutely no pressure tags: @orangechickenpillow @blooming-gwens @dilf-din @ellies-little-gun @ellies-enrichment @outer-edges @steeb-stn @wicked--loving--lies

[barry-j-blupjeans]

2022 TAZ Fic Recs!!

There has been so many bangers I've read this year, oh my goddd. This list is mainly just me going through my bookmarks to share everything that's on them, because other people deserve to see them. I will not be @-ing every author, because honestly, I don't know if all of them have Tumblrs or what their usernames are if they do sldfsdf. But they'll be linked with the story!

Fics with a black heart emoji (🖤) in front of them have content warnings that really need to be adhered. I'm taking warnings from what I remember and what is in the tags of the story already. If I need to add anything else, let me know.

On the Deck of the Starblaster by papergardener - The Starblaster crew takes a well-deserved break in the sun. It's so soft that it makes my heart kinda ache, tbh! Could not recommend more.

parlay, as a gamble by anistarrose - Lucretia doesn't erase the concept of Parley as well as she meant to and Merle reaches out to the Red Robe. This one is beautifully heartbreaking and hilarious, I'm in love with it.

🖤 Symptoms by The_Fanfic_Train - The crew has defeated the Hunger and now they must through the mortifying ordeal of healing. This one got me real good, ngl. It shows so much growth and strength and adds a very realistic side to the characters that I very much enjoyed reading.

Warning for suicidal tendencies, negative thoughts, and self-destructive behaviors, and mentions of blood.

Who Have You Become In The Wake of All That's Happened? by ArtsyRiv - Magnus and his experiences with his hair and the styling of those around him. As someone who has also written an entire fic about hair, this is so beautiful. It captures the feelings connected to hair presentation so, so well and, to top it all off, T4T Magnulia, hell yeah.

🖤 I Tried To Do The Best That I Could by ArtsyRiv - Lucretia's been having nightmares in the wake of the Redaction. She's not coping with it well. This story is so beautifully written and pulls you along with all the feelings and emotions mixed in. It's soul-destroying but in a beautiful way.

Warning for self-harm, EDNOS/Eating disorders, some suicidal ideation, and an emetophobia warning.

Caves and Cypress by crowsong - In the simplest of terms, a character study of Barry between the end of Stolen Century and the beginning of Here There Be Gerblins. It's amazingly complex and so well thought out. It tossed me between angst and yearning so quickly that all my emotions jumbled up and came out as tears. There are some fun Barry and Lucretia interactions in here, as well as some very fun Barry and Kravitz interactions.

it's my party and I'll mope if I want to by Grabbingatpowerandkissingit - Angus and Lucretia make Taako a birthday cake. It's fun and funky and fresh, with a very nice little dash of angst sprinkled in. I adore it in every way.

Someone I Have Loved, But Never Known by anistarrose - A fucking fantastic AU of Barry and Lup also being voidfished and remembering their married but don't remember it's too each other. It's hilarious and so in character, I could not recommend it more.

I Saw Seven Bounties by umbraastaff (jothending) - Kravitz took all seven bounties because things like this usually come as package deals. He soon realizes he's sorely mistaken. This one is so fun. I have so many thoughts about Barry and Kravitz's interactions between Stolen Century and HTBG's and this fulfills like, half of them at least. The writing style is so charming and nice, I very highly suggest you read it.

leaving, as an injustice by anistarrose - Another absolute banger by Rose. Sort of a spiritual successor to "parley, as a gamble" further up the list, this is another fantastic Merle fic. With Mavis as the main character, we get to see Merle in a light that not a lot of people choose to write about. It's fantastic and deep and beautiful, an amazing read.

Some of my best friends are liches by Grabbingatpowerandkissingit - So, so, so good. What if Lup had gotten out of the umbrastaff really early? What if they had to deal with two Red Robes instead of one? Everything Reese writes is delightful and zesty, but I have a special place in my heart for this one.

if the grim reaper takes your professor before class starts then you're legally allowed to leave

if the grim reaper takes your professor before class starts then you're legally allowed to leave by anistarrose - Such a good take on another Barry lives after the Redaction AU. It's so funny and so good.

Scamming me, scamming you by Noodyl - Taako thinks he's flirting with Kravitz. Kravitz thinks he's being scammed (and he's kinda loving it?). This is so hilarious and I love the way Noodyl writes Kravitz, it's so very good. A perfect fun fic to wipe away all your sorrows.

🖤 Immortal Mortality by vacuumfluorescentdisplay - I just discovered this author and I'm going wild about them, just a little. This is such a good take on various deaths throughout the Stolen Century. It's so lived-in and refreshing to read and it brings a lot of humanity to the Starblaster crew, dealing with the most living-being-oriented problem: Death. Fantastic read and fantastic writing.

Warning for character death, including drowning and extreme hypothermia. There are also blood mentions and injury descriptions.

unreliable narrator by owlinaminor - An older fic but such a powerful one. It shares Lucretia's POV throughout her entire life up until just after Story and Song. It has given me a new way to view Lucretia and the way I write her and is such an impactful story. The writing style is fantastic and beautiful, I cannot recommend this more.

but the strange lights in the sky were shining by anistarrose - Barry knows things are off but he can't pinpoint why. This one so perfectly captures the feeling of offness from being in a new world but not being able to remember how or why you got there. It's very quick-paced and really captures you in the moment of it all. So good.

Live Like This by Grabbingatpowerandkissingit - Reese has once again taken an already brilliant AU idea (Tuck Everlasting-based AU, my beloved) and made it amazing. Barry's reoccurring encounters at the Fair and his life in between. It's an amazing story and so lived-in and thought-out. It's so very good.

Offworld by vacuumfluorescentdisplay - Last but certainly not least, this masterpiece. I just finished reading this the day I'm writing this and it's incredible. Barry is trying to escape his (criminal) pass and Taako and Lup are just trying to stay alive. This story follows their trip and their slow fall into trust. Tom is so good at world-building and making the characters feel multi-dimensional. The world(s) here are fantastically built and the storyline is even better. Again, I would very highly recommend it.

And that's it!! This got a little long but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anyone on my list sldkfsdf. Shout out to all these amazing authors and all the ficlets I've been seeing all over my dash. There's so much life and love in this fandom and I adore reading every single thing I come across.

[optiwashere]

No sleep gang!

BTS Fic ask! Was gonna do Nightsongs, but since it's still ongoing, here's a throwback.

Like I Am Safe Again: 7, 10, 26

Oooooh, now that's a fun one! It's hard for me to tell if that fic is just unpopular with people, or if folks don't have much to say about it (tbh both are reasonable) but it's one of my favorite things I've written for the fandom lol. Thanks for asking about this one 💜

7. What inspired the idea for the plot?

Other than the fact that expanding on "memory" for Shadowheart is one of my favorite things to do, it was a couple things! I was finishing up a reread of the Realm of Elderlings series, and I've always resonated with "outsider" characters in pretty much everything I read/watch/play. People that are, through their own actions or happenstance, sidelined in their own lives is very fascinating to me. That feeling of never being able to actually reach out and interact with others in a meaningful way because of what they've done, said, or because of who they think themselves to be is creative catnip for me. My love of that series and those types of (frustrating) character moments influenced the way Shadowheart in that fic continually tries to manage everything herself without once relying on people that would immediately help her. At least, at first. Shadowheart has a lot of (mostly appearance-based tbqh) benefits other outsider-types don't get, but trying to focus on the aspects of her that disconnect her from the others at that point in the timeline (namely her early secrecy, her mid-game zealotry/hesitancy) intersected really well with my canon divergence from the first part of that series. There are clear themes of repression, self-ostracization, and insecurity within her storyline that I just love. I was also obsessed with exploring her character that way after I had the thought: "how does someone who already deals with memory issues handle dissociation?"

10. Share a screenshot of the original outline.

OK, so my outlining method for that fic was kinda unhinged. I think I had an outline at one point, but it was probably a bullet point system. At some point, I either deleted it or it was never actually written down? Either way, I know the original version was actually a long one-shot like "It Is the Wound She Gave Me" but it kept getting longer and longer. Then it became three chapters/three mornings. Then I kept adding moments to expand and expand, and eventually I just had to admit that it should probably be a short multichapter lol. Some bits I know that I changed: Chapter one used to be just the "prayer at the tree" scene, Chapter two didn't have the fireside chat/episode until I was nearly done writing the whole thing, and the Epilogue didn't exist until I realized ending on Chapter four left things a little too bleakly open for me.

26. Wild Card! I'll tell you a fun fact about this fic!

Despite being named after a Cure song, I never once listened to The Cure while writing it.

[mimiruku]

█     𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒 : 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑶𝑪 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏.  ⸻   ( ⚝ ) ╰┈┈➤  It's so crazy because this actually disappeared from my inbox and then just suddenly appeared ?! With that said ! Thank you for sending in some fun questions ! Let me answer this !!! This might get long . . . but here we go ! ( @cloudvaria )

─── If your character had a breakout show ╱ film ╱ comic, what would the plot be? Who would be in their supporting cast? ❛❛ 𝖬𝖨𝖭𝖠𝖱𝖠𝖨 𝖧𝖨𝖳𝖬𝖠𝖭 𝖬𝖨𝖱𝖴𝖪𝖴! ❜❜ — ( Apprentice Hitman Miruku! ) is an unserious spinoff starring Miruku and his shenanigans as Reborn's apprentice, it has twelve short episodes where the main cast appears periodically. Very much written like the ' daily arc ' & the plots are inconsequential, however! you will learn a little bit more things about Miruku! . . . I imagine this is not popular with the fandom however. ─── What corners of fandom would consider your character blorbo material?

Miruku is for the girls and the gays and the aroace! I believe Miruku might just hit that sweet spot for the ambiguously gendered characters the internet ecosystem gnaws on. He might belong to the roleplay community for this reason, but other than that I can't imagine him being popular in the fandom if at all! He'd have been amongst the many forgotten faces of Reborn!

Also, because I didn't understand this question, I've decided to ask Nimo about it and this is her answer.

NIMO : Oh! If I'm understanding it right…like what corners of the fandom would consider Mimi their blorbo…off the top of my head "Villain Defenders/Fuckers" lol since Mimi IS a villain. I could see Mimi being popular in some shipping corners but it's Momina x Miruku or, like, (y)(a)(i)(o) ships with Mimi… ngl I could see Kawahira x Mimi or Reborn x Mimi being really popular too? What other corners… People who are super into writing Metas would love Mimi! They'd think there was a lot to chew on but lament how little spotlight Mimi got. They wished there was more focus! But I can see there being lots of deep dives.

─── What do you imagine the most popular ship(s) for your character would be?

I think the most compelling relationship around him would be Kawahira & Miruku, Reborn & Miruku and Momina & Miruku, but I think it would be seedy and under the umbrella of proships for the first two. I've mentioned this before, but I'm under the impression that it would be difficult for Miruku to triumph against 8059 and D18, I'm already pushing it with sliding against R27, so my reasoning shall be that, ' his most compelling and most difficult interactions were between Kawahira and Momina.'

─── How does fandom characterize ╱ mischaracterize your characters ship in fanworks?

That he could romantically fall in love and I believe Miruku will be a victim of the uwu-fi-cation beam. He'd likely always be the 'bottom' in the relationship for quite some time, softening his assertiveness. If not that, he might be depicted overly flirtatious and provocative. If there is any fanworks about him to begin with, it might also revolve around a lot of toxic relationship and angst, the worst artist would have depicted him heartless and insincere, very typical edgelord material?

ALREADY ANSWERED QUESTIONS UNDER READ MORE.

─── Are there ship wars? Are they a popular character to ship, or the kind of character that gets shuffled off and away from shipping for whatever reason? ( answered )

─── Are there any tropes fandom would put upon your character, for better or for worse? ( answered ) I need those ' Massive polycules ' tropes injected into all of the KHR cast tbh . . . so here is to hoping somewhere out there, this is happening.

─── What would be the ‘incorrect but wildly popular’ interpretation of your character in fandom? ( answered )

─── If your character isn’t designed for shipping/isn’t interested in shipping, how hard does fandom have to mangle them to make them shipping material/open to a relationship? ( answered )

─── Be honest. What song is playing over an AMV/tiktok of scenes between your character and their love interest? ( answered )

─── What is the wildest crackship you can imagine for your character, whether in-universe or in crossover? ( answered )

[princescribbler]

do you have any resources for things for a caregiver to ask a new playmate? I started playing with a lb recently, we've only met twice but both times we jumped into it so quickly, and I feel a little lost and out of my depth. Always before I'd played with partners that I knew inside and out before we ever played together, but this lb is just as new to me as a person as he is my little. he's also more experienced in the scene than me and it all is leading to me feeling a bit like a failure tbh. your posts are so well thought out, I've been lurking your blog for an hour or so now, so I also wanted to say how much I appreciate all the thought and hard work you put out there for us. you have a really great resource here.

First: you are not a failure at all. You're new to this particular person and dynamic, which is different. You're new to this person, this dynamic experience, their expectations and style... it's impossible for you to know any better what to do and you haven't been getting any instruction! Give yourself a break and be gentle about this. The feeling of failure comes from not meeting expectations, but often the expectations are your own and not even your partner's, ok? So be gentle with yourself, and congratulate yourself on doing the right things and trying to learn and read on this stuff!!

Second; I'm so flattered you think so highly of me and thank you! You might not know this, but my old blog (sciencescribbler) had a lot of the kind of posts You're looking for... but it was deleted by tumblr and I don't know where to get that old resource. But I can happily help and offer my thoughts and advice?

Personally, I suggest you try to not jump into this quite that fast until you have a better idea of what you AND he are wanting. Some really basic stuff you'd do in any dynamic with a degree of power exchange and D/s dynamics is set the expectations.

The best way to do that is ask, talk, and share. Below are some good basic questions to start this off that might be useful. Keep in mind that you will need to answer your own questions back, and have a full dialogue.

What is your "little" range? Do you see yourself as a little, a regressor, a submissive, a slave, a baby boy or baby girl? Is this associated with a specific age range or role or is it more fluid?

Is this roleplay to you, or a true part of your identity and needs as an adult?

How often do you want this dynamic and to what degree? For example: do you want mommy to make some rules for you to follow every day like a bedtime, diapering routine, rule system, etc? Or is it more about the titles, and the idea of the thing than the daily structure?

Speaking of titles: what is yours and your partners in all this? Mommy? Mommy domme? Mistress? Girlfriend? Is this a poly thing, monogamous, aaaand is it built focused on the kink dynamics or the vanilla friendship at its core?

What are your kinks, fetishes, and interests in this dynamic?

What are your "limits", hard and soft, and can you explain why those are your limits?

What are your desires from me as a mommy, a partner, or an owner? Is this expected to be full time, the core of our interactions? Or is this a fun thing we do to get off on the bedroom? Neither is wrong but it can't be a huge mismatch between you two, or you'll both end up feeling unfulfilled.

What are your favorite little activities?

What are ways you love to be reminded you're my little one? How can you show ME as the dominant your submission and obedience?

Do you have little items, like favorite stuffies or blankets or things you watch or do? If so, tell me about them! By connecting with your little one's interests and specific littlespace items you might find the role easier yourself?

What makes you FEEL subby, or little? What are things to avoid that maybe break your headspace?

My final, likely best advice: you feel unsure and like a failure often because you're not able to provide what someone wants. Often, the very gentle mommy domme and daddy dom community are filled with people who are filled up by serving someone else's needs and guiding them... but that also means they're often needing that validation and success to feel like they're a good caregiver or dominant. But you're not failing: you don't have the core, basic, fundamental information to get started with. Until you know their kinks, limits, expectations, set your own rules and standards, and agree to how you're both going to interact, you CAN'T succeed because you don't yet know what success even looks like.

And don't, ever, EVER let anyone make you feel like a failure for their jumping into things without giving you the basics you need. I'd strongly recommend you have a nice calm, blame free chat about what you both like and want, and see if that can help!

And the other secret advice I give every Dominant??? Confidence is key: you're taking the role of dominant, controlling your Partner and your interactions. You don't necessarily have to FEEL confident... but you're setting the rules. Take confidence in your own ability, and if you fake it to start, it will eventually become real confidence! After all, success and repetition breed confidence.

As for basic things to do as a mommy or daddy or caregiver: you can never go wrong with gentle teasing, frequent diaper or pull up checks, effectively teasing them by treating them like a precocious and overly eager toddler! Make them hold your hand crossing the street, wipe their face with a damp cloth after meals, ask if they need to go potty, limit them to only kids TV or movies, set their wardrobe, give them a bedtime routine, etc.

And if I get any good older posts of my old blog I'll send them along, if they're relevant!

Give yourself credit: you're already making them feel little if they do it with you to start... and you are only going to get better. Don't see this as failure: see it as the start of a new thing you're just learning the details of!

Good luck, friend! If you need more info on basics of this kinda thing, I also suggest checking out advice for any new D/s dynamic, as the majority of the same advice will be applied here!