#this has nothing to do with this blog except for being in the same general genre

[shanastoryteller]

okay now that i've had some coffee, let's chat

specifically, about how you act on the internet is a blueprint on how other people will treat you and how this intersects with the functionality of anon asks

if you've followed me for any significant amount of time, none of this will be anything i haven't said before, or i think be at all surprising to the rest of you, but i guess it bears repeating

so let's repeat: how you act on the internet is a guidebook on how other people will interact with you

like invites like. if you talk about a topic, you're going to get more commentary on that topic. this is because you're demonstrating that this topic is something you're comfortable talking about because you are talking about it

if you respond one way to something, people are going to reasonably assume you will respond the same way to them if they send you something similar. if someone asks for advice and you give it, people are going to think you're comfortable giving out advice and that asking for advice is an appropriate way to interact with you. if someone asks for information and resources and you provide them, people are going to think it's appropriate and acceptable to ask you for information and resources

i've seen this come up with other people before, where they do one thing and get frustrated and upset when that generates more of that thing. but people are just following your lead

now, anon asks

the function of anon asks is that the only way to reply to them is to respond to them publicly. you cannot privately reply to an anon

this means that every anon ask answered tells people how to interact with you. it is not and cannot be treated the same as a 1 on 1 conversation. it doesn't matter if that's not intention or what the anon wants. it's the reality of the situation

i don't answer non-anon asks publicly, with rare exceptions like it's funny or i think my answer to them would be interesting to others and non-upsetting for the askee for me to share (there are times i've given things like writing advice or commentary that i've thought might be interesting to the rest of you, but the askee had something in their original ask that i though they potentially wouldn't appreciate being immortalized on my blog)

if there's ever anything that someone doesn't want me to answer publicly no matter what, they can ensure this by just including it in their ask. even if i was inclined to be a hypocrite and ignore how people want to be interacted with (i am not) i am obviously not going to post it publicly if you ask me not to because then everyone would see me do that and think, rightfully, that i'm a huge jerk

when someone is rude or critical of me on anon, they're putting me in an unfair position. i can either not answer them or i have to turn their answer into a public performance, consumable by everyone. there is no other option

the vast majority of people use anon to say something kind or neutral where my public and private response would be basically identical and that's not what this is about. if i had an issue with anon asks in general, i wouldn't have them on

by sending criticism on anon, they're protecting themselves by not having any of their opinions or thoughts associated with them. nothing they say is connected to them and they're free of any consequences of their actions. in contrast, if i respond, my only option is to respond publicly. which means not only is my response attached to me and my name, but it has to be publicly consumable, i have to open myself up to the thoughts and commentary of everyone else if i'm going to reply

that means, before we get into anything the anon is saying, they're demonstrating both that they're a coward and they don't care about my comfort or my privacy - something they obviously highly prioritize for themselves

if that's the premise, why would i take kindly to anything they have to say after that, no matter what it is?

additionally, if i respond kindly and measured to these types of asks, that tells other people that it's an acceptable way to interact with me

it is not

if this ask had been sent off anon, my response would have been: "glad you enjoyed the story. feel free to toss any typos you notice into a comment (easiest way for me to keep track) and i'll correct them when i have a chance"

when it's just me talking to another person, i can choose to ignore or gloss over any awkwardness or mild rudeness because it's not going to come back to bite me. it's not a performance or a guidebook on how others will treat me. it's just you and me talking

but because it's anon, i have to keep in mind that i'm not just talking to them - i'm talking to everyone else too. so i have to establish that: i'm not interested in a beta, but am more than happy to correct typos; i don't care to hear about about how my typos personally upset you; and, in this case, that this is the type of message i don't want to receive on anon

because if i don't make it clear what i don't want, i'm going to receive more of it. that's simply a neutral fact of how people and the internet work

the more considerate you are of me, the more considerate of you i'm going to be in return

tldr: if you want a response meant just for you, you have to ask in a way that i can respond only to you. which isn't an anon ask. them's the breaks

[3liza]

I feel very defensive about the "goth is bougie" shit because it is historically incorrect, yes, but also and more personally, because it just erases the generations of goth kids who grew up in trailer parks and project housing or just straight up homeless, helping each other out.

it's specifically such a supportive subculture for poor and neglected kids and I really fucking hate that this has been revised and erased. juggalos and goths are very culturally close and many subcultural people are both, and juggalos have the same (and, I would argue, even better defined) culture of collective support. the Skids in Letterkenny are not made up for the show, that's just a real type of rural subcultural person. this has also been forgotten in the interim but in the 90s and 00s we didn't even really refer to OURSELVES as "goths" very much except in a joking way. goths had regional endonyms (like "skids" or "trenchies") even if they could all go to a convention or a club in a city and in that context be all called "goths" together, once they went back home they would go back to being whatever the locals called them or whatever they called themselves. this is a whole linguistics and sociology subtopic that's out of scope for a Tumblr post but is sort of related.

my point is that people who wore actual rags, and sharpie instead of nail polish, and wet n wild eyeliner instead of black lipstick, and dyed their hair with markers or food coloring or kool-aid, were and are the core of the goth scene. the majority of the pictures the mallgoth blogs are posting are from catalogs, fashion shows, costume events, yearly balls and fetes like Wave Gothik Treffen, and other places where people save up literally all year, or many years in a row, to put together ONE outfit. and there's nothing wrong with that, personally I'm proud and pleased that our hard work is being recognized and preserved. but just like formal studio photographs from the Victorian era, it is not representative of the daily or even weekly (for clubs) reality of people in the scene, some of whom were completely out of goth clothing during the day or week just to fit in at work or sometimes just to get along without being bothered at home by family members who thought the Cure was Satanic.

the people who RUN the scenes, the promoters and DJs and gogo dancers and independent designers and people who run the mailing lists and websites, the people who organize the room parties at conventions, and yes even most of the original Burning Man camps like Thunderdome, they mostly live in poverty. especially if they're young. when people organize club nights and shows, they're lucky if they break even. I wasn't aware of any of this until I started working at DNA Lounge in San Francisco, which hosts one of the oldest goth nights in the country, Death Guild. I got to know the owner of DNA well enough to find out about the financial reality of the entire scene, even the people who own the means of production and the actual property in this case, and it's not lucrative. I mean, it sometimes is, if you're running a bar for normal people and have investment captain etc, but the majority of legit subculture economics is just barely breaking even. every single event is 90% volunteer labor.

the issue of labor is maybe the confusing thing for the zoomers who are confused. goth outfits take actual physical work. maybe the Aspirational Spectacle of Labor that makes up most of TikTok has made it appear unreal to the audience rather than something you can just sit down and do?

it takes forty seconds to make the fishnet tights into a shirt. you don't need instructions, you really can just look at it and figure it out. then you think, hm, if I can make fishnets into a shirt I wonder what other things I can turn into something else. your brain will amaze you. my mom would save her tights from her formal work outfits for me when they got holes or whatever and I would just go crazy with scissors and safety pins. lots of young designers are getting attention for this layered, tights-n-pins look at the moment and it really is a fantastic aesthetic but I wonder if people think there's something special about the people who make these clothes? there isn't. you can just do it at home while you watch trashy youtubes.

one time, around 2008 or so, @gothiccharmschool and I were at the photoshoot for tabletop RPG Unhallowed Metropolis. we were there with a bunch of local goths to all make the pictures for this book together. we had all brought tons of our costumes from home to cobble together outfits for the book illustrations, and there was a moment when I just handed Jilli a pile of black skirts and some pins and said hey Jilli, could you please make me up a bustle skirt for this model real quick while I shoot these other models? and of course she did, and they were beautiful, because she knows exactly what she's doing, and because that's all a bustle is: it's a way of bunching up a skirt with another skirt. you can do it at home. you don't need instructions or to hire a seamstress or watch a video. you can just look at something and say hm does it look like a bustle? let's drape it and play with it and pin whatever works. and then you wear it for the photoshoot, or to the club!!! and then next week you pin it a different way and it's a cape instead and you wear it again!!!!!!!

[sailorsoons]

Collection Details: This collection contains individual fics with each member of SVT paired with a different reader that occur in the same universe/AU and timeline. Each story is a stand alone, but three of them do have a connected/overarching plot. You do not need to read all of them to understand what's going on, and all of the fics can be read as standalone one shots.

Rating: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging in and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately.

Collection Warnings: Criminal behavior, morally gray characters, murder, depictions of violence and murder, general violence associated with mafia/criminal activity, recreational drug sale and use, depictions and mentions of death, recreational drinking and drug use - each individual fic will be heavily tagged and warned appropriately.

Please Note: This is a repost from my original blog.

Special thank you to @daechwitatamic who had reblogged the original masterlist and still had it on her blog for me to rebuild this navigation. Eternally grateful.

Main Masterlist | Syndicates Tag List | Ask

CONNECTED WORKS

Baby | Omertà | Menagerie

FULL COLLECTION

Baby | Available Now

★ Soonyoung has been in your life for as long as you can remember. You haven’t spoken since your wedding to someone who isn’t him, but when you uncover your husband’s plans to turn against your family, you don’t know who else to call. 

Vengeance | Available Now

★ You always knew you were different from a young age. The only person who has ever been able to understand you is Vernon. When things take a turn for the Choi Syndicate, your long-term relationship is put to the test.

Cherry Sours | Coming 2025

★ Nothing in your life ever comes easy. Not family, not money, and certainly not jobs to pay the endless stack of bills. The only thing easy are the smiles you give Chan when he comes into your convenient store the same time every Saturday to buy his cherry sours. And then one day he arrives late, and everything changes.

Street Demon | Coming 2025

★ You've been street racing since you could reach the pedal of a car - it's the only thing you've ever been good at. When a rival decides they're tired of losing to you, Seungkwan steps in to show he's more than just a street racer.

Til Death | Coming 2025

★ Being the heir of a powerful family has its benefits - you get to go to whatever parties you want, vacation places people only dream of, and meet all the powerful entities of the city. It also has its struggles, like being forced to marry a man you don't know - except you do know Minghao, who was your one-night stand only a week prior.

Omertà | Coming 2025

★ Omertà (n) /ˌōmerˈtä,ōˈmərdə/ - code of silence, honor, and conduct that emphasizes remaining silent when questioned by authorities or outsiders. After your brother's death, you break omertà and betray your family in the worst way possible to become Yoon Jeonghan's knife in the dark.

Kerosine | Coming 2025

★ Jihoon knew growing up he would be expected to practice law like his mother, protecting the assets and the associates of the Choi Syndicate. He's had no problem doing that so far - until he gets you as a client.

Stituation | Coming 2025

★ Working the late night shift at the ER in the dangerous part of town sucks. Finding out the two repeat patients you've been flirting with are roommates is worse.

Corrosive | Coming 2025

★ Trying to unravel the Syndicates that run the city isn't what Seokmin ever dreamed he'd be doing. Turns out he's good at it. At least until he meets you and everything he knows about the city's criminal empires is turned on its head.

Gin & Tonic | Coming 2025

★ There is little benefit to working the underground fighting ring that belongs to the Choi Syndicate besides good pay. Another one? Getting to watch Junhui in the cage most nightsand serving him his gin and tonic after he wins.

Dead to Me | Coming 2025

★ You and Joshua ended things on a terrible note and you haven't seen him since, doing your best to avoid him - that is until he comes to your untimely and most annoying rescue.

Menagerie | Coming 2025

★ Choi Seungcheol has been struggling since he stepped into his father's role leading the family syndicate. Nothing has been easy, fighting a war against both known and unknown enemies. You're easy though, making all of his troubles float away. And then those troubles come knocking on your door.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All members of Seventeen are faces and name claims for stories. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are not representative of real-life scenarios. Moreover, none of my works accurately reflect, represent or take a stance on the nuances of Korean culture, cities, people etc. Seventeen members are not Seventeen culturally, intellectually, physically, or representationally in my stories, and should be considered name and face stand-ins for made up characters.

[mimicofmodes]

I saw a post going around about costube historians analyzing period film costumes for accuracy and it kind of got under my skin, so I'm sitting down and writing ... not exactly a response to it, but a discussion of the topic.

(It would be a direct response except that I don't actually watch costube, because quite frankly I can't watch/listen to people discuss things I already know. And I don't want to be like "they don't do X!" when maybe they really do X and I'm just not aware. But a lot of the complaints hit the same points that have been brought up against fashion historians for reviewing costumes for decades. I would also note that I have looked into specific videos where there were claims of terrible costuber behavior and watched them and found nothing.)

If you're going to analyze a period film's costuming in any way, you should still interact with the historical aspect to some degree. If you want to talk about the use of bold stripes in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, for instance, and you don't mention that they were in style during the period the film appears to be set in, it's kind of weird.

Likewise, yes, if you're critiquing primarily from the angle of historical accuracy, you should also engage to at least some extent with the reasoning behind the inaccuracy. If a reviewer doesn't do so at all, then yes, their review is probably not as good as it could be.

People pointing out an inaccuracy (or many inaccuracies) are not inherently scolding the costume designer. Even if their tone is something other than sweet. Sometimes they are scolding other people involved in the production, like the director who mandated a particular costume, or just a general notion of TPTB. Usually they are divorcing the art from the artist, though, and just reviewing the costuming from their particular viewpoint and knowledge base for a likeminded audience.

Sometimes, yes, they are complaining directly about the costume designer. This is not a crime. Some costume designers (for instance, Sandy Powell) have an incredible grasp on fashion history and excellent taste when it comes to diverging from it. Others simply don't have as in-depth of an understanding and make design decisions sometimes based on stereotypes and myths. Some costume designers will explain their decisions in interviews or blog posts and make it clear that they didn't make a truly informed decision about accuracy because they didn't know enough about the period. It's important for both sides of the equation to stop painting the other with too broad of a brush ("ivory-tower elitists who have no idea of a production's needs or budget" vs. "costumers who know how to sew but not how to do historical research").

If you're allowed to complain about a writer or a director or an actor doing something you don't like in a movie, you're also allowed to complain about a costume designer. You're allowed to have aesthetic preferences, and even to talk about them without hedging every five seconds to make it clear that others can disagree, although some of this is beneficial with any critique. Why would it be otherwise?

This seems really obvious to me, but maybe it's not? But "they costumed that female actor in an anachronistically sexy way because sex sells" is a feminist issue. The assumption that women's bodies should be sites of less-clothed allure while men's should attract by being more covered (with more layers than in modern dress, with cravats, etc.) is sexist. Complaints about female characters being costumed inaccurately are often being made along these lines, and pointing out that the producers insisted on it or something does not mean it's suddenly unproblematic that every female character deemed fuckable has to have low necklines at all times and modern shiny hair.

It's true that fiction isn't non-fiction and shouldn't be taken that way, but it's also demonstrably true that viewers do take cliches in film aesthetics as accurate when they see them enough times. People cite Scarlett O'Hara's 18" waist. They believe there were no bright colors before the 1920s and that women couldn't have put their hair up unless they were wealthy. These beliefs have consequences when it comes to public perceptions of history, and if films perpetuate them it's perfectly reasonable to point out that they support ideas about e.g. gender roles that trads express today.

It's also simply funny when a film's hair or costuming or makeup is supposed to evoke a lack of artifice but actually requires quite a bit of artifice because people don't naturally have perfect hair and skin and so on.

If you don't like reviews of period films that focus on the accuracy of the costuming, maybe ... don't watch/read reviews by fashion historians and historical costumers? At least unless they're vetted for you by someone who doesn't mind that?

[ronearoundblindly]

Hi!! I just found your blog and 😭😭 you're so talented, like, what?? I def need more!!! I dunno if this is how it works, or if you're still doing the dirty asks game, but I was thinking maybe E,K,U and S (or Z!) for Johnny?

Have a lovely day!! oh, and well, happy new year 🙂‍↕️

Prompts are from this ask game and part of my ongoing list of answers! You can also find A, B, C, D, and V already answered for this boi.

Warnings for...well...they are dirty asks so be prepared for sexy and sexual content 😉 including (but not limited to) discussion of oral, somnophilia, ummmm tickling? emotional unavailability? and idk other stuff. MINORS DNI.

Happy New Year! I love ya! I appreciate you taking the time, dearie 💜 Happy reading... 😈💋

K - Kissing

So this...implies some romance that's not typical for Johnny. His kissing is less emotional and more intense and deep--but seriously, it's not an indication of his longterm interest or level of affection. (There is an exception to this which is Johnny has no problem giving hickies. He will mark. you. up. ((He can't be marked in the same way due to healing.))

HOWEVER, those small, nonchalant pecks--if Johnny ends up smooching you and it doesn't lead to sex, it wasn't in the middle of sex, or especially if there's no one around to see it,--that's THE REAL DEAL. Something utterly devoted has sparked inside him if (and when) Johnny slows down to kiss you. Or slows for any reason, really.

In regards to where Johnny likes to kiss or be kissed? Again, he's not much of a kisser. He's big on touching and groping and tickling, since he's a goofball and true 'player,' i.e. Johnny is nearly always playful, but once there's a connection made with you, he...

okay, so, the thing is, he actually does like to be kissed, and the place that drives Johnny wild is above his dick, right at his adonis belt, that v-cut, the pubes. This is so ridiculously intimate/possessive/reverent; he can barely handle the conflicting drives to melt beneath or conquer you. Strange thing...he would have thought the proximity would just make him want a blowjob but instead he's a goner.

U - Underwear

Commando. Easy-Access Man. Next question.

LOL, just kidding. Mostly, Johnny wears nothing, certainly not with his Human Torch second skin. He used to wear boxers but lost too many of those to a smoldering heap. No point.

On women? Crotchless panties are his favorite, but there's this new trend of booty shorts--he's very, very into them. Generally, he would have thought anything less-is-more would be best in his eyes, but there's this kinda *pop* in the stretchy fabric when it jumps over the swell of your ass...mmhmmm IT'S GOOD.

S - Sleepy Sex

Sleepy morning? You are 100% welcome to wake him up with some head or ride his cock to your heart's content, but Johnny himself doesn't usually start stuff first thing. This goes hand in hand with him being unable to slow down much. He's all about releasing tension before bed though. A good romp to tire him out and calm the mind? Absofuckinglutely. No, he doesn't particularly care if you were already asleep. You'll thank him later. Don't worry. It's always worth your his while.

Z - Zones

Classic man. Go for his neck or his crotch. Johnny is a #basicbitch in this respect. It feeds his ego to be touched all over--duh, he's got this glorious bod, you should want to touch him,--but he has never been a fan of biting, on him or on others. Since he's just about always in the mood, it does not take a lot of foreplay to get him ready.

E - Extra Info

Unpopular opinion: I imagine that perhaps the ultimate show of love/devotion/possession to Johnny is not marriage and all that normal stuff but, instead, if you let him brand you.

He works hard and focuses to not burn people, so you allowing him permanently claim you as his--which he would not do in a casual way, not with random hookups and one-night-stands, not until he is sure that word won't get back to Sue who would kill him--shows a level of trust he didn't believe he would want much less earn.

Johnny is aware he's a ridiculous and kinda stunted man-child emotionally. He's smart enough to know that. Johnny will never stop being grateful to the woman who can stick around, see past it, and grow with him...playfully, of course. You should never stop roasting him about the man-child-ness.

Thank you for asking!

[Main Masterlist; Dirty Asks Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I'm an aspiring author (actually work my ass off and have sold some original work). Aside from the fact that I loathe social media, the current climate has made me very glad that everything I post is strictly professional and only about new releases. Two reasons: 1) I absolutely hate when I go to check an author's page to see what their new book is and it's reams of political ranting (your job is to write books, tell me about your books and not your opinions); 2) as the Tolkien anon said, the fandom and book/publishing sphere generally skews left (most publishing houses are based in New York, after all). I fear these days it's basically suicide to show your affiliation for anything that's not left, but it really shouldn't be that way. One's political beliefs have no correlation or bearing on the quality of one's writing (though I guess brain-rotted liberals who just have to shove their idealogy into their writing are the exception to that). I still think it's best not to use your book as a soapbox, as you're telling a story, not writing a pamphlet, and your priority should be telling the best story you can and not spouting off to your audience.

That being said, huge shout-out to Larry Correia. While I don't read his books, he's openly conservative on his site/blog Monster Hunter Nation, and IIRC he took part in the Sad Puppies campaign to demonstrate how the Hugo Awards were (probably still are) biased towards a small group and authors who didn't align with them politically would be attacked. Dude's very based (gun instructor, unsurprisingly) and I appreciate him being vocal about his beliefs and uncaring what anyone else thinks.

On the positive side, I think the rise of self-publishing and smaller publishers in response to increasing monopoly of the big publishing houses merging with each other has been a net good. Let them all burn, I say. The more insular and more political they become, the more worthless they are. They're constantly chasing the next hot thing that's full of minority checklists and typical DEI nonsense, or chasing "Booktok" trends, which has been another canister of gasoline on the dumpster fire, to say nothing of literary agents who do the same thing (some of them actually ask you to list the tropes in your book, excuse me while I vomit).

I only care about writing a good story. If my story is rejected because it doesn't check off enough political boxes in the narrative, then why do I need them? Why should some New York liberal whose blood is 90% kool-aid decide I won't sell? Direct audience contact will decide that.

You're right and you should absolutely say it. I love this ask.

[dead-dove-definitely-eat]

I Suck at Introductions

Pleasure to meet y'all, I'm Lake an ex-anti who wants to explore how happy being a proshipper has made me. Let's go over some info real quick.

✨July 13th 🦀

✨18+

✨She/They

✨Fictosexual/Asexual

✨Biromantic

Self-Shipper Info

✨F/o's: 1

✨Multi Fandom Self-Shipper

✨A lot of F/O's across fandoms

✨Sharer, but Non-Sharers should probably avoid my blog if we share fandoms. Cause I tend to ship myself with a lot of characters in those fandoms.

✨Feel free to ask about my f/os or talk about your own

Ask Box Rules

✨Feel free to talk about your ships, self-ships, and f/o's

✨Feel free to ask me anything (Outside of personal information, but I'm sure that's obvious)

✨Don't send me any explicit asks. Suggestive is fine.

✨I'm fine with LoliSho asks, just be sure to follow the aforementioned rule.

✨I doubt y'all will, but please don't send porn or gore into my inbox.

✨Don't be rude. (That should be obvious, but I'm gonna say it anyway)

Tag Guide

Reblog: General tag for anything reblogged. This will mostly be shipcourse, but there will be a few exceptions.

Selfship Reblog: Tag for reblogs that are specifically about self-shipping.

f/o: (Name): This a tag for my fictional others. If you are non-sharing I would suggest blocking the ones related to your f/os.

fl/o: (Name): This is a tag for my familial others. These are exclusively platonic, with me viewing these characters as my family.

p/o: (Name): This is a tag for my platonic others. These are primarily platonic but there may be a few exceptions. You might notice some overlap between f/os and p/os.

selfship incorrect quotes (+ f/o quotes): This is a tag for incorrect quotes between myself and my f/os. (Feel free to do the same, it's a ton of fun)

Suggestive: This tag is for more well suggestive content. Expect refrences to sex, sex jokes, and portrayls of intimacy. But nothing explicit.

nsft: This tag is for explicit posts. Outright smut, pornographic art, and the like. If I'm the original poster, it will also be given a mature rating as to prevent minors from seeing it. But if it's a reblog, I won't be able to do that so if you don't like sexual stuff block this tag.

I'll update this whenever I need to, but I believe this is it for now.

Have a Nice Day/Night everyone. I hope we can all get along

StrawPage

[mrs--edge]

I'd like to thank you for your help as we've ventured into this. The permanence of my denial is for a different reason but with the same results. Your captions, answers to questions, and general advice have really helped a lot. My wife, like you, doesn't want to discuss it much. Basically, her attitude is this is where we are now and discussing it won't change that. I'm finding that not being able to discuss it much is actually another element of denial. She doesn't want to be reminded by my questions about how things were before. So, not discussing it is helping her fully accept my vixskin as the replacement for my penis. Were you dominant at all before you two began this? My wife isn't but I'm certainly seeing some elements of her being a little more assertive since we've began this. Nothing crazy. Just little things here and there. Thank you again for the help from both you and Tom. If you ever wonder if all the effort is worth it, doing this blog. I'm here to tell you that I'm very appreciative of what you're both doing.

I do not know your wife, but I will say that I didn't care to talk about it all that much with my husband back when we started. I understand now that it was a new thing and he was really excited, but at the time it felt like it was all I heard about. Things have calmed down for the both of us, and honestly, we almost never talk about it at all anymore.

I think that my attitude is a lot like how your wife may be approaching this. Being locked is his new life. He will always be locked, he will always use the Vixskin Ranger, and he will never be inside me again. That's it. There is nothing else to discuss. Well... except that when we make love I do like to remind him.

I don't think I was particularly dominant, as in, like a sex domme or anything. But I do like knowing that I'm in charge, and I can say that taking all the control, the decision making for locking him has given me a sense of confidence about our relationship.

[cpvnksabm]

i've barely posted here in like 3 months but i still get activity notifications pretty often and at this point for my sanity i try not to click on them. because more often than not, it's someone reblogging one of my educational posts about ableism and then, before i've scrolled down 10 posts on their blog, doing one of the exact things i've implored this fandom not to do, or being overtly ableist in some other way.

i work hard to make sure my educational posts are kind, approachable, and easy to listen to. i think that's gone too far. my posts are so approachable and inoffensive that they've attracted an audience of people who only reblog my posts because they see me as a Good Nice Disabled Person, and see reblogging my posts as an easy way to get your "I listen to disabled people" card without, without ever having to change your behavior or challenge your ableist views.

but you DO have to change your behavior and challenge your ableist views.

people always respond to my posts like i must be talking about someone else. some unknown ableist that mysteriously never appears on their social media feed, not them and their circle of friends and the things they casually see on their dash & assume must be okay. i say "the RTC fandom needs to stop doing XYZ ableist thing" and all of the allies in my notifications respond "yeah obviously you should only do XYZ under ABC circumstances!"

you don't speak for me! you don't get to decide that what i say has obvious exceptions that i forgot to mention! you don't get to assume that when i talk about something being a problem, i don't mean it in the way that you do it because you could never be part of the problem!

i hate seeing ableists reblog my posts about ableism because it makes me feel like everyone is seeing it and thinking i agree with the words they're putting in my mouth. like i'm endorsing their ableism. i would rather not be listened to at all than have people only "listen" to me so that they can cherry-pick what i say, and interpret it in the most strained way possible, just so that it seems like i'm not saying anything they need to hear.

i don't know how to make myself any clearer; i say what i mean and my posts generally DON'T have a million obvious unspoken exceptions. when i say "if you haphazardly change ricky's disability to 'fix' canon rep without understanding what canon did wrong in the first place, you are likely to cross over into disability erasure" i don't mean "the only changes you should haphazardly make to 'fix' canon's disability rep are these ones that we've all agreed are okay". when i say "don't single out the disabled character to call him a freak" i dont mean "its only okay to call disabled people freaks in these circumstances". when i say "dont try to speak for the disabled community, focus on boosting our voices" i dont mean "you should only try to speak for the disabled community if it's one of these specific issues where you obviously already know what the whole disabled community thinks".

the truth is: this fandom has a HUGE ableism problem. ricky's canonical neuromuscular disorder is almost never acknowledged, the vast majority of depictions water his disability down in some way, his mobility aids are treated like fun cute props instead of something he genuinely needs. at the same time ricky is constantly dehumanized, stereotyped, turned into the butt of ableist jokes. and when disabled fans point this out - or speak about ableism in any other form, or just talk about our lives as disabled people - we get stereotyped as well, and we get belittled, and people who know nothing about the subject step in to correct us or argue with us or decide what we mean. because obviously, everyone knows better than the disabled person about ableism.

if you see me talking about ableism and you assume you surely aren't part of the problem, then nobody will ever improve. the problem is huge. you are almost definitely part of the problem! so many well--intentioned people are! i have been, at points!

just. you don't speak for me, nobody speaks for me except me. stop deciding my posts dont mean anything you might need to hear. do your research. listen to disabled people.

[noel-levine-fan]

Witch's Heart Survey Results - Sirius's Conclusion

! Please read everything and don't just skip to the results !

About a month ago, I posted a survey asking various questions about Witch's Heart. Here are the results!

Spoiler warning! Images used in this post may contain spoilers for all Witch's Heart games (except for Wilardo's conclusion). If you want to just see the results spoiler-free, click here.

This survey was posted before the English release of Wilardo's Conclusion, as such, the only Wilardo's Conclusion related response was the ability to pick Voice of Glamour as your favorite OP (because this OP released several months before the the release of the game).

I said I'd make a new version of the survey including Wilardo's Conclusion options a few weeks after the English release, however, this has been changed. I feel if the survey is too soon after this one, people will be less eager to fill out responses a second time. I also want to give Wilardo's Conclusion a while to sit in people's heads to see if any of their stances on favorite characters or ships changes. As such, I'm thinking I'll release the next survey when the OP for the next game releases. I know that will be a pretty long time, but I was thinking I'd make different versions of the survey for each conclusion (this this being Sirius's Conclusion ver... though it's pretty late for that game...), and all the game releases are gonna be pretty spaced out anyway, so why not, I suppose?

This is part one of the post! I really wanted to include images for every result, but tumblr's stupid image limit means this can only be part one. Please check the reblogs for the second and third parts.

I will ask to keep negativity out of reblogs. "X should've been higher..." "Why is X so high..." etc. Nothing inherently wrong with feeling that way, I just want this survey to be a fun positive thing! I can't stop you either way though, just a request.

Potential Biases

Because this was hosted by me, I expected preferences to be somewhat biased towards my content output. While not everyone who voted was a follower of mine, followers of mine are probably more likely to vote than non-followers, and followers of mine are probably more likely to enjoy the same things I do. It's worth noting that I am aware that just because I post about, say, Noel, a lot doesn't mean that every single one of my followers is as avid a Noel fan as I am, they may just enjoy content for every character including Noel, but avid Noel fans are probably more likely to follow me, and the people who follow me at the very least tolerate Noelposting - a Noel disliker is not likely to follow me. The same applies for pretty much everything I commonly post about. I thought I'd list out some possible result biases here.

Game Biases: I've never stated which game was my favorite, and my posts are more generally about the series than any specific game (though I did write notes on both Bonus Stage and Sirius's Conclusion for my replays of them), but I have referenced the content of Witch's Heart and Bonus Stage more than Sirius's Conclusion just because until I replayed it recently, I barely remembered anything that happened in Sirius's Conclusion lol. I don't really expect this to be a heavy bias though.

Song Biases: I've never mentioned any of the songs on my blog.

Character Biases: As you can see, I am a Noel blog, and very few of my posts aren't about Noel in some way. I also post about Noel and Sirius a lot, meaning I post about Sirius the second most. I post about Claire the third most because I'm a childhood trio enjoyer. I also like Lime, she's one of my favorites, but I'm not sure how much that comes across in my content output. I post about Dorothy more often than many others might.

Ship Biases: I'm a SiriNoel blog. I've posted about them a looot over the course of my blog in general. They're pretty much the only ship I regularly post about. I've also made a CharLime post and a ZizelClaire post, though the latter could be interpreted as not a ship post, so. I also don't post tooo much about the childhood trio together but I have a few times and I know I have at least quite a few followers who are SiriNoelClaire enjoyers.

I'll let you be the judge for yourself on how much these potential biases impacted the survey.

CG Usage

Some images have been cropped (the big ED images were cropped into CG size). I assuuumeee this is okay with the editing guidelines considering profile icons and banners are allowed and those are just cropped images, and the images are also displayed at this size within the game itself.

I tried to find good CGs for every character and pairing but some of the CGs are not ideal because there just weren't many good ones to pull from. Apologies in advance. (Once I play Wilardo's Conclusion, if there are any better options for a CG than what I put, I'll update the post to have those, but that might be a few days.)

There are and most likely never will be CGs or even good images of Monster Daniel, who got a vote. I put a cropped image of the only art that exists of him - I again hope that's okay with editing guidelines...

There are no CGs of Claire and Invective together as of now, so for their ship I had to put one of Invective possessing Claire.

There's only one WilSiri CG as of now, and we got votes for both platonic and romantic WilSiri, so unfortunately I had to put a CG that has Claire in it for one of them. ...There was also a vote for Claire/Sirius/Wilardo, so just so you don't mixed up, make sure to read the ship names and not just look at the images.

Results

We got a total of forty-four responses! Thank you to everyone who responded!

If you're wondering why the count of votes for a question might not line up with the number of responses, it's because users were encouraged to skip questions in which they did not have particularly strong opinions.

Results are listed from least votes to most votes to build suspense!

Question 1: What is your favorite game?

3. Witch's Heart: Unknown Past, Dorothy's Secret -Conclusion- (9 votes)

2. Witch's Heart (13 votes)

1. Witch's Heart -Bonus Stage- (20 votes)

Question 2: What is your favorite OP?

4. Inno-Syndrome (2 votes)

3. Voice of Glamour (6 votes)

2. DANCE (13 votes)

1. Moon and Wolf (15 votes)

Question 3: What is your favorite ED?

5. COSMOS (1 vote)

4. Tin Coffee Maker (3 votes)

3. Outrunning Sunset (4 votes)

2. Luna (8 votes)

1. Silver Boat (17 votes)

Question 4: Who is your favorite character? (Overall scores)

I asked for the top 5 characters. This count takes answers from all 5 questions into account, going by a point system which gives characters answered as the first favorite the most value and characters answered as the fifth favorite the least.

Worth noting, someone put two characters for their second place vote (Claire and Noel). That wasn't really supposed to happen, but until that happened, I hadn't clarified in the survey you could only put one character, so because that was my bad, I did count that as a legitimate vote for both of them.

First favorite: 5 points Second favorite: 4 points Third favorite: 3 points Fourth favorite: 2 points Fifth favorite: 1 point

12. Invective (1 point)

11. Daniel (2 points)

10. Dorothy Elford (6 points)

9. Charlotte (13 points)

8. Rouge (16 points)

7. Lime (23 points)

6. Zizel (29 points)

5. Wilardo Adler (72 points)

4. Ashe Bradley (92 points)

3. Claire Elford (118 points)

2. Sirius Gibson (123 points)

1. Noel Levine (134 points)

Continued in the next part.

[hellsite-proteins]

I LOVE THIS BLOG… would you be able to explain the stuff you’re doing to someone who knows nothing about proteins? all I can remember is something to do with dna ..?

of course! ill do my best to give an entry level crash course here, but if any of this is unclear please leave a comment or send an ask so i can better explain.

DISCLAIMER: all of this has been simplified, and because biology is messy, there are exceptions to pretty much everything i've said. the point is not to give a perfect explanation, but rather a general understanding

the central dogma of molecular biology is pretty much our version of "the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell", and since you've alluded to it already, i'll start there. it states that genetic information goes from DNA to RNA to proteins. inside of almost any cell is DNA, which codes for all of the genetic information allowing the cell to function. for our purposes right now, just think of DNA as an instruction manual. when a protein is going to be made, the part of the DNA sequence encoding it is copied over to make a RNA sequence.

RNA is structurally similar to DNA, but while DNA is usually found as a double helix (with two complementary strands), RNA is more often single stranded. it is less stable than DNA, so it does not work as well for long term information storage, but is smaller and can cary out numerous crucial functions.

prokaryotes are things like bacteria, and are distinct from eukaryotes (which includes us) because they lack a nucleus. this means that their DNA is loose inside their cell, rather than sectioned away. in prokaryotes, transcription (which copies information from DNA -> RNA) and translation (which is the process of going from RNA -> proteins) can happen at the same time, while in eukaryotes these processes are separated, as DNA is too large to leave the nucleus. messenger RNA (mRNA) is the specific type of RNA used to code for proteins in all cells. inside a eukaryotic cell, mRNA must be processed to increase its stability and allow it to exit the nucleus.

now, getting to the part about proteins! proteins are made through a process called translation, which translates the information stored using a sequence of nucleic acids on RNA to a string of amino acids known as a protein. each set of three nucleic acids, which on mRNA can be A, U, C or G, makes up the codon for one amino acid. the code is referred to as 'degenerate', since there is a lot of redundancy built in and so some information is lost along the way. there are more possible codons than there are amino acids, and so there is a lot of overlap with several codons coding for the same amino acid.

translation is accomplished using organelles known as ribosomes. these bind to the relevant RNA sequence and help join together the amino acids that are encoded by their sequence, forming peptide bonds. this is done using another specialized type of RNA called a transfer RNA (tRNA), which sticks temporarily to the three-letter codon on the mRNA and carries the corresponding amino acid to the ribosome so that it can be joined with the others in the sequence. all proteins start with the same codon (AUG), and subsequent amino acids are added one at a time. RNA and proteins both have directionality, which means that the two different ends of these molecules are not the same, and the direction you read the sequence in matters.

as a protein is assembled, the N terminal end is put together first, and so this part exits the ribosome while the rest is still being built. at this point, it comes in contact with the liquid inside the cell, and starts to bend itself into different shapes in order to make the most thermodynamically stable structure. this happens spontaneously, and is an effort to minimize the free energy of the protein and the surrounding water molecules. basically, everything wants to be in a state that requires as little energy as possible, and will fold itself to get there. think of this as a similar process to getting home after a long day, and trying to make yourself comfortable as fast as possible. protein folding is the equivalent to you taking off your jeans and lying down on your couch.

the thing is, proteins are complicated, and they need to fold quickly, because the inside of a cell is crowded and chaotic. the way they fold is influenced by several different factors, including how fast translation takes place and whether anything else is nearby to help them fold correctly. proteins do countless different highly specific things in any given cell, and their ability to function is based entirely around their structure. just like how you probably have numerous different tools in your home made of plastic, but each one is a different shape and therefore does something unique. if someone came along and melted your plastic cups until they were completely deformed, they wouldn't be of much use.

the primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence, and the secondary structure is made by interactions between nearby backbone atoms, but the tertiary structure is the main thing you'll see looking at any real protein structure. it is the combination of interactions between all the atoms within one amino acid chain. if this gets damaged (which can happen with things like heat and strong chemicals), the protein is said to be denatured. some proteins also have a quaternary structure, which is formed as different folded chains of amino acids each making up one subunit assemble together to make a bigger, more complicated protein.

whether they folded wrong from the start (like your plastic cup getting made with a hole in the bottom at the factory) or they started off fine but then got broken (like your plastic cup melting after you leave it on the hot stove), misfolded proteins are the wrong shape and therefore cannot perform their function correctly. these can do a lot of damage in an organism, and are generally a waste of resources to keep around, so they get destroyed and their parts are recycled.

hope this helps!

letter sequence in this ask matching protein-coding amino acids:

ILVETHISLGwldyealeteplainthestffyredingtsmenewhknwsnthingatprteinsallIcanrememerissmethingtdwithdna

protein guy analysis:

this protein is strange, terrible and filled with holes! just like many of the other structures, the myriad of loops want nothing to do with each other, and everything is all over the place. this whole structure is disordered and likely wiggling around trying to find something else to stick to and mess with. just a toxic trainwreck that should never have existed.

predicted protein structure:

[thecoolerliauditore]

THE SHEPSCAPADES COMIC! That was to me (and from my perspective to the fandom) the turning point of “ok, im not imagining this”. It doesn’t change any dialogue or anything, it just gives the characters facial expressions and yet it’s almost impossible to interpret the interaction in any way other than the relationship not being good.

The dl era, to me, was a lot of trying to ignore the implication of ranchers fanon lore being that, for once, someone is being nice to Jimmy. People could see the difference in their interactions, which made the abusive behaviour all the more difficult to ignore, and yet acknowledging this directly would be labelled shipping discourse and no one wants to be THAT fan, right? But the tension growing was palpable.

I also would like to add that once I decided to scroll through anti-toxic fh blogs to try and understand why they think like that and… a lot of it was just “well it makes me feel gross”? And I get it. Cannibalism and mass murder are, to most of us, a very distant concept, so it’s more comfortable to engage with than the horrors of the mundane, especially when applied to a queer character. But that doesn’t mean it’s any better than talking about domestic abuse.

The last paragraph is phrased weird but i don’t know how to write it better so i hope it’s understandable.

That comic was patient zero in "oh my god other people see it too" for so many of us, I think. And yeah like you said it sticks very close to what happened taking into account tone of voice and everything. Adaptations of that sequence are like an almost surefire test to figure out what someone's interpretation of FH's relationship is and I think that's wonderful.

Big agree on the ranchers lore and I would argue Pearl's POV also has a similar effect where it forces you to acknowledge Scott not being the best ever. Funnily enough I watched the ranchers pov before the FH pov and didn't really see any of the post-FH horrors until I watched FH. I just kind of assumed when people said Tango was the first person who treated Jimmy as an equal they were putting "and Scott too but that was a season ago" in footnotes. But no they meant full-time and they'd be right lmao

My favourite example of Jimmy expecting the worst is this interaction he has with Bdubs where he essentially gets a bucket for free when the ranchers were struggling for iron and tells him to not tell Tango because he's scared he'll get yelled at. Like there is literally nothing Jimmy has done here that would be remotely considered reasonable to yell at him for but he's so afraid of having agency and making his own decisions at this point he just defaults to assuming his partner will be upset at him. (FYI I think this is more a result of how everyone treats him - Southlanders certainly did not help - but getting mad at Jimmy for doing literally anything except sit still was something Scott was especially privy to)

Don't worry I think your point was clear enough on that last paragraph, I kind of roll my eyes when people try to use distance as an excuse to justify why some dark topics are okay but others aren't, but I can't talk too much about this because I find it annoying and will probably end up saying something that feels mean lol.

Redirecting this once again to Bree's post about how hostile the language people use when talking about this discourse is to abuse victims e.g. "why can't you be NORMAL and write about NORMAL relationships and let them be NORMAL" which I think partially comes as a direct result of refusing to engage in abuse storylines and thus not being sympathetic to these portrayals or the people who write them.

And aside from that it's not even like. abuse and toxic relationships themselves are the issue sometimes. Obviously generalizing here a bit but I see a lot of the same people who find toxic fh "gross" gas up interpretations where Jimmy cheats on Scott or otherwise treats Scott horribly. Not to mention Pearl and her storyline getting turned into "girl who is mad gay man won't date her".

It just uh. sometimes feels as though the "grossness" is coming from a need to defend Scott's honour than a need to disengage with these themes entirely, which rubs me the wrong way.

(not to mention that I do think calling abuse storylines "gross" in of itself might have some unfun implications attached but I've said enough)

[lautski-week]

HELLO LAUTSKI NATION

I would like to welcome you all to the second Lautski week!

Here are the prompts, but all future plans for the event, FAQ, and notes on the survey from last week will be under the cut!

SO! First off! Thank you to everyone who responded! To the people who suggested future prompts, they’re all in consideration for future events. Except one of the alternates. I replaced one of the original alternates with “Fairy Tale” for my own sake, I salute whoever suggested that.

Surveys came pretty overwhelmingly in favor of making Lautski week a semi-annual event, with one week in the summer and one in the winter. So don’t be too surprised if this account is revived again in April/May. As long as people are interested, I’ll keep running it!

And now, some general Q&A stuff!

Q: What are alternates?

A: Alternates are two extra prompts in case one of them leaves you stumped! They can be used any day, or they can not be used at all! It’s up to each individual participant!

Q: Do I have to do all seven days?

A: You’re free to do as many as you want! You can do all seven, you can do just a few, hell, you could do all nine in you wanted! This isn’t a challenge, it’s an event. The main goal is to make some posts about this ship we’re all brainrotting for and having fun.

Q: What can I make?

A: Anything you want! Art, fics, edits, memes, etc. Nothing’s off the table.

Q: How do I post?

A: I’ll reblog anything made for the event to this blog and my main. If you’d like to be featured, please @ THIS blog. Additionally, I’d recommend tagging works with #lautski week so everyone’s works can all be found in the same place.

Q: I was late! Can I still post?

A: Of course! I’ll keep reblogging new posts tagged #lautski week and/or mention this blog through December 13!

Q: Can I post to AO3, then link it back here?

A: Absolutely! Also, I recently found out “Lautski week” was wrangled into its own tag on AO3, so I guess it’s officially recognized now 😭 Granted, it mentions my old URL and assumed it would be an annual event. Either way, Lautski Nation has truly made it I guess. But point being, yes, that’s fine!

Q: Can I post to (insert any other fanfic site here) then link it back here?

A: Same as AO3. Go ahead!

Q: One of my wips fits *insert prompt here!* Can I post it for that day?

A: You can, but please don’t post before the event begins!

That’s it. I’m pretty sure. If there are any other questions/concerns, feel free to DM or send an ask! I’ll rb this both here and on main periodically until the event begins, but until then, I can’t wait to see everyone’s works! See y’all soon and have fun! 💛💚💜

[alexanderwales]

Roguelite LitRPG Theorycrafting

I had a great idea for a litRPG that takes its inspiration from roguelites rather than JRPGs or Skyrim.

I do not have the time to write such a novel, and will not have time to write it into the foreseeable future. But I do have time for some theorycrafting:

A classic roguelite of the current generation has variable powers and powerups drawn from a small pool that change the character of the run over time. Maps and enemies are boundedly random. When you die, you might have some meta progression, which is usually in the form of unlocks. Sometimes this makes the game easier, but often it just adds in variety. You go until you win or die, and then you go again, starting from nothing.

To start with, I think this has to be a time loop, because it fits that pattern too well. I wrote a blog post about time loops, and would include some ideas and variations from there.

The protagonist starts every loop as a total scrub, but gets to select from a few options at the loop start (or just after) and then at either intervals or with things accomplished. The pool of powers needs to be fairly small, but large enough that we don't see repeats all that often. We want a protagonist who is forced to make the best of a bad situation.

There are a few cool things about this, but the biggest is that we get to see the protagonist solve the same problems in different ways. One one loop, getting into the compound is easy, because he has flight and invisibility, but on another loop, it requires a firefight because he's got a laser belly and can absorb flesh to regenerate. The protagonist presumably has goals, so we also have some stakes built in: all runs are not built the same. When you're on a "hot" run where it seems like everything is going your way, you can't immediately grind your way back to that if you fail. Stakes are one of the things that are sometimes lacking in time loops, so we're solving that problem as a byproduct.

Similarly, a weird power build can take the story in different places. You're able to walk through stone, and all of the sudden you realize that you can penetrate the defenses of the mage academy. You strike while the iron is hot, and uncover things that would, in a normal run, be locked away from you.

There are problems here. The biggest is that I think a lot of audiences would cry about the author's thumb being on the scale, because audiences will always cry about that no matter what. Which powers get offered to the protagonist on any given run will be under scrutiny though, and even things that aren't forced will feel like they might have been. Readers don't like that, particularly litRPG readers, who sometimes come to the genre for a sense of "fair play". I'm not sure there's a way around that, though this is one of the rare cases I feel like an author rolling dice might actually make sense, so long as it was done in a way that would be difficult to fake. This might make for a worse story though, since the author would have less control of the plot.

One of the other things that interests me is ... what if the world changed in the same way it does in a roguelite? In a normal time loop story, the world is static and predictable, but wouldn't it be interesting to write a story in a time loop that acted more like Rogue Legacy, where there are certain "anchors" and patterns to the world, but much that is random and different? The protagonist wakes in the same apartment building every time, but sometimes he's next to a park and other times it's a train station. There's a corner store three blocks away that's always exactly identical down to the misalignment of the Mars bars, always with the same woman with a streak of blue hair behind the counter. Is this meaningful, that everything changes except the things that inexplicably don't? Almost definitely. It's another mystery to unravel with every new run and a new, diverse set of powers under your belt.

There's a chance I write this at some point. There's always a chance. But I think sometimes it's good for me to sit down and think about the possibilities, then resign myself to moving on without devoting the next month's word count to something that's captured my fancy.

[crusherthedoctor]

Hey all, hope everyone's doing good. Thought I should give an update on my current perspective on things around here, as it's shifted for reasons I'll get into.

In a nutshell, I'm feeling better than before... but I also think it's time for me to semi-check out of current Sonic discussion.

By now, you all know that with the exception of Superstars and Dream Team - and Jimbotnik, because of course - I've not been enthusiastic about much of the current stuff. Whether that be the likelihood that they'll continue with a Frontiers direction, the SA2 milking that has made me more sick to death of its influence than I thought was possible, the Year of Shadow in general not being all that enticing if your top ten does not include him, IDW still causing the same repetitive back-and-forths with its characteristically terrible decisions and disproportionate praise from fans who don't actually buy the comic, various other bits and pieces that plant further Eggdad seeds into people's heads, a bunch of other stuff that I'm just apathetic about while everyone else goes crazy over them... it's not been a great time for me. I'm the Garfield, and the current direction is the Monday.

That would all be one thing, but as you may expect, it's the fandom that really irks me. I don't like how it's considered necessary to make every post a bestseller in order for your opinion to be seen as valid and insightful. I don't like how you're expected to not criticise something just because it's popular or "iconic". I don't like how everyone dedicates themselves to the same old lengthy discourse that will continue to not change anyone's minds either way, since the only people listening are the ones who already agreed with them. I don't like how you have Flynn/Archie/IDW stans on one side, and an increasingly common "Japan only, no one else should ever touch the series, also the Japanese fandom is the only one with good people in it, I was born in the wrong country uwu" mentality on the other side.

And... I don't like that I've brought these concerns up so many times before when I know it'll always fall on deaf ears. Why do I do this? Why do I bother? For the fandom, I guess. But if the fandom doesn't even respect me, if my words are always doomed to ring in an empty hallway, why should I bother?

While all this has been going on, the Paper Mario Thousand-Year Door remake has been on my mind quite a bit, as it has been for a lot of folk. As someone who has always loved TTYD, as well as the original N64 Paper Mario, I'm happy to report that I absolutely adore the remake, and quickly considered it a gold standard as far as faithful remakes go. :) There's a lot of reasons for that, but that's best for another time. Anyway, after a certain point, it occurred to me... hasn't it been a while since I've been able to just relax and join in on the hype for something? Hasn't it been a while since my opinion lined up with that of the majority? Hasn't it been a while since, regardless of not actually posting, I felt like I belonged somewhere, and wasn't being made to constantly feel like I'm worthless because I'm not an artist, animator, etc?

I think this is something I've been needing for a long time now. The irony of it coming from the bing bing wahoo man is not lost on me.

After how the past few years in the Sonic fandom have felt like a classroom more than anything, watching everyone repeat the same Why ___ Is Secretly Good/Bad three hour manifestos over and over, and flogging themselves for being Not-Japanese, can you see why the simple pleasures of "hehe Vivian :3" would appeal to me? Can you see why I'd prefer to unwind? I made a valiant effort, but now, I can't force myself to keep up with shit that I'm not passionate about for the sake of a community that doesn't care about what I have to say anyway. I need to find myself a place on here that I can be at ease with.

So what does this mean for my blog? Well, nothing too jarring, just that my focus may shift a little for the time being. Despite what all of the above may imply, I'm not turning in my Sonic badge. I still love the franchise, even if I'm not so fond of its overall current direction. And obviously, I still love Eggman, that'll never change. I'll still answer asks about the series, talk about things I like, reblog stuff I like, work on Stellar, spread Egg Propaganda, and so on. But unless I'm asked about them in certain contexts (ie: "how would you improve this character"?), I refuse to talk about IDW, Frontiers, or anything else whose contents and fandom circles cause me migraines.

Not because toxic positivity, but because after the joy of gushing over Vivian TTYD, and remembering the feeling of belonging, I can't do this again. I can't change Tails calling himself Wildly Inconsistent. I can't change The End being a nothingburger. I can't change Lanolin being an arsehole. I can't change Surge's shilling. I can't change how unprofessional the IDW crew is. I can't change what they're doing with Eggman, and various other characters. I can't change any of these things, no matter how much I or anyone else rants about them, and half the time, no one is seriously listening anyway. So many words for so little results. So I need to move on, stop wasting my time, and turn my attention on things that actually make me happy instead of just... deflated. Maybe if I do that, I can belong again. Maybe when the direction inevitably changes again in the future, it'll feel like it came faster.

So yeah. That's where I'm at now. I hope you guys can understand.

[theworldreturning]

Intro Post

Hello! I'm participating in @pkmoth's askapalooza event! So here's just some general stuff to know bout how this blog's gonna go!

Info under the cut!

About The AU:

Nothing too special about this AU, really, I think it's a concept everyone's come up with at some point. It's a post story AU after Mother 3's ending where the world is reformed after Lucas asks the dragon to give the planet and humanity another chance.

As a side effect, a good amount of people have come back and/or changed to be allowed that second chance (mainly those who had some form of regret in the old world). Some folks are very different to allow for this to happen, and as such have changed memories and lives, but most remain unchanged from how they were when the world ended and reformed.

The new world takes place in an alternate post Mother 2 universe, but now the Nowhere Islands exist alongside everything else (Though now on maps and such, they're known as the Dragon's Rest Isles). Due to this timeline change, while the folks from Mother 1 are here, they're older now.

So who can you ask?:

You can ask most anyone important from the games! Though if you want more specific people/groups you have:

Claus, Lucas, and Fuel. Who are currently still living in the Dragon's Rest Isles.

They all retain memories of the previous world, but mostly try to put it behind them. For now they're trying their best to retain some sense of normalcy and get used to how things are going to work in their new life (much like everyone else in New Tazmily).

As a point of note: Due to what physically happened to him in the previous world, Claus may not be fully able to answer some questions (may be beyond his scope of vocabulary, or too difficult to understand). In those cases, Fuel or Lucas will probably answer for him. ( Yes, Claus is still a chimera. Yes this affects his behavior.)

The Chosen 4 from Mother 2 (plus Pokey and Picky). Back at home after their journey.

Though the chosen 4 went their separate ways after their journey, they're still good friends and come to visit often. Also due to the world being given a second chance, Pokey is back to being Ness' neighbor, but this time has accepted friendship (mostly, he's still a bit of a prickly kid.)

As a huge note: While the chosen 4 remember the previous world, Pokey and his family DO NOT. Their memories are rewritten to have allowed for Pokey to get a second chance! (Their behaviors are still similar to the previous world though.)

Ninten (And the main party of Mother 1). Now grown up and living their lives in relative peace.

This cast is grown up now (they're in their 20s, minus teddy who is in his late 30s early 40s). While we'll mostly only see Ninten around, the others can answer asks! Also due to proximity (since he moved), Ninten and his cousin Ness can also answer some things together from time to time!

General Asking Rules:

For the most part, at least for now, the casts from the game are mostly separate. The only exceptions are the M1 and M2 casts, who either visit often or are in close enough proximity that they're semi-aware of each other. They'll all meet eventually (at least that's my hope), but for now they remain separate.

No NSFW asks, of course. Most of the casts are still minors. I'll also apply no shipping asks into this. It's not a main thing I wish to focus on, any ships that happen are just there and not the biggest focus.

Don't spam the same asks, it'll just lead me to not answering them. (This doesn't apply if you happen to ask the same question as someone else! If enough people ask the same thing, it may eventually make it to an OOC FAQ post!)

I will TRY to answer with at least a black and white sketch, but I am a working man, so my time is sometimes quite limited. I apologize in advanced.

Due to the above, I may also take a bit to answer some questions! Please do be patient, I will try my best to answer them all!

I will also answer RP-type asks, but they may remain short or more spread out in between normal asks as I'm not the best at roleplaying.

You can be mean to characters, but don't push it too far!! If you sent an ask that I found overly aggressive and you never see it answer, assume it was a bit too far.

Lastly, What About The Future of This Blog?:

If I have fun manning this blog through the month, and people still seem decently interested, I may continue it past the askapalooza! But that all depends on the future, so don't hold me to it! Just know that whatever the decision, I will have appreciated everyone taking the time to just look or even interact with these guys!