#this is mostly based on a reblog that someone did of my original post

[maydays-medbay]

Friends talking through something difficult...

Poor lads

[Novabird - bottom left - belongs to @dimorphodon-x. Ether is mine]

[bisnes-socks]

The Big Finnish Music Project for International Kääryleet, part 1.

When I was writing this analysis about Menestynyt yksilö, I started thinking a lot about Finnish music, about the influences in Käärijä's music, and about the music he would have grown up hearing and being aware of. He references music and artists a lot, and Finnish music has its own peculiarities that I think influence and affect us all, whether we realise it or not. 

So, I made a list of noteworthy Finnish artists and songs. And I put it under a read more because it's long as fuck and I don't want to force people to scroll through it lol.

NOTE: Because of the Tumblr limit on the amount of videos in one post, this project has 6 parts + a bonus part, so 7 parts in total. I will always put the part number in every post title.

I know there's a list somewhere, Finnish fans recommending other Finnish artists to international kääryleet, but I tried my best to make this not so much based on my own taste and recommendations, and more based on which artists and songs have had a significant impact in the world of music in Finland, and have thus had a lot of influence on Finnish music and people in general. With that being said, not all of these artists are like generally agreed upon as "significant" beyond a hit or two, but I do think all of these artists are great reflections of what was going on in the world of Finnish music at any specific time, and that’s what I also wanted to highlight.

Some of these artists or songs have a direct connection to Käärijä, I've marked them with red, if you want to focus on finding them. With some of the others, I’ve deliberately tried to find connections to things I've talked about in previous Käärijä analysis posts as being something culturally very Finnish, to further highlight what I mean by that and how Käärijä relates to the broader scene of Finnish music.

DISCLAIMER: This list is quite heavy on the early 2000's compared to other eras. The reasons for that are: personally I think that the early 2000's are the most relevant time for a kääryle, as his music has the most influence from that time in my opinion. Which makes sense, he (and the other guys involved in making Käärijä music) would have been at that age where you begin to discover your personal favourites etc. The late 90's and early 2000's were also just a significant time in Finnish music - you'll find multiple artists from that era on this list referred to as "one of the most successful of all time", both domestically and internationally.

Also I'm sorry I know very little about popular Finnish music right now, like 2020's Finnish music, but guys… I get the feeling he doesn't know much either, so does it matter too much lmao.

Also the list is by no means exhaustive, so any other Finns feel free to add stuff in notes or reblogs!

Okay, let’s get to the list! In (mostly) chronological order, going all the way back to the late 60’s.

--

Kirka 

Started his career in music in the late 1960's. Passed away in 2007. One of the most significant names in Finnish iskelmä and rock music, did a metal phase in the late 1980’s as one of the first in Finland to do so. Definitely a household name and still active in the 2000’s before his death as well, so someone any millennial grew up being aware of for sure. Represented Finland in Eurovision in 1984 with the song Hengaillaan. 

This is his first huge hit, Hetki lyö, originally from 1967. This live performance is from 2001.

Hector

A huge name in Finnish rock music, Hector is also known for a folk music vibe. Started his career in the 60’s and is just one of those household names and he is still active. I’ve linked the song Lumi teki enkelin eteiseen, which is an all time classic that I know at least millennials and every generation before them of course knows and can sing. A melancholic song about very depressing subjects, like depression (both mental and economical), suicide, family issues etc. Life in Finland was not rosy in the 70’s, there was still a big wave of Finnish people leaving for Sweden and America in search of jobs and a better life, and this song touches on a lot of the reasons why.

The song is originally from 1973, but here’s a video of Hector performing the song to 36 000 people at the Olympic Stadium as part of the Mestarit tour in 1999. Mestarit was made up of Hector, Kirka, Pave Maijanen and Pepe Willberg, all huge names in Finnish music and their tour and album together were huge cultural moments in Finland.

Danny

Mentioned in Sex = Money. Danny also started in the 60's and was a massive, massive star all through the 70's. He is still active. He was considered as the "Finnish Elvis", not because of similarities in music necessarily but the popularity. He also started wearing a very Elvis looking jumpsuit at some point in the 70's. Danny has also been in the spotlight for his personal relationships a lot. This is his hit, Kesäkatu, also referenced in Sex = Money.

Katri Helena

Queen of iskelmä. Started her career in the 70's, still going strong. She's about the least controversial artist you can find, just so loved all across the country. She's also considered to be a very "Finnish voice". This is one of her biggest hits, Katson sineen taivaan, and this is her representing Finland in Eurovision in 1979.

Vesa-Matti Loiri

Jere's idol. A legendary stage and film actor, comedy performer and a singer. Passed away in 2022. Started his career in the 70's. He is one of those names everyone knows, and almost every generation has something nostalgic they connect to him. This song, Naurava kulkuri, is loosely referenced in Menestynyt yksilö. It's a comedy song that he performs as a character, Jean-Pierre Kusela.

Hyvää puuta is by Vesa-Matti Loiri that became a meme for whatever reason. Referenced by Joost Klein and Jere at Ruisrock.

Juice Leskinen

Considered the father of suomirock. Started his career in music in the 70's, but his influence carries on to this day. I can't think of a more influential name in the world of Finnish pop and rock music. He is considered one of the best lyricists in Finnish music. He wrote both quite dark and quite humourous songs - something I’ve mentioned before as being quite a Finnish thing. One of his most famous songs is Sika, a Christmas song about a pig being slaughtered for Christmas dinner.

I decided to link what I think is probably his most famous song, Syksyn sävel, from 1976.

Quite the example of melancholic Finnish music, as the second line in the song goes “elämä on kuolemista” meaning “(living) life is (about) dying”.

Maarit Hurmerinta

Before we had Käärijä, King of Vantaa, we had Maarit, the Queen of Vantaa. She's an iconic singer some of you might also recognise from the Finnish Beatles Tribute t-shirt Bojan keeps wearing lmao. Her daughter Janna is also a well known and popular singer, you might have seen her in the photos posted when Mikke and Jere went to see Adele. Anyway, this is Maarit’s massive hit Jäätelökesä, originally from 1978, but this live performance must be sometime in the 90's, I think.

Eppu Normaali

Eppu Normaali started out as a punk band in the 70's but mellowed out into a more poprock type direction as time went on. They are also considered part of the Manserock scene of Tampere. They are quite an influential, popular and significant band in the world of Finnish rock, one of those bands everyone knows. This song, Murheellisten laulujen maa, is basically about the generational trauma of being raised a man in a country as emotionally constipated as Finland, and how it drives people to alcohol and violence. This song is originally from 1982, the live performance is from 2010.

Kikka

The foremother of the soft porn vibe later mastered by the likes of Käärijä, Antti Tuisku and Erika Vikman. Her songs were quite naughty and her career in music revolved around entertainment and playfully sexual vibes. She was a huge star in the 1980's but badly mistreated by the media, and unfortunately had a very difficult personal life. She passed away in 2005.

End of part one! We've only reached the 80's, but as you can see, there are already several artists on the list that have a direct connection or are a direct influence on Käärijä/Jere. Everyone on this list so far is a household name, and honestly artists that could be referenced in a Käärijä song any given day.

Part 2 introduces lots of 80's rock from Finland.

[peoplesrazor]

Time for another, this ain't that kind of community post? Okay.

I don't want to call too many people out here...okay, I'm going to call out one person here, and the people targeted specifically are handling things, so this is just a general reminder.

Most of the people in Lily Crit only know each other in a para-social sense. We reblog each other, and answer each other's asks and so on, but again, there are no meetings or anything. We are just people with aligning goals; we want to point out the things Lily is accused of and take on her bad media takes to lessen her influence.

We aren't like, going out for drinks together and stuff.

Britt's reblogged and commented on my posts a few times. I might, maybe, have said hi to Courtney in a live chat once. I've watched Ant, Crim and Sai in livestreams and seen their videos. I've made a few personal inquiries to others who seem down or stressed just to connect, something I'd do for anyone.

I mostly stick to Lily's media takes and her blog posts. I have to address the other stuff sometimes, but I don't feel right presenting someone else's story for them. Too much chance I'd mess something up.

I originally planned to avoid discussing her tastes, proclivities, and the things she's accused of as much as possible. I felt more comfortable talking about her media takes and her interactions with fans, but after a time I felt like I was being a little too cautious about it. So, lately, I've been reblogging evidence and posts to keep for anyone who needs to see them in the future and to help reach more people currently.

I haven't commented much on the "Courtney Doc." Here's my complete thoughts on the matter. I do not now, nor have I ever, based whether or not I believe the victim on how I feel about the victim. How strong that believe is can only be moved by evidence that refutes them and not evidence about their behavior. The document is not going to change that process for me.

That's it, that's the whole take about the content.

I have, oddly, had a few encounters with the person who released that doc. Out of everyone in this community, they were one person I had spoken to a few times. Not, usually, by my choosing. They commented here and there and, I might as well say, from those conversations, they always seemed to have trouble with a lot of other people in Lily Crit.

So, not that surprised it turned out the way it did.

I want to also say, the community doesn't have leaders or spearheads or any of that other nonsense. Some people know more about some subjects, some are in a better place to comment on things. Crim knows stuff about Canada. Ant knows media. Sai knows art.

Okay, one actual call out, but only because they went so far with a number of people.

@skeleton-bat from reading your blog, your conversations, etc, you seem to want to present your self as a very modern, very inclusive, very enlightened individual...

...So, why do you keep trying to get two men to tell the mean lesbian lady how to behave?

[moonlightequin1]

♡ Welcome to my Tumblr Page ♡

‼️ BYF (Before you follow):

- My account is NOT a spoiler free zone! I will reblog and post things that are up-to-date with the main story which means I will not refrain from posting/reblogging Book 7 spoilers!

- I am a huge Ramshackle, Heartshackle, Diasomnia, and Crowley enthusiast, so I won't really be interacting with accounts hate on them. Don't worry, I will respect your opinions about these characters. We all have our preferences.

- I am mainly yuu/prefect multishipper and twst OCxCanon shipper! So if that's not what you are into, then it's best to avoid my page.

- I am NOT comfortable with Malleus X Lilia or Silver X Lilia content. So if you ship one of those ships (or perhaps both), please don't interact with me! I am not comfortable seeing these dynamics in any romantic sense at all.

👀 Information about me:

♡ my pronouns are she/her (but I don't mind they/them)

♡ I'm a HUGE TWST theorist! Most of my posts and reblogs will probably be mainly on the theory side of TWST!

♡ I am also an artist and OC content creator, but I usually post about my OCs on Twitter.

♡ interests/fandoms: Twisted Wonderland (main), Disney, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Nier Automata, Vocaloid, Gundam Wing, Cafe Enchante, Our Life: Beginning & Always, Our Life: Now & Forever, Ghibli, horror games, dating sims, otome games, interactive fiction, romantasy books, etc!

♡ Favourite TWST pairings: Adeuyuu, Silyuu, Malleyuu, Rolloyuu, Sebeyuu, Rookyuu, Vilyuu, Azuyuu, most Yuu pairings in general, Lilinor, LiliNorVan

♡ My favourite TWST theories/HCs: Trey and Sebek are cousins (HC/THEORY), Crowley is Levan (THEORY), Rook is twisted and based on Robin Hood (THEORY)

♡ Personal Tags: #just ray ~ reblog (for reblogs), #just ray ~ rambles (for ramblings), #just ray ~ art (for my artworks), #just ray ~ ocs (for my OCs), #just ray ~ theory pit (for theories), #just ray ~ edits (for edits)

Twisted Wonderland Theory/Analysis Masterlist (mostly from Twitter):

🌹 Heartslabyul

Deuce is the exception in the Prologue (Crowley, Ace, and Grim are also odd)

🦁 Savanaclaw

Someone died in the Afterglow Savannah kingdom...?

Leona's sleeping talent may possibly be used in Book 7

Leona and Idia's plausible importance/involvement in Book 7

🌊 Octavinelle

Azul has Tiana motifs

🐍 Scarabia

Kalim's Ceremonial Robes

👑 Pomefiore

Rook is a Beastman

Rook and Rapunzel (Crack Theory)

Dire Crowley's theme is nearly in sync with Pomefiore's Overblot OST

Meleanor's Lullaby and Pomefiore's dorm OST having the same ending notes

💀 Ignihyde

The Isles of Grief basis is Atlantis

Leona and Idia's plausible importance/involvement in Book 7

🐉 Diasomnia

Silver and Crowley

Briar Valley Tangled Festival...?

Sebek and Trey are relatives....

Lilia's necklace merch having possible symbolisms...?

Grim and Sebek's similarities/connection

Thread on Silver and Yuu's similarities and parallels

Grim, Malleus, and the Neverbeast

Malleus and Crowley parallels

Malleus and Crowley parallels (again)

Meleanor's Lullaby and Pomefiore's dorm OST having the same ending notes

🏚️ Ramshackle

The possible reason Mickey is forgotten or not recognized in Twisted Wonderland AND Ramshackle's dorm spirit... (PT.1)

What we know about Grim's lore (THREAD)

Grim and Sebek's similarities/connection

Thread on Silver and Yuu's similarities and parallels

Grim, Malleus, and the Neverbeast

Grim and Pete the Cat

Grim's connection to the Dwarfs

Yuu (the Prefect) is dead in their original world

Grim and the Chimera

Yuu and The Black Cauldron

Deuce is the exception in the Prologue (Crowley, Ace, and Grim are also odd)

🐦‍⬛🗝️ NRC

Crowley, the Dark Mirror, and the Briar Valley soldiers

Crowley and the 8th coffin (theory notes)

Dire Crowley is unkind...?

Did Crowley lose a companion...?

The NRC Faculty might play a bigger role than we think but Crewel is the odd one out

Malleus and Crowley Parallels

Dire Crowley's theme is nearly in sync with Pomefiore's Overblot OST

Deuce is the exception in the Prologue (Crowley, Ace, and Grim are also odd)

The Magic Mirror

How the Darkness and Blot work together & other considerations (A re-evaluation of my previous theories)

⭐ RSA

RSA and NRC's rivalry is secretly the Silver Owls VS Briar Valleys...?

Do RSA students see in black and white?

🪞 TWISTED WONDERLAND

What if the Heroes were punished to become the Villains as an act of revenge?

[faemytho]

some social media interaction culture breakdowns, as far as i can tell this is how these things work :3 i did this for fun and for my own amusement, so i probably got some of these wrong. please do not bite my head off. im willing to make corrections!

the differences between tumblr, twitter, cohost, and pillowfort! as far as i can tell, bsky is a twitter copy/paste, just with better site usage quality.

likes:

tumblr: do nothing. most people use this as either a bookmarking system or a "hey i saw your post and i like it". you can hide them; most do.

twitter: influence followers homefeed and algorithm. you can't hide them.

cohost: do nothing. this is for specifically "hey i saw your post and i like it". they can only be accessed by you; there's no way to make them public.

pillowfort: do nothing. this is for specifically "hey i saw your post and i like it". there is no way to access your own likes at all.

re- blog/tweet/share

tumblr: called a reblog. you can reblog with tags AND commentary, though most only reblog with tags instead of reblogging with commentary (ive seen this described as the difference between whispering to someone in an auditorium vs shouting something in an auditorium for everyone to hear)

twitter: separated into retweets and QRTs. a retweet is a direct share to your followers on their timeline with no way to add commentary, and a QRT is an embed of someone else's post with your commentary at the top, which makes it an original post.

cohost: called a share or a rechost, similar to how tumblr's system works, but the commentary culture is different. it's more common to add commentary in the post body, and discouraged to talk in the tags (based on how tagging works sitewide)

pillowfort: called a reblog, similar to how tumblr's system works, but the commentary culture is different. it's more common to share with no commentary before adding commentary, and not really common to talk in the tags. pillowfort replies are mostly where commentary happens.

replies/comments:

tumblr: unlike twitter, tumblr replies ARE NOT their own posts. they're like DMs between you and the OP, except everyone can see these messages and join in on the conversation.

twitter: replies are their own post! they function similarly to how tumblr reblog threads work, but with more limited visibility

cohost: called comments and work like tumblr replies, BUT, are able to be threaded like AO3 comments. these are actually the ONLY interactions visible for anyone to see on a post!

pillowfort: called comments, and work like tumblr replies, BUT, are able to be threaded like AO3 comments.

tags:

tumblr: TAGS ARE VERY FREE. tags are both a sorting system BUT also a way to whisper your thoughts on someone's post that you've reblogged. you can make up your own tags for your own personal blog sorting system, or keysmash your reaction to cute art. tumblr culture involves a LOT of "tag talking", in which people don't actually put their overall commentary in the body of a post, but the tags of it when they're reblogging it. when making an original post, only the first five tags are counted. tags on reblogged posts do NOT show up in tumblr search.

twitter: tags are more formal from what i can tell. they go directly in the body of a post and are an explicit way to sort posts into topics and categories. tags on replies and QRTs DO show up in twitter search.

cohost: tags are more formal like twitter, but function visibly similar to tumblr tags. they go beneath a post and are the only way to search cohost (so its not common to talk in the tags). however, unlike tumblr, all tags from every user in a rechost chain are visible and searchable in shared posts. tags on rechosted posts DO show up in cohost search (from what i can tell, it's discouraged to re-tag a share of a post to prevent accidentally spamming a tag, since the tags of the OP will transparently carry over into the rechost).

pillowfort: exactly like tumblr, without the five tag limit and without the tag talking culture. tags on reblogged posts do NOT show up in pillowfort search.

followers:

tumblr: mean nothing. if you have a lot of followers that's probably bad actually because it means you're infamous. you're the tumblr clown and everyone's watching you flail around. clout doesnt exist. you can also hide who you're following on tumblr like with likes, again, most do hide this.

twitter: clout. clout clout clout. followers is good. followers means you're famous. you can't hide this information, nor can you hide who you yourself are following.

cohost: mean nothing, but doubly so. there is absolutely no way to see how many followers you have, nor how many followers anybody has, nor who is following who. you can view your own followers, but there's no number count and nobody else can view this.

pillowfort: an odd mix of all three of the above. hidden entirely like cohost, viewable numbers like tumblr, and some sense of clout-dignity like twitter. in actuality, most users follow Pillowfort's user-created communities rather than other users specifically.

feeds:

tumblr: if you're an old user, your default is called your dashboard, in which you only get posts from the people and tags you follow. if you're a new user, (allegedly) your default is the "For You" feed. there are separate feeds separated into tabs at the top; other than the "For You" feed, you're able to customize what tabs you want to see and switch between. a half and half compromise between algorithm/no algorithm. it's there if you want it, avoidable if you don't.

twitter: you've got your "For You" and your "Following" feed (also called TL or timeline). im unsure which is set as the default, but "For You" is listed first so it's probably that. while the following feed is self-explanatory, the "For You" feed shows you posts that users you follow have liked as well as posts based on an algorithm around that. the algorithm knows all.

cohost: you also have two feeds here - "Latest Posts" and "Bookmarked Tags". Latest Posts are from those you've followed, while Bookmarked Tags is a feed you can build based on which tags you've bookmarked. there's no algorithm at all!

pillowfort: only one feed, composed entirely of posts from users you follow and communities you're in/following. no algorithm!

search:

tumblr: only the tumblr wizards know how this fucking thing works (affectionate). sitewide search brings up both text in the body of the post as well as tags. clicking on a specific tag will give you posts that have been specifically tagged with the tag. blog search is similar but it breaks often.

twitter: hell. sitewide search brings up both text in the body of the post as well as tags AS WELL AS every post made by a user who has the searched term in their goddamn handle. clicking on a specific tag will give you posts that have been specifically tagged with the tag. profile search does not exist unless you know the secret codes to put in the url.

cohost: the site can ONLY be searched via tags that exist already. blogs here can only be searched via clicking on a specific tag. however, cohost provides toggles within every blog so users can toggle on or off a user's shares, replies, and asks to their hearts delight, which makes blog scrolling customizable to the users preference

pillowfort: sitewide search is how tumblr's search is supposed to work, AND way more stable. blog search can be searched only through clickable tags, but you're also able to view only original posts or only reblogs on someone's blog.

blacklisting, blocking, muting, muffling, making posts with sensitive content

tumblr: you're able to build a blacklist based on tags, and you're able to block users. "community labels" are a predetermined set of labels users can apply to both their posts and reblogs of other people's posts, and can be toggled to the user's preference

twitter: there is no blacklist, but a "muted word" list that you can customize. there is sensitive content filtering, but it's only under a generalized "sensitive content" warning. you can mute a user if you'd rather not block, which means you won't see their posts or when they interacting with you. you are also able to block users outright.

cohost: you can set a customized "content warning" on a post for others to click through, similar to twitter's sensitive content warning, but able to be customized as needed. you can blacklist OR whitelist content warnings. for tag filtering, you can muffle (requiring a click-through) or silence (hide completely). you can mark a post as 18+ very easily. you can toggle and customize the way posts on your feed display.

pillowfort: filters and blacklist are easily accessible on the sidebar rather than hidden in the settings. however, 18+ posts can only be toggled on or off (shown or entirely hidden), there is no click-through option. you can blacklist "words and tags" all at once, or just blacklist tags, to your discretion.

posting:

tumblr: as long or short as you want. tons of different ways to post, images, videos, audio, links, ect. some VERY basic code is allowed. it USED to be go nuts show nuts, but...

twitter: theres a 300(?) character limit and a four images per post limit. you can pay money for more post characters. 18+ is more limited than other sites, but allowed.

cohost: very basic posting editor. you can code html, css, and basic markdown straight into the post if you want to. there's even a preview toggle in the posting editor to see what it looks like before you post it. literally the sky is the limit. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KNOW CODE TO POST ON COHOST, but if you do you can make your posts look cool. there is a "readmore" like on tumblr, but it's a soft readmore based on the post length instead of tumblr's hard readmore. 18+ is allowed.

pillowfort: a rich text editor that's built to support images, videos, links, ect. as long or short as you want. 18+ is allowed.

site-specific:

tumblr: the ability to send asks and submit posts, polls, limited profile badges (most need to be bought), blog coding customization, post blazing, sideblogs

twitter: lists, spaces, circles, and polls

cohost: the ability to send asks, user funded, no ads, anti-AI stance, range of options for profile customization, private notes (able to be left on a user's profile for only you to see), sidepages (built-in sideblogs that function as their own main blogs)

pillowfort: communities (these are in tumblr beta testing currently), user funded, no ads, anti-AI stance, a WIDE range of profile badges (99% are free, 1% are rewarded for donating to the site during specific fundraising periods)

site sign-up and apps

tumblr: free and easy, app in the appstore.

twitter: free and easy, app in the appstore

cohost: free and easy, but posting is limited for a small period of time at first sign-up. you can browse, follow users, and like posts during this period of time, but cannot make your own original posts until cohost greenlights you (they'll send an email when you're able to post; mine was just under 24 hours). they have a progressive web app hosted by chrome that functions and appears as a regular app that bypasses appstore restrictions.

pillowfort: free, but unlike the other sites and more like AO3, sign-up puts you on a waitlist for an invite code, or you can sign-up with an invite code from a user already on the site. no mobile app, but a progressive web app like how cohost has is in the works.

bsky: the twitter copy. sign-up is free, but there's a wait period before you're fully invited to set up your account unless you have a bsky invite from a user already on the site. there's an app in the appstore.

[olderthannetfic]

/728286197798076416/ - this is me. Before tumblr the sites I hung out in are socmed sites that have a friend system and not a follow one. I got a bunch of friends through those sites forums and seeing how some people interact with their mutuals here reminded me of those times so I thought that's how they become "friends" on this site when there's no friend system (and by that I meant like an online acquaintance you'd interact with a lot and not actual friend-friend unless you two actually got close).

It's also just been at least a year since they followed back. I have interacted with their posts with mostly likes and some reblogs (sometimes with added commentary since I like their posts) but aside from a like or two when they followed back, they haven't done anything else. A random follower who hasn't liked or reblogged anything from me even from the start doesn't bother me but I've seen people here make a big deal of being "mutuals" with someone and some of them have made posts about how their mutuals are important to them/their friends which fits how they talk to their other mutuals on posts but doesn't apply to me. It's what confuses and bothers me about why they decide to follow back cause it doesn't make sense based from these stuff.

I read the replies on my original ask and I guess I really just shouldn't think much about this. It's just so strange to me so it bothers me.

--

...

Nonnie, I was there for the whole Livejournal era, starting in 2002 before most of fandom was even on it.

I can say with certainty that calling the following function "friends" led to plenty of wank but no actual increase in how much it meant that you were a friendly acquaintance.

Some people have always used sites this way. Some just follow you because they meant to keep track of your account and go check it later. Did they actually go check it later? Questionable.

Most likely, these people talking about "mutuals" in that manner don't derive the friendship from being mutuals. They follow back people they're already friends with for other reasons. They may also be thinking only of the mutuals who talk to them a lot in ways they find amusing or notable.

One thing we cannot control is whether other people like our writing.

I get more than the usual share of replies. Some commenters stand out to me because I like how they phrase things. It's usually the people who sound like they read a wide variety of genres and as though they have a similar vibe to mine. I'll usually notice the Spanish speakers (if they mention it) because that's of interest to me, but I'll still probably only click with the ones who are pretty good at English in a way that sounds nice to my ear. Honestly, that's hard to quantify because it's different form how native someone's grammar is. I have a bunch of regular rebloggers coming from a variety of languages who are a pleasure to read despite copious grammatical errors because they're funny or sound colloquial despite that or because their content is so interesting. Some people sound stiff or convoluted despite having zero technical errors. (And that's true regardless of native language.)

If I find you painful to read for EFL reasons or bad writing skill reasons or humor that reads as tryhard instead of funny to me or excessive hostility or some other thing, we won't click.

Neither I nor the other person has any significant control over those reactions.

Now, I haven't observed your mutuals and have no idea what kinds of things you guys post, but I have observed a common pattern, both on tumblr and back in the day on LJ, where someone interacts a little but not enough and their comments are okay but nothing special. If the people they're interacting with are busy or already have a zillion friends, sometimes, they just get missed.

I also think performative posts about ~my mutuals~ tend to be hollow bragging about being popular. When they aren't, there's an implicit sense that they're talking about a particular subset of mutuals.

There's not really that much of a contradiction here. You were just taking those posts at face value, and you shouldn't.

[myrandomsuaus]

I haven't posted in awhile so have some new art for my Diamond Swap AU (which is just some character designs)

I know I originally said that the fusion that was apart of Purple and White's rebel gems was a Garnet, but I decided to change that. Now the fusion is Anhydrite, a fusion of Aquamarine and Padparadscha. The two gems are from Yellow's court instead of Blue's court and the Off-Colors because I felt it fitting for the AU. Aquamarine is still the same from canon, just in Yellow's court instead, but has grown nicer over time with being fused with Pads. Pads is treated like other Sapphires, since she is one, but her future vision isn't like a normal Sapphire. Her future vision allows her to see things in the very near future (like when someone is literally about to enter the room to announce terrible news of a rebellion from the younger diamonds, who are gathering up their courts to help with protecting Earth from being colonized by Homeworld). It may seem useless at first, but she usually has more information on current situations due to being able to see all, within a certain range, of what is happening in the close future/the now. This makes her a valuable asset to the Diamonds as the rebellion takes place. However, Purple and White know this and try to use this against them.

Pads had been discussing with Yellow Diamond that Purple and White would arrive and be stopped as 7 gems would be poofed, herself included, during the fight. Just as Pads said that the two youngest diamonds did indeed show up and six gems were poofed, but before Pads could be poof Aquamarine pushed Pads out of the way, deeming her too valuable to be poofed at a time like this, causing the two to fuse into Anhydrite for the first time. This caused chaos and the two unfused before Aquamarine quickly rushed the two off the Cloud Arena down to Earth. (basically following the story of Garnet).

They weren't quick to fuse again, making sure to find somewhere safe to be since they knew that gems of their class weren't supposed to fuse together. Pads tried to see when they would each chance she got, but Aquamarine always managed to do something she never could predict, leaving her in the dark about their future. Aquamarine mostly acted like she didn't actually enjoy fusing as much as she actually did. She just feared that if they fused again that trouble would so follow. However, she couldn't deny the longing to be something more than just an aquamarine and padparadscha with Pads. Soon the two would fuse once more, still unsure of who they new were, but loved every second of it. Eventually the two would be found by Purple and White and be asked to join their cause to protect the Earth, a place where the two could exist as Anhydrite for as long as they wanted and others could do the same.

I'm really putting more thought into this au than my main one this is based on lol. Anyways, if you liked the art feel free to like and reblog it! Reblogs really help spread this to others who may enjoy it too ^w^ Have a wonderful day and always remember to stay creative!!!!

[detailtilted]

Sample of Upcoming "Enhanced Edition" CHICON 2007 Solo Jensen Panel

This sample was removed when I updated the full video with drastically improved video quality. I did not recreate the sample, but you can find the full video here.

Original post:

This is just a small, 1+ minute segment of a larger video that I’ll probably post next week.  Thanks so much to the people who watched, reblogged, and/or liked the CHICON 2007 Enhanced Edition Breakfast video!  It made me super happy to see some interest, and I know that was mostly thanks to those of you who managed to stumble across my obscure post and reblog it so people would actually see it.

I’ve started working on the main panels involving Jared and/or Jensen from the same convention.  Jensen’s solo panel is next sequentially, so that’s what this sample is from.  This clip was one of my favorite parts from his panel.  I’m including Jared and J2 in the tags because Jensen talks about working with Jared here.

If you don’t have any particular interest in the subtitles, you can skip the wall of text below.

On this sample, I used a much lighter color of blue for Jensen’s subtitles.  The more I looked at the shade I'd been using, the more I thought it was too dark to be read easily.  It became more apparent to me while working on his solo panel because there’s so much more of it.  I’d be happy to get opinions, good or bad.  I was really attached to the idea of using blue for Jensen and red for Jared because of their marker tape colors, and I’m pretty sure the previous shade of blue was more accurate in that regard, but it’s far more important to me that the subtitles be readable than that they be symbolic!

If people like this color better, I’ll go back and update the subtitles for the Breakfast video to use the same color for Jensen.  Subtitles are a separate file from the video, so it’s not too difficult to make changes and switch the subtitle file out without affecting the video itself. 

Speaking of which, feel free to let me know if you catch any errors with the subtitles and I’ll fix them.  Also, if there’s a subtitle that I marked as [inaudible] and you’re confident that you know what they said, let me know.  There were parts I marked as [inaudible] even though I felt sure I could guess what they’d said based on the context, but I couldn’t hear any sounds or see any mouth movements to clearly confirm it.  I tried not to put words in their mouths that they might not have said, and I didn’t want to force my own interpretation on anyone.  Sometimes though, there were places where I felt like I should have been able to figure out what they were saying but I just couldn’t get the sounds to make sense to my ears, so someone else might be able to hear those.  Other times, I would hear something for the umpteenth time, often when I was focusing on some other aspect of the video and not thinking about the subtitles at all, and suddenly it would seem blatantly obvious to me what they were saying.

As far as issues with the videos themselves, I can’t easily change them after I publish them because it would create a new video link on YouTube and I'd rather not create a confusion of links.  However, please do still feel free to let me know if you catch any errors in my added content.  I’ll keep a list of errata for my own notes in case I ever do have a reason to update the video.  If it’s particularly egregious, I can at least put a note in the video description. (And since this is a sample, if you catch any issues, I can fix it for the full version.)

[bellatrixnightshade]

Explanation for A Masquerade of Life and Death (PART ONE, maybe)

Mostly for @wisteriaum @liketwoswansinbalance and @2xraequalstorara who have read/interacted with my posts on this. And I believe @harmonyverendez.

To preface this, I still think this is in an experimental phase, and I will most likely not use the Masque of Red Death chapter (the original short story is by someone else and I merely just used it as my playground/made my own version.) to start the story, since this is about Blanche Laurent, my OC and Rafal, their journey to find Rhian and how they perceive these supernatural forces. However, i will certainly keep it for another part of the story and maybe I ca section this fic like I did with ATOTE.

Luckily, I am trying to work on a first chapter right now, and also, since ATOTE and this won equally on the poll, I will just work on this one mostly, but try to work on he other one too. (Reading history helps me with ATOTE, I won't lie. Like reading about President Garfield's assassination yesterday afternoon gave me more inspo for ATOTE than I've had for months.) I am more open to discuss ATOTE too, but I think it will be limited to my posts rather than taking asks for now.

ANYWAY, moving forward: this is actually an AU based on this original story world I wanted to write based on Edgar Allen Poe's stories and poetry, mainly, "The Masque of Red Death" and "The Raven." Of course, on this one I've expanded it a little more and there isn't too much the Raven references (at least not overt ones). So i definitely recommend to read up on it or to see the correlation between my AU (so I will take creative liberty) and Poe's.

I also use other literature as inspiration and even some more modern gothic infused books, like the Belladonna series, though I have subverted the main romance in that one. And I would say the protagonists are a little different, despite having similar powers.

Some of this could be considered based on past historical periods but since this world is made up it won't be uniform!! Just to let people know.

Plot: It starts out in a seaside kingdom (ahem slight reference) where Blanche Laurent and her mother (more on that in another post, which will be author disclaimers.) moved to years ago. Blanche is about 18 for most of the story, maybe ending 19 or 20. Rafal was her childhood friend in her own home but they get out of touch after she leaves and his family, except Rhian despised and disapproved of her. But when Rhian goes missing, then he finds her again and they look for him together. There's more than that but basically what sets off events!

Don't hesitate to ask me anything, either.

Also, future additions will be via reblog rather than separate posts.

(if you follow my tags, I will tag it as fic: masque of life and death and fic: atote from now on.)

[all-seeing-ifer]

so it turns out you dunno as much about star trek as i assumed you did (i seen you reblog a few posts about it and thought you were a bigger fan). and tho star trek is like a big ol' franchise, for that osmosis meme, i'm sending you star trek and you can do with that what you will <3

You know what Sapphire I'm going to really try and flex my brain muscles for this one! I'm gonna see if I can do the whole franchise! Welcome to A Complete History of Star Trek, as told by someone who's seen the new films, like three of the old films, and a couple episodes of the original series, and is otherwise getting all of this from their friends and people they follow on tumblr!

We start with the original star trek! It's the one everyone thinks of when they think of star trek, with kirk, spock, bones, and all them lot! It's about the crew of a spaceship in the far future who go around exploring different planets and meeting new alien species. This also appears to be the premise of every other star trek show.

Kirk is the captain of the spaceship. I have it on good authority that despite what fans and the newer installments will try to make you think, he is in fact not an annoying womanising guy but is a very nice young man who respects women (and is maybe bisexual???) good for him!

The crew also includes his second in command, Spock, who is very logical except when him and Kirk are having gay moments. Then there's Bones, who is a doctor and talks a lot about being a doctor. There's Uhura, who seems to be kind of a girlboss and is in charge of... I want to say communications? I think she was part of the first interracial kiss ever shown on tv or something like that, which is pretty cool! good on you star trek! There's also a delightful russian man named Chekov, who was my favourite part of the bits and pieces I've seen, and a guy called Sulu, who is. there. I know nothing about this man.

The show is an episodic monster of the week show, where there's a new alien/threat of some kind in each episode. These threats include alien warriors called klingons, fluffy aliens called tribbles that can multiply infinitely, and a hive mind called the borg. dear god I am really hoping the borg is a star trek thing and not like battlestar galactica. A lot of the episodes are very horny, like the one where spock has to fuck someone or he'll literally die. This is despite it being made in the 60s when being horny wasn't allowed on tv, so good on you again star trek!

They also made some films based on star trek. The first one isn't very good, the second is about a villain called khan and is great! Spock dies in it, but don't worry, he comes back in the next movie! How? Great question, don't ask me. I think kirk's son also dies in one of these movies? Does kirk have a son? Did I fever dream that?

The most important film is the one where they go back in time to the 80s to save the whales. This was my favourite of the ones I saw, but I feel like nerds might hate it. It seems too fun.

After the original series they made star trek the next generation, which is all about patrick stewart as a new ship captain called picard. Much like kirk, he also has a second in command, but his second command is very impulsive and hot headed instead of being logical, so they have kind of the opposite dynamic. At one point, picard and kirk got to meet each other in one of the films.

Picard's crew includes a robot called data, who everyone loves!! Even I love him, and I've never met this man! He's a robot, and apparently he often comes across very autistic and/or aroace, so he's really racking up points with me! Other crew members include geordi laforge, who is besties with data and is blind and wears a visor that is presumably a seeing aid of some kind, and a klingon who's not evil like the other klingons!

After the next generation came voyager! This was the first star trek show with a lady captain, which was very exciting! Her name is Janeway and Voyager is mostly about straightbaiting the audience with her and her boy best friend (and also maybe time travel?)

Voyager was followed by Deep Space Nine, which was different to the previous star treks because it was set on a space station instead of a ship. It had many characters, one of whom was an alien called Odo!

Then they made Enterprise, which was also different to all the previous star treks because it was a prequel (presumably about the original crew of the enterprise) I don't think people liked it.

Speaking of things people don't like, they made a bunch of reboot films in the 2000s and 2010s! From what I remember of them I liked them quite a bit, but this seems to be a pretty unpopular opinion. They are very different from the original series that they're based on and don't characterise Kirk correctly and also benedict cumberbatch is playing a character who was originally played by an indian guy which is pretty weird, but at least they have a banging score courtesy of michael giacchino! What happened to that guy anyway, I feel like he hasn't had a memorable score in years. Come back michael. we miss you.

In the years since the reboots they have also made a few more shows, such as a prequel about a young picard, an animated series called lower decks which is more comedic than the live action shows, and a show called brave new worlds, which is the current series! They had a trans character for a bit but they got killed off, which people were very upset about.

and that's it. that's what star trek is!

[myloveforhergoeson]

man at this point idc what the btr boys are doing lmaoo im so invested in how roxy & dak are gonna go. do we ever see roxy's pool date with jo & camille? i wanna know what they think about this whole roxy dak mess he's putting her through....

hello! i wanted to respond to this rq bc i've literally been thinking about it all day

thank you for being interested in dak and roxy i was so scared people would stop reading after i introduced that little plot line! all i've gotta say is... roxy writes based off life experience or scenarios she creates in her head... so... yeah... hahahaha

i did not originally intend to show roxy's pool date with jo and camille but i will write it tomorrow after i get off work and post it asap! i've been writing the season one finale for literal weeks at this point and i'm starting to go crazy over it so itll be nice to get into a different little one shot for a bit. i'll post it in a reblog of this question so we can all find it :)

more under the cut !!!!

right now i will give you a little sneak peek about how EVERYONE feels about the roxy-dak mess because i'm generous like that, and i don't really get to show everyones feelings on it in the story bc we only get inside her head... there's a bit in chapter 13 where we see a little bit of how the guys feel about it, but i didn't want to make it a whole thing and then it kinda turned into a whole thing 🤷‍♀️

anyway: how my characters view love and roxy's relationship through some cannon events and my own personal beliefs

jo: takes absolutely no shit when it comes to love, we see this when kendall has his thing with lucy... she grew up listening to boy bands and has a standard for how men should treat her <3 plus i think she's been in one non-serious "we went on a few dates so i guess he's my boyfriend" relationship from back home so she has a little experience. she thinks dak isn't worth any more of her time after he stood her up but she is afraid to voice this to her bestie...

camille: is a hopeless romantic and would go nearly to the ends of the earth for the ones she loves. she's a "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be" kinda gal and at age 16 fully believes logan is the love of her life. i think he's her first partner! she wants roxy to be as in love as she is and thinks that, while shitty, the whole standing her up thing is just a bump in the road on their way to everlasting love

carlos: pre-established to have never been in a relationship but he's like a silly jock so i'm sure he's been on at least a few dates! he has older sisters in my story (because he feels like he was written by a woman (me. i'm that woman.)) so you know he knows the proper way to show a date a good time! he thought roxy looked so pretty on her first date and he just wants her to have a good time and be happy. if dak makes her happy, he's happy! and he was actually kind of okay with the stand up thing because they got to hang out and dance together <3

kendall: captain (?? i don't think i made this up... this is in the show right?) of the hockey team in a midwestern high school. he's had a few partners and i know his mother whooped his ass (metaphorically) into shape after she found out he goofed around too hard and hurt someone he went out with on accident... as for the roxy and dak affair, he may or may not have picked up on the fact one of his good buddies may or may not like her... he's not a fan but will not say anything bc he isn't in the business of telling her what to do (she will hit him with her songbook very hard)

logan: while a believer in his love science, he's yet to find a way to quantify how he feels about camille after the party in chapter 10 :) he dated a bit his first few years in high school (mostly double dates with james? i also think is a fact from the show), and has had a few non-serious partners but he's never felt this way about anyone else! in his love science-y world, he can tell that dak does not feel the same way about roxy as she feels about him. if he did, he would've come to the party. simple love science!

james: good lord! he has dated anyone who is someone at mountain aire high school and it's always been to elevate or retain his own social status. so when he's normally a flirt for fun, or because it makes his boring little small town feel less boring, it's always been a game to him. except somewhere along the way of flirting out of habit with his new friend, he might have started to actually mean some of the things he's said. he thinks dak's a douche for standing her up and he's trying to make that clear to her the only way he knows how: vague hints and comments here and there. another established james fact is he's never been dumped, so i imagine this brings up a little bit of fear of rejection in him as well. he has trouble voicing his own feelings as well, since he's always trying to come across as perfect.

whoo boy that was way more than i though it was gonna be lol. if you make it this far, you deserve a medal. thanks for the suggestion! i'm excited to write the pool date... we haven't had enough roxy/jo/camille in the fic lately

[harbingrs]

Need to recharge, light from the stars Won't really reach anything, will it? Binary capsules of all human culture Science and history and headless sculptures Stories of monkeys and digital religions Like a note on the ankle of the last living pigeon

Bell. he/him. 30ish.

About me:

Bell / Rue

bi²

He/him by default (but any pronouns are fine)

30-ish years old

White & not from the US

Part of a DID system (I don't do syscourse and don't find it relevant)

Disabled (physical and mental)

Sideblogs:

s******s - System sideblog

welcomedtohome - Interiors/aesthetic sideblog

itsgonnabeagreatgiorno - Animal Crossing sideblog

Image ID: A four-panel Peanuts comic featuring Snoopy the beagle typing on a typewriter. Text reads: Gentlemen, I have just completed my new novel. It is so good, I am not even going to send it to you. [Pause] Why don't you just come and get it? End ID.

About this blog:

Mostly reblogs. Tags to look at or block as needed:

Personal posts [#posts]

Music [#music]

Poetry/quotes/etc [#muses]

Disability & chronic illness

Family trauma

Religious trauma [#exvangelical or #ex christian]

Therapy abuse [#therapy abuse or #psych abuse]

More graphic NSFT posts and images are tagged, but suggestive jokes or general references aren't. Basically, I follow the original guideline of "things that may get you in trouble if someone looks over your shoulder at work". This blog is not intended for minors.

If you need something specific tagged (or tagged differently), please let me know directly, as I may not see (or remember) based on your bio.

Important to know:

I have (moral) OCD + ADHD + dissociative memory issues. This impacts things like:

What information I can put on a public bio

What I can and can't reblog/boost/etc

Remembering usernames I shouldn't reblog from

Remembering even 'obviously problematic' artists/bands/etc

Being able to personally add image descriptions to posts

tl;dr - Please be nice enough not to assume the worst. If you have concerns or questions, feel free to send a message or ask (anon is fine)

More detail on what to keep in mind:

I don't have a public DNI or list of my personal ideologies in my bio. I do block people I'm uncomfortable with interacting or following (and yes, that's probably along the lines of 'general DNI criteria'). Nothing is a secret, so if you need to know anything that's not listed here to determine if you're comfortable following me, feel free to send me an ask or message (genuine).

I'm chronically offline, so I'm not involved in online discourse subcultures or in the loop with a lot of things. I'm not involved in system discourse or ship discourse so I'm not 'aligned' with anything. Ditto with knowing who is problematic on Tumblr. I also have significant memory issues and struggle to remember even "obviously problematic" usernames, so if I reblog from someone I shouldn't, just let me know - it's not on purpose.

I can't typically "boost" posts or reblog things because I "should" be talking about them. It doesn't mean I'm not paying attention or don't care. This is not a minor thing where I'm 'prioritising my mental health' so I don't feel sad - this is losing my ability to work/survive because I can't regulate my thoughts/actions and level of engagement. As an example: I can't personally add image IDs to reblogs, because if I start doing it just 'sometimes' or 'when I can', I quickly have to do it all day every day, on every post, even if I'm missing work to do it. Yes, that sounds ridiculous, but OCD is ridiculous. I wish I was in a better place with it - but at this point in my life, I'm not, and I can't 'bootstraps' my way around it because something is important, or the right thing to do (because with moral OCD, that's exactly why it has that effect on me).

Posts and reblogs are grounded in my personal experience - for example, my traumatic experiences with therapy/the psych industry and Christianity. If that isn't your experience, that's okay! Any kind of "anti psych" post is intended to critique the industry as it currently is, and speak honestly about the loopholes and pitfalls that cause it to fail or harm many people, even when it helps some. The goal is not to dissuade people from 'getting help' or remove access for those who find it genuinely helpful. Instead, I think everyone is entitled to a positive, safe experience when seeking support with their mental health - including those who are most vulnerable and/or have stigmatised conditions. -- *If "not remembering" sounds like a copout - things often aren't distinct to me with any certainty. A username will sound familiar, but I don't know how or why. Basically, this disclaimer is here to avoid my brain telling me I need to thoroughly vet the OP of every post I reblog, lest I fall prey to Moral Badness (because believe me, I do not have that kind of free time).

[idk-my-aesthetic]

I know you meant well on that post about fandom racism, but white people should just reblog posts about racism without adding their opinion as a white person bc there is nothing you can add as a white person that a POC hasn't already said (and the fact you're coddling and centering racists over POC who are harmed by racism in your addition and making a slogan about real police brutality that kill's people about fandom is not helpful) and you look like your actual concern is wanting to be seen as a good white person instead of just listening and boosting POC.

Hey! Thank you for the ask and I appreciate the criticism. I do see your point but I also think there’s a few elements of nuance that weren’t in my original addition that might clarify some stuff

First is something that i don’t expect you to know from just glancing at my blog bc i don’t really talk about it, but I run a small tik tok page where Im mostly known for talking about antisemitism in different forms of media, including social media. (Well that’s what I did do for about two years, from October last year to late winter this year I was mostly talking about the genocide in Gaza before I pivoted mostly to just signal boosting fundraisers in the last few months, so if you want to see any of that content you have to scroll wayyy back) (its @ bluepluto on tik tok if you want to like. Fact check or something lol)

Anyway i bring that up because i specifically have been the target of a great deal of harassment for calling out antisemitism in media, so when I give that advice I’m not coming from a place of someone who’s never been negatively impacted by this sort of thing, I’m speaking as someone who has been directly affected and directed targeted by that sort of harassment, both in online spaces and actually in real life. (Long story short in middle school was bullied by half my school for wanting to send the principal an email requesting that they no longer use a deeply antisemitic book as a Holocaust learning material.)

My intention in that post was mostly to give actual actionable advice to hopefully prevent that sort of harassment in the future. I didn’t think it was necessary to bring my personal experience into the matter because trying to talk about it is very rambling and unnecessary in my opinion, and I’m already a very long winded person as you can see

I also get uncomfortable bringing up antisemitism when it hasn’t previously been mentioned because there is alot of nuance when discussing the jewish experience in the western world and how it relates to racism (like really deeply nuanced even trying to say “there’s nuance” in a way that can’t be misinterpreted in five bad ways is giving me a headache)

Anyway i don’t expect anyone to know that because i very literally didn’t say it, I just wanted to express where I was coming from.

I’m not comfortable deleting the post unless the OP asks me to, which they can do for any reason. Even if they just think like “@idk-my-aesthetic is a dumbass and I don’t want their words on my post” I’d be happy to delete it lol. (That’s an exaggeration for the sake of humor I’m not actually accusing op of thinking anything like that. Excuse me as I over-clarify because of my anxiety.)

(A bit off topic but it’s kinda ridiculous that tumblr doesn’t have any ability for the OP of a post to remove or at least hide unwanted reblogs, I’ve never considered before how much easier a system like that would be.)

Anyway uhh yeah! If you read all that I applaud you cus I talk way too much. If you have any issues with anything i said here I encourage and welcome any more criticism. If you think I’m completely off base I’d genuinely like to hear why because I do try my best to make an effort to listen when possible. (I mention that because I don’t want people to think I’m acting above them or anything).

I am going to check my notes real quick to make sure op didn’t ask me to delete that reblog bc I did explicitly put in my tags that if they wanted me to delete it I would, but then I’m probably gonna straight up pass out because it’s 4:48 and I’m very barely holding on to consciousness. Have a good day/night!

[probablygayattorneys]

Azran Legacy anon here. First of all, I want to say I'm very sorry if I ever seemed pushy about the game, I didn't mean to come off that way. I do genuinely hope things are going well for you and life is treating you well.

And second of all, since you finished the game, the one question I've been meaning to ask : what did you think about it? I'm well aware the game has its flaws, so if there's stuff you want to complain about, please do so and don't feel like you have to hold back on my account just because I love the game. Regardless I do hope you at least had fun with it. That's what matters the most I think. Also I've seen you complain about spoilers in the past. Some of these posts seemed more light hearted than serious, but still I hope the spoilers didn't ruin your experience of the game.

Anyways sorry for the long ask!! Surely Someday I'll finally come off anon. In the meantime, take care!!

You were a little pushy, but if we're being honest, I needed the push.

I don't want to get into it too much but last summer was probably the lowest point in my entire life, mental health wise. My dad had a cancer scare (well, he actually had cancer but it was just a mole so they had it removed, and it was basically like stage zero cancer, it was a pretty big nothing burger) and it triggered my bipolar into a depressive episode that was really, really, really bad. I didn't want to do anything, including playing Layton, so when you disappeared it just kind of seemed like nobody cared if I played or not, so I just... stopped, and when I finally started again, I had to get Juliana to hold me accountable.

That said, though, it probably was a good thing that I didn't at least finish the game while I was really down because I really do (did? I'm still working through it) love Emmy, and witnessing her betrayal very well may have been the straw that broke the camel's back and pushed me over the edge. I knew that they had to write her out somehow to explain why she's not in the original trilogy, and my fiancé assured me multiple times that she didn't die (until I kept insisting that she did and making up more and more outlandish standards and he was finally just like 'Okay, yeah, you're right, Emmy was sitting down and farted so hard she rocketed up in the air and was decapitated by a ceiling fan') but to be honest, looking back, I almost wish she had died. Because this means that it was a lie - it was all a lie. Every single choice she made was a conscious decision of that deception, and it was a lot like Phoenix's heel turn in AA4, except it wasn't just one moment and one decision, it was every single one, and she hadn't been honest the whole time. It hurt like a bitch. But the Professor seems to forgive her, so I'm trying to, too.

As for the spoilers - while I did try to mostly keep it lighthearted, I did have some pretty big things spoiled (or semi-spoiled), like Descole's identity or someone did reblog something with a whole paragraph that broke down the whole adoption thing but as soon as I realized it was spoiler-y, I stopped reading it, so really all I got out of it was the name Theodore, and based on context I was able to guess that I was going to learn that the Professor's birth name wasn't Hershel, but the whole family thing, with Bronev being his father and Descole being his brother was all a surprise. Still, I wish there hadn't been any spoilers, because I think I would have really enjoyed the game a lot more if I had been able to learn what the game wanted me to know when it wanted me to know it, because I think I would have enjoyed it more. However, I also accept that the main blame is on me. I'm the one who was playing a game ten years after it was released. You can't call spoilers when you had ten years to play it.

I'm also not sure I'm satisfied with the end. Like if you've been following me for long, you probably know that I love to moralize, and from where I'm standing, Descole was almost as bad, if not equal to, as Bronev, and the fact that Bronev got arrested but Descole gets to fly off into the sunset despite the fact that he kidnapped multiple people and held them hostage for months on end and tried to manipulate someone into destroying an entire town and killing everyone in it in the process? Does he get a pass just because he didn't succeed? Where is the justice? I get that he's supposed to be a tragic character, but if we extend mercy to him, in spite of his wrongdoings, where does it end? Do we also forgive Bronev because while his family wasn't killed, he did still lose them? Do we forgive Clive, because his parents died and that made him sad so he gets to try to destroy all of London? You could argue that Sycamore (and Emmy) both have a bit of redemption in that they're willing to sacrifice their lives to stop the golems, but so was Bronev, so again, we're back to square one.

That's really getting into the weeds, though. So I guess ultimately... It wasn't the worst Layton game, but it wasn't the best either. Part of that is going to come down to the fact that I was just in such a weird place mentally when I played it, but... I had fun, at points, and I'm glad I can now say that I've played the entirety of the Layton series, spinoffs included.

[mellxncollie]

wow. so this was not a post that was supposed to get 5 separate comments, 11 reblogs (other than my own 2) and over 50 likes. but the people have definitely spoken and so i've now transcribed around the first 15 minutes of the first episode. this will be a very long and large project if i ever do complete it.

i should also mention, i'm only doing this because i graduated with a linguistics degree and never got to do any work with a corpus. over the past few weeks, i had been reading up on corpus analysis and wanted to try it out but i didn't have much interest in poking around in existing corpora without much of a research goal. (i have a much longer term pet project that i suspect will need to implement corpus analysis to get any good data so this is kind of practice) i am definitely not an expert and i'm also new to this specific type of linguistic data analysis.

some notes about charles and edwin's speech based on about 15 minutes of data that i think people may find interesting:

(these are all based on a very small sample size so they may not be accurate, and while they're based on data, i haven't done any real analysis so this is very informal and qualitative.)

You already probably know this, but the subtitles aren't great. This is because Netflix has subtitlers working on too many projects, and so quality decreases in favor of quantity (Netflix please treat your employees better) I suspect the subtitles end up being some combo of people writing them, maybe some speech-to-text technology, and some amount of adaptation from the original script.

Edwin's subtitles are way more accurate than Charles'. There's a few possible reasons for this, and it's likely a combination of all of them and then some more that I haven't yet considered.

1. Jayden might be doing more ad libbing/improv. He's adding filler words and adding contractions. So far, Charles' deviations from the subtitles are mostly in favor of a more natural, colloquial speech that favors ease of production. A subtitler can't always spend time agonizing over "gonna" vs. "going to" or "why'd" vs. "why did" and it's easy to skip over a filler such as "like" 2. Edwin speaks super clearly most of the time, with obvious word boundaries. Enunciation favors ease of perception (therefore it is easier for a subtitler to write) 3. George might be sticking to the script a bit more liberally. Maybe he has a really good memory for lines. Maybe Edwin's speech isn't as close to George's so sticking to the script helps retain the character's voice. Maybe it's something else.

When Edwin deviates from the subtitles, it's usually not to contract things or just add fillers, it's usually to make things more complex. At one point, the subtitles say "your hairstyle" whereas Edwin says "the style of your hair"

I haven't measured it (and I won't because that is actually too much work) but I'm pretty sure that Edwin generally pauses for less time between sentences and phrases than Charles.

Charles also seems to pause more along phrasal boundaries whereas Edwin seems to pause more often along what we would consider sentence boundaries. Natural speech doesn't actually have sentences (sentences are for writing) so it's the speech of someone with an affinity for written langauge and probably that of someone who has Opinions on "grammar" in speech (both of which characteristics are clearly proven in the show)

Charles uses "right" as a filler. A lot. (so far)

Charles uses question intonation and tag questions liberally. Statements often get turned into questions at the last second with the rising of pitch, and he often uses tag questions (innit? did you? did I?) as well as more informal tags (right? yeah?) to ask things

someone stop me before i spend weeks too much time transcribing every episode to then do corpus analysis on charles' and edwin's speech patterns

[acanvasofabillionsuns]

navigation

the self explanatory

art - all the art i reblog comic - similarly, all the art i reblog that is a comic animatic - any animation video - videos music - songs creation - videos of people creating things, be it art, sculpture, chocolate guy, etc. poetry - poetry, using a loose definition of the term abcdefghijklmnop queue - my queue tag long post - posts that are long puns - puns :D cheesy jokes - cheesy jokes <3 polls - tumblr polls tumblr rp - when people on tumblr roleplay dancing - videos of people dancing!! fairytale rewrites - different takes on fairytales cats - cats current events - things that are happening in the world

the less self explanatory

fic recs - all the stories i reblog fic snippets - encompasses bullet point stories, story ideas, and bits of writing that aren't really a full story original story - the stories that aren't fanfics, whether that be original fiction or personal stories original work - the art that (at least as far as i can tell) isn't fanart tumblr famous - ranges from posts that i've seen at least twice to the truly iconic (for some reason on my blog this tag has a column running through the posts. not sure how to fix it) once a week once a month once a year - all the time-based posts, like thursday the 20th, saturday shorts, the Mar 10 Mario billboard, etc. humanity - people being lovely and good, actually <3 :^) - my smile tag! silly and delightful stuff here signal boost - kind of goes hand in hand with current events; less news and more just info i want to/i think should be share(d)? like, interest checks for fan stuff and commissions posts and petitions and so on liveblogging - this would be in the self explanatory bc it's exactly what it sounds like, but so far i've only liveblogged the enola holmes movie and salted about it being different from the books laksdjf;alj wizardry - wizard posting a good reminder - positivity/self care/genuine reminders à la 'turn over your laundry' 'it's okay to be sad sometimes' etc.

the personal

my fics - all my published stories my writing - includes my fics and various bits of writing (and, if you scroll back to late 2020, a choose your own adventure thing i did) meri monologues - my talk posts m mumbles - when i do a little storying in the tags of a post tk got tagged - tag games! this is a relic from when i went by tk for the first few months of having this blog, but i haven't switched it over bc alliteration it's a good good good good good good morning - sometimes i write about the good things in my day and then schedule it to post the following morning :] an ask & an-on ask - my ask answering tags! an ask is on all of them but an-on ask is for. anon asks kind words - a collection of nice things people have said about me/my writing (mostly on this list so i remember it exists)

all my friends are tagged with (one of) their names and that's it

the warnings*

reblog bait - those "reblog if/reblog for" posts. i usually don't reblog the "reblog within ten seconds for good luck" type posts, but it's there to block if you don't want to see those cursing - if there is profanity in a post it will almost certainly have this tag suggestive - the more nsfw posts i reblog. it's not very often, and it'll almost never be explicit, but this is my tag for that flashing cw & eye strain - the more eye hurty posts

*there's not really anything else that i reblog and warn for with any regularity, but i'm willing to go back and tag posts if you send me an ask requesting it! additionally, my warning tagging convention is [thing cw] or just [thing mention] if it's not depicted. so for example if there was an art post showing blood i'd tag it "blood cw", but a story that briefly discussed someone dying would have "death mention."

the references

reference - just general stuff i want to hold on to for reference baking reference - baking but also recipes in general art reference writing reference job reference ^ all fairly self explanatory

the religious

greek mythology - all the greek mythology related posts i reblog christianity - mostly memey christian stuff tbh judaism - happy holidays reblogs + info about it

the fandoms

my general tagging convention for fandoms is [media name] for any posts featuring it, [abbreviated media name + character name] or [character's full name] for any characters in the post, and [ship name] for any featured ships. so a prinxiety post would be tagged with "sanders sides," "ts virgil," "ts roman," and "prinxiety," along with any other relevant tags. or a post featuring phineas and perry would be tagged with "phineas and ferb," "phineas flynn," and "perry the platypus," because for the p&f fandom i tag characters' full names. exceptions include rottmnt, because i didn't want to type out the full show name, but the characters are all tagged [rise character name] & the mxtx fandoms like the untamed and svsss, they're all under "mxtx" bc i haven't actually consumed any of the stories

i have a lot of fandoms i reblog stuff for but the main ones are sanders sides, miraculous ladybug, mcyt*, dnd podcasts (the adventure zone**, legendlark, and spell check mostly) A:TLA, and dp x dc (danny phantom/dcu crossovers - those posts get tagged "dp x dc," "danny phantom," AND "dcu" (i might omit one fandom or the other if the post is, say, a fic that mostly only talks about one fandom, but it'll have the "dp x dc" tag still))

*similar to dp x dc, mcyt posts will always have the "mcyt" tag, and if there's an associated smp with it, i'll tag that as well. i think the only smps i've tagged are dsmp, qsmp, hermitcraft, and life smps. ngl, my character tags for mcyt stuff is a mess and i don't feel like fixing it legendlark is also similar - each post has the 'legendlark' tag and then the og campaign is tagged 'dames and dragons' and any hrose camp posts are tagged as such

**i don't have one unifying tag for all adventure zone content. each campaign has its own tag - so like "taz balance" is the main taz tag you'll see on my blog - and then the characters are all just [taz character name] (e.g. "taz taako")