#unless I'm very much mistaken and I don't think I am :3

[link-the-feral-anon]

Okay, which one did Scooby get got? Animation looks like New Scooby-Doo Movies or The Scooby-Doo Show. Hm, or maybe the Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show? But I can't quite tell

Alt universe ware the mystery gang are a pack of four secret traveling werewolves…..

…..And the human best friend who loves them very much

[natalieironside]

hello ms. comrade Ironside, longtime reader, first time caller.

as a fellow writer of queer erotica, I was wondering if you had any thoughts/spoons to share those thoughts on wordpress being swept into the AI debacle under automattic? (I think that’s what you use to host your cool website, forgive me if I am mistaken.) I’m trying to figure out where to set up an author website of my own so I don’t have to host my stuff on tumblr anymore, but I’m a bit gun-shy in the current moment. I know AI trawling is inevitable in today’s internet, but as someone who’s been doing the indie author thing for some time (and admirably!), is there something you would recommend, best practices or otherwise, to someone just trying to get their metaphorical kite off the ground? or anything you wish you knew when you set up your own author-type socials? any thought at all would be genuinely appreciated.

thanks for your time, and I hope you and yours are as well as can be expected 🖤

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but afaik nothing approaching best practices has been figured out yet; it's all already happening and there's precious little as can be done to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Of course I uncheck all the little boxes in settings and deny them my consent or whatever, but I don't think a gaggle of unimaginative piss-bellied technocrats who decided it was a sensible use of vast amounts of water and power to teach a computer how to write very badly are what I'd call trustworthy. I'm still gonna move all my website shit off of Wordpress because they won't let me get rid of the stupid AI assistant thing, but that's more a case of their UI being ugly and dumb than me thinking it'll actually do any good.

Best I can tell you on that front is to try to find yourself a niche and develop yourself as an artist from there; "Write the kinds of books you wish other people were writing" is good general advice, and a human operator is always going to be capable of things a predictive network just isn't. Other ppl are gonna disagree with that, but they're wrong. Their understanding of resource allocation and scarcity is just childishly naive and you shouldn't waste your time listening to people who think we're gonna solve climate change with apps or whatever.

Far as social media goes, this is still the best one for hocking books as far as I can tell. I'm hearing a lot of good things about Cohost and Pillowfort, but their user bases are still quite small, and I haven't found the indie author community on Bluesky yet. If Tumblr goes belly up I'll probably end up migrating to one of those first two primarily b/c I think longform blogging is the secret stuff for ppl like me who are just too crabby and agoraphobic to be Twitter influencers; I may not be any good at videos or regular quick posts or documenting the writing process (which is too bad, b/c a lot of my friends who do that stuff seem to be having fun with it), but I sure can Lay Out Some Thoughts in A Few Paragraphs and I like to think that's something ppl expect from a novelist.

Also, never get in a public argument, don't go posting Your Thoughts On The Issues unless someone asked or you feel like you've got something interesting to say, and be very selective with how much and what personal information you give out to the hoi polloi. Those are my 3 rules for how to do social media good.

[the-crow-binary]

So I bought the CoD mangas in french, just to see the differences the translation had with the english one, and if there was some pearls... well, there was <3 (and also big fails such as a succubus saying that Trevor is Dracula's son LMAO) I don't have the will to follow everything with pictures so it's only going to be english quotes VS the french version I'm sorry lol

Tl;Dr: Isaac and Hector have raw gay sex in the French translation

At the beginning of the first volume, in the english version, Isaac refers to Dracula as "chief our clan of the night". But the french version have him say "master of our dark family" instead, that's cute. <3

English Isaac: Humans shall regret their sins, and the glory of god shall fall to earth. French Isaac: They were promised forgiveness for their sin, but all they got is death. Men will end up disavowing their god

That's RAW. (the french translation had such savage lines I SWEAR)

Also I will refer to "English X" and "French X" to separate the english dialogues VS the french versions, because it's much more simple, and also kinda funny.

English Isaac: I beg of you, grant me the duty to hunt down Belmont. French Isaac: Lord ! Let me prove this Belmont that you are the greatest !

Isaac is as much, if not even more of a simp in french. Good for him. Good for him.

In english, when Dracula talks about Hector's disappearance, and think about the possibility that he might have betrayed him, he says "I hesitate to consider the possibility"

In french, he says "I hope I am mistaken" :) Do with this what you will. :)

English Isaac: F-forgive me, I was out of line... French Isaac: Forgive me, master... I dared doubting you.

As @beevean said: "French W. For the "master" and for Isaac admitting he doubted his Lord... And he was right <3"

At some point, as Isaac is on the hunt for Hector with some dudes, said dudes start talking among themselves in the english version.

"But at a critical time like this... to have us search for someone who might not even be alive ? The count must be mad." "That's true."

Isaac is listening to them, because they're like, right here. But they're not talking to him directly... FRENCH TRANSLATOR DECIDED THEY WERE GOING TO WISH FOR DEATH, THOUGH. By making the dudes directly ask Isaac: "Sir Isaac, don't you think Count Dracula lost his mind ?"

THOSE GUYS HAVE A DEATH WISH I SWEAR. YOU DON'T ASK ISAAC SUCH A QUESTION UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR HEAD ROLLING ON THE FLOOR THE VERY NEXT SECOND- On another note, they also refer to Isaac and Hector as "the two wings that leads [their] army". Symbolism <3

On the same page:

English dude: Oh well, it means that the count favored Lord Hector that much... French dude: Hector... He was the Count's protégé, so he-

Do you hear it ? The sound of Isaac's heart breaking under the weight of his inferiority complex ? :) Oh Hector wasn't just "favored", he was Dracula actual protégé. That's worse <3 I love this <3 (for those who didn't read the manga, Isaac gets mad and almost cut the guy's throat for this. Just in case you doubted his inferiority complex <3)

English dude: F- Forgive me... English Isaac: You greenhorns. You can't even sense his presence. French dude: I... I'm sorry... French Isaac: Shut up ! You're nothing but a worthless punk not even capable of feeling an aura !

ISAAC IS SO MAD AND OFFENDED IN FRENCH LMAO

English Isaac: We're going. Hector is not dead. English dude: ! That means.. English Isaac: That's right. He's close. Hector... So after all, he is... French Isaac: We're going ! Hector is not dead ! French dude: ! Do you think he... French Isaac: Yes, he is close. Hector... I tracked you down.

So, in the manga, this is the moment the realisation that Hector is alive and might have betrayed them starts to settle in... And all Isaac can think of is getting to Hector, more than the implication that he is a traitor. He's obsessed. <3

Alright... Hector has a whole speech about strenght. Here how goes the english version:

"Power is absolute. That's right. I used to always believe that. No matter how much I prayed, no matter how much I knelt, God would do nothing for me. In the end, it was about power. Pure power... and when it came to power, there was nothing greater than a demon's power.. Even if it was learned from a demon. Power itself was neither good nor evil... But. But after all, a demon's power is a demon's power. No matter how powerful it is, cursed powers bring nothing but unhappiness. And that is.. the demon's power."

Now, how the french version goes:

"In this world, strenght is power. I've been thinking about this for a while... men can pray with all their spirit, god will never do anything for them. In the end, pure strenght wins. However, there is nothing more powerful than the demon's power. And even if your learned it from the devil... you forgot strenght doesn't know neither good nor bad. So...That I am one of yours or not doesn't matter to me ! The demonic power doesn't make any distinction ! As great as they are... Demonic powers can only bring chaos. This is... The strenght of the devil !"

Do with this what you will. For context, he is in a house rn, with Rosaly, his future love interest, and a little boy, Ted, who asked for his help to kill a werewolf (who went into the house because he was tracking Hector). At the end of the speech, he kills him. Then comes this dialogue:

English Hector: Is this my power that you wanted ? A demon ? French Hector: Was that... the help I begged for ? The help of the Devil ?

Oh yes, Hector asking Ted if this horrible cursed power is what he truly wished for when he pleaded for his help and comparing himself to a demon is great. But Hector talking to himself ? Realising how horrible Dracula's "help" actually was, that he turned him into a monster ? That's the real deal. <3

But this even made Hector's aura known by Isaac and the guys hunting him down with him. In both english and french, the random guys sense it this time (they didn't the first time, only Isaac), as much as they sensed the werewolf dying. They don't want to believe Hector killed him, at first, but then Isaac smirks and says:

English Isaac: It was Hector. French Isaac: I know it's him !

:) And as if French wasn't fruity enough...

English Isaac: Even if you guys can't tell... I can. French Isaac: You, you don't feel anything ! But me, I feel it in the deepest part of my body !

He is literally SO GAY AND I LOVE HIM.

English dude after Isaac slashed one of hem: What are you doing, sir Isaac !? French version: Sir Isaac !!! Have you lost your mind ?!?

French translation doesn't take no shit.

English Isaac There is no need to report... French Isaac: Inform the count ? Pff ! Useless...

I'm sorry but FRENCH ISAAC REALLY WANTS THAT FRENCH HECTOR'S ASS.

Ok so this is the part where we see small Isaac and Julia (because even without a name and a face, I'm still sure it's her), and DAMN

English bapy Julia: Falls English bapy Isaac: What are you doing ? Hurry and get up. English bapy Julia: But I'm so-- English bapy Isaac: We have to hurry. French bapy Julia: Falls French bapy Isaac: What the hell are you doing ?! Get up, come on ! French bapy Julia: Yes but I... French bapy Isaac: Shut up ! We gotta hurry !

FRENCH MADE BABY ISAAC SO MEAN. POOR JULIA. SOBS.

Interesting fact: When a servant comes to teenager!Isaac to tell him that Dracula "summons him to his room", french use the word "chambre". Wich is a word commonly used to refer to the bedroom. :) So he's saying "Count Dracula summons you to his bedroom." :) Mhm. :) Not to mention Hector is already there... So if anyone ships Isaacula or Isaactor or Draactor, that one's for you. <3

Start of the second volume. The french translation is kinda weird. In english, we see (what I assume are) distressed demons' voices, saying Death has been killed and it was the Belmont's fault. They clearly don't like him. And then we see a succubus who says "well, of course, the one coming with Belmont is your son, after all, count.".

But in french... the voices are HAPPY to see Trevor ?? So it seems they're not devils' voices but regular people's ? AND THE SUCCUBUS SAYS "the presence of the Belmont is not surprising, since he is the son of Count Dracula" ???????? Looks the french can't get a W everytime. :(

English Hector: A great many of us will be coming... French Hector: You can be sure he will come !

We're back on Hector, who tells Ted that he has to go to make sure him and Rosaly stay safe. English version refers to the hords of monsters / servants of Dracula that will come (including him in it, because he sees himself as a demon <3). But french Hector doesn't care about them. He only cares about one person, who he knows is on the hunt for him. I guess it's up to the reader to decide if he's thinking of Isaac or Dracula. :)

Then in english, he also says he learned the dark arts in a castle.

"I immersed myself in evil. And I commanded evil. My powers attract the ways of darkness. They are cursed".

While in french, he goes:

"To the east from here, there is a castle where the devil lives. I learned from him. He taught me how to give life to demons."

I just think it's pretty gay nice that he gives credits to Dracula. He almost sounds like he cares about his old mentor... :)

Then comes the Isaactor raw gay sex reunion scene:

English Isaac: I've been wanting to see you, General Hector. French Isaac: I missed you so much, Hector !

FRENCH ISAAC IS LITERALLY SO NOT STRAIGHT I'M OERIGHMSELKGMRESKLGNMSEKLDRNGMN Pretty sure the french translation shipped Isaactor (but also Hecula but also Draactor), because Hector responds with

English Hector: So, they've caught up with me already... Isaac. French Hector: At last, you caught up to me, Isaac !

French Isaac and Hector are so happy to see each other &lt;;3 Kiss with tongue when?

English Isaac (after a little speech to convince Hector to come back): Otherwise... You'll fall victim to my spear right now, Hector. French Isaac: If you refuse... Then you'll be forced to taste the rust of my spear.

Holy FUCK, ISAAC. WAW. That's hot.

English Hector: Ha ha ! You... Did you acquire your powers just so you could become Dracula's pawn ? French Hector: Haha ! I see. So you acquired all this power to become Dracula's pawn, right ?

The change here is pretty subtle, but it makes Hector more agressive and I kinda like it <3 He's like a salty ex lmao

English Hector: I am human. I sought this power so that I could remain human ! Not for anyone's sake ! For me !! For myself !! Not to be the pawn in some ridiculous plot for revenge !! French Hector: I am human ! I wanted these powers to accept myself as a human ! I didn't do it for anyone else ! Only for me ! Got it ?! Unlike you, it wasn't for a stupid and selfish plot for revenge !!

FRENCH HECTOR IS LITERALLY SO RAW.

English Isaac: Damn... You. You dare speak in contempt of your Lord ? French Isaac: That's it ? Are you finished yet ? As you wish ! Let's end it now !

I'm kinda sad we lost the mention of Dracula (because it showed Isaac putting Him over everyone else, himself included), but I'll excuse it because French Isaac was probably so shocked by French Hector's pure rawness <3 (in french, he then says "die!", but in a crude way. it shows how upset he is lol)

And then comes a very interesting part... :)

English Hector: Impossible... does this mean that Belmont has already...? French Hector: No ! Could it be Belmont ?

French so shipped Hecula. Look at how english Hector is shocked to feel the death of Dracula, not because he seemingly cared, but because Dracula is such a powerful being that he thought could not be easily defeated, and it happened so fast, and is the Belmont really that strong ? Did he really get to the Castle so quickly ?

But French Hector literally screams "No !", like he actually cared. Just like a victim of abuse who gets away from their abuser, but still loves them nonetheless. And friendly reminder that the French translation called Hector Dracula's "protégé". <3 I think the french translation shipped Hecula. <3

Anyway, Isaac goes mad, not much interesting fact to note except for some translation fuckery (Hector going "the count fled" instead of "they're out of control" (referring to Isaac's devils) ??? And Isaac "Dracula must lose" instead of "It can't be true, there's no way..." ??? this is an official translation btw, guys), but:

English Isaac: It's your fault, Hector. French Isaac: You are the one responsible for all of this, Hector.

Just a slight difference, but it makes French Isaac look even more salty lol

English Isaac: If... You... hadn't betrayed us... If... You hadn't run away... Then I wouldn't have had to leave count Dracula's side ! If I... If you and I had been there !! Then scum like Belmont would never have...!! Ngh... N- No... That's not it... If I... If I were at his side, at least... why...? why, sir ?! Why ?!! Why can we not even die together ?!! French Isaac: Hector... If you hadn't betrayed us... If you hadn't tried to flee like a coward ! Then I wouldn't have needed to get away from count Dracula ! You and... You and I... And also that Belmont. Us... Kh... Kh... No ! No no ! If I... If I had been by his side.. Dracula and I... why ? Why ? Why ? Why can't I disappear too, by his side ?

I'll let y'all decide wich one is more heartbreaking. <3 (I kinda struggle to properly translate the last french sentence tbh)

English Isaac: Damn you ! You, I will never forgive !! French Isaac: Never ! Never will I ever be able to forgive you !"

Aouch. <3 I don't know why is french making everyone even angrier, but I'm not complaining lmao

Then Isaac says, right before falling off a cliff:

English Isaac: Why...? Why ?! Why ?! Damn you !! French Isaac: Why... Tell me ! Why ! You...

How poetic. English Isaac curses Hector before his fall... Meanwhile French Isaac is only looking for answers. He is so not okay. <3

A bit later on, we see Isaac again, hurt in the forest:

English Isaac: Hector, damn you...! In that moment... Just barely... You missed ! You cut me... But you were being merciful with me !! Generous commander Hector... [The shame of having survived alone... How shall I make you pay for it ?] Hector... You always... You alone always kept yourself looking human ! You possessed more powerful sorcery than I !! And you were able to get closer to count Dracula over me !! You.. French Isaac: Ha... Hector ! During the battle... You only scratched me with the tip of your blade ! You mocked me... Look at how pathetic you made me ! You, the great Hector... [Being the only survivor makes me so pitiful... How do you intend to repay me ?] Hector... Since the beginning, you... you were the only one to act like a human... even though you wielded the satanic powers better than me, and you always were closer to count Dracula than me... You...

Did I say Isaac was not okay ? Every translation included. <3

Anyway, we leave the broken boy to join the healing boy and his future wife. <3

English Hector: You're so very optimistic always... Wait, no, I'm sorry. Why don't you ask me anything ? Didn't that boy tell you anything ? What I did, what I was running away from, how I killed that werewolf ? Who I am, and where I came from... English Rosaly: Your name is Hector. You have pretty silver hair, and you were injured. And you've never done laundry in your life. And you saved Ted and I. That's enough for me. French Hector: Rosaly, you always see the bright side of things, don't you ? I mean... Didn't the young boy tell you anything about me ? Or are you avoiding talking about it ? What I used to do. Who I was running away from and how I killed that werewolf. Who I am and where I came from... French Rosaly: What I know about you ? Your name is Hector, and you are hurt. You never hanged clothes, and you saved Ted and I's lives. All of this is enough for me.

Them. <3 There's a little, painful difference beetween "you are hurt" and "you were injured". Hector sure is hurt, haha ! :D

And now it's Isaac spying on Hector time !

English Isaac: Haha! Don't you seem so very happy... But... Have you not forgotten all about me ? But I've been thinking about you so much everyday since then. French Isaac: Haha ! Oh how happy he looks ! It looks like... It looks like Hector already erased me from his memory... And to say that I think about him all day !

French Isaac is so in love and broken <3

English Isaac: I see. That's right.. You must think I've died ! But I'm alive, all right-- A bit tired, but alive ! I have to teach you. Definitely in a way that'll make you happy. But not yet. First, I have to get a taste of what happiness is for people. That way, it'll be more... fun. Enjoy your temporary moment of peace... Hector. I shall send a gift to a coward such as yourself. You can look forward to it. French Isaac: I see... you are convinced I'm already dead. I might be a bit tired, but I am very much alive ! I will send you signals, and I'm sure you will appreciate it. But not now. First, you have to get a taste of what this famous "happiness" is for people. This way, the follow up will only be more... delightful. Enjoy your little peaceful life ! Hector ! I'm making you a gift that you are never going to forget... you are not going to be disappointed by the journey.

I have no idea what "signals" french Isaac is referring to, but hey, the rest is pretty cool <3 I like that in the french version, he says that HECTOR have to get a taste of what "happiness" is for people. <3 So he can break him harder. :)

There, it's over ! Of course I skipped most of the manga because the differences are not always worth mentioning, when the translations are not just, exactly the same in both languages, but I think I shared the most interesting. <3 I don't know if y'all understand how raw the french is without reading it directly yourself oerighermlgrelmsngmesklng I AM STILL NOT OVER HOW MEAN BABY ISAAC IS.

I hope y'all enjoyed ! I sure did. <3 Y'all feel free to ask questions or clarifications on the french version ! :3

[seiya-starsniper]

Trope Game

Finally getting around to doing this! Tagged by the amazing @tj-dragonblade and @reallyintoscience, thank you so much darlings! <3

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 - don't care either way

+10 -> very enticed

nope -> if it's a hard no and you'd never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you'd insta click out of the fic if it wasn't tagged

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it's conditional.

Age gap: +8

Age gap is a pretty compelling trope for me, mainly due to the power dynamic differences and how those get addressed. In a dark fic, the power imbalance can make for good whump/angst if the writer really leans into. In a more romantic/fluff setting though, addressing the age gap and the power dynamics in a healthy manner is practically a requirement for me to enjoy the fic. In a pwp/smut setting, sometimes it's just hot to have an older person guiding a younger one.

Codependency: +3

Co-dependency can be a compelling trope for me, but I won't seek it out unless it's from an author I know and love, or it's recommended to me by someone who shares my tastes. If it's darkfic co-dependency though, sign me the fuck up, maximum whump and unhealthy dynamics let's gooooooooooooo.

Obsession/Possessiveness, jealousy: +10

Love this trope. Love it in dark fic when things get dicey between the two love interests and there's a power struggle, but I also love it when someone kills someone just because they hurt their lover, amazing trope. A++++++++

Opposites (grumpy/sunshine etc): +20

99% of all my favorite ships are some combination of this in canon and in fic. Give me all of it, all day, every day.

Enemies to lovers, Enemies with benefits: +10

Big sucker for this trope in all forms. I love antagonism that turns into something else and then oh no, we have to actually communicate about things. Or not. Or, for maximum angst purposes, a betrayal happens. (can ya'll sense a trend yet lmaooooo)

Friends with benefits: +5

Big fan of this trope in a PWP setting, but for anything else, it must also be accompanied by (see below trope) or I probably won't be super interested in the fic.

Sex to feelings: +10

Absolutely love this trope. Sex first, communication second. Lots of room for misunderstandings and heart to hearts.

Fake dating/relationship: +5

Fake dating is my guilty pleasure and I adore it but it's not a drop everything and read it sort of thing for me. It's gotta be propped up by some of the other tropes for me to find it compelling.

Friends to lovers: +5

Same as with fake dating. There's gotta be something else in there to make it more compelling to me, but I do love reading it (and writing it!)

Found Family: 0

This trope used to be a +10 for me but I think I've burned out on it over the last few years lol. Too many antis have used the excuse "ew you can't ship them, they're part of the same found family so it's incest!" and I am just...tired lol.

Not to mention so much fic I've read is often just the female and/or poc characters propping up the white mlm ship and slapping "found family" on the tags.

That said, I'm still a sucker for the trope as a whole, just not so much in fanfic.

Hurt/Comfort: +10

ANGST ANGST ANGST. My bread and butter. Give me all the hurt/comfort. Or hurt with minimal comfort. I love having my heart wrung out.

Love Triangle: -10

Unless the love triangle resolves into a polyship do not even show me a love triangle fic lol.

Poly, open relationships: +10

A++++++++++ trope. No notes.

Mistaken/hidden identity: 0

Mistaken and hidden identity to me are two TOTALLY DIFFERENT THINGS but I digress. Not my favorite trope and won't go seeking it out. This kind of goes hand in hand with amnesia fic too I think. I have read some AMAZING ones, but that's like 1 out of every 50 I try to give a chance to lol

Monsterfucking: +100000000000000000000000

Just, yes. Proud monsterfucker always and forever.

Pregnancy: -5

Meh lol. I like kidfic quite a bit, but pregnancy is just not that interesting to me in fic. I think the one exception to this is maybe omegaverse pregnancy fic, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I'm a slut for omegaverse worldbuiding than anything else. Human pregnancy though, could take it or leave it.

Second Chance: +5

I really don't care for this trope as a whole, however I have read some amazing ones recently for Dreamling so it's I'm giving it some points. This is probably due to the fact that I am also a slut for angst hahahaha.

Slowburn: +7

I love a good slow burn but I am also impatient as fuck so I'm docking some points from the full +10 hahahaha. Bless authors for 100k slowburn fics, you are the backbones of fandom.

Soulmates: +10

I LOVE SOULMATES. I love true mates, I love all the lore around having one person be your other half. But I also love people who subvert the trope in fun ways, people whose soulmates have died, people who don't marry their soulmates, immortal soulmates, people born without soulmarks, worlds where soulmates aren't perfect and sometimes your soulmate is also your worst enemy. I may love the subversions more than the actual trope come to think about it lmao.

Tagging with no obligation @aquilathefighter @eobardthawneallen @lyriclorelei @rooftopwreck @ferelden-loser @tryan-a-bex @bazzybelle @zigzag-wanderer @silver-dream89 @lenreli @valiantstarlights

[yourbuddy1984]

It's 1am, I am trying (and failing) to sleep. And I was thinking.

How would Buddy hold a 3ds. Or any game controller for that matter

Mans fucking fingies are too long. He will never know the wonders of Pokemon X

I think he can at least play a switch with joycons (only if they're attached) or a ds with like. Using the very tips of his fingers to hold it. His joints are long enough to where I don't *think* it would feel weird. He most certainly cannot hold a like regular controller. I guess he can also use a keyboard but using a mouse probably feels fucking weird

(Also the thing about using a 3ds or switch is mans is so fucking tall he's gonna have to sit in a real awkward position just to see the screen good. Well it's not like he's ever had good posture anyways </3 He was born to be a gamer)

...Well if anything he can watch Friendo play viddy games I guess. Just like in canon :)

(I can't sleep and wanted to get this out of my brain and I like talking to you. Please excuse me ;; Been thinking about replaying old ds games and this popped into my brain lol)

so true and real!!! goddd buddy ... i think.. buddy could use a joystick to game, maybe? ive never played with one myself, but i think they could just grab it and game !! ya know?? these things

one hand for grabbing other for pressing little buttons... other than that, maybe some kind of gaming pad? something like this, maybe... arcade gamer perhaps? also i doodled a buddy losing at candycrush with a joycon i think theyd suck at it

buddy and pokemon.. this reminds me of this art by nintendraw with buddy and friendo as gym leaders:33 i dont know That Much about pokemon, the only pkmn game i ever played in my life was pokemon dungeon gates to infinity and i havent finished that yet </3 though i DID name my friend pikachu in that 'buddy' :3 ohh maybe buddy could enjoy text based games? like the first one they make for you, where you type stuff !!! theres gotta be some kinda keyboard thats accessible to them... or maybe twine games!!!

buddy and undertale... GUH!!!! i agree that they wouldnt do the genocide route.. i think maybe they'd.. like, maybe they think they Have to kill the first few enemies they meet, but then when toriel reveals that you shouldnt kill them, they'd stop... but then we gotta take into account that in buddy sim you befriend enemies by beating them to death, so its possible buddy would persist in their killings? no... i'm mistaken. i think undertale could teach them valuable lessons about friendship (like, "dont beat up your friends").. i think they'd like papyrus:) oh god the dogs. buddy is a pacifist Unless theyre faced with a dog ❤️guhh buh the true ending (is that what its called i forgorrr) would jsut.. like.. itd GET them... itd hit them in the HEART!!!! secret buddy sim ending number 5 where you and buddy play undertale together ❤️

[groovesnjams]

3 / 50

"She's On My Mind" by Romy

DV:

When Robyn released her Body Talk project in 2010, she set the template for almost a decade of dance pop that followed, an impossible feat for anyone to follow. Including Robyn. 2018's Honey is five years old, her best album yet, and almost imperceptible in the modern pop landscape. Unless, that is, you heard Romy's solo debut this year, and found a dance album with a variety of pop singles mixed into a coherent whole and an idiosyncratic guest spot and a narrative arc that traces a vague line from a disconnected beginning to a triumphant, love-struck ending. Romy's making post-Honey pop in the best possible way; "She's On My Mind" takes an emotional core and a beat and builds a story around it, just like Robyn might. But Romy could never be mistaken for Robyn: her vocal is too calm, the production too warm. And unlike Robyn, Romy is writing an explicitly queer narrative into her dance pop. As we move further into a reactionary backlash against the delicate progress queer people have made in recent decades, it's worth noting the complicated way that the climactic punchline of "Think I'm in love/ With you" lands here. It wasn't that long ago that gay marriage was illegal in Romy's UK (and our US); that particular, limited right is younger than Body Talk. There's a sense where "She's On My Mind" ends as simply as any friends-to-lovers romance - which could be climax enough! - but also a sense where it's the story of two people coming out, to themselves and to the world, and that remains as relevant and powerful an occurrence now as it has been in decades past. We all deserve an ending as carefree and glorious as Romy's repeated, cathartic, "Don't care anymore."

MG:

I am not sure if this is so much a triumphant ending as it is a hopeful gesture, an optimistic smile. The album, after all, is called Mid Air, so I read “She’s On My Mind” as less of an ending of any kind and more of a snapshot, a moment in time, surrounded by past and future. But it absolutely strikes a buoyant contrast to the subdued anguish of album opener “Loveher,” a classically sad coming out ballad (here, with a beat) that does care who is watching. I don’t hear a straightforward this, then this, and finally that narrative on this album, it’s all jumbled up and in flux, in a really lovely and honest way. Despite that, the opener and closer are undeniable bookends, taking the same experience of dancing with the woman she loves and looking at it through very different lenses. So, I have to begrudgingly admire Romy’s decision to release the sadder of the two as the lead single. “She’s On My Mind” is so much more fun – the joy of all involved, including Fred Again.., Avalon Emerson, and Stuart Price, touches every aspect of this song – but you have to earn that fun, you have to bum out first. Unless it's a dreary late December day in a dreary but unusually warm winter and your back hurts and you think the plant on your desk might be dying (or something like that, you know) then you can cut right to the chase, pop this song on and chase bliss.

[immacaria]

Trope Game

Tagged by the lovely @staroftheendless. Thank you, darling!

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

- 10 = very dissuaded

0 = don't care either way

10 = very enticed

nope = if it's a hard no and you'd never click on a fic with that tag or even you even have the tag blocked or you'd inst click out of the fic if it wasn't tagged

Bonus point for explaining the rating and whether it's conditional.

Let's see how this is going to play out lol

Age Gap: -3 probably. Like if it's done in a platonic way I don't mind as much, you know? But it's not usually a thing I go looking for when it's in a romantic way.

Codependency: 4 or 5. Bonus points if the couple are very, very much obsessed with each other.

Enemies to lovers: 10. My jam, my love, my obsession. Seriously, I find this amazing even more it is friends to enemies to lovers.

Enemies with benefits: 0. This one is meh to me, tbh. I usually don't like it very much, but if it's inserted inside the enemies to lovers then it's good for me.

Fake dating/relationship: 10. Once again my jam, my love, my obsession. almost all of my favourite fics are fake dating/relationship. There's no escaping for me on this one and I should probably write more of those.

Found family: 8. I do love a found family fic, but usually where they already are a found family and the fic is basically little snippets of their routine. What can I say, I am a simple girl.

Friends to lovers: 7. I like to read it from time to time and usually paired with fake dating.

Friends with benefits: 3, don't like it too much but I can read it when it's paired with friends to lovers.

Hurt/Comfort: 9. Love it, especially the comfort part and even more when it is followed with REVENGE.

Love Triangle: - 5. Not my jam, not my love, not my obsession. I can however read it when it ends in a poly relationship (which is the way I think most love triangles should end).

Mistaken/hidden identity: 10. My jam, my love, my obsession. This has room for so much angst, for so much hurt, but so many hidden opportunities as well. It's amazing really.

Monster fu... relationship: 8. Simply amazing, love it a lot.

Obsession, possessiveness, etc: 7. Like it, but I have to be in the right mindset for it to be honest.

Opposites (like grumpy x sunshine, etc): 10. My jam, my love, my obsession. I love the grumpy x sunshine, the angel x demon, the quiet x loud and even more when it's actually the opposite of what they seem. Like, the grumpy is actually the sunshine one who sees beauty in every thing and the sunshine one is actually the grumpy one who would rather stay at home and away from everyone.

Poly: 5. I don't usually go looking for it, but it's so good to read it when I do and I guess it depends on the ship as well.

Pregnancy: 8. Love it, it's my jam and I wished more people would do it, though there are some out there that clearly never met a child in real life.

Second chance: 9. I love the 'right person, wrong time' thing turning into 'right person, right time' because sometimes it's truly just that and second chances are important, you know? (Unless, of course, your ex was an abusive fucker. In that case, fuck 'em and kick them to hell)

Sex to feelings: -3. I'm more a sex with feelings girl, though I do see the appeal of this one.

Slowburn: 8. Love this one, though I don't have much patience for it.

Soulmates: 9. My love, my jam, my obsession, but especially when it's a choice. Yeah, they can be destined to be with each other and all that, but to me, it's about the choice of staying together, of saying "I'm your soulmate and you are mine." It's about the build-up and the choice. Maybe that's why I like the ones where they get friends and into a relationship first before they discover they are soulmates. Feels more real to me that way.

I'm tagging @mathomhouse-e @honeyteacakes @aquilathefighter @questing-wulfstan @galacticstingray

[jenroses]

Trope List

Age gap:   eh/10

Depends on my mood, how well its written, what the context is. PWP? Fine whatever. Long emotional thing? Might be a harder sell. Not something I go out of my way for but not an immediate problem.

Codependency   9/10

I think the idea of independence being superior makes for much less emotionally satisfying fic in most of my fandoms, unless it is well written and doesn't involve toxic masculinity. Unless it involves excessive whining, in which case, yeet it.

Enemies to lovers   6/10

Not favorite but that has to do mostly with this showing up in hard nope genres I don't like more often than not. Enemies to friends to lovers is probably 10/10, but it kinda has to be slowburn or I don't buy it.

Enemies with benefits   3/10

Maybe. If it's an OTP I am challenged by seeing them as enemies. If it's PWP, sure fine. It gives me anxiety to see this played for angst.

Fake dating/relationship   7/10

Fake dating is usually done in a "no braincells were used in the development of these characters way" but it often ends up being hilarious and emotionally satisfying. Definitely fic "junk food" though. This is like the potato chips of fanfic.

Found family   10/10

A+ favorite. Probably why I'm so absolutely glued to MDZS.

Friends to lovers   10/10

historically speaking most of my OTP and my own personal life involve this, but as a demisexual, that's probably not surprising.

Friends with benefits   3/10

REALLY depends on the author.

Hurt/comfort   5/10

I spend too much of my life hurting to want to see others in pain but the comfort is good and it's not an aversion.

Love triangle   -10/10

Gross, hate it, boring, squick... unless subverted but my patience for it is minimal so subvert it fast or spoil me about how it will be subverted. I feel like LWJ's "You like mianmian" face goes here. The last time I saw a love triangle I didn't hate was sense8 but that ended up poly so.

Mistaken/hidden identity   4/10

Very it depends.

Monster fu… relationship   10/10

A+ would ship again.

Obsession, possessiveness, etc   6/10

IRL is a hard nope, in fic is "only if mutual".

Opposites (like grumpy×sunshine, etc)    10/10

Maybe.

Poly   9/10

Would be 10/10 but every once in a while it gets handled very badly.

pregnancy   either 10/10 or -10/10

Depends on who is writing it, because I have a professional and personal background. I'm not allowed to watch births on television because the desire to throw rocks at the screen is overwhelming 99% of the time and I nope out if it's badly written and most people don't write it well. I do, how ever, write this a lot, see: I have a professional background.

Second chance   3/10

Depends on who is getting the second chance and why.

Sex to feelings   8/10

Sure, why not. Seems fake, but again, demisexual. Can be a lot of fun to read.

Slowburn   10/10

I don't mind fast burn but my favoritest fics tend to take their time getting there.

Soulmates   ?/10

This is so dependent on my mood, who is doing the writing, who the pairing is, what the trope is...

Tropes Game

Tagged by @cursedvibes. Thanks, man! This looks fun, and I loved reading your responses <3

Rules

How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 -> don’t care either way

10 ->  very enticed

nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged.

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

Trope List

Age gap:   7/10

Age gap alone isn’t a selling point for me, especially since there’s a world of difference between, say, 30/40, 20/30, 15/25, 50/500, etc. But if I get into a ship that has an age gap, especially a le problematique one, I will lean into it full tilt, as you can currently see with goyuu. There’s a lot of fun, often fucked-up, things to be done with differing life experiences and maturity levels, and that’s usually interesting to explore. From the reading end, it depends on the individual ship and also how the specific fic approaches it.

Codependency   10/10

Hell to the fuck yeah! I prefer unhealthy relationships over healthy ones (…in fiction, Tumblr), and codependency tends to add a fun flavor. I’m picky about it when reading. I default to it when writing.

Enemies to lovers   10/10

Good stuff, and I’ll never say no to some violent hate sex. I don’t have many ships like this though; it’s mostly something I read. Or make AUs of.

Enemies with benefits   6/10

Fun concept, depends on the execution. I’d prefer that it become enemies to lovers in the end, however.

Fake dating/relationship   -7/10

It’s not an instaquit, and I have read and enjoyed fics with this premise, but the trope itself is something that I’m not a fan of. Mostly because it tends to follow a certain romcom formula that I’m not a fan of.

Found family   -5/10

I’ll read it, and as a theme, it’s fine, but for one, what I often see described as found family is…not. It’s friendship—and that’s my preference anyway. Friends who support and love each other, without the label of family attached. This is a heavily personal preference, obviously.

Friends to lovers   7/10

It’s good; it can be fun. The way friendship evolves into a romantic and/or sexual relationship can also be quite interesting and emotionally fulfilling.

Friends with benefits   7/10

As a central relationship, I’d prefer that it become friends to lovers eventually. The execution matters again because too romcomy, and I get turned off. Throw in some emotional fuckery, and I’m sold. It’s also one of my go-to flavors for minor/background/past relationships when writing. Friends who fuck without strings is a fun concept.

Hurt/comfort   8/10

A solid concept, and depending on the execution, it can range from pleasant to devastating (in a good way).

Love triangle   -10/10

A “proper” love triangle is something I find about as compelling as stale vomit. It’s not an instant nope because I like the sort that evolves into poly—either triads or V-style poly (that is, A/B and C/B, with A and C as metamours). When reading, I prefer the former, and when writing, I prefer the latter.

Mistaken/hidden identity   10/10

Sign me the fuck up. Identity porn is almost as good as actual porn.

Monster fu… relationship   10/10 (100/10)

I have “Monsterfuckers Inc.” as a semi-frequently used fic tag on Ao3. I’ll let you guess just how into this I am. I’m into it for the freaky sex, but typical relationship development is always a plus.

Obsession, possessiveness, etc   10/10

Unhealthy relationships my beloved.

Opposites (like grumpy×sunshine, etc)    10/10

Fine in theory, but whether I’m into it depends on the execution. I don’t think I write it much.

Poly   7/10

JJK is the first time I’ve written (and planning to write more) poly relationships, but I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few in previous fandoms. Again, execution matters, but the concept is fun.

pregnancy   nope/10

Major squick, and it seems to be becoming more and more of one these days. Ironically, I’m very into breeding kink and monster-style impregnation (eggpreg, insta-birth-type monster offspring etc.). It’s realistic pregnancy (and the mpreg equivalent of realistic pregnancy) that puts me off.

Second chance   0/10

Rated it neutral because this can be either 10/10 or -10/10 for me depending on how it’s handled. No middle ground lol.

Sex to feelings   10/10

Been there done that. Love the concept, can go rabid over it if done right. I certainly like writing it.

Slowburn   6/10

I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of slowburn fics, but it’s not a formula I’m a fan of. When I write it, it always tends to be the “sex to feelings” sort.

Soulmates   0/10

Another case of either 10/10 or -10/10. The easiest way to get me into it is to play into the horror/angst aspects. “People who fate decreed as belonging to each other” doesn’t appeal much to me.

Tagging (no pressure) @thelionshoarde @actualalligator @stilllostinthedaydream and @sorrythatwasamistake @joeys-piano and anyone else who wants to do it

[fixing-bad-comic-art]

I think it's a really good thing that you're one of the people who's doing these edits tbh. And I hope you won't take that the wrong way. But I've seen it multiple times where women have done the same style of edits that you do, and every time those "fixes" broke out of containment on tumblr, politics were immediately ascribed to those editors, they were harassed for being alleged "SJWs", and they were called out as having been "disrespectful" of professionals in the comics industry. I understand in your time doing this, you've perhaps witnessed similar attempts at starting bad faith discourse. Anyways, I'm just grateful for a guy doing the same thing as these other editors in the community. Because at least that broadens the conversation and doesn't get anatomy and clothes fixing edits or even cultural sensitivity edits immediately dismissed out of hand for just because they came from a woman editor.

tbh the simple fact that i don't use any other (more functional) social media platforms has probably been a Much bigger contributer to me not getting harassed as much as the lovely ladies and nonbinaries who do the same work. I post on one side blog that was shadow banned for about 9months on a dying micro blogging platform and no where else. I've been mistaken for a lady plenty of times in the history on this blog, mostly because I don't post about being a man who loves men on this blog very often, but the harassment begins and ends after blocking like 3 or 4 people each time.

plus I don't answer bad faith asks unless there's something novel or funny to say. so the fact i don't give them any attention and this platform doesn't algorithmicaly reward that kind of behavior really helps keep things tolerable for the most part.

but yeah, having a white adjacent homosexual guy (ie the type of person who gets the absolute least out of criticisng comic depictions of women and minorities) to point to when someones being a shit is probably helpful.

but also a thing that gets missed a lot, is that the biggest open secret about me and this blog... is that i Am a professional artist. (i do marketing and illustration work(think the ads that show up on eschergirls more than comic books)) and i have a lot of thoughts about the brand of folk who call this type of thing disrespectful. namely that I'm pretty certain most of them 1. arnt professional artists or are Very new at it, and or, 2.have some weird hangups about art as like a concept that they need to get over instead of making it other people's problems.

[mermaidsirennikita]

So if I understand correctly, Bridgerton S2 had 444M hours viewed in its first 10ish days. I was confused initially because I thought it was 251M cumulatively as was widely reported today, but the Netflix site says 251M for the week of March 28-April 3. I’m not sure why Netflix isn’t circulating the 400M+ total hours number more. Unless I’m mistaken? Which is possible. But if not, that is wildly impressive for the show losing its star, and not debuting over a holiday during peak pandemic.

Do you think this will finally induce other streamers to get on HR adaptions? The interest is there!! I think these numbers are especially important since the show can exist beyond one person (RJP) - it’s the genre itself that has an audience. And save for the couple, S2 was super mediocre TV (versus S1 imo), so people are clearly hungry for *any* romance. Honestly I feel like there could be a separate streamer just for romance lol. There’s so much material.

I think both seasons were kinda messy TV, but you don't need to be *good* to be successful. In a lot of ways, I preferred s1 to s2. In a lot of ways, I preferred s2 to s1. I can say that I *do* understand why s2 has people in a chokehold online, even if I'm not a slow burn fan myself. The internet loves something being dragged out. They react more on social when their hopes and dreams are frustrated. It makes sense.

I've read 400+ as well, so I do think those are the actual total hours, but for the purposes of killing the record they're advertising it as killing, the 251 million hours is what matters.

The thing is that I do think.... Idk. I think there's a bar that constantly gets raised for romance adaptations, for a variety of reasons. And if the next bar is "an even bigger s3" when the main romance is probably Polin? Lol... we'll see. I know Polin has its diehards. I don't know any Polin diehards in real life. I am beginning to think they're industry plants. (I kid! But also--do I?)

But like, obviously there's a demand for romance adaptations in general, and HR adaptations for sure. Romance novels sell a fuckton. They're the financial backbone of publishing. Y'all get to read snoozers about the common man and poorly-conceived YA dystopians because Beverly Jenkins, Sarah MacLean, whoever else, is getting those $$$.

There is actually a streamer for romance movies and in turn romance novel adaptations--PassionFlix. It is not.... good.... from what I've seen thus far. I wish it was! But alas.

I think one thing that makes romance kind of scary for those in TV is that, in a lot of ways, it is repetitive. A lot of the plots run kind of similar. (Sex lessons! Sex clubs! Arranged marriage!). There's always a happy ending. There's this idea that you need to be reinventing the wheel in today's landscape... Unless you're doing the millionth action movie or superhero flick in a row. So what's the (main) difference? Action movies and superhero flicks are identified with a male audience, how ever many of us ladies watch them. Romance novels are associated with a female audience. The female audience is still very much *not* trusted by those in film and TV.

So I'm not holding my breath, but I'm hoping that someday, maybe there will be another HR adaptation. And that it's adapting something legit super good this time.

Edit: oh, also, wanted to make this clear. I DO think it was key for the show’s success that the first season starred RJP. He got people to try something they hadn’t before. He got people in the seats. They realized they actually liked it and weren’t above romance novel adaptations, and stuck around.

[noblechaton]

0-10 :P

0:Height

upper 5' range like 5'9-5'10 and I say it like this bc this actually fluctuates somehow with and without shoes on and this is genuinely not a joke given the different measurements I've gotten from doctors to id places and everything in between. dunno how that works!

1:Virgin?

yes very much so no matter how surprising this might be to some certain folks considering, y'know,

2:Shoe size

sittin at a cool 9 tho I could prob go down to an 8 and a half tbh

3:Do you smoke? 4:Do you drink? 5:Do you take drugs?

hitting all three of these at once bc it's a big time no to all of em - been pretty straight edge my whole life! I got too many issues as is lmao

6:Age you get mistaken for

lots of ppl tend to age me down which can be funny given I don't actually remember how old I am most of the time

7:Have tattoos?

not at this moment but-

8:Want any tattoos?

I've been thinkin real hard about getting a light glyph tattooed on my hands - back of the hand or on the inside - or just somewhere. idk what else I'd get but tattoos are neat

9:Got any piercings?

nope! and never have as far as I remember unless those lil sticky stars and shapes u could stick to ur ear count

10:Want any piercings?

ehhh maybe an ear piercing but I'm not as up on em as I am tattoos tbh - I'd want something easier and more subtle I think

[kimium]

i recently found your tumblr after reading your stuff and enjoy your content a lot! you are relatively well-known in the DR community as a really good writer, which is how I found you. especially loved the demon komaeda au, where did the inspiration for each of those parts come from? but my main question is how do you deal with hate or discourse? and how do you act to people who reach out to you? you seem like a super nice person so i'm curious as to how you'd deal with these things

Hello Anon!!! Thank you so much for this ask!!!

First, I am so happy you enjoy my fics. Not going to lie, it is still a little jarring to think people know me within the DR community due to my fics. Still, I am very flattered that people enjoy my stories and I am always excited when people find me through my DR fics.

You're asking really great questions! I'm excited to answer!

Demon Komaeda AU:

Good question! I cannot 100% remember the details but coming up with the idea went something like this:

I was playing around with a prompt generator. A prompt came up but for the life of me I cannot remember the specifics. All I can remember is it made me think about "descension into madness" and "2 am getting a drink of water but something is in your house WYD?". Funny enough, my original idea was to have Demon Komaeda be a little less :/ and a bit more cheeky. That didn't pan out (obviously) but I loved the direction so I kept the first fic.

For the other parts, I never planned to write them. The second work was planned to be the only follow up, showing how Hajime met Komaeda. Works 3-8 came about because I wanted to explore the dynamic I created between Hajime and Komaeda. Nine was supposed to be the last part but part ten kept nagging me. I remember being Very Nervous to post part ten since it was a departure from my normal style of writing and stretched my comfort zone. To this day I'm still self conscious of part ten.

How do I deal with hate/discourse?

If you mean hate/discourse in the general community the answer is: I don't. Not that I don't care, but I cannot deal with people being rude, so why would I seek it out? I don't want to see or engage with those sorts of people. Yes, I've reblogged posts of people replying and calling those people out, but as for myself adding anything to the mix that's a hard No.

If you mean hate/discourse on my fics the answer is a little different. Truthfully I've only received one comment that was so horrible that it caused me to delete the fic. However, in general I've never really received "hate" comments on my fics? I don't think? Usually the commenter comes off as not realising HOW their words can come off as rude. In that case I reply and point it out to them. Sadly, intentions and tone are lost in text so I try to give some leeway.

How do I act to people who reach out to you?

I like talking to others, but initially I am wary. The cause of my wariness is 1) I don't know what age people are and I'm at the point in my life where I'm not comfortable talking with teenagers (outside of my job, of course) and 2) Sometimes people mistaken "common interest" as an excuse to bypass normal social barriers and act Too Friendly. Which is Awkward.

But please don't think I don't want to talk to people! It takes me a while to warm up to people online. It's kind of funny actually. In real life I'm an extrovert but online I come off as a bit introverted (or so someone told me).

However, regardless of my feelings this doesn't stop me from doing a little bit of interaction on a daily basis! I love replying to comments and always do my best to reply to them all (unless the thread gets long; I don't think AO3 comment section should be a chat room). I also really love replying to asks!

TLDR: I want to talk to people. I just take a while to warm up and that may come across as cold/indifferent but I'm not.

Thank you for this ask! I had a lot of fun replying and if you ever want to pop on by and give a hello or talk some more feel free to!

[transadvice]

Hi there so I have a question about experiencing gender. I'm afab and never questioned that but I heard people talk about how they experience their gender in regards of dysphoria and euphoria. That got me thinking because I just kind of don't think about my gender? I mean my sex is female and I call myself a woman and use she/her but I've never "felt" any gender. I just kind of Am. My question is what that makes me or how one even experiences or notices ones gender

There are a lot of reasons why you might not ever think about your gender:

Possibility #1: You are cis and everything is fine, so you don’t have to think about it.

Trans people have to think about gender because there’s something wrong. The disconnect between our physical bodies and our internal sense of ourselves is problem that causes us stress. We have to do the work of identifying the cause of the stress (which can be difficult, especially when our dysphoria symptoms are unusual or confusing, or we don’t know that being trans is a thing). We have to figure out how to fix it. And we have to do this while society works hard to convince us that it’s not a problem and we’re wrong about ourselves. 

With cis people, there’s no such disconnect, no gender stress, no work to be done, nothing to fix. So, they don’t have to think about gender because it’s all just kind of invisibly working. 

It’s kind of like how you don’t go around saying, “Yay, I’m not in pain. Yay, my stomach doesn’t hurt. Yay, I don’t have a cold.” You don’t notice that kind of thing unless it’s wrong. When it’s right, you just take it for granted.

Possibility #2: You are agender or have low-intensity gender identity. 

Gender is sometimes represented as a spectrum with male on one end and female on another, but I think there is also another axis of intensity; some people experience and relate to their gender intensely and others, not so much. Some people don’t feel they are any gender at all (agender). 

Possibility #3: “My gender is fine” secretly means “my gender is not fine” and you’re on your way to exploring another gender identity altogether! 

(I know, I know, I’ve covered everything these possibilities, but stay with me.) 

I have to acknowledge that I might have described my gender identity in a very similar way to you before I came out to myself as trans. It was so unthinkable to me that I might not be a woman, that I simply thought I was a strange or “low-gender-intensity” woman, when really I was a pretty high gender-intensity man who was suppressing a lot of trans feelings. I would say things like “Sure I use she/her, because I don’t have any good reason not to.” Which is a very different thing from saying “I use she/her because THOSE ARE MY PRONOUNS.”

SO.... how can you tell? 

If you’re happy and content with your gender (or lack thereof), great! You don’t have to do anything else. But if you think there is more you need to discover about your gender, that’s worth exploring! 

Personally, I found gender euphoria a lot easier to identify than dysphoria. I was in denial about my dysphoria, but the random moments when I was treated or saw myself as more masculine/male, I felt a strong sense of rightness and pleasure. These moments sometimes happened by accident (such as being  mistaken for a man by a cashier; being randomly assigned to play a boy role in a class play; hanging out with a group of male friends and being treated as ‘one of the guys’; accidentally putting on a too-small sports bra that flattened my chest). Other times, I intentionally made them happen in order to feel good (taking on a masculine screen name so that people on message boards called me ‘he’; playing a male character in a role-playing game; wearing a flattening sports bra on purpose; wearing clothes from the men’s department.) 

So, why not try to create some of these moments and see how you feel? 

More experimentation resources: 

Play with the Pronoun Dressing Room.

Read a gender exploration self-help book, such as “My Gender Workbook” by Kate Bornstein or “You and Your Gender Identity: A Guide to Discovery” by Dara Hoffman-Fox. 

Talk to a LGBT-affirming therapist. 

[reddoesthingsfinally]

I got elf ears >:3

Uhhh so the thing that put us out of commission is over...and the crash after that is over...and now I'm just tired tbh. I feel like I used this as a "hey am I a system?" blog and now that every single answer I've gotten by any system I've asked is "yes" as far as I can recall I don't know what to do with it anymore

Well it's nice to have for venting but I've found I don't have the energy to vent lately lol...I could see if the others want to post art and stuff on here? I know someone did a really awesome piece of art yesterday they might want to share? But other than that idk

Feelings of faking haven't been going away so maybe I can use this as like a...a journal? Of sorts? To keep track of everything and reassure myself? Because my current journal got soaked >.>

Oh, fun thing I've discovered. Brain is highly metaphorical. But I think I knew that already.

So. Yeah. Idk. Hopefully will be in school soon so maybe I can use this to try to keep track of what happened at school (partially so I and others don't forget, partially for comfort because school's stressful)? But that might be too much to put on the internet unless I wanted to be vague about it. Then again I haven't exactly been vague here. Hm. I'm not good at this internet privacy thing, am I?

I've found we have more alters than I'd like to admit. Uh. Which I guess I should've known based on the number of "imaginary friends" I had, but. Still. It's a lot. And every time something new happens I feel like I'm faking and if I tell anyone they're gonna tell me I'm faking or at the very least mistaken and the shred of comfort I have right now is going to just vanish because it was never real in the first place. Dammit. Trying to stop doing that. It's uh...not working very well. But I've been informed it's harmful so I'm trying my best to stop doing that. Trying. I uh...don't know how.

I guess there should be a point to this, huh? Or can it just be useless rambles? Hm...I'll just keep rambling and see where it goes.

Jessica is gonna be a Vampire for Halloween. Which is great for her. She loves Vampires. We found a great dress for her. I think she'll be over the moon when it comes. :) Her birthday's also in 10 days so I feel like I should get her a gift? Even though we share a body? The innerworld is uh...annoying...for me, so it'd probably just be easier to get or make something from outside. Maybe a bat charm. She likes those.

And if she doesn't front imma be an elf. Which is me anyway. But, still. Basically I'll dress up as myself. Getting used to those elf ears, but they're awesome for relieving some of my general dysphoria of existing.

I think there's a couple people that help comfort for sadness and in the dark (I'm scared of the dark for several reasons), so that's nice. :) Though one of them keeps tricking me and it's quite annoying to figure out when void's pranking me or actually telling the truth.

We're hoping to move out this March. Hoping. Hoping so much. Probably not. But hoping.

So I think that's the ramble. Enjoy. Sorry for all...this. Mess. Thing. God, to think this whole thing started because of a little curiosity. I guess it's better to know. But. That doesn't mean I can't kinda wish we could all be separate and just be family instead. I don't know if that makes sense. I'm tired. I'm dramatic. Imma go. Thanks for reading.

[onehalfoftheset]

A BITCH WAS CORRECT

Alt universe ware the mystery gang are a pack of four secret traveling werewolves…..

…..And the human best friend who loves them very much