#we also still have a request to do on our edit blog and a new layout for it too

[sekaitransparents]

motivation be damned, we will clean up all the submissions and finish rui's new trained today even if it kills us

[kataang-week]

Trick or Treat, Kataangers!🎃

Katara and Aang sprites from Distant Horizon. Graphic created by Mod Belle @itsmoonpeaches.

🦇What is Kataang Halloween?

Kataang Halloween is a one-time, three-day mini-event hosted and created by @kataang-week on Tumblr for the first time this year. (However, there is potential for it to happen again in the future.) Kataang Halloween celebrates Kataang with a Halloween theme. All prompts were chosen by the mod team.

🦇Cool, when is it?

Kataang Halloween starts on Thursday, October 31, 2024, and ends on Saturday, November 2, 2024.

🦇What are the prompts?

In honor of Halloween, we're using lucky number 13! There are 13 prompts for each adventure.

"Trick" prompt list:

Old Spirits

Family Secrets

Altered State

Moonlight

Teeth

Demon Claws

The Deep

Offerings

Inner Palace

Lost

Grotto

Cliff Edge

Poison

"Treat" prompt list:

Taffy

Candied Haws

Lanterns

Mid-Autumn

Mooncake

Crunchy Leaves

Warm Drinks

Pumpkins

Chrysanthemum

Sharing

Toadstools

Apple Picking

Paint

🦇So how does this work?

Choose your own adventure! You can take inspiration from the Trick prompts, Treat prompts, or both! Feel free to mix and match prompts to create spooky and/or sweet Kataang content.

Anything you can think of counts as content as long as you fill one or multiple prompts at a time. Fanfics, fanart, gifsets, metas, edits, playlists, moodboards, music, etc.—the sky's the limit.

🦇What are the rules?

Please create your own original pieces. We do not accept AI-made fanworks.

We only accept new works created for Kataang Halloween, not works that are retroactively said to be created for Kataang Halloween. However, you may create something that fills a Kataang Halloween prompt for an ongoing work like a chapter fic or an ongoing series. See this ask for more information.

We accept all range of works. However, bear in mind that this is an all-ages event. If your work contains themes or imagery that may be intended for older audiences, tag and warn people thoroughly. Works with adult content must have an all-ages appropriate preview.

Do not repost other people's works. Reblog their original post if one exists.

If a creator/author/artist has requested you to post their work for them, remember to credit the original and link back to their page.

Be respectful in your fanworks and to others participating or enjoying the event.

🦇How should I tag my work?

The easiest way for us to find your work so we can reblog it to this blog is by using the tag “kataang halloween”. Using “kataang” and “kataangtag” also help. You must tag one of the three in your first five tags otherwise it doesn’t appear in the search. It is also helpful to tag us directly with @kataang-week.

Sometimes even properly tagged posts may not appear when we search the tags, so if you do not see your content reblogged, please let us know.

Once we’ve reblogged it to this blog we add our own tags (a prompt tag and a user tag) for easy organization. This means we can find all the work for one prompt or all the work from one user in one easy click (this also means that if you have changed your username since participating last year you need to let us know so we can update your tag!).

🦇Can I post my stuff other places online too?

Of course you can! However, we won’t be able to reblog anything that isn’t a Tumblr post.

For those of you who will be posting your works on AO3, feel free to add your fic to our Kataang Halloween AO3 collection.

🦇What if I have late submissions for Kataang Week 2024?

While we will not reblog any late submissions for Kataang Week 2024 during the Kataang Halloween event, late submissions for Kataang Week 2024 will still be accepted up until Kataang Week 2025, so don’t be shy and don’t worry about giving the world more Kataang content 💖 We always welcome it!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to submit an ask to the Kataang Week blog. See you on Halloween, Kataangers!

🦇Who are the mods?

@airbender-dacyon AKA Mod Dan: A Kataang fanfic writer who prefers fluff, but also loves some drama and angst. Mod Dan started writing Kataang stories in 2013 and has helped organize Kataang Week since 2016.

@penguinsledder AKA Mod Atarah: A writer, gif maker, and musician–she enjoys fluffy young adult Kataang and all the ways they complement and parallel each other. She first joined Tumblr for Kataang Week 10 years ago, and started helping out with writing posts and making banners as a mod since 2016!

@itsmoonpeaches AKA Mod Belle: An avid Kataanger with a penchant for angst and mild violence who likes writing. Mod Belle has been a mod since 2021 and helps write posts and social media.

@chocomd AKA Mod Celes: Fanfic writer who adores Kataang for their fun and flirty side but also their bond forged through grief and loss. Mod Celes joined in 2023 and helps with a little bit of everything - whatever needs to be done!

[exols-silver-christmas]

EXOL SECRET SANTA 2024

How To Participate

Welcome to this year's Secret Santa!

I hope this year so far has seen everyone safe happy and healthy. With only a few months left in the year the time has rolled around again for our fandom gift exchange! Once again sign ups will start in August to allow time for gifts to be created. For more information on the timeline and important dates please refer to this post HERE.

There are a few guidelines and reminders I'd appreciate if you read before clicking the link to the sign up page.

All skill levels are welcome! All we ask is you try your best when creating your gift and that giftees remember that not all Santas will have the same skill level. Everyone has to start somewhere and it's truly the thought that counts!

Please check the important dates post and keep in mind that the check ins are not meant to pressure anybody but to ensure that every participant receives a gift of some sort. During the final check in however you will be asked for a screenshot of the post draft. If you are unable to provide one then it will be assumed that your gift is not finished and a back up Santa will be arranged for your giftee.

If you have not completed your gift by the designated date you are more than welcome to still post it once it's finished, we will still reblog gift posts after the exchange weekend.

Remember, the festivities are about sharing and fostering new (or old as the case may be) friendships. Take the time to spread some holiday cheer and get to know your giftee. You might make a new friend in the fandom!

Now for the pesky stuff:

Due to issues that arose in previous years, following this blog is required for participation. You must have a tumblr blog in order to participate. You will be asked during the sign in process to open a DM conversation with this blog. This is so you can be contacted for check ins and posting co-ordination.

Santas it is highly encouraged, though not required, to message your giftee throughout the next few months, both as a way to get to know your fellow exol and as a way to learn what they might like for a gift. On the off chance you need help with ideas, part of the form will include a prompt, but we do ask you make an effort first. The dates for requesting your giftees prompt will be posted on the important dates.

Anon function MUST be turned on as well as Asks, to allow the Secret Santa to remain Secret.

Gift Posts must be in your drafts and ready to post by the deadline. This is to allow our back-up Santas time to make a gift if needed. Inability to provide a screenshot will be taken as the gift isn't completed and a backup Santa will be contacted. As stated above you will be more than welcome to post on the gift exchange weekend or later if you wish to, we just want to avoid giftees getting that niggling little disappointment when others receive a gift and they didn't.

We also require that you use the organizational tag #exolss24 within the first 5 tags.

Read the Important Dates post

All gifts MUST be NEW CONTENT and meet the minimum requirements.

We ask that all gifts meant for minors be kept SFW. You will be informed your giftees stated age at the time of receiving your giftee blog name.

Minimum requirements for gifts are as follows:

Edits: 4+ small png or 2+ large png

Fanart: 1+

Fanfiction of anysort: 1k+ words

Fanvideo: 35 seconds+

Gif sets: 4+ gifs

Headers/lcons/Lockscreens: 4+ in any combination

Moodboards: 3 boards

You are of course more than welcome to go above and beyond the minimum requirements but that is solely dependent on your personal inclination and time availability. This is meant to be fun and a way to interact with each other and not a burden.

Finished with all that boring reading? Why not take a moment and reblog this so your followers have the chance to sign up as well!

[gatheringfiki]

12 Days of Christmas - 2023!

Hello,

We’re back with your favourite event of the festive season!

We would like to invite you to help us decorate our virtual fandom Christmas tree! With shiny, new, delicious content!

Bear with, we’ll try to explain:

Fanart = Baubles

Fanfic = Paper chains

Photosets = Lights

This will make sense in a minute, we promise.

I would like to participate as a writer:

Step 1: Message @linane-art to request one of our festive photosets*. You can do so between now and 13th of December - no sign up needed.

Step 2: Write something based on the photoset. Minimum 700 words, no max, Fili/Kili or any fictional Dean/Aidan pairing. You’ve created a paper chain for our tree.

Step 3: Don’t post it, submit it to us.

Step 4: You can do this again (or as many times as you like), but you must submit one before requesting another.

You must submit at least some ficlets before 13th of December.

You will be offered a chance to continue writing after the 13th of December, but we want at least one complete wave of responses by then, so we can queue our content.

I would like to participate as an artist:

Step 1: Message @linane-art to request a bauble outline template.

Step 2: Within the bauble draw a little fanart. Photomanips are also allowed, but just edits or photosets won’t work for this. Must be Christmas or season-themed (no prompts, do what you like). Fili/Kili or any fictional Dean/Aidan pairing.

Step 3: Don’t post it, submit it to us.

Step 4: You can do this again (or as many times as you like), but you must submit one before producing another.

You must submit at least some fanarts before 13th of December.

You will be offered a chance to continue drawing after the 13th of December, but we want at least one complete wave of responses by then, so we can queue our content.

Decorating the tree:

Between 13th and 24th of December @gatheringfiki will be posting all your creations (decorations)

We will also re-use some of last year’s decorations: a selection of our favourite photosets from previous years will be reblogged between 1st and 12th of December to whet your appetie.

Questions, feedback, ideas, comments - please let us know!

~gatheringfiki

*Busy admins mean that the photosets are still cooking and might be slow becoming available. But we do have a couple ready at this point.

Please re-blog to spread the word! Thank you.

[obscureother]

🌑 ˚x'˙ intro. . ??

Hello. . !! im new to tumblr, so sorry if wonky things happen while im setting this up. im still trying to figure things out guys-

i lurk on other accounts for general content but im closeted n shy so i made this one to yell about things instead so i don’t expose myself to people i know lolol

if you know or find other profiles i own, i request you not expose it for those reasons before im comfortable to.

so this is just an f/o blog/journaling. . thing. I'm not entirely sure what content will be here, but it will be centered around f/os, self-shipping, and its just to give me a place to yell about the people that live in my/your brain rent-free and know they don’t exist but we pretend they do anyway for comfort reasons and serotonin, dopamine, uhh what other things feel good and ok??

some of it will be for you if I happen to think of something, other times it is for me to explode over my fixation f/os!!

youre also welcome to come yell about your f/os if you just need someone to talk to them about!! dont think i know em?? COME OVER and INTRODUCE THEM. you can come in DMs, asks, or however you want to!! id be happy to know your f/o or listen to you talk about them if no one else will :00

This is a comfort blog to me, so there wont be any room for meanness or intended offenses here. Dont come to me with troublesome things or somehow twist/morph my content into something its not, we're just here to have a cool time with our fictional people, bro. . :((

ok who r you tho:

To be honest, I don’t have a name or something to go by as of posting this, I might get one later or just make a new comment all fancy for the pin. . For now you can just call me whatever you deem good or just go off my blog/username!! Don’t be mean tho. i may take one you guys think of or figure it out on my own.

they/them

im 21 yo. (if youre a minor, i dont mind you coming to say hello, but do look below the other stuff content for what you need to look out for. you should also know some of you goofy kiddos have energies i dont know how to respond to sometimes, so dont worry if i get awkward or something, its not your fault lolol.)

im in college, so forgive me if im slow, im also just not on tumblr very often :v i dont ghost people on purpose i swEaR-

i might post my f/os on a whole list, idk yet, but theyll prolly be mentioned sometimes to the very least. you can def ask of them tho!! (edited: i made an f/o list if you want to see them.)

i dont know if ill post content of my own f/os or me/my sona for them, but it could be there.

i dont mind sharing f/os!! id love to yell about them together. if you dont like that, then its ok!! i either wont talk about them with you so you can be their person when we talk of them, or you can just block/not interact. ill be sad i dont get to meet you, but its ok.

other stuff:

Nothing explicit/detailed will normally be posted. but: The worst there will be is just being hormonally silly from kind of "rrr ovaries go brr, chew on theM-" energy of my f/os. i will try to create a tag to mark it with so you can exclude honky content if you want or need to later, tho. from what i know, you can "block" tags. . so i think that will work if you like the other goofy stuff on the blog??

(edited: I DID IT, I DID THEM, LOOK: 🌑obscure tags list for the obscure blog )

NSFW talk can be in DMs, tho.

DO NOT come to me with those concepts if youre a minor tho, oh dear GOD. honky grown-up talk is not for you goofy child-folk.

LGBTQ+ friendly!! im nonbinary and love everybody. youre ok too. 💙

i do roleplay sometimes, but only in dms n please dont go exposing our roleplays to others. . i would be very not comfy :"0

if you want to roleplay, you can dm me to ask but i dont have to say yes or i might not be able to. im slow too dfsdf=

i may or may not make a side blog once i figure out how to do stuff, but know that until then, im going to just post whatever on this one til i know how to do things on tumblr lolol.

forgive me if some of my content gets deleted, edited, whatever as we go. like i said, this whole thing is very new to me and its not very organized for now. its just there. its gonna get wonky over here on my side for a bit.

• tiny bat gif •

[friends-to-lovers-tournament]

♡ FRIENDS TO LOVERS TOURNAMENT ♡

Are you a fan of the classic friends-to-lovers trope? Do you live for the moment of “Oh. Oh.” in fics? Do you scream at every instance of pining? If so, then this is the tournament for you! This tournament is brought to you by two mods, Mod Deli (she/her; 18+) and Mod Soba (she/they; 18+) , and we hope you enjoy your time here! ♡

Rules & Guidelines:

As the name implies, they have to be FRIENDS to lovers. The ship does NOT have to be canon; headcanons are perfectly fine. Edit: You can submit OCs, but there's no guarantee they will be shortlisted. It will be tough competing with canon characters so you'll want to make your propaganda super convincing to increase their chances of being shortlisted

“How about enemies to friends to lovers?” That’s a fantastic trope which deserves a tournament of its own. As such, we won’t be allowing any enemies to friends to lovers ships (same with rivals to friends to lovers). However, strangers to friends to lovers are acceptable. If your ship has any unique variations of this ‘friends to lovers’ pipeline, please send an ask and we’ll use our best discretion to determine if your ship meets the criteria

Polycules are welcome!

Be respectful at ALL times, to us and to others. If we see any hate or ship bashing, we’ll block you on sight, no questions asked. TERFs, racists, sexists, ableists, and other breeds of bigots stay the fuck away. Our tournament, our rules.

No Harry Potter or Youtubers/Vtubers/other real-life public figures who are still alive. We’ll only consider real-life sources if they are funny enough

Please keep to an appropriate age difference between your blorbos. As a rule of thumb, no one under 18 with anyone over 18 (though if your blorbos are very close to 18 by +/- 1–2 years we would consider them)

You’re allowed to submit multiple ships from the same fandom; just start a new form if you want to submit a different ship. However, please only submit ONE ship each time

Propaganda and info-dumping is welcome and encouraged!

Shortlisting criteria: We’re looking for at least 3 submissions for a ship and/or very convincing propaganda, so show your passion for your lovebirds! That said, we’re also humans with our own blorbos so we may give ships from fandoms we’re in favourable consideration, but we’ll also try to be as fair as possible to everyone

Between the two of us we know a fair number of fandoms but we don’t know EVERY piece of media out there. We’ll do our best to do background checks, but things might still slip by us. As such, if you see any ship you think is problematic, please politely let us know and explain your reasoning in an ask (no DMs because this is a shared sideblog, but you can request for us to answer your ask privately as long as you turn off anon)

Submissions ARE CLOSED NOW will be closed on 30 June 2023, 6am PST or when we have enough submissions (we're looking at maybe 64 right now but that's subject to change)

Tagging other tournament blogs that inspired this one @obscuremilfoff @greenhairandpronouns-tournament @weirdass-shiptournament @a3playshipbattleroyale @pinkhairswagtourney @retirement-home-rumble

Reblogs are appreciated! ♡

[pillowfort-social]

Site Update - 8/3/2023

Hi Pillowfolks! 

How has your summer (or winter) been? Our team is back with a new update! As always, we will be monitoring closely for any unexpected bugs after this release, so please let us know if you run into any.

New Features/Improvements

Premium Subscription Updates -  Per the request of many users, we’ve made a number of updates to creating & editing Premium Subscriptions.

Users can now make credit-only Subscriptions without needing to enter in payment information, if your credit balance can fully cover at least one payment of the features fees.

Users can also now apply a custom portion of their available accrued credit monthly– i.e., if the cost of features is $5.97 every month, you can choose to cover only a portion of the cost of features with your credit. 

Users who have recently canceled a Subscription no longer have to wait until the payment period expires to create a new Subscription. 

To access Pillowfort Premium, click on the  “PF Premium” icon located in the left-hand sidebar. This page will allow you to convert your legacy donations to Pillowfort premium, review & edit your subscriptions, and more. 

Premium Image Upload Limit Increase: Good news! We’ve raised the limit for Premium Image Uploads to 6MB (formerly 4MB), at no extra cost! We may raise the limit further depending on how the subscriptions service performs and how our data fees fare.

Premium Subscription Landing Page & Frames Preview: We improved what users who do not have a Premium Subscription see on the Subscription management page to provide more information about the Premium features available. This includes the ability to preview all premium frames available.

New Premium Frame: We’ve released a new premium avatar frame! We hope you like it. We also have more premium avatar frames in the works that will be released later this month.

Modless / Abandoned Communities Update - Our Developers have made changes to our admin tools to allow our Customer Service Team to be able to change Community Ownership and add/remove Moderators to help revitalize abandoned and modless Communities. We will make a post soon explaining the process for requesting to become a Mod and/or Owner of a Community. 

Bug Fixes/Misc Improvements

Some users were not receiving confirmation e-mails when their Pillowfort Premium Subscription was successfully charged. This should now be fixed.  Please let us know if you are still not receiving those e-mails.

Related to the above bug, some users who were using their credit balance in Subscriptions were not seeing their credit balance being properly updated to reflect the credit used in those Subscriptions. We have now synced these Subscriptions, so you should see a decrease in your account’s credit balance if you are using that credit in a Subscription.

Fixed a bug where users were unable to delete their accounts in certain scenarios.

Fixed bug that displayed errors on the log-in page incorrectly.

Made improvements to how post images load on Pillowfort, to reduce image loading errors and improve efficiency for users with slow web connections.

Fixed a bug causing the checkmark on avatar frame selection in Settings to display improperly.

Terms of Service Update

We have made a small update to our ToS to specify that “deepfakes” and other digitally-altered pornographic images of real people are considered involuntary pornography and thus prohibited.

And that’s all for today! With this update out, our team will now be working full steam on post drafts, post scheduling queuing, and the progressive mobile app! Be sure to keep checking back on our Pillowfort Dev Blog for further status updates on upcoming features. 

Best,

Staff

[chaoscouncilcreaturecorner]

🧊⛓️💀 About

This post will hold information about our system and about this blog! Please read at least the rules/blog part before you request!

.:˘°🌌*🌑;˙+´~ About the Blog

.The Rules of The Blog are:

💜 Keep Things Civil and preferably SFW unless the Fandom you are requesting from is the one that's usually NSFW in itself. We won't be doing requests from fully NSFW and Sexual Media, however, things like Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel are alright! 🩷 Be respectful of the ones who lead the Blog and of each other! Treat others the way you wish to be treated in return! Saying that you had a bad day isn't an excuse to act disrespectfully! 💙 This Blog is for Fictionkins, Alterhumans, Therians, Otherkins, Conceptkins, Plantkins, and basically, any other kind of kins except for kinnies/kinning for fun who wish to be disrespectful to alterhumans without looking into information about what being an alterhuman/therian/otherkin actually is! We highly advise you to read a carrd we linked down below! We don't mind factkins either because they get enough hate already. If you are confused about why we don't mind them there is a very nice carrd that explains our own reasoning too alongside what it means to be a kin and what "kinning" really is, we will link it at the bottom of this post! [Kinnies please read it as well if you stumbled on this blog before requesting things!]

.Blacklisted Requests:

🪻Fully Sexual Shows [Shows focused on the acts themselves and not shows which contain them, if it was the latter about half of the fandoms would be banned from our thread!]

🫧 Themes: Character Death, Torture, Sexual Acts in Moodboards/Stimboards/Etc.

.Things We Will Make:

🤍 Moodboards

🩶 Stimboards

🖤 Neopronoun Suggestions

🤍 Name Suggestions

🩶 LGBTQIA+ Flags [Xenogenders Included]

🖤 Userboxes

🤍 Kin Calls

🩶 System Source Calls

🖤 Userboxes

🤍 Therian & Kin Tips/Help

🩶 [New !!] Headers

.:˘°🌃*🌊;˙+´~

About Us

We are a Disabled Traumagenic [DID/OSDD] system from Europe. We are bodily a young adult however we do have littles and middles as well so for the sake of them we will keep our age at that! Several headmates are also alterhumans, therians, conceptkins, fictionkins and so on! All Frequent Fronters [[Except for the Littles/Middles who are under 16 who will not be allowed to participate in the Blog for their safety!!]] will have their own symbols on our blog and we may or may not also post a small bit about ourselves as well!

🧊⛓️📻 / 🧨⛓️📻 Alastor/Wilbur/Ghostbur [[Main Host - Sources: DSMP, Brain Made Source & Hazbin Hotel]] ⚡📺Vox [[Co-Host - Sources: Hazbin Hotel]] 💃🏻💗🕺🏻Angel Dust [[Sources: Hazbin Hotel]] 💣🔥Kai [[Sources: Brain Made Source]] 🪐♉ /🪐♉🐉 Titus/Ace/Taurean/Terrence [[Sources: Brain Made Source]]

.:˘°🪐*⛓️;˙+´~ DNI List

- Pedos, Terfs, Zoophiles, Racist, Ableist, etc. people - Anti: LGBTQ+, Xenogender, MOGAI, Alterhuman, Otherkin, Witch, Pagan, Therian, Furry, Endo [We are Endo Neutral, Endos are welcome here !] - Anti: Allosexual, Alloromantic, Aromantic, Asexual people who's stances don't align with most people's beliefs [Ex. Sex Favorable Asexual people, Romance Repulsed Alloromantic people, Romance Ambivalent Aromantic people] You guys are more than welcome here and you all are valid ! - We also don't support people who still follow Content Creators who had allegations with a lot of backed up evidence. An example is Wilbur Soot and Shelby and other girlfriends situation [Those who are fictives, factives, etc. are welcome!]. People who follow Content Creators who proved their innocence after allegations are still welcome !! [So in this case if Wilbur Soot was proved innocent supporters would be welcome, but otherwise not.]

All of the dividers are from: saradika.tumblr.com! Thank you so much for these beautiful dividers! ^^

The carrd we mentioned earlier: https://kinninginformation.carrd.co/

Last Edited: 9/3/2024

[gvtted-ratz]

BEFORE YOU READ:

- Read all tags/ratings if there are any. They are important and give you all you need to decide if you want to actually read. If you do not like the tags/rating, please do not read.

- We ask that anyone who is FEM aligning/identifying to not read our MLM fics. You can still send requests, however, we do not do FEM readers.

- You can find all our works on AO3. Only registered users can view/comment.

- Minors/ageless/blank blogs are not welcome, and you will be blocked. Respect our wishes or you will be blocked. We go through all our likes, followers, and reblogs.

Want to request? Find the rules: here!

Want to see all the fics? Find them: here!

Tippler Pigeon

Edward Nashton/The Riddler x M!It/Its!Reader

Last Edited: 09/09/22

TW: stalking, brief mention of sexual activities

Requested: No.

Word Count: 1,735

AO3 LINK -> HERE

Living by the Iceberg Lounge has very few perks. Most were cons, with all the rich filing in to get their daily drops along with sex. Who cared if their partners were at home, working hard to take care of their kids? They were busy partying, giving away valuable information to anyone attractive enough to so much as flutter their eyelashes at them. Maybe even let them feel that person up and the secrets spill from their lips faster than a pigeon can fly off in fear of being hit with a pipe by some shitty kid. There is also the constant harassment from the drunkards and those high off their tails whenever you leave your complex.

The information is a perk though; probably the only pro there is to the place. And to get any info, you have to be able to either be employed at the club, be one of the awful rich folk, or pay off one of the employees that work there. The waitresses were the ones to get the most info and the best bet. They’re there for money; half of them hated the club with their entire being but it was the only option they had left. But there was a major con. If either of you are found out, you both get killed. That’s why it is usually best to find someone trustworthy, someone who can lie as well as keep their cool. Despite all this, you weren’t one for this. The data collected from there would sell for a pretty buck but your life was more important. People would do anything to keep their secrets under wraps. That included the orchestrated murder of people.

Your neighbour did seem to like the club though. Many pictures of the lounge, as well as the mayor, Don Mitchell. There were other people, you’re sure, though you were never able to see them. Whatever information he was getting his hands on, it would lead to his death if anyone reported him. You don't know him well but the idea of him dying is unsettling. He fits into your schedule; he is part of the routine you follow, even if he doesn’t know. Seeing him at all, was just normal. Not seeing or even hearing him for an entire day made it feel like everything was wrong and it made doing things extremely hard. His presence is deeply engraved in your daily routine that, with him suddenly being gone, it comes crashing down around you. Thankfully, he hasn’t ever disappeared for long. He’s never been gone for longer than a day. The few times he does leave for an entire day is awful and takes a lot of reassurance from yourself and even some promises to go to the place you really want or get an item you’ve been saving up for; that usually helps you create a new routine, just for that day until it all goes back to the original.

For the past few weeks, you’ve felt eyes on you. Which is odd since you haven’t had anyone over except a coworker who usually comes uninvited. She couldn’t be the one though since, knowing her, you weren’t much for holding her attention. She only ever came over to force you to watch movies you absolutely hated because she needed someone to annoy while all her other pals were busy. Despite that, she’s fairly nice despite only ever needing you when her friends are all off doing something without her.

Still, she’s ruled out. She maybe visits once a week and has nothing to gain from watching you. The only other people you can think of is your neighbour and the extremely creepy lady a floor above you. She’s touchy and always trying to get people to let her inside their apartment. You didn’t doubt she had at least one harassment charge on her record. You rule her out as well, making note of how she has always said you were “too weird” or “clearly mentally unwell” from the things you do.

That only leaves your neighbour. The man that’s been gathering extremely dangerous information on people. As far as you know, however, he's never even noticed you. You barely glance at each other whenever you walk past each other. Neither of you say hello or make eye contact; you’re practically strangers. But he’s the only one that makes sense. With all the information he’s gathering, he must be wary of those on his floor or those he sees often enough. You happen to pass each other everyday. And if that’s the case, how is he watching you? There’s no cameras beside your phone and computer. Your doors all remain shut and any window is covered with curtains as well as locked tight. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s just paranoia. Hallucinations even; from lack of sleep, stress, or even depression.

No matter what it truly is, you just try to ignore it all. This leads to you working late at the gift shop job you’ve taken up in the museum. There isn’t much to it. There’s a few plushies, some knickknacks, and other miscellaneous items. Other than stocking, scanning items, and possibly helping out customers, there isn't much to it. Tonight is like any other with you stocking the shelves and organising items. Very few entered at this time. Though Gotham never seemed to sleep, it didn’t mean people are looking to go to a museum or gift shop to look around or wander about. Or, that’s what you had been thinking.

“I have a question, if you don’t mind answering,” A voice says from beside you. You face the voice, stopping your hands from placing another plushie on its rack. The person standing there is your neighbour. His eyes seem to glow green despite there being no way they could. He had never shown any signs of being inhuman or an enhanced human.

“Uhm… Sure. Ask away,” You tell him, turning away to continue placing the plushies away.

“Have you seen anyone dressed in black and clearly trying to hide their face here?” It’s an odd question but you don’t have to give it much thought.

“I’ve seen some kids, mostly. Like those alt ones. Or scene. Emo,” You tell him, straightening out the row of plush hippos. It’s odd to even see your neighbour here since you knew that, if he wanted info, it would haven’t come from asking some employee at a museum. Especially if it’s about someone’s likes or dressware; not like you cared about what those kids or even adults dressed like. So far, the nicest ones had been the ones that dressed differently and showed off their interests with the colours, outfits, odd items, pins, and bags. Not just nice, but also polite. Many seemed overjoyed to hear you compliment their styles.

“Did any of them seem very familiar? Like maybe you’ve seen them on television or in papers?” He presses on. You only shake your head, turning to him.

“Not really. As far as I know, they’ve all been polite and interested in the artefacts, history, plushies, and pins… Besides, wouldn’t you have gotten that stuff already?”

“What do you mean?” Interest suddenly peaked, he looks at you like you’ve just told him the most interesting fact he’s ever heard.

“Well… I mean… You’re my neighbour. The data I’ve seen you get usually is done by yourself. Getting your own pictures and probably hacking and stalking,” You ramble, straightening the magnets and making sure each one is placed correctly. “It kinda reminds me of a Tippler Pigeon .. I mean, you do. With how active they are. From what I've read, they can have an in-flight of about fourteen to nineteen hours; maybe even twenty-two hours… And you’re always active. Always getting data, then working, and then going out at weird times for more data; that’s just a guess though… And they’re really intelligent.” You inhale before continuing, “you have to be pretty smart to get all that info on your own and to even understand it all. Clearly you have a lot if the stacks and stacks of papers you’re constantly bringing has to say anything. And they’re also pretty. And you’re pretty but like, in your own way. Not the bird way or whatever toxic stuff they say about the weird ‘pretty’ being bad to men…”

You turn to look at your neighbour after your ramble, seeing if he’s tuned you out at all. You weren’t expecting him to be staring at you with utter adoration and large eyes behind his glasses. It seems he had been absorbing all the information you had been spouting passionately. His smile is full of glee and he’s practically buzzing with excitement. “Something wrong?” You ask as he continues to stare.

“No! No, no! Nothing! I never thought I’d hear such passion from another person… Especially about me,” He tells you, grabbing your hands in his own. You flinch in surprise but don’t pull away. You’ve never seen your neighbour so happy. “Maybe… Maybe you can help me with my research? Help me with the pollution of the city?” His breathing is laboured slightly, though you don’t put much thought into it.

“... Is there a leak somewhere? Is our water safe? The pigeons?” You ask, concerned. You haven’t heard of any pollution lately but you wouldn’t put it past the higher-ups to try and cover that up.

“Not that kind… A different kind! You’re clearly smart… Such a smart man…” He sighs that out before speaking again, letting out a high pitched, child-like laugh. “We could help the city..! Clean up and make it better.” You blink slowly, thinking of his offer. You’re not sure what pollution he’s talking about or how you’d exactly be helping the city. But you do know that, he’s been nothing but nice so far, not even being angry at your info dump or rambling. So, with the decision in mind, you give him a small smile and a nod.

“Alright. I’ll help you however I can.” With the response, he becomes more giddy with happiness and tightens his hold on your hands.

“GREAT! This is great..! We’ll make such a good pair, you and I!” He lets go of your hands, demeanour still happy before bidding you goodbye.

“... What a cute but odd guy… “ You mumble before getting back to work.

[lovesick-level-up]

Zhongli + Diluc Designs (Ajax Memory Edition)

nobody requested, super self indulgent.

so recently the others decided to encourage me to make these. i don't know why, but they were pretty fun. basically, these are what zhongli and diluc looked like in my fictive memories. its not too complicated. there's not many actual changes i could show (like zhongli being literally 7 foot tall), but it was nice to do edits of them as i remember them. i could probably talk about my version of the genshin universe for hours. but i'm not going to do that.... i'll put it under the cut though, because fuck you, this is my blog too. ~ ajax 🐋🗡️🧊

please don't use or claim as your own! unless you want to make me some gifts, which i would be very greatful for.

cringe mode activated, time to talk about my fictive memories as if they were real and not our brain coping. i've accepted it, don't worry, its just fun to talk about.

so, i'm from an au. not much changed, zhongli was more of like a, figurehead like a british monarch, but was also still just a fucking nerd. i was his bodyguard for a bit. you can imagine how it went. he was seven foot tall, betrayed the shit out of me and did have a sexy dragon form. it was basically a fanfiction.

diluc ended up part of the fatui after realising that our stuff actually made sense and wasn't stupid - we were trained together. he never went back to mondstadt. he was five foot tall, beat me up constantly and he was great. the others find it hilarious how different my diluc was to our old diluc fictive.

i could talk about everyone else i knew, but this is already getting too long and i can't talk about everything, because i would be here forever. sadly.

i was a gay mess. no surprises there. everything was pretty much the same with me, except i got did in universe, i don't know how that works either.

my memories stop at like, the liyue arc. i think. though i did know yoimiya and xinyan. i should do them next, but i'll just do that with that redesign series we are doing.

and my thoughts on the new fontaine arc are 'it is not the first time i've been in prison or the last. or the first time i've been beaten up by a dragon guy either. people thinking i'm dead is hilarious. i'm just having a gay old time discovering my backstory.'

~ ajax 🐋🗡️🧊

[hedge-n-seek]

᯽ Hello! ᯽

Hi! New to posting about this, so sorry if I avoid interaction a bit! I’ll reblog from here, but won’t use my main to interact if possible

A catchall name you can use for me is Hedge, op, or you can use the name of whoever’s tagging under a post to indicate who’s posting, since I think a few ppl in our system might post some? Generally They/Them or He/Him is ok, but don’t be afraid to ask! Current poster tags include, but may be added to; #🦇.Val Posts ᯽ #🦋.Jenth Posts ᯽ #🪶.Dove Posts ᯽ and a general tag # 📺. Hedge Posts if anyone doesn’t want to specify

᯽ BYI ᯽

THIS ACCOUNT IS SFW ONLY. IF YOUR ACCOUNT ISNT SFW, PLEASE DONT INTERACT

We keep our regression pretty private, but it’s still fun to post and make art and talk to people about things we’re interested in! I’ll usually edit or doodle or something similar, but I also write sometimes. Generally I won’t post while small, but might reply to people if I know you well enough. Because of that, we might not be posting all the time, even if you see us reblogging things! It’s probably not us ignoring you, we’re just not in the space to talk at that moment. Also, Tonetags are super appreciated! They’re not required, but they’re still nice to use. I also have a hard time typing sometimes, though I try making sure what I write is legible. Feel free to let me know if you need something rewritten so it’s easier for you

On this blog, you’ll probably see a LOT of Vast Error content, as well as other Homestuck and fanworks stuff. I might Minecraft post occasionally, talk about s4m, Adventure Time, and whatever other shows I’m interested at the time! Some shows might have content not suitable for kids, but none of that content will ever be posted on here

᯽ DNI ᯽

Pr0sh1p / Z00 / etc.

Pro s/h or e/d

Endogenic or Neutral

Adult Content / Using Agere for that

Just use your brain and don’t be gross

᯽ Interests ᯽

Vast Error

Homestuck + Fanworks

Adventure Time

Minecraft

Bugs n Birds!

Whatever interest passes by for a bit

᯽ Request Stuff ᯽

There’s no guarantee I’ll get to it in a timely manner, but my requests are open unless my askbox says otherwise! Just send em in. I’ll do stimboards, moodboards, panel edits, and maybe small doodles? I might do mini fic requests too, but only if I feel motivated at that moment, those aren’t a guarantee

Request Tags! #Hedge.Request ᯽ #Hedge.Boards ᯽ #Hedge.Edits ᯽ #Hedge.Doodles ᯽ #Hedge.Fics ᯽ #Hedge.Asks ᯽

Other Helpful Tags! more to be added… #.rb ᯽ #.fav ᯽ #Hedges.Pesters ᯽

᯽ I Think That’s It! ᯽

[exols-silver-christmas]

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Welcome to the Exol Secret Santa!

I hope this year so far has seen everyone safe happy and healthy. With only a few months left in the year the time has rolled around again for our fandom gift exchange! Once again sign ups will start in August to allow time for gifts to be created. For more information on the timeline and important dates please refer to this post HERE.

There are a few guidelines and reminders I'dappreciate if you read before clicking the link to the sign up page

All skill levels are welcome! All we ask is you try your best when creating your gift and that giftees remember that not all Santas will have the same skill level. Everyone has to start somewhere and it's truly the thought that counts!

Please check the important dates post and keep in mind that the check ins are not meant to pressure anybody but to ensure that every participant receives a gift of some sort. During the final check in however you will be asked for a screenshot of the post draft. If you are unable to provide one then it will be assumed that your gift is not finished and a back up Santa will be arranged for your giftee.

If you have not completed your gift by the designated date you are more than welcome to still post it once it's finished, we will still reblog gift posts after the exchange weekend.

Remember, the festivities are about sharing and fostering new (or old as the case may be) friendships. Take the time to spread some holiday cheer and get to know your giftee. You might make a new friend in the fandom!

Now for the nitty gritty.

Due to issues that arose last year, following this blog is required for participation. You must have a tumblr blog in order to participate. You will be asked during the sign in process to open a DM conversation with this blog. This is so you can be contacted for check ins and posting co-ordination.

Santas it is highly encouraged, though not required, to message your giftee throughout the next few months, both as a way to get to know your fellow exol and as a way to learn what they might like for a gift. On the off chance you need help with ideas, part of the form will include a prompt, but we do ask you make an effort first. The dates for requesting your giftees prompt will be posted on the important dates.

Anon function MUST be turned on as well as Asks, to allow the Secret Santa to remain Secret.

Gift Posts must be in your drafts and ready to post by the deadline. This is to allow our back-up Santas time to make a gift if needed. Inability to provide a screenshot will be taken as the gift isn't completed and a backup Santa will be contacted. As stated above you will be more than welcome to post on the gift exchange weekend or later if you wish to, we just want to avoid giftees getting that niggling little disappointment when others receive a gift and they didn't.

All gift posts must be tagged with the giftees blog name and @exols-silver-christmas . We ask that you tag this blog so we can share the wonderful things you've made.

We also require that you use the organizational tag #exolss23 within the first 5 tags.

Read the Important Dates post

All gifts MUST be NEW CONTENT and meet the minimum requirements.

We ask that all gifts meant for minors be kept SFW. You will be informed your giftees stated age at the time of receiving your giftee blog name

Behavior that violates tumblr community guidelines will result in a ban from group activities

Minimum requirements are as follows:

Edits: 4+ small png or 2+ large png

Fanart: 1+

Fanfiction of anysort: 1k+ words

Fanvideo: 35 seconds+

Gif sets: 4+ gifs

Headers/lcons/Lockscreens: 4+ in any combination

Moodboards: 3 boards

You are of course more than welcome to go above and beyond the minimum requirements but that is solely dependent on your personal inclination and time availability. This is meant to be fun and a way to interact with each other and not a burden.

Finished with all the pesky reading??

Sign Up Here

[dipplin-daycare]

Blog Info...

Hello and welcome to our age(d)re + pet(d)re blog. Take a good look and feel free get comfortable 'cause we're all about comfy things! Though this blog is still new we're looking forward to posting original content and interacting with the community. One day we might even open requests, who knows... And, of course, feel free to shoot us an ask! Our ask box is always open

Tagging System...

#🍎-❝by leaf❞🍃 ...for leaf's posts #🍎-❝by blu❞🌧️ ... for blu' posts #🍎-❝by rosa❞🌸 ... for rosa's posts #🍎-❝text❞💬 ... for text based posts #🍎-❝edits❞📸 ... for icons and edits #🍎-❝boards❞✏️ ... for agere moodboards #🍎-❝reblogs❞🔁 ... for reblogs

Do not interact...

Kink or NSFW accounts, ageplay and variants, pedo/zoos + supporters, any kind of bigot (incl. TERFs and transmeds), discourse and/or politic centric blogs, anti-recovery (incl. pro-ana pro-sh), anti-agere/petre, anti-therian !Interacting includes linking and reblogging posts!

.... about us under the cut!

About us...

Starting with the basics... We're three brazilian young adults and we all love pokemon We're also a T4T polycule and been together for around a year at this point(and we're not looking for romantic relationships here), we all have some background with the agere community and agree that we prefer to not be a part of any specific community and just treat regression as an individual thing (non-community)

I'm Leaf! I'm 21 and go by they/them. I'm a caregiver and care for both my partners whom I love very much <3. That aside, I'm a leafeon therian and sometimes I pet regress to a fox or cat Even though I'm not an age regressor I still deal with a fair amount of anxiety, OCD, dissociation and I'm neurodivergent Currently majoring pedadogy and I dream of working as a educator or school counselor, I have a fair amount of knowledge on sociology and neuropsychology as well. I'm also a pokemon fanatic, shiny hunter, and I love everything nintendo (Splatoon and Kirby are my other favorite franchises), roguelike and metroidvania games and TTRPGs. I enjoy collecting stuff and I'm very fond of lizards (snakes included!) My favorite pokemon is leafeon (and hydrapple) and I'd be a grass type trainer/gym leader

I'm Rosabella, Rosa for short! I'm 20 and my pronouns are she/they/fae I'm a flip, that is, sometimes I'm my partner Blu's caregiver and sometimes my other partner Leaf is my caregiver! My little age is around 4-8, I started regressing recently and so far I love the idea of getting to live the ideal childhood I've never had. I'm a puppy regressor too, a pomski to be more specific I'm a DID system and switch between using we/us and I/me, I'm also autistic+ADHD and HoH. Because of that I'm very invested in disabled and Deaf/HoH rights activism I love pokémon (duh) Scarlet/Violet have been my favorite games so far! I also like Animal Crossing, nostalgic toys, The Owl House, Amphibia, Adventure Time, OTGW, and similar cartoons. And I love anything magical girls!! My favorite pokémon is the hatenna evolution line and I'd be a psychic type gym leader!

I'm Blu, I'm 20 years old and go by he/they and occasionally it/its I'm a regressor and my two primaries act as my caregivers. My regressed age fluctuates from a little toddler to an edgy teen. I also heavily relate to birds, am a bird regressor and a swablu therian(that's where my name came from lol) I have OSDD1a, though I strictly refer to myself as singular person (I/me), I'm also autistic and physically disabled Majoring geography and specializing in meteorology, loooove storm spotting and retro videogames (my partners might disagree on that but I think the best pokemon games are the early ones + spin offs). Be sure that I know and have played the most obscure nintendo and sonic spin-offs My favorite pokemon is obviously swablu/altaria (murkrow is a close second) and I'd be a flying type trainer. That's it.

dipplin sprite by RetroNC

[spnfanficpond]

Weekly Pond Newsletter

This past week included the famed 21st night of September. Did you dance the night away?

Old Business:

Fic Highlights. This week we had TWO fic highlights for you all to read and enjoy! We do highlights like these as raffle prizes and birthday gifts to thank those who are active in the Pond and spread the love. Fun fact: Though most writers will ask us to highlight an underappreciated fic of their own, you can ask for any fic by any writer to be highlighted! This means that this prize is also open to Turtles and other non-writers. This week, we highlighted A Little Trip: Costco Edition by @mariekoukie6661 and Trials of Agent Winchester (series) by @allys-creative-bubble. Check them out and give our hard-working writers some encouragement!

Fishing for Treasures masterlists. By request, we have cobbled together a masterlist of sorts of the fics we have reblogged for the monthly FFT celebrations. It's not strictly a masterlist, but it should give those looking for something a place to start searching. We've utilized the archive function of Tumblr, which allows us to narrow down a search by month and tag. In the past, we weren't very consistent with our tagging for FFT, but we will be in the future to make this functionality work. We have tried to clean up prior months, but a fic or two may have slipped through the cracks, so we can only promise that the majority of fics reblogged in the past will be there. Click here for more information about FFT and to see these new masterlists!

Angel Fish Awards nomination changes. We announced previously that AFA nominations are now open to everyone, but this week, we also added a new way to submit your nominations! We now have a Google form where you can submit all the information we need. You can still send us an ask or submission through the blog, or send a private message to an admin. This is just a new way to submit, which we hope might be easier for you, too. Click here to see the new Angel Fish Awards FAQ and get the link to submit a nomination!

Last week's #TweetFicTues prompts were:

New Business:

Stageit concerts with Paul Carella later today. Paul Carella is best known by the SPN family for his song, "Chasing Echoes" (aka the Jensen Ackles song). He's recently teamed up with Billy Moran of Louden Swain to make a new band called Tricky MC. They currently have two singles out that you can find wherever you listen to music. Click here for more info about Paul and tickets to today's shows!

Manta Rays in the Discord server. This week, there will be TWO Manta Rays in the discord server! Admin Stacey will be in there on Thursday and Manta Ray Kay will be in there on Friday. To see the Pond calendar for exact times (viewed in the Eastern US/Canada timezone) click here. (Sadly, this link is a Tumblr page, and can not be seen on mobile.) To add the Pond calendar to your own Google calendar (to see events in your own time zone), click here.

Next weekend is #SPNDC! Creation Entertainment's The Road So Far, The Road Ahead tour will be in Washington DC next weekend, and Admin Michelle will be there! This means that the deadline to earn entries for the AFA Raffle will be extended until Wednesday, October 4th. If you will also be in DC next weekend, be sure to say hi to Admin Michelle! (Look for purple hair as she whizzes by on her scooter! lol)

(Divider by @glygriffe!)

That's all for this week! To see all Pond events, and also other SPN-related things like conventions and online concerts, check out our Google calendar! We try to keep it as up to date as possible. If there's something you want to see on the calendar that's not there (maybe a convention we missed, or cast birthdays, or something similar), send us an ASK and let us know!

Hope you have a great week! - From your Admins and Manta Rays, @manawhaat, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @mariekoukie6661, @princessmisery666, @thoughtslikeaminefield, @katbratsupernaturalwhore and @heavenssexiestangel!

[tselbutnonhuman]

Request Form!

This is for our non BAH requests! Don't hesitate to ask what other kinds of requests we do as long as they are not bah requests! We have a separate blog for that linked in our pinned.

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Our Inbox will be the same as our BAH blog. Only 5 requests are allowed at a time, however, you may request multiple things in one as long as there is a spot open. Your request may take longer and/or have a lower priority than single/simple requests. We have the right to delete your ask/request if sent in after requests have been closed.

Things We Will Make:

Moodboards / Stimboards Wallpapers Banners Userboxes Flag Redesigns (Please provide color palette along with details) Pfps (Alterhuman And/Or Pride) SFW/Non-harmful terms (dissomei, aldernic, perpesque, etc)

Content/Things We Won't Do:

Anything NSFW/18+ related (Please find another blog for that) Adult media (Family Guy, American Dad, etc) Harmful/Mocking identities (gender, sexuality, other) Anything related to countries/states/politics Anything related to Vivziepop (Here is why) Country Humans Radqueer/TransID/Proship related Anything related to Wilbur Soot, Dream, GeorgeNotFound, or other problematic people unless they are a source separated headmate or are not in support of their source and/or their actions Anything racist, ableist, homophobic/transphobic, antisemetic, zionist, nazi, transmed/sysmed, fatphobic, etc. Things related to harmful paras

Content We Absolutely Will Take Requests For: (List Will Grow With Suggestions & Time)

Anything Alterhuman/Otherhuman/Nonhuman/Otherkin/etc SFW pet and age regression SFW/Non-harmful aesthetics SFW Objectum and POSIC+ LGBTQIA+, MOGAI/LIOM, etc System/Plural Terms Things related to our interests (List Below)

Media/Things We Enjoy (Determines The Priority Of Requests) [ * Means its a current hyperfixation]

DSMP* QSMP Hermitcraft Minecraft* Plurality* Mental Health/Psychology* (NOT PRO PSYCHIATRY) Xenogenders/Neopronouns* Alter/Nonhumanity* Cartoons Anime Animals Books/Reading TLOZ Animal Crossing Slime Rancher

-------------------------------------------------------------- Request Requirements: Moodboards/Stimboards: Topic Subject Theme/Colors How many pictures/gifs you'd like included Extras you'd like included Anything you'd like excluded

Wallpapers/Banners Topic Subject(s) Themes/Colors Format (Desktop, Phone, Ipad, etc. Please specify dimensions) Other things you'd like included Anything you don't want included

Userboxes: Icon/Symbol Colors Text (What you'd like it to say) Font Extra decoration? (Stickers) Things that should be excluded

Pride/Kin Flags The term you want Is it a remake or something new? Colors? Number of stripes? Symbols/Icons? Things to exclude

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This is our first time making a blog for requests like this so please be patient if you don't get your request done quickly. We are still learning and are trying our best. Please keep asks to at most 5 requests at once. Anon asks are on, if you'd like to claim a tag go ahead. We will provide a master list of tags once they start rolling in.

Requests will also be listed in this post.

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Current Inbox/Drafts:

Zero of Five (0/5)

Claimed Tags / Current Anons:

Tag List: tsel userbox - for our userboxes tsel moodboard / tsel stimboard - For mood/stimboards tsel pride - for pride flags tsel requests - for answered asks tsel kin / tsel therian / tsel alterhuman / tsel nonhuman - for non-pride flags/alterhuman related things tsel flag edit/remake - for when we edit/remake flags tsel custom - for term requests tsel coins - for term reqs and coins

[goshdangronpa]

When I'm not writing Danganronpa fan fiction, I moonlight as a professional content/copywriter. All the fresh discourse about plagiarism is reminding me of some formative experiences in my work life, and certain people I've met ...

My first job was with a fast-paced marketing company. The in-house writing team maintained weekly blogs for a bunch of clients, and each writer had to write two 1000-word blog posts a day. That's tough, especially for someone who was still pretty fresh in the field. We were salaried rather than hourly (!), so there was no incentive to staying late ... but that also meant the company didn't have to fret about overtime pay, so we could stay late if we needed it. I'd regularly be the last one in the office, still pumping out words in the struggle to meet deadlines.

Much of my time was spent on research. I knew little about the subjects at hand, which were sometimes highly technical, so I couldn't just BS my way through assignments. I even requested and received permission to take one client's worker education course, just so I could know what the heck I was writing about. It didn't seem at all remarkable to me. It was a job. My job. Although I could've been better, or at least faster, I simply did what needed to be done.

I learned that others took a ... different approach.

One supervisor was on sabbatical for the first couple of months I worked there. I respected them as my superior. Then I was assigned to peer-edit one of their articles, something we did with everything we wrote. One uncited claim led me to Google ... where I found a nearly identical article already published. Supervisor did the ol' switcheroo of amending sentence structures and swapping words for poorly chosen synonyms. I brought it up with them, saying I wouldn't report the incident but urged them to not do that. I can't recall what happened next, other than not trusting Supervisor anymore.

After three months passed, I was up for employee review. The bosses liked what they've read - yay! And then they said, "Here's why we're not giving you a raise." My stomach dropped. Apparently, they checked how many articles everyone wrote. I was behind on a quota I knew nothing about. If I wanted more money, I should take a page from the writer in the lead. Champ had somehow written 60 articles in the past month. Amazing! My employer set a goal much humbler than what my work friend had surpassed. If Champ could do that much, surely I could do this little.

Reader, I did my best. I stayed at the office later and later, especially as the date of my next employee review drew near. Due to my salaried status, I wasn't even paid for that overtime, but I put in the time anyway. It was all for nothing. Just a week before the next meeting, where they would've decided whether I deserved a raise or not, they laid off virtually the entire writing department. Apparently, underpaying freelancers who don't get benefits was easier.

Only one person from the crew stayed. If it was gonna be anybody, it was golden goose Champ, who maintained their insane pace. I wished them well.

Anyone wanna guess the secret behind Champ's prodigious output? It's the same reason they got fired just a few weeks later.

The reveal was a betrayal. We were friends, Champ and I, getting each other through the grind of the content mill with sarcastic humor and deep conversations. They encouraged and motivated me to keep up, all the while hiding some dirty tricks that eventually helped them stay in the race while I spun out. I was shocked to discover that I had zero empathy for them. But they deserved none, the filthy plagiarist. Haven't spoken to them since finding out.

This may not be as sordid as everything H. Bomberguy discusses in his brilliant new video. My coworkers and I were literally anonymous, with no clout to speak of, let alone abuse. Our clients were small businesses with little platform, which is why they contracted a marketing agency in the first place. Still, it hurt the hell out of me, and I wasn't even the one being copied! Plagiarism is a curse word in my household, lowest of the low (without getting into, like, actual atrocity).

And you know what? Years later, what I wrote for that company still holds up in my eyes. Those old blog posts aren't exactly the Great American Novel, or even on par with what I'd write as I gained more experience, but I put the effort into writing high-quality and original stuff. I worked hard. I still work hard. As self-deprecating and even self-loathing as I can be, I'll always pride myself on this. May you writers out there be able to pride yourselves on this, too.