#what better way to get experience than making your own website? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

valdevia · 1 month ago

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Hi, I love your works!! I was wondering where you find the original, unedited pictures you use for your art? Do you take them yourself or find them online?

Hey there! I get them from many different sources! Whenever I can I use my own, and sometimes my followers send me cool pics to use (or put them up in the Sacrificial Altar channel in my Discord), but I find most of what I use through public domain sources online!

For the online part, I put this little list together with some of the common resources I use! Feel free to share it around and copy it:

For an easier experience, I'll copy the relevant part below:

STOCK SITES

- Unsplash: Usually the best quality out of the free stock sites. They’ll try to sell you a subscription plan but you can ignore that.

- Adobe Stock: Select “Free” on the dropdown menu next to the search bar. The free image selection here is big and high-quality, though they feel more like stock pictures than natural photos. Note: They limit how many pictures you can download per account per day, but you can make several accounts to circumvent this if you use it a lot.

- Texturelabs: lots of free, very high-quality textures!

- Pexels: Similar to Unsplash, but it has more pictures with people. If you need a photo with models, this is usually the best place.

- Pixabay: Widest selection, but worst quality control. Go here if you haven’t found anything in other sites and don’t mind sifting through a bunch of garbage pics and occasional AI images.

PUBLIC DOMAIN SOURCES

- Wikimedia Commons: an enormous selection of CC and public domain pictures. Super useful, especially for the really specific images that you'd expect to find on a Wikipedia article. Always check the copyright conditions! To filter by license, search something and then click on the License dropdown under the search bar. Select “No restrictions” for public domain images.

- Picryl: A repository of public domain sources, ranging from ancient historical books and artifacts to fairly modern pictures. If you're looking for something old/historical, chances are it's here! This website is probably one of the most complicated ones to use, so here are three important tips before you use it:

This site added a paywall that appears after the 3rd page of search results. To remove it, install uBlock Origin, go to the “My Filters” page (clicking on the gear icon after opening the extension), and paste this filter: picryl.com##._9oJ0c2

After searching, use the timeline on the top right to narrow down the result by year.

It won’t let you download the full picture without paying, but it always has a link to the source site below the description. Click on that, then copy-paste the image’s name to find it in the original source. That way you can get it for free, and often in better quality than Picryl offers.

National Archives Catalog, The Library of Congress, NASA, and Europeana have wide selections, but they are included in Picryl so it’s usually better to search there and then download them in the source as mentioned above!

- Flickr Search: a ton of usable pictures with a generally more amateur feel, just remember to filter by license using the “Any license” dropdown menu. When you find an image, make sure to check its specific license (you can find it below the image, on the right side).

- Openverse: The official Creative Commons archive, has many sources! Includes other sites on this list, but has a lot of clutter if you don’t filter.

- iNaturalist: a repository of user-submitted images of animals, plants, and fungi. Look for a genus or species, then navigate to the photo list and filter by license.

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

- The Met: An amazing selection of artifacts from all over the world, with top quality photographs of most of them (usually with several angles for each). You can filter images by material, location, and era.

- Getty Museum: Another smaller selection of museum pieces, but this one includes old photos as well as artifacts. You can also filter by dates, materials and cultures. Make sure you include the “Open Content” filter to only see public domain things!

- Smithsonian: Big selection of around 5 million museum pieces, with some 3D scans of museum pieces. Most pieces just have a single picture that can sometimes be low quality, but pieces with 3D models sometimes also include a lot of high quality photos from multiple angles. This collection also includes things from museums of natural history, so you can also use it to search for bones and specimens.

- Artvee: public domain classical art. They make you pay to download high-quality images.

If you guys got any others, please let me know and I'll add them to the collection!

#Ask Val #Hope you find these useful!#resource list #photo sources

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germiyahu · 6 months ago

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For years on this website specifically, the ruling order of the day was "it's impossible not to be a racist (etc.) when you grew up in a racist society... that doesn't mean you violently hate poc, just that you benefit from those systems."

I remember when theamazingatheist started a harassment campaign against a teenager for making a YouTube video explaining this concept.

This idea was admirable for what it was, an attempt to wash some of the sting out of terms like "racist" "misogynist" "homophobe," make these terms have a more sober applicable meaning. They weren't pejoratives but calls to action, to look within yourself and start dismantling ideas you never questioned. Hopefully it would inspire genuine activism. It was tied to "not speaking over marginalized groups," in that no matter how much of a good person you thought you were, your experiences and thus your ideas were clouded by these systems. Better not to eat your foot because you're not as anti-racist (etc.) as you think you are.

Well all that is gone now! Because progressives applying their own semi-condescending theory to themselves? Never! And employing these ideas to foster better allyship to Jews? Never!

They can't be the baddies, so they'll come up with any reason they can think of to deflect criticism. Whether it's No True Scotsman, or outrageous claims that antisemitism is not a real phenomenon (any more), gone are the days when you're supposed to humble yourself and look inward and admit that you're antisemitic by default, and that that's okay as long as you try to be better.

Because they're so fucking mad that the term "antisemitic" could be applied to them at all, they froth at the mouth. They don't want to learn and improve their rhetoric and their relations, they just want to expulse this pent up rage inside them and Jews protesting their conduct is getting in the way. It's a buzzkill.

Or they see Jews bringing up antisemitism as no different than conservative pundits bringing up "anti-Christian sentiment," that is, not something to take seriously. But they get more mad at accusations of antisemitism than accusations of "anti-Christian sentiment," I wonder why.

I think they know deep down that this is getting out of hand, and is a bad look, and deeply cringe and embarrassing for them, their movement, and the Left as a whole. But they're too proud and too disdainful of Jews to do anything about it except try to reframe the whole thing as aggression against them by Zionist Supremacists. They're being silenced, their characters are being smeared, how could the sneaky conniving ungrateful cowardly all powerful Zionist sex trafficking genocidal cabal pull the wool over everyone's eyes like this!

#antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #student protests

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artdotpage · 1 year ago

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Problems facing modern artists & creators

I've talked with hundreds of artists and creators about the difficulties they face trying to earn a living from their craft.

This post covers two of the big ones (social media algorithms & bargain basement marketplaces), and what tools are available to grow your business despite these issues.

Social Media Algorithms and Audience Ownership

Social media platforms are a godsend for getting your work in front of potential clients and building a loyal fan base.

However as you will all have experienced, it can take a mastermind to figure out what kind of content the algorithm wants you to post, and if you don't do that you'd be as well throwing your content into the void as even your own followers might not see your post, never mind new viewers.

It also means you don't truly own your audience, if you post something slightly controversial your account could be deleted without warning, or perhaps a billionaire buys the site and everyone flocks to a new platform where you have to start growing your following all over again.

Solution: Build a mailing list

This is perhaps the single best marketing tool available to any business, and is sorely overlooked by artists and creators.

It's cost effective and because you own your mailing list it doesn't matter what's happening on social sites, you can always keep in touch with them.

The tricky part is converting people into mailing list subscribers. However I've seen plenty of creators successfully build one by offering incentives including free digital downloads, early access to content, discounts on your store etc.

Those who sign up to your mailing list would be considered high quality followers, someone who is much more likely to convert to a paid client and buy from you again in the future compared to the average follower on social media.

Tools

https://art.page/

https://substack.com/

https://convertkit.com/

Losing clients to undercutting competitors on the same platform/marketplace

If you run your business on a marketplace or platform, your clients are one click away from finding plenty of other choices who are willing to undercut everyone else to land a sale.

These sites have no incentive to make sure that traffic you drive to your profile actually purchase from you. Whether a sale is made through your listing or another seller, they collect their fee either way.

They also use uniform designs which reduce you to a generic product listing. Whilst this can simplify the customer experience, it means you have no control over the sales funnel and ability to differentiate yourself, making it harder to convert potential clients into paying customers.

Solution: Direct clients to your own site

Use your own personal website to make sales from, there are plenty of options with no monthly charge and lower fees than marketplaces. This lets you make dedicated marketing pages showcasing your best work to make a client excited about doing business with you, instead of just being a generic product listing.

Take advantage of marketplaces purely for their customer base. Don't rely on them as your sole business platform. This way, any fees you pay are worthwhile to generate sales you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Tools

https://art.page/

https://www.bigcartel.com/

https://squareup.com/

Interested in more?

There's plenty more I have to share on this topic, including:

How to properly use Print on Demand without getting ripped off

Streamline managing your business so you spend more time creating and growing your business.

How to better utilize your brand to connect with clients and increase sales

So let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get writing!

Transparency

I'm building https://art.page to solve these exact issues, with the goal to create the best all in one site builder for artists and creators that makes running your business easy.

#artdotpage #artpage #artists on tumblr

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toskarin · 2 months ago

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hey rin, a friend of mine enjoys composing music digitally and has a lot of respect for you as someone with more experience with that sort of thing. he has a hard time convincing the people around him to listen to the things he makes, in both the "finding an audience" way and "getting the people around him to give him their opinion on something he's working on way," and he wanted me to ask you if you could speak on your own experiences with those problems and how you've dealt with them. less related, he was also curious about your inspirations for the music that you make. i know this is a lot to cover, so if it would be easier for you to speak with him directly then please let me know

so I'll open by saying that, as far as people who can give good advice on this go, I'm probably not one of those. a lot of what I do only works because of some specific problems with my brain that are oddly adaptive to this sort of thing

that being said, this is a bit of the "tough love" kind of advice for surviving as an artist, so I'll make a second reblog for the second half of the question

this is either advice that will work or a ramble that will lead your friend to making his life unbearable, so look before you leap

The Easy Section, or "You've Gotta Be a Bit of a Tradie"

let's go over the business stuff quickly before I start rambling at length about the boring stuff

learn to love the work itself. "find a job you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life" is garbage, but creative work really is the one area where you should double down on this. kick back and bump your own album on release day, thinking about how every second of it is something that didn't exist before you put it together. this is what's gonna keep you above water when the wind is dead

get on bandcamp. there is nowhere better for small musicians right now. bandcamp is basically the last remaining website with an effective suggestion algorithm that caters to people who want to actively engage with music and buy it

consider getting on instagram. in the majority of places you're likely to live if you're reading this, the local music scene is on instagram. probably don't use your personal instagram for this

consider getting on soundcloud. you won't make sales through soundcloud, because it's a streaming-focused site (more on that in a moment) with a focus on passive listening, but it's pretty decent for networking, especially with digital music production. soundcloud is linkedin for deadbeats

stay off spotify. streaming generally isn't worth the trouble these days unless you're playing concerts or are otherwise already established. if you aren't uttering the words "you can find me on..." more than once a month, it's probably not worth pursuing a spotify presence to end that sentence with

self-promote. if you have platforms, use them. find the subreddit for your genre and post yourself on the self-promo day. consider posting some bandcamp album codes when you do this, not just so you can get word of mouth, but because someone having an album in their collection means you effectively have a permanent zero-cost advertisement for your music which will only show itself to people who are verifiably looking at something similar. companies pay dizzying sums for ads that couldn't dream of being this targetted. this is a big reason why bandcamp is THE place to be for small musicians

cross-promote and collab. work with your friends. if you don't have musician friends, go make some and then help each other out. "independent" music is a misnomer

blind yourself to the metrics. do not look at engagement metrics. pay them no mind at all. don't look at them unless you're trying to see how effective a specific, deliberate course of action was and already know what you want to find

remember that strangers are unknowable. people do things for arbitrary reasons. if you don't have someone giving you written feedback, don't make any assumptions at all about why they did something. skipped tracks and minimum-price pwyws mean nothing at all

present your stuff in a way that gives it context. why should someone care about your stuff? give them a reason. carve out an hour to really work on a nice album cover, go the extra mile and include track-by-track narrative with your dungeon synth album, or just describe what you're expecting people to buy. I firmly believe that NOMAD/VIRTUE was successful in large part because of its presentation

gimmick. gimmick gimmick gimmick. discount codes are more fun than automatic discounts, free album codes are more fun than free albums, contests are more fun than giveaways, so on so forth. lacking any physical goodies to bundle in, you should still endeavour to give people Something To Do that makes them feel like they're really engaging with your music

zero expectations, zero overhead. do not rely on the whims of complete strangers to justify whether or not you end up in the red. if you ever find yourself saying something like "I can afford to pay for a session musician because I'll just make it back" you can't afford to pay for a session musician. you're probably never getting bailed out if you eat a loss, so try not to put yourself in a situation where you can eat a loss to begin with

someone else's expectations, someone else's overhead. if someone else is paying you to make this music for a soundtrack or something, if (and ONLY if) you have the money in your hand and know you have it, you're no longer gambling. at this point, you can start to look at expenses as investment

now onto the less fun stuff. here's where I ramble for like an hour at you.

if there's one thing I've really had hammered in over my decade-odd as a somewhat commercial artist (in all the disciplines I've worked with, which is most of them), it's that you have to be a bit of a bitch about it sometimes

that nagging fear in the back of your head that you're annoying? it's stopping you from doing what you need to do: annoy people

with that being said, this next section is kind of...

The Rough Section, or "You've Gotta Be a Little Hard-headed"

at the end of the day, you'll often find that you are your only advocate, and that means you kinda have to get your foot slammed in a few doors if that means holding them open. this also unfortunately means that you've gotta convince yourself you're pretty good. you don't have to think you're great, but confidence is a trade skill

the last opinion people see before the first time consciously engaging with your work (which here means "the thing that primes them for how they feel about it") is yours

which brings us to the first uncomfy rule

absolutely no cutting yourself down before anyone else even gets a swing

you can be modest if you want (you don't have to), but you absolutely cannot prime people to see the flaws in your work. if 50% of people are discerning enough to notice a flaw, why make that number 100%? what do you gain from that?

if something isn't as finished as you'd have liked it to be, but you've pushed it out the door anyway (which you will sometimes have to do), you absolutely cannot prime people to consider it unfinished

if the thing is still being worked on, there's nothing wrong with being forthcoming about that, but the fastest way to make someone think of something as "inferior product" when they otherwise would never have reached that conclusion is by telling them it is

and that, of course, leads us into a bit of an inversion of the previous rule

absolutely do not take the majority of your validation from strangers

doing this is bad for a million reasons, but I see the worst of this in visual arts, where artists double down on what gets them the most engagements and lay themselves at the mercy of complete strangers who have no actual investment in them

of course, it's normal to desire validation and approval from people you respect, but if you put yourself in a position where it's possible to enter a negative feedback loop that crystallises into you no longer making art from the default response of neutral apathy from strangers, it's not a matter of when: it's going to happen to you one day

so what's the move here? spend 8 years making music you don't release like you're in a compressed time chamber? probably not. I did it that way, but I didn't get much out of it, so you probably won't either

the actual answer is that you've gotta network. you need an inner circle. you need people with shared interests so that you can gas each other's stuff up

just like everyone else, you need your friends

you need to have friends who care about you, about what you're doing, and you need to care about them and what they're doing

this is because, while self-confidence is important...

the majority of your external validation as an artist should come from your friends and peers, not strangers

it's important to have artist friends, because then you can encourage each other in ways that are personally meaningful, but having your friends behind you, whether or not they're musicians, is so incredibly important

if you're motivated exclusively by success, however you're choosing to measure that, what you're actually doing is forming a nightmarish parasocial relationship with the concept of a crowd. not even a real crowd! a fictional group that materialises when you've created "the conditions for success"

there is no such thing as a truly independent artist. if your understanding of artistic success requires competition against others, you're going to lose that competition and then explode (unfortunately common)

finding your audience as an artist (and mind you, art is a social field) is very much a process of networking, but it feels gross to say it that way, so I'll just leave that at "if you want to be known by others, you need to be willing to know others"

anyway, this doesn't really terminate in a complete sentiment. I was just transcribing a train of though

if I were to boil this down to a shorter, snappier answer that I could read comfortably read out, it'd be...

TL;DR

the process of finding an audience is so much less about actually finding one than it is about learning to create happily whether or not you have an audience. developing an audience is the largely incidental byproduct of long-term creative efforts coupled with self-advocacy and interpersonal networking

if you want to be found by a scene, you have to participate in a scene, and if you want to participate in a scene, you need to be in the scene. so on so forth

as stupid as it might sound when I put it into words, the truth is that you can't build any kind of audience in isolation. someone has to find you somehow, and it's a lot easier to be found if you're actually somewhere that people might look

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lurkingshan · 9 months ago

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I've been in multiple tumblr fandoms over the years and the same shit comes up over and over again wrt arguments about how we all engage with our chosen media on here, so here are a few things to keep in mind that have helped me along the way:

Not everyone is going to engage in the same way as you, and that's good, actually. Some people are purely here to gush over the things they like. Some people are here to do deep analytical breakdowns which will include criticism. Some people are cheerleaders. Some people are haters. A lot of people are a mix of both depending on what they're talking about on any given day. It's all good and valid, and it's what gives this space variety, allows us to learn from each other, and keeps it interesting.

The filter, unfollow, and block functions are your friend. If you love a mutual but hate the volume or the way they talk about a certain thing, just add it to your filtered tags (relatedly: tag your shit so people can filter you when needed!). If you consistently don't vibe with the way a person chooses to engage on here, just unfollow them. If you find them actively offensive or detrimental to your mental health, hit that block button, baby. We are all anonymous internet strangers and no one will die.

Someone expressing a different opinion from yours is not a personal attack on you. If someone hates a thing you like, they are not calling you stupid for liking it. If they love a thing you hate, there's nothing wrong with them, they are just taking something different from it than you are. That shit is all about you and your own insecurities, don't try to put it on them.

Vague posting is rude. If you want to directly respond to something someone said to get better clarity about what they meant, reply to their post or shoot them an ask or DM and talk to them about it. If you simply want to express a counterpoint without directly engaging them, just post your own take without vaguely alluding to them and building what is almost certainly a strawman of their original point. People you're vaguing can see you on here, folks. Don't be a dick.

Credit and reblog other people's ideas when you are building on them, and be kind to the creators who provide the artwork that make this place so special and unique. Reblogging is the lifeblood of this website. It's the only way people get to see content that is by anyone they don't follow, and the gifmakers on here in particular put in so much time and effort to give us beautiful images--share their work and tell them you appreciate it! You also don't have to agree with every single word of a meta post to reblog it (why would you expect to, it comes from a different brain than yours), and you absolutely should be crediting people and sharing their words when they sparked something that inspired your own thoughts. This is just being a good community member.

Embrace the difference between meta and fanwanking. Meta writing is analysis of the actual media content as it is presented, with arguments based in the canon text. Fanwanking is doing your own work to fill in gaps or create headcanons to supplement the canon text. Some people prefer content that leaves a lot of gaps because they love to creatively fanwank; some people prefer to be told complete stories without having to do all that extra work to make them make sense. These are both very cool and fun ways to engage, but when you're fanwanking be aware that those ideas are all coming from you, not the actual media being discussed, so others might not vibe with your interpretation.

When posting your own opinions, try to be clear about where you're coming from and why. If you have a personal experience or bias that is affecting your read, own it. If you're looking at a piece of media from a specific angle related to your own interests and learning, say that. It helps other people to know where you're coming from and why you're thinking about something in a certain way that can then help them puzzle out why they feel differently.

You don't owe anyone your presence here, and you don't have to express opinions on everything or respond to tags or asks if you don't have anything to say. Sometimes you might just want to take a break from posting, some things in the discourse might just flow right on by you, sometimes you will not have a firm opinion on a debate. You can post as much or as little as you want. You can suddenly decide you don't want to talk about a show anymore. You can not log into your tumblr for days or weeks at a time. Do you, boo!

Most people come to tumblr because they do want to engage with others, and this place can be a lot of fun if you just take what you need from it and let things that aren't serving you go.

#tumblr shit #tumblr 101 #shan's fandom manifesto #i guess lol #shan shouts into the void

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meowzfordayz · 2 years ago

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staying in

Author’s Note: feeling cheesy and silly and lazy. ☺️😝🥱

staying in

Hashira x Reader, Kamaboko x Reader

Word Count: ~900

CW: mild sexual content

Song Inspo: Low Key by Russell Dickerson

~faqs~

An evening in consists of…

… almost getting scammed by an astrology website with Zenitsu, before finally agreeing that the free version is fine, and who believes in astrology anyway? Clearly, you’re made for each other (despite there being some ~areas of conflict between your charts).

… board games with Inosuke until one of you rage quits, and the other has to convince them to: stop sulking in the bathroom, and play again. Who rage quits usually depends on the game, and you’re much better at goading him into another round than he is at bribing you.

… a quiet stroll out with Gyomei, so not exactly staying in, but still more peaceful and mindful than going to a bar or attending an event. He compares your presence to the radiant fullness of the moon, and you tuck a fallen flower behind his ear. “How do you know what the moon feels like?” He doesn’t quite know how to explain gentle, mystical tug of moonrise, so he settles for, “I can feel you, and that is more than enough.”

… cleaning and redecorating Kaburamura’s cage with Obanai. It’s a little gross, and a lot of a fun. From teasing him for his obvious doting, “Does Kaburamura really need six donut cozies?” to being flat out rejected, “Sooo that’s a no to body painting? It’s safe for humans! How could it not be safe for snakes?” You end up falling asleep as he dutifully photographs Kaburamura curled up on your shoulder #guess I’ll finish cleaning by myself.

… doing Tanjirou’s make up, and him doing yours. If you don’t own any make up, then you go on a field trip (minimal budget). You randomly pick themes (old fashioned via “from a hat” or modern via “app for raffle draw”), set a time limit, and then send photos of your final looks to your Hashira + Kamaboko group chat to decide on a winner.

… making the most outlandish cocktails (or mocktails) you can think of with Mitsuri. They have to be intricate, original, AND taste delicious (~just okay suffices too), or you put on a pair of socks. By the end of the evening, you’re drunk (or sugar high) as heck, and have at least four pairs of socks on.

… a project with Shinobu. Whether that’s tackling a Lego set, making candles, or deep cleaning a specific room (likely the kitchen or bathroom), the laughter is ever constant, frustration to be expected, and resulting pride and excitement at the final product a worthy reward — not to mention the way she kisses you afterward! *happy sigh*

… cooking with Kyojuro #bet you didn’t see that coming #sarcasm intended teehee. Sometimes it’s complicated, hours long endeavors; other times it’s spaghetti; and there’s always take out if your fancy Huntsman pie doesn’t go to plan. He’s almost unbearably efficient when it comes to cooking tidily, and chops vegetables so quickly that you just marvel at how his fingers are intact.

… watching a movie with Sanemi. This includes: ~arguing over which movie to watch for a solid hour (give or take), another twenty minutes for snack prep, and another half an hour to spontaneously design and build a pillow fort (for the optimal movie watching experience, of course). Even when it’s a movie he swears he despises, he’ll still stay awake through the whole damn thing because it matters to you, and you matter to him.

… creating scavenger hunts for each other with Muichiro. You roll dice to determine who gets to claim which room(s) and in what order, set up your hunts, and then hunt (duh)! Winner gets to choose dinner (or dessert if you already ate dinner), and loser gets to cook aforementioned dinner (or dessert). You usually win, but he notices when you begin making his clues easier, and promptly informs you that he’d rather lose honestly than win on Easy Mode. “Your happy noises whenever I feed you are prize enough for me.”

… planning your future with Giyuu. It’s easy to get caught up in the mayhem of Life™, so evenings in are a grounding, intimate opportunity to reconnect and recenter with him. From cuddling on the couch to dancing in the kitchen to watching the moon’s traverse through your favorite window, you discuss current stressors, recent successes, and your gratitude for each other. It may seem simple, but it’s the little things that fit most snugly in your hearts. “Where do you see us in a year? Five years? A decade?” you ask. His answer remains constant: “Together.”

… reading with Tengen. He’ll read to you, or you to him; you’ll share a book, or the couch, or the bed; and you alternate who gets up to brew more tea. If you prefer audio books, then he’ll occasionally eavesdrop, and when it’s your turn to be on tea duty, you more often than not return to a cute sticky note (with dramatic commentary regarding the chapter you’re on) bookmarking your page.

#hashira x reader #kamaboko #preferences #modern au #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #zenitsu x reader #inosuke x reader #gyomei x reader #obanai x reader #tanjiro x reader #mitsuri x reader #shinobu x reader #kyojuro x reader #sanemi x reader #muichiro x reader #giyuu x reader #tengen x reader

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prettieinpink · 10 months ago

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im the south american anon, thanks for your kind words, i love your account so much ♡. just wondering if you have a guide on how to prepare for a new school year or for 2024, have a wonderful morning/night 💗

GO BACK TO SCHOOL AS HER

ACADEMICS

Try to recreate your ideal study routine before. Study any subject you want using that specific study routine that you can when school opens. This gives you enough time before school starts to make any adjustments needed.

Get a head start. If you do have access to your curriculum or syllabus, read or actively study content on those topics. If you don’t, you can usually search up your class and your state which shows what you’ll be learning.

Experiment with study methods + note-taking. For study methods, search up different ways to effectively study, and pick at least three that appeal to you. Then pick any topic you want, and use those methods to study that topic. See which one worked the best for you and which wasn’t.

For note-taking, search for some ways to take notes, and choose at least 3 that appeal to you. Then watch a video/lecture on any topic, and use those methods to take notes on it. See which ones that worked the best for you.

Create a planner or diary. Use it to keep track of your assessments, assignments due dates, events at school or any after-school activities. This planner would be just purely for school-related things.

I think a digital planner would work best with most students, but some traditional ones are equally as good. It’s up to you to choose how you want to plan your school life, but you need to have at least one planner.

Find a good study website/app. There are so many academic websites/apps out there that can aid you while studying, which are just at your fingertips.

I recommend Duolingo, Quizlet and Khan Academy. Of course, there are so many more out there so I encourage you to explore your options. Some websites are just dedicated to one subject.

Set SMART goals. Set academic goals that are achievable and realistic. Wanting all A’s or 100’s all the time is just way too unrealistic, and the pressure of wanting to reach the standard you set for yourself is just going to stress you out.

Wanting a certain award, or A’s in certain subjects allows you to allocate your focus properly and is within reach. While you should definitely strive for good grades, avoid getting caught up in the mind trap of trying to achieve ‘perfect’ grades.

Create a study place and ritual. Before school starts, choose a place anywhere in which you study regularly. Avoid having more than one, because having just one allows you to settle in and focus better.

If this place is in your house, ensure that the space around it is clean and free of anything that wouldn’t serve you while studying. Plus, you can put up some cute motivational quotes.

A study ritual is habits that you do before studying, that help you while studying. You can create your own of whatever things that help you to be more productive and focused.

HEALTH

Establish a sleep routine early. A week before school preferably, start waking up at the time you’d have to go to school and sleeping at your desired time. This is so that when school starts, you’re not feeling groggy while getting ready because you’ve already adjusted to the time.

Talking about sleep, ensure that you practice good sleep hygiene as quality sleep enhances brain performance and improves energy levels throughout the day.

Plan your meals at school. For us who have canteens or cafes near our schools, we tend to just eat whatever and we forget to nourish our bodies. You still can buy from them, but the night before, try to think about what you can eat for lunch the next day instead of impulsively buying.

Carrying small containers of fruits or vegetables to go with my canteen lunch is my favourite combination.

Carry a water bottle. I used to always forget to stay hydrated during school, so instead of drinking from fountains, I now prefer to carry around my water bottle from class to class.

Wear SPF.

Just having it sitting on my desk while I’m working, reminds me in my mind to drink water. Water also boosts brain performance!

Create a stress management plan. There are going to be times when you feel stressed, but we want to avoid stress impacting our academic performance and mental health.

Before school starts, plan what to do if you feel heavily stressed. This could be like a menu of things you can choose from or a step-by-step guide that you follow through. This plan should contain things that relax you, make you happy and distract you from stress.

Practice good posture. Once school starts, we sit at a desk all day, and most of us forget the proper way to sit while studying/working in class. This can lead to slumping or hunching on a chair, which encourages bad posture.

Remember throughout the day to practice good posture, if you can, put a little reminder on your device. Posture stretches before the school days also help.

Try to incorporate exercise into your schedule. Exercise is frequently neglected when we just have so much studying to do and we’re busy with other activities, but exercise is essential to leading a healthy lifestyle.

The good thing, is you don’t have to do it every day. Doing it 2-3x a week should be enough. Going on walks during lunch/recess, cycling to school or participating in gym are easy ways to incorporate during the school season.

Keep your bag lightweight. Carry the absolute essentials to school, having such a heavy bag can do a number on your back and also affect your posture. If you do have one, try to keep most things in your locker instead of bringing them to and from school.

Engage in social media mindfully. There are so many toxic studying accounts out there that encourage unrealistic expectations or offer harsh ‘motivation’ to students.

Please don’t interact with these types of accounts, even if they provide motivation to you, it is not sustainable at all.

SELF CARE

Choose your favourite way to take a break. Not just once a week, but always take breaks every day. If you want these breaks to be somewhat productive like reading a productivity book or exercising, then go ahead.

However, your breaks can also be ‘unproductive’. Play some games, go online shopping or just take a nap. One break is not better than the other, I just encourage you to take any kind of breaks you want daily.

Plan to engage in hobbies regularly. It is easy to neglect our passions and what brings us happiness when we’re focused on school. If you can, have a chunk of the day just purely for doing hobbies. It can be for 1 hour, 30 minutes or 10.

Or, join an afterschool club that focuses on that specific passion or hobby. Not only is it time for you to engage in the things you enjoy, you meet like-minded people who also enjoy it.

Try to plan things with friends and family. Before school, meet up with your friends or family and do things with them. Once school reopens, opportunities to hang out with your loved ones are scarce. So, do it now.

Create a no-hard productivity day. Plan a day in which you are doing the most minimal amount of productivity that you can. While you can include a few productive things, nothing that is mentally or physically exhausting is allowed on this day.

If you are way too much of a productive or goal-oriented person to spend one day of no hard productivity, create a catch-up day. Choose one day of the week that you focus on completing or doing anything that you didn’t do all the other days.

Keep a journal on you. Sometimes things happen during the school year, and it does cause conflicting or upsetting emotions within us. Creating the practice of journaling before school reopens is a good way for us to process our emotions and situations.

Carry a book you like in your bag or locker. When you finish all of your work in class, or you just want to take a break, you can read a good book. This is also a good alternative to spending your lunches and recesses when you’re not in a sociable mood.

Create a reward system. For example, if I study for x minutes, I can do x for myself. Or I can x grade, and I’ll get x. These don’t have to be big or extravagant rewards, but something simple like one episode of your favourite show can do.

MINDSET CHANGES

Practice a growth mindset. You are going to experience failure at least once (if not more) during your school career. You mustn’t take these experiences to heart, and instead, use them as lessons to encourage self-growth within you.

Practice this mindset now, so that when school reopens, you won’t have a problem with extracting lessons from failures.

Use comparison as a source of inspiration or motivation. It is easy to compare ourselves with our peers, as we are similar ages, but their skills can exceed ours. Instead of using up all of your energy to be envious of the, channel that energy into bettering yourself. Not to beat them, but to beat yourself.

View studying as a time to develop your skills. While yes, we do study to get good grades, studying can help us to grow our other skills as well. We build our discipline, focus and critical thinking as well.

So when you don’t get the best grade from an assessment or assignment, don’t beat yourself up and think all that studying was for nothing. You were building those skills, so next time, you can apply them when you have to study again.

Set firm boundaries with others and yourself. There are times when you just have to say, I have to study. Not just to others, but to yourself. Practice these boundaries before school when it comes to more general productivity.

There is no rejection, just redirection. Change your mindset that rejection is nonexistent, and there is only redirection. Incorporate it in your daily life like;

‘there’s no more stock left of my favourite product, there’s probably something better out there.’

That being said, I’m not saying that if there is a barrier to your goal, you just move on. However, you should not be chasing things that are not meant for you and shift your focus when necessary.

Detach when needed. Stop attaching your value or worth to things that are external and can easily be gone. This doesn’t have to apply to just grades, but also other situations.

Try to start reading or researching about detachment before school reopens.

Time is your most valuable resource, use it to invest wisely. Your teen years are going to be the most suitable time in your life to start investing in yourself.

You have fewer things to worry about(aside from grades) and you have a lot of opportunities now to explore the things that you want. Please, don't spend this time doomscrolling or any other time-wasting activity.

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hookhausenschips · 1 month ago

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Episode 6: Heartbeats and High Speeds

Main Menu

Summary: On the electrifying night of qualifying, Y/N unexpectedly encounters F1 stars Max, Charles, Carlos, Lando, and Oscar, who decide to escort her to the garage, drawing media attention and complicating her plans. After a successful qualifying session, she invites them to experience her world of street racing, showcasing her skills and leaving them in awe as they bond during a wild night of racing and celebration.

WC: 3.5k

Warnings: Language, Mature Themes, Drug/Alcohol Use, Risky Behavior, Romantic/Flirtatious Situations, Adrenaline, & Thrill-Seeking

• you DO NOT have my permission to copy my work, upload as your own, translate, or repost on any other website •

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The night of qualifying had an electric charge in the air. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation—fans lined up, crew members rushed about, and the buzz of the media filled the paddock. I made my way through the gates, fully expecting to slip into the McLaren garage quietly. But, of course, nothing in my life ever seemed to go as planned.

As I turned the corner, my steps slowed. Five figures stood casually by the entrance, waiting like they didn’t have anything better to do on the most important day of the weekend. Max, Charles, Carlos, Lando, and Oscar. What in the world were they doing here?

I blinked, unable to hide my surprise. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Lando’s grin was almost too big for his face. “Well, good evening to you, too!”

Charles strolled over, looking like he owned the place. “We thought we’d escort you to the garages today. You know, make sure you get in safely.”

I raised an eyebrow, completely unconvinced. “Uh-huh. I’m pretty sure I can walk a hundred feet on my own.”

Carlos chuckled, crossing his arms. “We like to make an entrance.”

I smirked. “Well, you’re doing a great job of that. The cameras love it.”

It was hard to miss the paparazzi lurking nearby, their cameras snapping away. Their lenses were mostly pointed in my direction. Great. I could already see the headlines: *Mysterious Girl with F1’s Finest—Who Is She?*

“You guys realize this makes things way more complicated for me, right?” I said, shooting them a pointed look. “Thanks for that.”

Oscar gave me an apologetic shrug, his cheeks flushing slightly. “Sorry... we didn’t really think that through.”

Max, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by the media attention. “You’re with us now. They were going to notice sooner or later.”

“Fantastic,” I muttered under my breath, though I couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of it all. “You know, I could’ve handled this without the whole entourage.”

Lando’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “But where’s the fun in that?”

I shook my head, suppressing a laugh as we headed toward the garages. It was crazy—this whole situation. I hadn’t planned on getting involved with these drivers, but somehow, they’d become a part of my life.

Once we reached the McLaren garage, I stopped them before they could disperse. “Alright, guys. You want my good luck charm for today?”

They all turned toward me with varying degrees of interest and amusement, not quite sure what I meant. I grinned, stepping up to Carlos first.

“Pole position doesn’t come easy, Sainz,” I said, placing a hand on his shoulder before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. His skin was warm, and the light scruff on his jaw brushed against my lips. “Make it count.”

Carlos smiled, a mix of surprise and amusement dancing in his eyes. “I’ll try not to let you down.”

“Oh, you better not,” I teased, tapping his chest lightly. “Or I’m taking the luck back.”

Next was Charles, who was already grinning, clearly anticipating his turn. “No pressure, right?” he asked, looking down at me with those teasing blue eyes.

“No pressure at all,” I echoed sarcastically, stepping up to him. “But don’t mess up, Leclerc.” I kissed him on the cheek, letting my lips linger for just a second longer than I intended.

Charles raised an eyebrow, still grinning. “With that kind of motivation, how could I?”

“You’d be surprised,” I replied, giving him a playful shove.

Max stood a little off to the side, his arms crossed, watching the whole thing with a faint smirk on his lips. “You think I need luck?” he asked, his voice a deep rumble.

“I think even the best drivers need a little help every now and then,” I said, walking over to him.

Max raised an eyebrow but didn’t protest as I kissed him on the cheek. His skin was warm, and I could feel the tension in his jaw. When I pulled back, he was looking down at me with those piercing blue eyes. “I’ll take it, but only because you insist.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just try not to hit anyone out there.”

“I’ll do my best,” he said, his tone dry but the hint of a smile on his face.

Lando, of course, was practically bouncing on his feet by the time I got to him. “I’ve been waiting for this all day!” he said, turning his cheek toward me dramatically.

“You’re ridiculous,” I muttered, though I kissed him on the cheek anyway. “Good luck, Norris. Don’t make me regret this.”

He winked at me. “I never disappoint.”

Oscar was last, standing there with a shy smile on his face. I could tell he was trying to play it cool, but the slight flush in his cheeks gave him away. I stepped up to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“For the rookie,” I said softly, smiling at him. “Go show them what you’ve got.”

“Thanks,” Oscar mumbled, looking a little flustered but managing a grin. “I’ll do my best.”

With their good luck rituals complete, they all went off to their respective garages. I stayed behind in the McLaren garage, taking a seat with the engineers as the session began. Watching the cars zoom out onto the track, I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline that came with racing. It wasn’t street racing, but there was something about the precision and speed of F1 that was just as exhilarating.

As qualifying unfolded, my eyes were glued to the screens. Carlos was dominating, securing pole position like it was nothing. Charles wasn’t far behind, landing in third. Lando surprised everyone by finishing fourth, while Oscar had a rough session and ended up in 17th. Max, surprisingly, wasn’t in his usual spot—he finished 11th, which would definitely make for an interesting race tomorrow.

When qualifying wrapped up, Will, one of the McLaren engineers, grabbed my arm and practically dragged me to the barrier. “Come on, Y/N! You have to be here for the celebration!”

I laughed as I stumbled along with him, joining the rest of the McLaren crew as they lined up to celebrate with Lando and Oscar. The noise was deafening, cheers and shouts filling the air as the drivers passed by. Lando flashed me a grin as he walked by, and I couldn’t resist giving him a quick hug.

“You did good out there, Norris,” I said, ruffling his hair.

“I know,” he replied cheekily. “It’s the kiss. Told you it worked.”

Oscar came by next, and I wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug too. “Tough luck today, but you’ll get them tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Y/N,” he said, looking down at me with that boyish grin of his. “I’ll give it my all.”

Just as I was about to head back to the garage, I spotted Charles finishing up his interview. Our eyes met across the paddock, and he grinned, motioning for me to come over. My heart skipped a beat, and for a second, I considered it. But then I shook my head, laughing to myself.

Before I could stop them, the McLaren crew lifted me over the barrier and practically pushed me toward the Ferrari side of the paddock. I stumbled a little as I made my way over to Charles, but before I could get to him, Carlos appeared in front of me, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

“You’re here for the real winner, right?” he teased, opening his arms for a hug.

I rolled my eyes but hugged him anyway, laughing as he spun me around slightly. “Congrats, Sainz. Pole position looks good on you.”

“I told you the kiss would work,” he said with a smirk.

As I let go of Carlos, I turned and caught Charles watching us with a playful grin. I walked over to him, my heart racing as I stood in front of him. “Nice work out there, Leclerc,” I said, giving him a teasing smile.

He grinned back, his eyes softening as he looked down at me. “Thanks. I’ll take third... for now.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too cocky,” I replied, giving him a light shove before stepping back.

With all the interviews wrapped up, I pulled the guys together, a mischievous grin spreading across my face. “Alright, listen up. I’ve got something planned for tonight.”

They all looked at me curiously, waiting for me to explain. “Street race,” I said, lowering my voice. “But you have to sneak out of your hotel if you want in.”

Lando’s eyes lit up immediately, his excitement barely contained. “You already know I’m down!”

Max raised an eyebrow, glancing at the others. “As long as you don’t get us into trouble.”

Charles chuckled, crossing his arms. “We’re getting pretty good at sneaking out.”

Carlos nodded, looking intrigued. “Alright, I’m in.”

I smiled, feeling a surge of excitement. “Good. Let’s see if you can keep up with me tonight.”

As I looked at the five of them, something stirred in me. I was starting to care about these guys—each of them in their own way. And that terrified me. Because after this weekend, they’d go back to their world, and I’d go back to mine. But tonight?

Tonight, I’d let them into my world.

“Let’s make it a night to remember,” I said with a grin.

Max, ever the stoic, gave a small nod. “Just make sure you win.”

I laughed. “You’re in for a surprise, Verstappen.”

With that, we headed off in different directions, the adrenaline already building for the night ahead.

———

The night was alive with the pulse of the city as I weaved my way through the streets, the hum of my friend’s car reverberating beneath me. This wasn’t Monaco or Silverstone. This wasn’t some finely-tuned, precision-controlled track. No, this was real—raw, unforgiving streets. The kind of racing that got under your skin and made your heart race for more than just the finish line. This was my world, where the only rules were the ones you made as you sped through the night. And tonight, I had an audience.

After qualifying, the boys had practically begged me to show them what real street racing was about. I had given them the directions to a race spot I knew well—far enough from the Grand Prix festivities to keep things quiet, but close enough that they wouldn’t get lost. They’d show up separately, of course. There was no way I could let them be seen arriving with me. That would blow their cover in seconds.

As I arrived at the racing scene, the familiar vibe washed over me—the buzzing conversations, the sharp smell of gasoline, the muffled thrum of engines revving in the distance. People milled about, excitement already buzzing in the air. It was the kind of scene that made my pulse quicken. I lived for this.

The car was purring beneath me as I parked up and stepped out, throwing a quick glance around. The race was going to start soon, but I didn’t see the boys anywhere yet. I sent them the final pin drop location just as I got out of the car, checking my phone before tucking it away. Then I leaned against the hood, waiting.

It didn’t take long for them to show up. I spotted them almost immediately as they slipped into the crowd, trying their best to blend in. I had to bite back a laugh. They looked so out of place. Max had on a baseball cap pulled low over his face, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Lando was wearing a hoodie that seemed two sizes too big, with the hood pulled over his head like he was trying to disappear into it. Charles, Carlos, and Oscar weren’t much better—each of them in a mix of dark jackets and caps that were way too clean for a scene like this.

I pushed off from the car and sauntered over to them, smirking. “You guys look ridiculous.”

Lando pulled back his hood slightly, his face peeking out as he grinned. “What? You don’t like our incognito outfits?”

“You look like you’re trying way too hard to blend in,” I teased, shaking my head. “Trust me, you’re not fooling anyone.”

Charles glanced around, his brow furrowed. “This place is... different.”

“Yeah, no barriers or grid girls here,” I said, crossing my arms. “Welcome to real racing.”

Carlos chuckled, nudging Max. “How’s this for a track, Verstappen?”

Max surveyed the scene, his sharp eyes taking everything in. “There’s no track. Just streets. Where are the lines?”

I grinned, loving the fact that this was so foreign to them. “No lines, no walls, no rules. You race on instinct. You want a perfect lap? You’re in the wrong place. Here, it’s all about who can get from point A to point B the fastest without crashing.”

Oscar looked a little wide-eyed, clearly not used to this kind of scene. “And… people just watch? Like this?”

I gave him a teasing smile. “Yup. And tonight, you’re the audience.”

Lando glanced at me, his grin widening. “So, you’re gonna show us how it’s done?”

I raised an eyebrow, flicking my eyes toward the car I’d be driving. “You better believe it. Don’t blink, or you might miss it.”

Carlos crossed his arms, his eyes glinting with excitement. “You better not disappoint us.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Oh, you’ve seen nothing yet.”

Before the race started, I left them to find a spot with the crowd and returned to my car, checking everything over one last time. My heart was already racing, and I hadn’t even started the engine. Street racing was in my blood—it wasn’t just about speed or victory. It was about freedom. There was nothing like the rush of tearing through streets where you didn’t know what would happen next. It was chaotic, dangerous, and exhilarating. I thrived in it.

Once I was ready, I slid back into the driver’s seat, my hands wrapping around the wheel as I took a deep breath. The streets ahead of me stretched out like a maze, lit only by the streetlights and the occasional flicker of headlights. The crowd was already murmuring in anticipation, their excitement palpable. I could see the boys lingering near the front, blending in as best as they could, but I knew they were watching me closely.

With a final rev of the engine, the countdown began. The signal flickered, and my foot slammed down on the gas. The tires screeched, the car lurching forward as the adrenaline hit me like a shot of pure energy. The world blurred around me, the familiar streets becoming nothing but a series of sharp turns and obstacles to navigate.

I flew through the streets, the car hugging the corners as I weaved between buildings and dodged parked cars. This wasn’t about perfect lines or DRS zones. This was about reflexes, instinct, and the raw thrill of pushing the limits of what the car—and I—could do. I could feel every bump, every ripple in the road. The night air whipped past the open windows as I pushed the car harder, faster, chasing the thrill.

I knew they were watching. I could practically feel their eyes on me as I dominated the race, overtaking cars with ease. There was no hesitation, no doubt in my mind. I belonged here.

When I crossed the finish line, the crowd erupted in cheers, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I slowed the car down, adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I parked the car, stepping out to the roar of approval from the crowd, but it was the wide-eyed stares from the boys that made me grin the most.

Carlos was the first to approach, looking completely blown away. “That was insane.”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Told you not to blink.”

Charles shook his head, clearly impressed. “I don’t know how you do it. That was... something else.”

I smirked, glancing back at the car. “It’s a different kind of racing. No rules. Just guts.”

Max, who had been quiet throughout most of the night, finally spoke up. “You looked comfortable out there. Like you’ve done this a thousand times.”

I met his gaze, nodding. “I have. This is my world.”

Oscar was still staring at me like he was trying to process everything. “I don’t even know what to say. That was... insane. You’re...”

“A badass?” I offered, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed, nodding. “Yeah, something like that.”

I chuckled, glancing at the group. “So, what do you think? Did I make believers out of you?”

Carlos nodded, looking impressed. “You definitely did. I can’t believe you race like this regularly.”

“Well, now you’ve seen it for yourselves,” I said, crossing my arms. “Street racing is where I’m meant to be.”

After the race, there’s always an after-party. It’s a part of the culture—win or lose, we celebrate. I leaned back against the hood of my friend’s car, catching my breath as I looked at the boys, who were still buzzing from the race.

“So,” I said, wiping the sweat from my brow. “There’s usually an after-party somewhere nearby. Could be worth checking out if you’re up for it.”

Lando’s eyes lit up instantly. “An after-party? Hell yeah! I’m in.”

Carlos exchanged a look with Max, who gave a small shrug. “Could be fun.”

Oscar, though still clearly processing everything he’d seen tonight, grinned at me. “I don’t think I could sleep after watching that race anyway.”

I checked the time on my phone. “Almost 3 a.m. You sure you want to stay out any later?”

None of them hesitated. “We’ve got time,” Charles said with a smirk, hands in his pockets as he nodded towards me. “Lead the way.”

I smiled, shaking my head. "Alright, but if any of you start falling asleep on me, I’m calling it quits."

With that, we all piled into separate cars and made our way to the after-party, which was a little ways down the street. The vibe was electric when we arrived. Neon lights illuminated the scene, with people dancing to heavy beats, the air thick with excitement. It was the perfect way to end the night, and I couldn’t help but grin as I watched the boys take it all in.

We weaved our way through the crowd, finding a spot where the music wasn’t deafening but the energy was still alive. Lando, naturally, threw himself right into the mix, pulling Carlos with him while Oscar lingered nearby, looking both fascinated and overwhelmed by the scene. Max leaned against a nearby wall, scanning the crowd but still looking oddly comfortable despite the chaos around him.

“This is wild,” Oscar said, his eyes wide as he looked around. “Do you always end race nights like this?”

I laughed. “Not always, but when we do, it’s a night to remember.”

Charles leaned closer to be heard over the music. “You really know how to make a night unforgettable, don’t you?”

I gave him a teasing smile. “You’ve only just scratched the surface, Leclerc.”

We danced, talked, and drank until the early hours of the morning. It was fun to let loose with them, seeing them out of their element, blending into my world for a change. But after a while, I checked my phone again and saw the time. Almost 4 a.m. The Grand Prix was tomorrow, and these boys had their own race to worry about.

I tapped Lando on the shoulder, getting his attention. “Alright, I’m tapping out. You guys need to get back to the hotel and rest.”

Lando pouted but nodded, clearly exhausted despite his best efforts to keep up the energy. “Fine, but this was amazing.”

I nodded towards one of my racing buddies across the way, a trusted friend who often helped keep things organized. “See that guy?” I pointed discreetly. “He’ll make sure you all get back to your hotel safely. No funny business.”

Carlos gave me a curious look. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah,” I said with a small smile. “This was fun, but I’ve got to get going.”

They all gave me varying degrees of protest, but eventually, they relented. Max gave me a subtle nod of thanks, and Lando clapped me on the back, telling me this wouldn’t be the last time we hung out like this. I grinned, saying my goodbyes, and started to make my way back to my car.

As I walked away, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. Glancing down, I noticed an unknown number had texted me. My heart skipped a beat, wondering who it could be at this hour. When I opened the message, my eyebrows shot up.

You really going to leave without saying goodbye?

It was Charles.

I looked up from my phone to find Charles standing a little way off, watching me with a smirk. The rest of the boys hadn’t noticed yet, but I knew they wouldn’t miss the message. With a quick smile, I texted back,

Catch me if you can.

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powdermelonkeg · 1 year ago

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Something websites (*cough* Tumblr *cough*) need to learn is that what retains an audience isn't an abundance of new bells and whistles to play with, it's a coherent experience overall.

When someone joins a website, you don't need to grab their attention and hold it. They're already testing the waters. They've agreed to sign up. You've won on that front, and they're there for something specific you already have that they're hoping works well.

What drives them away is frustration.

Frustration, frustration, frustration.

Learning curves are going to be a part of any new website experience; they're something the user comes to terms with, in their own time. But broken or bad features are going to make them jump sites.

On top of that, constantly adding new features makes them feel like all the hard work they've put in to learning what you have isn't worth it; your website looks unstable and your staff looks incompetent, because it gives the impression that you don't know what you're doing.

You are floundering. It makes your new users nervous. It makes your old users hesitate to bring anyone else on board. And why should they? Why should they put effort into it if you're going to throw that effort away next Tuesday? Why get used to a UI that you're not going to bother to keep? Why customize anything if you're going to whittle that customization away?

Between that and the broken, unattended features of this site—the tag organization failing, the inability to look up posts word-for-word, the video player either refusing to play or yanking you to the top of the dashboard, images taking forever to load, advertisements blaring at full volume when you scroll past, you have your problem.

You have the reason why your numbers are failing.

It's not that you're not interesting enough.

It's not that you're too difficult to understand.

It's that you aren't improving what you have, yet you keep adding more half-broken things and unwanted copycat features to the pile.

It's that you're losing your identity in pursuit of a hypothetical perfect customer.

It's that you are actively telling your user base that you prefer those hypothetical customers over them. And your user base, your real people who make you happen, are smart enough to know where your priorities lie.

The bulk of this post talks about Tumblr, but other sites have gone the same way. Twitter is dead and its corpse is decaying in the street. Reddit has sabotaged any trust its users had in its management. If you'd like a really old example—I used to use Fanfiction Net. It's not the most intuitive website in the world, but it was the first one I called home.

I used it to host my works. The adware now on it makes it a hassle to navigate. The bots make comment sections and private messages a dread rather than a joy. So I moved on.

I also used to use it to collaborate on stories with my now-roommate. The message limit was 300 a day. When you're writing dialogue between characters, that's nothing.

So I moved on. We started messaging on Facebook. It was better, it didn't have a limit. But then I learned Discord existed, and I could edit messages, make dedicated channels, etc. So I moved on from Facebook to Discord. And Discord had a steep learning curve, especially if you're trying to make your own server rather than contribute to one. But, most importantly, the payoff was worth it.

If Discord changed its layout every other month while I was learning it, and broke how its reactions worked, and kept shifting what it meant to create a channel? If it opted me into servers I didn't sign up for, in hopes of engagement? If its text never formatted correctly, or its search function only went back a day or two?

I would have gone right back to Facebook. Even if it's a more basic experience, basic is always preferable to unstable.

Figure out what you want, websites.

Slow growth, or a gamble?

You're paying for your magic slot machine in users.

#negative salt #long post #this has been on my mind a lot lately

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esamastation · 1 year ago

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Shizuroth, part seven

First things first: a proper, decent and hopefully fully chest-covering shirt.

Sephiroth has them, and none of them fit. He has, literally, outgrown all his shirts, turtlenecks and jackets, and judging by the looks of it, he'd never bothered to get new ones. Even the stretchiest of them pops stitches when trying to accommodate his shoulders and chest! It's ridiculous! What, was he a little string bean of a man and then burst into a beefcake overnight?

Ignoring the influx of new messages from the mailing lists Genesis subscribed Sephiroth's phone to, he investigates the shops' menu with more detail. It soon proves he definitely has access to clothing stores and he definitely has the money to use them. He also has the means to just requisition a free new uniform from SOLDIER any time he wants, but apparently pressing a few buttons was too much work for the man! Better have your chest out and about than bother with the barest minimum of effort for the sake of personal comfort or public decency, apparently!

So, add laziness to the reasons why Sephiroth's outfit is like that.

…Or maybe, possibly, some form of executive dysfunction? It might explain the room he's supposed to be living in, which is barely fitting for existing in. On a more thorough look, it really looks like everything was just placed just wherever with no care to how it looked or what the vibes were. It has a very that's good enough feel to it.

Except it isn't! It's awful! The place is barely better than a first year college dorm room! Not that he'd know what those look like, he had his own apartment by then - but still! You can do better, surely!

No, wait, actually - how old is Sephiroth right now?

The bathroom mirror isn't very helpful. Sephiroth has that same androgynous ageless look that Shen Qingqiu has - just much beefier and sorta monochrome. In xianxia terms he could be anywhere from twenty to two thousand, hah! Though from what he recalls of the game, weren't everyone kinda young? Old for JRPG, what with only one teenager in the main character group! But still way under thirties. And this is way before that….

Ahhh he misses fan wikis! He needs thoroughly documented timelines! He needs a birthday! He needs a character ID - he needs -!

Actually, Sephiroth should have some kind of ID, being an evil megacorp employee, right? An employee card, or what a SOLDIER might have. Dog tags?

Quickly he begins rummaging about his person again.

There are no dog tags, but Sephiroth does have a wallet and a bunch of cards. Including a Shinra Employee, Personnel Medical Information, Shinra Medical Research and Shinra Military cards. And Sephiroth is twenty-one, apparently.

That's… hmm.

Yeah, he has no idea what to do with that - but it explains the awful dorm room vibe! Clearly the guy didn't have experience with how to live. And who knows how long Sephiroth has been living on his own anyway, and where and how he lived before. Plus, with his schedule, he can't be spending much time at all in this room. None, apparently, if he could manage it. And no wonder! The place is soul-suckingly awful.

Well, that's not how he's going to live, that's for sure. The shirtless life is not for him!

Hmm… ordering clothes and stuff without even seeing what they look like first, though…

Snapping the flip phone shut he goes to investigate the laptop, hoping that maybe they did figure out web sites after all. It turns on with gratifying swiftness and reveals itself to be a Windows knock-off from the nineties or something like that - with just about the same level of security. It doesn't even ask for a password! Convenient.

In a glowing example of video game redundancy created by developers being lazy, it has the exact same apps as his phone, just with a bigger keyboard. No internet, no websites, no games, nothing. And judging by the single folder on the computer, the only thing Sephiroth ever does with the thing is write mission reports. How sad.

It almost makes him miss Zhongdian.

The shops' menu comes with pictures, thankfully, so that's something - and it's conveniently hooked straight to his wallet, so all he has to do is press buy and the thing is done, just like that! Videogame shop mechanics for you. He has no idea how the purchases would be delivered, maybe he will have to go pick them up at the building lobby or something, but whatever! He needs shirts, curtains, carpets, a couch, and a proper damn tea set to start with! And maybe, if he really goes crazy with it, some house plants!

Guessing at his size by using the tags on the shirts that don't fit, he puts in some dozen clothing orders for several different sizes to start with - and it barely makes a dent in his wallet. Then he scrolls through the available furniture in another store until he finds a couch big enough for Sephiroth's huge ass body to actually lie down on. Tea set is harder, there isn't one that matches his criteria, but he finds a home decor shop that sells teapots and sets of cups that will do for a start. Carpets are harder - who the hell decided that black ceiling was good for anyone - and ultimately he ends up choosing dark forest green.

And then he finds out that there are no live plants to be had in Midgar. There's a shop that sells life-like plastic replicas… but just looking at it makes him feel so sad. Because, yeah, right, he forgot.

Life-sucking megacorporation. Literally. The whole city is surrounded by dead desert, and you probably just can't keep houseplants alive in Midgar. Because Shinra is literally draining the lifeblood of the planet, and only the tragic heroine with mysterious lineage can make the flowers grow.

And he's her ultimate, poisonous antithesis. Yeah.

Depressing.

Leaning away from the disappointment of a computer, he heaves out a long sigh from Sephiroth's deep chest. The idea that he might never see living bamboo again makes him feel vaguely nauseous, and with a grimace he rests a hand on Sephiroth's washboard abs.

Energy sits like an undigested mass in his guts. He's all but bloated with the lifeblood of the planet. Ugh. He should really do… something with it, huh?

And then the awful Feng Shui hits him in the face.

"Ah," he mutters unhappily, eyeing the room. He can almost see the energy pooling in the middle, stagnating. That can't have been helping with Sephiroth's situation. He can't do much about it yet, not without more furniture - but he can at least move the damn bed and redirect the energy elsewhere!

Which he does.

By nearly flipping the metal frame of a probably really heavy bed over and almost throwing it into the wall.

Ah.

Right.

Super SOLDIER.

Tentatively he crouches down and tests his strength on the bed. By very carefully picking it up. Which is something he can do, apparently! It doesn't even strain him - he just puts his hands under it and lifts. Just like that. Amazing.

… Is this what it's like to be Liu Qingge? Wow.

He kinda feels sad for Liu-shidi now, for never getting to see - and fight - someone like Sephiroth. Poor Liu-shidi, always looking for a strong opponent to test himself against, always asking his useless shixiong for a spar, and here is his useless shixiong, in one of the greatest fighters in video game history - utterly out of reach! What a shame!

He arranges the bed away from the doorways and sits down on it with a heavy sigh.

Oh, but he will really miss Liu-shidi. The knowledge that he will never see him, or anyone else from Cang Qiong Mountain Sect again… it really is a shame. He didn't get to do enough in that life - but at least Liu Qingge survived! Hopefully… hopefully his life will be good. Hopefully Luo Binghe would forgive Cang Qiong Mountain Sect for their involvement with Shen Qingqiu, and they'd all live long, good lives… without him.

Ah, probably best not to dwell on it. He'd got a new transmigration, a new body and a new life to adjust to! New villain to embody - and a new doom to circumvent.

Kicking off his boots, he puts Sephiroth's feet up and into a lotus position, draws a breath and begins to see what he can do for the man's internal energies. Can cultivation practices be applied to Final Fantasy VII Mako and magic?

Time to find out.

#Fanfiction #Ffvii #Svsss #Shen Yuan #Shen Qingqiu #Sephiroth

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lightningstar1389 · 7 months ago

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hiiii big fan of your work. i wanted to ask as someone who wants to work in illustration similarly to you, how do you go about getting hired for comic covers or illustration work?

Late reply but uhhhh hey!

Thanks so much, I really appreciate your support 🙏😊

As far as getting hired for freelance work: there's no exact answer for set of rules, it varies a lot, even in an established industry like comics, which can be very frustrating but also very nice sometimes. I can really only give you tips to help improve your chances. First and foremost is that getting freelance gigs is 50% your portfolio and 50% who you know or being in the right place at the right time. Shoot your shot and apply for every opportunity that you can! You never know when a project will present itself! Some general tips:

- have a well presented, up to date, portfolio. I use my own website, and you can make plenty of free urls, or use a social media if you'd like. Just something that's up to date and has a link that you can just copy and paste whenever and opportunity pops up. For reference, my portfolio is Lightningstar1389.com

-make sure your contact is easily visible on your social medias and portfolio. Editors will overlook you if they can't figure out how to get a hold of you.

- Quality > Quantity in your portfolio. It's better to put 5 great pieces than 15 mediocre ones.

- include fanart if it's relevant to the job. For example, IDW Sonic wants to see examples of Sonic art obv. Don't limit it just to fanart though, original stuff carries you a long way.

- YOU NEED SEQUENTIALS if you want to work in comics. Even just as a cover artist. They want to hire people that can do anything and everything, so make sure you have comic examples ready, even if youre aiming to just do covers.

- keep up with editors and people involved in the comics, that way you can be ready if they ever post about looking for an artist! Big plus if you're able to connect with and meet them in person at cons and show them some of your work :) a lot of comics also have letter columns where you can submit fanart/fanmail, and that goes directly to the editors. Just to get your work in their mind.

- take commissions! It can help give you some experience for what it's like to work with clients.

- don't give up! Keep applying and working on your portfolio! You won't always get accepted right away and rejection is part of the process. It will work out eventually, I promise.

It's a tough industry, but really rewarding. Best of luck!!! You've got this !!!

#idw #comics #art tips #portfolio tips

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charcubed · 1 year ago

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I NEEEED people—especially those with unfathomably large platforms???—to start doing just a tiny bit of internal evaluation before they log onto a blue website and say “I don’t want these queer characters to fuck in canon” or “I’d be fine if these characters never kissed again” or whatever.

This is a post about Good Omens and the prospect of Aziraphale and Crowley potentially having sex in season 3. It's a response to a tweet that I'm crossposting, but let it be known the above statement and this topic applies broadly across multiple fandoms too.

But anyway, in regards to Good Omens specifically:

I am seeing this take that essentially boils down to "Canon has now made it clear that these characters want to have sex with each other through subtext (i.e. Aziraphale and the ox), but I don’t want that to reach narrative completion because the idea of them having sex makes me uncomfortable or isn’t my personal preference” and it is, to put it mildly and delicately, A Very Bad Take.

This is rhetorical (and I do not expect or particularly want an answer), but: explain to me how and why queer characters who are unavoidably visibly queer (aka 2 "man-shaped beings") fucking on screen wouldn’t be a net positive, especially when you can indicate how canon has set it up.

Presumably, some people say things like this because ~they want to see them as visibly ace.~ Okay. But by some of these people’s own admission, there IS more evidence in canon now to indicate these characters crave sex with each other (vs arguing otherwise)... yet people would rather that be ignored/erased all for the sake of them feeling comfortable or feeling better about what canon shows or doesn’t show explicitly??

I’m sorry, but—speaking as an ace person, to be clear—your personal preferences for the story shouldn’t / don’t affect anything here. There’s too much in this.

Yeah, I understand on a personal level not having “representation.” I almost never see myself or my unique experiences and identity reflected in stories. And yet, I also understand that that doesn’t change any story or the world in which we live. Things like this are not said in a vacuum.

Any queer characters having sex on screen IS a net positive. It is rare and impactful, and openly calling for or hoping for otherwise when canon points to its potential is a detrimental alliance with purity culture, whether intentionally or accidentally. Because we live in a Goddamn society!

Who knows (other than Neil Gaiman) whether Aziraphale and Crowley ARE going to fuck on international TV. None of us do! But the subtext right now blatantly says they’re starving for it. And you don’t have to like the prospect of that, but honestly? We SHOULD get to see it play out. There’s no truly legitimate reason we shouldn’t ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Whether you "prefer" it or not.

And my ultimate hot take is… if someone balks at the idea of that or doesn’t understand the importance of it, despite even seeing the subtext… then they should perhaps unpack that? Just a thought.

Truly the way fandoms are managing to hit either “subtext doesn’t count :/ ” or “let’s keep it to subtext so it’s ‘open to interpretation’ :) ” nowadays depending on what corner one visits is MADDENING. Whiplash-inducing. Surreal. And so much nonsense you can’t pick where to start.

So! I do genuinely hope I'm not kicking off discourse but I felt this Needed To Be Said (and on more than one site). Because posts like “even if they never kiss again, we’ve won <3 “ make me want to be like…

These characters are YEARNING. Do not doom them and us to it. For once, we can reach for the stars and maybe–against all odds–pull them down. Embrace it!

---

[Update: after more discourse has occurred, I have somewhat elaborated on this further, from the POV of the significance of the queer themes in Good Omens and more specifically how they center illicit pleasure/desire]

#good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens spoilers #good omens season 3 #neil gaiman #aziracrow #ineffeble husbands #I'm OVER ITTTT.#this is the delicate version of this rant. trust me. I tried to keep it chill for the sake of posting on main #char writes things #PS adding some brief tags now that the discourse has Escalated:#Mr Gaiman can be pedantic on the internet and pretend by omission he's never heard of subtext all he wants.#it's not what his story is saying and I do actually think he DOES know how to do stories. so. love & light to whatever his deal is.#(what I mean: do not come into my house & try to say 'neil said the ox scene isn't sexual.' inaccurate + that's a whole suitcase to unpack)#(I have now written about All That at length elsewhere with exasperation but it doesn't need to be linked in this post lol.)

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gabessquishytum · 8 months ago

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Dream's a software developer (I could see either as an architect for that large-scale view mentality or as the Senior level dev that keeps getting asked to move into management type positions and just straight up refuses because he's been doing code happily for the past fifteen years and doesn't plan on changing that now).

He enjoys his job enough. He likes computers and code. It functions exactly as told (for better or worse) and appreciates the straightforwardness of it all. He's a bit insufferable to work with, but if you have an issue, he'll readily help (just be prepares for critiques on your code in the process).

Hob works at the same company as Dream, but as a front-end dev. The work he does for his day job is kinda boring. All standard corporate style web design. No fancy scripts or fun colors. But in his spare time, he weaves Javascript and CSS like a wizard and creates magical, animated scenes across the page. Would it be easier to just make a video and play it on the page instead? Sure, but where's the fun in that?

Dream and Hob get paired together on a small side project for work. Hob does the front-end work, Dream does the back-end. They get on each other's nerves at first, until Dream spots Hob tinkering with his personal code on their lunch break and is honestly a bit in awe. He's found code beautiful in its own right (the way one appreciates a well-oiled machine) but he's never seen it wielded in such a fashion before. This is the moment he falls just a little bit (read: a lotta bit) in love with Hob. He was already starting to fall for that endless charm and wit of his anyways.

The company hits the first quarter of the New Year and with it come layoffs. Hob gets fired along with some other devs from Dream's same team (a younger pair of devs: Matthew and Jessamy). A fellow named Will comes along to help Dream finish the project in Hob's stead and Dream hates every moment of it. He misses Hob, more than he ever thought he would.

So, in an impulsive rush of anger and longing, he quits the company because how dare it toss someone as good as Hob Gadling out the door without a thought? He's halfway to the café he and Hob had started frequenting together when he realizes that he's just thrown away a career fifteen years in the making. But when he finally gets to the café and sees Hob tapping away on his laptop, he knows he's made the right choice.

Dream slides into the seat across from him and proposes that they build something wonderful together. So they create a small business of their own. They become a freelance web dev team (and steal Jessamy and Matthew as well) and with their skills combined, they take off. It's not huge, but for their size, they're incredibly popular. And Dream's certain he's never enjoyed his work more than when he's working beside Hob.

Later on, Hob proposes to Dream via a custom website with the most beautiful web animations he's ever seen before. And of course, he says yes.

(If you're curious about what inspired this, here's the website: http://www.species-in-pieces.com)

This is such a good concept for a story!!! I really really love aus where Dream and Hob are coworkers. Dream being the grumpy, awkward guy who hides behind his coffee mug while Hob is the popular, chatty one who tries to get Dream involved in fun office activities or socialising after work - it makes so much sense to me.

And Dream quitting his long-term dream job because he's mad that genuinely talented people have been laid off? I love it. Dream just has this inate appreciation for hard work and good art, and that's exactly what Hob (and Jessamy and Matthew) do. How dare the stupid company not understand that they're firing people who deserve to thrive and grow in an environment which actually appreciates them? Everyone is shocked that Dream has quit (not only that, he sends around an email to everyone in the company from the ceo all the way down to the work experience guy, outlining exactly why he quit) because he seemed to be the type to play by the rules and never leave his comfort zone. Apparently, Hob has really helped him bloom into a much more confident person, able to express his principles and strive for better.

And Hob isn't surprised, because he always knew that Dream had the courage, talent and ambition to strike out on his own. Maybe he just needed a bit of love and understanding. Which Hob is only too happy to provide.

Their work together sometimes involves long hours and stress, but Dream wouldn't ever want to go back to the slightly soulless corporation where he used to be. Even if he's tired and a little frustrated by Hob’s disorganised workspace, Dream is perfectly content. There's nothing better than curling up in Hob’s lap while he taps away on a line of code. Plus, he has a great time building their wedding website. Hob got to propose, so Dream gets to celebrate their upcoming marriage with his own expression of love through code. The theme colours are, of course, black and red <3

#kydrogendragon #the sandman #dreamling

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drowninginredink · 7 months ago

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Favorite Albums: choose 9 and then tag 9 people!

For my own sanity, I didn't include musicals because I could fill up a whole other 3x3 grid with them, and comparing musicals to non-musical theater albums is weird.

Those last 4 that you definitely don't recognize are by Old Earth who you should definitely listen to if you want artsy ambient indie folk with really intricate guitar. My absolute favorite artist by far, and also the most obscure artist I listen to by far.

Electric by The Pet Shop Boys — I think this is my favorite album period. I am still pissed off that Tom Scott called it "not that great" in the old Technical Difficulties podcast. Maybe I'm biased because it was my favorite album when I was 14 and because it's where I really fell in love with the Pet Shop Boys. God I love them. So much. I'm way too excited for the new album and I worship geowayne's website where he analyzes all their songs. I probably should have put another PSB album on here, but there isn't another where I'm in love with every track. Plus honestly so many of my favorite tracks of theirs are B sides. They still release B sides with their singles, and this album cycle, the B sides are honestly better than the actual singles. Anyway electric is pure synthy electropop and I adore it in that way you can only love something you first heard at 14.

Pure Heroine by Lorde — I read a quote somewhere where Lorde said she tried to really put all of being a teenager into the album, so much so that once she became an adult, she probably wouldn't understand or like it anymore. I can definitely say that I'm not nearly as attached to it anymore now that I'm an adult, but God, it was my life when I was 13. She really did capture the unique ennui of being a teenager. I wrote a novel in eighth grade, and I wrote at least half of it to tracks from this album. Also, hot take: Royals is my least favorite track by a lot. Buzzcut Season is my favorite.

My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men — God, this one was my life when I was like, 12. I fell in love with folk there, and I'm still in love nearly a decade later. Another album where I still love every track.

Strange Trails by Lord Huron — hey look, an album I actually discovered and came to love as an adult! The fact that I love Lord Huron's brand of folky horror/fantasy/western music that tell stories with characters should not surprise anyone. Also, if I had to describe my experience with schizophrenia in one song, I'd choose Meet Me in the Woods.

The Tragic Treasury by The Gothic Archies — Look. Hear me out. Is it a album based purely on A Series of Unfortunate Events? Yes. But. Is it also an album where I genuinely love every track and have genuinely been known to just throw it on shuffle? Yes. I mean I think of one lyric from this album, like, weekly. I swear it's not just ASOUE brainrot that makes me like it so much. If it'd ever gotten a vinyl release, I'd absolutely own it. I wish it had gotten one.

a low place at The Old Place by Old Earth — honestly this is probably only my favorite Old Earth album because it's the one that I was able to actually get on vinyl and being able to play that vinyl is so lovely. I mean, it's good, but so is everything by Old Earth. Then again, Less Words is my favorite single track by them and it is on this album. Look. All the Old Earth albums I've listed here are, at most, 20 minutes long. If you like ambient artsy indie folk with lyrics that are there more for the way they sound than their meaning, try one.

light shaped by Old Earth — god the lyrics to this one. Normally I don't like Old Earth for the lyrics but. "It gets old/then it's done" and "what if it's just some song that gets you home" and especially "I'm holding your arms/and you're holding my eyes/and I lie like the right thing to do" are all just so great. And so is the middle track with no lyrics.

... until they're called by Old Earth — have you ever heard an album so good that you a) just played the whole thing and danced to it in your basement nonstop for the full 12 minutes, and then b) wrote a poem about the experience? People talk about finding God, but dancing to that album was the moment I found athiesm. The beauty of us all being here for no reason, just feeling things and living and doing our best to make something beautiful out of it.

Two Torches, at a Place Where Three Roads Meet by Old Earth — I'll be honest, I don't have much to say about this one. They're just a really solid three tracks.

... Yeah okay I really like Old Earth. Don't judge me.

Thank you @cygninae and @thehistoryone for tagging me! I'll tag @ven10 (I'm surprised neither of the people who tagged me tagged you), @weirdthoughtsandideas (ditto), @70snasagay (hmmmm i wonder what you'll put), @cat-boy-tom, @thetreetzar, @buncoreclown, @notthatalex, @unfortunate-sapphic-disaster, and @roach-in-the-kitchen. No pressure, obviously!

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