#anyway i did end up selling it. for list price

[pansy2005]

remembering that time i was trying to sell an old signed twenty one pilots postcard on depop and someone offered to pay less than half the listed price and trade me “a tour de columbus ticket”. bitch i was FUCKING THERE

#literally taken aback. by the audacity #my ass did not go all the way to ohio. for this #anyway i did end up selling it. for list price #people on depop are unbelievable tho. i’ve had people offer half the price on my FIVE DOLLAR stickers

[swordsmans]

There's been a lot going around in the last week or so about fanbinding and concerns from fic authors about binders profiting from their work. I just wanted to clear the air a little around here with some info about my own work just so we're all on the same page.

I will never profit from any fanbound works, including my own. Every book I bind includes a legalese section in the beginning of the typeset stating that it is not for for-profit resale. I do not charge anything for books I choose to bind and gift myself.

I will never sell another author's work even indirectly through commissions. My fanbinding requests are open exclusively to fic authors who want their own fics bound or exceptional cases of a third party who can guarantee a gift copy will make it to the fic author (and, preferably, any interested fic fanartists) with author permission.

I will never sell finished typesets. Ever. No negotiations. If you want a typeset I've already made so that you can bind a copy of the fic for yourself, just ask. My own typesets are available for free to anyone who wants them, and I'm happy to share other typesets to trusted parties as long as I have author permission and a guarantee that they will not be monetized once the typesets leave my hands.

The books and typesets that do end up on my store will always be 1) copies of my own fics; 2) priced free/as low as possible with a "pay what you want" option. I will never put binds of someone else's fics on my store. I will never list a bind of my own for sale that is not also (again) accompanied by a free typeset. This is to ensure that no aspect of the fanwork is behind a paywall (including other artists' fanart) and any money exchanged is exclusively for the physical art of binding.

I have a deep, lifelong love for books. As a librarian, my entire life (both personally and professionally) revolves around free and no-profit access to knowledge and stories. I can't speak for others (especially the assholes on Etsy), but I did not begin binding fanworks with the intent to profit and that still holds true. I have the utmost respect for fic authors as both a fan and a fellow fanwriter, and I'm wildly disappointed that a few bad actors have put such a negative spotlight on a corner of fanart that has always been fundamentally about uplifting and supporting fanfiction and fanwriting at its heart.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

#this has been 'ultra-niche fandom drama from gyro' thanks for tuning in #i try to stay out of pretty much everything but the fact that it is so niche is like... eugh. little waves can do big damage #especially because fanfiction is a fundamentally different beast from fanart in the legal space #so fanart that sits in direct conversation WITH fanfic becomes doubly murky and doubly risky #bookbinding #fanbinding #bad blade bindery #i realize its a huge ask but i am begging people who are new to fandom subculture to be cool for just like two seconds GOD

[drkineildwicks]

Okay so let’s talk about Palworld

Because I really do gotta talk about it this thing blew up

Apparently the guys who made it were expecting to sell like 300K the first week and ended up selling two million

They’re having to run damage control on the servers because the servers legit cannot handle the traffic

Last time I saw a game look like this it was Temtem on its first days

Because literally everybody underestimated how much game freak ticked off its fanbase

Which brings us to the Donphan in the room

Pokémon VS Palworld

Look we all knew going in that this was going to be a meme factory, whenever we talked about it the game is Pokémon: Gun

But it was also one of those games that popped up when GF started its stunts with dexit, reused assets, releasing half-baked games, etc.

People made fun of it and it’s stayed off the radar until this year, when it released

And yes caution should be exercised because this developer’s other game is still in early access so people are on the lookout for a scam

Not to mention the whole thing about using Pokémon assets, apparently aping Legends’ UI, the AI stuff, NFTs, a ton of other stuff

There’s apparently a whole thread on Twitter comparing and contrasting Pokémon designs with Pal designs and you can easily pick apart where assets were, if not outright stolen, were closely copied

So going in there’s a lot of weighing of pros and cons and some actual moral dilemmas as opposed to the whole fabricated BS of Hogwarts Legacy

Yes it was terrible that Rowling said *checks notes* that biological women exist and that victimized women should be allowed to dictate who is allowed in their safe spaces, these are obviously reasons to cancel somebody please don’t slip on the sarcasm there

But I’ve been watching streams of Palworld and…I want to play it???

You can look at it and 100% name that Pokémon and go okay they got THAT idea from THIS game (watching it I can list BotW, Sunkenland, and a couple others) apparently it’s the Pokémon ripoff version of Once Human

Which also ticks me off because after watching videos of that one I want to play that one too

And originally the big reason for looking more seriously at Palworld is…game freak needs to suffer

They’ve been releasing trash games for years now, the only good Pokémon game as of late is Legends Arceus and do not get me STARTED on the state that ScarVi released in

And then them having the gall to charge the price of a full game for DLC

So in order to play the ‘full game,’ you have to pay for BotW, TotK, and possibly a Mario game on top of it

Ain’t nobody got funds for that

Also the shills

I was telling Mom about all this earlier and when it came to discussing Pokémon games, even comparing them to previous Pokémon games, discussions online go like this anymore: “Well it’s not MADE for you!  It’s for kids!  Go find something else to do and quit picking on the poor multibillion dollar franchise! uwu”

And thus the people who grew up with Pokémon move on to other games, like Nexomon, Temtem, Cassette Beasts, Kindred Fates, Coromon, Palworld, etc.

Shills: “Wait no that’s illegal”

Honestly it’s like the YouTube vs Rumble or Twitter/Tumblr vs Conservative/right-wing websites thing—if you chase them off, what did you think they were going to do?

And then the design thing…a big fat part of me does not feel sorry about that

Because every single other game I listed?  The shills will look at those designs and go “what ripoffs they’re obviously Pokémon but not friend-shaped so ugly!”

So basically anything’s a ripoff, you might as well go full ripoff because the ‘fans’ are going to hate on it anyway

Also if anything even remotely shaped like a Pokémon is a ripoff, then Flamigo angers me even more because that is such a lazy design yes I’m still mad

Most of Gen IX legit looks like they asked an AI to spit out some Pokémon-shaped stuff and called it a day maybe a quarter of the ‘dex is salvageable and that’s being generous

And having spent the past year or so designing ‘mons for the DA group I help mod…three people doing designs have no problem filling a ‘dex out, the most time-consuming part of creating new Pokémon ought to be modeling the thing and once that’s down you’re good

Which means that Pokémon…has honestly asked for Palworld

Because let me tell you something—when I look at this ripoff of a game, this scam game that comes from people who think that NFTs and AI scraping and plagiarism is a good thing, that claims that every Pal that escapes from a ball had parents that never married, and I STILL want to play it over Pokémon?  When the scam game released in a better state than ScarVi?????

Pokémon drove every single customer to Palworld and because of it Palworld deserves every single one of those two million purchases

#palworld #pokemon criticism #pokemon salt #part of me really hates how good this game looks and how bad Pokemon has been #the other half wants game freak to suffer dearly for their sins #like yes palworld deserves some critiquing #because yeah these are obvious pokemon assets being used #but you can't also in the same breath be defending a company that has been releasing pre-alpha garbage and calling it a game for years now #game freak does not care for you #I'd rather be playing a ripoff game that I actually have fun with than being dragged along on yet another 'consoom product' game

[misc-obeyme]

there's always a thousand ideas rattling around in my brain, and my notes app is getting filled with one line prompts for mostly art ideas but could also turn into mini fics

I'm still hung up on boxer mammon and I think. I will pick up my sketchbook today after going grocery shopping. Drawing faces is what's holding me back, and the idea that I wouldn't do the characters justice is what holds me back from writing (have not written since my wattpad days). The closet thing I have is dialogue blurbs in my notes app.

mammon is always on the brain SORRY. but like, thinking about merchant/jeweler mammon and a royal mc. And Mammon has ridiculous prices or excuses for why he can't sell (thinking about aziraphele from good omens and his book shop) but mc visits his stall every day (possibly in disguise?? or with a guard), and one day manages to trade a royal jewel for something in his collection (i am such a sucker for royalty in general and knights and AAA)

or thinking about Solomon and mc making potions together for the first time, and Solomon encouraging random things to be added just to see the end result (my mc is naturally curious and shares a single braincell when paired with solomon)

OR mc their first year in the devildom and possibly going to barbatos for advice on ingredients to use, what's human safe, and easy dishes to experiment on so they don't poison themselves. which makes me wonder how much human stuff is readily available and if mc can go grocery shopping in the human world with barbatos (domestic activities), or if they had to send him with a list (like when there was a retreat at the demon lords castle and everyone got to make dishes from their home)

sorry for getting carried away, this was the longest ask ever akdjdj, was just hoping to share some ideas and maybe some things that could bring back the creative spark AAA SORRY BYE LOVE YOU AND YOUR BLOG 🤣🫶

- ✨ anon

Please do not worry about ask length, ✨ anon! My responses tend to be lengthy too lol! So don't apologize because I love it!!

Augh, I totally get what you mean about the ideas... I am plagued by them all the time lol. It's finding the time to actually use them for anything that's usually the issue.

I hope you did do some drawing in your sketchbook! I can't speak to difficulties with art, but when it comes to writing, you can't let yourself worry about doing the characters justice.

I used to care a lot about how I characterized everybody. I was always so nervous about writing for Mammon in particular that I just didn't a lot of the time. But the truth is, every writer will characterize them differently. And your interpretation of them is just as valid as anyone else's! If it's less about that and more than you're concerned about your skill level, well, unfortunately there's no way around it. You gotta write to get better at writing! You can always start with characters you're not as concerned about if you want, but I find it's usually best to follow the inspiration! I believe in you!

Also don't worry, I love Mammon, so I don't mind hearing about him lol! And OKAY I looove Good Omens! I read the book a long time ago and then re-read it several times before the show came out. And then the fandom exploded!! But it's been amazing. Er anyway, getting off topic here, which is that I love the idea of jeweler/merchant Mammon who can't bear to part with his merchandise alksdfjf- I also love knights, I have a whole medieval AU brewing in my brain meats that I would write if I had any kind of time. Royal!MC showing up like I bet I have something you can't resist... I'll get you to trade me something from your wares!! I also like the idea of MC trading a kiss for something of his and he agrees because he's surprised to find that he's willing to give up his expensive object for a chance to kiss MC tee hee~

Solomon being a menace is something I'm always up for! I like the idea that he would encourage MC to do that, but also knows enough about the ingredients himself to know that the things he's suggesting aren't dangerous. Like he doesn't know what adding this herb will do, but he does know that it won't explode in MC's face lol. Though I also like the idea of Solomon and MC just being chaotic potion gremlins and adding anything and everything just to see what would happen. Like when MC is powerful enough and Solomon feels confident that MC won't get hurt, then they're both going all in.

I kinda think ingredients from other worlds are not readily available, since it seems like Simeon and Luke kinda go through this thing where they're trying to learn to cook with Devildom ingredients. Which means that Barbatos likely has a way of procuring those ingredients when he needs them. I absolutely love the idea of going human world shopping with Barb. I'm just gonna put that in my own personal headcanon. Whenever MC says in the game that they're gonna cook some human world food or at the retreat and everything, that also means a shopping trip with Barbatos. I wish I understood why I would want to do that so bad, but I really do. Imagine taking him to a human world grocery store. Like if he said to me that I should take him wherever I normally go, it's like okay lemme take you to Aldi and Walmart lol. But then I'd be like listen, if we can go anywhere though, we should really go to Costco and Trader Joe's. I never go to Costco because I don't have a membership. Because I am shopping only for myself and I don't need fifty pounds of anything lol. And there is no Trader Joe's in my town, the nearest one is over an hour away.

ANYWAY I love all your ideas!! I hope you find the motivation and confidence to pick up drawing and/or writing again! I have no doubt that whatever you create will be amazing!

#ahaha I really am just daydreaming about grocery shopping with Barb now #I really wanna take him to Costco for some reason that just sounds so funny #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me mammon #obey me barbatos #✨ anon #misc answers

[mha-platonic-yanderes]

Imagine AFO as a warlock (male witch) and reader is some starving child that resorts to stealing from his garden to get something to eat.They end up getting away the first time, but then he cooks up a warm meal when they come back, putting in a sleeping potion so they don’t leave.When reader wakes up, they think that he’s gonna put their bones in a cauldron and cook them into a stew, but AFO just laughs it off because he wouldn’t do such a thing to his precious child.

And Warlock AFO would definitely have a magpie as a familiar.

The magpie is actually Kurogiri, and he's resigned himself to being a magpie for the rest of his life.

Anyways, AFO loved working with children. They weren't filled with societal morals or the need to follow pesky laws and such. Children just do what they want to do, something many adults need to learn from their younger counterparts.

And you? You are a wonderful example.

His wards allowed for people to come and go as they pleased, but a trace would follow them. On a long day with nothing to do, he'd go through that list and see who's trespassed and what did they do.

Usually, this would lead to him righting a couple of wrongs, but the only thing showing up is you. Dear, sweet, young you, taking only his produce.

It's never much at one time, enough for a bit to eat on. And you're so careful too. These are times he's been at home, but he hasn't caught you. And you could've taken his riches, bought your own food with it. Obviously, you had restraint. Obviously, you had guts

AFO smiles and packs for a venture into the city, he's looking for his little thief.

He finds you in the city's orphanage. Typical, honestly. He's seen some of the best people the magical world's ever seen come in and out of this place. Sidekicks and apprentices are easy to get from here, considering the country is just selling them like livestock.

A shame, really. His curiosity alone is worth more than the asking price of every kid in here. But it's all the more convenient. Money can be tossed around far more easily than magic.

And you, dear sweet you, hide behind the orphan-nanny, realizing who he is. Good, he supposes, at least you can recognize the danger, even away from the place it occurred.

He bends down and smiles at you, holding his hand outstretched and allows Kurogiri to melt the two of you into his warping-shadow, leaving you back at his place, the manor you keep trying to steal from.

You speak as soon as you're away from your former matron, "Mister, I'm sorry for taking your fruits, but please let me go I promise I'll steer clear from here and never take anything from you ever again."

He straightens his clothes and looks down at you, smiling once more, "What would you like to eat?"

"Is this like a last meal or something?"

"Let's call it a first meal together."

You hesitate, "So you aren't going to bake me into a pie like the other witches do."

"I can't say I'm fond of how child pie tastes." AFO replies, "And if I was going to, why would I go through the trouble of legally acquiring you? If you were to just disappear out of nowhere, they'd instantly suspect me."

"Oh." You murmur, "That makes sense."

"Now, what do you like to eat?" AFO asks, "We'll cook together and then discuss your transgressions and abilities. We'll make a fine sorcerer of you, yet. Alright?"

You follow him into the kitchen, "Alright."

#you will not believe how long this has been in my drafts #platonic yandere all for one #yandere all for one

[chibisquirt]

Unfortunately, I appear to be getting into tufting.

I haven't gone off the deep end yet. I did buy a latchhook and some grid cloth so I can paddle my feet in the rug-like waters, but I haven't bought anything else, not even any yarn for it! (I'm so virtuous.) (I actually am so virtuous; I'm severely weak to yarn.)

But I have been watching rug tufting videos... and looking up tufting guns online... and plotting how I'm going to go about this...

It's a problem.

The fact that, if I get good at it, this could become a viable side-hustle... is not, actually, any less of a problem.

Anyway here's all the shit I'd need to buy to actually get started with it, along with long-range plans for equivalent pieces. Under a cut for the sake of all y'all's humanity:

Tufting gun

This is the big one, and I find myself in a bit of a dilemma on it: you can get them for cheap of aliexpress, but like... do I really wanna trust something that came off aliexpress? I have not gotten anything off there, and while I have no evidence it's any worse than amazon, I have no reason to think it's any better, either. (Actually, I'm pretty sure some of the amazon listings at least *are* the aliexpress listings, being re-sold. So, avoid that one, at least.)

So anyway the tufting gun everyone says is the best runs about $250.

2. Frame

You tuft by shooting fibers into a grid made of fabric; in order to do that, you have to have the grid solidly suspended in the air. This requires a frame.

Price varies by size.

3. Tufting fabric (or equivalent)

This is the fabric that you shoot the fibers into. You can also use monks cloth or burlap, apparently. (Not to be confused with the other fabric, backing fabric, which goes on after everything else, and is what the rug actually sits on.) Not too bad, not too bad, monks cloth is about $15/yard.

4. Yarn

Not my *immediate* starting cost, just because oh god oh god I will be swimming in vanna's choice until I die, but yarn is also not the cheapest thing in the world. You can get two skeins of red heart super savor for about $15-$20, and it goes up from there.

5. Glue

Once the fibers are in the monks cloth, there's nothing really holding them there. That's why you have to glue the shit out of them! Recommended glue is carpet glue, Roberts 3000 or 3085 or something. A gallon of that is $25, or 4 for $50 at Home Depot.

6. More glue!

Yeah, you didn't think we were done, did you? Once you've glued all your fibers in place, you cut out the rug from the grid fabric and glue the edges down, this time with a different type of adhesive. Tutorial I saw recommended hot glue and spray adhesive, which, since I don't have a glue gun, means I'd be looking about $25 all together for them.

Once you've got that done, you can add your...

7. Backing fabric!

Non-slip is good if it's going on the floor... you can do a 6' by 6' square of this for $35.

8. Trimmers

Teeeechnically, I already have some trimmers, but if I'm gonna do this with any seriousness, I don't want to use those for it, because they're designed for human hair and rugs are made with sheep hair (or hair from the noble acryligoat). You can get trimmers that come with a little guide, too, which is super handy if you don't want a giant gouge down the middle of your rug. Call these $40-50.

9. Scissors

Once you've gotten your rug shaved--not a euphemism--you want to go in and outline each color with scissors to give it definition.

So all of that comes to about $500 if you're thrifty. 😬 And then you consider the costs that repeat, like the next batch of tufting fabric and yarn, and the costs that add on as not-essential-but-nice-to-have, like yarn cones, extra frames, labels... It is Yikes.

Buuuuuut... If I were to start selling them... I mean, you can get hundreds of dollars per rug. Per small rug. A thousand plus for a big one! So I do kind of think it might be financially viable.

Better to start it as a hobby first, though. And maybe be prepared to have a pretty big initial layout. :(

#tufting #tag for later #you would not *believe* how fucking expensive this shit is #and even then I'm getting off lightly #my former-manager just SOLD OFF A PARCEL OF LAND to afford her new sewing machine #she got a Bernina #but STILL. #I am... NOT doing that. #Absolutely fucking not. #However... if I can make this potentially-disastrous side-hustle pay for itself....... #*falls deeper down the well*

[terrence-silver]

As a lover of the darker Terry Silver vibes myself, do you have any headcanons that you don't often see in the fandom? Do you think he will get any love in the new season? And as a lurker follower, I love your blog and I hope you're doing well!

Sidenote sometimes I like to think of trophys he collects of his 'fallen enemies'. I was thinking it could be business cards of people whose careers he's ruined or something like that.

I don't think there's a point without Terry Silver (and John Kreese). 🤷‍♀️

I mean, the show is literally called Cobra Kai. They're its founders. It's right there, in the title. The series is not called Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang, The Adventures of Auto Larusso, The Anoush Spinoff Show or The Sordid Teenage Love Polycule. It's Cobra Kai, primarily and everything else second. Terry and John are the entire reason everything in this whole saga came to be in the first place. I think Terry Silver not being showed love or even appearing in Season 6 is literally the biggest blunder the show creators could possibly make and I'll feel very sorry for them if they do.

---

Now, unto those headcanons!

I think Terry Silver collects trophies from fallen enemies too; sure.

Their business cards --- why not.

Lets open our minds though and think of the bigger picture, though:

Maybe even taking it a step further, and it's their actual businesses he collects. Their life's work. The corporations he's tanked are corporations he buys out now that they're bankrupt (thanks to his covert sabotaging) at half price, no less, because the owners are desperate to sell their shares by any means and he's a benefactor here to rid them of their own property (how kind), so Terry Silver owns a whole bunch of franchises he never needed, but ones he feels he's earned nonetheless through his cunning and ingenuity because, to vaguely quote him, in war, in business, in life --- all's fair. That is, when he ain't out there setting them on fire like he did with Mike's furniture store. But, extreme situations require extreme measures and that was indeed an extreme measure, according to Terry, anyway. It's competitive sport and he's winning. He collects rare antiques, weapons, the occasionally gruesome historical artifact, avant garde installations, social points, vintages, old wines, jewelry, cars, mansions, suits, expensive revenue.

Revenue someone else was desperate to buy but he got there first.

He's the man smiling at you at an auction as he willfully outbids you.

Might even come to shake your hands afterwards and wish you better luck next time.

Anything someone else wanted, he has. Anything an enemy used to possess? He will surely acquire and take that too, with double and triple the tenacity, until the enemy has nothing left. Be it an enemy's livelihood. Their business. Their real estate. Their cards. Their money. Their freedom. The respect they garner in society, if any. The teeth from their mouth to embed into a pinkie ring on his finger. Their children. Their husbands. Their wives. Terry Silver's like a great, big hunter and ultimately, it'll all end up displayed on a figurative wall of his achievements and war trophies. Oh, look; he even canonically intended to do something similar with Daniel's own children:

Who's to say Auto Larusso, Miyagi Do, Daniel's own marriage, his social standing, each and every one of his students, every friendship and connection Daniel ever had and his very own sanity wouldn't be next up for the grabs? Who's to say Daniel wouldn't just encounter Terry Silver chatting it up with Lucille Larusso who finds him awfully swell next? Move in to befriend the man own's mother? Why not? What could be lower and more humiliating then one's own parent turning against them? Undoubtedly, from personal experience, Terry can't think of anything else and he relishes in the idea.

It'll look great on Terry's list of collected accolades.

Terry Silver's gonna collect an enemy's very life until there's only ashes left.

Then, he's gonna collect the ashes too.

#terry silver #kk3 #cobra kai #tw; trophy collecting #character analysis #hello beloved lurker! #thank you for coming out of lurking and sending me a wonderful ask! #hope you are doing well too!

[kittychicha]

Hi ! I’m sorry, I hope you accept asks from strangers. I just discovered your tumblr and am also very new to lakorn and dramas in general. Do you by any chance would have any recs of good wlw shows please ? Your gifsets are amazing you seem to have very good taste !

hiii first of all thank you sm you're so sweet 🥺 im flattereddd gotta say i would not trust my taste that much its really all over the place 🫣 but i'll leave some wlw shows/movies for youu keep in mind that since wlw is unfortunately not such a big genre most of these are super short or very low budget but we love them anywaysss

she loves to cook and she loves to eat: suuuper sweet slice of life about two neighbours who get together to eat addressing also all the expectations that get put on women by society.

sf8: the prayer (ep1): a caregiver robot falls in love with the daughter of her elderly patient.

sf8: joan's galaxy (ep 3): the world is divided between rich people who can afford healthcare and poor ppl who cannot and die young from contamination to the enviroment. (START WITH THIS ONE JUST TRUST ME. if u gotta watch 1 thing from the whole list its this. bring the tissues.)

GAP: the typical intern dates the CEO but make it lesbians.

sleep with me: a radio host who gives love advice to her listeners falls for one of the contestants who comes to claim a price.

fragrance of the first flower: two women who separated in high school reunite after many years and realize the spark they felt back then is still present. (they dont end up together which pissed off a lot of people but i enjoyed this, dont mind a sad ending if its done right)

fantasy of the girls: the high school theatre club does romeo and juliet, the girl that plays juliet starts having feelings for her co-star.

alice: crack of season: girl in love w her high school bestie.

the serpent's song: gay nun kitty chicha.

the substitute: the lead actress in an action movie and her stunt double fall in love.

couple of mirrors: a novelist befriends an assassin. (it's like super censored so its "friendship" but i liked the whole plot)

the married woman: gotta admit that the ending did piss me off a looooot but we gotta mention it bc 85% of this was gr8

love tech: an app that controls everyone's love life including who they should date, and when should they break up.

farewell song: a band falls apart due to unrequited love, but they decide to get together for a farewell tour. (they tried to sell it as a straight love triangle AND YETTT its all ab the lesbiansss no one cares ab that dudeee we're here for MUGI AND NANA 😍)

condo barista architect: an architect falls for a girl that runs a coffee shop.

schoolgirl complex: a high school senior falls for their new club member who is known for being unreliable. (on the same note a very similar japanese movie is blue)

aaand i do have more on my review page <3 but i think these ones stood out the most to me. bc then there's the whole genre of youtube wlw like shakeshoulder, cheezefilm, 75°C, legend of yun qian / legend of yunze, am i the only one with butterflies, lily fever, girlfriend project etc like if you start going down this path you'll find a lot lol though they are usually just ads with a wlw plot but fun to watch anyways?

#ask #recs #sorry if this is an overwhelming list alkjsdhalks also i dont know the definition of good #like whenever someone asks for good recs im like scared they'll watch one show and be like this girl has NO TASTE. which could be correct #i feel like i spelled a lot of things wrong but i dont wanna proof read so its what it is

[hihimihwa]

Did Love2DrawMaga's Pause OC Challenge! Usually I pause on them and then don't go through with drawing, but I really liked what I ended up with!

FJDKSLF:DSJ this was supposed to come last week but uh uhhh I HAD FUN DRAWING THIS!! I barely have any excuse to draw characters with more animal like features- LIke I'm not gonna settle for just catgirls and catboys, it said the species is CAT. I tried for a hybrid, but it kept choosing Human the other two times and.. oh I guess I could just draw a cat boy. oh well.

He was kinda tricky to really express masculinity to. Soft eyes and long majestic hair, how was I supposed to work with that qwq

Anyway- Special announcement, I got my website set up! I'm gonna put up digital prints of old illustrations I like too, but while waiting for that, what scenes from my video would you want available in my store? Someone said they were willing to buy a high quality print of a scene in my Meteor Shower amv, and I happened to be working on selling my art.

$1 - Original(Not fully rendered)(all 10 scenes)

$2 - Fully Rendered(1kp)(1 scene)

$5 - Remastered and Fully Rendered(4kp)

$10 - Frame Animated(Looped vid, 1kp)

$15 - Tween Animated(Looped vid, 4kp)

$20 - Bundle of all 5(of the scene of your choosing)

I'll only choose around like, 10 scenes to sell? I don't want to milk this too much, I know I've said I spent half a year, but in the end, this video was free for all to see and I'm gonna upload content(albeit slowly) that could satisfy you just as much as the people paying. Also, Cavetown's song carried half of the video, i don't wanna get in trouble 😭

If you're really serious about supporting me though, I'm free to sell scenes that aren't in store! Adjustments will cost similarly to commissions since they're personal,(except org, the prices are 2x the list above)

As per the OMORI fan-work policy, I'll only be selling the raw projects to 10 buyers, not by demand.

Now for the most expensive thing to mention on this post. How much do you think the raw files of my Meteor Shower video are worth? I set the ceiling price of the whole thing as $1k, but would you want the raw files of separate sections?

Ibis Paint X - (654 files + raw files(haven't counted them yet)

Krita - (41 files)

Filmora - (26 files)

Bundle - (725 files)

#digital art #digital illustration #oc #original character #original art #furry #anthropomorphic #new website #digital print #art business #small business #small artist

[frostbite-the-bat]

WHAT AN AMAZING COLLECTION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love the dragons protecting the display OOOOOOOUGH SHARKS TEETH YEAAAAAAAAA Do you have any specific favorites? (& What about them said Pick Me to you? (i love rocks sm but have none space so i only have a lil bag of my own) )

YESS!!! THANK YUOU!!! and ofc i gotta have dragons B)

and HMMM OKAY lemme THInks

so *now* pick and buy gems at trinket stores whenver i go travelling and see any tha i just dont own yet (or if theres a piece that's really pretty to me that i DO have, but it's just unique and cool and i want it)

but back then id just..! buy whatever was Cool to me . id always buy so many at once my god

my favorites are defo my extra silly fancy lookin gems!! lemme show em here (older pics) (some are fancier bc i took them for my personal collection list google doc)

bismuth!!

these quartz! i was told they are some type of quartz! these are special to me because i got them a year ago during a school trip to germany - i only had a few euros on me and i ended up spending it all on gems. we checked out the christmas markets and there was an friendly old fellow who was selling gemstones and other things! he even had a cutter and could speak english. we chatted a bit and i listened to him talk about things (like how these lil fellas are formed. i know nothing about chemicals but i just think these things are interesting!!!! i actually get most my gems from giftshops near cave tours because i love visiting them and think it's interesting ^^

anyways he had a little box of various "rocks" that could possibly be geodes that he'd cut and see if they are! the price depended on their size. he said that i could guess with the weight and feel of the "rock" and let me pick from a few that could possible be ones. i said it didn't matter to me if it's gonna be hollow or not, since it's cool to me anyways!

so while my classmates waited and stared at me i just watched this guy cut it nicely in half like this - and he then even cut the smaller flatter piece of it, too. it was very nice! it's also where i bought the tooth, the bismuth, and some other things that i forgot as well... oops. i got a lot of gems

this shimmery pretty goldstone / aventurine glass ! wacky picture quality but i don't feel like getting new pics (+ im on pc now) (lie: i ended up getting new pics later)

. it's a man-made lil' mineral, but it's very lovely regardless! i honestly only care about the "realness" only i it's a scam of some sort. any rock, trinket, gem or mineral, man-made or not is very niceys to me. (i still want an opal tho i only got an opalite which was mislabeled. i dont think on purpose since these stores sometimes accidentally mislabel or misspell things. or use czech names which gets confusing. yeah i may have inaccurate names for some of my gems but i try my best to be accurate. im no pro im just a collector little beast)

some type of peacock ore! (either treated chalcopyrite or bornite, as i've previously written down. i'll trust my past self)

aura quartz! one of my first 3 pieces ive ever gotten that sparked my collection

all of these little fellas i bought at the same place for really cheap! filled my lil collection quite a bitso. i loves tghem. theyre like cereal To Me

in order: garnet, carnelian, emerald, tusquoise (why isnt this one in my list. oh my god how many gems did i miss. i still have a few to add that ill list on the list later that i need to re-check what gems they are. lord.) opalite, chalcedony, snowflake obsidian, obsidian (?), onyx. + not pictured an aquamarine which...? i cant find? im not checking if i put it behind a bigger gem and i cant FIND IT.

i really need to do a new and better gem list . oops. i cant always rely on my memory for these names

my EYES! in order: tiger's eye 2x, hawk's eye, bull's eye

my funny silly mosly multicolor fellas idk they fit the Vibes. i likes thgem (appreciae this secion i had to make sure and like re-identify half of these but i still could be incorrect)

in ORDER... lapis lazuli, sodalite 2x, elbaite (most likely), chrysocolla, rhodonite, blue apatite, amazonite, kyanite

dalmatian jasper and unakite

...some kinda jasper?

so ya!! thats some of my Rocks. this took a while bc i had to look what some of these are again @_@ i loaves them . todays guzma enrichment: this

#[answered] #guz rock tag #<- FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

[alittlebitofrainbyyourside]

Syn and I were talking about how like- okay, I've probably talked about this before but like- ..... I largely view myself as an NPC? I know this is insane, it is life. you live with a brain like mine and try /not/ viewing yourself as an NPC.

anyway, I view myself largely as an NPC and Syn and I were talking about how this made me uniquely a pretty damn good fit for working retail. Sometimes I tell people that I had a good time working retail and they assume that like- oh, it was a matter of privilege working in a great place- I was a visible dyke in a trump loving place where people open carried guns. The owner had a trump flag in his office. I want you to say that to my face. One time, in early 2020, a customer came in while I was cleaning the shelves and started yelling about how we were all sheep for believing in covid and I blinked and went 'you see these shelves? I'm trying to do some spring cleaning before they walk out of here themselves.' the problem with any individual customer trying to ruin my mood is that like... I was an NPC. I genuinely operated on the assumption that if you were being a dick, there was nothing I could have done to change that. People yell at shop keepers and quest givers all the time. They're dicks. But that's not a *me* problem. Yell, get the fuck out. I'm not going to hold any baggage from that because it wasn't about me. I also happened to work at the kind of place that customers absolutely expected and knew there was a gun under the counter- so like... I'm sure that did keep a certain kind of riff raff under wraps. it was old timey enough of a store that like- you had to manually do a lot of the items? you just had to know the prices of almost everything. Very few things scanned in and out- like cigarettes. Cigarettes scanned- chewing 'bacca did not. I had to know the prices of all the 'fresh' food items off the top of my head. I had to know how much soda cost off the top of my head. if I was lucky, the rarer items had prices on them that i could manually type in. Which meant that I *loved* to fuck up prices for people I liked. Oops. Did I ring that up wrong? You'll never know Jim because your cash register at the end of the day is only a list of prices, there's not even items attached for you to be like '.... hey. why is candy selling for 10 cents'- because it's for a single mom that's why Jim.

We made hotdogs? and had icecream and like, chicken salad and shit like that- so you also had to know alllll the info on how to make those things and you had to juggle running the cashregister /and/ making food sometimes. Sometimes there was someone specifically there to do food- especially during like 'lunch rush'. but only sometimes. and you'd get calls for like 'I need 100 all the way hotdogs, and two without chili' and you'd look at the clock and go 'you gonna be here at 2?' and they'd say yes and you'd get to work making 102 fucking hotdogs and trying to fit the paper bags into the food warmer so that they're still warm when some construction worker inevitably rolls in and is like 'yo the foreman called ahead?' If you were unlucky, it would not be '100 _____ hotdogs' and instead it would be like '4 all the way, 2 ketchup and mustard, 4 mustard, 3 ketchup and mustard' and you'd mentally curse the fact they didn't do the mental labor of grouping together all the like hotdogs together for you. and it was always this fun chaotic challenge. my job as an NPC was to make it happen for them. To make their day easier, to get them their gas and their food and get them out of my store with a joke or a smile. I always get so ????? when I see people complaining about like 'ugh don't make x joke to cashiers, they've heard it 100 times that day' and I'm like- man, my dad (a career cashier/store manager/person depending on when in his life you're talking) taught me those were the best. He loved a script. He loved a repetitive joke, something easy to respond to. and honestly, when I'm behind the counter- Same. Same.

I dunno man. Sometimes I miss it. There was something... so interesting about the juxtaposition of like- because it was the kind of store it was- We were something so vital and essential to these people's day- and yet we were also in some ways largely invisible. And for other people, we were the most important interaction that they would have that day. Customers would come in and if you'd been missing and go 'you're back! I came in yesterday and they had so and so up here, ruined my whole damn day.' Dad always talked about how like, for regulars, you were the person they counted on seeing on their way to work- or before they went home. You were a transition that helped them switch gears, and so you wanted to make it a positive interaction. You wanted to make them feel like they mattered, if only for a minute. That kind of job suits my NPC-brain very well.

#I suspect what I actually miss is my dad but we're not talking about that right now

[searchingwardrobes]

The morning a comment made me cry . . .

I have been wrestling with posting this for ages. On the one hand, I want to let people who follow my fanfic to know that I haven’t left. On the other, I am an INFJ, an introvert, and a highly sensitive person who never wants to feel like I’m bothering people or whining about my life. Everyone has problems, everyone is busy, am I right? But then last week, I woke up to a comment on Ao3 for a fic that I wrote years ago, and I ended up sitting at my kitchen table and crying.

It wasn’t just the comment. It was that I had just spent the last night in the house we have lived in for the last 17 years. The house each of my children came home from the hospital to. A house I honestly didn’t want to sell or leave. And it wasn’t like we were moving because we found our dream house or because a new job opportunity came up or anything like that. We sold our house because the church my husband just took a new job at has a parsonage, and that means we can live there rent free. You can’t pass that up from a financial standpoint. 

Even if the parsonage is way smaller. And darker. And filthy. And smells bad. And looks like the Byers house in Stranger Things AFTER monsters started coming out of the walls. (ie 80s but gross)

And what makes it harder is that people berate me every time I try to share how hard this is. “You can’t beat free.” I know, I know, but can’t anyone try to imagine how I’m feeling? If you were in my shoes, would it be easy? 

Anyways, so back to the comment. I’ve been doing this fanfic thing long enough that in some ways, the comment just made me roll my eyes. But it was kind of like the proverbial straw, you know? I had been trying to hold it together for days, and this mean comment pushed me over the edge. So there I was, crying at my kitchen table surrounded by moving boxes. 

To compound it all, I haven’t written much at all since November. Scratch that, more like October. This is frustrating because it’s something I love, and it also causes guilt over all my WIPs. But we decided to put the house on the market in early November, and our realtor said we needed to get it listed before Thanksgiving, so there was the frantic race of “decluttering” ie half-packing the house and a million and one little home repair projects and deep cleaning. Then the house was shown only four times, and we got an offer. Great, right? Only they wanted to move in TWO DAYS before Christmas. That was a hard no for me. So they comprised and said two days AFTER Christmas. Their offer was over the asking price, so we had to take it. 

But did I mention the parsonage isn’t livable yet? So yep, we have no home right now. (I won’t say homeless because that word means something very different and much more serious than what we’re going through.) I’ve slept in so many different places over the last week, that this morning I woke up and couldn’t remember where I was. 

Did I mention I also have three kids? 

If you’ve stuck with me so far, don’t worry, I won’t go into all the details. Just understand that our family of five (plus a dog) will soon be living in my aunt and uncle’s basement for possibly two months. While I homeschool. 

And now I feel like I’m whining again. I’m really not a whiner, I promise. I’m just trying to a) explain why I have disappeared for so long and b) why that negative Ao3 comment came at the absolute worst possible time. 

That comment was the least of my worries on that particular day, and a week later, I just don’t think it’s worth discussing. Maybe, though, this tale will help people remember to pause before they type something on the internet. Because the person you are addressing has a real life, and there is no way for you to know what they might be going through. I was actually a little happy when I saw the email because a nice comment would have been a bright spot in an otherwise tough day. Instead, it was a kick while I was already down. Comments have a lot of power for a creator. I wish they didn’t. I wish we all “just wrote for ourselves” or could brush it off easily. But writers are sensitive creatures as a rule, especially fanfic writers who are only doing it as a hobby, not for a career. So, you know, just stop and think for a sec. That’s all. And this comment served no purpose whatsoever. I wrote the fic so long ago, there’s no way I’m revising it. Ironically, the person ended the comment by saying, “Enjoying it so far, though.” Which rang totally false after their long list of what was wrong with the story. 

Side note: the comment has made me contemplate a post on writer’s tips for writing children well. I’m not just a homeschooling mom, I’m also a former teacher. People seem to seriously not realize this, but teachers have to take college courses on child and adolescent development. We are around children a lot, too, so (shock!) we actually are experts in the field. I don’t know - is that something anyone would be interested in as writers? Because you don’t have to be a parent to write kids well - @whimsicallyenchantedrose and @distant-rose are awesome at it, and they don’t have kids. So if you want tips on that, I’d love to share. It’s something I can kind of get on a soapbox about, lol. 

And as for my readers, I’ll tag you all so you know where the hell I’ve been. So here comes the tag list, and I’ll now shut up: 

@snowbellewells @teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @xhookswenchx @thisonesatellite @welllpthisishappening @spartanguard @ohmakemeahercules @tiganasummertree @sparlecorn93 @sals86 @pirateprincessofpizza @xarandomdreamx @zaharadessert @huntressandlioness1 @jamif @undercaffinatednightmare @onceratheart18 @sparlecorn93 @sals86 @pirateprincessofpizza @xarandomdreamx @zaharadessert @huntressandlioness1  @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @svenjaliv

#melanie rants #or cries? #haha #my real life #writers woes #the joys and struggles of fic writing #where i have been

[scurvgirl]

Scurv's Simple Guide for Helping Your Hands, Cuticles, and Nails

Alright, one (1) person (<3 @theladypirate) wanted this so of course I'm making it!

Disclaimer: I am not a nail tech or dermatologist, these are just some habits and items that have greatly helped me improve the look and feel of my hands, cuticles, and nails. I am in the US, I am a healthcare provider so I am constantly washing my hands and using hand sanitizer which dry out my nails and cuticles. I also have dermatillomania which is a body focused repetitive behavior that results in skin picking and my hands have been my primary target for YEARS. Anyways, let's get into it.

Products that have helped me:

The first one being the Healthy Hands lotion I found for $3.80 at CVS. Holy moly, you guys, this stuff is the BOMB. I use it ALL the time and it does a phenomenal job of moisturizing my hands and strengthening my nails despite recurrent water exposure. I like this because it's accessible both in location and price. I started using this around 6 weeks ago and I JUST had to replace the bottle - a little goes a long way. I use this about...6 times a day. As I said, I use a lot of hand sanitizer and wash my hands a lot, I need to lotion up a lot. Your mileage and use may vary.

The second product that has helped me a lot is nail oil. Now I use the Roll On Essie one that I found at Ulta, and it's great. I just roll it on around my nails and UNDER my nail then massage the oil into the nail and surrounding cuticle area. I do this 2-3 times a day, again, due to constant dehydration of my nails and cuticles.

Third, the flowery glass nail file and shaping tools - also picked up at Ulta. These are AMAZING as shaping your nail, including using the more pointed end to get problem hand nails or the sides that are trying to become ingrown. It doesn't hurt. I know whenever I go to the salon my hands feel kinda sensitive afterwards from the rough shaping, but with this, I can control the pressure, location, and application of the removal - not to mention the glass actually FEELS better than any emery board I have used. As I've heard "Once you go glass, everything else is ass."

Fourth, cuticle remover - that's the little blue bottle up there. Read the directions on the cuticle remove as well as the ingredient list before using. For me, this is helpful for cleaning up the overgrown cuticle on the actual nail. IT SHOULD NOT BURN OR HURT IN ANY WAY. IF IT IS HURTING YOU, GET THAT SHIT OFF YOUR BODY ASAP. Make sure to wash your hands THOROUGHLY after using cuticle remover, these chemicals should not have a prolonged stay on your body. I use this as the first step, if needed, when applying a new manicure.

What has helped me with my dermatillomania:

Telling myself "STOP IT" did not and continues to not work. Behavior replacement has worked much better for me than complete cessation. Painting my nails has helped with two things: the act itself replaced picking when I was home and alone. When out and about, instead of digging my nail into my skin, I ran the pad of my finger along the smoothness of my nail.

Another behavior replacement that has helped is using the cuticle oil or lotion to massage my hands instead of picking when I feel the urge. The compulsion is still there, I am no longer fighting it, I am instead redirecting it.

Not being hard on myself when I do pick. I still pick, especially when stressed. I am accepting that this is a difficulty in my life but also encouraging myself to heal at the same time - these two aspects are not mutually exclusive. I accept that this is a process and this takes time.

Please know that NONE of this has happened overnight. This has been a process for around...2 and a half years now.

This video has been very helpful for me for cuticle care and nail painting! This is the owner of Holo Taco, so she will be using Holo Taco products and trying to sell you that, but know that the things used in this video are not exclusive to Holo Taco.

#scurvysays #scurv's nails #nail care #Youtube

[hime-memes]

                  • Kidnapped / Held Captive Starters • 

Okay, I’ve compiled a list of requested kidnapping / being held captive starters. Some of these could be said in other contexts besides kidnapping, so use at your own discretion.  ** Some of them range from serious to the down right absurd. ( I think I’ve covered a range of character personality types, and I’ve added a bonus bit for a potential kidnapper’s perspective. ) 

As always: Feel free to change anything within these that you see fit to make it work for your muse & the receiver’s muse !

Recommended For:  Criminal muses or plots

Trigger Warnings For: Kidnapping - ( obviously ! ), drug / alcohol mentions, lots of swearing.

“ Where am I ? ... How did I get here ?! “ “ What was in that drink / dish ? ” “ I might not get very far, but I swear to God -- I will fight to get out of here ! “  “ I doubt anyone is looking for me ... so, why bother taking me ? “  “ Listen: contact, [ Name ], they’ll give you whatever you want - just let me go ! “  “ I’m going to make so much fucking noise someone is going to find me. “ “ Why does stuff like this always happen to me ?! “  “ I don’t know who put you up to this, but you’ve got it all wrong ... “ “ I could have gotten out of here anytime I wanted ... but, this shit show was too fun to resist watching, if I’m honest. “  “ I’m not eating or drinking anything you give me ... last time that happened, I ended up here ! “  “ Listen - I’m just thrilled to be away from the assholes I’ve got the displeasure of being related to. Congratulations, you played yourself ! “ “ Huh, my mom always said if someone kidnapped me they’d bring me back account of me never shutting up … anyway, what were we talking about ? “ “ Just because you’re holding me here like a caged animal doesn’t mean I am one. “ “ Please don’t hurt me. “ “ Did [ name ] put you up to this ? Wait … am I on candid camera ?! Very funny guys, just make sure you get my good side ! “ “ I don’t care what you do to me, I’m not selling [ Name / Organization ] out ! “ “ I don’t have the energy to fight this anymore. You win, I’ll tell you about [ plan, place, objectives, etc. ] … “ “ I didn’t think anyone would stoop this low, but to be completely honest - I’m not surprised. “ “ It never had to come to this. “ “ Please don’t toy with me, I’m already scared enough. “ “ What do you mean [ Name ] isn’t coming for me ? I thought I could always count on them … “ “ Where did you take [ Name ] ?! [Name]!? [Name]!! “ “ Oh yeah ? Well I’m going to chew through these ropes like a stinky little rat baby ! Then what ?! Your plan is gonna be so fucked ... “ “ Wait a minute — do I know you ?? Oh my God … [ name ] ?! “ “ I don’t understand, why target me ? “ “ I think you’ve got the wrong person — I don’t know what’s happening here ! “ “ When I get out of here - just know, I’m coming after you and your goons … relentlessly ! “ “ There were easier ways to get my attention ... “ “ My head hurts — Did you actually hit me ? “ “ I WANT TO GO HOME ! LET. ME. GO ! “ “ If you bastards hurt [ Name ] … I swear, there is no where you can run from me in here. “ “ I’m not locked up in here with you … you’re locked up in here with me ! … Oh, come on ! That’s the most badass line in ‘ Watchmen ‘ ! “ “ I can honestly say I didn’t see this coming. “ “ NO ! Leave [ Name ] alone ! It’s me that you have a problem with ! “ “ You left me locked up with only my thoughts for company … you can’t be that surprised that I’ve figured out [ how to get out of here / who you are / what your plan is etc. ] ! “ “ If you haven’t hurt me / killed me yet, then it clearly isn’t that personal. Is it ? If it’s money you’re after, name your price for my freedom - I’ll pay it. “ “ Tell [ Name ] I’ll get them the [ money, object of importance/ etc. ], just let me go. This has all just been one big misunderstanding ! “ “ I’m not scared, … just exhausted. There’s a difference. “ “ I already know I’m never getting out of here, so I’ll just save my tears and the pleas for mercy ... “ “ You’re insane ! Let me go - I haven’t done anything to deserve this ! “ “ Wait until my [ Parents, Spouse, Siblings ] hear about this ! Wait … what do you mean they sold me out ? No ! You’re lying ! “  “ Please let me out of here. I won’t tell anyone, just please let me go ... I’ll forget I ever saw you & forget that this ever happened. “  “ I’m not going to lie down and play the good little victim ... i’m not as dumb as you look ! “  “ I’m getting out of here one way or another. “ “ Get any closer and I’ll spit in your pathetic face. “ “ I didn’t think these would be the consequences for crossing you - it won’t happen again, just please, let me out of here ! “ “ I don’t want things to escalate anymore, just tell me what you want ! “ “ ... I’ll just add this to my extensive resume of weird experiences, and we’ll call this even. Okay ? Now, let me go. “ “ This stuff just happens in the movies ... It’s not supposed to happen to someone like me. “ 

• Bonus •  From the Kidnapper’s Perspective:

“ Fear and mock bravado go hand in hand from what I’ve seen this evening. “ “ Do you ever, and I mean this respectfully, shut the fuck up ? “ “ Treating your current predicament as some sort of ‘ Home Alone antics ‘ act would prove very dangerous for you. I’m in this business because my men and I are VERY good at what we do. “ “ Listen to me, I’ll take the tape off your mouth so you can tell me what you want from Taco Bell … if you scream out in any way, I’m putting the tape back and you can have a crunch wrap. Are we clear ? “ “ Fuck how you feel; I’m just here to get paid. “ “ … Shit, not you again … Do you have some sort of damsel in distress complex, or something ?! “ “ Trust me, no one’s doing this job sober - that’s what henchmen and goons are for. “ “ I don’t even like you, so why would I bother lying to you about your current circumstances ? “ “ … Whoops … I don’t think you’re who we were looking for. “ “ Scream until your vocal chords are raw, this place is sound proof. God himself can’t hear you now. “ “ I might be smiling, but please know — way deep down … I’m SO pissed off right now. “ “ As far as I’m concerned, you’ll never see the light of day again as long as I can help it. “  “ What can I say ? Animals belong in captivity. “ “ Groveling like this: snot nosed, eyes bleary from tears, voice hoarse from pleading for your freedom ... Ha ! It really suits you, [ Name ]. “ “ I think after this job, I’m switching careers because this bullshit is just too much ... “

#rp meme #original rp meme #roleplay meme #sentence starters

[angiestown]

our store is doing renos and we just got our new cake island in and ! it fucking sucks it’s horrible and terrible and bad. they told us they were gonna send a self service case (which is what we had before), but instead ended up sending us a case where half the length is full serve, which means if you want a cake, you have to get an employee’s attention and we have to take it out and pack it up for you instead of you just grabbing it off the shelf. anyways here is a list of everything about it that is bad that I can think of off the top of my head (long post under cut)

the most obvious one is we have to get cakes out of the cake island for customers instead of them just grabbing what they want. today a guy wanted two cakes and it took me like 7 minutes to get them out and pack them up for him when before he could've literally just grabbed the cakes and left without ever talking to me

the half that's still self serve only holds half as many cakes as the old one did, so even though half the length is self serve, only 1/3 of the space is self serve. essentially 2/3rds of whatever we sell we have to grab for every customer who wants anything

the old case, the top two shelves could fit two cakes in front of each other, and the bottom could fit three. in the new self serve section, the top two shelves can fit one cake and the bottom can fit two. that means if we sell a single item from the self serve, there is now a big empty space, and bosses (especially higher ups) get on your ass for empty spaces because it looks bad

they new case is much shorter than the old one so all the customers can clearly see us now. it was much nicer not being totally exposed

we used to have our working counters directly behind the cake case, but because the full serve opens from the back we had to make room to walk behind it so now we have significantly less space than before to work

the old case was 3 shelves high, but the full serve is both shorter and 4 shelves high, which means the shelves are much closer together. the stuff in the full serve is supposed to be displayed without a container and there is very little space between shelves, so everything is always smearing on the shelves above so they need to be washed constantly

because stuff gets put out without a container I can guarantee 100% we're gonna put stuff out without realizing we're out of containers to put it in and we're gonna have to find an oversized box for it. already had to do that today

because there's no containers, stuff with peanuts are just out in the open contaminating everything else. before it was "we can't 100% guarantee there will be no traces of nuts, but we do our best to sanitize our tools so it's not usually an issue", and now it's "yeah this absolutely has traces of nuts in it"

anything with a caramel drizzle is a fucking mess

the bottom shelf is a pull out drawer, but there's a support bar going across that is way too low. we have our shortest cakes (2 layer birthday cakes) in there and they just barely fit if the decorations are super flat. they want us to put three layer cakes in there. we have to remove the glass panel from the front to get at any cakes down there so they don't completely smear while taking them out

because nothing has containers, the labels with the best before dates are just tucked underneath the cakes and they all get mixed up sooo easily. if you have two of the same item made on different days, it's very easy to get their best before dates mixed up

there’s no space for the plastic sleeves that hold the pieces of paper with item name and price along the front of the shelf because the shelves are panes of glass. instead they give us little cards to rest on the shelf. when we put stuff into the case, it’s super easy to knock those over without realizing and then they fall into the cakes below. I had to pick three of them out of a cake today

say goodbye to any sales after 8pm because nobody will be there to help people get cakes

say goodbye to most sales after 5pm because that's when everyone goes home except the closer and usually the closer is in the back putting away an order or something. also 5pm is when we're the busiest bc people are getting off work

say goodbye to most impulse purchases because now they have to get an employee's attention and that's enough time to decide "hm actually I don't need to spend $8 on a slice of cake"

say goodbye to all purchases from anyone who doesn't want to talk to an employee

valentines and mothers day we sell a shit ton of cakes, but most of the sales are in the evening when all the husbands remember last minute that they need to get something for their wife, and I'm sure that'll be lots of fun for the poor soul working closing shift those days

soooo many customers see a full service case and think it's like a tim horton's and get your attention first, then take their sweet ass time deciding what they want, and keep adding oh just one more thing and like !!! this could've been as simple as you just grabbing when you want but now it is taking both of us significantly more time !!!!

fr we can fit way less product out, it takes us longer to get that product to the customer and everything gets so gross so easy. I bet it gets all dry sitting out in the open air for a week too

the grand reopening after renos is supposed to be some time late april. there’s a specific way they want us to arrange items in the case and it is probably the single least practical way to do it, but we gotta do it that way until the grand reopening is over because there’s gonna be important people showing up periodically. we’re already talking about removing the glass panes from the front of the full serve as soon as the reopening is over

I can just imagine in my head some rich asshole who has both time and money to burn because he’s like a CEO or whatever. probably loves getting everything served to him even if it takes longer because it feels ~special~. I can see the picture in his mind, an employee with perfect teeth smiling brightly as they hand a cake directly to a happy customer. very sweet.

I’m at least looking forward to finding out what our sales on stupid fiddly little treats end up being because I’ll be shocked if they don’t drop way off

[enneamage]

why do you think the new york vlogs did so badly viewers wise? what made it go so wrong?

At a glance, Kacey Neistat /j

(/hj? I think Kacey people didn’t care about Tommy and Tommy people didn’t care about Kacey, which caused that abrupt dip. That or people were turned off the museum vlog and decided to jump ship from there.)

For starters I would like to sift out things going ‘Badly’ from being ‘slightly less ridiculous than usual.’ He still pulled insane numbers compared to what most people do on Youtube, and I have a lot of respect for other Youtubers that pull a small but refined audience. I think that the easiest road bump to understand was that people got overwhelmed / fell behind on content and just never picked the series back up again since they were coming out so often.

Tommy has a vlog format, and a vlog persona. I think I really focused on this series because it was an accidental exercise in the limits of doing a wide-reaching vlog formula, and how something that performs well in one format won’t always transfer to power in another capacity. The vlog series was a successful series of videos in YouTube terms, but the sore spot about it was that it was clearly designed to be a massive fundraiser that only made it to around half it’s goal.

The scaling on the fundraiser was wonky in a few places, and even backfired a bit. Tommy clearly thought this series was going to pop off, and it really did get a good number of views, but expectations were set very high.

The incentive to subscribe was too low and the buy-in for the donor rewards was too high. I didn’t realise I could put a price to what my subscription to a channel was worth, but having someone say it cost a penny had me going ‘that ain’t right.’ There’s actually experiments that show if you give someone an insultingly small amount of money for a thing they were going to do anyway, they’ll stop doing the thing because the switch from internal to external reward reframes it as being unappealing. I think he accidentally triggered that effect in some people and turned them off. If someone wasn’t already invested in who Tommy was (and those people were probably already subscribed by now), the penny thing wouldn’t have done anything for them.  

Tommy already had a healthy handful of subscribers, but one of the features of his scaling was he would throw in $10,000 for every million he got. I don’t think that ever came into play, but you can tell what he thought we was going to be dealing with here. As for the cork board, he never really spent any meaningful time with it in the vlogs, and it felt more like selling ad space rather than anything communal or accessible.

You could tell when Tommy started panicking because his friends decided to get into a friendly dono war with each other to cheer him up. Phil eventually even did a supplementary YLYL stream close to the end. As I said before he eventually started crediting everyone who donated, because the list turned out to be not that long. I think he started to adjust on the fly and never really had the time to ground himself again in between filming the vlogs themselves.

Marathons, endurance tasks, and challenges tend to have a theme in common: Struggle and suffering. That sounds extreme but it’s true, public spectacles in those styles tend to be interesting because they tap into some raw human emotions. Tommy had a challenge / marathon format, but he never really got to extremes of emotion that we were meant to notice. He very distinctly went ‘odd’ making the videos (partly from dealing with the nerves of realising that his plan was not working) but it seemed incidental to what he was doing rather than an intentional feature; he was suffering making the vlogs, not doing the tasks themselves. He never really felt like a convincing narrative underdog, he was just Tommying around the city.

I think the vlog format kept him from being earnest. Underneath the hood I could see the logic of the fundraiser that went along with the series: living in New York is damn hard on a slim budget, let’s make life easier for the people who need it. The thing is, the connection between those two points was never made explicit or clear. What you got was a hyper-real call to action that felt like a mid-vlog ad read. He also didn’t wind up sticking to the challenge format, for either the tasks or the budget, which grew the disconnect even further.

It didn’t really seem emotionally honest because it was hitting that strange scattershot tone where people play to the ages of five to twenty-five, both making things as colorful and hyper-stimulating as possible while also making sex jokes. Tommy knows how to make himself into a cartoon character to do these bits, but the mask went on too thick to be able to connect with the audience in a way that people would have found genuinely inspirational or moving.

Reality was weird in that series. It was obvious that some bits were scripted in a very storybook-simple way (“I’m going to meet my hero!”) and things were planned in advance, which stacked kind of awkwardly with other aspects of the vlog. The storyline seemed to be pitched to a very young audience, but those people don’t have wallets, so that came off as an odd choice to me. I remember thinking that the final vlog was like making a balloon animal out of a fire hose, the footage and the editing style just barely stuck together because of the weird tonal places it went and then tried to over-write or ignore. I also remember thinking that several parts of the series would have breathed better at a slower pace or at least with different editing style, but I also knew that wasn’t on the table.

I talked about this very briefly when the series was still coming out, but I think there’s a big difference between the average level of engagement that an audience has with a YouTube video versus a livestream. Charity livestreams are a big thing for a reason, the immediacy and community of working together for a shared purpose is a lot easier to get in a live format.

On the other hand, I think that the things that get Youtube videos clicks and retention might have worked against him in the end. As people slowly zero in on what makes people keep watching videos, they get better at bypassing the parts of your brain that think for long enough to be able to get bored and click off. It’s a bit of a stun-lock system where you can dazzle people into paying attention without having to build deeper investment, which is good for retention but bad for trying to get a proactive and engaged response from your audience, since those are the parts you’re trying to put to sleep. I think this series created a kind of bystander effect where people didn’t feel any real need to engage, especially since Tommy kept a brave face on when it came to what the donations actually turned out to be. I remember waiting for him to crack or acknowledge that there was something wrong, but he never really did.

To be metaphorical, I think Tommy followed a recipe without fully understanding how the ingredients worked. On paper it was the vlog format stacked onto a Mr. Beast style challenge (specifically this one since he references the guy in the series), both of which seemed like sure-fire winners, with some flares that made it more personal to him. You could really tell from his scaling of the subscription ‘price’ and donation goals that he expected the series to blow the roof off because separately those things worked well, but it didn’t turn out to be that simple, and he got a different result.

#I went in with the chainsaw but it’s critblr I’m allowed #gen tmmy tag #Youtube is a beast that I don’t care to try and fully understand #So I’m sure there’s chunks I’m missing #But just as a viewer this is what I saw & felt #tubeposting