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yesimwriting · 11 days

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I love ur felix fics sm!! ur one of my fave writers on here<<333 and no I don’t think itd b crazy to write for Nate!! I’d love to see how u would write him!! (Maybe grumpy x sunshine hehe)

hi!! this is such a nice ask :)) i'm so happy you like my felix fics

omg i love ur train of thought for a nate fic!! i've been thinking about that kind of dynamic for them, but in a really niche way

anyways let's have some thoughts on nate jacobs and sunshine/kind of sheltered reader!!

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thinking about the moment in which you find out nate jacobs is your assigned partner for a project that's worth 35% of your final grade. if this was happening to you a year ago, maybe even two or three months ago, you might have been nervous for an entirely different reason.

but you're not that version of yourself anymore. you go out to parties now; you wear shirts to school that your mom buys for you the same way she used to buy you impulse barbies, with a wink as the cashier scans them, making you promise that you won't show dad what you got at the store; you're friends with maddy and cassie...you're on your way to best friends with maddy and cassie.

so you can't dismiss the gossip and the stares nate gets in the halls as a standard part of high school, not the way you used to. you can't just see him across the hall at his locker and mentally acknowledge that you get why girls talk about him the way they do. you can't just get paired up with him for an extremely long assignment and think oh, at least he's cute.

every story maddy's ever mentioned during sleepovers, everything she's teared up about after one too many drinks hits you at full force when your teacher reads your name and then his off of her list.

would she see this as a betrayal? it's not like you picked him and asking for a new partner is out of the question, a fact your teacher made clear at the beginning of the year. but maddy's loyal...fiercely loyal, and she expects that kind of commitment to be symbiotic.

you don't move, can't move until jules leans towards you, so close her hair spills onto your desk. "no fucking way." she whispers it in a way that'd make you laugh if this was about someone else.

you're silent, eyes finally pulling away from a brightly colored poster explaining the roles of each branch of the US government. you turn your head enough to look at where nate sits, the back of the room with a few other football players.

he's already looking at you. and when nate realizes you're finally staring back, he has the audacity to let the corner of his mouth pull into a smug sort of smile you're sure another version of you would have considered swoon worthy.

you're all instructed to use the last few minutes of class time to talk to your new partners, to make some kind of preliminary plan. nate's standing up and you're still recovering from the whiplash.

helplessly, you look over at jules who's clearly trying to get to the other side of the room before nate can get to you. she mouths a "sorry" that feels genuine, and points at the girl she's supposed to work with in a way that feels like over kill. you roll your eyes, picking up your pen and pressing the pad of thumb against its side to have something to do.

nate's in front of you before you know it. he's so tall it's a little intimidating when he's right there, especially with you still sitting. "you're everywhere now." a reference to the fact that you were both at the same party last weekend. you can still hear maddy's slurred i can't believe he's fucking here, before she dragged you out to the house's patio.

he's probably seen you more places. you're around maddy pretty regularly these days and from what you've heard, you wouldn't put stalking above him. he's probably a stalker in the way guys from the news are stalkers, calm and untouchable until they feel like the girl they're watching is moving on. then they snap and some news anchor reports that there were warning signs for months beforehand.

you're partially aware of your potential exaggerations, but you can't bring yourself to care. you've never really interacted with nate, but you want to hate him as more than the monster you hear about when maddy feels like ranting. you want to viscerally hate him. it's such an instinctual tug that you can't pretend it's all about morality. you're craving innate repulsion the way an elementary school girl wants the other half of a magnetic necklace with the word "best" etched into cheap metal. it's kind of pathetic, but then again...

"not last year, or last semester--"

he's baiting you and you're completely aware and you still can't help yourself. "what? it's illegal to make new friends now?"

your tone surprises you more than the fact that you interrupted him. you've never been overly shy, but you've also never been much of a fighter on your own behalf. maybe this is like the parties and barbie-style-bought-shirts, just another facet of the improved you.

nate seems surprised too, only he wears it like there's something funny about it. "no, you've always been friendly."

he says it like there's a joke in there that'd make the football players a few rows back laugh. it digs at you more than it should. he gets under your skin in a way that bugs. maybe that means genuine hatred is on its way.

you look up at him, eyes as unimpressed as you can manage. "so," the word is definite, intentional. "the project..." you're glad for the excuse to turn your attention back to your notebook, "i don't know if you want to work out a time to--"

"i'm leaving in like five minutes." you're about to point out that class doesn't end for another when he explains, "football game." ugh. another thing you can decide to be annoyed about. your homework schedule is now going to revolve around high school football. "can i get your number?" the idea of existing in nate jacobs's phone feels so wrong you can't immediately reply. he picks up on your hesitation, because he tacks on the one phrase that could get you to do anything, "35% of our grade."

you nod once, expression as blank as you can manage as you write out your phone number on the corner of a page. You tear off the bottom corner and hand it to him. "don't save my number."

it's so rude, your jaw almost drops, "what?"

"you're going to see maddy before the project's over, right?"

the implication immediately makes your stomach knot. you're not--you can't not tell maddy. she won't like it, but she can't hold a random partnering against you. and--and it's worse if you don't tell her, because then it's like you're sneaking around with nate. and it's--it's all for school.

"i'm not going to lie to her for you." it's so ridiculous, you can't even hold eye contact. his silence adds a second loop to the knot in your stomach. "why would i lie?" your own genuineness sickens you, you're backtracking immediately. "and--and it's just a dumb school thing, so she probably won't care that much."

"and you're sure she's going to believe that?"

"yes," the word is firm because it has to be. "because that's what it is."

"she gets paranoid."

no, no--he's doing this to get into your head and cause problems. "if she's paranoid it's because you're crazy."

"fine." he shoves the scrap of paper into his pocket. "save my number, don't save my number. tell maddy, don't tell maddy."

you sigh. "why do you care?" they're broken up...even if maddy takes it the wrong way, the fall out will be a you problem.

"she's going to think i fucked you to hurt her." you hate this--the situation, the conversation, the fact that you can't completely dismiss his train of thought. "who's known maddy longer?"

you're about to try again, to defend your friendship with maddy and call him crazy again when the static of the intercom speakers interrupts you. all football players are being called out of class to leave for an away game. nate gives you one last look before turning towards the door.

when jules slips back into her seat and asks if you're okay with everything, you nod and attempt a joke about catching fuck boy germs, but it doesn't come out the way you want it to. she still laughs, so you do too, but that's not as natural as it should be, either.

----

lmk if you like this concept/want more of it!! i had fun writing this :))

#euphoria x reader #nate jacobs x reader #jacob elordi #jacob elordi x reader #nate jacobs

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jjsanguine · 7 months

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Rules: list 10 of your comfort shows and then tag 10 people

Tagged by @bengiyo . I actually don't rewatch shows very often, or at least not the same ones every time, but here's some shows I've watched a lot of in no particular order.

Alien Biospheres. This is a YouTube series but I've watched it a lot. If you watched James Cameron's Avatar and don't care about the plot but would watch a documentary on how they designed the creatures + plants this is the webseries for you. If you like spec bio then I would also recommend Serina.

Cherry Magic. I write songs for fun and my life is too boring to be great inspiration, so most of them reference scenarios in shows I'm watching that I find funny or just stick with me for some reason. Kurosawa's personality inspired one of my best ones.

Coffee Prince. This got me into kdrama + so much of it still holds up. Like, remember how homophobic the 2000s were? That's a feat.

The King's Affection. This is like the best girl disguises as a guy kdrama since Coffee Prince, and I watched a lot of them before I figure out I was nonbinary. I was glued to my seat. My writing project @the-prince-is-not-a-woman was partially inspired by me watching this so many times.

Mortel. It's like this show was made for me. Vodun, found family, polyamorus subtext, mystery, despising someone but having noone else to turn to, trauma, comedy, banger music. It was made by Netflix though, so of course it was cancelled on a cliffhanger.

Power Rangers 2017. This film is objectively goofy but I love it so much. Billy was the first explicitly autistic character I think I saw ever, and he set my expectations for canonically autistic characters high.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo. Apart from being a good show, Attorney Woo is the only other character on my list of canonically autistic characters that I like, which is funny because both attorney Woo and Billy were played by allistic actors.

The Path. I enjoyed seasons 1 & 2 but I've rewatched season 3 many times for my baby Caleb. I talked about a pastor's son and he's like the perfect example. If the show hadn't tragically been cancelled I would have loved to see what they did with his character, because after leaving his family for his boyfriend and by extension his boyfriend's daddy's apocalypse adjacent cult (which is a positive if you can believe it) socially speaking he was essentially in the same position he started off in, minus worrying about homophobia. He could have blossomed or spiralled, who knows. That's quality side character creation. This show also inspired the list "cheating on your girlfriend with your wife" which has to be the best of my lists of niche tropes.

Triage: time travel and time loop stories can so easily swerve into being terrible when there isn't enough thought put into the time travel mechanic but when they're good they're really good.

Shelter 2007: so many of the queer films I watched as a teenager were depressing, I could have given up on ql entirely if I didn't watch this heartwarming film.

Honourable mentions:

Be My Favourite. It finished airing literally 2 months ago so it really hasn't had time to gain the status of old reliable but yeah. I've watched episode 1 probably 10 times at this point, because I would pore over the whole show waiting for the next episode. I was writing essays.

Nowhere Boys: I love forced proximity + conspirationality. It's one of the reasons I love Mortel. It's a quality teen drama.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir, aka Miraculous Ladybug. This show is my Riverdale. It's ridiculous and I don't recommend it and I can't watch the english dub because I'd cringe too much so I watch it in French, but I started watching when I was like 15 so I'm locked in forever. It keeps dragging me back.

Going to try my hand at actually tagging people so,,,

@anotherlovr @writerwithoutsound @dudeyuri @irritablebovinesyndrome @gillianthecat @threezoz @sparklyeyedhimbo @respectthepetty @one-ghogh@heretherebedork

#tag game #alien biospheres #cherry magic #coffee prince #the kings affection #mortel #power rangers 2017 #extraordinary attorney woo #the path hulu #triage #shelter 2007 #be my favourite #nowhere boys #miraculous ladybug

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woodsfae · 6 months

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B5 s03e06: Dust to Dust table of contents • previous episode

Lame that there are so many insubordinate soldiers under Sheridan's command!

Bester, my best guy <3 This should be a delightfully creepy episode! Psi horror! I love him so much. His threatening vibe is sooo gooood. Hope Lyta stays safe!

Did Stop Falling On Me guy just do a murder?

The new opener is so good. Maybe because I always watch this show high, but it is so excellent.

Casually discussing my best guy's murder! I will be fair to them. Bester is a murder-danger-level threat. But he's also the war criminal who has my heart. I want to squish him. Like a stuffed animal.

Vir! And awww, don't be mean to him, Londo! His Minbari robe of welcoming looks much more comfortable than Centauri clothes.

Londo: "Do they speak of me often?" Vir: "Only behind closed doors."

lmao?? I can't believe that only a season ago I was fully "meh" on Vir, and now I would kill for him ^_^

Telepathy accident? Strange. I like strange medical mysteries, but B5's seem to tend to be extra tragic. I don't trust 'em not to be tearjerkers.

Oh my goddddd. Is Susan about to murder Bester with the station? She was! but for Sheridan's interference. tsk. well, probably the rational choice. But I support Susan Ivanova no matter what.

lol Bester, being hit with a feeling of strong personal danger. I should say so!

Delenn's non-murder solution is blocking Bester with Minbari telepaths! This must be so unexpected for Bester. And it is also unexpected for me! Delenn has this kind of pull still? Or again? I love that for her. However, it does tell Bester that they know things they're lowkey desperate to keep him from knowing. Hope that doesn't come back to bite them later!

What a good set-down by Sheridan. Doesn't faze Bester a bit, though!

Dissection of Talia? Fuck thaaaat. And Susan stays so cool! She's so badass, damn. And right after her murder attempt was thwarted. She has iron emotional control.

Bester: "You choose not to trust me. That's sad. And unfortunate. But unlike the rest of you, I have no intention of letting it get in the way of my work. Doctor. Trust, Captain. You should try it some time. The [telepathy inhibiting] drug requires three hours to take effect. See you in four. Perhaps then you'll all be a little less hysterical, and little more productive. I'm here to save your butts! Next time: show a little gratitude." Dr Franklin: "On the other hand, maybe wounding him isn't such a bad idea after all."

Lol!! I love Bester so much. He's such a pragmatist!! And it certainly got the point across that he's here to cooperate over a case.

The Drazi seem to be occupying a similar sociopolitical niche in the show as the late Markab. Which gives me concerns for their long term prospective. Regardless, good for them, giving Londo and Centauri a hard time. Especially since Londo can't help but be a dick to the Drazi and the Narn on the way out.

Vir has gained much confidence while he's been away. And he likes Minbar and his new assignment! He deserves some appreciation and respect.

Awww Lennier, that's such a gentle denial for Vir's request that Londo visit Minbar for a mental health vacation. Is it just me, or is Lennier really developing a shiny backbone? He's come so far from the hyper-sheltered religious acolyte, and I'm glad he hasn't lost any of the stars in his eyes about Delenn. She is that cool. Vir has astonishing faith in Londo's goodness. I hope he's right one of these days!

This is a reasonable request for cooperative behavior. Bester wants help tracking this drug which allows for a high degree of mental assault with a high for the perpetrator, which usually permanently incapacitates the victim if they are also a telepath. sounds like someone's gonna use it in war!

This person selling it to G'Kar says it turns the user into a telepath and lets them directly experience the life of the target. But it might not work on Narns. More Narnuan lore! There used to be Narn telepaths, but they were "exterminated." Brutal. By the Shadows, I wonder, or perhaps the Centauri?

If G'Kar ends up a telepath, that was not on my season 3 bingo card!

Bester's giving a "there are existential horrors you never have to worry about because we take care of them before anyone knows they exist," and it's downright unnerving. How many chill-ass folks have they taken out for fear of what they could be capable of?

G'Kar's No Good Very Bad Acid Trip does seem to be coming with some sort of mental abilities, though not particularly controllable. And since it works on people who aren't telepaths, but turns on a telepathy gene (in humans), does it also turn every human who uses it into an active telepath? That'd be a huge reason for PsiCorps to want to contain it.

Garibaldi working with Bester is highly effective and very extralegal, what with all the threats and civil rights violations. He's a bad influence on Garibaldi. He's already too inclined to threaten civilians, he doesn't need any encouragement of Bester's type.

Even though Garibaldi argues with Bester about it later, he still goes right along with it while their detainee was present. Bad! Influence!

Bester: "The badge and the uniform do have certain advantages." Garibaldi: "Like intimidation?" Bester: "Absolutely. Just like your badge, and your uniform."

Exactly!! Love me a self aware villain.

Londo arranged for Vir to be appointed the Ambassador to Minbar because he didn't trust him. Didn't trust him to keep himself intact in Centauri's political climate, didn't trust him to make wise decisions for himself, and wanted to send him somewhere safe. And now he isn't trusting Vir's assessment that the Minbari are trustworthy potential allies. That's sad for Londo. He'd be making much better decisions if he would take Vir's advice.

Go G'Kar, go! Fulfill Londo's death dream! One can dream.

Bester my sassy, amoral little guy. <3 His snark is such a good mixture of strangely wise, self-aware, inane, and troubling.

Their fascist sonic weapon crowd control devices are super effective. At least they didn't use them on the Dockworkers Union, but that's a small at least. Don't like knowing they exist in universe. Statistically, now that they've been introduced, they're going to be used to commit horrible war crimes.

Oh...I was so caught up in the euphoria of G'Kar potentially strangling Londo that I quite forgot about the Narn telepathy subplot. Well. Go G'Kar, go, anyway. I also support his telepathy plot. Good keeping it together while very disorientingly drugged! He might pull it off, except I'd be surprised if Londo knows anything of particular value.

And he has so much more clarity inside Londo's mind! Compelling! Get him! Collaborating with Morden and the Shadows! Seeing the fuckin evil that Londo arranged on fucking purpose! It's meaningful for G'Kar to know, but like....with no proof will it do G'Kar any good?

Interesting that G'Kar had far more control than the drug guy suggested, able to target memories and types of knowledge, before absorbing all of Londo's life.

Oh, grim. G'Kar's vision of his father and another Narnuan elder is a type of sorrowful that feels so extra heavy today.

Is...G'Kar having a vision of Kosh?? Oh damn! Kosh is making moves while G'Kar trips hard! If that was Kosh, the voice is very different.

I really. Really wanna give G'Kar a nice warm robe, and a vacation. And some rest. And a cute little roast animal for him to eat, snoot-first.

Surprisingly soft interaction between Vir and Londo in the medbay.

Disappointed this went to trial! Let G'Kar Assault Centauri And Particularly Londo Mollari!

At least it's only 60 days in prison, I guess? I don't trust Babylon 5 prisons not to be horrific.

Vir's hair is less cresty then usual, I feel. Or is somehow Differently Shaped.

Hmmm. And some advice from Londo that's somewhat decent. When he chooses to use his brain, it works sorta ok.

Bester says the Dust didn't work! Didn't produce one telepath of a reasonable strength! Go G'Kar, go! Of course PsiCorps was responsible for it.

I really would not have guessed New Telepaths, Particularly G'Kar as a plot point in B5! I guess they sorta primed the pump with metamorphosing Matt Stoner's telepathy to empathy, elevating Jason Ironheart to a telekinetic high order being, and the other general mind fuckery, but that's cool! And I can't wait to see what they do with it.

Overall, exactly what I've come to expect from a Bester episodes. And I love G'Kar, so I love this for him. And more Narnuan lore! I also enjoy that a lot.

next!

#alfred bester #woodsfae b5 #g'kar #babylon 5 #b5

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dearweirdme · 10 months

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I think there's an interesting discussion to be had about how marketing and promo can reasonably look differently for each member based on what it is they're trying to go for and achieve.

The issue is that Hybe has never treated Taehyung fairly, has always tried to dim his shine and has actively othered him since the beginning. Therefore, how Hybe ends up handling Taehyung's promo can't really be separated from this frustrating reality. At the end of the day we can't fully know what parts of it will be Taehyung's vision or the company's, unless something happens that directly opposes Taehyung's own spoken intent (e.g., Jungkook has actually talked about wanting to perform a solo concert, so if he never got to, we'd know that was the company doing him wrong).

I honestly feel a real tension here because I want the best for Taehyung, I believe the company holds him back, but I'm also trying not to assert my own vision and desires for him beyond what he actually wants for himself. I don't want to give the company a free pass on their bs and I think they need to be called out for a lot but I don't want to overstep or ask for things that don't actually fit Taehyung's own vision but then again I don't trust the company to truly actualize Taehyung's on vision so it becomes dizzying 😵‍💫 Where I end up landing is that the best thing for Taehyung when he releases his music is going to be us staying out of petty fights, associating only positivity to his name, and showing up to support his music to the best of our ability. I also think we can safely draw a line at any ARMYs claiming Taehyung doesn't care about streams because that's just never going to be true for an artist releasing their own music, so I'll gladly push back on ARMYs making excuses not to support him because of his promo.

Also, on the topic of gp appeal, I believe Taehyung has massive gp appeal on the whole, but I also agree that he seems inclined to pursue more niche styles of music than you'll hear on pop radio. I've always seen him more like an indie artist, while I think JK for instance is going to pursue more mainstream pop radio-friendly styles. But pop radio doesn't necessarily equate to gp appeal. On that note, maybe saying Taehyung isn't mainstream feels better than saying he's less gp-friendly, because I see being gp-friendly as an ability to appeal to a broader audience than just the context you're in and what naturally comes with that. For example, much of the SK gp doesn't even pay much attention to kpop; a kpop artist having a lot of kpop fans doesn't mean they appeal to the gp, then, and I believe Taehyung can and does powerfully appeal to the gp beyond kpop. I also believe Jungkook has gp appeal in his own right, as he'll naturally attract fans outside the kpop bubble too. But they have different lanes in which they do this.

Hi anon!

I understand your reasoning. I dislike how Tae has been portrayed too. He is so much more than what they made him out to be. Always the pretty one, never the one with depth. And I can understand how you have lost trust in the company because of that. I can see how, with the past in mind, you would be distrusting of the way things go now. I suppose a lot will be clearer once his album is released and we’ll be able to see how things are handled when Tae releases his own music.

I think you have landed in a very positive path to support Tae. Arguing does not help at all. Sending positive support into the world will.

I agree on the last part of your message. And yes, mainstream is probably a better way of putting it.

Thanks for your message. Very well laid out.

#tae promo #tae music

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aronora8 · 11 months

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A headcanon list but it's only Mindy

Idk I just felt like I was neglecting the best girl, so here you go!!

She's in her mid-20s

Has had every phase known to mankind ever since she was a little kid. From Scene, to Metal to preppy, to art kid, she had it all

She loves changing her appearance and trying out new things in general. Even niche hobbies interest her

She also loves to get to know other people being extremely extroverted. She's also a very chatty person, which can be annoying to some people who just want peace

Despite all this, out of her and Vicky, she's the more reserved person. Vicky is 10x as bubbly as Mindy is, which believe me is very bubbly

She and Vicky share a very close bond with each other. Due to only having her mom in her life, Mindy has always tried her best to help her, and one of the reasons she works with Vicky is because she wanted to help her mom get the salon going, and she kinda stayed

Vicky has never pressured Mindy into doing this, but she sometimes feels guilty that her daughter never got another job, and that she's still putting Vicky before herself instead of living her life

Other than being a hairdresser, Mindy has always wanted to be an artist. She sometimes still draws (has DEFINITELY drew herself and Whiff kissing

She met Whiff at the time when she wanted to try out the gym. Whiff kinda showed her around and they started talking about their silly lives so they became friends

Whiff confessed to Mindy during a thunderstorm, that's why they have the lightning bolt symbol

Mindy loves teasing Whiff over silly stuff to make him smile and Whiff usually chuckles on those because he loves to see his gf goofing off and having fun

Other than Whiff, Mindy hangs out with Chuck the most. The two love gossipping together and their favorite subject is the relationship of Quinn and Timm (are they together???? Are they not together????? Who knows)

Mindy also knows every customer's dirty little secret, since she hears all the gossip during her sessions with her guests

She's also very close to Allan and Robby, Allan being her classmate before he moved, and Robby being another friend of hers. Once every few months Mindy hangs out with the two+Chuck and sometimes Taylor

Mindy's terribly afraid of water. She can't swim and boat rides used to scare her (a reason why she was absent from the old Papa's Freezeria). Robby has tried to help her get over this and he was half-successful since now she reluctantly can take boat rides

(TW for mentioning drowning) The reason why she's afraid of water so much is because she almost drowned as a kid in a swimming pool. She doesn't remember it as much because she was still fairly young but she has a very bad feeling about water ever since

#headcanon #flipline #flipline mindy #norambles

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davekat-sucks · 4 months

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After reading your recent posts about wanting to distance yourself from homestuck eventually makes me feel bad too send asks because it means more homestuck is being streamlined to you

About a year ago i dropped homestuck after losing interest once again (this happens on and off) and only got into it recently because i currently can't really play video games at the moment so i ended up returning to homestuck. I think a big reason why i can get back into it so easily is because its FREE all you need is an internet connection and you get the massive amount of content from the comic and fandom, there's just soo much too engaged with even if it's not all good. Despite all my problems with Homestuck i still do like it but one thing i wish is What Pumpkin would just let it go, HS2 and Hiveswap are dumpster fires. It feels like they're milking a dead cow, this series would be better off if the poor decision making stopped at the comic itself. I just want it to be left untouched by a company and have it be supported by the love of the fanbase. I'm homestucked out but i like the character enough and shipping them as well will probably keep me hooked for awhile.

I guess I'll throw in what i was originally going too say anyway. I think homestuck took a massive drop in writing quality after murderstuck. Like why is everyone just standing on the meteor? You guys aren't going to get more serious after all that? Was there any reason as to why no one could've texted John or Jade while separated? I genuinely don't remember there being a reason. I thought Kanaya coming back to life was stupid, the Gamzee and Terezi thing gross, Rose being an alcoholic then drunk making out with Kanaya also being gross, Karkat and Dave being bystanding asshole during all this, Wayward Vagabond being practically a stuffed animal, like what is this? After murderstuck you could definitely feel the decline but there where some decent moments spread out afterwards with Caliborn being the main one stealing the show. I think Hussie really liked Caliborn, you can tell he had so much fun writing him. I like to believe Hussie went wild with Caliborn because he could get away with all the edgy stupid stuff with him because he's a villain, Hussie had obviously gave into the demands of the fans and i think even he got tired of it, Caliborn was the perfect blank slate for him to have some real freedom in writing again, Caliborns character is really in line with Hussies older sense of humor. Despite still giving into demands every other time, Caliborn got too be want Hussie actually wanted. Oooh Caliborn how you almost saved Homestuck, at least you get to be the best character in the end.

It's fine to still send asks about Homestuck here. Moving on doesn't happen overnight and I'm often sticking around more to speak out about the flaws. From the series itself, the fandom, or the current culture that surrounds it. It can be applied to other groups like those who like anime, comics, video games, etc. Homestuck is just one niche I focus on because I'm familiar with it. There are many other people online that talk about these similar topics that do it better than I ever could. But I agree that WhatPumpkin should just let the base webcomic end just there. No need to focus more on Epilogues, Homestuck^2, or Homestuck Beyond Canon. Let people interpret their own endings. Homestuck may not have been able to leave a mark in media history like what Undertale or FNAF did, but it's better to let it end there as it is. The story really felt going down after Murderstuck. Cascade was probably the only greatest thing left behind. Then Act 6 kicked in. There are many plot holes and questions to be raised about it. From things like why can't Dave/Rose or the other living trolls on the meteor use Trollian or any of their communication devices like they had before? There's nothing said about their travel to the Alpha Session will block communication between the two parties. I hate how Dave and Karkat stood on the sidelines as Rose/Kanaya and Gamzee/Terezi go through hell with their problems. Why wasn't Wayward Vagabond doing more to try and communicate with the others? Can Town and being a mayor is his dream, but we have seen him become a leader of his own to his own people. WV had communicate with John to act as his Exile, so why not the same with Dave, Rose, and the other living trolls? Where was he when the others went into the Dream Bubbles? Carapacians are not allowed there? Is still on the meteor to 'protect' the base? Was that the only time they left him alone like he was some housepet? Wouldn't it be better to have Wayward Vagabond that's now revived, stay on the Prospitian ship that John and Jade were on so that they could be with Dave and Rose? Wayward Vagabond would have a better time to try and get all the Carapacians to be ready when they arrived in the Alpha session. Where were the Carapacians by Post Retcon and Collide? By Post Retcon, the ones on the Prospitian ship and those with Roxy should be alive by then. Casey also was there to summon undead consorts during Jake vs The Felt fight. Wouldn't that mean the other consorts were still there Prospitian ship that John and Jade were on, could have joined the battle? There are too many plot holes and vague answers still around because of Act 6 and Post Retcon that it makes people question the quality and how the story was leading up to this. I do believe as well that Caliborn was the only way for Hussie to let himself use his old edgey humor. Dave and Dirk were there, but those two had their character development and he needed another being to stand in his place. Other characters that fit would have been dead and he had to come with some bullshit reason to bring them back. So it's better to make an original OC than to reuse another character. Caliborn really was the best as he really made lots of changeups and excitement to the series. If not only in narrative standpoint, but also in meta in the sense that he was able to change the website readers would be on. You had to be there with old flash to see him banging on the console that the link and panel you were trying to read, shook with every hit and everything gets scrambled and falling apart. Calliope hasn't done anything like that despite that we are suppose to root for her as the good guy that will join the heroes. Caliborn is just that amazing. Act 6 may have been carried by people like Dirk and Roxy, but Caliborn flexed it up high like Atlas did with the World.

#homestuck #homestuck fandom #Andrew Hussie #WhatPumpkin #What Pumpkin #James Roach

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fredrickzoller · 1 year

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Hi hi, I hope you’re having a good day!! I’m a different anon from the previous but seeing that recent ask caught my attention, and made me also want to say how much I’ve been digging your Landström content. The dynamic is perfect, even if they don’t interact much in actual canon you make it work in such an interesting, believable, way. The drama!! The toxicity!!! Shrimps!!Fascinating - in that perfect car wreck you can’t look away from sort of way. How they’re both objectively terrible people, but still complex individuals - it just makes me morbidly curious as to what either of them are thinking in any given situation. I’d be really curious about any little thoughts/headcanons you have on them that you’ve yet to cover, if you’ve got any you want to share, no pressure if you’re not feeling it, I just tend to get very invested in niche things sometimes and I thought I’d ask lol

Hi anon! You can't see me but I'm grinning, thank you so much for your kind words.

I've never really had a ship like Landstrom before - with this level of toxicity on both an individual level and as a pairing, but I think the context surrounding them, both the historical and the canon story (Landa's betrayal of the Reich, Hellstrom's death) are the ingredients that make it so compelling for me to want to explore. I adore the premise of yes they're terrible but how does that equate into how they'd be for each other, and does it even matter? I don't want to fix them. They do not want to be fixed, lmfao. I have a lot of other ships in pairings where it's cathartic for me to allow the characters to heal, and to grow, and this is the opposite. I want bad things to happen to them and I want to explore the journey that takes them there.

Anyway! Headcanons/Thoughts I've yet to cover! Oh, man, you've said the magic words! 😈😈😈 This is very "pull the curtain back" because I do like to surprise the small smattering of Landstrom fans by just dropping my pieces and going back into hiding for months to work on more WIPs/other fandoms, but I'll bite on this… although I don't want to give too much away, either.

So in terms of my canon timeline/fics for them, I currently have six different WIPs started (and by started I mean i have a reasonable amount written - altogether with these WIPs I would low-estimate I have around 30k written), and most of them delve into 2 major themes, which is 1. Hellstrom's dynamic with his family (especially his sister, which "Tease Rough" foreshadows), and 2. Landa's slow progression to "feelings realization" (which is to say, the possessiveness I mentioned in the previous anon).

The fic I'm closest to finishing at the moment is a direct sequel to "Tease Rough" and features an important OC that I've mentioned, Felix von Kleist and his dynamic with Hellstrom (and Landa's observations on it lol)… this all sort of interweaves with my hc's for Hellstrom's past + his trauma, etc. which all factor into his relationship with his family. Felix will show up in some of these other WIPs as well.

Not to pat myself on the back too much but I'm really proud of the backstory I've come up with for Hellstrom, and the character I've created in his sister, Johanna, and their relationship. I think there's a lot of like, you can begin to see why he acts the way he does and maybe he wouldn't have ended up any other way… which, yeah, sucks, but also like… he just continually and purposefully decides to deal with everything in the worst way possible (i.e. he's in a relationship with Hans Landa) so like do I really feel bad for him?? Really?? (Nope nope nope.)

Landa definitely uses and exploits Hellstrom's disdain for his family and insecurities around them for his own gain (because why wouldn't he?)… even after death. My post-canon ghost-AU circles heavily around Hellstrom wanting "closure" (I say that in quotes bc it's his form of closure and trust me it's shitty lmfao) in re: to his relationship with his sister and Landa being all "but what if you didn't have it :) :) :)" because he wants ghost Hellstrom for himself. :')

I hope this answers you, anon, and if it didn't feel free to ask for clarification! I'm going to try my damnedest to have the "Tease Rough" sequel (tentatively titled "Closed Doors") out before the end of the year but I'm taking part in some zines and exchanges for other fandoms right now so I have to put it on the backburner. Fingers crossed though!

#hans landa #dieter hellstrom #ship: landstrom #landstrom #landa #hellstrom

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apathyandmischief · 2 months

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I haven't seen this done and it might be too niche, but I don't care and I want to do it so I am.

Burlesque Ask Game!

What's your stage name? What does it mean?

Lizzie Blaze. My middle name is Elizabeth and my partner's stage name ends with Blaze as well (based on his native name, Blazing Path) so I stole it lmao.

When did you make your debut?

October of 2019! I can't believe I'm headed up on five years doing this :')

Why do you do it?

For the rush, honestly. I grew up loving burlesque and old school pin up and always wanted to try it. It's such a heady, powerful feeling to command a stage. Also for all the shy girls who come up to me after my shows!! They're the best and like my reason to live!!!

Do you ever get stage fright?

I do! Nearly five years in and I still wonder what the fuck I'm doing every time I get on stage.

What's your pre-show ritual?

Panic, run through everything in my head, overthink, and if my sweet angel of a con bestie is there, get fed drinks 😭

First routine?

This is so fucking basic and everyone does this, but Jessica Rabbit 🥲

Last routine?

The last one I did was Miss Frizzle to Hot For Teacher. I loved it, the audience loved it, but my partner did not and kinda got upset with me over it (I went too far, in his opinion. He's a cishet man, so we've grappled with jealousy and internalized toxic masculinity. We both prefer I perform to a queer audience bc he's okay with me interacting with women and I prefer that anyway, but it's not always possible. We've worked it out though). Had a mini crisis and took a brief hiatus after that, but I'm back in it now.

Favorite routine?

That's such a toss up! I think either my Vegas showgirl inspired Vulpix routine to a custom mix of Bumps & Grinds by Sonny Lester and Fast Girls by Atom Smith, or my gay ass Daphne Blake routine to Crimson and Clover by Joan Jett (featuring Velma's sweater).

Dream routine?

God what I wouldn't give you have a femme partner to do gay routines with. I would LOVE to do a Loki and Mobius to Casual Affair by P!atD (I already have it choreographed) or a deeply dramatic and skillful Freddy and Nancy routine to the VCTRYS cover of Come To My Window. I also want to do a badass showgirl Oogie Boogie with a burlap blacklight costume that has a big ass bustle, break away corset with bugs, snake eye dice pasties, and a fuck all huge witch hat that has a roulette table underneath.

Favorite costume?

Definitely my Vulpix. I've already said it so much but it's just so showgirl! It's a gold corset, puff sleeve wrap top, open front bustle skirt, boa "tail", gold gloves, black stockings, red garter, and red strappy lingerie. After the aforementioned crisis though, I threw half of it away and I hate myself for it

Favorite prop?

I don't typically use props, but we have this magic act cane that like pops out (I'm so bad at explaining things jfc) that's super fun

Favorite reveal?

When I did a Grinch routine a while back, I had a pair of panties that said "I kissed Santa" 😈

Plain pasties or tassels?

I am not skilled with tassels 🥲

Upbeat or slow burn?

Usually I go for upbeat! But I do love a good slow burn sometimes

What's your style?

Definitely neo-burlesque, because I primarily do cosplay burlesque. But I love adding classic influence with big band jazz and sparkly outfits and classic inspired moves

Do you still/did you ever kitten?

I actually skipped that step in my burlesque journey? But I host and produce now, so I'll happily jump up and kitten for my cast whenever needed

Inspirations?

I really love Lavendelle, Ginger Valentine, and the Les Vixens troupe!

Best performer you know personally?

Her name is Peachy Sweets and she's the biggest sweetheart and worthy of so much love, she's just the best 🥲💖

Do you have a stage mom? Are you a stage mom?

I don't have one, but I've dragged so many people into my world and now I love playing stage mom behind the scenes!

Plug your next show! (If you're comfy sharing location based details)

I don't have specifics for the next one yet, but I run the burlesque shows at my local comic con and can always be found there!

#burlesque #cabaret #performers #burlesque dancers #idk what else to tag this with #but share with your burly pals!!#I'd really love to see y'all's answers!!!

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yamanaka-shin · 3 months

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Atsui and Samui for the Character Ask Game!

Since you think you're so funny...I'm going off format for this because these two are so niche, I can't do them justice with the established meme format, especially lacking images/quotes/songs as it is.

Anyone who knows me knows I despise Samui. She's one of the two characters I can't stand for petty reasons. The other is Hoheto. But I think, if I had to put a pin to the real reason why I don't like her, I'd say she reads to me as waifu bait. Her defining trait is Huge Knockers and beyond that there's not much substance. It's a shame for those who like her, especially given she's from Kumo and collectively the Kumo cast kicks so much ass. But I simply am not invested in her even though she's not done anything actually wrong.

Like you and I discussed before, I do she her as cishet + aro. But tbh, probably not super interested in relationships or encounters at this point in time. Maybe I'm wrong. But I just don't get a vibe from her that getting a man is a priority. It seems she's a Capricorn though, so I can see her preferring men who know what they want in life and aren't the type to play stupid games. Can't fault her for that.

And while I don't love her, I do think she's good at what she does. Earning a Jounin tank is obviously not a joke or something to take lightly. That's higher in rank than half the goddamn Konoha cast members as of Boruto. And she has the trust of 4A, which is an invaluable asset when you're operating on a mission. I may not see the appeal of her but those around her do and that's what will always hold the most weight. Tbh, I do wonder what she and her brother were like as kids and would not mind a view into that time.

Now when it comes to the flamboyant gay He Man brother she has, Atsui, I'm amused by him. He really showed up and acted like a fool (affectionate) then simply was gone forever. I miss him. Hopefully he's got himself a man by now.

There's quite an age gap between them, isn't there? One of the largest that we have confirmation of actually. Gotta wonder if he was perhaps an unplanned child, or maybe she was and their waited a while till they were properly ready and then had him. I'm curious as to the story here cuz 10 years is a notable gap between siblings who are most likely the only two in the family. His behavior also truly reflects the fact that he's just a dumb teenager. Him being 19 also means he's the same age as Chojuuro but somehow I'm more able to believe Atsui was an adult back then in comparison lmao. I love Naruto I'm never leaving.

God bless this ugly little fruitcake I hope he got a nice husband who will praise him every time he does something good and/or cool. And I hope they're a terribly obnoxious in love in public couple. It's what he deserves. Maybe they met in the hospital after the war when both were recovering from injuries and really hit it off since they were put in the same room.

He's another case of how fun it is to imagine a detailed personal life for characters we don't know shit about because there's nothing to say your ideas AREN'T happening. And I do declare, this fruit loop (affectionate) is cool and I hope he's loved.

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fuckinorangecat · 7 months

Text

part 2

Abysmal. There is a character limit, I can't believe this madness. Anyway.

We walked through a bunch of claw machine/gatcha shops and played a little bit. It was nice and I saw a very dedicated lady trying her absolutely hardest trying to get a golden kamuy figurine. She got it in the end, I was so happy for her. I was gonna attempt myself and if I got it I would've given it to her. She looked so close to giving up. Ahh, human perseverance. After that we got tired and went to a cafe where we waited for another addition to the party. A scottish JET, we outnumbered the American 3:1, fuck yeah. After meeting up with walked around further and went to a retro game store called Super potato or some shit. It was actually really cool lol, they had a claw machine for random ds/psp games and just a bunch of niche but cool japanese titles that we never saw in the west. One day I'll be able to read and play them properly. After that we found a fucking kebab stand, me and the friend I was staying with went ballistic, much to the american's confusion. Also the way americans say kebab is hilarious lol. We instantly buy some wraps and devour them, although it made me sad because it didn't hit the same as home. Guess it'll never be the same. Straight after I bought takoyaki, it was a very fat day but we walked like 30,000 steps by the end of the day so it should be fine - plus im on holiday. I'm not actually the biggest fan of takoyaki btw, too fucking heavy of a food. It's like eating a small rock every ball. After that we decide to find an izakaya and wind down. We find a place with outdoor seating and a perfect 6 seats, we were expecting two more JETs. Two more americans which unfortunately bring the numbers even. When they arrived, it was lovely. We all just spoke about random shit I can't even remember and drank. It was a great night. We bonded and exchanged instagrams, the Osaka JETs loved me and I them. Before going home we went to a conbini and I bought ice cream along with this other JET who LOVES ice cream. She bought one earlier too so I thought I'd join her this time. We ate ice cream and went on our merry way home. Two of the JETs go on the same train as us so we mingled a bit more. The girls all decided to have a twilight binge together, they invited me too but damn I smelled like shit. Ain't no way I'm polluting someone else's house. Especially after she showed me how nice her little place was lol. It'd be like a hotbox but instead of weed it's dutty fuckin' pits and tbh whole body. It was hot ok and I suffer in those conditions. 35 degrees celcius and crazy humid. Also we were exhausted since we've been running on 5 hours sleep. SO WE GO HOME, shower and sleep pretty much straight away.

The next day I woke up, packed up early to meet a former coworker from the UK. He was in Japan for a couple of weeks and I promised I'd meet him, that was actually the whole reason I came to Osaka. I said goodbye to my friend and went straight to the station my friend was arriving to. Travelling around Osaka was easy, it was pretty much identical to the tube. Just with better trains (airconditioned). I reunited with my former coworker and it was great lol. It's felt good speaking to someone I've known for a pretty long time, even though realistically we've only been apartment for like just under two months lol. Not much to actually write about but we did some touristy things! Went to the aquarium, which was actually the biggest aquarium in the world when it was built in 1990. I remember reading it on wikipedia before I was here randomly. I didn't realise it was the same one till I got there and felt a hint of familiarity. After that we met up with the rest of his friends which was amusing, a total of 6 black people and me so everyone was looking at us. I couldn't stay long but I helped them find a restaurant and order, talk a small bit, exchanged instas and left for my dreaded 7 hour journey back home. My friend actually walked with me to the coach station, bless him and i almost missed it too lol. I was very panicked and annoyed, thank you D for putting up with that. I hope the rest your trip to Japan was great.

The coach journey itself was fine, this time I actually slept most of the way unlike last time. I couldn't wait to be home and when I got home I was greeted by my neighbourhood cat Pochi. I was happy.

AWAY THAT CONCLUDES THE OSAKA ARC AND IM LAZY AGAIN

love, J-sensei

#diary #txt #thoughts #personal

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thebibliosphere · 3 years

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So I'm currently unemployed because I got fired for taking too much sick leave (it was legally sketchy blah blah blah but in the end I just can't work and take care of myself and investigate my mystery health problems at the same time). So I've been spending more time writing!

I really admire your writing and loved Hunger Pangs. I'm looking forward to the poly elements developing and I'm wondering if you have any advice for writing about poly. I've made one of my projects a snarky take on "write what you know" ... Apparently what I know is southern gothic meets Pacific northwest gothic, chronic illness pandemic surrealism, and falling back-asswards into threesomes.

I know this is a very open-ended question and I don't expect an answer, I'm just curious about it if you have the energy. As a writer, trying to write honestly / realistically about polyamory/enm, I'm curious if you have any thoughts on what's different about portraying monogamy or nonmonogamy in books, romance or erotica or otherwise.

I'm trying to read examples but it's hard to find examples that fit the niche I'm looking at. Excuse me if this question is nonsense, it's the cluster headaches.

I'm sorry to hear you've been dealing with all that and solidarity on the cluster headaches. But I'm glad you're finding an outlet through writing! And I hope you're happy with an open-ended ramble in response because oh boy, there's a lot I could talk about and I could probably do a better job of answering this sort of thing with more specific questions, but let's see where we end up.

There's definitely a big difference between writing polyamory/ENM (ethical non-monogamy) and what people often expect from monogamous love stories.

Just even from a purely sales and marketing standpoint, the moment you write anything polyamorous (or even just straight up LGBTQIA+ without the ENM) you're going to get considered closer to being erotica/obscene than hetero romances. It's an unfair bias, but it's one that exists in our society. But also the Amazon algorithm and their shitty, shitty human censors. Especially the ones that work the weekends. (Talking to you, Carlos 🖕.)

So not only do you start out hyper-aware that you're writing something that is highly stigmatized or fetishized (at least I'm hyper-aware) but that you are also writing for a niche market that is starving for positive content because the content that exists is either limited, not what they want, or is problematic in some fashion i.e. highly stigmatized or fetishy. And even then, the wants, desires, and expectations of the community you're writing for are complex and wildly varied and hard to fit into an easy formula.

When writing monogamous love stories, there is a set expectation that’s really hard to fuck up once you know it. X person meets Y. Attraction happens, followed by some sort of minor conflict/resolution. Other plot may happen. A greater catalyst involving personal growth for both parties (hopefully) happens. Follow the equation to its ultimate resolution and achieve Happily Ever After.

But writing ENM is... a lot more difficult, if only because of the pure scope of possibilities. You could try to follow the same equation and shove three (or more) people into it, but it rarely works well. Usually because if you’re doing it right, you won’t have enough room in a single character arc to allow for enough growth, and if ENM requires anything in abundance, it’s room to grow.

And this post is huge so I’m going to put the rest under a cut :)

There's also a common refrain in certain online polyam/ENM circles that triads and throuples are overrepresented in media and they may be right to some extent. Personally, I believe the issue isn't that triads and throuples are overrepresented, but that there is such minuscule positive rep of ethical non-monogamy in general, that the few tiny instances we have of triads in media make it seem like it's "everywhere" when in actuality, it's still quite rare and the media we do have often veers into Unicorn Hunter fetish porn. Which is its own problematic thing. And just to be clear, I’m not including this part to dissuade you from writing "falling back-asswards into threesomes." If anything, I need more of it and would hook it directly into my brain if I could. I'm just throwing it out there into the void in the hope that someone will take the thought and run with it, lol.

I’d love to see more polyfidelitous rep in fiction, just as much as I’d like to see more relationship anarchy too. More diversity in fiction is always good.

Another thing that differs in writing ENM romance vs conventional monogamy is the feeling like you need to justify yourself. There's a lot of pressure to be as healthy and non-problematic as possible because you are being held to a higher standard of criticism. Both from people from without the ENM communities, and from the people within. Granted, some people don't give a shit and just want to read some fantastic porn (valid) but there are those who will cheerfully read Fifty Shades of Bullshit and call it "spicy" and "romantic," then turn around and call the most tooth-rottingly-sweet-fluff about a queer platonic polycule heresy. That's just the way the world works.

(Pro-tip for author life in general: never read your own reviews; that way madness lies. I glimpsed one the other day that tagged Hunger Pangs as “ethical cheating” and just about had an aneurism.)

And while that feeling of needing to justify yourself comes from a valid place of being excluded from the table of socially accepted norms, it can also be to the detriment of both the story and the subject matter at hand. I've seen some authors bend so far over backward to avoid being problematic in their portrayal of ENM, they end up being problematic for entirely different reasons. Usually because they give such a skewed, rose-tinted perspective of how things work, it ends up coming off as well... a bit culty and obnoxious tbh.

“Look how enlightened we are, freed from the trappings of monogamy and jealousy! We’re all so honest and perfect and happy!”

Yeah, uhu, sure Jan. Except here’s the thing, not all jealousy is bad. How you act on it can be, but jealousy itself is an important tool in the junk drawer that is the range of human emotion. It can clue us in to when we’re feeling sad or neglected, which in turn means we should figure out why we’re feeling those things. Sometimes it’s because brains are just like that and anxiety is a thing. Other times it’s because our needs are actually being neglected and we are in an unhealthy situation we need to remedy. You gotta put the work in to figure it out. Which is the same as any style of relationship, whether it’s mono, polyam or whatever flavor of ENM you subscribe to* And sometimes you just gotta be messy, because that’s how humans are. Being afraid to show that mess makes it a dishonest portrayal, and it also robs you of some great cannon fodder for character development.

Which brings me in a roundabout way to my current pet peeve in how certain writers take monogamous ideals and apply them to ENM, sometimes without even realizing it. The “Find the Right Person and Settle Down” trope.

Often, in this case, ENM or polyamory is treated as a phase. Something you mature out of with age or until you meet “The One(tm).” This is, of course, an attempt to follow the mono style formula expected in most romances. And while it might appeal to many readers, it’s uh, actually quite insulting.

To give an example, I am currently seeing this a lot in the Witcher fandom.

Fanon Netflix!Jaskier is everyone's favorite ethical slut until he meets Geralt then woops, wouldn’t you know, he just needed to find The One(tm). Suddenly, all his other sexual and romantic exploits or attractions mean nothing to him. Let's watch as he throws away a core aspect of his personality in favor of a man.

Yeah... that sure showed those societal norms...

If I were being generous, I’d say it’s a poor attempt at showing New Relationship Euphoria and how wrapped up people can become in new relationships. But honestly, it’s monogamous bias eking its way in to validate how special and unique the relationship is. Because sometimes people really can’t think of any other way to show how important and valid a relationship is without defining it in terms of exclusivity. Which is a fundamental misunderstanding of how ENM works for a lot of people and invalidates a lot of loving, serious and long-term relationships.

This is not to say that some polyam/poly-leaning people can't be happy in monogamous relationships! I am! (I consider myself ambiamorous. I'm happy with either monogamy or polyamory, it really just depends on the relationship(s) I’m in.) But I also don't regard my relationship with a mono partner as "settling down" or "growing up." It's just a choice I made to be with a person I love, and it's a valid one. Just like choosing to never close yourself off to multiple relationships is valid. And I wish more people realized that, or rather, I wish the people writing these things knew that :P

Anyway, I think I’ve rambled enough. I hope this collection of incoherent thoughts actually makes some sense and might be useful.

----

*A good resource book that doesn't pull any punches in this regard is Polysecure by Jessica Fern. It's a wonderfully insightful read that explores the messier side of consensual non-monogamy, especially with how it can be affected by trauma or inter-relationship conflicts. But it also shows how to take better steps toward healthy, ethical non-monogamy (a far better job than More Than Two**) and conflict resolution, making it a valuable resource both for someone who is a part of this relationship style***, but also for writers on the outside looking in who might have a very simple or misguided idea of what conflict within polyam/ENM relationships might look like, vs traditional monogamous ones.

** The author of More Than Two has been accused of multiple accounts of abuse within the polyamorous community, with many of his coauthors having spoken out about the gaslighting and emotional and psychological damage they experienced while in a relationship with him. A lot of their stories are documented here: https://www.itrippedonthepolystair.com/ (warning: it is not light material and deals with issues of abuse, gaslighting, and a whole other plethora of Yikes.) While some people still find More Than Two helpful reading, there are now, thankfully, much, much better resources out there.

*** Some people consider polyam/ENM to be part of their identity or orientation, while others view it as a relationship style.It largely depends on the individual.

#long post #writing #ethical non-monogamy #relationship styles #relationship models in fiction #also that kindle link is an affiliate link #because fuck giving amazon free recs

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demonboyhalo · 3 years

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The Technoblade Conspiracy

Even before Dream claimed there was a traitor in Pogtopia, there's been a lot of...suspicious activities happening in Techno’s streams. Others on the SMP are already distrustful of him, and the fans are as well, but I believe that we’re focusing on the wrong thing here. This thread isn’t quite a traitor theory, but rather a dive into what Techno has been hiding at large. I can say with utter confidence that the extent of what Technoblade has accomplished on the Dream SMP is being greatly underestimated.

I recommend looking at the sus Techno moments thread by @piggytechnobarb on Twitter for some of the stream clips I'll be discussing.

This is going to be fairly in depth, so the rest is under the cut!

1. There is another room under what Techno calls his "secret base"

I won't talk too much on how strange his choice of "secret base" is for now, but please do keep in mind how out of character it is for man-who-tracked-down-Squid's-college to settle for a home base so unprotected and close to Pogtopia's very well known location.

So, for some reason, there is Polished Blackstone Brick under the floor of Techno’s wall. He accidentally reveals this when a donation asks him to mine the exposed redstone in his wall, acts a bit strange for a good 15 seconds, and then never mentions it again. Sight of the brick prompts him to silently zoom in, fill the hole with stone (not cobble), and say "Don't ask questions".

This is only so strange because there's no real reason for him to have stone at the ready, or any blackstone brick at all. Techno is NOT a builder, and if a creeper blew up down there, he'd fill it with cobble and not give a shit about aesthetics. He doesn't use smooth stone in his base, and has never built with blackstone on stream. Not only are they unusual items for him to have, it's unusual for him to make a point to not have the viewers question it. Yes, it could just be Techno being dramatic, but why did he go silent for a straight 5 seconds at the sight of the blackstone?

Considering who he is as a player, it is completely in character for Techno to build a second base. The lake he lives under is incredibly near Wilbur and Tommy, and he's well aware that all an enemy has to do is watch his stream to infiltrate his base. Techno goes to the extremes when they aren't even required (Ex. His insane skill in party games, beating Skeppy in as niche of a game as Grinch Simulator, etc.) So I don't think it's a stretch for him to go the extra mile, and hide a bunker/resources/extra armour and what have you from even his own viewers.

2. The overpowered illegal villager farm

For those of you who don't watch Ponk, he recently stumbled across an area that is supposedly banned on the Dream SMP - a villager farm. In the clip, his voice is astonished and his confusion is palpable, and he goes so far as to say "It's a full scale arms race" because of how many good trades there are. The location is laced with traps, though he doesn't mention what exactly he had to get past to find the farm. Ponk's reaction is far too genuine for the farm to be his, but then that begs the question, whose farm is it?

...Who is willing to risk Dream's wrath by breaking his rules? Or, alternatively, who is capable of making a secret pact with the server owner to allow such a farm? The answer could only be Technoblade.

Ponk says it himself in the video, he does not have the time to build this. Whoever made this had to have carved out a hidden cavern, lead at least 14 villagers down there, breed them until only the ones with the best trades were left - all off stream, and without another player catching them. Whoever made this had to spend hours of work with no content to show for it, and who do we know has been grinding for DAYS on the server? Technoblade. Not to mention, all the villagers are numbered, and all but one are fletchers.

The signs above each stall are so important, because going so far back as SMP Earth, Techno has a history of dispassionately breeding mobs to his benefit, and then killing any mob not performing well enough. For example, his horse farm: where the horses stay in numbered rooms rather than all being named. The villagers in the screenshot above are numbered rather than named.

Wanna hear a fun fact about Fletchers? They're well known for accepting sticks for emeralds, but will also take string for that trade as well! And guess who has been seen waiting at the spider spawner collecting string by Sapnap, Awesamdude, Quackity, and multiple other players? Technoblade.

Technoblade also has every reason to be breeding villagers for special arrows and crossbows, because he's said on stream that he wants to try spamming multi-shot crossbows in combat to take out huge groups of enemies. He said at a later point that he had run into trouble with getting multiple crossbows with the enchantment multi-shot, and implied it wasn't going to happen. But has he ever been the kind of person to be stopped by something being challenging? Absolutely not.

Think of literally anything Techno has done - his Bedwars win streak, beating MC with a steering wheel, the Potato Wars - what I believe is really happening, is that Techno is lying about how equipped he is so that no matter what side he ends up fighting for, his enemies will have no true way of knowing how powerful he is.

3. Dream might be his secret ally (AKA The Glowstone Incident)

This brings us to a...confusing moment in Techno's stream that sparked a lot of questions. It pointed me towards 2 different, but not necessarily exclusive, theories.

The Glowstone Incident precedes as follows: Techno needs glowstone but can't find any in his chests, so he puts on his BRB screen. He says that he is "hacking" and asking Dream to use game mode to give him the glowstone. Typing can be heard, and then multiple chests are opened. Techno takes off the BRB screen and he now has three stacks of glowstone dust. This was absolutely bewildering to watch live, and was one of the most blatantly suspicious things he has done in front of his viewers. (You can find the exact clip on the thread I mentioned, it is...so weird)

Theory A: Though unlikely, Techno could be Dream's secret ally, and Dream really did use creative to give him the stacks. Or, he potentially gave Techno OP permissions so that he could get the glow stone (and any other materials he’d want) himself.

We all remember their meet up on that ocean hill, where Dream gives Techno golden apples, diamonds, and other such materials for the battle against Schlatt. It seemed to be a one-off gift that was more for Wilbur's benefit than Techno's, but there's potentially the chance that Dream saw an alliance to Techno to be more beneficial than working only with Wilbur, and contacted him off screen to make deals.

Going back to the Village Farm - for a player to get the exact enchantment they want for a reasonable price, breeding them is the most logical option. It's the route Techno would take regardless of Dream's rules on the SMP too, as he tends to show little regard for what the creators want (Ex. Taking over SMP Earth, exploiting Hypixel Skyblock, etc.) However, it could also be possible that Dream gave Techno permission to do this, and so the reason Techno is keeping the farm secret is so that the viewers don't know of their alliance.

Theory B: Techno has hidden resources in his base that he doesn't want anyone to have even the chance to see. Whether it is to hide from enemies watching (or to hide from Dream in particular because Techno knows he's breaking the server's rules) there are secret chests that Techno has with extra resources that can be heard loud and clear in the video.

They could be simple ones hidden in the walls...or in the blackstone brick base hidden under his floors. Saying he’s “hacking” rather than the reality of him just checking all his chests again is on par for Techno’s usual dramatics - yet we can clearly see that there’s no glowstone in any of his chests. This is why I believe he got the glowstone from some unseen resource. With the BRB screen on, Techno prevents his viewers from actually seeing how he got the 3 stacks of powder, and it keeps the location of his hidden materials safe.

Personally, I feel theory B is more likely, but there have been moments where Dream has acted Sus so...be on the lookout y'all.

4. Techno not participating in MCC

For those of you who watched Techno during the Potato War, many will remember that MCC 6 had a stressful undertone. Because of how much effort and time Techno had been putting into farming on Skyblock, taking a break to compete in another event was distracting. It ultimately led to him losing time that, from his perspective, would have been better off spent farming.

Techno might not be as blatantly grinding on the Dream SMP as he did with the Potato War, but it's undeniable that other streamers have seen him online for stretches of 10 hours and more. When asked about why he wasn't participating in the next MCC, Techno didn't say he was taking a break - something that'd be entirely reasonable and honestly well earned - he said "I don't want to."

It could be awkward phrasing by virtue of Techno's personality, but what I think is more likely is that Techno has learned from his past mistakes. Rather than "waste" time competing in MCC, Techno might be planning to use the time everyone on the SMP is gone to his advantage. He could sneak into enemy territory, set traps in certain areas, or maybe even perform some illegal acts that Dream would never allow. Either way, I suspect Techno has something planned for the 14th.

Honorable Mentions:

Dream poking fun, or blatantly covering for Techno?

This clip of Techno's secret Something??? next to the spider spawner, undeniably suspicious

Techno had around 5 stacks of wool in his inventory at one point - he absolutely could be bed mining the nether not only so that he has multiple sets of OP netherite, but possibly because he's preparing the gear for another person (cough cough Philza) or people

Techno's collection of ghast tears. He's studied Crystal PvP and made plenty of 2b2t references in the past (Look up FitMC for more info on those things) So it could be possible that Techno is hiding stacks of end crystals so that he can decimate multiple players in an instant

All in all, I'm 100% convinced that Techno has some serious plans hidden behind the scenes that he's not going to share until it's time for him to unleash utter chaos. We know he's keeping secrets, we know he's had the time, and we know he's capable.

I hope you all enjoyed my research and feel terrified of what Techno could possibly have done off camera :D

If anyone else has different theories, corrections to what I wrote, or other moments where Pink was Sus, feel free to comment!

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dimonds456 · 3 years

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*sees your tags about being salty about suf spinel*

YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT AND NOT SHARE YOUR SALT /LH

Okay, but I'm warning you, you asked for it.

LONG POST WARNING.

LIKE A REALLY, REALLY LONG POST WARNING.

Dimonds456 Presents: How They Did My Baby Dirty: An SUTM and SUF Analysis on Steven and Spinel (Told by a Progressively More and More Angry Narrator)

THE CONTEXT: There was a post talking about how you think a character will fix everything, but then they wind up making it works. My tags were "#*looks at suf spinel* #I am still salty about that like the bitch I am fghdjskgfa"

Grab some water, guys.

Let's start by talking about Steven for a moment. In the original show, when we were following him as a 12-14-year-old, we watched as he built up trauma and then learned how to hide it expertly well, to the point that most of the audience didn't even realize he was struggling.

You can actually pinpoint the seconds he makes those decisions, too. The best example is in "The Test," when he's storming up to the gems. He's pissed. His fists are clenched, he's got that anime eye shadow overlay on his face, he's frowning, all that. the Crystal Gems are clapping for him and lying to his face, and he KNOWS they are because he overheard them talking about how it was "impossible for him to fail" that test (- Garnet).

And yet... he also overheard them saying that they're just trying their best. They don't know what he needs. They never really have. No one is sure. So, Steven realizes that by picking a fight, he would just be making it worse for them because they would know they messed up, and nothing gets solved, and everyone gets more depressed and Amethyst and Pearl go back to fighting each other and- well, you get the picture. He doesn't have a full understanding of what's going on, so his kid brain went "so I can either be angry at them and cause problems, or I can tell them I did a good job to make them happy."

"I can lie to make them happy."

He storms down there angry, still mulling this decision over. He drops to the floor, frowning and pissed, and says "I can't believe you guys." He is so close to yelling at them, and yet, when he looks up at them...

"That was so... INSANE!"

You never would have been able to tell. It was right there. That moment. And then he never stops. For the ENTIRE REST of the series, he NEVER STOPS. He puts the Crystal Gems above himself every time. Think Rose's Scabbard, The Message, The Return/Jailbreak. The Cluster. Peridot. Dealing with Jasper. The zoo arc (ESPECIALLY the zoo arc). Aquamarine. Then pretty much the entirety of Season 5.

(NOTE: I went back and rewatched that scene for the screenshot. There is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it lip tremble in there too! D,: )

He lives for the people around him, and not for himself. Almost never for himself.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's look at his maturity. People thought that was just him being mature, right? That he grew up. No. That was not it at all. He was learning from his own behaviors as well as the people around him, and building up this idea that he had to "fight to be everything that everyone wants [him] to be when [he's] grown" (- Steven, the extended intro).

Yes, he matured, but not because of that. He started making various decisions to benefit the group that oftentimes he wasn't fully comfortable with, but something he believed would be better for everyone.

Put a pin in that.

Then, later in Future, we see it all manifest. He is selfless to a fault, to the point that he can't think of himself in a positive light in the sense that he's good. We see it a couple of times, but especially in "Prickly Pair," when he vents to Cactus Steven about everything that happened. He feels useless, which is taking a toll on his mental health.

"Why do I need to be needed?" He needs to be needed because that's everything he was as a kid. His entire IDENTITY rests on his ability to help other people, no matter what happens to him. He literally sacrificed himself for them countless times (the big one of course being the Aquamarine incident), and now as a teenager, his whole sense of self is wrapped up in this need to get up and do something to make the world better.

And when he can't make the world better, his world falls apart.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's talk about Spinel, the moment we've all been waiting for.

Spinel, as a gem, was made specifically to be a friend. That is her niche, and her purpose. Her reason for existing. At first, she and Pink Diamond got along very well, as shown in the flashbacks right before Drift Away plays (I headcanon she has illusion powers and was literally projecting her trauma, but that's a completely different post).

She and Pink vibed together for who knows how long, until one day, Pink started to not like being around Spinel anymore, finding her annoying and childish. We don't know what really caused the switch, just that it did happen (but of course, I have headcanons for that, too). Spinel never realized until it was FAR too late.

Steven actually describes his younger self as annoying at one point during the Diamond Days arc, when he decides to throw the ball, so I'm legally allowed to make this comparison.

Steven and Spinel were the SAME. They were both young and dumb, and something that at least a few people found annoying. People put up with their BS though, since they cared about them. But, while Steven realized this and matured because of it (or bottled up his emotions, to each their own), Spinel never did. She never matured. She was never given a chance.

In the movie, we saw her as a child, and watched as she played with Pink and never tried to be or do anything else, to the point that Pink Diamond thought to realize she might be struggling (and maybe Spinel didn't, either!).

She lives for the people around him, and not for herself. Almost never for herself.

And when she can't be friends with this one person, her world falls apart.

Sound familiar? It should. I literally pulled from things I said earlier lol.

Spinel and Steven are mirror reflections of each other. Reset!Spinel is 14-year-old Steven, completely devoting her entire self to one idea. Steven's was helping others no matter what, Spinel's was serving Pink no matter what. Spinel is like a combination of 14 and 12-year-old Steven in this sense, honestly. Goofy, without a care in the world, except one thing: the people around her. She would do anything for Pink, just as Steven would do anything for his family.

Now, Pink Diamond left Spinel. We all know this story. She left Spins there in the garden for 6,000 years because she grew more mature and started a rebellion, effectively forgetting about this one gem she kinda stopped caring about standing there.

Personally, I don't think Pink had any malicious or even intentional intent in that, but this ain't about her. This is about how Spinel continued to sacrifice herself for Pink, even when Pink didn't need her to anymore. She wanted to please Pink 24/7, all day every day, to the point she self-sacrificed and stood perfectly still for her for millenia.

Now, back to Steven. The gems don't need him anymore in Future, right? They've all grown up and matured and headed off towards their own futures, effectively stranding him alone in terms of self-identity and self-worth. But he stays there, ready to assist at the drop of a hat, or- in Future's case- the call of a phone.

Episode 6 anyone? The one everyone says shouldn't be in Future? That it should have been cut to allow more focus on Steven himself? The fusion episode? YEAH. THAT. He is running himself RAGGED to try and help others, to give himself a purpose. He is self-sacrificing. (He's a professional, don't worry. /j)

Steven metaphorically planted his feet down and decided that he was going to devote himself to the people around him.

Spinel's feet were literally tied down soon after she made that very same decision.

Okay, enough with the backstory. Time for the salt.

In Future, Steven is at his lowest low. He is running to the Diamonds for help, to see if there is SOMETHING they can do to help him. And we first see Spinel.

Spinel has been through the ringer on a lot of the same mental problems Steven himself is facing. She self-isolated, watched as everyone grew up and left her, and then began to lash out because of it. She understands what he's going through. We even see her concerned as Steven starts to tell her why he's there.

Spinel takes him from Diamond to Diamond, until he's running out of White's room in a blind panic. Spinel is able to catch up with him, and Steven realizes the same. SHE GETS IT. He turns around and says "Hey, you used to have vengeful thoughts!"

Spinel replies "Ohhhhh yeah, but I don't have 'em anymore."

"How did you make them stop?"

She then goes on to sing Change to him, effectively cutting that conversation short.

On paper, that sounds very in-character for her. She's goofy! And that is what worked for her! But the problem is that they had to dumb her down in order to make that character decision work. In the movie, she was shown to be observant and able to put two and two together, even if she often jumps to conclusions (see her being the one to figure out that the gems needed to remember their "pieces," as she remembers the Garden, her re-realizing what Pink did, and her meltdown later when she reactivates the injector).

Spinel is smart. It should have been in character for her to realize that Steven was panicking just as she had been, and needed to be talked to gently. But no. Instead, she starts belting out Change, which given Steven's situation, would not work for him.

At the very least, she would have started doing little tricks or started trying to get him to join a game, which would have taken his mind off of it (to her anyways, that wouldn't have worked either), which then could have prompted further discussion.

Then, once they finally start talking, Spinel could have been able to share some legitimate advise. She was hurt and lashed out. What worked for her was opening up to others and letting them in, learning to trust again (which Steven also has problems with- he can't trust that the Gems won't break down the second he turns his back. Trust does NOT equal love, there is no doubt he loves them to no end), and allowing other people in.

That is what Steven needed, too. He needed to let his guard down and just talk to someone. Sure, Spinel was not going to be a fix-all, but she could have at least offered some insight on what to do.

She UNDERSTANDS him. They are a reflection of each other.

But instead of offering help, Spinel made it worse. She was dumbed down to allow the rest of Future to happen, to make Steven feel even worse. Because- and here's the kicker- because the one person who MIGHT understand him doesn't, that means there's no hope for him.

At least, that's how he sees it. And so, the denial- and "Everything's Fine"- begins.

Here's the thing, though; they DIDN'T NEED to make that decision. If the Crew wanted to have Spinel not understand Steven, then draw the line of her being a Gem from Era 1, used to the Diamonds shattering people.

Steven has killed Jasper and revived her at this point, so maybe Spinel offers that at least he's trying to get better, just like the other Diamonds! See, they're doing so great now! And then that makes him feel worse since he IS trying to do better, but is only failing, while the Diamonds- who were MADE to be nasty dictators- are doing better than him.

The Diamonds shattered a lot of people, and they're doing better than Steven, who has only shattered one person, and not even on purpose. How horrible is that?

Then boom. THERE'S your angst, with a much smarter, more helpful Spinel.

Look, I knew going in that Spinel wasn't going to be able to help. The finale had to happen somehow, and we hadn't seen Wormy Boi yet. I have always been a storng believer of the corrupted Steven theory, so I knew it was bound to happen. But I was hoping that Spinel would at least try. But she really didn't. She just brushed him off, offering really loose advise that didn't even fit his situation and thinking that would be enough.

No. It's not.

I can see where the Crew was coming from. I still love that episode, and I love seeing Spins in it (until that exact moment). This is probably the only thing in SU that genuinely gets me mad. Or, well, maybe not mad, but definitely annoyed and- you guessed it- salty.

I have an unfinished fic where I kinda delve into Spinel's head for that episode called "A New Start". If you really want my thoughts on where Spinel's head was at, there's a bit in there that really explains it. In the fic, Steven decides to rejuvenate himself and brings Spinel along with him, and that's all the context you need for this.

I cannot explain that moment in the climax of the episode, though. Maybe she thought it would make him feel better, or that maybe he really did just need to open his eyes and see the error of his ways (which doesn't make sense, he KNOWS what he did). Maybe she thought that being silly would help somehow.

But you'd think she'd learn from her time with Pink as she grew more annoyed with her, but apparently not. Or maybe she would realize for a second that being loud and annoying was bad. Or maybe she doesn't learn.

Either way, it- and she- was dumb. And they did my baby dirty.

*drops mic and walks away*

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hypocrisyofandrewdobson · 3 years

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I feel like my brain can't fathom how Dobson's art got so fugly over the years. It used to be so good. What the happened? How did it deteriorate like that? How do you go from cute anime-esque faces to wrinkly stretchy faces? Part of me is in denial and thinks maybe he's just doing it on purpose as a weird self-sabotaging attempt at spite. It's like...I can't imagine anyone would look at his recent art and think, "Yes! Perfect! Exactly how I wanted it to turn out! I shall charge money for this!"

There were actually a number of contributing factors.

First of all, he started hating anime. His original style was simple but charming, as it was heavily influenced if not almost entirely copied from Rumiko Takahashi’s manga. Pre college, I’m sure this made Dobson feel more unique and special, as anime was still a niche interest. However, college showed him that not only did a lot more people know about anime, it was also becoming much more well known and didn’t let him stand out as much. Dobson contributes a lot to his somewhat infamous hatred of anime, but at the end of the day it’s fairly apparent the only reason he hates it is because it became “mainstream” and he couldn’t feel superior or special for liking it. Hell, he said so himself on his CattyN website.

Secondly, he changed his art style right after leaving college, but in the laziest way possible. See, Dobson like to claim that his college taught him nothing and that it’s their fault he couldn’t get a job after graduating, like in this lost SYAC comic.

Note: he deleted it because now he likes to claim he retain he himself after college.

Now ignoring that plenty of people from MCAD were successful(including Dobson’s own roommate), ignoring that his college DID in fact teach him about portfolios and Dobson just decided he was “too talented and famous” to need to know how to make one, the real problem that contributed to Dobson’s art decline was that instead of relearning to draw in a more western style from the ground-up, he just stuck to his original style but added “detail lines” and suck to make his pictures look more realistic and detailed, even though the characters he was drawing weren’t supposed to be. Contributing to this was that his college degree was in animation, not cartooning. Drawing a comic or illustration is much different than drawing an animation still frame or something similar, something @plebcomics pointed out about his art back when she was doing corrections of his Inktober stuff. He seems to be trying to emulate a specific joke in his art that can work in animation but not reall as an art style.

Finally, and probably the biggest contributing factor in Dobson’s decline in his art, is that Dobson does not believe in trying to improve his art. More specifically, he claims that improvement happens naturally over time, so it’s not something he should strive for. He’s typically been much more vague about it, saying “improvement is not a straight line, so you shouldn’t stress yourself out trying to do so”, even going so far as to claim that people who critique his art are just trying to keep him down and have power over him, but when it comes down to it, it’s really just Dobson not wanting to work on his art yet not be criticized for it.

He claims his own goal as an artist is “to make people happy”, but like I’ve ranted about before, if you want to people happy, shouldn’t you be trying your hardest in order to do so then?

In the end, Dobson’s stagnation as an artist is wanting to put in as little effort as possible for his art but still demanding the maximum amount of praise and glory, because he CAN put in effort and draw well, so that should be enough. Not that he DOES, but that he CAN.

#andrew dobson #tom preston #art improvement #lazy #art critique #college #anime #stagnation #adobsonartworks #adobsonart #ask #anonymous

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resinatingbeauty · 3 years

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A 'Witch Shop' Owner's Plea Before Casting That Love Spell

I don't personally offer many spell kits, mojo bags, etc. In my shop and avoid selling my 'Craft', as in, I don't advertise or list spell casting among my offerings, though I have had a couple of customers specifically ask if I could perform a spell I offered as a kit on their behalf for whatever reason. This is because I personally believe that the journey is just as important as the destination in witchcraft and many of the spell kits / spells I do offer are designed in such a way to soothe, relax, release, and heal throughout the process. Honestly, in addition, I really don't want the responsibility associated with performing magick on someone else's behalf for many reasons. The strength of my intent is not going to be as strong as yours, for example. Even if I effectively channel your energy, creating that personal connection between the beneficiary and the intent or purpose of the spell work is incredibly difficult at a distance. I'm always wary of other shops advertising this type of service- the sad truth of the matter is our little niche has been permeated by scammers, con artists, and frauds looking to take advantage of anyone looking for a solution to whatever it is that has them at this low point in life. I will tell you, more often than not it's love spells that the customer is after, and they are apt to find many options on Etsy, the platform I primarily do business on, and beyond.

I distinctly think of one potential customer who had contacted me one night obviously very upset. My heart went out to her immediately - I could just tell by what she was saying and how quickly she responded to me that she was in a state of panic and extreme emotional distress. She isn't the only one, but she stands out from the others as her desire to win back her ex lover was so strong it was evident that she would do anything and (potentially) pay anything for a chance to get things back to the way they were in her love life.

I am a human being. I have been given this amazing opportunity to pursue my passion to share my creations and spiritual / metaphysical knowledge with the world through my work. I understood a long time ago that this also meant I had a responsibility to do my best to help those in need and never knowingly harm, much like a doctor commuting to the Hippocratic oath. This may make me a flat out horrible business woman, but I would rather not sell someone on something I don't believe is going to help their situation. In fact, love spells usually make things worse. I'll get to that momentarily.

"Is there a spell to make her see what she has done wrong and to make her love and want me again?"

I allowed this customer to explain to me the situation and took the time to hear her out after telling her that I'm sure that she could find something like that elsewhere and someone else willing to sell her a spell kit or cast that spell, but I urged her to take a deep breath and talk to me before she did something that she would regret.

Thankfully, she spent the next hour or so explaining her situation and elaborating on everything that has happened in her relationship. It was one of those on again / off again things that so many of us get trapped in. Understandable, considering once you establish that strong bond of love, whether one sided or not, it's incredibly hard to cut that cord and move on especially if you're so emotionally invested (and maybe even financially invested) in this other individual who has had your heart for so long you can't imagine giving it to anyone else.

This PSA goes out to the broken hearted of all walks, as this is a universal experience for anyone who has been in love. There may not be someone to stop you from pursuing what you think will fix everything as I did for her, but I'm hoping if you read this, you'll think twice about acquiring and performing love spells or any magick in hopes that it will provide a quick fix to any situation.

•Beware the Opportunistic Con / Scam

Our field is flooded with scammers, con artists, and frauds that exclusively cater to those in this sweet girl's position and anyone who is vulnerable due to emotional distress or panic. Whether you need a love spell like she did to win back her ex or a quick fix to get more money in the bank or what have you, beware those that have used spiritual advisory and witchcraft as a means to peddle you their high priced garbaged. This is a tough one, as you may have a hard time deciphering what is 'legit' and what isn't, but there are some signs and facts you can look for when browsing these shops / websites.

-They promise / guarantee results within a specific or unrealistic time frame

Magick takes time to manifest and the true story is that nobody has a 100% satisfaction guaranteed spell book. More often than not, when spells come to fruition, it often isn't quite the way you would expect it to, either. Anyone promising a quick fix to anything is most likely just trying to take advantage of you when you are vulnerable and you better believe there will be no money back guarantee if said garbage doesn't work for you. OR, they like to do one of these:

-"Oh, your situation is worse than I thought. You're going to need this and this, with a huge $$$$ price tag."

This starts a never ending cycle of you pouring money into this scammer who will make you believe that it is necessary to do so. That maybe if you did throw them an extra $500 for their thingamajig that you will get what you want. This is only the beginning, as when THAT doesn't do it for you the way you would like, they will claim some other interference, maybe you're cursed or under psychic attack, and need something else even more expensive and elaborate to take care of that before you can even get to what you went to them for in the first place. Anytime someone proposes this type of thing, stop while you're ahead and don't provide them with a guaranteed cash flow that you aren't benefitting from at all. Also, be wary of ANY seller who makes outrageous claims- overnight changes, curing cancer, etc. Are unrealistic expectations.

•Understand What You Truly Need

Maybe it's time to consider an alternative path. The customer I spoke about DID ultimately purchase a tarot spread, which I was much more inclined to do for her than some love spell to win back this girl who has repeatedly broken her heart over the past few years and obviously got a kick out of it, the way she told it, as it was ALWAYS her doing the breaking up and blocking, starting all the drama. I told her I would much rather give her a spell to find her twin flame / soul mate than to win this person back who has perpetually been hurting her and taking advantage of her kindness.

Sometimes it's time to cut the cord before more damage is done. I understand it isn't easy to move on from someone you have loved and cultivated a relationship with over a long period of time, regardless of the negative energy that has invaded the relationship, we DO tend to focus on the positives, which leaves us a bit biased and blind to what we could have and deserve to have.

Take a moment if you are in a relationship situation like this, are beginning to question your current relationship, or are considering taking the next step in any relationship. Sit down with a pen and paper. On one side of the paper, write down all the things you love about that person. All the ways you think they have been the light in your life (be honest and give credit where credit is due!). Now on the other side, list the negatives or cons in your relationship. If one list is noticeably longer than the other, depending on which side it is, it may be time to consider breaking it off, giving things another shot, or taking things to the next level. Ask yourself;

-Do they support me in what I do, even if they don't understand or necessarily agree with it? (So long as it is something healthy -obviously if they're supportive of a bad habit or detrimental behavior, this is more like enabling and not a good thing)

-Do they have my best interests at heart more often than not?

-Do they show that they care? Even in the smallest of ways?

-Could I call them my "best friend?" Am I honest with them?

-Are they honest with me?

-Do they lift me up more than they put me down?

-Do you want the same things in life / have similar priorities?

-Is our relationship valuable to them the same way it is to me?

•LOVE SPELLS NEVER WORK THE WAY YOU WANT

This is the cold hard truth about love spells. Forget the warnings in movies and books, as it is hard to believe them or even take them as a legitimate warning when you haven't had the displeasure of experiencing what a love spell can do for yourself. I have, so you don't have to. This is MY story:

Of course love spells are very appealing when you're a young and naive teenager. I had a strong crush on this guy I had low key been stalking since middle school. I don't know why I liked him so much. Part of it I'm sure was the way he looked (hey, I'm being totally honest!) And how he came across to me. We had absolutely no interaction with each other outside of passing each other in the hallway. He had no idea who I was.

I had just borrowed a copy of Silver Ravenwolf's 'Teen Witch' (which is honestly a fantastic book for teens and young adults just starting to delve into Wiccan practices, which she follows exclusively) from a friend of mine and thought I would try the super simple love spell in the book figuring I had nothing to lose. All it consisted of was focusing on the subject, your intentions, writing their name on a piece of paper, folding it up and placing it under your pillow. I would sleep on that paper for months. I was in middle school just about to go into my freshman year of high school when I performed the spell and would forget about it up until the day it worked, a few months into my freshman year of highschool, when my crush was in the graduating class of that year- literally my last chance to make an impression.

I had gone to a local band's concert that was performing at the school's auditorium one day after classes and was just about to leave when my crush randomly approached me and started talking to me. It was like the whole world just stopped right there. I couldn't believe it. The thought of that spell crossed my mind briefly as we exchanged phone numbers.

Over time and getting to know him, he admittedly wasn't exactly my type. He was still someone whose friendship I valued, but not someone I could really put any effort into dating. About the time I realized this, his personality took a complete 180° turn for the worst. He was stalking me. Blowing up my cell phone (which was a prepaid piece of junk at that time I really couldn't talk on for more than a minute without paying a fortune), so much so one evening when I was at Jukido Jujitsu practice that I came home to something like 32 missed calls and 17 voicemails from him, each one showing gradual frustration and anger. This scared me. I knew I had to confront him about it and break this off before it got worse.

I caught him in a populated area of the school the next day before homeroom- more like he came up to me out of nowhere like he knew I would be passing through that part of the school that day- and I confronted him about the calls,attempting to gently explain to him that I wasn't interested in a relationship and I would like to continue being friends. He blew up at me and threw me against the brick wall of the school, trying to kiss and touch me in front of every single person that walked by. I wish I was making this up.

Thankfully a teacher came and pulled him off. Nothing much else was done. I did my best to avoid him and cut him out of my life entirely from that point on.

I don't know if it was the love spell or if this would have occurred anyways. All I knew was that what had been originally a very sweet, big hearted guy that was soft spoken with low self esteem became a monster in a matter of weeks. The take away from this and what I have personally seen with other's experiences with love spells is that they tend to bring out the worst characteristics of the person they are cast on and you have to be really careful what you are actually asking for when thinking about 'desire' and 'passion.' This intent can quickly lead to stalking, obsession, and not in a good way. Another customer of mine who originally came to me for my Forgiveness Spell Kit and had the desired results also, unbeknownst to me, had someone else perform a love and desire spell in addition to it. The guy that she was reverted into an obsessed jerk who decided to spread rumors about her on social media and beyond, blocked her on all platforms, and would get her friends involved in his quest to make her life miserable. Her story reflects and embodies so many I have heard over the years from others who have dabbled in such spells. When they work, it's just never quite what you had in mind.

So if you came to this blog post in search of a love spell for your personal situation or came across it when you have maybe considered one in the past or know someone who has, please take a deep breath, consider your options, and don't do anything that you may regret down the line. Remember that you are deserving of all the love, respect, support, and happiness one could give another. Do not settle on someone who offers you less and expects more, no matter how much you have invested in them, no matter how many years you have spent with them, as they do not appreciate you for the amazing person you are. I can promise you, however, given some time to heal, you WILL find someone who does.

-Samantha

(Owner /Chaos Witch/Designer)

Blursedbaubles.etsy.com

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