#if you notice that one of the pieces isnt in the month that it was actually posted MIND YOUR BUSINESS

[popquizhot-shot]

Sunshine: Geto Suguru x reader

a/n:my first jjk fic! this is all over the place i’m so sorry! weird time skips, this fic spans months btw, angst, non sorcerer!reader, probably ooc geto, scratch that INCREDIBLY ooc geto, but he’s my boy idc

The first time he sees you, he’s at a fast food joint. Satoru is going ham on a burger like the pig he is, mayonnaise smeared on the tip of his nose as he all but inhales his food.

The expression on his face as he gawks concerned at his friend is one to be framed.

It’s also what makes you, who is seated on the table opposite, snort out a laugh. one that makes him look at you. you and the smile you’re trying to hide.

The first thing he notices about you are your mischievous eyes. lovely ones that are creased in silent laughter. then your crinkled nose. and the your downturned lips.

His own quirk as his head tilts a little to look at you more intently. pretty, his mind supplies as you tuck strands of messy hair behind your ears as you munch the last of your fries.

Gojo tracks his gaze and grins.

“Hehe, Suguru.” he teases, “she’s pretty.”

isnt she just. Suguru thinks, but out loud he says, “shut up, satoru." with a roll of his eyes. They soften as he looks at you again only to widen when he sees that you're already looking at him.

You look away instantly, hiding your face from him.

Pretty, he thinks again, and he can’t stop thinking about you for a while.

————————

The second time he encounters you is a surprise. He fully expected to never see you again, but here you are, smiling up at him as you hand him a piece of paper and walk away to where your friend giggles and takes your hand and leads you to a store.

Away from him. Careful fingers unfold the piece of paper:

:) you’re cute.

His cheeks feel warm as he scratches the back of his neck with a small smile. Suddenly he’s pushed forward as the weight of another crashes into him from behind.

Satoru grins at the note in Sugurus hand, “She leave her number or what?”

Suguru looks down at the note again, and right next to your sweet words are hastily scrabbled digits. He grins with yet another blush, “Mhmm.”

Satoru laughs at the expression on his best friends face, “Shoko’s going to rag you.”

He looks away with a roll of his eyes.

—————————-

His first conversation/date with you is hilarious. Over a cup of steaming tea, he convinces you that the school he attends is a retreat for where children are to learn the harsh realities of life. A sort of military school.

He supposes he’s not really wrong about that.

When you ask him what crime hes committed for his family to send him to a place like this, he laughs. Says that the only crime he’s ever committed is that a year ago, he contemplated bleaching his hair so that he could try and dye it.

You gasp, a sweet hushed, “No!” escapes your pouty lips, “Your beautiful hair!”

He chuckles, lying down in his bed and staring at the ceiling, replaying your words over and over again.

Maybe next time he’ll tell you how pretty he thinks you are. Maybe next time he’ll buy you that chocolate stuffed bun you were making eyes at.

He drifts off to sleep with a smile on his face. His hair splayed out over his pillow.

—————

‘hope ur doing good :3’

Instant messaging is such a blessing, he thinks as he types his reply to you:

‘i’d be better if u were here :)’

Gosh he’s being such a sap. He can already imagine you look away from your phone with a smile as you cover your face and roll your eyes..

He’s had only two physical dates with you so far, but he uses his free time to talk to you and you only, acknowledging Satoru’s antics and Shoko’s quips with a quirk of his lips and a nod of his head.

Satoru flicks his forehead sharply, drawing him out of his mushy headspace that’s full of flowers and scented candles and thoughts of you. He mumbles a curse at his best friend, who only teasingly whistles, making Shoko laugh at how flushed Suguru currently is.

“When’re you gonna introduce us, Suguru?” Satoru questions with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“You idiots will scare her off if i introduce her to you this quick. We just started dating.” he mumbles, shutting his phone.

Satoru eyes him and glances at Shoko with a grin.

"Whatever you're thinking," Suguru glares, "Stop it."

------

The flashing lights of the arcade only make you look more lovely, he thinks as you smile at him after he takes your hand.

The others are somewhere on the other side of the complex and he'd snuck away to meet you, eyes crinkling when he saw you win a round of space crusaders for a little kid who grinned and hugged your legs.

"You're staring." you hum, as you lead him through the arcade.

He scoffs, "You're delusional."

"You're so getting ragged!"

The both of you turn around to see Gojo Satoru, with the biggest grin on his face, his hand on his hip and his phone positioned to take a photo.

Suguru groans, "Ugh. Ignore him, he's annoying." he tries to walk away.

"Hi!" you wave with a smile, "I'm guessing you like burgers?"

Gojo laughs, his hand coming to rest on Suguru's shoulder, “Hey, yourself. I like burgers just as much as Suguru over here fancies you!”

Suguru elbows the boy and you snicker, introducing yourself to the white-haired boy who winks at you and gives you his name.

Is the rest history?

Not quite.

————————-

He worries about you sometimes. When he sees you so selflessly help someone, or when you give up your seat for another when they wouldn’t do the same for you. He doesn’t mind that you’re going to have to sit on his lap for a bit, but he worries. Because you’re so good. So kind. The type of selfless that will only lead to you getting hurt.

Shoko’s surprisingly become close to you. It’s absurd, how you’re from a world so different and yet you gel so well with them. How even Satoru, someone who held disdain for the weak, warms up to you.

It might have been the sweets you’d bought him from your hometown, but that’s another story.

Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks it’s all a dream. That you can’t possibly be real, but then his eyes catch the poster you’d bought him and he smiles.

He thinks you’re too good for this world. For him.

—-

Markets are crowded. It’s a fact. A fact he’s known since he was a child and came to help his mother. He’s used to the shuffling. But today for some reason, he can’t seem to bear the noise. The shouting, the yelling, the shoving. Akin to the clapping that’s been playing over and over in his mind.

His hand holds yours, and you’re guiding him through the crowd. You don’t say much, you haven’t said much since he’d met you today. He’s been exceptionally reserved, for lack of a better term. It’d been an asswipe of a mission, the curse leaving a disgusting aftertaste in his mouth that stayed even after he scrubbed his tongue, swashed mouthwash and chewed gum. The memories of a young girl and a man with a gun and his dying best friend all too fresh in his head.

You’re not a person who pushes. Who demands that he tell you exactly what’s going on with him. But you know when he down. He feels guilty when he doesn’t talk much because he knows it makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong.

So he takes your hand in his and asks you to guide him through the market because he’s tired and can’t think.

Second to Satoru, he’s the strongest. But he can be just him, with you. He can rely on you to power through a fuckass crowd, he can hold onto you like you’re the anchor in the storm.

And when someone shoves into you, almost separating the two of you without so much as an apology, he stands still, stunned at the uncharacteristic anger on your face.

“Oi!” you shout at the stranger who turns back, an eyebrow raised, “Watch where you’re going, you dropped your shit!”

Suguru’s prepared to step in if things escalate, if you throw the bag of fruit at the mans face. But you just walk up to him, your mouth still in a frown.

Shoving the bag into the man’s hand, you say, “Don’t bump into people like that.”

The man stutters an apology, lowering his head before stumbling away through the crowd.

“Asshole.” you mutter before turning back around and smiling at him.

He’s never wanted to kiss you more.

——-

He leaves one night, after holding you close to him on a park bench and breathing your scent in.

You hold his hand tight, a bracelet he’d given you snug on your wrist.

The park is dark, the moonlight illuminates your face as you look up at him. Your other hand cups his cheek and for the last time, Suguru kisses you. He kisses you and kisses you. His eyebrows are furrowed and his hands are in your hair. He kisses you till he can’t breathe.

,“You’re too kind for this world. Too good.” he whispers, “Why are you the way that you are?” he nudges your cheek, his eyes closed as he nuzzles you.

“Most people suck.” you say, “They give people bad experiences and ruin their days. I’m not too kind, Suguru.” your fingers trace his features, “I just try not to ruin their day.”

“The bar is low.” he murmurs, “Would you like it if the people who sucked didn’t exist?”

You snort, “I guess. But that would also mean my parents wouldn’t exist. Or some of my teachers, or sometimes even me.” you look into his eyes, “No one good is ever truly good, Sugu. And no one bad is ever truly bad.”

He breathes in when you say that, his eyes softening when he sees you smile, “You enamour me, you know that?” he murmurs.

When he hugs you goodbye, he whispers in your ear, “I love you.”

You hold it close to your heart. It’s the last thing he ever says to you.

———

“Geto-sama! Wake up! It’s late!” Nanako’s shrill cries pull him out of his slumber.

He doesn’t jolt awake or sit up straight, his eyes open slowly, sunlight kisses his skin, akin to your warmth. He clenches his jaw, where the whispers of your peppered kisses will always stay.

His back groans as he sits up, hes aging. A reminder that his life is not what it used to be. And you are not next to him.

He scoffs, it doesn’t matter where you are, whether you’re alive or dead. He cracks his knuckles before patting Nanako’s head with a smile and padding to the bathroom.

Geto Suguru lost all affection for inferior beings, monkeys. He sees them as weeds to be plucked out of the earth, trampled on and burnt. And that is what he will do.

He will ensure that every non sorcerer is exterminated, and he will revel in their suffering. He will lead his followers and curses to a glorious battle to create a better world. He will make merry with his family and smile at his daughters actions.

But when it is quiet, and he is alone with only him and his thoughts. Geto Suguru will remember his life before.

His life with his best friends. His life with you. And he will close his eyes and sleep again, his dreams filled with you and Satoru and Shoko. Of memories of cake and singing and birthdays and your hands in his.

He will remember. That is all he can do.

#geto suguru #geto suguru x reader #jujutsu kaisen #geto suguru angst #jjk x reader #getou suguru x reader #echo actually writes

[valgeristik]

yuppiiii that time of end of year again i may draw less than i did before but that sure makes choosing pieces for the summary way easier LOL Noel is on this summary Three Times. needless to say i am obsessed with her

#yearly summary #if you notice that one of the pieces isnt in the month that it was actually posted MIND YOUR BUSINESS #its the thought that counts. #the conception of the idea. i make the rules #etc #kunst huli #in the days since i queued that post so much shit happened and i am so stressed you guys #but i guess we make do #i need to go to the pharmacy aaaa

[gardenofdismay]

Cat.

#me after mixing up two of the weird cat things in that one dream i had once: ah yes. perfect. #HHHHHH. #im done oh my god FINALLY #i did get a bit lazy. at... particular parts. #but ignore that <3 #i hate shading #this isnt my fave art piece ever but its okay #first time ive finished something in FOREVER.... #Also first art piece of november im pretty sure #sorry if you notice the rushed parts #also i KNOW that she doesn't stick out in the piece and her color palette is really bland #im working on it i promise </3 #me when the color brown apparently: wonderful. amazing. gorgus. #oc #art #sorry if my shading sucks lmao haven't done it in like. a few months #like actually #all ive been making are doodles and sketches #okay im done rambling in the tags

[fanaticbitchhh]

because i love you.

theodore nott x reader

kinda toxic theo, reader is quite sensitive ig, house isnt really specified.

and i made a character ai bot of this scenario which sparked the idea of a fic soooo yeah! my character ai tag is: cherry_loves_80s. if you could check that out that would be awesome!

warnings: sexual innuendo?, underage drinking, foul language, a bit of angst lmk if i missed any!

synopsis: you were at a ravenclaw party, enjoying yourself. you and theo had been hooking up for a few months now, despte being best friends, but it was always a 'no strings attached' basis. it wasnt until this fateful and drunk night, you found out how he truly feels.

you had your favorite dress on, it was tight and short but it accentuated your curves perfectly, and it had a small slit going up your thigh. you had also been drinking a bit more than intended that night, which brought you to where you were now; dancing on a table with astoria greengrass and pansy parkinson.

you never really spoke to astoria, but through this night you knew she would be in your life a lot more. you were having fun, of course you were, chase atlantic playing in the background as you danced the night away like you didnt have class the next day. it was perfect. almost.

you had yet to see theodore nott, the boy you had a crush on since first year. the boy who you had a strict 'no strings attached' arrangement with, where you promised you wouldnt catch feelings but there you were, agreeing to the arrangement knowing the massive crush you had on the guy.

you knew you shouldnt have agreed, it was wrong and you gave yourself false hope. but there was no going back now, every time you try to call the agreement off, you'd come crawling back into his bed the next night. a vicious cycle you had yet to break.

astoria hopped off the table, grabbing the three of you some more firewhiskey. pansy and you had barely registered that she left before she came back with three red solo cups filled with the alcoholic drink and hopped back up on the table. you'd normally be embarrassed to be up there, but you were drunk and excited.

you carried on dancing, even when you spotted theodore nott in the corner of the room watching you intently. you smirked upon seing the curly haired boy, and he motioned you to go to him.

"pans, m' be right back." you shout, slurring your words over the music.

you made your way over to him, a smile gracing your lips as you grew closer. you stumbled a bit, but you managed to get over to him in one piece. as soon as you get to him, he takes your hand and leaves ravenclaw common room without another word.

"theo, where are we goin?" you slur, stumbling and wobbling with every step you took.

"my dorm, you're drunk and you shouldn't be out there when you're like this." he tried to sound annoyed but he couldnt help the concern that dripped from his words either.

you carried on walking for a bit before tripping. luckily, he caught you before you hit the ground and ultimately decided to carry you bridal style.

"m' fine theo." you sigh, lulling your head back as he walked.

"we cant be seen together like this." he mutters, speeding up his pace.

"why?" you asked.

"you know why." his voice was stern and you could feel his heartbeat through his shirt.

"no actually, i dont. so please theo, enlighten me." you say annoyedly. "are you embarrassed about being seen with me or something?" you asked, silently hoping that wasnt the case.

"embarrassed? what? of course not, i just..." he pauses for a bit. "just forget it." he opens the slytherin common room door and heads up to his dorm, you knit tightly in his arms.

you sigh, you were annoyed by his reluctance to tell you what was bothering him. he sets you down on his bed, but not before noticing the creases your dress had, or how your dress rode up your thighs, or how your high-heeled feet were on his bed.

he lets his eyes wander to your thighs, he always loved them, the plush flesh was always there to squeeze when he got too overwhelmed with something.

"you okay theo?" you ask, it was clear to him you were tired, but you cared for him deeply and wanted to know what was troubling him.

"im... fine." he says, his eyes still locked on your thighs. he moves his hand to ghost over the flesh, before placing it on your thigh.

you drew a shaky breath, cheeks flushing red almost immediately at the touch. his breathing had become heavy as his hand travelled further up your thigh before stopping abruptly, the warmth of his hand dissipating from your thigh.

"i cant do this." he sighed in annoyance.

"what?" you sit up, missing his touch.

"i want to... but i cant" his voice was shaky and nervous.

"why cant you?" you ask, turning your head slightly as you grew confused.

"because we both know this'll ruin everything." he says, looking away from you. "you're drunk and if anyone were to find out, my reputation would be ruined."

"is that what you care about? your reputation?" you scoffed.

"obviously thats not all i care about" he sighed, thinking about his words. "...but that's been my reputation my entire life, its a hard thing to throw away."

"and what exactly is this reputation huh?" you ask, growing irritated.

"you... you know, rich, well respected, the popular, quiet kid. my parents worked very hard to give me my reputation. i can't just throw it away for a... drunken mistake." he whispered.

"thats what this is to you? a fucking mistake?" you ask, tears welling in your eyes.

"no, no, absolutely not, that's not what i meant. that's not what i meant, okay?" he sounded frustrated. "you… you're the best thing that's happened to me, the only good thing in this stupid school." he says, his voice filled with panic.

"please stop lying to me." you sigh, tears streaming down your face. "i think i should go.. and i dont think we should hook up anymore.."

"this isn't what you want, you're just drunk." he says as he gently wipes some tears off your face. "please, lets just talk about this in the morning when you're sober."

"you said this was a drunken mistake theo. that im a drunken mistake. i think that sobered me up more than just sleeping on it would." you scoff.

"stop putting words in my mouth! i never called you a drunken mistake, my god. i said this was a mistake in general and i didn't mean it and-" he stopped short, frustrated with himself. "just please let's talk about it in the morning, alright?"

"im not putting words in your mouth theo! thats exactly what you said! you said you cant ruin your reputation your parents built for you over a drunken mistake!" you quote him.

he sighs. "fine, if you want to be like that then maybe we shouldn't hook up…" he looks away before muttering another sentence, you didnt hear but it was something like '…but i need you…'.

"maybe we shouldnt." you sigh before standing up, you tried not to cry but the tears flowed anyway, you knew you needed him more than you cared to ever admit.

he looked down, clearly upset, before speaking up again. "yeah, yeah.. its for the best.. just make sure you get some water and some food before you go to bed, please." he says before allowing you to leave.

you nod, "mkay, i will" you sigh. "g'night theo." you walked out and went to your dorm.

you heard a faint "goodnight y/n" as you left, it caused you to smile but it also reminded you of those nights. the nights after a hook up where you'd talk about anything and everything but solely ignoring your feelings for him because you didnt want to overstep boundaries.

im doing a week time skip because i can 🐍😩😋😻😻💋💃👻

everyone had noticed how angry you had gotten over the past week, they also noticed how miserable, snappy and quiet theo had gotten. they chalked it up to the end of your friendship, but it was more than that. the slytherin gang had noticed your absence, they were quite upset about it frankly, you were always able to make them laugh.

you were stomping into the great hall for breakfast, your ink spilled this morning and set you in a worse mood than usual. a guy, probably in the year below you, had bumped into you by accident and it got you. you lashed out at him, but you didnt know that theo was watching you since you came through the great hall.

"the fuck's your problem!" you yell at the boy, a furious expression taking over your face.

"m' m' so sorry! it was an accident m' sorry y/n!" he squeaked out.

you rolled your eyes and stomped over to astoria and pansy, sitting between the two. you muttered a quick "morning" to them and grumpily ate your breakfast.

theo was still conflicted about the whole situation, replaying what happened in his head with a solemn look on his face. but he was miserable without you, knowing he could never have you the way he truly wanted you. what made it worse was the nightmares and dreams, both of those which involved you in some way.

when theo noticed you'd sat down, he was hesitant to approach you, in fear of ruining your day more than it already was. he looked over at you, observing your actions incase you snapped at someone else. it seemed everyone was stepping on eggshells while talking to you, they were too afraid you'd start to lash out.

people were staring at you, you could hear you name come from the whispers to their friends. you looked just about ready to kill someone. man, if looks could kill, half the school would be dead by now.

theo kept watching you, hoping you'd calm down at some point but he could tell you were still on edge. he eventually decided it was best to just pluck up the courage and talk to you, to make sure you didnt hurt yourself or anyone else.

"hey. can i sit with you for a second?" he asked, just after getting out of his seat and walking over to you.

he was lucky the slytherin gang liked to sit at the edge of the table otherwise he'd embarrass himself by walking the whole way around the table just to ask you that.

you looked up at the boy, then the whole gang saw it. the flash of pain and sadness that washed over your face at the sight of him, it was then they knew something had happened between you two.

"sure." you reply, monotonously. (idk if thats a word but it is now😭😭)

theo sat down next to you at the table, glancing over at all your friends before focusing his attention on you. "y/n, can i ask you a question?"

you looked at him expectantly, awaiting his answer.

"you know how you've become more.. emotional.. this past week? is it.. is it my fault?" he asks, sunding genuinely worried for you.

"maybe? i dont know." you sigh. "i just cant stop being so angry, god knows ive tried.." you say softly to him, your voice cracking as you looked up at him through teary eyes.

theo frowns slightly, realizing you were hurting more than you let on, which made him feel even worse than he already did. he takes your hand in his to comfort you, fully expecting you to shove it away but you dont.

"well, if its any consolation at all, i havent been in the greatest of moods recently." theo was never good with words, you saw he was trying to comfort you the only way he knew how.

"atleast you havent been snapping at poor first years just for existing.." you say, a guilty look washing over your face.

he chuckles slightly. "no but, im still not the way i usually am. i miss.. when i used to be able to make you smile.. among other things" he winked, it was a joke but you couldnt help but frown.

"can we talk about that at some point?" you ask, biting your lip softly.

"about what? me making you smile?" he asks, he was quite clueless at times but you loved him for it.

"no.. about what happened, between us." you sigh.

he sighs, he knew it would come to this eventually. "sure, do you wanna talk now?" he asks.

you nod, taking his hand and pulling him into an empty corridor. once both of you are in the corridor, theo takes a moment to think before speaking.

"y/n, im not embarassed of you, i couldnt ever be embarrassed of you tesoro.. im head over heels for you y/n." he gives you a warm smile before pausing. "but we both know i cant.. y'know."

you sigh, meeting his eyes. "im head over for you too theo.. i just.. wish it were different, i wish you could date without worrying about your reputation. but i get it, i do."

he shakes his head "no, you dont understand. i could care less about the reputation, i only care about how my father would react." he sighs.

"hes been pressuring the family's bloodline for years, and me marrying someone with a bloodline that.. isnt up to his standards is, i suppose, too much for him to bare." he pauses noticing you tearing up.

"please dont cry tesoro, m' sorry this cant be how we both want it to be.. but i.. i care too much about you."

"i care about you too theo, but if you dont think i'd be accepted by your father then im okay with it.." you sigh.

"no, no, the reason i'm so scared is because i know he'd approve… you're smart, from a good family, everything my father's been looking for… which is also why i'm terrified of messing things up." he sighs.

"i just… i don't want to ruin what we have right now even though i desperately want more than this." he sounds extremely conflicted.

you nod. "you could do anything theo, and i'd never leave you.. (fr y/n) a good relationship involves communication and if we have a fight, we need to talk about it maturely, if you'd be willing to try, i will too.." you say, hoping he'd take your offer up.

he seemed to think about it for a bit. "fuck it." he muttered.

"fuck what my father thinks about your bloodline, you're perfect for me tesoro." he smiles softly, it was a new sight, people rarely saw him smile.

"m' willing to try, for you. just promise me one thing." he says.

"mhm?" you hum, you couldnt trust your voice to speak, incase you squeal from pure excitement.

"that if things get rough, or we have problems, or even if it simply doesn't work out for us, that we can still be friends after, okay? i'd be miserable if i didn't at least have you by my side." his voice sounded genuinely vulnerable as he spoke.

"yeah of course, i would too.. i'd start yelling at first years for existing again.." you joke, laughing.

theo chuckles, the comment cheering him up slightly. "i'm going to tell you one more thing, even if my dad doesn't accept us there's one person in my family that does…"

"who?" you tilt your head in confusion.

"it doesnt matter who, what matters is that im willing to fight for us to be together, no matter what my father thinks. because i love you." his voice was a mix of nervousness and confidence, but you could hear the sincerity in there too.

"i... i love you too theo, i always have and always will." you smile, you could feel.your heart just about melting and you knew, right then and there, that he was the right one for you.

he smiles. "now that we've got all of this out of our way, do you want me to carry you back to the dorms? your feet must feel like they're about to fall off." he chuckles.

"all that stomping made my feet hurt so, if you dont mind.." you smile sweetly.

"of course, come here." he stands up and holds his arms out for you. "hop on my back and i'll carry you."

you laughed softly as you jumped on his back, thankfully for his fast reflexes, he caught you. theo walks through the castle with you on his back, he seemed more relaxed now that you guys talked everything through. he was talking but you couldnt focus, not with his scent filling your nose.

you hummed along, burying your head in the back of his neck, he chuckles. he walks you up to your room and your dorm mates look at the pair of you in confusion. they leave, sensing that the two of you wanted to be alone.

he sets you down on the floor softly, a smile thrown your way.

"is it okay if i kiss you?" he asks, taking a step towards you. (consent king 👰)

"yeah." you reply, almost breathlessly as you anticipated this moment.

he smiles before giving you a short but sweet kiss, resting his forehead against yours despite the height difference.

"i love you tesoro." he says sweetly.

"i love you too amoure." you smirk.

#theodore nott x reader #theo nott x reader #slytherin boys #mattheo riddle #pansy parkinson #draco malfoy #enzo berkshire #blaise zabini #astoria greengrass #theodore nott fanfiction #theodore nott x you #theodore nott imagine

[werewolf-girlfriend]

ive been enabled so let me share some of my thoughts on how to get ur art noticed online

if u want Engagement on ur posts then i believe that its critical to make people care about ur art. the easiest way to do this is to appeal to something they already care about, like fandom, aesthetics/subculture, current events, having fun (people love humor!). a harder but perhaps more fulfilling route is to talk about ur own ocs and projects enough until people start caring about them too

theres an infinite amount of topics people care about out there so id suggest picking something u already care about urself and channel ur art energy there. trying to make art for the most popular things out there regardless own interests is an exercise in misery, id advise against it..! if im allowed to get superstitious for a moment, i do believe that even untrained eyes can tell whether a piece of art was fun to work on or a chore. and besides! if ur having fun then its easier to create more, and the more u create the more chances ull have at getting lucky and having a post seen :)

on a very related note, art is a way to communicate ideas so the quality of the idea being presented in a piece of art is paramount to how popular a post will be. what i mean by this is that technical skill isnt the primary determinant of a posts popularity. if all your posts are portraits of original characters then people will have a hard time connecting with your posts and theyll keep scrolling, even if those portraits are masterpieces! the major exception to this is probably other artists, who ive found usually have a greater appreciation for the technical side of art (we can only speculate as to why..!)

lemme finish by saying that making popular posts and being good at art are two entirely different skillsets, ive seen many incredibly skilled artists with jack shit for notes because they dont give people a reason to care about their stuff NOT TO MENTION its a huge game of luck whether a post will get seen. so dont go insane in pursuit of recognition!

(i dont want to make this post too long so ive included examples from my own art and their note counts with my analysis after the break)

hello and welcome to the extracurricular segment to this post :) i bring yall two pieces from my art blog @werewolf-artfriend:

here we have a portrait of my fursona that im still proud of and a sketch suggesting "what if sniffers (from minecraft) were the size of mountains?" (let it be noted that the sniffer sketch was posted right during the minecraft mob vote = peak interest in the subject of sniffers).

the portrait at the time of writing has a crisp 30 notes, whilst the sniffer sketch has over 2000 notes. from the same artist, on the same blog, posted only a few months apart. i believe this is a good example both of the power of a piece of art having an interesting idea at its core AND of a piece appealing to the interests of the masses

this is of course just two convenient example posts, but i have experienced fan art of popular topics getting thousands of notes a couple of times now, amidst my other furry shit that these days get around 200-300 notes in comparison

this may sound like a really long winded way of saying "fan art make the world go round" but i just want to point out the nuances that

1) it matters what u make fan art of: if a fandom is small or dormant (waiting on new canon content for example) then clearly less people will be excited about the fan art you make. dont expect 10k notes on ur post if the average recent post in the fandom gets around 200 etc etc

2) it doesnt have to be fan art! ive also had some of my bird art get thousands of notes because people simply like birds :) and this applies to ANY topic people care about! the world rly is your oyster on this one

anyway i think ive started rambling dhgdjhgd thanks if u read this far! i hope i got my point across! and if ur feeling down about ur art not being seen then just keep at it okay! keep creating and keep having fun! keep sharing ur ideas and perspectives with the world and ur audience will eventually find u! i love you!

#i dont know if this stuff is obvious but i was like :o when i started viewing things this way! i think it makes sense! #i honestly still have more thoughts on this subject + some more practical advice from my experience #but ive never written a long talk-y post before so uh maybe another day <3 #isa speaks

[honakito]

hiiiii😁 idk of yours request is open but i wanted to ask for a mmj! reader x akito😞 hope youre okay with thisss, bye kisses and hugs 🫶😊

-⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀MORE , MORE ⠀⠀⠀. . . ⠀⠀⠀more more JUMP !

authors babbles . . ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀i freaking LOVE THIS ! !

MORE! MORE! - prod. honakito

posted as : request

chars : s. akito

type : x g/n ! reader

scenario : akito with an idol (specifically more more jump) reader ( headcanons )

taglist : @finanah ( ask to be added )

affiliated with : @virtualbookstore

notes : OH MH GOD i am SO SORRY for dipping this whole month and not doing this request sooner you probably forgot about it hhh,,,… no joke i was procrastinating this whole month since i am signed up for the math olympics ( i got a 20/28 at the local phase and now im in for the city phase) then i also have national phase if i qualify so requests are gonna take much longer… but still THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REQUESTHING THIS AAA!! AND AGAIN IM SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

notes 2 : so im actually working on a canon character only series. the only thing ill reveal about it is that it is a crossover with one of my current hyperfixations (they go brrr brrr brbrbr) so mist of my attention will be focused on it (requests will take longer in this case) and other shit BUT!!! ill alao try to finish the masterlists befpre my blog gets bigger so it is easier for me to arrange shit YKNOW ,,, and also the last time i posted here i barely got any REACH. like it was embarrassing omfg i dont want that to happen again so this is probably why i was hesitant on posting again but were cool gang ,, and i aslo have to revamp most of my posts kms

date : 26 / 02 / 24 - 10 / 03 / 24

well , he doesnt really care.

wait , what?

dont get him wrong , tho! when he first found out you were also interested in the music field , he was ecstatic in his own way. so , he asked some questions.

to realize youre the fifth member of ‘ MORE MORE JUMP! ‘ tho? that was a shocker! he never really put the puzzle pieces together.

not because he isnt capable of doing so , he just doesnt really.. care, about idol groups. it was never akitos type of music genre.

sure , he saw a few posters here and there , but never observed them as a whole. the only one he recognized on those was airi , because of enas childhood friendship with her.

and when you first came to kamiyama , he never really eavesdropped on any conversations about you. wasnt that normal? for everyone to talk about the new student! why was he the only one that didnt know you were a known idol?

isnt that a good thing , tho?

because akito didnt know of your passion , you saw right through him that this is actually how he feels. figured out that he saw you as an average human being , and not someone you only see on the outside , on a screen.

you were more glad for his oblivion , rather than mad.

but back on topic.

for a little while , he didnt know. but after? he seemed more cautious for you.

he knows the things you have to go through in the idol industry — he isnt stupid.

so for your sake , hes more supportive.

youll never notice it , but he will watch each and every livestream your group will hold after finding out. ofcourse , on a whole different account , while hes alone — he does not need teasing from neither you , mizuki , ena or an. 

and the same goes for your social media posts , he always tries to be the first one to like.

also pay close attention to his playlist — suddenly , a few of ‘ MORE MORE JUMP! ‘ s songs are there! but not the whole discography , hes still getting accommodated with the genre. 

so after a while — he gets comfortable.

hell always show up to the shows you will host. at first , he will seat in the back , so you dont notice him. but with a little bit of time , you will always spot him easily in the front rows , but he has too much pride to admit it. half of it , he will say ena dragged him with her. but what about the times he shows up alone? when theres no big sister , or no extra ticket from kohane?

if you figure it out tho , hed gladly accept any ticket you give him. doesnt matter if general or backstage access — your performances are moments that he holds close to him , outside of RAD WEEKEND.

and even if it seems like he doesnt care — he will always cheer on you from the sidelines.

begging the x reader gods to show this under the tag this time

div. arent mine ; please do not use my work for own uses , includes : reposting and claiming as their own , heavily inspiring off a long term fanfiction , etc , etc .

#written : surpassed angelic #virtualnetwork #project sekai #pjsk #pjsk x reader #akito shinonome #akito shinonome x reader #x reader #akito vbs

[tatakaetime07]

༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ੈ♡General Yandere Eddie munson hcs

A/n-Felt like the end was a bit rushed but y'know,was just curious abt this Eddie heh,also I do NOT condone this behavior in real life

Pairing:Yandere!Eddie Munson x Gn!Reader

Summary:Just what yandere Eds would be like ;)

Warnings:slight spoilers,stalking,eddie being a perv💀,drink spiking,kidnapping,obsessive behavior,controlling behavior,suggestive themes,cursing,ooc

Word count-703

*Not edited

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

-Very skittery and paranoid yandere

-Let's get this one thing clear,once Eddie's interested he will literally become obsessed

-You would simply be walking through the halls before bumping into him(cliche ik).You would mutter a small 'sorry' while giving him a meek smile,and you had no idea what you had just started.As you walked away Eddie stood there awestruck,trying to slow down his beating heart

-Why did this catch his attention?Because you had already known who he was,actually you had been acquainted in middle school,so that meant you knew about his social status as the town 'freak'.Yet you continued to he nice to him,he would begin to see you as a small,defenseless little thing that needed someone to protect you

-After that he would start purposely bumping into you,saying things like,"We gotta stop running into each other like this."ugh that sly dog,anyway you would just laugh it off,mind being somewhere else.He seemed sweet enough,so when he asked you if you had wanted to hang out,you agreed

-Even tho Eddie isnt best known for how social he is,he knew that he had to try and get you with someway or another.Days turned into weeks and weeks into months.After getting to know each other(although might just be him learning abt you),you were both fairly close.So that meant he came over to your house all the time

-Yet you still didn't know about his escapades and why he came over so much.You especially didn't know why multiple pieces of your clothes had went missing

-However if you did know,welll let's just say you would certainly drop Eds.It would mostly be when your showering,Eddie would would walk around your room,staring and imprinting every last piece of your room into his mind

-The first time he stole something of yours was just a little pen(which by the he still keeps by his bedside),he was nervous you would somehow notice the pen missing and call him out on it,but as you started to trust him more and more he knew he could get away with more stuff.So gradually over time he would start taking bigger things

-"Hey mom have you seen my sweater?""Oh no sorry honey,haven't seen it for ages."

-Meanwhile Eddie would literally be sniffing the garment as he cuddled it

-So yea,you really shouldn't leave anything around him,and once he finds a pair of your worn panties?let's just say you're never getting that back again💀👀

-He always has a little box he keeps with all your things in one of his shelfs,not joking

-He would make his behavior obvious,although you would be slightly weirded out on how much he talked about his distaste for any of your friends who were close to you

-He would constantly try to make wedges between you and your other friends,which you would notice and take your friends side,and Eddie would def be a bit pissed,bit since hes also a bit delusional he'll think your friends were forcing you to or something

-For a few excruciating months after you calling him out,you would ignore him,and Eddie desperately needed to see you every day,at least in his mind

-And what does he do instead of calling?He ends up watching you from your window every night 0-o

-like seriously get some curtains

-Doesnt matter which part of the day he will always find comfort watching you

-And by the way hes definitely going to scare the shit out of some of your friends,threatening them to stay away from you(they dont)

-Your relationship is practically non-existent by the time Eddie's framed for Chrissys murder.And although he wouldn't have kidnapped you in normal circumstances,he knew that if he had to hide he would bring you too.And since he knew he wasn't the actual murderer he was terrified something would happen to you

-He would follow you to a party and ask one of his bandmates to flirt with you while spiking your drink

-It was no surprise when you awoke to a banging headache a familiar metalhead staring down at you

-You would of course freak out,but he would just silence you and tell you everything was going to be ok(which you said was b.s)

-Evantually Eddie would leave to get food and you would find a shard of glass strong enough to slice through the rope you were tied up in

-You would pass by the box which was open,and be internally screaming,just who did you let in your house?

-You would run like hell,and the chance that Eddie ever had with u would📉

-no promises that he won't find you again and just hide you better💃

#eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #st4 #stranger things #eddie munson x you #stranger things x reader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson oneshot #stranger things s4 #stranger things season 4 #st x reader #yandere eddie munson #Jealous Eddie Munson #st 4

[chososdiscordkitten]

⋆˚｡⋆୨ About Me ୧⋆˚｡⋆

Fun Facts:

I use they/them pronouns!!

I'm hispanic!! I used to have it in my welcoming page but I just noticed it isnt anymore!!

I'm a libra!!

I'm on the chunkier side, fuller figured, plus size- whatever :)

I only bought a laptop to start writing fanfics. (a very expensive investment but 100% worth it)

my favorite movies are, American Psycho, Gone Girl, Someone Great, nd DeadPool :D

I'm asexual!!! (but u write smut?) yes I do! I just find lines on paper attractive rather than irl people.

Questions:

How long have you been writing? Officially, since last years horny thanksgiving around 2 am. I just couldn't stand how full my brain felt and had to write it and post. But technically, I've been writing fics in my brain for years. Like, I have an actual archive in my brain of all the fics i've mentally written since I was 9. I still remember them all. Yet I can't remember what I ate yesterday, funny huh. A handful of physical ones for my friends (I found writing on my phone so fucking annoying ໒꒰ ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱১

Why don't you follow back/turn on dms? (／≧ω＼) embarrassing but wtv, I'm a very nervous person when it comes to 1 on 1 conversation..? idk if I come off that way in my posts, but I've had my fair share of online friendships/ irl friendships that ended... not great. so instead of doing that again, I'd rather protect my peace and not even try. I luv talking to people through posts nd asks though!! I just get vv anxious and scared (?) when I have to talk to new people in private. I wish I could speak to people on 1 on 1, but it just gives me unnecessary anxiety that makes me want to throw up.

Why tag your stuff with 'chubby reader' if it mentions nothing physically other than r! privates? So people who are on the chunkier side, (like I am) know I wrote a piece with their body in mind. Always, always I will write my stuff with a fuller figured body in mind (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Will you ever do a face reveal? No probably not. I'd much rather be a faceless entity on here than an actual person. I use spectacles, if that helps picture me better lol

Why the name 'Ten'? I spent the first 3 months on this app as a nameless person, I debated using my irl nickname, and realized my irls could find me just on that. But then I heard 'Ten - Dani Flow' and I loved it soooo much. In Spanish 'ten' means 'here' which I think is vv funny, since I come on here nd im just like 'here, take it.' when I post fics. Plus, it's also 3 letters like my irl nickname (⁀ ᗢ ⁀)

Why is that pic the banner of your pinned post? I remember when I made my pinned, I knew there had to be like- a pic on top. but there wasn't any that called out to me that were 'aesthetic' -so I chose that picture because, growing up I always wanted to run a semi successful fanfic blog. thus 'I used to dream about times like these' its a lil funny thing that makes me laugh every time I see it, cause it doesn't match with the theme of my blog lol

#chososdiscordkitten

[goodmorningdove]

info dump on a topic of your choice <3

so you have chosen death

spoilers for madoka magica rebellion (and madoka magica in general) below the cut

It's so fascinating how rebellion toys with the viewers prespective in rebellion. it starts out seeming like a reboot of the series, with Madoka as the center focus of the story and the others as side characters. The viewer is clued into the idea that something is very different for two reasons: bebe (aka charlotte, the witch that killed mami originally) and the defeat of the nightmare. they don't kill it, they just give it some food? weird flex but ok. With homura's introduction however we get more weirdness. the teachers is going on and on about the end of the world. Now, it's pretty easy to chalk it up to this teacher just Being Weird, but it's weird even for her. Normally she's talking incessantly about her love life, and now it's the end of the world? odd. Then with homura herself, a lot happens for many reasons. First of all, the discussion she has with madoka when they're on the field. For so long they've wanted to just chill and hang out, but when the world always ends in a month it's very difficult to do that. Of course, neither of them actively remember the timelines Homura created, but the viewer does. The viewer knows and remembers what happened. This is the first solid piece of info that rebellion is not a reboot.

Now, what set me off personally came not long after. When fighting hitomi's nightmare again, you can see witch symbol's flash on the screen during homura's transformation. this made me absolutely loose my shit when i first watched rebellion because that's. that's a witch is near?? Bitch What The Fuck? (also of note, one of the witchy symbols roughly translates to "they glorify death" which i believe refers to how magical girls in this timeline see dying as an honourable act, as it is when they unite with the law of cycles. Homura knows however that Madoka is the law of cycles, and doesnt like that shes a god and not with homura. also another one translates roughly to "the master is bored" which either refers to homura herself being the master of the labyrinth they're in and how she's going to notice things are off, or that the incubators are bored and they're going to fuck with Madoka's Godhood bcz the current system just isnt efficient enough! assholes.)

anyway. then we get the melty face stuff :) this shit looked creepy af and i loved it. Homura is loosing grip on the reality she's created. the individuals not invited into this world cannot retain their images as they literally have no lives. Homura doesnt know how they's react past the one month loop, so of course after THREE months they're going to get a little sloppy :P this is also when homura confronts kyoko (and we see the clara dolls! they start showing up as soon as the melty faces arrive but i only really noticed them here), as kyoko never went to the same school as homura and co, so her inclusion as such a primary player is odd compared to homura's hidden memories. The journey to Kyoko's home city is fucking wild i love it so much. like they are on fucking glass floor?? kyoko's home city is just picture frames?? and no one fucking mentions that?? and it's so obvious why it's because they look like hazy memories, something you can't replicate in video, but it's so obvious that what is happening is like when a dream goes "yeah then some shit happened you walked on the ceiling etc etc this is not important byee" except this IS important!! but they can't go to kyoko's home city because homura! never! went! there! it cant exist in your dream if you never went there! but homura isnt ready to accept that she's a witch so shes like "ill find this witch!!!"

then homura goes to mami's to chill with madoka and mami and bebe except PSYCH she's analyising bebe and mami's relationship, because of course bebe is homura's first suspect, last time she saw bebe, bebe fucking eated mami what the fuck is this shit! when mami's answers arent satisfying enough and homura goes apeshit on bebe, the screens by them show bebe's face and some witchy symbols i havent translated. which makes you think yeah bebe is the witch! but of course homura's dream would incriminate whoever homura suspects, because that's how dreams work?! of course mami finds homura bcz mami and bebe are besties nowwwww!! and mami uses a ribbon to tie herself to homura so that homura cant freeze mami and get the upper hand, except the ribbon dissapears?? which may be an animation error but i dont think it is. see this is all homura's dream, and the logistics of the ribbon in the fight would just get in the way so homura's brain just goes "yeah yeah the ribbon is there dont worry about it it's invisible" until the end of the fight when homura breaks the ribbon. then the ribbon is important to homura's brain! lol anyway then homura shoots mami and mami turns out to be a ribbon clone! which is like kinda weird bcz mami's never shown this skill before, but i think it's bcz homura doesnt actually want to hurt mami, so her brain teleported mami away and replaced her with a ribbon clone. that's what i believe.

then we get. the sayaka confrontation. which i fucking love. bcz sayaka knows whats up and shes trying to get homura to not hate herself. "why kill this witch? she seems to not want death and destuction. she just wants to be with her friends. thats not a crime." but homura just sees it as a neon sign saying "sayaka is the witch" which is emphasized by sayaka's witch form being her reflection in the water. so homura fucking. books it. runs away and gets on a boat and we get the curtain call. Homura will know the truth soon, and so this dream will come to an end soon. We hope you enjoyed the show!

but it's not quite over yet. Homura gets to have a talk with madoka first. and here we learn that madoka, didnt really want to make her wish. she did it because she had no other choice. Madoka also tries to braid Homura's hair, to return her to the Innocent Homura. the Homura Still Full Of Hope And Happiness. at this point i think homura would have been happy to just die and become one with the law of cycles. shes still a witch tho and doesnt Know know it yet tho so first we have to have her go on a bus ride, leaving her soul gem behind. the clocks on the bus tick, as they count down to when homura should pass out from being too far away form her soul gem. she doesnt pass out though. And all goes to shit. the blimps crash, the city is set ablaze in every way, the bus lights on fire, the strangers now are just dolls with identical bodies. the bus does not pull into the stop, it crashes face first, homura stands unfazed however. this her dream. the destruction within it is her just as much her as everything in the dream so far has been.

And homura wakes up. she is able to speak to the incubators again, and they explain that they are studying her soul gem so that they can pin point what exactly the law of cycles is so that they can manipulate the law of cycles to make it more efficient :3 isnt that just great? anyway now homura you have served your purpose to so you may leave this place and rejoin madoka :3

except they forgor that rule #1 of interacting with homura is dont fuck with madoka and that is exactly what the incubators plan on doing so she tries to kill all the incubators, and in doing so she becomes Full Witch so the other magical girls start fighting her so that they can get madoka close enough to homura to use their combined strength to destroy the containment field and reunite homura with All of Madoka. (also here we get the gay-ass line from sayaka to kyoko "my one regret was leaving you" thats so lesbian anyway) they do succeed in this to be fair, but uhh homura pulls a fucking 180 and goes nah im not going to madoka. madoka is going to ME. which is obv like if homura remakes the world again then she can become and god and make sure that NO ONE FUCKS WITH MADOKA. LEAVE MADOKA ALONE OR BE NICE TO HER.

so now homura is a demon and. god its so perfect. Madoka acsended to godhood with her magical wish. she is there for the good of everyone and is a passive force. homura ascended to godhood with her witch's curse. she is there for the good of madoka and madoka alone and she is an active force. she actively stops madoka from remembering her godhood. she actively tells sayaka to fuck off. As the walpurgisnacht rising trailer says, "this world is for madoka and madoka alone" or something along those lines. i have a shitty memory lol.

also we have seen no incubators in the new universe so like where are they. we know they're their bcz homura explicitly told them that it doenst matter that they dont want to fuck with human emotions anymore, they are necessary in dealing out the remainder of the witches' curses. Are they all Clara Dolls now? are they homura's phone? Does each witch get her own personal incubator? does madoka get all 100000 incubators because she thinks they're cute? i dont know!!!!!

anyway to think that in ep 1 madoka was like "damn i wish i had secret admirers" dont worry bestie a lesbian WILL rewrite reality for you. also not to be a downer but imagine we get to the end of walpurgisnacht rising and madoka just says "homura... im straight" i'd kill. maybe i wouldnt thatd be pretty fucking funny tbh. she just sides with hitomi "yeah homura girls cant love girls" meanwhile homura is like "my love for you is what gave me the power to become the devil what the fuck are you talking about"

uh yeah :) hope that was. coherent.

#madoka magica #homura akemi #madoka kaname #puella magi madoka magica

[victimsofyaoipoll]

alright time to write an essay detailing whatever yaoi has done to my girl nancy wheeler. so like, even when it comes to yaoi shippers nancy has had stonathan, harringrove, AND steddie over four seasons with steddie already having massive popularity + the other shippers, wheras thankfully eleven only has to deal with byler shippers when it comes to the victimization. but not to diminish eleven any more because she has def gone through it in fandom, im going to get into nancy's stuff: you will notice all three ships she supposedly gets in the way of (ignoring jargyle because the shippers are chill in my experience) involve steve harrington, AKA the most popular character if i had to guess and the white boy of the month. see, they were dating at one point in s1 and s2. the breakup was messy. like he kinda was complicit in her slutshaming at one point and didnt let her grieve her dead best friend properly and she ambiguously (as in nobody can fucking decide when the break up was) cheated on him so yeah. messy. mutually. if not more on steve's side given he was a bit of an asshole in s1-2 but gets better. yadda yadda fast forward to harringrove in particular, AKA steve x the guy who attacked a black child and abused his younger sibling (and im not attacking anyone thats just. what happened). basically 90% of them try to convince people nancy is abusive for the two arguments that occurred and is a slut and privileged (never mind steve being probably the most well off member of the main cast + hes a white guy in the 80s) blah blah blah. also ironic they call her abusive OFTEN when billy (one half of harringrove) kinda like threatens his sister max and breaks her things and otherwise abuses her Often. but yeah. they hate her for breaking his heart. they hate her for getting in the wya of their ship possibly. they hate her in general. add that to the general fandom misogyny and suddenly a large number of people are writing essays about how much they hate her and how she's a piece of shit, actually. fast forward to s4 and steddie and a new problem arises: steddie shippers keep flooding her character and ship tags with primarily steddie. so now your options regarding her are mlm ships and mlm shippers shitting on her. also keep in mind there is now more content for half of that ship, a guy who shows up for an hour and dies in the same season, than nancy, a mc. and if you like nancy ships like jancy or ronance, too bad those tags are flooded as well. as in someone did analytics in august for ronance i think and at one point the majority of main pairings in the ronance ao3 tags itself was steddie. either way both ships usually end up as side ships or bait into a steddie centric fic or tumblr post. or nancy ends up third wheeling and getting them together. as a nice bonus (not really) recently steddie shippers have decided that they too hate nancy and have entire posts and common plots (i have seen tumblr ficlets/hc's and people discussing this as a common trope for steddie fics on ao3) about how nancy was a horrible person who damaged steve's self esteem and ability to be in a relationship or something from a break up, as if the relationship wasnt mutually harmful and compounded by nancy's whole dead best and possibly only friend thing. and whoops for ships like ronance that isnt allowed either because steve's friend isn't allowed to interact with his ex despite the fact that said friend literally said he was an ass in the s1-2 timeline. all of this making it impossible to find any positive content without it being interrupted for a character who, if i remember correctly, has almost as much screentime as eleven (and eleven at least has popular fan content and other ships that dont somehow loop around to byler/mike). and whats worse is that while canon doesnt have yaoi victimization it does have heteronormative bullshit in which she is forced into a love triangle with the same guys TWO TIMES. she literally cant win so let her win a poll maybe also sorry this is super fucking long <3

Whoooo Nancy

#not poll #propaganda

[sieglinde-freud]

36 for the ask game!

36. Share a funny FE-related story, either ingame or not!

allow me to regale you the tale of my most valuable unit ive ever had in any playthrough ever (okay. second most valuable. no one beats odin dark conquest), the most specialest boy youve ever seen!!!

dancer ferdie.

so basically i really wanted the piss color home screen in three houses and for those who dont know, basically you get a “badge of honor” unique home screen in three houses (the same exact screen recolored yellow) on maddening without new game+. i believe you can do this on casual? but im a little tryhard loser, so i picked maddening classic, picked the black eagles (crimson flower doesnt have hunting by daybreak OR a map that forces you to deploy potentially benched in house characters, so that was my pick) and started the run. only to be met with one small problem:

i am a fucking idiot.

three houses maddening isnt that hard once you know what youre doing, but the funny thing about three houses maddening is that it dropped like. six (????) months after three houses dropped just like. out of nowhere. for no reason. and i cannot turn down a challenge so i jumped into it immediately and got my ass kicked. immediately.

my main problem is that i didnt have a reliable damage soaker/tank. edelgard is tanky, but she can only take so much and her stats havent had time to snowball yet. plus, early game has poison strike three range archers, so even if she had the stats, they’d wittle her down. maddening ai is not the same as normal/hard, and at the time i didnt know how to control it, so someone had to go eat all of those hits to bait them over! but adrestia, kingdom of mages, has the durability of a piece of straw. so, we need to avoid taking damage. but we also need to bait out the ai somehow. soooo… how?

i was looking through a couple of classes that might be able to help me out and i notice that ferdinand’s personal skill gives him a certain amount of avoid at full hp. and theres a certain skill line that gives another set number of avoid if you hold a certain weapon. the lighest physical weapon (barring gauntlets) are swords, which he has a natural affinity for. but how do you get sword avoid? literally the only way is through dancer. for some fucking reason. so, i did what had to be done, expecting this to blow up in my face, but as you can tell from the fact that i am making this post, the opposite happened. because actually, as it turns out, having a refresh unit in one of fire emblem’s most difficult game modes that cannot get hit is actually very, very useful.

for the entire game after he went into dancer i chucked him on the front lines right next to edelgard, and he was pretty much a one man army. not nearly as strong physically as edelgard, but much faster and with much more utility. and, hes still ferdinand, so on the off chance he got hit by like a stray 12%, he’d easily eat that hit with his hp stat, only to be physic’d up right back to full. unkillable dancer. baited enemies like it was no ones business AND buffed my entire team just by virtue of being there. i could send my frail ass little mages into a crowd nuke someone, have ferdie dance to let them retreat to safety. edelgard and giant galeforce axe could act TWICE without worrying about dancer positioning. it was just. god. carried my whole game. and he looked GOOD while doing it. he truly is ferdinand von aegir. also took out the final map in two turns no casualties. he did that for me by the way (edelgard galeforce axe)

#anyways so then i married ashe #sorry :( #ferdies not the only character who can do this and probably not even the best #but dammit hes MY best #and this is the run that shot him up my three houses favs #i love him forever now #asks #also hi eva <3333

[plaguethewaters]

For the send me a character thing: ctubbo

lotsa requests for him - sorry for doing thess asks like nine months later it has been a Year

- fav things about him: he is so Aware all of the time i love him. He notices every detail about a situation and knows exactly when shits gonna blow, and he acts on it. really smart guy

- least fav thing about him: counterpoint to the first one, he is so Avoidant. he knows when shits gonna blow, and he craves a status quo and peace so much that he struggles to keep it contained and in doing so he avoids fixing or addressing any actual problem. Perfect consequence from a character building standpoint but it does irk me sometimes

- brotp: aside from the obvious, i really like his dynamic with jack. nice duo that one

- otp: yeah no theres no other option, cbeeduo gay t4t love

- notp: i mostly dont like /r cclingy. It could be interesting (and i do have One plot bunny about it) but people tend to completely zero their og dynamic to make them cute and shippy and i hate it.

- random headcanon: 1) he sleeps with his prosthetic arm on his bedside table, ready to be put on at any time 2) he has very very light sleep, and tends to throw punches when startled awake.

1+2 neans that he has almost took someones head off woth his arm several time, mostly tommy who doesnt know how to fucking knock. The arm's full netherite so it isnt pqrticularly heavy, but it is certainly Sturdier that a Head.

- unpopular opinion: dont think i have anything ngl, im pretty basic with him

- songs i associate with him: obviosu basic one: bang by ajr. less obvious one: bubblegum bitch by marina. miscellaneous au ones: oh ophelia, its always sunny with you, giovani wannabe, turning out pt3

- fav image of them

this fanart by @tubbopride it was my bg for so long snd it tears me in pieces. he doesnt even reach the fuckinf microphone

and also the "this means nothing vis a vis our naruto debate" comic which i cant for the love of ne find rn.

#nova answers #ctubbo

[astranauticus]

ok one last post about the Project to truly exorcise it from my brain. just some process/design thoughts (also now that it's done if you want to read my liveblogged whinging for whatever reason here it is)

first off some stats because i kept stats like the nerd that i am:

time wise making this animatic took about 93.5 hours give or take (thanks procreate process replay) spread across exactly 2 months

anyway when i said i finished this project mostly through stubbornness and sunk cost fallacy this is what i meant lol like a lot of my thought process through this was just 'no way in hell am i letting some of these drawings disappear into my drafts forever'

on average each frame took about 2 hours 45 minutes but thats a bit of an overestimate since i forgot to count some of the animated bits from the first two lines (so id guess the actual number is more like.. 2 hours 20 minutes?)

btw that line with the starry apparition fading away? 12 hours total

the single longest and most painful frame to draw was the one of the crew walking through tu'narath (5 hours 30 minutes) because a. perspective b. architecture design c. for some reason i put a lot of detail into rendering the armour on all the githyanki i drew why on earth did i do that

(its especially painful bc that frame was one of the ones that didnt... feel like an important enough moment in the actual story of the show to be worth capturing the way the wish or even like, endellion is, i just needed to put that there for the storytelling flow or whatever of the animatic itself and it bothered me so much)

one other interesting little mishap was that i did all of these on canvas size 1080x720px (so that's why the youtube resolution isnt particularly high lmao) which is why procreate let me put an absolutely absurd amount of layers in one canvas (all 8 frames of with memories projected on the astral sea were done on one canvas. 159 layers) because the layer limit for that canvas size is 400 BUT. i accidentally started the starry apparition fade on an A4 canvas (my default canvas size for like all my normal fanart) and i only realised after finishing all the lineart and starting on colouring because i hit layer limit so i had to resize the canvas which did... interesting?? things to the lineart resolution

also if youre wondering how i drew K-LB that many times in something resembling timely fashion the answer is i sacrificed some... amount of sleep to 3d model and rig him in blender which. honestly? i consider it a roaring success

splitting the frames by bar was a Choice and certainly a choice ive.. had doubtsTM about but thats the kind of thing you cant really change without bringing the whole project crashing down so if the frames seem to move a bit too fast im so sorry there was really not much i could do there

idk if people actually noticed the very very tiny drawings of the crew moving around on the ship in the 4th line especially since they sometimes get obscured by the subtitles but the REASON for that is in my original drawings the subtitles went in the top left corner but they kept conflicting with other stuff so i just gave up and threw them to the bottom (also i originally included the chinese lyrics but then i got lazy lmao)

anyway that little detail like VR-LA angstily looking at the sea reminiscing about the JourneyTM and the crew sort of appearing along with the memories of their adventures together was one of those things that seemed SO COOL in my head but once i actually execute it its like. hmmmm not sure if that worked out the way you thought it would buddy. also the tiny crew was EXTREMELY hard to draw so put that down as another point in 'me subjecting myself to deeply painful and out there compositions for no good reason'

anyway i called this my magnum opus but i do actually have some thoughts about another one (a companion piece, if you will) for another song by the same band because now that i know what capcut can do im.. really itching to try something a little different because this like powerpoint presentation style? fully a product of me using iMovie as my only available video editing software for the past like 7 years of my life

#rwd #asto speaks #re: the projectTM #one last time using this dumbass tag lmao #honestly? also put another point in 'i worked on a project for so long it became just a Project to me and proceeded to get #absolutely blindsided by the emotional affect it has on people' #2 months. 2. months. #whatever actual emotion this idea was originally trying to draw from is long fucking gone buddy #like i did manage to re-experience some of it looking at the finished product but #i appreciate yalls screaming a lot i just truly did not anticipate it LMAO

[kaepop-trash]

The audience needs to know what happened during the fitting isnt this their first meeting together 😁

Rituals

Not their first time meeting ever, but their first time meeting since a long time. I'm uploading this from my phone after I wrote this in a rush. This isn't a cry for help, I just got hit by the missing piece that finally made this all come out. Not proofread, I'm so sorry. Update: has been proofread.

__

Warnings: heartfelt making out, just messy, this can count as infidelity.

WC: 2.9k

__

"Have you decided what you'll wear?" Johnny asked as he finally found a parking spot.

"The weddings in a month, why would I decide that now?" She questioned, "You're the one who wanted a custom suit. Those take time, and with good reason." She leaned over to look into the mirror on her side to be wary of the space between the other car and Johnny's. "I'll find something nice when there's a sale. I hope there's a sale."

"You're talking to yourself. Are you really that nervous?" He questioned, glancing over after he finished parking.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She spoke without missing a beat— too fast and too defensive.

He looked unconvinced, pursing his lips as his gaze stayed still on her. That made her more nervous, one subconscious hand on the door handle like she needed the reassurance of a quick escape.

Then Johnny turned back to look out of the windshield. Out towards the building they were meant to go into and shrugged.

"We'll be late for the appointment." He answered with a distant voice, his eyes following something across the road. Without looking back at her he opened his door, "It took me a month just to get this date, you know." He added with a kinder tone like he himself felt the chill in his previous statement. The moment he heard her door open, he exited the confined space and shuffled his feet waiting for her to get by his side.

When they entered the atelier, (Y/N) had to first look around to take in the luxurious interior of the workshop. While looking around, she noticed Jaehyun.

He was waiting across the room, shoulder leaned against a pillar and phone in one hand as he looked between her and Johnny.

"You're getting a suit too?" Jaehyun asked her once they met halfway. His tone friendly and familiar.

"I'm just here for moral support." She shrugged.

"We used to go grocery shopping together. Now we just do all our shopping this way." Johnny explained to Jaehyun, putting his elbow on her shoulder.

She couldn't help the way her gut twisted when Jaehyun's eyes went to Johnny's arm. It was a passing glance but she knew it lingered and she hated how it made her want to step out of the touch.

When he did look at her, his face was void of any tells. "You always did like little rituals." He gave a straight-lipped smile and turned to Johnny without delay, "The tailor said he's ready to start."

__

They breezed through the motions effortlessly with the professional tailor to guide them. After picking their preferences, Johnny went in for his measurements first.

She sat down in the only other chair that was empty, the one that was beside Jaehyun. It was funny to her that there was such an uncomfortable silence between them, especially when he was in her bed a day ago.

But (Y/N) had come to accept this as a condition to his affection. And this time around, she was the one who needed the secrecy. That thought made her look towards the fitting room, waiting for Johnny to come out.

"Do you think I should wear a red tie to the wedding or a black one?" Jaehyun asked, earning her scattered attention.

A part of her wasn't sure if he'd addressed her, a silly notion considering there was no one else in the room. But his eyes were on her and they were waiting for a response. She had to take another moment because the automatic response that formed on the tip of her tongue was utterly bitterly. She needed the pause to swallow it down with the equally acrid taste on her tongue.

"Black. Red ties are for news anchors and politicians." She answered, looking away when Jaehyun gave her the full brunt of a grin. "And while we're on the topic," She looked back at him, amusement growing from his eager curiosity. "Why are you getting a double-breasted jacket?"

Jaehyun parted his lips, caught in some unexpected thought. "I thought you said they were nice." He looked confused, reiterating something she told Johnny when he asked what style of jacket he should get himself. Jaehyun pouted from his confusion.

This time (Y/N) did laugh, not immune to his endearing habits. "Yeah they are, but you hate restricting clothes. Why get something you would never wear again?" She shrugged.

"Why do you assume I'd never wear it again?" He asked with a pursed smile that told her that he already knew the answer.

She'd seen it countless times before. Jaehyun quietly accepting a slice of cake when he despised strawberries or picking up a wrongly made americano when he only drank lattes. Each time he'd just pass it on to a friend, or to her.

Whenever he bought something in the name of diversifying his wardrobe, usually at the behest of Johnny, it would end up somewhere deep in the back of his closet.

"Because I know you. Just get a nicely fitted blazer. Black, not blue." She added because that was another thing she knew well about the man.

Jaehyun laughed, hand coming up to cover his mouth as he nodded. "Alright, I concede. Maybe I shouldn't experiment with such an expensive suit."

Approaching footsteps made them turn to find Johnny walking in after getting measured.

"What's so funny?" Johnny asked, fixing his dress shirt.

"(Y/N) was just giving me a reality check about my narrow preferences." Jaehyun answered, grin still cemented on his face.

Johnny spared a glance between them, thinking of something before nodding and returning his attention to his task. "She's right, obviously." He smiled at the buttons on his sleeve and she couldn't help but find it strange.

"I'm going with the striped charcoal suit like you said. Three-piece though, I have enough double-breasted jackets." He moved on immediately, looking at her with his sole attention. "What do you think about the neck?" He raised two neckties, looking at her expectantly.

"The purple one, but I think a three-piece looks best without a tie." She advised.

Johnny hummed, observing himself in the mirror and probably picturing himself in the suit.

"I agree. Tieless it is." He turned around and smiled at her before shifting his attention to Jaehyun, "Your turn buddy." He pointed his thumb behind him.

__

It was silly of him, the way one single image clung to his thoughts. But when he walked in to find them talking, to see (Y/N) laughing with Jaehyun, it was like he was back to being the intruder in their moments. The thought made Johnny angry because he knew it wasn't a rational one, it was just a lingering habit from the past.

By the time they had finished, it was already late dusk. Car rides with (Y/N) were not usually this silent, but today Johnny was guilty of having a lot on his mind.

More importantly, he knew he was feeling this way because deep down he was swallowed by the guilt of knowing that he was the intruder in more ways than one.

"You're awfully quiet." She finally spoke up. The weight in her tone told Johnny that she could sense his mood.

"Just tired. I've been so busy planning the upcoming fall-winter campaign shoot. So I just have a lot on my mind." He tapped on the steering wheel.

"Did you finally decide on the theme?" She questioned, remembering one of their earlier conversations about the shoot.

"Yeah, King Arthur." Johnny smiled, grateful that she asked with keen interest.

"That sounds nice, very grand."

"Hopefully it translates well in the pages. My location scout lands there tonight so I'm just a little preoccupied." He voiced the cause of his stress, forever grateful to (Y/N) for being an understanding ear and a kind shoulder.

"She hasn't failed you so far." She joked, poking his cheek till he cracked a smile.

"Want to come?" Johnny asked without looking to her, "The crew still talks about you after the Tanzania shoot. You made quite the impression." His fingers tapped against the steering wheel.

"If I take a leave now, I won't be able to take time off for the wedding." She clicked her tongue.

"Of course. It's the entire week." Johnny said, trying not to sound too disappointed.

If she wanted to say something else, the sight of her apartment building coming into view stopped her.

"I'm so sleepy, Johnny." She lamented, stretching when the thought alone made her yawn.

"You were home all day yesterday." He scoffed, "Why didn't you sleep early?" He finally turned to her after shutting off his engine.

(Y/N) turned to him, mouth open in contemplation for a moment. "I kept waking up." She answered after the pause, the answer somehow unsatisfactory to Johnny.

Before he could ask, she was opening the door.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" She turned to ask him, pouting unconsciously when he nodded.

Johnny smiled, "I'll be back on Saturday." He reassured her and she nodded, looking up and giving him a smile.

"Get me something from the duty-free or something." She scoffed, "Bye." She waved and got off.

Johnny sat inside his car, watching her walk towards her apartment. Something sudden clawed at his chest, urgent and restless. He reached for the car door, rushing out and taking long strides behind her.

"(Y/N)!" He called out.

She stopped, turning to give him a confused look. "Did I forget something?" She asked him, looking down at herself and opening her purse.

"No, I just–" He stopped briskly in front of her. She looked up, startled by his sudden presence so close to her.

"Hi." She said, sounding as breathless as he felt after his short sprint.

"Hey." His voice mirrored hers.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, eyes trying to decide between concern and deliberation.

Johnny didn't know what to say. He didn't have any solid reason to be standing in front of her at that moment. She blinked again, wide and questioning. Johnny reached out and put a hand on her cheek, his chest hammering so fast that it made his throat bob. Taking the last step to put the other on her waist, he pressed his lips against hers. She gasped from the sudden touch, no doubt confused at the extremely public gesture.

But he moulded his lips against hers softly, like he needed to feel her there. The hand he had on her waist went higher up her back and the other into her hair as he tapped his tongue on her bottom lip. It was his silent ritual, her body melting into his because she knew what was to come.

For a moment both of them forgot where they stood. Her hands first came to his chest, squirming there impatiently for moments before moving up to his back. This close he was bending too far to reach her, and her neck craned. His fingers flexed against her waist, hands itching to lift her up and put her somewhere so he could do this better. As was his habit.

He knew she sensed it too, her hips coming higher up and closer to his hand by itself. Johnny wanted to groan, but a part of him still remembered that they stood right in front of her building. So he brought his other hand to her free cheek; cupping her jaw as he kissed her like he was trying to tell her something he didn't understand, in a language he didn't speak.

It was an irreplaceable feeling. And before the exhilaration of that realisation could please him, another hit him with a dangerous jolt.

Johnny was scared. He was scared of losing that exact feeling. It made him clutch her a little closer.

Now he was kissing her like he was a drowning man taking her air. Keeping her so close in his arms that passersby probably thought they were real lovers at the crossroads of something tempestuous to come.

The thought made some small part of the moment sour. After a few more moments of trying, he pulled away. The moment her eyes opened, they bore into his. And he knew what she'd say because of them.

"Do you–" She spoke softly.

"I just wanted to say goodnight. I haven't seen you in a while." He smiled, taking the huff he took as an opportunity to pull away. "Just something to leave you with. Good night, (Y/N)." He gave her his best attempt at a smile.

Johnny turned back and walked back to his car as fast as he came. Not feeling relief inside the vehicle because he could feel her watching him. He took a small breath to keep himself from going right back into her arms, driving away swiftly.

It was the right thing to do because lately, Johnny had been playing a fool. And now it was time to suffer the consequences of it. If anything, today was a reminder of that. Whether he liked it or not, the lines had always been drawn in the sand. He was the one stupid enough to believe that he could brush them away and no one would notice.

__

(Y/N) stumbled the rest of the way into her building, face still burning as she walked towards the elevator as if in a trance. Those few minutes seemed to be playing in her mind on loop, each detail repeatedly observed till she only got redder.

Of course, this wasn't the first time they had kissed. It wasn't even the neediest kiss they had shared, or the most passionate.

What kept her looping the memory was the look in his eyes when he called out to her. The sound of his urgent voice had made her skin prickle from the unexpected. But it was nothing when compared to his eyes.

The furrow in his brows and flex in his jaw made her wonder if she did something to irritate him. But when he emerged under the streetlamp whose halo she was also under, the deep tempest in his eyes was one she knew she'd seen somewhere before. When he stopped with a rush in front of her those thoughts, along with any other, thoroughly vanished.

There had been a great many things about Johnny that she'd slowly gotten used to till it was an afterthought. The way he needed to go outside at least once a day, the way cologne smelled against his skin, his need to weigh in on any matter he was in the earshot of and how he made her feel, among others.

But she was convinced that she'd simply never ever get over just how breathtaking he was. Even now, her mind kept replaying the way his hair flopped over when he stopped abruptly, dragging down to the charming smile of his that could convince the most devout to sin. She would know— even if she was a far cry from pious.

And though it had been made obvious countless times that this man was almost too aware of his effects on her, it still didn't stop the way she felt when she saw the slightest jitter in his demeanour. The sheen on his upper lip and the way he tapped two fingers against his thigh were unmistakable. Johnny was nervous.

The realisation had made her heart fizz like a freshly uncapped soda bottle. When he kissed her, those pops resounded in her ears till it became white noise. Then he tapped his tongue against her bottom lip, his way of asking for permission, and those bubbles began popping louder and louder. There was a stir in her subconscious, one that told her that she'd felt this exact way before. When he squeezed her closer quite suddenly, she remembered.

It was the night Irene and Taeil had announced their engagement at a casual dinner as a surprise. The night had been what one could call a turning point in whatever was between them. While she'd never felt uncomfortable in Johnny's company, the months that followed that evening had come to see them more at peace. Whatever today was, (Y/N) knew it was the culmination of that.

Her fingers pressed against her lips as she turned over in her now crumpled bed, her thoughts keeping her awake long after midnight. Her phone jumped loudly on her table— the short vibration from a text message— and she was so entrenched in her tumultuous thoughts that the sudden sound made her gasp out loud. Giving up her efforts to go to sleep, she sat up with a groan under her breath and reached for her phone.

Jaehyun: Please be up

Her back stiffened. A thousand thoughts filled her head. None of which were warranted over such a meaningless message. Yet her thoughts left her slightly winded, fingers staying still. Her main thought was still what it had been before.

And so her screen went black with a soft click and she placed her phone back on the table with mechanical motions. When she heard a second vibration, she thought she must have fallen asleep when it didn't cease after a single beep. But she was awake and she was sure that Jaehyun was calling her. Something she could not remember him ever doing.

(Y/N) tucked her hands under her head like she needed to keep them restrained against temptation. Her eyes squeezed shut as she heard the insistent vibrations of the phone ringing fill her thoughts entirely.

Then it stopped and she reached for the device, silencing it because she knew her restraint wouldn't last if he called again.

.

Character from: No Time to Blame

Send me an ask about any scenario from this you wish to read and I'll try my best to write it.

#jaehyun #johnny #nct jaehyun #nct johnny #nct 127 drabbles #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 angst #nct 127 smut #nct scenarios #nct drabbles #nct angst #nct smut #jaehyun drabbles #jaehyun scenario #jaehyun angst #jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun smut #johnny scenarios #johnny drabbles #johnny angst #johnny smut #jaehyun x reader #johnny x reader #jaehyun x y/n #johnny x y/n #miscellaneous #no time to blame #ask

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Oops! All linkdump!

Tonight (May 2) I’ll be in Portland at the Cedar Hills Powell’s with Andy Baio for my new novel, Red Team Blues.

On May 5, I’ll be at the Books, Inc in Mountain View with Mitch Kapor; and on May 6/7, I’ll be in Berkeley at the Bay Area Bookfest.

In 1997, Jorn Barger coined the term “web-log” to describe his website “Robot Wisdom,” where he logged his journeys around this exciting new digital space called “the web.” Two years later, Peter Merholz shortened “web-blog” to “blog”:

https://peterme.com/archives/00000205.html

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this dump to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/02/wunderkammer/#jubillee

Two years after that, I started blogging, when Mark Frauenfelder made me a guest-editor on Boing Boing:

https://boingboing.net/2001/01/13/hey-mark-made-me-a.html

I’ve now been blogging for 23 years, nearly half my life, a near-daily discipline that forms the spine of my writing practice. I take everything that seems important, and, in summarizing it for strangers, embed it in my own mind, and then find connections that turn into essays, speeches, stories and novels:

https://doctorow.medium.com/the-memex-method-238c71f2fb46

For the past 3+ years, I’ve been blogging solo on my Pluralistic.net project. It started off as a “link-blog,” in the Robot Wisdom vein — short hits summarizing interesting things:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/19/pluralist-19-feb-2020/

But over the months and years, it’s turned into a place where I write long essays, sometimes six or seven per week, trying to pull on all those threads that I’ve cataloged over the decades, weaving them together into big, thoughtful pieces, often to great and gratifying notice and even a little fanfare:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

But I miss the linkblogging! For the past 14 months, Pluralistic has featured a little section called “Hey look at this,” where I post three short links, bare-bones pointers to interesting stuff online:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/01/reit-modernization-act/#linkdump

These links pile up in my todo.txt file, ebbing and flowing. Some days, I’ve got nothing for the section. Some days, I’ve got a backlog. These days, I’ve got a massive backlog — enough links for many, many editions. I am drowning in linkblog debt, and the interest is compounding. It’s time for a jubilee:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/24/grandparents-optional-party/#jubilee

Here, then, is the first-ever Pluralistic Jubilee Linkdump Backlog Bankruptcy!

First up:

“The Internet Isn’t Meant To Be So Small,” Kelsey McKinney’s crie-de-coeur for Defector:

https://defector.com/the-internet-isnt-meant-to-be-so-small

This is part of the enshittification canon that includes Cat Valente’s unmissable “Stop Talking to Each Other and Start Buying Things”:

https://catvalente.substack.com/p/stop-talking-to-each-other-and-start

McKinney’s money-shot:

It is worth remembering that the internet wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be six boring men with too much money creating spaces that no one likes but everyone is forced to use because those men have driven every other form of online existence into the ground. The internet was supposed to have pockets, to have enchanting forests you could stumble into and dark ravines you knew better than to enter. The internet was supposed to be a place of opportunity, not just for profit but for surprise and connection and delight. Instead, like most everything American enterprise has promised held some new dream, it has turned out to be the same old thing — a dream for a few, and something much more confining for everyone else.

This doesn’t just make me want to stand up and salute — it makes me want to build a barricade (or a guillotine).

On to “Reddit Data API Update: Changes to Pushshift Access,” a Reddit thread where the volunteer mods are discussing another enshittification move: Reddit’s pre-IPO API shut-down that has broken all the mod tools that volunteers use to shovel out Reddit’s Augean Stables, getting rid of spam and catfishing and fraud:

https://old.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/134tjpe/reddit_data_api_update_changes_to_pushshift_access/

This isn’t just “stop talking to each other and start buying things” — this is “stop doing billions of dollars in volunteer labor keeping our users safe, and start paying us for the privilege.” Good luck with that, Reddit.

Hey! The Hollywood writers are back on strike! The Guild is a shitkicking, take-no-prisoners, radical union with massive solidarity:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/2/23707813/wga-hollywood-writers-strike-2023-streaming-ai-wages-contract

It’s what let them trounce the talent agencies — hyper-concentrated to just four companies, two owned by private equity ghouls — over a 22 month strike:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/23/opsec-and-personal-security/#monopsony

The talent agencies had rigged the system so that instead of getting a 10% commission on the writers’ earnings, they were taking as much as 90% out of every dollar — and were about to make it worse, building their own studios, so they could negotiate with themselves on behalf of their clients. In the same week, 7,000 writers — even the ones who weren’t getting screwed — fired their agents, and demanded a return to the 90/10 split and a ban on agencies owning studios. The agencies say nfw. The writers stayed on the picket line.

There’s a whole chapter on this in Chokepoint Capitalism, Rebecca Giblin’s and my book on creative labor markets and monopoly. One of our sources was David Goodman, who led the strike:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

David hosted our LA launch, where he told us, “We thought the agencies had all the power. We learned that they only had as much power as we gave them. You can make a movie without an agent. You can’t make one without a writer.”

The new strike is about the same thing as the old strike: shifting money from labor to capital. The studios have figured out how to use streaming to avoid paying writers, using gimmicks like shorter seasons and running their own streaming services to dodge the wages the writers are owed. As the union says, the studios “created a gig economy inside a union workforce.”

I live in Burbank, where many of these studios are located. I’ll see you on the picket line.

Sticking with labor for a moment: the Biden administration is investigating the use of bossware — the spyware your boss uses to monitor your driving, keystrokes, web usage, location, hand-movements, facial expressions, even your eyeballs:

https://gizmodo.com/remote-work-surveillance-software-workers-rights-1850392911

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Request for Information solicits your experiences with bossware:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/050123_OSTP_RFI_PREPUBLISH_.pdf

They want to know:

Workers’ firsthand experiences with surveillance technologies;

Details from employers, technology developers, and vendors on how they develop, sell, and use these technologies;

Best practices for mitigating risks to workers;

Relevant data and research; and

Ideas for how the federal government should respond to any relevant risks and opportunities.

If you’re living under bossware’s yoke — say, if your boss has transformed “work from home” into “live at work,” then you know what to do: melt the switchboard!

One more labor story: a reminder that labor rights are a marathon, not a sprint. A group of Amazon drivers won a $30/hour contract through their union, the Teamsters. Even more importantly, the contract lets them refuse to work under unsafe conditions (it’s never just about money):

https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/27/23667968/amazon-contractor-delivery-union-teamsters

But there’s a catch: these are Amazon drivers, but they don’t work for Amazon. They drive Amazon-branded vans, specced down to the last rivet by Amazon. They wear Amazon vests. They deliver Amazon packages. But they work for “Delivery Service Partners,” a kind of pyramid scheme created by Amazon that tricks workers into thinking that paying Amazon for the privilege of working for a trillion-dollar company makes them “entrepreneurs.”

Instead, they’re “chickenized reverse centaurs.” “Chickenized” because — like poultry farmers — they are totally controlled by a monopoly buyer that dictates every part of their business to them, dribbling out just enough money to roll over their loans and go deeper into debt. “reverse-centaurs,” because they’re the inverse of the AI theorists’ idea of a “centaur,” that is, a computer-assisted human. Instead, they are human-assisted computers, with their every last move scripted to the finest degree by bossware that they have to pay for:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/03/19/the-shakedown/#weird-flex

Amazon now has the luxury of terminating its contract with the union’s employer — the cutout that allows Amazon to maintain the worker misclassification pretext that these drivers in Amazon vans wearing Amazon uniforms delivering Amazon packages don’t work for Amazon.

Amazon hates unions in ways that are hard for everyday people to grasp. One of the organizers of the union drive has been illegally terminated in retaliation for his labor activism:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/amazon-delivery-owner-says-he-was-punished-for-supporting-union

This fuckery doesn’t mean that union organizing is dead. As Jane McAlevy writes in “A Collective Bargain,” her superb memoir of her union-organizing career, unions started winning the class war when labor organizing was illegal, fighting in the teeth of a rigged legal system. We won then, we’ll win again:

https://doctorow.medium.com/a-collective-bargain-a48925f944fe

Seeing defeat (seemingly) snatched from the jaws of victory is a major bummer, but a better world is possible. It’s not even complicated — it’s just hard. If you are in precarious housing, or homeless, or if you experience the moral injury of living in a city where your neighbors lack the foundational human right to a home, it’s easy to feel despondent.

But solving homelessness isn’t complicated, it’s just hard. In Finland, they solved homelessness through the simple expedient of giving everyone a home. This didn’t just address the problem of not having a home — it also made incredible progress on the comorbidities of homelessness, like mental health problems and addiction. Turns out, getting sober or getting treatment is a lot easier when you’re not freezing to death on a sidewalk. Whoathunk?

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-finland-solved-homelessness

There are many ways to improve our cities. You can (and should) fight for better local government, but there’s always the tantalizing option of taking matters into your own hands. That’s what the Crosswalk Vigilantes do. They research the intersections where cars are killing their neighbors, then they put on hi-viz vests, set out traffic-cones, and install crosswalks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x33yLuJ5slI

If you’re wondering how the forces of bossware, homelessness, and other enshittifying factors came to rule, it’s actually pretty straightforward. 40 years ago, we installed a software patch called neoliberalism (in some regions, this patch was had localized names like Thatcherism or Reaganomics).

40 years later, the patch is an unequivocal failure and now it’s our job to roll it back, despite all the broken dependencies this will trigger. Most of us can see this is true, but not The Economist, which Brad DeLong calls “Neoliberalism’s Final Stronghold” in his Project Syndicate article:

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/economist-writers-last-true-believers-in-neoliberalism-by-j-bradford-delong-2023-04

De Long’s catalog of the recent bizarre, delusional work in The Economist embodies Upton Sinclair’s maxim, “it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Every Naomi Kritzer story is a fucking delight and “Better Living Through Algorithms,” just published in Clarkesworld, is no exception:

https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_05_23/

Few writers are better at inhabiting the uncomfortable space between recognizing the delights of the internet without flinching away from its horrors. This one is simultaneously hilarious and horrifying.

If you’re just discovering Kritzer, check out “So Much Cooking,” an eerily prophetic 2015 story in the form of a series of perky cooking-blog posts amidst a global pandemic. It got a much-deserved second life during lockdown’s peak sourdough moment:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/17/pack-of-knaves/#so-much-cooking

And then try her at book length! “Catfishing on Catnet” is Kritzer’s book-length adaptation of her Hugo-winning short story “Cat Pictures Please.” It’s an AI caper about cat memes, community, and the anti-enshittification underground:

https://memex.craphound.com/2019/11/19/naomi-kritzers-catfishing-on-the-catnet-an-ai-caper-about-the-true-nature-of-online-friendship/

Speaking of science fiction: I’ve got a new novel out. Red Team Blues is an anti-finance finance thriller, a heist book about cryptocurrency and forensic accounting with a 67-year-old hero, Marty Hench:

http://redteamblues.com/

The book came out last week and I am still in the nailbiting interregnum where its fate is unknowable — will it be another bestseller, or fizzle? Thankfully, the reviews have been stunning. Mitch Wagner calls it “the most exciting technothriller about a 67-year-old accountant you’ll read this year”:

https://mitchw.blog/2023/04/25/warning-cory-doctorows.html

Mitch ruminates some on the distinctive way I’m handling Hench’s aging process in this book and its two (at least sequels). Reading other peoples’ insights into one’s own work is a wild experience. I mean, it’s nice when a reader notices something you worked hard to put in there, and frustrating when a reader imagines something that definitely isn’t there.

But the best thing is when a reader notices something that you didn’t consciously put in there, but which is undeniably there, and also very cool. In his Locus review, Paul DiFilippo homes in on the way that Marty Hench is totally reliant on his friends and comrades to get out of hot water:

https://locusmag.com/2023/04/paul-di-filippo-reviews-red-team-blues-by-cory-doctorow/

 Marty is besieged and almost helpless without the aid of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. He is no go-it-alone superman, but rather an individual tied into a network of humanity, relying on the goodness and altruism of his fellows for survival.

This is so right. Marty is no great man of history — he is part of a polity, a collective of people from all walks of life who try hard to help each other. Call it solidaritypunk. Also, Paul opens his review with “I can’t possibly say enough good things about Cory Doctorow’s new novel.” I mean, who can complain about that?

I was also very gratified by Henry Farrell’s Crookedtimber review, which says some very nice things about the way I work in technical detail, and suggests that this technique is one that all kinds of technical experts, policy wonks and scientists could learn from:

https://crookedtimber.org/2023/04/27/red-team-blues-and-the-as-you-know-bob-problem/

Which makes Matt Green’s review, where the eminent cryptographer digs into the cryptographic technical details of the book, especially delicious. Green is a brilliant scientist and science communicator, and he says I get it right, and do it well:

https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2023/04/24/book-review-red-team-blues/

One of the first reviews to hit the web came from Matt Haughey, AKA “Metafilter Matt,” who called it “a ‘ripped from the headlines’ romp”:

https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2023/04/25/red-team-blues-is-a-fun-ripped-from-the-headlines-romp/

Matt’s fellow PDXer and olde timey blogger, Andy Baio, called it “a wild ride”:

https://waxy.org/2023/04/cory-doctorows-red-team-blues-is-out-now/

Andy is my host at tonight’s book signing in PDX, at the Powell’s in Cedar Hills:

https://www.powells.com/book/red-team-blues-martin-hench-1-9781250865847?partnerid=33241

As I type these words, I am sitting in a window-seat on Alaska Air, en route to Portland for that event. I am wearing slip-off shoes, a jacket with pockets of sufficient volume to store my watch, wallet and belt, and socks that I don’t mind exposing to a dirty airport floor. As I shuffled through the TSA checkpoint an hour ago, I found myself looking on the beleaguered “officers” who were patting people down with pity and even a little sympathy.

The TSA is an abomination. A boondoggle that doesn’t make aviation safer, lights billions on fire in lost productivity, wages and capital equipment. Its legion of underpaid, miserable workers invade the privacy and even sexually assault millions of Americans every day, and have been at it for decades without any sign of stopping or even slowing down.

The agency is now 20 years old, and it just keeps getting worse, finding new ways to make America hate it. Reading “The Humiliating History of the TSA,” Darryl Campbell’s giant reckoning in The Verge was a wild ride, and a reminder that while most of us only interact with the TSA’s awful, inexcusable policies a couple times a year, TSA workers live with it every day:

https://www.theverge.com/c/23311333/tsa-history-airport-security-theater-homeland

Before I close, please let us have a moment to acknowledge the passing of Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian music legend, who has just died at 84. He will be missed:

https://www.joeydevilla.com/2023/05/01/r-i-p-gordon-lightfoot/

All right, it’s time to hit publish on this linkdump, but before I go, a couple of absolutely lovely little webtoys and grace-notes for you to take away:

Womprat (the font you’re looking for) is the world’s greatest Star Wars font collection:

http://womprat.xyz/

And finally, Tumblr, now owned by WordPress parent company Automattic, is striving mightily to reverse decades of enshittification from Yahoo and Verizon. They’re leaving very heavily into listening to their users, paving the desire-paths and putting the community ahead of any other priority.

One place where that is paying unexpected dividends is their deeply weird little merch store, where you can buy up to 24 blue checkmarks to appear on your posts (they sell in pairs at $8). Even better: they’re now selling a 3D printed, light-up, Tumblr-themed Dumpster-Fire:

https://shop.tumblr.com/product/tumblr-dumpster-fire-3d-print/

The dumpster-fire was hoisted from a community member, who made their own, sent it to management, and struck a bargain to sell them through the store. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make sarsaparilla when life gives you SARS.

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Mountain View, Berkeley, Portland, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[Image ID: A page of comic book 'small ads.']

#pluralistic #hey look at this #web-log #linky linky #bricolage #linkdump #linkblogging

[bridgyrose]

More Tavern Wench Ruby, please? Thanks.

“Thank you for coming to the Hungry Hog Tavern,” Ruby said with a fake smile across her face. She hated saying that to everyone who walked through the doors and hated even more that while it was her friends that finally came around, she wasnt allowed to talk to them. “Please find a table and I’ll be over shortly.” 

“Or you can finally talk to your friends,” Jaune said. 

Ruby sighed and let the smile drop once she was sure Circe was busy with a few others. “I… cant. I want to, but I cant.” 

“Then we have to get you out of here.” 

“How? I’ve been trying to find a way out for a month!” 

“I dont know, but… Lionheart is willing to see us now. Which means we need you now.” 

“I’d like to come-” Ruby winced as she heard her name called out by Circe. “-but I have to finish off my shift. Circe isnt going to be happy if I slack off.” 

“But Ruby-” 

“There are tables open if you’re hungry, but I cant leave.” 

Jaune took Ruby’s arm and tried to pull her. “Are you saying that you’re giving up?” 

“She’s not giving up anything.” Circe put a hand on Ruby’s shoulder with a smile. “She’s recognizing her new place. Now, you can let her be or you can find a table to sit at.” 

Ruby put up her fake smile for a moment as she watched Jaune turn to leave. Her muscles tensed as she felt the familiar pull of aura leaving her like a thread being pulled. “I… I wasnt going to leave.” 

“And I have to make sure you dont.” Circe smirked and snapped the aura thread. “Take this as a warning.” 

Ruby gasped and dropped to her knees as her aura started to pulse around her. A hole formed in her aura and her eyes started to dull a bit. A thread of aura tugged at her heart as pieces of her desires started to flutter away from her mind. She slowly reached for her head as her mind spun around as she listened to Circe speak. 

“You can forget about your friends. This is where you belong and I never want you to forget that.” 

“Yes Miss Circe.” Ruby finally steadied herself and picked herself up with Circe’s help. Her eyes looked around the tavern, slightly disappointed that no one had noticed, too busy with their own food. “I… I should get back to work.” 

Circe gave her a small smile and shook her head. “Go rest. You had a bit of a scare earlier. I dont want you to push yourself.” 

Ruby knew that wasnt quite right, but at the same time, she couldnt find it in herself to fight those words. She walked to the back of the tavern and through the kitchen to a small room that had been set up for her and laid down on the bed. Her eyes glanced at a small diary that she had kept, a small note to herself written on the front page: Leave to be a huntress. She tore the paper out and crumpled it up into a ball. She had no reason to be a huntress. Not when Circe was willing to provide for her. 

#tavern wench ruby #tavern wench ruby au #drabbles #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #jaune arc