#since that is my main and primary income

[lola-babylon]

Running the numbers on Brendon, Ryan, and owning the Panic! at the Disco legacy

Some people are a bit upset that Brendon Urie continued performing as PATD after Jon & Ryan left, or after Spencer & Dallon left. One of the primary criticisms you see floating around is that, by using the Panic name for his solo career from 2015-2023. Brendon was profiting off of Ryan's legacy as the main songwriter on the early albums.

Let's dig into that, especially the "profit" bit.

I've seen jokes about Ryan Ross working retail now cause he's broke. We don't know what Ryan does with his days and it's none of our business unless he chooses to share that information publicly, but AFYCSO alone has been certified 4x Platinum in the US, having sold 4 million copies. Ryan, being the main songwriter on the album, would one hopes receive a decent income stream for the royalties and has no need to work a job he doesn't want to pay the bills (recording contracts are usually a Kafkaesque nightmare, but hopefully they had a decent contract where the artists get a fair share of royalties, that it isn't all chewed up by record companies).

But if you look at the album sales over time, this is where it gets interesting.

(well, interesting to a stats and facts wonk)

Here's the Recording Industry of America's certification record for AFYCSO - you can check for yourself here

The album went platinum, meaning sales of a million copies, in 2006, a year after it was released. It took another 9 years for the album to double that figure, selling 2 million copies by 2015 and achieving 2x platinum. But then things took off, with AFYCSO reaching 4 million sales by June 2023 and the resulting 4x platinum certification.

But what stands out here is this - AFYCSO was released in 2005. And fully half of all sales of AFYCSO took place after 2015.

2015 was the year that Panic became a solo project of Brendon Urie's. It also marked the start of the period of some of the band's highest sales since the early days, including their first number one charting album, a second number one album, and (Jebus, please save us from) the single "High Hopes". And Brendon toured extensively - musicians used to tour to encourage people to buy their albums; now that most music is digital musicians rely touring as their largest source of income, which is one of the reasons why a ticket to see Led Zeppelin on their 1975 U.S. tour cost $31 adjusted for inflation to 2023 dollars, but seeing any decently sized musical act in concert these days will set you back well over $100 and that's just for starters.

(I told you I was a stats wonk).

Anyway, through all that work, Brendon was using the Panic name, sure. Was he entitled to? That's not my point here. What he was doing was keeping the Panic name in the public mind, entertaining old fans and winning new ones (not my thing, but again that's not my point) and in those years, those fans purchased 2 million copies of AFYCSO, and as the main songwriter on the album Ryan has received the largest share of the royalties from those sales. Ryan earned and was entitled to that money, of course, but would AFYCSO have sold two million copies between 2015 and 2023 if Brendon had retired the Panic name and continued as a solo artist?

Let's be realistic. No.

When people heard High Hopes or any of the other post split music, they were hearing a Panic at the Disco song. If they liked it, they'd look up the artist Panic at the Disco, find the band's earlier work, and buy/stream it. If they'd heard High Hopes as a Brendon Urie song, and looked up the artist Brendon Urie, is it likely they'd have followed the bread crumb trail, learned about this now defunct band called Panic at the Disco Brendon used to be in, and bought that band's stuff too?

We could go back to 2004/2005 and debate whether Panic would have made it as big as they did back then without Ryan's songwriting skills and determined online hustling of the band. Or without Brendon's vocals and stage presence, or Spencer's creative vision for their image and live performances. Or without that they were all so young, they were just crazy brave enough to put their all into the band when if they'd been only a few years older, they might have been worried about the future enough to stay in or go to college, or train as a hairdresser or whatever. Or for that matter whether they had all that, and the right sound at the right time, and made the right connections, oh and they weren't exactly bad looking. There's so many reasons bands do or don't make it. Just talent is never enough. Trying to work out which parts of Panic's early success were due to the respective talents of Ryan, Spencer, and/or Brendon nearly 20 years on is like trying to unscramble an egg (even Brent paid a role, through the loans his parents provided to help pay for the band's practice space and van for the early tours). But it's unrealistic to say Panic was a success solely because of Ryan or that Brendon trampled all over that to get to the top solo. Either way....

Brendon Urie continuing as Panic has been, financially, very benefical for Ryan. Brendon continuing with the Panic name has meant AFYCSO was from 2015-2023 the first album of a very successful currently touring act, and not a footnote to Brendon Urie's career from his now defunct first band (I don't see it that way at all - this post is about album sales and money, not artistic integrity). And Ryan has received the royalties from albums that would never have been sold if PATD officially disbanded in 2009 or 2013 or whatever.

And whilst Ryan has been at home restoring antique cuckoo clocks or whatever he chooses to do, Brendon's been missing his family, home, and dogs, getting up at 4am to catch flights, living out of suitacses, answering inane interview questions, sleeping on tour buses and wondering what country he's in today - and, indirectly, making Ryan money. If Ryan only cared about money he probably would have continued on with Panic past 2009, but I'm sure the royalties he's received since 2015 haven't been a burden either. I'm not saying Ryan owes Brendon anything, he doesn't, and Brendon only lived that life because he loved it, or thought the performing bit made it all worth it (along with making a bunch of money for himself).

This post has focused on AFYCSO, though of course Ryan also gets royalties from Pretty. Odd, which has had a long overdue reappraisal from audiences who realise it's really fucking good. (I'll use the correct punctuation this once, but there was no way I was going to add an exclamation point every time I typed the word panic). Anyway, crunching the numbers on one album was enough. But Brendon didn't profit off of Ryan's legacy by continuing as Panic. It's been very profitable for them both.

#brendon urie #ryan ross #panic at the disco #a fever you can't sweat out #afycso #p!atd #pre split panic #panic! at the disco #spencer smith

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Trey: *Trying to explain Riddle is that way because of his mom*

Me: Give me a minute as I pull up my ‘Trauma Doesn’t Excuse Sh*t Behavior’ PowerPoint.

Say it with me, everyone: an explanation is not an excuse 😊

You know, the other day I was watching one of Ryan George's Pitch Meetings and when Producer Guy asked Writer Guy how the audience would root for the villain of the franchise and the response was "he's handsome" which basically explains most people's reactions to fictional men.

Prepare for incoming rant that has little to do with the ask

This probably might come as a shock because one of the main appeal of twst would be the whole villainous aspect/Disney Villain fanbase but I don't really like villains that much, at least, not romantically. Like don't get me wrong, I think that they're incredible characters and it would be so fun to sit down with one and have a conversation with one. Villain songs are so fun (I was literally singing ‘This Day Aria’ to myself the other day I haven’t heard that song in like a decade) and you can tell that that characters like Scar or Hades or Shere Khan or Jafar or Maleficent are having so much fun being deliciously evil and even the more serious, complex ones like Loki or Frollo are fun to pick apart so yeah I understand the hype. I just always rooted for the heroes and I guess heroic characters have always been more my type.

My mother absolutely loves Erik Destler and is forever salty that Christine chose Raoul (despite my many many attempts at arguing why Raoulstine is the superior couple - smol primary school me could not understand why my mum liked the chandelier dropper and was deeply concerned), my best friend has been in love with Heathcliffe since we were eleven, and my little sister has literally told me that her type of fictional men are the toxic red flags (not exactly word for word but she did explain why she likes bad boys over good boys when I was complaining about how my type (wholesome soft boys) always get sidelined for the arrogant, snarky bad boys - we're also very diametrically opposed on our views of friends to lovers (my s++ tier all time favourite and her loathing) vs enemies to lovers (I can't really stand it - Pride and Prejudice is the only exception - and that's literally all she consumes) so that might also be a reason).

Like, I understand the appeal of a Byronic hero (Mr Darcy has far too much power) - a closed off, broody man that hates everything but you? And will burn down the world to keep you warm? I can respect that there are people who dig that. But their not really for me.

The mild bout of insanity thirteen year old me had where I spent two months attracted to Edward Rochester is an outlier and should not have been counted (though that was during my wattpad phase so...)

But I can admit that I have yet to shake off my feelings for Dr Henry Jekyll, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray (though to be fair, Mr Gabriel John Utterson the lawyer and cinnamon roll artist boy Basil Hallward do own my heart). And yes, Jeremy Jordan did make me question my morality as he did make my feelings for Light Yagami be too positive to be sane for a brief moment (Touta Matsuda is still my man, don't worry). But apart from them, literally all of my faves are what you'd call your traditional, morally upright heroes.

Basically what I'm saying is that my perception might be skewed because I've never had the whole 'villains are cooler' mindset when it came to stories. Yes, I love the villains as characters but I always liked their heroic foils more (goodness is just so attractive to me). You get lots of amazing heroic protagonists that have horribly tragic backstories and they're the ones I always fall for because the idea of being a kind sweetheart despite the world being anything but is just *chef's kiss* that's a kind of strength that's so swoon-worthy.

I guess that's why it's harder for me to look past the characters' actions in twst is because, well, they chose to do everything they did. They made a conscious choice to be terrible, despite understanding the consequences. Riddle may have been brainwashed into becoming a tyrant by his mother but he still admitted that he knew he was being horrible - he understands the concept of morality, of good and bad, and he willingly and deliberately did everything he did.

I suppose this text post I found on Pinterest would explain my point better:

#twisted wonderland #twst #asks

[tanadrin]

one of the ways in which i am a very bad leftist, i suppose, is that i’m usually pretty agnostic about whether social democracy + robust social safety net or full-blown socialism is better--it feels pretty much like a distinction without a difference, and a program that’s actually politically possible is better than one which is out of reach. but i think the argument that could most convince me that no form of capitalism, no matter how shackled by redistributive policies like wealth taxes or LVT or income tax, is ultimately redeemable looks something like this:

“labor costs are a huge driving force in the economy. when you own capital (land, machines, resources, money) and you want return on that capital, saving money on labor is always going to be a foremost concern, especially in societies with higher standards of living, and thus higher labor costs. the incentive to keep labor costs down will tend to result in support for policies and ideas that have a primary or incidental effect on labor costs but which have serious negative consequences: everything from outsourcing to restrictive immigration policies, to vagrancy laws and (historically racial) caste systems. but even normal business competition will tend to be bad for workers, since labor is a major cost center.”

“the degenerate form of this incentive structure is one of total employer power over labor, i.e., one where you don’t have to pay your laborers at all and they’re not free to choose their job, some form of serfdom or slavery. since this incentive structure is baked in to any economic system where ownership of capital and returns on capital are separate from labor and the conditions of labor (which includes capitalism, feudalism, and all your major axial age empires, and many other economic systems besides), you will always be fighting a rearguard action against capital owners. it’s not even their fault, really: it’s simply what is in their best interests, and it would be unfair to expect them to act in inhuman and irrational ways given the incentives at play. the only way to fix the problem in a way that will prevent future social and economic instability is to avoid those incentives entirely, and restructure the economy so that workers and capital owners are more-or-less synonymous.”

and obviously the persuasiveness of that argument hinges on a lot of details--how you propose to restructure the economy, i.e., gradually, through taxes, incentivizing worker ownership, and targeted buyouts by the government, or through rivers of blood; whether you think this can all be managed in a democratic framework or whether we need a Glorious Leader and gulags to get there; whether you think markets are fine for most goods or whether you favor a planned economy--not to mention whether you buy into fundamental assumptions like “serfdom is bad” and “everybody in society should be able to afford a place to live, medical care, and food to eat.” but that argument also sounds very plausible and neat and tidy and flatters my preconceptions, which is probably the main reason i’m suspicious of it.

[crossdressingdeath]

That's why Carver always becomes a Warden in my playthroughs. Getting away from Kirkwall is exactly what he needs. I always viewed his joining the Templars as him wanting to spite Hawke.

See, I wholeheartedly disagree with the interpretation that Carver joins the Templars to spite Hawke. Carver is fully, painfully aware of how bad the Templars are. If he's in a position where joining the Templars is an option, he's the only non-mage child of the three Hawke siblings; Malcolm and Leandra would've worked hard to stick it firmly in his head that he could not trust the Templars and he could not go near them without putting his father and siblings in danger. If you look at what he approves and disapproves of in act one, he mostly seems to disapprove of things that draw attention to Hawke, thereby increasing their chances of discovery by the Templars. He doesn't approve of Hawke working with the Templars because he agrees with the Templars, he approves of Hawke siding with the Templars because it means the Templars won't pay as much attention to them. In fact he pretty openly dislikes the Templars... which makes sense, given he would have been raised to be very aware that the Templars would've at best taken his father and siblings away forever, and at worst would outright kill them. Carver does not like or trust the Templars, largely because of Hawke and Bethany. With that in mind, why would he join the Templars to spite Hawke? That's not just spite, that is a massive betrayal that would be infinitely worse than anything else we see him do in the game!

The thing people often seem to forget is that Carver wouldn't have had many choices. If he becomes a Templar, he wasn't brought on the expedition. Now remember that most of the expedition got back to Kirkwall long before Hawke's party since Hawke's party had to find an alternate route, and Bartrand absolutely told everyone who asked that Hawke's party was dead. Meanwhile back in Gamlen's hovel Leandra outright refuses to get a job, and Gamlen could barely keep himself afloat on whatever income he's got; Hawke seems to be the primary breadwinner for the family, with whichever younger sibling survives mostly acting as their backup. So here's Carver, nineteen years old, having just been told his older sibling is dead, living in a hovel with as far as he knows his entire surviving family, suddenly painfully aware that the family's primary source of income (Hawke's various jobs) is now gone. And Carver would absolutely have been expected to take up the role of breadwinner. Leandra clearly expects her children to do all the hard work of keeping the family afloat (sure, she yells at Gamlen for expecting her kids to do all the work, but she's not even putting money towards food so she really doesn't have a leg to stand on), and with Hawke gone that leaves Carver as the only one left. And remember the running theme of Carver's banters with Aveline revolving around how no one will hire a Fereldan refugee? And how the one place that might have taken him on—the Kirkwall guard—was convinced not to by Aveline's sabotage? And how most of the jobs we see Hawke doing during the first act would absolutely be at best insanely difficult if not suicidally dangerous for one person to pull off, especially when that person is the only one who can bring in any real income for their family? Yeah. Carver's back would very much be up against the wall during the expedition; he and Hawke probably would've set some cash aside for Leandra and Gamlen while the expedition was ongoing, but when Hawke didn't come back with the rest of the expedition that money would've run out fast. And the Templars will take anyone.

Carver didn't join the Templars out of spite, he joined the Templars because he was a nineteen-year-old Fereldan refugee with no skills beyond fighting, a supposedly dead older sibling who was the main breadwinner of the family, and three mouths to feed! The Hawkes would've been in desperate need of money, and the Templars seem to take basically anyone who can swing a sword and is fanatical, indoctrinated or desperate enough to go along with all the torture. If Carver could've done something, anything else he would've, but he was trapped by the Hawkes' need for money and the fact that no one else would take him on. Or at least not hire him for any sort of position that would pay well enough to feed his family. And DAI makes it perhaps excessively clear that leaving the Templars isn't as easy as just handing in your two weeks' notice; remember, Templar Carver is forced into lyrium addiction just like all the other Templars. By act two the Hawkes might be rich enough to buy the necessary lyrium to keep him going or to help him recover without having to go completely cold turkey, but buying that much lyrium would be suspicious, especially since the Templars pretty clearly know Hawke's an apostate by that point; they're just too wealthy and well known for Meredith to go after them. Plus, as a Templar Carver can keep an ear out for any plans to move against Hawke in a way he wouldn't be able to outside of their ranks. So he's kind of stuck even after Hawke comes back, and even if he wasn't it's not a bad position for him from the specific standpoint of protecting his family, which is consistently shown to be Carver's primary concern.

Now, I admit that I've never actually done the Templar Carver path (I keep meaning to, but he's just so much happier with the Wardens!), but everything about it I've seen or heard about just... doesn't give the impression of someone betraying his family out of spite. It gives the impression of someone acting out of desperation and doing something he finds at best distasteful and more accurately immoral for the sake of his family. And then getting constantly shit on for his "betrayal", when he was just a scared kid doing the best he could for his family. I don't know, the fandom seems to be really hard on Carver for it, but I've never seen anyone come up with a course of action he could've taken instead that would have given him, Leandra and Gamlen the same security that him joining the Templars did.

#dragon age 2 #carver hawke #asks #anon

[hoperaypegasus]

Savannah Speculation

So, Team Wild Fang wasn’t always the representatives of the entire African continent. They originally started off just as the reps from a fictional country called Savannah. Now, the information we are really told about this country sums up to this: it’s small, poor, has very few people, and really, really needs trade partners. 

Out of all the groups we see, they are one of two groups with blended blended countries of origin (Kyoya and Benkei from Japan, Nile hinted at from Egypt, and Demure from a primarily grasslands country), the other being the EU representatives. 

However, unlike Team Excalibur, they only started out being representative of one country, who apparently had so few bladers that they had to turn to opening the selection tournament to make a mark on the global stage.

So what’s the backstory of Savannah? What put the small country in such a tight spot? And where in Africa is it even located? Well, with a little research and a whole ton of hyperfixation, I believe I have a pretty solid theory.

One: Savannah’s Location

We are told that Savannah is a small African country. However, since Africa is the second largest continent, that really does not help us much. All it did was eliminate the other continents.

The first hints towards Savannah’s exact location are its climate. The area around Rock City (the location of the selection tournament), appears to mostly fall into the semi arid type of climate. Therefore, we can cancel out all areas that are purely arid or grassland, leaving us with this search area.

Now that doesn’t look as helpful as it actually is, because our darling dearest Beyblade loves dramatic opening shots. And from that, we know there is a more arid are of the country as well, further narrowing it down to places with both. And Kyoya walks through a more arid area, however, it is primarily rocks, not just sand. Which is a huge clue, as there are four deserts within Africa that have a large amount of rocks in them: The Kalahari, The Karoo, The Chalbi, and The Guban. These narrow our map of possible locations to look like this.

Now, we are looking at exactly five countries that could have given up some of their land to form Savannah. In the south, we have Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. And in the east, we have Kenya and Somalia. I’m going to go ahead and eliminate South Africa off this list as it rejoined the British Empire after the end of Apartheid in 1994, which is really recent, as well as it being a huge and well known country around the world so it would likely remain untouched.

Next to go is Botswana. This is mainly due to how it is hinted that Wild Fang arrived in Japan by boat. Now, I understand that they were likely coming from India, but we also see Rock City. That is Savannah’s capital and if they had an airport, it is likely to be there. But we see no signs of one, so I’m choosing to believe their main mode of transport off the continent was boat and Botswana is landlocked.

Now we’re down to Namibia, Kenya, and Somalia. Now we focus on the other aspects of Savannah we know. That it’s really, really, poor. That eliminates Namibia off the list in my opinion because they are already well know in the diamond industry and any splinter country off them would likely immediately be absorbed into it as well. So we’re down to Kenya and Somalia. 

Kenya does have a larger GDP than Namibia. However, Kenya has a large amount of tourism industry in its borders, which functions (according to what i read) as one of its primary sources of income. A splinter country would not have that infrastructure ready and judging by how all officials we see are in military-esque uniforms, the country is pretty new. It would have to rely on another main source of income that is common in Kenya, agriculture.

Somalia has the lowest GDP of the final two countries and its main source of income is agriculture, specifically livestock. Easier to set up in a young country, and decently easy to integrate into the trade market of, agriculture is my best guess on what Savannah’s main export is.

Now you are realizing that both of those countries seem to fit all the requirements, and you’d be right. So here’s my final purposed location for Savannah: right in-between the two.

The semi arid and arid climates line up perfectly, as does the naval transportation and rocky deserts. Savannah is a newly formed country between Kenya and Somalia.

Two: Savannah’s Origins

We’re into the speculation section now. 

I’ve mentioned Savannah as a newly formed country a few times, and this is mainly due to unlike nearly every other county, it does not have trade partners. It has no economic support from others and is clearly struggling. They do not care about accurately representing their country’s culture (ie the open to all selection tournament). And that could be because they don’t have a single central country culture yet. The country is still setting into its new role as one, and any representative would settle into that role with it, so it does not matter their country of origin (and the rep team probably were granted citizenship as soon as they were selected, meaning they are now at least dual citizens there). 

Another hint that the country is really newly formed is that fact that all officials we see are in military clothing. Now, government officials with military backgrounds aren’t odd, but literally every official we see are in uniform. That’s really common after a fight for independence in particular, as people seen as hero’s are likely to get elected into office. 

So, they recently won a war or battle of some kind for independence and are still coming up with their identity. They are very accepting of outside aid at the current moment (due to financial situations). It is also likely that they flourished during the World Championships and are in much better shape than when we first see them due to Wild Fang’s success.

Purposed Savannahian Stuff

National Animal: Lion (Hence the team name being Wild Fang since we see names being chosen for teams)

National Plant: Acacia Trees (The only large plants there we see)

National Languages: Swahili, Somali, Arabic, and English

Citizen’s Title: Savannahian

Exports: Agriculture (primarily livestock and fish) and Natural Resources (jewels)

Flag: 

#beyblade metal saga #metal masters beyblade #team wild fang #savannah #beyblade #i have so many issues with how the world championships were run you have no idea #but that's a rant for another day #sorry for any mistakes i'm tired #i love savannah #it seems so welcoming #was that because they were desperate? sure. but you know they absolutely love their reps #like it's a good chance that they were their first big celebrities #and then one goes on to be a legendary blader #anything that's wrong can be blamed on google #also #nile is definitely egyptian #and i think demure is half rwandian half kenyan #why? why not

[supercyberlife]

Things I’ve Done Since Starting College

Hello fellow dolls! Long time no see. So much has happened in the last couple of months which is why I'm pretty inconsistent with posting. So sorry! But anyways, I've recently Started College. It's super exciting and fun finally being able to do what I want and act like an actual adult so I thought I'd make a short post about all the things I've started doing as a first year college student.

Saving money/ Not spending it random stuff

Since I can no longer count on my mother as my primary source of income I’ve started saving a lot more of my money. I try not to use my money on silly things i won't use. I also try not to buy food because I have a pretty good meal plan and dining dollars so it would kind of be a waste. This isn't saying don't spend money but more so spend money minimally.

Stuck with a good study schedule

College is pretty different work wise in terms of how much agency you have. Your professors aren’t going to be on your back like past teachers telling you to do your work. I highly suggest getting a planner and working around the times that work best for you (I might make a study guide in the future). Also studying in a place that makes you feel productive. I usually study in the library or one of the main halls of my school since it makes me wants to be productive and the fact that there are other people around being productive too helps with my motivation.

Started eating a more balanced diet

Now since i don’t really have to worry about buying food and eating in general i’ve been eating more balanced meals. I start off with a little breakfast, eat a salad for lunch, and have a nice fulfilling dinner in the dining hall. I’ll also eat a few snacks in between but all together I’ve started having better eating habits.

Started socializing

This one has really been something I’m proud of. I’ve started spending more time out and about instead of in my room or dorm. I hang around campus or walk into town (I go to a small college in a small town), Or even just hanging in the common room with friends. Personally I’ve made a ton of new friends I hang out with all time, whether that be walking to class, meeting for lunch, or going out to parties together. College is a great place to be more outgoing and make new friends. A good way to start is to host a movie night or something. In my dorm we have a common room with a tv and every night we set up a movie night and invite friends over (sometimes they bring their other friends) and we end up having a blast, so don’t be afraid to be the one to make the first move in making new friends.

Embraced changes/ the unknown

I know starting your adult life in a new place by yourself is horrifying but once you get past the fear there are so many new experiences for you out there! Just don’t be afraid and truly believe in yourself.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO REACH OUT FOR HELP

I was brought up in a family where I rarely asked for help and that made my life so much harder than it needed to be. Before starting school my family made it clear that if I needed help I should just ask and I did. I started asking family, friends, and school staff for help if I needed it because that's what they’re there for, to support you. Please take advantage of all the resources and help that is definitely gonna come your way.

I hope this post helps with an anxiety anyone else has had or is having about college. Take care of yourselves. Love you all!!!

#doki❥doki! #. •꒰ ✧dollyarchive #it girl #dream girl #pink #self care #dreamgirl #dream girl tips #itgirl #itgirl tips #it girl guide #self esteem #self improvement #self help #hyperfem #hyperfeminine #hyperfemininity #hyper feminine #girly #dream girl guide #girlblogging #girlblogger #pink pilates princess #pink pilates girl #pink blog

[crof-fwf]

My thoughts around the "#GreenLightVolume10"

Well this is going to be a mix of some topics of which also goes hand in hand with the main topic about what I'm going to talk:

The Hashtag: "#GreenLightVolume10" have a truly impact when is about "Helping RWBY" ? Without the #,Is RWBY gonna be in a bad situation?

My quick answer for it would be: No, i dont think so, i know the hashtag made noice as a way to “encourage” but we know Vol10 will get the green lights, and why are you even thinking that RWBY is in a "red situation"?, seriously.

But for the Long answer im going to start:

Context:

The hashtag #GreenLightVolume10 was created in early April (approximately). It is unclear for me which tweet started it. I know that at least two Twitter users were among the pioneers who initiated the trend. The primary objective of the hashtag is to encourage Rooster Teeth to confirm the 10th volume or season of RWBY.

At the moment where the trend spread, a committed sensation was created to spread the hashtag so that it would be possible to continue with the RWBY story.

Many fans started to create numerous fanworks to this day, with a significant amount of new fan art featuring the included hashtag.

Where even the CRWBY members on the "RXT Austin 2023 panel" utilized that hashtag to promote it to the audience.

Source of the image.

Making in that way to impulse even more the support of the # which is still active.

And here is where i start to make a reflection about the way that # represent and if it really show us that: RWBY is in a real “critical moment”? As also in how the fandom is reacting about that and how probably RT/CRWBY are taking advantage of it.

And in my perception this topic involve 3 “main actors” what are related:

The fandom

CRWBY

Rooster Teeth

The Fandom:

In my perspective the fandom has fed this # given the context about the fear that RWBY will be cancelled, this being a fear since Rooster Teeth became a subsidiary of Warner Bros, adding to the fact that the WB itself has been canceling projects lately. This news It has created fear to the Fandom, which caused the motivation to promote RWBY in order to attract as many new people as possible with or without the use of the # (Leaving the possibility that in more radical cases this could spam, both in comments that are or are not associated with RWBY).

And the point what I’m trying to reach is what the fandom itself is in a state of Gaslighting themselves due to that constant and uncertain fear of “RWBY being cancel” leading to the compromise of promoting that hashtag more and more.

CRWBY

CRWBY at the moment of seeing the reaction of the fanbase, they decided to support and encourage to continuing promoting the #.

From examples im in completely aware is Kerry by saying to continuing the #

Since I cannot find the post that directly mentions "continued support" other than the one seen in "RXT Austin 2023 panel", I can at least confirm that the mention was made. (Where I allude to a possible post by Kerry; in case he made more mentions)

Well, and another example what we all know is of the “RXT Austin 2023 panel”.

These shows of support show that (from a fan's point of view) the CRWBY is capitalizing on the feeling of: "The people have spoken", to show "pressure” on Rooster Teeth, and so the fan feels that the CRWBY is also playing this role of "saving RWBY" and continuing to support and promote the # because they are "backed" by the same CRWBY.

Rooster Teeth

Talking about Rooster Teeth is undoubtedly something "complex" given the controversies the company has been involved in, but in this case I will limit myself to mentioning the following. From my point of view, RT can be anything (in terms of its controversies) when it comes to being a bad company, but I attest that RT is not stupid, knowing that it depends on money to continue to exist and not go bankrupt, it needs to keep its main sources of income afloat, with RWBY providing it with the most funding.

Where I have the expectation (and my comprehension) on how RT distributes the financial source, then I have the idea that Rooster should give more importance to those projects that bring them more profit, so it could lead to a hypothetical situation where other RT projects or shows have to be on a long hiatus or, worst case scenario, end up being "canceled" so that RT saves its funds to invest in its most profitable projects

Also i have to add in how recently Rooster Teeth generated money and incomes based in 4 situations:

Bumbleby Merch:

Thanks to the fact that the shippers "starved" through this time step until their confirmation in V9. Finishing by ecstatic the community and adding the fact that BB shippers are a large majority in the fandom, being the perfect opportunity to present the "Official BB merch" a few weeks after its confirmation. The merchandise in price aspects, I consider it (on a personal level) a bit overpriced…

But hey, "if it's official BB merch, then it's worth buying, right?"…

And, unsurprisingly, by the end of the day, the merchandise had sold out.

This image was taken in 06/04/2023

And that’s the merch what were release in the few weeks, and not forget the addition of new ones and finally the merch that was promoted in “RXT Austin 2023 panel”.

Source

Where the merch which was sold out was there Wall Scroll.

Picture taked in 14/08/2023

So this is how I want to express that one of the factors in making money is the number of "BB shippers" showing their support for CRWBY (and indirectly Rooster Teeth,"But hey, who is the owner of the shop like the one that makes and distributes BB merchandise?)

Gains given with the distribution by Crunchy Roll

I want to clarify what in this point is more speculative from my point of view.

Their distribution in the platform of “Crunchy Roll” has contributed with the amount of 15.5K reviews of 4.7. Where the comments what i saw in the reviews were in general positives.

Making look RWBY at least something “fine”…

And i remember something else related to it and i wanna talk about it quickly: Is Crunchy Roll gonna acquired RWBY?. Honestly I’m doubt because i don’t see it beneficial for RT to give the show by the same reason in how RWBY benefits RT. But still Crunchy Roll gonna be the distributor of the series.

The tiny gains with the Crossover with DC

Well, in this case, the film that was released I consider "50/50", taking into account that it received a mixture of opinions about what revolves around the film, so I can't confirm if it managed to obtain a good income, nor can I confirm if the film turned into a disaster. As I also add the fact that "RedBox" premiered the film before the official date, which may have affected the film's revenue.

Well, maybe we have to wait for the second part and see the “final results”

Gains given by the “RXT Austin 2023 panel”

The convention of Rooster Teeth which started on 7-9 of July, was also a good source of income for the company, where in this case: Selling merchandise of RWBY (Also by the fact that RWBY being celebrated for its 10th anniversary) oh and a few BB merchandise what i made mention in the first point.

Note: With the confirmation of more “Camp Camp” and “RvB” makes me doubt: "If your best project is in danger, how can you give the green light to 2 other projects? 10?". I really want to believe that RT has this "control" over the management of investment in its projects.

And I want to clarify something!

I am NOT supporting or defending RT!. Although I know that I argue that RT knows how to manage its projects and how it should be in a "stable" situation. I am NOT putting aside all the controversy surrounding RT, honestly RT can "fuck off", but as I said at the beginning of the post, RT is not stupid enough to not give attention to their best "gold mines". ", because without money, RT collapses.

And I add at the last moment: I doubt that RWBY will become independent of RT due to the fact that some members of the CRWBY are associated with RT (leaving aside if they knew about or covered up these controversies) and also how RT benefits the members of the CRWBY.

Everything mentioned was to indicate that RT must be "playing his cards right" in order not to lose RWBY, and NOT for showing support or something related.

My conclusion:

With all of the above, I hope to make my point clear and show why I think the "purpose" of using #GreenLightVolume10 has been somewhat exaggerated by pointing out how it has been exaggerated for something that is very likely to happen.

Also, I’m not trying to stop you from promoting it with your artworks, comments, or etc. My intention is to point out how scandalised the purpose of the # has become, to the point of having to cling to it as if the series depends on how active the # is. I don't deny that the # is a kind of "support" or "reminder" that people want more. But really, so much noise has been made to promote the #, for a thing that depends on the budget that RT has to give it to RWBY and thus generate their "investment".

In summary:

The fandom deludes itself into believing that RWBY is "in danger of not continuing with Vol10" (as if RT didn't make the necessary profits). Add to this that CRWBY, along with RT, are using the # trend as a way to save the ad section, as this # works as a "hype train" for them as a good marketing medium. Making a lot of noise so that in the end always the vol. 10 got his green light like that.

Leaving "#GreenLightVolume10" on the brink of becoming a media circus…

- F0under

Extra:

If (RWBY) has a good ending, at least it was worth it .

But if it has a bad ending, there is nothing you can say or regret, because you have already invested in it, they have done their thing, and you just have to eat the ending you were so excited about because you wanted it to go on.

- Ady.

#CROF: RWBY #rwde #anti rooster teeth #CROF

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

I dunno if my ask went though, tumblr said no links are allowed in the ask. If it didn’t just lmk plz cuz im just sobbing/j

But I’ll rewrite here so if it did you can ignore this haha.

Anyways you fave anon is back, me 🌽 anon /j. So I loved what you did with my ask before and gotta say didn’t expect art but it was also amazing I ate that up. Anygays, I was recently scrolling in your page since I haven’t been here for a lil while and my eyes caught your post with Alister(?) with Abyss with the whole theatrical bit. And that obviously had me hooked since I’m also a lil hyper fixed on hazbin myself but not fully…yet.

So I decided to come back with this one simple ask:

What kind of demon is Abyss and power or abilities do they posses? Also also what are their relations with the hazbin crew, like what are their usual interactions with one another?

Now one may say that one is simply curious….which is half true. One could say that I could be getting more info to cook up something that one might enjoy.

That’s all form me, until we meet again! /ref

Ps: love your art!! I always eat it up and it is simply divine!!! Have a lovely day and always be gay /j

- 🌽 anon

Unfortunately, your original ask never went through, but I'm very glad you doubled down on it. It's one of the reasons why I try to make posts encouraging asks sometimes, in case someone either forgot or realizes that it probably might not have gone through

Now, onto the ask. Lemme just start with: AAAAAAAAAHHHH! I fucking love Hazbin so much! I've loved it since the pilot, it's just one of those things I've silently enjoyed for years, I couldn't help but make an OC! Also, sorry for the rambling in advance, this is going to be long. Like, LONG long, so buckle up buddy bois. Also, also, very brief mentions of suicide, rapists, and murderers, but it’s a Hazbin post, sooooo

Of course, the initial was a more feline demon, as you can see, but then I was talking with an old RP buddy that suggested deer since I wasn't quite sure about their original design. Deer had been on my radar, but I tried the cat first. I love both, but the deer based one is definitely the one I prefer. I actually based the coloration and bioluminescence on this reply from @roseytoesy that I forgot to add in my original post of Abyss (Sorry Rosey!)

Abyss has two primary ‘abilities’. Abilities in quotations because one is passive: they have a venomous bite and venomous spines. They're laced with a venom so potent that they easily killed their first demon on accident when they were attacked and their assailant stabbed themself with a spine. Since joining Hell, they've also found out that their venom can be a very potent drug if processed/diluted a certain way, so their main source of income is selling their venom concentrate. Their spines, however, will lose both potency and bioluminescence within three days. They'll use these shed spines to hang stuff up in their room sometimes though

Their second ability is the only reason they weren't exterminated during the angels coming down, and it's the fact that they can shrink. It's mostly involuntary and just sort of a panic button to slip away. They've gotten better at controlling it so that they're not just shrinking everytime they get spooked, but it still happens occasionally. They’ll also use it to shrink slightly to help shrug off people touching them. I’m not sure whether or not to add more abilities, but there's the two for now

As for day to day interactions, I also have to think about how they'd be introduced and general personality

Of course, Abyss is another self-insert, so mostly what my other characters do, they do as well. They’ve got a rather dry sense of humor and sarcasm, though they’re not very good at reading other people’s sarcasm and will tend to take things at face value. They’re a pretty recent fall compared to the others, less than five years in Hell, so they’re more skittish and anxious than cold-hearted or confident in their abilities. They are, however, one to make fast friends given the opportunity and compatibility. They love games, but find Charlie's overly childish games a bit nauseating

They're very… skittish/antsy/defensive when first being introduced to new situations and hate leaving whatever small comfort zone they can make in Hell. So I more or less picture them sneaking around to scout out the place and the inhabitants before they decide whether or not they want to actually be a part of the whole operation. I think they'd last maybe two days before being outed by Alastor

I'm imagining since Alastor just doesn't show up in some episodes that it's not uncommon for him to be missing from the hotel occasionally during the day. But, when he comes downstairs the next day Charlie is like, “Now that everyone's here!” and Alastor just goes “I think you're missing someone”, just YOINKING them from nowhere and plopping them in front of everyone. He probably knew they were in the hotel the entire time but thought it’d be funny to give them a false sense of security before just procuring them from wherever they were hiding

Aside from the obvious surprise at the sudden deer demon, initial impressions would range from skepticism with maybe even the thought of them being a new attempt for the Vees to get information about the hotel. But, thanks to Charlie wanting to see the best in everyone and them barely knowing about the Vees (Only Vox because of the TVs everywhere), everyone would cool off mostly pretty quickly. And, here’s what I think everyone’s relationship would be with them in no particular order

Charlie, of course, would love that there was another demon interested in the hotel, even if she’s a bit appalled and stumped at what she’s working with when she finds out that they committed suicide and mostly didn’t do much wrong in their life (I'm going with the thing I grew up with where Catholic people would tell me that if someone committed suicide they'd instantly go to Hell). Most of their sins would occur after reaching Hell, such as drug use and killing (even if most times is in self-defense). Abyss would have an amicable relationship with Charlie, being suspicious of the good-nature at first. But, once they’re comfortable with Charlie, they have no problems just hanging out and shooting the shit with her. Even though they will find her optimism sometimes a bit overbearing, they’d try to be polite about it (in their own way)

Vaggie would be suspicious of them at first like with Sir Pentious, but would overall not really mind them. Probably wouldn’t like their attitude a bit because if she says “I’ve got my eye on you” or something, they’ll almost definitely reply back with “Well, you’ve only got the one”. I think they would eventually get along with each other. Maybe not super buddy-buddy, but friendly enough. Abyss definitely thinks Vaggie is a bit too suffocating with Charlie sometimes, but it’s between the two girls not them, so as long as Charlie doesn’t mind

Angel Dust is one where I’m not quite sure where their relationship would stand, either at first or over time. He’d probably make a raunchy joke or something to test the waters to see if he can piss them off to get a reaction. I can’t imagine him trying to make a pass at them because they sound more feminine, but if he did they’d probably be caught off guard and either reply bluntly in confusion or give a playful comeback thinking it was a bit. I can imagine them being drinking buddies with both of them at the bar. I feel like he’s the type to maybe find random ramblings amusing? Which is good if he’s drinking with them

Husk is another one I’m not entirely sure about. I feel like it’s a very hit or miss with him. Currently my buddies and I have said that he's the most like one of my friends, so I feel like Abyss and him would get along fairly well. Even if they don't particularly like each other the most, it'd probably be pretty amicable. Also, Abyss would definitely try to be nice because they're still new-ish and also can't imagine that being a bartender in Hell is better than in the human world. Fucker is used affectionately

Nifty would probably be a bit curious and vice versa, but I think both of them would mind their own business overall. I think she’d be a bit appalled by the disarray in Abyss’s room if she ever goes in because they’re a cluttered mess. Not dirty necessarily, but very unorganized and everything is everywhere. Both would definitely cause chaos while drunk

Sir Pentious is one where he definitely wouldn't trust them at first, but he's also a bit of a goofball. Aside from probably passing out if he tried to squeeze them because of their spines, Abyss likes his inability to take certain jokes (like in the Pilot when Angel calls him “daddy” and he confusedly goes “Son?”), and will help explain things when they can. I feel like he doesn't particularly like them until they show an interest in his gadgets or egg bois. Do they understand what he's talking about? Absolutely not, they just want to hold a gun

Now, for who you're probably waiting for, Alastor! He’s a bit more complicated. Not because he’s hit or miss with Abyss, I think he wouldn’t actually dislike them. Hell, he might even like them. More because he’s still a mystery in general and more… conflicting? I know that I already drew a picture of him taunting Abyss to make them shrink, but I can’t help but think of this page from the Hazbin Hotel comic that came out on the official site years ago

From what we see in the whole comic, he only threatens the butcher when the butcher reaches for his cleaver to potentially strike at Alastor. Even then, when the butcher backs down and starts preparing his meat, Alastor doesn’t go full sicko mode. He’s perfectly chipper and back to being pleasant. It’s only when the butcher just grabs the sheep demon that he goes ballistic and ‘kills’ him. I don’t know if by ‘fairer means’ he just means weaker people/demons or just feminine people/demons (He came from the 1930s, he probably goes off appearance and voice rather than asking people pronouns)

Now, I’m not sure how canon the prequel comic is in general since it’s been years since it’s illustration, but we also see similar instances in the show. Maybe not exactly coming to the aid of someone off beat, but Alastor never really starts shit. He’s just fully prepared to finish it. He didn’t come after Vox, Vox started dissing him and then he retaliated effectively. He wasn’t really bothered by Sir Pentious, even when he blew up a wall, until he either mentioned the Vees or presumably just kept pestering Alastor to fight, where he defeated him soundly. Even with Lucifer, I think the reason he was so pissy on sight is that he was blatantly ignored at first and then immediately presumed to be the bellhop before Lucifer proceeded to insult his work on the decor and bash on the hotel before singing about obviously needing the ‘Big Boss of Hell’s help

Anyways, back to interpersonal relations between Abyss and Alastor.

He’d probably do the classic “I’m sure you’ve heard of me from my radio show” thing, to which Abyss would reply “I haven’t, sorry”. since they weren’t around before he left for seven years. Now, the thing that I think would make this a favorable interaction for Abyss is that they apologized. Regardless of whether it was a quick sorry or a genuinely sheepish look since Alastor always seems to have a massive point of pride on his radio show, they still did it. Angel Dust kind of just got told who he was by Vaggie in the pilot, but Lucifer downright disrespected this man by calling him a has-been because he hasn’t heard of the Radio Demon, even though the same King of Hell doesn’t even have a television either

I feel like Abyss could remain in Alastor’s… well, probably not favor, but good graces is the best phrase I can think of, as long as they are generally chill and polite enough. He’s surrounded by delinquents, murderers, rapists, and so on. I think a coping semi-depressed deer who curses like a sailor but generally doesn’t cause trouble is alright in his book. I think though that, like Lilia from Twisted Wonderland, he does like taunting and spooking them to get amusing reactions from them

I do love the idea of Alastor as a pred, but as of right now I can’t think of how it would escalate to that kind of situation realistically unless they REALLY pissed him off or something. Maybe I’ll think of something after the finale tonight, lmaoooo

#cinnanswers #cinnart #abyss #hazbin oc #vore mention

[thaeno]

Vaush's Recent Doomerism

         As with my previous critiques, I’d like to preface this with the obvious. I agree with Vaush on nearly all of his political positions, and I believe that, as a long-time member and contributor to the community, I should be able to offer some good faith pushback towards his positions when I notice issues with them. I love this community and I wouldn’t care to express my disagreements if I didn’t believe it was useful or helpful in some way.

         In Vaush’s recent streams he has defined doomerism as something like a mindset caused by grim circumstances which leads you towards counter-productive behaviors. His primary concern seems to be that by hyper-focusing on your grim circumstances, without a focus on proactive steps you can take to better your situation, you become so entrenched in your negative emotions and dire circumstances that you fail to act proactively in the face of incoming disaster.

         Where I take issue is that Vaush’s recent rhetoric has seemingly led to increased levels of actual doomerism within the community. As a person who monitors both the subreddit and site chat nearly all of my waking day, and as a member of the community outside of those spaces, I have noticed an uptick of actual doomerism relating largely to the SCOTUS and the midterms. The most common counter-productive sentiment I’ve seen tends to be the loss of hope in electoralism. I believe this is a direct result of Vaush’s recent rhetoric, specifically two themes he’s focused on - Moore v. Harper and the perceived inevitability of American fascism. The particulars of these two themes aren’t something I wish to discuss here, because my main criticism doesn’t involve those particulars.

         Anti-electoralism is something our community has taken a strong stance against in the past, and I believe it still continues to do so today. However, Vaush’s recent rhetoric is seemingly pushing our community into anti-electoral sentiment and positions. Every victory the Democrats have had during and leading up to the midterms is almost immediately followed by Vaush crushing any momentum or enthusiasm in our community by mentioning that Moore v. Harper will almost certainly lead to the end of democracy, and that American fascism is an almost inevitable outcome. This rhetoric itself is not anti-electoral, but the impact it’s seemingly having on our community is - as an uptick of messages, submissions, tweets, and comments from our community members including anti-electoral thoughts or positions is contributing to the exact opposite type of behavior Vaush wishes to see from his audience, proactivity in the face of incoming disaster. Another outcome from this type of momentum or enthusiasm crushing rhetoric is the instilling of strong negative emotions in individual members of our community. Although Vaush would almost certainly counter with the idea that your emotions don’t change the reality of the circumstances you’re in, he as a staunch consequentialist would almost certainly agree that the outcomes of his rhetoric take priority over all else. If the outcomes of his recent rhetoric instill strong negative emotions in our community members, and thus cause either a great deal of sadness or depression in those community members, this would directly conflict with Vaush’s previously stated position that a good advocate is a healthy advocate, and that advocates must prioritize their physical, mental, and personal wellbeing before attempting to step into the field.

         Vaush’s recent rhetoric has also included the publicly stated strategy of intentionally fearmongering to incite his audience into action, borrowing from the strategies used by successful right-wing demagogues like Tucker Carlson. Though a successful strategy in it’s own right, my experiences inside of our community have been the opposite, as of recent. Our community includes a large number of highly at-risk trans people, and in my experience since election day, these people have generally not been incited into further electoral action, but rather into survival action in the form of pro-gun and emigration rhetoric. Vaush has also recently stated that he will likely shift his rhetoric towards survival tactics, depending on the outcomes of the midterms, which I believe will make these instances even more prominent in our community. Although it is important to be prepared in the case of crisis, Vaush’s recent rhetoric has been treating the end of democracy and the rise of American fascism as nearly inevitable, as seen in his "we’re only buying time" motif, which is seemingly leading more members of our community to abandon electoralism in favor of self-preservation, which is counter-productive to our current electoral challenges.

         Our most critical line of defense in America today is voting rights, and if we shift away from defending this line with proactive action, based on the grimness of our circumstances, we’ve managed to circle ourselves back into the same trap of doomerism. Vaush may take issue with my framing of his positions as doomerism, but it’s not his positions which are doomerism, rather the outcomes of his rhetoric are instilling doomerism in members of our community. Our situation is rough, and our political climate is changing rapidly, but this is not an excuse to abandon the outcomes of rhetoric in favor of technical correctness about our circumstances. We must try until the very end to protect what remaining democracy we have left and prevent fascism in this country, rather than partially abandoning our posts as pro-electoral political propagandists in favor of self-preservation or survival rhetoric. If the counter to this effort is to compare ourselves to Weimer Republic and it’s fleeing oppressed – I aspire to be that of the Weiße Rose.

Stay warm and hydrated my friends!

#vaush #politics

[kingdoms-and-empires]

What kind of stats would a Mc who embodies the “hood is not soft trope have.” (If you don’t know what I mean this is where I got the idea from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotSoft) To be honest I want my Mc to be a good person, but I want him to be more ruthless than the average Isekai protagonist.

This is the link for anyone interested~!

By canon, your MC is a good person. Or at least, everyone is the hero of their story, so I'm going to write and present stuff that makes you look like the good guy, doing things for a good reason, and keeping your lil noggin thinking you're team Justice!

But what about that group you dissolved that was smuggling goods? They had families to feed and you killed or imprisoned their primary source of income. Youre the villain to that family. What about the mountain tribe that you destroyed for raiding into the empire? They were forced to, the V'era started encroaching on their lands and they don't have any Blessings or Purified steel to combat the V'era. You're the villain to the survivors.

See the list goes on, and we always think we're the hero in our stories, but there are consequences for our actions. Especially if you're a monarch.

Old King Remiel understands this, and accepts it. That's why he can be so bloody ruthless, because he knows he's their villain, but he only cares about his family. "So if you're already their villain, go all out and make sure they cant harm the villain or his family."

It's an interesting dynamic that helps explain Remiel's actions. It doesn't mean he's right, but he isn't wrong either. Life is gray, and this story is going to be gray. Especially since i have so many fucking characters lol!

#kingdomsandempires #lore

[lumikore]

mistah demo main... please tell me some tips. i have like 30 hours on tf2 and i suck so royally its embarrassing when i pull up as demo with 2 kills and 12 deaths. i love playing him because i feel like i could cause sm damage but idk 😭 why do his stickies take SO long to detonate

ohhhh my god you have just opened the floodgates. i am gonna tell you so much information about playing demo its not even funny. infodump of the century incoming.

first of all don't worry if you suck!! demo is probably one of the hardest classes in the game to pick up, but also arguably the most powerful in terms of explosive damage output. you are 100% correct that you could cause some damage with demo.. to be exact a LOT of damage. but he does take time to master!

i feel like a lot of demo mains start out mostly sticky spamming, but i started out mostly using my primary, and then i stopped using stickies altogether for a while and started using the sticky jumper (still my favourite movement tool in the game tbh).

but ive started using the sticky launchers again and they are definitely a VERY powerful source of explosive damage output, pretty much like another primary weapon. also, feel like i should mention this early on.. you can charge stickies!! by holding down mouse1 instead of clicking to fire, you can make the stickies go way further and travel much quicker. a lot of really experienced demo mains even don't know this which i think is kind of crazy.. anyway..!!

if you find the stickies take too long to detonate, and your enemies have run away by the time they do, i'd suggest changing where you place your stickies. it's tempting to just aim them straight at the enemies' feet, but unless theyre standing on a control point or payload cart they generally wont make an effort to stay there lol.

instead predict where they're going to run and put stickies there.. that could be kind of convoluted but hear me out. if they're chasing you then place the stickies at your own feet. orr if they're running away put stickies ahead of them!! or place stickies around a corner so they don't see them at first.. you'd be surprised at the amount of people who will just walk into a bunch of stickies! also, you can tell when they are ready to detonate because they will flash twice, but you probably already knew that lol.

stickies are also a great area denial tool, meaning you don't even need to detonate them for them to be effective. for example, if you're on payload defense, and you place stickies on the cart while theres no one on it, that will discourage most classes from even getting near it. and if they do, well, kablooey!

if you really need to sticky spam straight at people then use the quickiebomb launcher. it only has 4 bombs per clip and does slightly less damage, but you can get them out and detonate them a lot faster. but really i think you should master the stock weapons before starting to use unlocks!!

even though stickybombs are a really powerful tool you shouldn't forget about the grenade launcher either. it is a bit harder to aim but its really useful when you run out of stickies since stickies take soooo unbearably long to reload... like what is this, reload simulator 2007.. no thanks..!!

theres no tip i can give you that will immediately make you a god at landing direct pipes unfortunately.. what i suggest for getting better with the grenade launcher is to open up a tr_walkway server with some bots (there are tutorials on youtube on how to do this) and practice blowing them up!! i seriously do this for hours on end sometimes its honestly therapeutic. AND it improves your aim. win-win!!

anyways wow.. oh my goodness i wrote a lot. this is basically just general advice that i give to everyone about playing demo but if you have any specific questions don't be afraid to ask :D i love infodumping about my favourite games lol

#tf2 #tf2 demoman #tf2 demo #team fortress 2 #demoman tf2

[fantascp]

howdy folks. thought I’d make a tumblr since twitter gets worse by the day

anyway hello, hi, everyone, my name is Fanta and I’m a video editor/graphics creator/occasional writer. I dip in and out of a lot of fandoms, but my primary interests are SCP, analog horror, and horror gaming. Would love to write for the wiki one day, but I’m shy about writing so graphics and edits are my main export.

I can also be found on TikTok and Twitter under the same username/pfp. I’m going to back up some of my edits here so forgive me the incoming spam

thanks love y’all excited to be here 🫶 feel free to like if you’re an scp/horror/general spooky shit account - I need more people to follow

#scp fandom #scp foundation #scp #analog horror #horror games #resident evil #silent hill #horror

[anotherghoul666]

i saw the ask about being bi and i just wanted to get some perspective on my situation since you have such good advice!

i’m going on 5 years into a relationship with my boyfriend and i’ve been kind of freaking out about my gender lately. i’ve been struggling with it for as long as i can remember but i had a lot of shit going on and there was never really time to think about it seriously until recently. i’m realizing now that i’m non-binary leaning masc. i just can’t bring myself to tell my boyfriend. we’re very serious, living together and all but i know that he isn’t attracted to guys and i feel so stressed about doing things like binding and asking him to not use feminine words for me. but it also makes me sad thinking that i might never come out. sorry about the rant i just really don’t have anyone to talk this through with so i’ve just been ruminating about it for a while

Oooh, ok, this is touchy. Because I don't know you and your situation and the nuances of it. Because this is a very nuanced thing. I can't judge based on just this ask how strongly you feel about your gender identity versus how strongly you feel about your relationship. This is a decisional balance situation. You'll have to weigh your options against one another. And the weight of each thing can and will change over time. It's a tricky thing to do. I can only give you some perspective and talk about my own experience with my gender and my primary relationship.

Tough love incoming. If you're not ready to take it or hold space for it, feel free to not read. Or let me know in another ask to delete, and I will delete this message for you.

My main thing in regards to relationships is and will always be this: if you can't be yourself, truly, completely yourself within said relationship, why are you in it?

Now, I recognize I'm an all or nothing person. I see the world in black and white. I handle being alone and solitude very well. I'd much rather be on my own and happy about myself, then in a relationship where I can't be myself. I'm saying that now, today, in my current headspace, as a 31 year old with lots of therapy and self care and growth behind me. And lots to come still. I don't know how old you are. But. Ten years ago, would my answer have been the same? Absolutely not. Ten years ago I stepped all over myself and bend myself every which way people asked to fit in their tiny little uncomfortable boxes of what they wanted me to be. I DESTROYED myself doing that over decades. Destroyed. Wrecked. Reconstructed. Rebuilt. I will never do that again. I am me. I am unapologetically me and, as much as I recognize in situations like work etc. I do have to conform into societal norms, those are not relationships I chose. Unfortunately in our capitalist society you cannot choose to not work and still survive. But relationships like a couple, a partnership, friendships, family, etc. I choose fully. I refuse to choose to be in a partnership where I won't be able to be myself.

If you're scared to have these conversations with your boyfriend, to me that's a red flag. That's a bell that needs to ring and be heard. Why are you scared? Is it inner anxiety? Or did he react in the past negatively or aggressively towards similar subjects? Is it your brain assuming he won't like it, or did he clearly state he doesn't believe in gender or some shit like that? There's a world of difference between what your brain tells you and what may be the truth. A lot of times we assume and project emotions and thoughts onto people, and it turns out to not be their emotions or thoughts at all. Be wary of projection. Ask yourself why is it that you're afraid to tell him about your discoveries, your pronouns. Why are you afraid to bind. Find the source of the fear. From you, or from him. If it's a fear from within, evaluate that. Sit with it. Ask your boyfriend directly. Have the difficult conversations. You will never know for sure unless you ask and talk it out. Get his real feelings out in the open. Now, if he did say transphobe things for example and that's why you're scared, maybe he's not a great partner to keep, you know?

You have the right to come out. You have the right to be recognized as who and what you are. You have the right to be fluid and change in your identity, and anything else. By the sheer nature of your existence you have this right. Your boyfriend has the right to his own opinions and beliefs too. You'd need to know what those are tho. Not assume. Ask and know for sure. Then you have to decide.

There's four ways I see this conversation can go. 1) he's actually more fine with it that you thought and you two can flourish and continue your life path together with acceptance and love all around. 2) he's not down for the NB shit and you choose to sacrifice yourself and your identity for the sake of this relationship. That might last a few years. My prediction is you'll self destruct eventually because of the repression and it'll be a worse break up in many years than it would have been at 5 years in, because you'll have harmed yourself immensely in the process of denying who you are. 3) he's not down with the NB shit and you decide that the relationship is not what you want to continue living in. It doesn't matter if you live together and have life plans, you'll know in your heart if your identity is worth more to you than to move out and start over. 4) then there's the option of, maybe the gender discovery was not what you thought, because gender is messy as fuck and it fluctuates so much. That I can't answer for you, you have to know within if NB is really what you are or if you're just trying out pronouns and a label, see if it feels good, feels better. You have the right to try labels and pronouns in spaces other than the home if home doesn't feel safe for it. With friends, while going out, in queer spaces, online, etc. See how it feels. Does it feel strong enough and a big enough part of you to turn your life upside down for it. It might. It might not. That's up to you to decide. But live your truth.

Never settle. Settling, swallowing it down, brushing it under the rug, that might seem like the best option right now. It's the easiest. It's the avoidant option. It will catch up to you I can guarantee it. Under the rug is where things go to die and rot and fester. The pungent smell of rot will catch up to you. It will be unavoidable one day. If you ignore stuff for months or years even, I can guarantee one day, ten years from now maybe, this gender shit will come back up with a vengeance and it might harm you. Where are you gonna be in ten years? What if you ignore your gender today, ignore who you are, buy a house with this boyfriend, get married, maybe have kids if that's something you want. What then? When in ten years, what you've been repressing this whole time comes back to kick your ass. Are you gonna be able to destroy everything then to live your truth? Its gonna be way more difficult if you have legal attachments like a marriage contract, a mortgage or a kid. 5 years is a long relationship, but honestly in the scope of your life it's not that long. To stick with something that's not right because of how much time you've invested in it is not a good reason. It sounds like one. That's called the sunk cost fallacy. Or fallacy of time invested. "The human tendency to stick with endeavors in which we've already invested time, money, or other resources even when changing course would be the more logical choice." Look it up.

My sincere hope for you two is that it will go better than you assume. I was scared to tell my partner too when I started to understand what I'd felt all my life towards my body was disphoria. When I started to realize how I relate to gender was different than most people. When I wanted to see if I was trans (I don't consider myself trans, tho some NB people do and that's absolutely valid too) and I tried the masculine pronouns and identity for a while. Didn't fit perfectly right. Some things and words fit, some days it fit more than others, but some days it didn't feel right at all. The journey to land on NB she/they with a preference for they and gender neutral words was a long one and I'm honestly still not sure about the label or the identity. The only things I know for sure after two years of exploration of gender is I'm not just a woman, and I'm not just a man. That's it. It will change.

When I told my partner about the disphoria and my inkling that I had some gender fuckery going on, she still identified as a lesbian. My partner is a cis woman and for decades her identity was very very rooted in the "I am a lesbian" thing. My gender identity made her reconsider things too. I was worried that she wouldn't be into me anymore because she was such a lesbian back in the day and I wasn't a woman anymore. But the thing is, I was never a woman at all. She fell in love with me and we agreed on a life partnership and a life path together while I wasn't a woman. Because I never was. I just didn't have the right terms to describe myself with before. I didn't have the vocabulary, the knowledge. My partner had to evaluate for herself was she in love with a woman, which would have made us incompatible, or was she in love with me. She figured out she was in love with me. She was supportive about all my pronouns try-ons and label changes through the years and to this day she's my absolute rock and most supportive cheerleader ever. She takes it in stride, makes a point to ask which pronouns I want for that day, asks how I want her to refer to me to specific people, etc. She asks permission before she outs me to someone as NB by using gender neutral terms. She cares. Cause she loves me. And I love her. And we choose every day that we're gonna build our life together. If one day something incompatible comes up, and either one of us wakes up and cannot make the choice that day, cannot choose the other that day, then we'll talk about it. Have the gut wrenching conversations and decide what happens with the relationship there. But I know for a fact if she wasn't down with my gender exploration, I would have brought it up. Assuming she would have been super closed minded about it and refused my gender identity, I would have had to talk about breaking up. Cause I'm not gonna live my life with someone I'm afraid of. I will not share my life with someone whom I can't be my true self with.

Will you?

#asks #AnotherGhoul's confessional booth #long ass advice but like shit this was needed I feel

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

How LIV KRISTINE Came Back To Music Through Teaching

Former LEAVES' EYES and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine recently went on "Side Jams With Bryan Reesman"to talk about how she came back to being creative with music by going into teaching. Her sixth and latest solo album is called "River Of Diamonds" and features guest appearances from MOONSPELL frontman Fernando Ribeiro and her sister, MIDNATTSOL singer Carmen Elise Espenæs. It's been nearly nine years since her last album.

"It feels great because I'm 47 years old now, and I'm standing in the middle of my life," said Liv. "And 'River of Diamonds' feels like the first album of my second life."

Liv originally started teaching when her son Leon, now nearly 20 years old, entered primary school at age six. She and her ex-husband Alexander Krull (ATROCITY, LEAVES' EYES) chose a private school in Germany because they were often taking Leon on tour.

"Being a part of the teachers team gave me some freedom," she explained. "I used to teach at Leon's primary school, and that was 14 years ago. That was when my teaching process started. I didn't study that. I studied linguistics, ancient languages, language acquisition, but I never took that part you need to become a teacher. But it's always been in my blood. So when the headmaster of Leon's primary school asked me to support his school, I did. Which gave us some freedom to take Leon on the road, and then it just continued like that with every school that Leon went to."

After her unceremonious departure from her former band LEAVES' EYES in 2016, and her divorce, Liv's life went into a tailspin and she lost her main income source. So she reached out to some people she knew and got a job teaching children with autism.

"I got some experience and I feel great empathy for these lovely human beings," she said. "I was lucky to get into this place, and then it just grew and grew. I started working with children growing up without parents [and] children with Down Syndrome. It's been an amazing experience and an amazing journey. So when COVID happened in Europe, I was not dependent on touring [or] going on stage."

Liv and her husband Michael moved to Switzerland a year ago. "It took some time for me to realize that I had to get through a very rough period, I had to dissolve some blockages," Liv recalled to "Side Jams". "I had to dissolve a trauma. I had to get rid of some dusty layers to really see what I want to do in my life. How can I serve? How can I be really authentic?"

She says balancing her art and teaching has made her feel more secure and creative, which was not the case a few years ago. Liv did join MIDNATTSOL for their 2018 album "The Aftermath" and has done a few guest vocal appearances since 2016, but she had not worked on new music of her own. The singer credits her husband with bringing her back to that.

"I released an EP a couple of years ago, 'Have Courage Dear Heart'," said Liv. "I got it tattooed just underneath my heart, and that was in 2018, 2019, when I met Michael, now my husband and soul partner. I had decided to be without singing. No performance anymore, no band. I just wanted to quit the whole thing — [the] music business sucks, court cases and all the bullshit. Sometimes I found myself in front of court, and I didn't even know what I was doing there. I just wanted to quit it all. And I quit. But I realized that I'm not being myself. So when Michael turned up in my life, he gave me the real kick that I needed. He pushed me. That was when I released 'Have Courage Dear Heart'. It takes a lot of courage to go through that process, but it's very relieving and very freeing in the end."

#liv kristine #2023 interviews #Youtube

[goldenjhobi-blog]

The Grocery Inflation

Aurash Azad: 81969644

Tayeh Ahadi: 46283688

How does inflation affect grocery prices?

Eggs

In the past year, many groceries have seen an increase in prices due to several different factors, such as supply shortages, labor shortages, and natural disasters. In the latter category is eggs, which has had a 138% increase in price in the past year. Before, the average for a dozen Grade A eggs was approximately $1.79, but as of January of this year, the average price has gone up to $4.25. What could be the cause? For the most part, the rising price of eggs can be attributed to the avian bird flu that has swept the nation in the recent months, affecting close to 60 million birds, and as a result, their eggs. The bird flu has not only decreased the supply of eggs to the country, but also increased their overall prices. However, the high price of eggs doesn't detain all Americans, as they are considered a food staple to many, since they are used in a wide range of dishes, such as breakfast foods and baked dishes. The low supply of eggs coupled with their stable consumption means that in many grocery stores across America, eggs are completely sold out. Another source of high prices could be due to price gouging in major egg firms, such as Cal-Maine Foods, which has reported an increase of 600% in quarterly gross profit, though they haven’t had any cases of avian bird flu on their farms. Thus, although the egg industry has seen a decrease in supply due to the avian bird flu, a lot of the price increase is associated with large firms using the flu as an excuse to gouge prices in order to increase their profits, not thinking of the effects they may have on their consumers. In my personal experience, I use eggs frequently in my breakfast as they’re a quick and easy source of nutrition, and they’re versatile in a way that many other foods aren’t. Also, as a college student with very little income, eggs have served as a staple in my fridge since the beginning of university. However, in recent months, I have had to be more frugal in how I spend my grocery budget, and that means less eggs and healthy food options, and more cheap, low-quality food that’ll last me longer. However, even when I plan to buy eggs, they are not always available in my local grocery stores. Just recently, my trip to Trader Joe’s revealed empty rows where eggs used to be, as consumers continue to buy them even as their supply decreases. Eggs, though seemingly inconsequential in day-to-day life, play a significant role in many foods, and their price increase coupled with their supply shortage has resulted in distressing grocery trips all across the country.

Butter

Grocery prices have been on the rise within the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic that began March 2020 is only one reason to blame the skyrocketing prices, and the shortage of supply in the market. A shortage is when the quantity demanded is disproportionate and larger than the supply available at the market price. After the breakout of the pandemic, many of us would walk into grocery stores to see nothing left on the shelves. There are many different reasons for the rise of prices, and a few important ones that can be seen include shortages within labor as well as supply. According to the Time magazine, the price for one stick of butter has increased more than 31% just within the past year. The average price of butter was set at $3.47, and is now found to be $4.81 on average across most cities in the United States. Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, dairy farmers are blaming the extreme heat, along with the small cow herds, which includes the results of financial combats as the primary reason for the increase in the price for butter. The shortage of butter has caused major concerns in the US, not only for consumers, but for factories and productions as well. One of the main reasons for this is set due to milk production setbacks that occurred within the economy. The demand for butter is increasing, even as the rates for dairy production is lowering, which is causing a lower availability in the supply market. Besides the direct effect it has on the market industry, it affects the lives of individuals as well. For example, butter is an essential ingredient to both chefs as well as bakers, to almost everyone using it in the global economy. Most dishes around the world incorporate butter into their ingredients and are used to help melt or fry, complement, or enhance flavor. The cost of producing dairy products has widely increased and therefore has caused the supply to decrease. How has this affected my personal life? Well, here at UC Irvine it has been difficult living on campus, on a college budget and having to purchase groceries to cook meals. It has become more difficult due to the recent rise in grocery prices, but more specifically butter. Using butter is a crucial ingredient to many different dishes, including eggs, which have also seen inflation within the past few years. With the rise in prices and the decrease in supply available, it has been hard to get access to many basic grocery needs, including butter. Not only do I use butter to cook, but to bake as well. Whether it has been a cookie, cake, or any other dessert, one of the principle ingredients is butter and without it, it makes it very hard to bake or cook. Overall, the rise in grocery prices has caused a worldwide crisis in many households and has put no option but a budget to be imposed in many families that had never thought about having one before. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic emergency slowly coming to an end, along with the combination of farmers beginning to recover from the pandemic and fertilizer costs slowly beginning to decrease, we can anticipate that grocery prices, including the price of butter will begin to decrease once again. 

https://time.com/6250895/grocery-prices-rising-inflation 

https://time.com/6255258/inflation-grocery-prices-rise/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-food-grocery-prices-financial-pain/

[system-of-a-feather]

So the past few days Lucille and Aderis did a "maternal coup" which apparently essentially is just the two of them chilling near the front, taking over in laying down the law on what we are doing and how we are spending out time to help keep me engaged and not dissociating into survival mode to brood on existential crisis-es of being near the end of one of the large pervasive and complex trauma-stressors

And its really honestly helped a lot in grounding me a bit cause I'm starting to get back around to the more adaptive thing and realizing that its actually kinda cool, that soon enough we can secure a good income and between my fiance and us working full time and us entirely skipping the "side mission" of raising children, we basically immediately jump into our "main story goals" being literally whatever the hell we like and want to do / achieve. Everything beyond what is achieved is "extra" cause we had "made it" enough to have relative stability.

From there on out, there isn't this larger need for a why related to survival, but rather just a "why not" and while that still sounds rocky depending on when you ask me, I'm really starting to warm up to it. The sandbox mode of this management sim was originally stressing me out and I thought it would have issues with motivation and all, but I guess I'm learning to answer "why should we" with "why SHOULDNT we" after sitting two days up here with our retired ex-primary protectors and XIV who - together - started talking about 'why not' goals because XIV commented that he needed a stool to sit on for his guitar and Lucille commented that we were likely moving so we shouldn't get one yet and should put it on a list of things we want to invest in.

Its also pretty neat because XIV, Lucille, and I are both really keen on setting money aside in the budget solely to donate to causes that matter, donate to people who need it, and to account in our life style to stay within the comfort levels where we don't have to be stressed or worry about 'if we can afford' giving people / donating money to those that need it more.

And that idea just sounds... kind of neat. In a way it kind of reminds me of when I was on my second / third year of marching band where I was no longer a "baby" and I could start adopting and fostering others while casually building my own interests and goals.

I dunno man, it sounds pretty neat. Of course its contingent on us actually getting a job (which I don't actually worry too much on with how Our System Is) but huh.

We can allocate funds into charity, because why not. We can allocate funds into eventually becoming the parrot behavioral master, because why not.

Our system is so adjusted to having to do everything min-maxed and living with only the bare necessities until like... the past year that the idea of no longer needing to be on bare necessities is just... Wild

It's also just hitting me that for a pair of disabled 22 year olds, my fiance and I have really done really good. I still can't necessarily say if it was worth it because I'm very shocked we are alive with the sheer amount of pressure and sheer lack of self indulgence and self care + the grind we've been on since before I can even remember and how much all of that was sacrificed to "do really good" but damn.

I'll probably spiral back if Lucille let me sit down and dissociate brood for more than half an hour, but I'm starting to - just maybe, accept and enjoy the fact that we.... we maybe... we maybe got it???

#alter: riku #this isn't to brag #and don't comapre yourself to us here cause very very very little of how we 'chose to live' that lead to this success was our choice #most of it was because of how we were whipped #and any posts romanticizing this or using us to diss yourselves will be blocked because we aren't your Model Minority #or Model Disabled or anything #i literally can't with that shit #plus there is a reason this is something that barely feels like a positive thing to us #so try not to 'wish that were us' #or 'wow so much better than me' #cause we fucking hate that #actually #no reblogs #only comments if you like #but ugh #just pissed myself off a bit thinking about how so many people do that about our trauma and how fucking damaging it is #im gonna switch to XIV unintentionally if I think about this too long #ANYWAYS #BAck to Riku positivity but like #Huh