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otomes-and-tears · 3 months
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here’s a little comparison for people who say engagement hasn’t gotten that bad and anyone who complains is ungrateful.
these are two posts from my first go round on tumblr circa 2014-2017, my most popular gifset of all time
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& a text post
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notice how the ratio is about even on likes to reblogs?
here’s from this go around, my most popular gifset
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and my most popular fic
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do you see how that’s discouraging?
i love being on this site. i love the little community i’ve found and the people who follow me and the mutuals i’ve made friendships with and the mutuals that i’m still getting to know. i love it. but at a certain point it’s hard to justify spending so much time on works that get bad engagement.
reblog, comment, send asks. without them, this site doesn’t work.
#rb
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otomes-and-tears · 3 months
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Also YES Nate and Shiloh
I find it hilarious how Shiloh could be the most popular hoe in school if it weren’t for Nate
and Nate doesn’t even WANT his popularity he’s just at the top of every single list due to sheer. Force. Of will.
It must eat Shiloh up inside fr fr
Technically Shiloh is the most popular hoe in school!! Nate did canonically call him a hussy and a floozie /j
I totally agree. I truly believe that at one point Shiloh probably tried digging to see if he could find any dirt on Nate, but that’s basically useless because Nate is actively rude to people and that only makes him more popular. He probably gave up because it was useless and because not being the main bitch has its advantages.
Being at his level of popularity means that he has some degree of power but he can get away with a little more because he doesn’t have to deal with the same attention and scrutiny that Nate does. I guess it would help Shiloh navigate the different social groups and maintain that image of an approachable nice guy that works for him!!
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otomes-and-tears · 3 months
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WAIT YOURE SAYING UOU ANF YOUR GF ARE NATE AND BAE
BOTH OF THEM WOULD EXPLODE LMFAO
YES!! NATE WOULD BE HORRIFIED!! And Bae would be displeased but would make a comment on how it’s just precious that we relate to fictional characters.
But yeah. My girlfriend was actually the one who made the connection. I’d talk about how Nate was a loser (affectionate) that was perpetually stressed because he kept volunteering to be responsible for more and more things, how he’s a sore loser and cries often and she immediately related to him.
She compared me to Bae because we apparently have similar texting styles and an affinity for sarcasm. I also share the habit of calling people pet names when they’re being dumb, not to mention that I AM a wimp who used to do basically anything in my power to hide from gym class.
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otomes-and-tears · 4 months
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Wondering what your thoughts and opinions are on the rest of the jerk squad boys, especially Nate?
Know that asking me this was a mistake because I’m RABID for them. I’m FOAMING at the mouth and shaking just at being asked to ramble about my boys because I am plagued by thoughts of them that I’m absolutely going to unleash upon you now.
This is not going to be coherent at all. I apologise for that.
By the way— since I already talk about Shiloh way too much, he’s not going to have his little section here. If you want to see my rambles about him, please check my masterlist!
I’m probably going to talk about Jeremy separately because…. I actually haven’t finished his route. It’s the only one that’s left.
Since you asked about him first, Nate is one of my favourite boys. I have a special place in my heart for him because he kind of reminds me of my girlfriend, and I do think that his dynamic with JB is one of the most entertaining in the bunch. He’s always snapping back at her and it’s so fucking funny. Every time they’re out together I keep getting this mental image of JB being strapped in a baby leash with Nate trailing behind her like an exhausted parent.
Like Shiloh, he’s also a character that I think about a LOT, particularly about the way he handles (or does not handle) his emotions and his obsessive need to have control over everything around him.
I think it’s really telling that Nate continuously strives for perfection and frequently neglects his own emotional needs when he practically raised himself, admittedly saw the school as his home, and when we know for a fact that he was seen and treated as a mini-adult throughout his life.
Like, you cannot tell me he wasn’t praised endlessly as a child for being independent and self-sufficient and then when he grew older people were constantly exasperated that he was too independent and didn’t know when to ask for help when needed! Nate is probably endlessly confused as to why something that was touted as being such a good trait for a good portion of his life suddenly became a problem.
Anyways, I think it’s kind of tragic how he spent most of his life at that school and I legit teared up when they graduated. It’s also very sweet how despite being a perv and living to make him uncomfortable, JB is surprisingly respectful of his boundaries regarding physical touch and doesn’t push him to kiss or hug her. Yeah, she teases him about missing the perfect moment but she’s happy to let him decide when he’s ready to do all of that!
It’s also nice that she tries to support him, even if she isn’t exactly good at it. SHE’S TRYING HER BEST BC THEY LEGIT LIKE EACH OTHER EVEN IF THEY BOTH HAVE ISSUES!!
Regarding Everett… I didn’t expect to like his route as much as I did, but he has SO MUCH ANGST POTENTIAL.
Like, his whole relationship with Nate? The fact that he’s a momma’s boy?? HE WAS REJECTED BY PRAN In like, the WORST way possible??
It’s just, chef’s kiss. A whole lotta angst wrapped inside a tiny, hipster-shaped package. Pure perfection.
My only issue with his route is that the whole time, I felt like JB was getting in between him and Nate. This is my headcanon, but I feel like after high school, if JB and Everett don’t immediately have an explosive, dramatic breakup there are only two possible routes: either he leaves her for Nate or they add Nate into the mix.
I’m sorry, but no other alternatives compute for me, not after their conversation in the tunnel of love. That shit goes way past just a codependent friendship.
I think I’ve mentioned this once before but Bae is likely my second favorite jerksquad guy. I can’t really explain why his condescension is so funny to me, but it might be because my favorite parts of the game were the group meetings and Bae’s borderline paternalistic attitude towards the other characters (because he’s mAtURE and knows what’s best for them) and his sarcasm made for some really great dialogue and some of the funniest scenes in my opinion.
Just as a side note— I played xoxo blood droplets and Bae’s route made me realize how much potential he has to be a yandere in an au! And now that I’m thinking about this I NEED to write about it. Even if it’s just headcanons or something.
I love him in game. I’d probably throw hands with him three minutes into a conversation if he existed IRL. I sent my girlfriend screenshots of his sons of his scenes while I played and she said that I was a bit like him. It made me reevaluate my life LOL
Okay so, I’m going to be real with you: Pran is my least favorite of the boys. I’ll admit that when I played through his route last year I kept complaining about not having that much fun and not liking him a lot as a character. My view changed as I got to the end of the game:
Pran’s is still my least favorite route but he’s one of the most interesting guys to analyze.
In the end, even if it took me a bit to get into it, I still ended up enjoying it immensely anyway.
I think what made me dislike him at first was that, ironically, I think that Pran as a character works best in group scenes. He’s a contrarian and he’s very quiet most of the time, which makes his very occasional interjections some of the funniest moments in the meetings, but that’s also why I didn’t find his dates as fun LOL
I think that with the other characters I had a better time because how they played off JB during their dates, while with Pran it was funny to see JB trying so hard to engage with him or get a rise out of him just for him to barely react (and it makes the instances where she does manage to catch him off guard very rewarding) on the first few times, but it started to get old for me. There’s only so many times I can hear him say no, and that he doesn’t care before it gets annoying.
For me the highlight of his route was seeing Shiloh have a weird, one-sided beef with him. Shiloh pretends to like everyone but this is where he draws the line apparently 😭
Anyways, you might be wondering why I said he’s one of my favourites to analyse if I didn’t have much fun playing through his route. That’s mostly because of his backstory, which I genuinely find to be fascinating.
He’s basically a textbook example of avoidant attachment, which is due to the severe neglect he suffered as a child. Honestly, I could make a whole post about this alone if anyone is interested.
That coupled with having to adopt a mentality where nothing he ever did or said was ever right, because either his parents or grandparents would get upset, which led to him always being quiet or choosing the contrarian option, and you get a pretty fascinating character to think about. It’s interesting to examine his relationships through this lense: it makes complete sense that Pran has a difficult time engaging with JB and connecting to her emotional needs. The few relationships he has maintained exist out of necessity! And he tries so hard to push her away, in the same way he pushed everyone else away, but she just refuses to leave. Refuses to accept defeat. She’s fully determined to figure him out and make their weirdass relationship work and it’s something I admire JB for. That girl is a TROOPER.
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otomes-and-tears · 4 months
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Hello, otomes-and-tears! (^-^)/ How you doin'? Here to tell you that I love your Tumblr so much! ( ≧∀≦)ノ
...and to ask you, for Ezarel finding out that Erika came back to Eldarya from the crystal...
About the type of story? Whatever you want, short-fic, oneshot, etc... you're the boss! (^.^)
Greetings!
Hello! Thank you so much for reading my stories. It means the world to me 💕
I have actually written a two-part story about Ezarel and Erika reuniting! If you’re interested, Click here for the first part.
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otomes-and-tears · 4 months
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assuming ur up for some shiloh analysis,,,, whats ur ideal adult ver for shiloh?
I'M ALWAYS UP FOR SHILOH ANALYSIS!! Okay-- Out of the ones we've seen in Our life's wedding DLC, my favourite is probably Leon, closely followed by Mr. Fields. It's mostly because Leon is the one who feels the most genuine out of all of the versions we've seen of Shiloh. At least for me, it feels like Shiloh testing boundaries and trying to get used to saying things he actually means without the pretence of flattery, even if he comes as an asshole for it! And it's cool for me. He's not a nice or even a good person yet, but it's a step in the right direction. It shows that he's willing to step out of his comfort zone to try to be something different, and eventually, he might change enough to become someone better. While Mr. Fields is arguably the best version of Shiloh, I...... I still can't trust that guy. SORRY, but you can't spend most of your life manipulating, manwhoring and mansplaining and then turn into a decent person that quickly. HE IS SUS and I'm side-eyeing him. But.... Despite all of that, if we're talking about pure aesthetics, Shy solos them all. I'M SORRY, I KNOW he's an asshole vlogger but that bucket hat is SO CUTE and he looks ADORABLE as a blonde!!
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otomes-and-tears · 4 months
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i'm just obsessed with your fic! erika/nevra would be great parents, Karenn would be a protective aunt. Imagine the drama if Nevra's parents found out about the pregnancy?? if you can make any droplets around this story, i would love it! thank you.
Oh, Nevra would be very against visiting his previous clan after his child was born. He’s only open to do it in life or death situations. And he’s even less willing to let his wife (even if she doesn’t know it yet) and his child be put in a situation he just knows is going to be dangerous for them.
It doesn’t matter if people in eldarya nowadays perceive Erika as an Aengel (and a Martyr) more than a human. He knows that the fact that she was raised on earth and still has mostly human blood coursing through her veins means that she’s in active danger when parading around a vampire clan that still uses her people’s blood as the basis of their nutrition. Being introduced as his mate and having Karenn act like her bodyguard might keep her physically safe, but being immersed in a culture where she knows that her, her people and even her child are still only seen as a fulfilling meal isn’t really bound to do good things for her psyche.
Nevra is intensely concerned about Erika’s safety, even if she jokes all the time about the amount of times she has died and was brought back to life, Nevra had to live seven years grieving her loss and seeing her corpse stuck inside the crystal, peaceful, never aging, while he grew older and had to figure out how to live with her gone.
He has just gotten her back.
And not only that, but he’s getting the life he once dreamed about having with her.
Nevra knows that the second there’s a life or death situation, as the crystal’s chosen she might not have a choice, and might need to sacrifice herself again. At the very least he wants to avoid putting her in more life or death situations if he can help it.
Not to mention, his child is a human hybrid. He is NOT putting them in danger or letting his sweet baby hear all the nasty shit that’s going to be said about them.
If his mother sent a letter asking for help, he’d do his duty and go help them. If yaqut vampires had to move to HQ? He’d do his duty to help them.
But no one is going NEAR his kid without strict supervision.
By the way— Erika, at least in my AU, still loves and deeply misses earth. She respects her culture and wants her baby to know where their mom came from, because there’s a very high possibility that they’ll never get to know earth aside from her and Mathieu’s stories about it.
So her kid is going to grow up with a lot of pride about being part human! Even if there are a lot of faelians who don’t see it as a source of pride.
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otomes-and-tears · 4 months
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KOKOBOT - The Airbnb-Owned Tech Startup - Data Mining Tumblr Users' Mental Health Crises for "Content"
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I got this message from a bot, and honestly? If I was a bit younger and not such a jaded bitch with a career in tech, I might have given it an honest try. I spent plenty of time in a tough situation without access to any mental health resources as a teen, and would have been sucked right in.
Chatting right from your phone, and being connected with people who can help you? Sounds nice. Especially if you believe the testimonials they spam you with (tw suicide / self harm mention in below images)
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But I was getting a weird feeling, so I went to read the legalese.
I couldn't even get through the fine-print it asked me to read and agree to, without it spamming the hell out of me. Almost like they expect people to just hit Yes? But I'm glad I stopped to read, because:
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What you say on there won't be confidential. (And for context, I tried it out and the things people were looking for help with? I didn't even feel comfortable sharing here as examples, it was all so deeply personal and painful)
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Also, what you say on there? Is now...
Koko's intellectual property - giving them the right to use it in any way they see fit, including
Publicly performing or displaying your "content" (also known as your mental health crisis) in any media format and in any media channel without limitation
Do this indefinitely after you end your account with them
Sell / share this "content" with other businesses
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Any harm you come to using Koko? That's on you.
And Koko won't take responsibility for anything someone says to you on there (which is bleak when people are using it to spread Christianity to people in crisis)
I was curious about their business model. They're a venture-capitol based tech startup, owned by Airbnb, the famous mental health professionals with a focus on ethical business practices./s They're also begging for donations despite having already been given 2.5 million dollars in research funding. (If you want a deep dive on why people throw crazy money at tech startups, see my other post here)
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They also use the data they gather from users to conduct research and publish papers. I didn't find them too interesting - other than as a good case study of "People tend to find what they are financially incentivized to find". Predictably, Koko found that Kokobot was beneficial to its users.
So yeah, being a dumbass with too much curiosity, I decided to use the Airbnb-owned Data-Mining Mental Health Chatline anyway. And if you thought it was dangerous sounding from the disclaimers? Somehow it got worse.
(trigger warning / discussions of child abuse / sexual abuse / suicide / violence below the cut - please don't read if you're not in a good place to hear about negligence around pretty horrific topics.)
I first messed around with the available options, but then I asked it about something obviously concerning, saying I had a gun and was going to shoot myself. It responded... Poorly. Imagine the vibes of trying to cancel Comcast, when you're suicidal.
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Anyway, I tried again to ask for help about something else that would be concerning enough for any responsible company to flag. School was one of their main options, which seems irresponsible - do you really think a child in crisis would read that contract?
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I told it about a teacher at school trying to "be my boyfriend", and it immediately suggested I help someone else while I wait for help. I was honestly concerned that it wasn't flagged before connecting. Especially when I realized it was connecting me to children.
I first got someone who seemed to be a child in an abusive home. (Censored for their privacy.) I declined to talk to them because despite being an adult and in an OK mental place - I knew I'm not equipped to counsel a kid through that. If my act of being another kid in crisis was real? Holy shit.
Remember- if my BS was true, that kid would be being "helped" by an actively suicidal kid who's also being groomed by a teacher. Their pipeline for "helpers" is the same group of people looking for help.
I skipped a number of messages, and they mostly seemed to be written by children and young adults with nowhere else to turn. Plus one scary one from an adult whose "problem" was worrying that they'd been inappropriate with a female student, asking her to pull her skirt down "a little" in front of the class. Koko paired this person with someone reporting that they were a child being groomed by a teacher. Extremely dangerous, and if this was an episode of Black Mirror? I'd say it was a little too on the nose to be believable.
I also didn't get the option to get help without being asked... Er... Harassed... to help others. If I declined, I'd get the next request for help, and the next. If I ignored it, I got spammed by the "We lost you there!" messages, asking if I'd like to pick up where I left off, seeing others' often triggering messages while waiting for help, including seriously homophobic shit. I was going into this as an experiment, starting from a good mental place, and being an adult with coping skills from an actual therapist, and I still felt triggered by a lot of what I read. I can't imagine the experience someone actually in crisis would be having.
My message was starting to feel mild in comparison to what some people were sharing - but despite that I was feeling very uneasy about my message being shown to children. There didn't seem to be a way to take it back either.
Then I got a reply about my issue. It was very kind and well meaning, but VERY horrifying. Because it seemed to be written by a child, or someone too young to understand that "Do have feelings for the teacher who's grooming you? If you don't, you should go talk to him." Is probably THE most dangerous advice possible.
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Not judging the author - I get the impression they're probably a child seeking help themselves and honestly feel horribly guilty my BS got sent to a young person and they wanted to reply. Because WTF. No kid should be in that position to answer my fucked up question or any of the others like it.
---
Anyway, what can you do if this concerns you, or you've had a difficult experience on Koko, with no support from them or Tumblr?
To reach Tumblr, who officially partners with Koko?
Send a message to Tumblr Support describing your concerns with their partnership with Kokobot
Report kokobot to Tumblr's abuse hotline describing your experience with KokoBot, especially if you are a minor who suffered harm, as they have a legal responsibility to address that.
To get Koko's attention:
Get on their LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/kokocares/) and comment on their posts! You may also want to tag the company's co-founders in your comments - their accounts are listed on the company page.
There's no way to reach support through chat, and commenting on a company's LinkedIn posts / tagging the people responsible is the best way to get a quick response to a sensitive issue - as their investors and research funders follow those posts, and companies take it seriously if safety issues are brought up in front of the people giving them millions of dollars.
Request support on Koko's Discord - FYI they will allow you to file a ticket privately, which the moderators say will reach the staff. But you may be muted or banned for trying to discuss concerns with Koko as a company or the safety of kokobot in the public channels, which also cuts you off from the ability to file a ticket.
To report it to the FCC for likely violating the COPPA law, regarding minors' safety and privacy online:
See Reblogs for further info & reporting instructions: Detailed description of COPPA law and Kokobot's presumed violations, plus detailed reporting instructions
But quick links: FCC reporting website and email hotline: [email protected]
Seriously, if you've taken the time to read this far, please please please take one more minute to file a report! It won't get addressed if all we do is reblog this, we need to get this in front of Tumblr Staff / The FCC / Koko's investors to get this meaningfully addressed.
Blocking and reporting the bot as spam isn't enough IMO - people have been doing that for years from the looks of the tag
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Reccomended reading in reblogs:
dropattackbear's discovery of what Koko is using the harvested data for (Machine Learning training data for automated content moderation services)
winderlylandchime (a licenced clinical psychologist's) explanation of privacy / ethics considerations around mental health services
thatsmimi's post on the dangers of letting minors act as a suicide / self-harm resource
My additions on their investors, leadership board, and their current job opening
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Legal Disclaimer since tech companies LOVE lawsuits:
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual. This text is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be referenced for legal, business, or investment purposes. This text is based on publically available information. Sources may contain factual errors. The analysis provided in this text may contain factual errors, miscalculations, or misunderstandings.
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otomes-and-tears · 5 months
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Hi Bee! Sorry not to pressure you or anything at all!! I was just wondering if you were still continuing the Nevra fics, or if you kind of felt complete with them? I still love reading them time to time, so I was curious! But if you don’t plan on it that’s totally chill!
I fully intend on finishing the main fic and writing a few oneshots with Nevra’s pov! My interests did shift from Eldarya, but I still have a lot of love for the chartacters and the story. Not to mention, I’d hate to leave it unfinished. I like keeping to my promises lol
I’ve had a new chapter half written for months but for whatever reason I can never figure out what happens next 😭
But yeah. In a few days I’ll be officially on break from university and I’ll have more time to write in general :)
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otomes-and-tears · 5 months
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Could you do headcanons for how Step 1 Tamarack would react if her grandparents decided the MC was a bad influence and told her she couldn't hang out with the MC anymore?
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♦ Tamarack’s grandparents think MC is a bad influence ♦
► tags and warnings: -
► words: 344
► A/N: poor tam thought she was living a modern day romeo and juliet
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Poor Tamarack would feel conflicted;
She loves her grandparents and knows they just want what’s best for her;
They trust her enough to let her play in the forest and come back home before dinner time;
It’s more freedom than even her parents had granted her, back when she still lived with them;
And most of all, Tamarack knows that the trust they place on her is dependent on her listening to the few rules they do impose;
So if they tell her she shouldn’t play with MC, they must have good reason to;
But Mc is her friend! Her best friend!;
That already means a lot to a ten year old, but even more to Tamarack;
That’s basically sacred to her;
So she’d struggle with making sure her grandparents are happy while also not abandoning her friend completely;
Maybe they can’t play in the neighbourhood, but if they’re deep enough into the forest and just happen to bump into each other it wouldn’t be polite to ignore their presence, would it?;
And while her Omi told her to avoid playing with them, she said that it wasn’t an excuse for her to be impolite;
And well, they sit next to each other in class! The polite thing to do is to talk to your seatmate, and maybe play tag with them during recess and trade lunches;
Of course, if the entire reason MC isn’t allowed to play with Tamarack is that they’re a bad influence, naturally Tamarack believes it’s up to her to be a good one;
She’s aggressively nice and tries to be ten times good-er around MC;
That, of course, ends up coming across as weirdly intense because it’s Tamarack and she doesn't do subtlety;
Tamarack would absolutely try to make up a devious, infallible plan with Qiu to make sure that MC falls back into her grandparents good graces;
It most likely didn’t work;
I do think that granny would see how much this friendship meant to Tamarack and allow them to play together as long as they're being supervised;
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otomes-and-tears · 5 months
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btw I know ppl on this site go on abt mutuals but if you are someone that shows up in my notes regularly who I don't follow, I do notice and I am fond of you and if you reblog something from me I do think "YES I have pleased the follower with good taste"
#rb
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otomes-and-tears · 5 months
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Hey guys! so… we got the our life 2 extended demo recently, which is very exciting, and it gives a little insight on step 2 and how the character dynamics work with the main characters.
I thought this would be an amazing opportunity to remind you guys that my step 2 headcanons and fanfiction were written prior to the release of the OL2 extended demo, so they’re not canon compliant! Anything written subsequently will take into consideration the new information we get 💕
When the full game is released, I’ll make sure to tag in the masterlist what was written prior to he full release and what was written afterwards!
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otomes-and-tears · 6 months
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Every single fic update there is an author trying frantically to find the right balance between a nonchalant aside of "leave a comment if you enjoyed =)" and clinging desperately to the coat tails of a random stranger, dragging along behind them on the street wailing "Please, please! I have to know what you thought! I'm desperate to talk to people about this! Ask me about the alliterative repetition! Ask me about the symbolism!"
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otomes-and-tears · 6 months
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I hate you shipping discourse I hate you unnecessarily aggressive DNI banners I hate you dehumanization of those you disagree with I hate you harassment over ships or favorite characters I hate you purposeful lack of nuance I hate you false equivalencies I hate you policing how people engage in fandom I hate you actively trying to make fandom spaces hostile I hate you refusal to filter your feed I hate you making it everyone else’s problem
#rb
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otomes-and-tears · 6 months
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I think about this every hour of every day of every month by the way
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#rb
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otomes-and-tears · 6 months
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Baxter's step 4 in a nutshell
Baxter: "I want you to ignore or just see me as a stranger, let's not reminisce on what we had"
Also Baxter: *drops little references on everything you've experienced with him that summer with a fond look on his face*
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otomes-and-tears · 6 months
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currently screaming crying and throwing up because I can’t find a single Deadpool!reader x Miguel O’Hara fanfiction and I’m obsessed with that idea
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