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#RIP Twitter I'll miss you
mikamckinnon · 1 year
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Once upon a time, Twitter made me forlorn because someone went viral mocking geoscientists for licking rocks. I get geos are a bit weird even among scientists and are a bit more blunt with our toolset, but licking rocks is a real strategy not just some joke. Taste and texture can be diagnostic! The easiest way to identify between similar-looking halite vs sylvite is salty vs sour. Identifying sand vs clay is the cutoff between gritty or not: you can do it by chewing or by rubbing a spitty sample across the wrinkles in your palm, but either way saliva is involved. Fossils (and pots and bones!) stick to your tongue. While the vast majority of rocks have the exceedingly dull taste profile of licking a granite countertop or a nearby window, for the few exceptions it’s a valuable characteristic that will immediately inform you exactly what you’re holding.
You don’t need to lick rocks; it’s just faster and easier.
I don’t lick every wild rock I meet and licking lab samples is just gross. But if you’re out doing field rock identification, you already know enough to keep your tongue away from arsenopyrite and don’t waste your time nibbling granite.
Not all geoscientists lick rocks. I’m a geophysicist—95% of my rock identification is recreational, and I can easily go a year since I last licked a rock. But it’s not an inherently ridiculous concept worthy of mockery.
Anyway, you already licked a rock today. You just didn’t notice.
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amberphoenixshitposter · 10 months
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I’m fucking dying lmao I can’t with this stupid fuck 
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matchingbatbites · 9 months
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"What the fuck did you do?"
Eddie wasn't expecting hostility when he answered Jeff's phone call, his best friend's usual calm demeanor replaced with open annoyance. And yeah, okay, the annoyance itself wasn’t new, but Eddie doesn’t think he’s actually done anything recently to earn it.
"Well-"
"Actually, no. I'll tell you what you did. You retweeted photos of Steve Harrington - internationally beloved heartthrob actor Steve Harrington - along with the caption 'not to sound like a subby slut but GOD I would be his puppy baby boy in a heartbeat'. So I guess the better question is, what the fuck were you thinking, Eddie?"
Eddie's jaw clicks shut because- yeah, he had done that. Had seen those photos of Steve smoking circling the internet and spent god knows how long just staring at them, had curbed the desire to shove his hand down his pants by posting a single thirst tweet about it.
“I was thinking, Jeff, that I'm allowed to post whatever I want to my private fucking twitter, man. I mean it's a free country, isn't a guy allowed to make a horny tweet about a sexy man every now and then?”
“You are, when you actually post it to your private account and not our award winning band's main account.”
No. Oh no. There's no way Eddie actually-
He rips his phone away from his face to open twitter, and realizes two things simultaneously. One, Jeff is right, he had posted it to the band's account. Not on his private, locked, personal account, but on the account that's actually open and free for literally anyone on earth to look at.
The second thing he realizes is that their notifications are currently flooded with responses to Eddie's tweet, somehow racking up into the thousands in the few hours it's been since. 
Jesus Christ.
“Eddie?”
The metalhead jerks back into the moment and put Jeff on speaker so he can scroll through the horde of replies, says “Fuck, I fucked up. Are we gonna have to do damage control on this?”
In the mess is a reply from Gareth's own personal account: @ corrodededdie stop tweeting from the band account challenge 🙄🙄🙄
”Maybe. There hasn't been any type of response from Harrington or his people, but they might ask us to take it down if it blows up too much.“
Eddie hums, thinking they might be too little, too late about it blowing up too much, and flips over to his main account so he can reply to Gareth's little jab appropriately. He isn't surprised to see that he has a couple of new messages, probably from other people wondering just what the fuck Eddie was thinking, but when he goes to check them-
He's never been happier that he turned on messages from followers only, because then he would have missed this, missed Steve Harrington's little profile picture beaming up at him from the screen of his phone, along with a new message request.
”Jeff, I gotta go,” he says, not even realizing he's cut the other man off.
“Eddie, what-
”Harrington messaged me. I'll call you back.“
Eddie doesn't wait for a response as he hangs up on Jeff, and his hands definitely aren't shaking as he opens the message from Steve. And listen- Eddie is a fan of the guy, that much should be obvious. 
Steve had grown in popularity around the same time Corroded Coffin had; he’d gotten some part in a drama film that had skyrocketed him into stardom, and Eddie fell in love the moment he saw that gorgeous face on the silver screen for the first time. He's never had a chance to interact with the guy, has been in the same place a few times but always missed him, like ships passing in the night, but Eddie's been fine with pining from afar, just like every other person on the planet that's even remotely attracted to men.
Besides, even with how popular Corroded Coffin has gotten over the years - a couple of Grammy’s here, a dozen chart topping metal songs there - Eddie doesn’t expect Steve to just. Know who Eddie is.
With all of this in mind, Eddie is expecting some kind of semi-casual request to take the tweet down, that it's not a good look for his image-
Anything other than what Steve actually sent.
'If you're puppy baby boy, does that make me Master? Or Daddy?'
And Eddie- 
Eddie slides down, sinks into his couch cushion as all of the blood in his body suddenly shifts, rushing to fill his dick like it's a fucking race. The phone almost slips out of his hand and he fumbles it briefly before taking a deep breath. 
Is Steve serious? He wouldn't send that if he wasn't serious, right?
This could be it, could be Eddie's one chance to impress Steve, to get his foot in the door of Steve's interest. He bites his lip and types out a reply, something quick that he sends before he can change his mind.
‘I’m open to either, actually. Do you have a preference, sir?’
He doesn’t expect the typing indicator to come up immediately, and just knowing that Steve is somewhere right now, typing out a response to Eddie, is enough to have him nearly vibrating in his seat.
‘I’m partial to Daddy, myself.’
Fuck fuck fuck.
Eddie takes a breath, tries to think of a response that isn’t just ‘Please, Daddy, can I sit on your massive dick that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since that one indie film you did that just had all of your junk out in the open?’
Steve saves him by sending another message.
‘But maybe we could start with Steve, and possibly dinner? Though I’d be happy to see where things go after that.’
He- What-
Eddie must have stopped breathing, because the next time he takes a breath his lungs burn, his mid races because there’s no way Eddie’s long term celebrity crush just asked him on a date. He sits there long enough that the screen goes dark and he scrambles to turn it back on, sees the message still there, real and unchanged.
There’s no way he can say no to this, to Steve, and his hands shake as he types out a response.
‘Dinner would be great. Just name the time and place, Daddy.’
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f1fnatic · 4 months
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XNDA ⤿ l. hamilton 44
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→ ( in which. . . ) you, a famous musician, release a new album with an unknown feature. you both post suspicious photos of random people on your respective social medias. your fans start to connect you with a highly decorated formula one driver.
→ ( part. . . ) 1 of 2
→ ( fanfic genre. . . ) social media au
→ ( face claim. . . ) christina aguilera
→ ( pairing. . . ) lewis hamilton x singer!reader
→ ( content warnings/disclaimers. . . ) fluff, setting the plot
→ ( author's note. . . ) this is my first ever social media au, it was super fun to mess around with this fic. i hope you enjoy! see end for more.
→ ( masterlist )
─ INSTAGRAM ↴
y/nmusic
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liked by theweeknd, lewishamilton, pharell and 2,873,409 others
y/music i am so excited to announce my 8th studio album liberation! i have worked so hard to produce this and had so much fun creating this album.
i would like to thank everyone who featured in these songs, you were all such a joy to work with! i would also like to thank my person for being my rock and helping me when i felt that this project was not moving/going anywhere, i love you so much <3
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user5 so excited!!
user17 mother is mothering
pharell it was a pleasure to work with you liked by y/nmusic
f1lover lewis is lurking...
lewishamilton cannot wait to listen 🖤
f1ishamilton THE HEART???
roscoe4ever EXCUSE ME??? WHAT IS THIS?
user12 who is the "rock"...
user29 "my person" ???!!!?!?!?!
gwenstefani so so so proud of u ❤ liked by y/nmusic
─ TWITTER ↴
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─ INSTAGRAM ↴
y/nmusic
📍 brackley, england
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liked by lewishamilton, pharrell, taylorswift, gwenstefani and 3,173,562 others
y/nmusic a weekend away ❤️
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user4 hope you had fun!!
y/nmusic i did thank you 🫶🏻
user4 OH MY GOD Y/N???
f1lvr lewis is lurking AGAIN.
gwenstefani girl who are u holding hands with?
y/nmusic calling u rn dw gwen
y/nstan LOL not even gwen knows this is crazy
y/nfan gf who is the guy 🤨
y/nfan2 there goes another parasocial relationship
y/nlover3 scratching my eyes out (i am so happy for her)
lh444 the location???
roscoe4ever RIGHT like hello??
taylorswift i miss you ml ☹️
y/nmusic i'll be back soon dw!
lewishamilton
📍 brackley, england
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liked by y/nmusic, sebastianvettel, fencer, roscoelovescoco and 4,367,981 others
lewishamilton recharging with the ones i love most 🖤
tagged: roscoelovescoco
view 458,512 comments
lewisfan i am soooooooo normal about this (i am going crazy)
lewisfan2 me too (i am actually ripping my hair out)
roscoelovescoco love's you's dad's 🐾
lh444 sometimes i forget that lewis runs his dogs account, i remember, and then get the ick
y/nfan7 what is y/n doing here
sebastianvettel you look like you are having fun! liked by y/nmusic and lewishamilton
lewisfan3 the matching shoes 😭
lewisy/nshipper not him using the same black heart emoji he used on the liberation announcement?
y/nfan okay grandma lets get u back to bed
─ TWITTER ↴
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i am back!! i am so sorry for taking such a long hiatus, i have had no motivation to write, i get ideas but then hate how i make them. i hope you all enjoy this fic! thank you for reading! requests and feedback are welcome! make sure to leave a comment and kudos as well (only if you want :P)
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otdiaftg · 4 months
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The King's Men - Chapter Three
Day: Thursday, January 4th Time: 7:40 PM EST
Wymack pounded on the wall, calling a pause to the scrimmage, as Neil headed for the door. Neil let himself onto the court and headed for the goal. Andrew slung his racquet across his shoulders at Neil's approach. Neil knew better than to call Andrew out with an audience, so he stopped as close to Andrew as he could and kept his voice down. "Coach wants to know what you have against the offense line." Andrew slid a look past Neil to the court wall. "He can ask me himself." "Or you can answer me since I'm already here," Neil said. "There are only nine of us left. If we lose anyone else we're out of spring championships. You know that." Neil waited a beat, but of course that wasn't enough to get a reaction. Andrew looked bored of this conversation already. Neil put a hand up in front of Andrew's face, neatly blocking his view of Wymack, and waited until Andrew looked at him again. "I want us to get to finals. I want us to be the ones who finally bring the Ravens down. After everything Riko's done to us, don't you want that, too?" "You say 'want' so freely," Andrew said, "when I have told you a thousand times before I want nothing." "Probably because you're spending all your energy on not wanting anything," Neil shot back. "But if you can't grasp that simple concept, I'll put this in terms you do understand: this is a game we can't afford to lose. This is how we get to Riko. This is the only thing we can take from him that will actually hurt. Let's rip his rank out of his fingers and show him he had a reason to fear us all along." "Do your teammates still think you're the quiet one?" Andrew asked. "Our teammates," Neil said, with emphasis, "want this as much as I do. Stop cutting them off at the knees before they have the chance to try." "I don't believe in giving people chances." "I didn't until I came here," Neil said. "I took a chance on you when I decided to stay. You took a chance on me when you trusted me with Kevin. Is it really that hard to support them when they've been with you every step of the way?" "What will you give me in exchange for my cooperation?" Andrew asked. "Because revenge isn't good enough?" Neil asked. "What would it take?" Andrew didn't have to think about it. "Show me your scars." It was not what Neil was expecting, which was probably why Andrew asked for it. Neil opened his mouth to protest, but the words died in his throat. Wymack and Abby had already seen them, and the Foxes knew they were there. He'd put Andrew's hand to his ruined skin back in November to earn Andrew's trust. Neil had promised Andrew the missing parts of his truth if they survived the year. He hadn't thought Andrew would settle for a visual. "When?" he said at last. "We are going to Columbia tomorrow," Andrew said. "Now walk away and tell Coach to mind his pay grade. I will not let him get away with this a second time." Neil didn't understand, but he nodded and left.
Art used with permission by llstarvasterll. Thank you @llstarcasterll !
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sonicrainbooms · 1 day
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What I'll miss most about The Bad Batch is the genuine fun and chaotic interactions we had with the crew on Twitter and Reddit. I hope all those small moments are archived somewhere. I enjoyed them, and looked forward to them. I haven't ever seen so many members of production (producers, executive producers, voice actors, composers, riggers, animators, animation directors, lighting directors, artists, writers, cinematographers) interact and tease the fandom so much, collectively, across multiple platforms. It was....really nice.
They know how insane we got over every silly little thing they posted and said, how we studied everything they replied to and liked. They know that we know they do it for fun, that they relish of our panic every time Jennifer even breathes near her keyboard. I hope they had as much honest fun with it all that we did. I hope they never felt like they had to do it. I hope they know it was cherished, appreciated, that it was a ritual and a rite.
RIP The Bad Batch Crew Tweets. You will be missed. It's only fitting I share this completely unserious image in celebration of my favourite, and now limited, tradition. Image by hellikait on Twitter
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pinkscaped · 1 month
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can we get some info on myrah plz? 🤞🏾
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"I never said she wasn't talented. I just said she wasn't good."
Said during an AllTalkMe episode between her and former Allume member Bora, Myrah would openly criticize their former member Sooah, who she had publicly feuded with for years at this point.
"I never said she wasn't talented. I just said she wasn't good." Bora laughs into her microphone at Myrah's deadpanned statement before turning away, covering her mouth. Myrah, with one hand out and wrist limp, chuckles like she doesn't get the joke before looking at the camera, the video zooming in on her.
"What? It's the truth."
"Yawn! Next."
Most of these are from AllTalkMe, but this was a reaction to her and Bora getting an ad for a DeepDive music video which she instantly skipped. Later, Myrah would admit to not even knowing who DeepDive was, saying: "I don't listen to boy groups. I barely listen to Kpop."
"Well, if I owned a company, I would also a slut. Who wouldn't?"
She said this during an Instagram live when someone asked for her thoughts on the Angelico vs. Baebi trial. She'd also go on to say...
"Yeah, totally on her side. I'll be honest, she could've beaten his ass, and I would still be on her side. Sue men if you can."
"Sue men." Would soon become a popular term used on Twitter primarily. She would then go on to make a tank top with the phrase on it, putting it for sale on her merch store where it would sell out in 30 minutes.
"We kiss sometimes."
Immortalized by a fan-taken video during Paris Fashion Week 2018, Myrah was signing autographs for fans waiting for her outside the building. Waiting patiently and holding her Metallic Birkin 25 was her boyfriend of two years, Gong Yoo. When asked by an unknowing reporter if they were together, Myrah would laugh and tell him: "We kiss sometimes." With a shrug.
"Sometimes I wanted to rip your hair out and shake you until you got what I was saying, but you always meant the world to me, you know? That's true love to me. We're in love."
Said during the fifth-anniversary episode of AllTalkMe between Myrah and Bora. The pair reminisced on their time together and their friendship. Bora, who would be quietly crying during this spill, would sniffle and nod before giving Myrah a simple finger heart then bursting into tears. Myrah would burst out in laughter, dabbing her eyes as tears would slip out.
"Just fucking do your job. Your job is to sing and dance. Sing and dance!"
Known to run her generation like the navy, this iconic quote would be shouted during a rather tense practice session that was filmed for the Allume documentary. Myeah would actually yell this at member Sora and surprisingly not Sooah, who she would later go on to snap at for missing a beat.
"Stop asking us about groups we're not in. We don't care."
Myrah would interrupt an interviewer when they would start to ask her about BigBang. In her defense, this was the fourth boy group the interviewer had asked the girls about, and Myrah was over it.
"Why would I have children? I'm too hot and successful to take care of a child. Be serious."
Another iconic quote from an Instagram live stream. Ever since Myrah turned 30, she's been constantly asked if and when she'll become a mother. Though she's been mothering since 2000, Myrah has stated multiple times she has no plans to actually birth a child and will continue to focus on her career until she dies.
"Never date an idol. Idols don't last unless you're me but-"
This piece of advice was given to a viewer of AllTalkMe during their call-in segment, which has since been discontinued. Due to her inflections and quickness, this was one of the first clips of Myrah to go viral. Plus, Bora's reaction of bursting out into laughter, hitting the desk, and falling over in her chair was the cherry on top.
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onthearrow · 3 months
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hello! :) i wanted to ask if theres a masterpost for the art in tiny anthem, and if you have some sort of list/masterpost for cool locations in NYC you mention in your fics? i loved corps-a-corps too and i just want to write it all down!!:D thank you <3
Hi! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to answer this--part of the problem is most TA fanart is scattered around my Twitter bookmarks. That said, I took the time to gather up the links for you:
Levi and Beast here
Levi discovers Erwin is the Beast Titan from chapter 1 here
The bottle pub dancing scene from chapter 6 here
Erwin's near-miss in chapter 7 here
Levi's goodbye to Erwin in chapter 8 here
Beast Titan in the airship hold in chapter 11 here
Another version of Beast Titan in the airship hold (this one ripped straight from my brain, amazing 10/10) here
"This would-be devil is the most beautiful man he's ever seen" (chapter 11 airship hold as well) here
"You will refer to me as commander" in chapter 12 here
Erwin's return to Paradis in chapter 12 here
Levi lies to Erwin about their history in chapter 12 here
"You are the one thing that makes me happy" chapter 13 then and now here
Erwin with Beast aka "Susan" in chapter 13/14 here
"Buy Tea for Levi" from chapters 4/14 here
Levi and Erwin's blow-out fight in chapter 15 here
My ABSOLUTE FAVORITE because it is exactly what I pictured, Levi's dress whites from the Solstice Ball here
Another absolutely regal take on the Solstice Ball dress whites here
More chapter 16 Solstice Ball fallout here
Various chapter 16 sketches by ginger here
A cosplay of those same dress whites (I am SO freaking flattered) here
Erwin asleep in the carriage in chapter 17 here
The chapter 17 cliffhanger here
THE getting together kiss from chapter 19 here
NSFW doodle of Levi and Erwin in chapter 21 here
A drawing of our favorite OC Hizuran Takuto here
Erwin in the Season 4 uniform here
The kiss Levi and Erwin share after Erwin comes out of his titan in Hizuru in chapter 22 here
This isn't even all of the art...just what I have bookmarked. If you did art for Tiny Anthem and I haven't linked it here, please message me and I'll add it to this post!
Also, seeing all this in a list is just...astounding. The love this fic got was so humbling, I am truly so grateful to have reached so many people with it.
As for NYC spots...CAC is the master list, but if anybody ever wants a few NYC haunts off the beaten path feel free to message me, I'm happy to oblige.
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plasticflwrs · 3 months
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⠀⠀   ⠀┈─ NOTHING NEW ⠀⠀/ ⠀⠀ an oliver song story ( 2022 ).
RACH. I wrote it when I was 19, and I've written a lot of other things since, and it's just... what if... what if that was the one... what if that was the one, best thing I'll ever do and I spend the rest of my life just getting worse and worse and drying up, uninspired, and I never become great. — The Prelude by Dave Malloy.
WORD COUNT. 3.2k words. WARNINGS / NOTES. Discussions of mental health symptoms related to general anxiety and major depressive episodes. (Passive) suicidal ideation. Alcohol mention. Originally published in 2023, but now featuring small changes of names and timeline ( rip minghui 😔 ).
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“GOOD TO SEE YOU, OLIVER,” Yeonghui smiles as she lets Oliver into her office. “You never answered my text messages. I was worried about you.”
Oliver knows what Yeonghui is doing. 
She’s been worried about Oliver more recently as the bags under his eyes become more prominent and the schedule is more focused on going out with friends than actually writing their next album. This impromptu therapy session was not going to solve any of their current problems and he had other events to attend. Drinks with Rowan, Jiyeon, and old friends. A phone call with his mother. A real therapy appointment. 
Oliver is a busy person and finding a break in their hectic schedule was almost impossible. If the opportunity presented itself, he was going to take it. In reality, he never fully disconnected from his idol life. Always created new voice memos for new music, hid behind a mask so he wasn’t recognized, and appeared on the social media of his closest friends to get the band’s name out there. He liked to create a separation between his personal and professional life but the lines had blurred at the end of 2020.
He doesn’t understand why this is such a big deal.
He had written some of their discography before this album and the rest had been solely written by Salem before that. Yes, they had been missing for sixteen months, but, he was not the only member able to write music. Since he had returned from the states a few months ago, these meetings to discuss "music" (read: his personal life) had become more often. She was more open about her demands for a new album and Oliver was growing tired of it. He knew Salem had enough drafts to cover them for a few years at minimum, Jiyeon had showed him a few things, and even Junyeong of all people brought up a new drum line during their last practice.
Why was Yeonghui not calling them every day? He never understood her actions.
Oliver gives her a smile, the same that fans gushed about on Twitter and he had perfected over the years before speaking, “I’m fine. You know I’m allergic to my cellphone. I never answer anyone.”
“I’ve known you for almost seven years so I’m allowed to worry,” Yeonghui replies, keeping her voice even and her smile is tight-lipped, a sign of annoyance. She’s known amongst the artists for her quick temper. “Everybody is worried about you.”
“Everybody?” he questions. Oliver knows for certain that some people could care less about his health right now.
“Yes, everybody that’s important, which is your managers and myself. You know we have a comeback scheduled for the end of his quarter and I needed to know how that was going. There’s a lot riding on this, as you know.” 
Oliver leans back in the armchair and crosses his arms, defensively. “Have you asked Salem or JIyeon yet? They seemed… excited to run a project.”
She shakes her head and says, “we don’t want that. Plastic Flowers has been out of the public eye for ten months, so we need to retain any relevance from Teeth last year and that will only come from you."
“What if I don’t want to?” Oliver challenges and both of them are surprised by his attempts at talking back. 
“We can’t force you, of course,” Yeonghui says, leaning closer to Oliver. “But, I can cancel this album and make sure it looks like your fault. Junyeong and Salem are already upset, Jiyeon just sent us a lovely demo to compliment what you’ve already written, and Deurim's growing restless without any work. It would be very easy to recreate that outrage. Your choice, Oliver.”
He’s quiet for a few moments, remaining in that defensive position as she meets his stare directly. Oliver has always had an interesting relationship with his CEO and has never gone directly against her in their seven years of working together. He is a people pleaser at heart and at this moment, he wants to continue the fight against her but also knows that Yeonghui isn’t one to bluff. Sure, she’s prone to exaggerations to get her way nonetheless, she would find a way to twist these events in her favor and they both know that.
“Fine. I’ll send you some files later tonight.”
“Great. Why don’t we find some inspiration right now though? We have big plans for the promotion of this album,” she smiles, satisfied with winning the conversation, and opens her notebook to keep track. “So, how have your days been?”
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First, he wakes up at eleven-forty-five. 
He pulls himself out of his bed and reluctantly puts on a new pair of clothes, brushing his hair of any knots before entering the living room. Salem gives him an annoyed look as she clears off the table from that morning’s breakfast. Junyeong is in the shower after his daily workout. Deurim doesn’t pay him any attention, she’s too focused on trying to learn all their old music from Minghui's poorly taken notes. Jiyeon is drinking her coffee and reading some book, pretending she doesn’t see him, but Oliver can see her eyes flicker around the room. She looks from the corner of her eyes to watch his every move like he was going to do something stupid if she didn’t.  
Oliver can’t find it in himself to care.
He wishes Jiyeon a good morning, the smile and light excitement in his voice not reaching any other part of his face. He’s never been that good of an actor. Jiyeon smiles back, small, and thanks him before returning to her book, leaving them in silence as the microwave hums. He wishes he could be better for her and provide their relationship with something indispensable. Instead, their days were spent inside his shared bedroom with Minghui and recounting the one-sided disagreements between the oldest members and Oliver in their debriefs. It was all they discussed recently and he wanted to bury those feelings of resentment. There was nothing Oliver could do to change their minds and he was not going to make the first move to repair their relationship. Salem had said enough during their last practice session. 
( She had gone on and on and on about how boring his latest composition was. It played too much into the tropes of the last two albums and whatever he released on Soundcloud. The fans were going to get bored and he could not handle their criticism as she could. The last single she had written performed at the same level as they did in 2019, right after his Superband appearance. It was Oliver that had given them popularity in the first place and she hated that. 
“Have you written anything yet?” he asks, not hiding his annoyance. That shuts her up and they return to working in silence, the only sounds coming from his pen scratching against paper and her acoustic guitar. He sighs and almost apologizes. Almost. )
Jiyeon is good friends to have, despite the lulls in their conversations these days. He knows it's his fault for that too. She provided feedback on his latest demos, offered to plan a celebration for his return to South Korea, and gave him enough time to melt into his bed after long meetings. She never rushed Oliver into hanging out and understood that he needed some time to himself. He needs to step up and be there for her. Invite her out or something, stop locking himself in his room. She deserved better friends than Oliver.
“Are you nervous about tonight?” Jiyeon asks, testing the waters of that day.
“Not really, um—” Oliver begins to answer as his phone rings in his pocket. Another missed call from his mother. The third of that day. He gives Jiyeon an apologetic look before slipping back into his bedroom to answer. “I’ll be right back.” She just nods and goes back to her book. 
“Hi mom,” he tries to sound happier and it almost works.  “How are you? Isn’t it like close to midnight back home?” 
His mother, despite the time difference, is ecstatic to hear from him. “Oh, Oliver,” she gushes. “I’ve missed you so much. I couldn’t sleep and wanted to see if you would pick up.”
Kathleen Suh is a wonderful mother and person, easily one of Oliver’s favorites. Until his step-father taught Oliver how to play the piano, he wanted to emulate her. He wanted to attend Harvard University, he wanted to study history, he wanted to have a family of his own, and he wanted to be happy. His mother accepted the idea of his debut easily, wishing him nothing but the best for those years of training. She would send him money for food, new sneakers, and anything that the company needed. Oliver was forced to just take it since she would not take no for an answer. Now, he does the same and plus some extra gifts for his family. Two weeks ago, his checking account showed a small dip as he provided Harry, his younger brother, with a new Macbook for his final years of high school.
She’s happy to hear from Oliver, unsurprisingly. It's been two full months since they’ve last spoken and Oliver covers it with an excuse about being busy with writing for their new album. She accepts it and they move on to a conversation about his siblings with Ivy’s recent engagement still being the talk of the town and Harry’s already joined the poetry club, making friends already. He’s glad to hear that they are happy and healthy. Maybe he should call them this weekend… Did they even want to hear from him, though? Oliver wasn’t sure. It had been months since he initiated contact and would not blame his siblings for ignoring his future attempts to reach out.
The call continues like this for almost an hour. They go through the important details that Oliver would have missed from the stateside and Oliver give her any information about Plastic Flowers. Its a nice change of pace compared to the rest of the week, which was spent dreadfully alone. Oliver is an introvert at heart, but having these catch up calls with his mother wasn’t the same as meeting friends. They could never drain him.
However, the tone changes for the worst.
“You know I’m proud of you, right?” she asks and any good feeling leaves his body at that moment.
 Oliver hates when she does this to him and closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He gets it, really. Not hearing from their children would get anyone in a sentimental mood but Oliver hated discussing his current feelings with anyone and did not want to worry his mother. After a few moments, he answers, “I’m fine, mom. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve just been busy preparing for this album,” A pause in the conversation. Neither of them speaks so Oliver ends the conversation there. “It’s late in Boston so I’m going to hang up now. I love you.” 
Before he ends their call, his mother bids him goodbye and tells him that she loves him too. A hand goes through his dark brown hair, recently fixed from the bleaching sessions of the year prior, and he sighs loudly, flopping onto his mattress. Oliver, for the thousandth time within two hours of being awake, wishes that he was a better person and most importantly, a better son. If he didn’t feel like this, his mother would not have to worry about him and life would be easier for everyone. 
Without him…
 Nevermind. 
Jiyeon don’t want him thinking like that anymore. ‘It’s not good for the band,’ Jiyeon had said a few months ago, sitting on the balcony with three bottles of white wine between them. They always ended up back there, like in the old days, where they felt on top of the world and like nothing could truly hurt them. The days before he realized the band’s relationship breaking down in front of him and along with the divide between his personal and public life. It has always been the three of them against the world with Salem and Junyeong drifting in and out, depending on their feelings toward the youngest members at the time.
He still remembers the celebrations that came with their first single to enter the top ten in the music charts. At the moment, it felt like things were changing for the better. Less glaring and more attempts at working together, the creation of 403 a few months later, and securing their first win.
It was going well… until it wasn’t.
And the world would turn without Oliver Song for a comeback. He was sure of it. It might not reach the same success as Salem indulged in a more niche audience and the general public was not her biggest fan these days, but that was okay with him. It was the company's problem and they would have to work hard to rectify that. If Yeonghui could turn the world against him, she could definitely change the public opinion of Salem in a matter of a few weeks. At the same time, the band might not survive without the input of Oliver as the public’s favorite member and the lead vocalist of Plastic Flowers. While Oliver could take himself from the equation, with the fanbase also divided between favorite members, showing a weakened lineup could spell disaster. Rumors would circulate and the world would stop turning and Oliver would be lost forever, with—
“Oliver? Are you okay? You’ve been in here for, like, three hours,” Deurim's voice interrupts his spiraling and she’s standing just outside of the doorframe with an odd look on her face. 
Glancing down at his phone, Oliver could have sworn it was only two in the afternoon last time he had checked and now it was nearing four, closer to the end of the day than the beginning and yet another day lost to his downward spiral. This had been happening a lot more lately, with days blending into nights and the inability to be in the moment. He was always stuck between the past and the future, there was no time to worry about the present and he could not stop moving even for a moment. There was always something to do, even if that was nothing in reality.
“God fucking—” Oliver swears as he sits up, all the blood rushing to his head, and goes to his closet. “I should have set an alarm. I’m going to be so late.”
Deurim watches as he stumbles around the room, pulling a sweater and a new pair of socks from his bedside table. “Late for what?” she asks.
“I have a meeting with Yeonghui in a few minutes. She’s having one of her moments about a new record, I just need to appease her for now. I’ll still make dinner later.”
“Are you sure you’re well enough to go? You look like shit, Oliver,” Deurim remarks. 
“What are you talking about?” It's at that exact moment that Oliver gets a closer look at himself in the mirror and pauses for a moment. “Oh. Well, that’s nothing a bit of makeup can’t fix. I’ll just put it on in the car, no big deal,” Oliver’s voice is quicker than normal as the nerves start to get too much and he offers his roommate what should be a smile. Things are suddenly moving miles per minute. “Reservation is for seven, right? I can meet you guys at the restaurant if she runs over time, I’ll keep you and Jiyeon updated, yeah?”
Oliver is not doing well and someone else had noticed. So much for not making anyone worry anymore.
Anyone could see that from miles away. He hasn’t only lost weight over the last few months, but the dark circles have grown, and much more affect his naturally bright appearance. Before this moment, he never had the chance to truly look at himself in the mirror but it seems that the reaction of not only Deurim but the small gasps from the makeup artists was warranted. Oliver isn’t sure when it all got this bad, but, he can fix it, no problem. Starting that night he would change his life for the better. More meals, a peaceful rest, and spending time with Jiyeon was first on the list. That would help him feel better. (Hopefully). 
Deurim nods, still looking uncomfortable. They both know stopping Oliver from going to this meeting would be near impossible, he hated missing tasks. “Sounds like a plan. Good luck with the meeting.”
In a few minutes, he is not only ready for the meeting but his plans for after. Their manager knocks on the door and Oliver and escorted to the Superbloom Media headquarters, just ten minutes down the road. The ride is quiet save for the soft lull of whatever song was currently going viral in South Korea and his manager taps the steering wheel to the beat to save them from complete silence. Oliver is thankful that he doesn’t ask many questions and just goes along with whatever the members were feeling to keep his job. At some points, Oliver thinks that the manager is looking at him before remembering that checking your mirrors is always an important safety measure, especially as he turns street corners.
They park in the artists-only lot, the third floor of the private parking garage and he is left to his own devices. The manager has to pick up something else for the members, something that Salem requested from the shop down the street and he wishes Oliver good luck. They both know that he would need it. 
Tumblr media
That was Oliver’s day.
That had been Oliver’s day for the last three months and it seems like nothing will change. 
The only changes come from whatever plans are happening at the same time, guided through the motions by either his bandmates or manager. Nothing ever seemed to change and after a while, it all blended together. Yeonghui isn’t satisfied with his answer and she stopped writing a few minutes into his attempts at recounting his day.
“And, how long have you been like this?”
“Three months.”
She is silent for a moment. “That’s a long time.”
“I know.”
“What happened three months ago?” she asks, trying to get more information out of him. 
Oliver shrugs. “I’m not sure.”
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brisquad-unit-4402 · 11 months
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noctyx 2.0 is real and every second you aren't running they're getting closer
but i had such a busY WEEK AND I DIDN'T GET TO MAKE A PREDICTION POST OR REACT OR SEE THEM LIVE AAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHH
but a very lovely message inspired me to write down my thoughts anyways so here, i'll post what i expected/predicted first, then reactions to the actual outfits under the cut
dude i knew in my heart sonny was wearing a baseball cap with that smooth ass head but in my SOUL i was hoping for, get this, a biker helmet and matching motorcyclist-themed fit. that would be sooooo sick. with a leather jacket (toggle?) and ripped jeans and everything. oh, about how one shoulder is a little higher than the other? i thought he did that thing where you take the jacket entirely off, but sling it around your shoulder
uki mamaaaaa... i thought the little chain was a drop earring ngl. and that he had a hair bow for the ponytail, and one of those classy, flouncy blouses. ever since the first few weeks of noctyx where uki solidified himself as a graceful, elegant kind of guy i've been rooting for a classy fit and i really felt that energy with this silhouette, though to be honest, i did imagine the blouse to be really ruffled like a pirate shirt
i am proud to say i didn't buy fulgur's silhouette for a second. nah-uh dude you can't fool me, the ms paint guy. i recognize a round brush when i see one and i damn well recognized a round brush when i saw it. plus when i zoomed in and saw all those little gaps? nah dude. i'm also mad proud to say that i knew before he posted the real silhouette that it was to obscure longer hair, but it definitely wasn't a 404 fit. his hair would be longer and more unkempt if it was. but aside from that i had no clue what to expect lol
and speaking of zero clues, alban.. literally had no idea of what to think. no idea where to start, either, because his silhouette was so versatile. i remember thinking that following the theme where luxiem 2.0 is based on their pasts, then it would make sense if noctyx 2.0 followed a theme of their future endeavors/more detailed outfits based on their occupations, right? the only details i really gleaned were the straps on his shoulders, and honestly i thought it was a bulletproof vest, or some kinda techwear gear
actual outfit reactions under the cut
so a funny side story while the outfit relay was running, i was at a concert. it was a small lil' outdoor bar type venue full of sweaty bodies packed like sardines, thrashing around to trip hop and noise rap until 1 am and everyone's toes turned black from getting stepped on. there were like four different artists performing before the headliner i was looking forward to the most, and when sonny's relay was going on, the first band had just finished, this noisy distorted group playing along to a rapper shouting along, something a guillotine-by-death-grips enjoyer would froth at the mouth for. once they left the stage and i checked twitter to see the livetweets i was just thinking "this is what he [taichou] would've wanted"
anyways. it was hilarious because the second i clocked sonny's new hair i called him a wet ass dog. it's true. he looks like he crawled out of a dunk tank AAAAAHAHAHAHA it's growing on me, though. the links on his cap are adorble, i love that and the negi. and the water bottle! omizu, those little references with the acessories were easily my favorite part! the fit is really simple so those little details really made it shine, including the quilted texture on the shoes, and the shadow over his eyes when he wears the hat… you know… it’s a good outfit… but it’s just… i can’t help but feel
(also obligatory disclaimer that i’ve only found the time to watch sonny’s stream entirely, and i’m 7 min into uki’s, so let me know if i missed some context. i’m a clips champion at heart.)
i knew uki would be beautiful but i loooove how effortlessly beautiful he is in this one. it's giving me vibes like you impulsively decided to turn up at his door and then spent the rest of the day just comfortably hanging out all chill and calm. his slippers are so adorbs i know how he integrated the stargazers into the fit just like that, and his hair is so pretty when it’s long! he really is uki mama now! and the color is lighter, so i have two headcanons: either it’s dyed and slowly fading out… or he’s so old he’s graying LMAOOOOOO
fuuchan turning up to the outfit reveal no tease no prelude just apple is easily the most on-brand fuuchan thing i’ve seen. happy father’s day to fuuchan and his pink shirt, i SWEAR every dad worth his salt has a pink shirt in that same exact color. megane fuu is so important! i’m so glad this is a thing now it suits his fit and his personality so well! love the legatus motif on the shoes and the buckle too
i guess i’m not really allowed to say i was pleasantly surprised by alban since i didn’t have any expectations. but i was pleasantly surprised! he’s so darling! and all his toggles go so hard! he’s very boy next door, i love the little ripped jean details especially on his jeans! and it’s very versatile, especially when you consider his 1.0 too. he’s so cute. i’m so glad we embraced the konbini thing it’s so important
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weed-ols · 4 months
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Reviewing Every UKISS Release: By Unpopular Demand
Nobody asked for this, I don't even think anybody wants this, but I have a voice, and I'm gonna use it while I have a mild mental breakdown over how long it's taking me to rip their concert DVDs and consequently breaking my only USB and therefore forcing me to shell out even more money after splurging on them. Like it's fine, it only took me two hours to rip Action after spending an hour fiddling with the damn DVD reader before giving up and using a busted old laptop.
Anyway.
So to start, some general opening remarks about this whole unasked project, some rules or whatever:
They have a ton of music. I saw someone on twitter mention it a while back, but after writing down everything I need to listen to, it's a lot. There's about 11 studio albums, 13 mini albums (granted, one is a Christmas repackage + 2 new songs), and a bunch of JP singles (most of which made it into albums, but still they had to promo those).
I have no idea what to classify their clothing album Only You as. It's only 4 songs long, but I feel like that's enough to call it a mini album/extended play/whatever? Also, it has like no presence whatsoever on YouTube or Spotify, and the only reason I remember it exists is because for some reason I have the album art on a random USB (not the one I broke).
Neither Spotify nor YouTube Music have their full discography. Spotify is missing all their JP releases prior to Panic (meaning we're missing the Christmas album and a lot of b-sides), while YouTube Music has their JP discography, but is missing Collage, Moments (funny enough, the Mysterious Lady single is still there), Mono Scandal (which was there right up until last week).
While hunting for some of their music, I found an OT6 version of Ready For U that someone mixed, and I also found out there's a version of OT6 RUN A WAY, but I don't think it exists anywhere publicly.
A lot of their songs have a bunch of different versions, courtesy of their unstable lineups, but I probably won't touch on all of them. A lot of them are from their concerts, so maybe if I do concert reviews if the DVDs start cooperating, and I'm not masochistic enough to sit through every single ManManHaNi performance.
I won't do their JP singles separately, I'll do the entire album, then do the b-sides grouped by album release.
Format is something along the lines of -- actual music, music video(s), and music show stages. I found my feelings varied quite a bit from music-music video-music show due to costuming and choreo.
This is mostly for archival purposes, as in I'm just dumping all the info I know on these releases here for myself, and whomever finds it helpful. A lot of things are from my own memories from back in the day, so they might not be totally accurate since a lot of the sources are gone. Feel free to add/correct if the 10 Kissmes on here are willing.
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Guys I love and miss Gojo so much. I'll be having a good day and remember that he is in fact gone. Also I can't remember where I heard this, but I remember someone saying there was an official tweet or like statement, where they said that Gojo might come back but in a way we won't like. So now I'm sitting here making theories? Idek if its true, but if it gives me a thing to do so here I am. I don't my little Sukuna to die either, but if Choso dies to him Istg. I might start treating him the same way I did with Mahito when he killed Junpei (Rip Junpei, gone WAY too soon. Still grieving because he was a good character, and he didn't deserve what he went through. Like this poor kid trusted Mahito, and they literally ENDED off his mom, but Junpei had to find out personally. Then manipulated him into "getting revenge" on someone who didn't do it. ONLY TO HAVE HIS SOUL MANIPULATED TO BREAK DOWN YUUJI? The pain I felt at Junpeis "help me" was so immense. Sometimes I hope he'll come back, he had the WORST of it istg 😭 Bullied? Watching his mother die? Manipulated by a gross ass cursed spirit? Then dying in front of his only good friend?? It's actually insane. Ily Junpei </3, I miss him sm. Cause he honestly was a good character.. 😕
Anyways, what I'm saying is, it'll be different if Choso perished than when Gojo died. Just because Gojo was a really OP character, and it was necessary for Yuujis character, he needs to be the one to end off Sukuna, cause like yk? Sukuna caused him so much torment, lmaoo (it isn't funny but I'll preten). Like ig it would be necessary for Choso too, but it's just.. I mean he kind of JUST started to become a part in the actual story. So it'll be too tragic, and I'll sob, then never return to Jjk ever again. 😕
I'd also sob if and when Sukuna died too, because I grow a fondness of everyone. (I miss you Nanami.), I also grew a fondness of Toji. Which I didn't think I'd do when I first got into Jjk, but he redeemed himself with Megumi. I mean.. Sorta? Idk I just defend all the characters atp. Besides Mahito, he needed to fucking go. 😭 His wails are still in my head, as a reminder that he can't hurt anymore mfs. (I'm still HEAVILY grieving Nanami.) Anyways, sorry for the 2nd rant 😔
-👽 (Ignore this baesy)
i get so many like gojo theories on how he will come back on my twitter and ngl??? SOME OF THEM COOKED LIKE OKAYYYY WHY DOES IT MAKE SM SENSE???? but then i rmbr gege doesnt care that much LMFOAOAOAOAO gege wants this manga OVER WITH!!!!
sukuna can go do a backflip off a cliff for all i care fr. choso dies and i’m deleting my whole tumblr if i can’t be happy no one can.
nah cause junpei’s death was crazy not even bc of what u said but bc of how they make his ass look so important and integrated into yuji’s friend group ONLY FOR HIM TO DIE LIKE THAT LIKE OMG THATS SO SICK???? STOP PLAYING WITH ME
toji is just sexy idk that’s his only appeal to me like okayyyyy dilfff😍😍😍😍🤞🤞🤞🤞 stares at my toji oneshot idea….
ANYWAY STOP APOLOGIZING FOR UR RANTS THEY R ENTERTAINING 🫶🫶🫶🫶
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golbrocklovely · 7 months
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I keep seeing people asking for videos from xplrclub to be uploaded on to twitter because they don't have xplrclub and I'm just like 'no, no one should give you this and you should not be asking because 1-people have paid for that content so it should be exclusive to them and 2- SnC asked people to keep what they release in Xplrclub in xplrclub. But no matter how many times I or others say this we are outnumbered by those who are like 'DM me, I'll share with you!' And it super frustrates me tbh. I wish there was more we could do to stop it.
that's really annoying to hear. thank god i don't see ppl like that on my tl bc i would be ripping them a new one lol
like i get it's upsetting to not see the xplrclub content. i get feeling left out but like.... that's just reality. not everything is made for you to be a part of. that's why it's an exclusive club with exclusive content. not everyone is gonna see it.
also with the lack of content they have been posting, no one is missing out on much. truth be told a lot of the shit that they tell us on there everyone else gets to hear not that much later. we just know ahead of time.
it pisses me off bc like what is the point in me paying $19 a month just for some loud mouth to share it???? like stop wasting my money and yours!!!
i got into a whole argument on tiktok about this, and that whole situation pissed me off more bc the person tried to play it down like 'it's just one 8 second clip', as if they hadn't posted two different clips on tiktok with one having the caption 'follow and like for more content from xplrclub'..... like girl, bffr lol
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littlecreativecorner · 9 months
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Feedback and Suggestions to Tumblr Changes
Rant that has been coming for a week or two now, extremely expedited by the recent change they made to literally make it look like Twitter. I’m assuming the change stems from this statement they put in their latest Staff post:
"The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use."
The thing is - nothing is easy to use, the first time. If you've never been on a website, if you've never used a program, a game, an app - the chances are, you are not going to know how to use it easily if you haven't encountered it before. Does that intrinsically make the service you're using bad? No! So what could Tumblr do to help instead? Well. Huge feedback and suggestion dump under the cut, with the LEAST rant-driven comparisons I can muster. I'll be sending this post as feedback myself, but I want it public too.
I'm going to break these down into bullet points with explanations, but keep in mind that I'm just one person, and I'm bound to miss out on plenty of things others might have thought of; this is not the blog to send in feedback or suggestions or other thoughts, it's a one-off long as all fuck post because I'm opinionated. Take the list and run with it, add to it, use it - whatever, but please don't come to me for more takes about this. That being said:
Section 1: Layout
Feedback: New layout
I won’t be the first or the last person to say this: the new layout is basically Twitter. You know this, I know this, the staff knows this. Tumblr…is not Twitter. The obvious pro to this change is that everyone that’s ever used Twitter in their life is going to know where things are, because it looks like a worse version of their (already bad) platform. The cons are…everything else. From this point onward I’m referring to the 19/7 layout as the Twitter layout because it’s simpler, and it’s true. Also I don’t like it.
I don’t want to spend my time here when it looks like this, and frankly, people don’t want to use any social media platforms that are an obvious rip-off of others in looks and function; they are going to use Twitter regardless until it dies. This is why few people have gone to Mastodon and kept using it even if it IS a better alternative to Twitter, and quite similar. It’s the same with games. You want more people to use Tumblr? Make it unique. Keep the old layout, or do adjustments that actually benefit the interface, and double down on the uniqueness of what it can do different, and better, not what it can do the same. Tumblr is a blogging platform; lean in on it. I digress. The Twitter layout dissection below.
Suggestion: Layout (desktop) and interface
I have a wide screen, and my personal experiences are written from that point of view; however, everything I mention here should be tested for ALL screen sizes, to optimize placement and user experience. I’ve gone through the tags to gather some opinions and mellow out my initial reaction of “oof, change bad”, but also I’ve always hated the Twitter layout which is the reason I don’t have one. Shocker.
The layout is cramped to me. It feels squished. Opening one thing overlaps on the other, having to scroll down for basic account functions feels insane to me because that’s where the likes, the drafts, the posts are. It makes me less likely to go through any of the website actual functions because I just can’t see them, and I have to put in extra effort of scrolling around to find them. The general upside of Tumblr for me was the ability to have sideblogs and easily access and edit them, and see posts, and likes, and other blog-specific things.
The Messages, Activity, and TumblrMart tabs still open as pop-up like features. For messages- no issue, there’s no need for it to take up further space. It was like this beforehand, and I didn’t mind it then either. I think that’s fine. Activity and TumblrMart, to me, feel spammy to look at. Personally, opening Activity in a half-tab like the one you get where you report blogs would be ok, because you can actually look through it with less fear of clicking off, but also, I don’t get a lot of notifications so I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other. I have seen that it covers the dashboard which you might want to be looking at, so frankly, it’s probably best to not have it pop-up there at the very least. TumblrMart…please let it lead to its own site segment. No wonder people aren’t using it. It doesn’t have a clear overview, or options, nor do you feel like you can peacefully look around.
The fact that everything is on the left side sucks from an user standpoint as well because going swiftly from reblogging/liking/refreshing to account/messages/settings is not friendly user interface. This, to me at least, essentially discourages the interaction wanted. I digress. I think it’s a decent idea to separate left and right side and make things in part more accessible, but not like this.
My personal subjective opinion for a new (“more intuitive” interface) and suggestion:
Keep what is currently the account tab on the right, permanently open (likes, following, what’s new, help, shortcuts, log out) OR toggleable, with a toggleable (separate) “blogs” tab under it for privacy on the dashboard lest someone walk by and sneak a glance. Opening the blogs drop-down would by default make your main blog interface open, and side blogs closed; leave the toggleability and options as-is on the Twitter layout, that is fine.
Above this, put back the Home, Explore, Activity, TumblrMart, Domain, and Ad-Free icons. Home, Explore and Activity for usage, make TumblrMart lead to its own distinctive site instead of being a pop-up, and the rest people will eventually click on and know what they are. Potentially you could merge Ad-Free and Domain into one site you can just scroll through instead. Bind this with the search tab in the middle the way that it was, so things don’t stick cramped to the top of the page.
Leave Messages, Inbox and Settings on the left, and instead of “t” write “tumblr.” because there’s lots of empty space up top there otherwise, and it would look less awkward. Drop-down settings especially is a good thing to me because the settings interface was amongst the least intuitive things for new users, and it’s important because it shapes the entire usage of the site, and is one of the first things people go to for customization of their experience. Under this, stick “Check out these blogs” and “Radar”. Or only “Radar”. Workshop it or ask for user opinions.
That’s just one opinion of possibilities of one user, and no one has to agree with me whatsoever, but I’m not going to sit and pretend that things will never change ever even if I don’t want them to. There’s plenty of ground to cover here, but I really shouldn’t be doing the job of the Tumblr board of 200 people who already work there. Regardless, I’m upset, and I don’t want to use Tumblr anymore because of the changes you’re making, and I want to fix the leaks in the roof of my only house, because honestly? I don’t use social media besides Tumblr. I digress.
Feedback: Blogs (layout-adjacent)
I’ve been on this platform for over 10 years and I want to be absolutely clear on something; I hate the simplification of everything with a burning passion. I don’t want to spread misinformation and say that blogs not having their own immediate domain and theme on sign-up saves money, or space, or what-have-you, because I don’t know, but if it’s true then I understand the reasoning for the change. However, I do know that the slow erasure of personal themes makes the entire website bland as all fuck to me. I’m going to separate this in chunks because it’s important to me and I think Tumblr should use this function (as well as chronological non-algorithmical feed) to attract new users instead of trying to be something it isn’t. Is it realistic? Not my job to figure out, nor how to make it work! I’m already making a whole itemized list for a lot of things.
Feedback: Regarding mobile blog layouts:
A good change! I like that it’s simple and sleek and still customizable in a way where you can hide your likes and followings. I also don’t mind that the same settings are retained on the desktop version of your blog to keep consistency. It’s neat! However, I’m not the biggest fan of the desktop version of blogs, and so, regarding desktop layouts:
Suggestion: Make blogs that have a theme open in a new tab when clicked on.
In all honesty, I scroll less on blogs when I’m not on their personalized theme. It’s simply not inviting. It’s fine for one post; sometimes I just want to take a link from the source to pass it on, but when I further click on the blog icon to get to the main page of the blog itself, I wish it led to the actual theme as opposed to the dashboard version. I love looking through others’ posts and blog on their own personalized page, and frankly, it’s the reason I joined and spent so much time on Tumblr. If the theme is Godawful, or difficult to see, there’s always a button in the top right which literally leads to the dashboard version of the blog, on any blog with any theme. When I scroll through the dashboard version of a blog, I last maybe 5 posts at most, don’t like/reblog much, don’t follow, which further just stops the chain of engagement in this platform.
I can agree this isn’t for everyone, and people might not care too much about it. However, it’s like…a few lines of code to implement, and put in settings as a toggleable function. It would keep everyone happy. And make it known to new users.
Section 2: Retaining new users
Now that we’ve determined how nobody wants a rip-off website, and how changes are possible and have potential and don’t have to be bad, and how, certain layout functions are out there that little people know about, we’re going to move on to the statement that Tumblr staff made about not being able to attract and retain new users. I’m going to make a separate post completely that goes in on the topic of engagement (important for a website!), but here I want to focus on the differences in old and new user experiences.
Feedback: User experience for new accounts
I feel like lots of old users aren’t aware that this is what the new sign-up for Tumblr looks like, with all the steps. To Tumblr staff: no wonder people don’t understand anything or stay on the platform, and you think that algorithms are the way to go. Changing the interface to “please” or “attract” new users won’t do much if they still can’t understand and use the core functions of the site. The functions that are actually not badly described on the help page. The functions that make the site worthwhile visiting and being on for what it is.
The steps given after signing up force people to mindlessly click on things, without any understanding, and the interface looks…spammy. There’s no indication on making someone unfamiliar with the culture or layout actually familiar and understanding of it, there’s no explanation, nothing. It’s not inviting and it looks like a hassle, and if people don’t understand this, they will click things randomly, then go to their dashboard and be cranky because they don’t get what’s going on.
Suggestion: Signup and post-signup interface changes, tutorials
On the “What are you into?” page, elaborate on what following “tags and topics you want to see” means; will this show up on the dashboard, will it give you notifications, what? Let people know that they will see everything in a tag from all users, where it will be located, how if they tag an original post it will also be found in the tags, but that tagging reblogs won’t. People don’t know. Teach them as they go along.
Leave a few suggested (popular) tags, potentially a list of currently trending tags. Introduce a search function next to it that allows a quick scroll through whatever tag people might think of, with a sentence or two about how to use search/tags: this both familiarizes people with the difference between the “tagged” and “searched” terms on their dashboard (you could explain this, too!), and gives people the incentive to write whatever they want and follow that instead of one of 20 randomly generated tags that they then have to unfollow. Naturally, add a button saying “no thank you” to this step so that people that know how to use Tumblr don’t have to do any of that while making a new account.
On the “find your people” page, you should straight up explain what following people means and how to find people to follow, given that it’s the core function of the website, no matter how much you try to force the algorithm. The issue with following random people for new users is that they don’t know how to find them after this step, and there is only so far that the “check out these blogs” tab will get you. This ties into engagement, and so, I’ll go into a little more detail later.
Likewise, managing of the “For you”, “Following” etc. is not customizable and removable for new users. Please make this customizable the same way that the old users have it, wherein you can turn off certain tabs. In all genuine honesty, I find all that unnecessary, but I know some newer users might use it (whether it’s because they like it, or they don’t know any better, I can’t say). I think the choice of what the “primary” tab is should be given to the user though.
Regarding the rest of the website functions: You know when you download an app or a game and you have a darkened screen with highlighted points that let you know where is what and point at it, sometimes including pictures? And you read it to get familiar with the interface/controls, and skip it if you just don’t care? Brainstorm on how to make one of those. This solves 99% of your issues with people that want to use the platform and also read. Make it simple, to the point, cover the raw basics, and include an easily accessible link to the other tutorials with screenshots on the help page that I know exist but are horribly hard to find. Which brings me to my next issue…
Suggestion: Make the help and feedback sites easy to access and use.
It’s as simple as putting the words “Help” and “Feedback/support” on the right side under whatever text there was, or under the “suggested blogs” batch, or something. This is literally THE easiest change to make on the old layout and would undoubtedly help a lot of people that don’t understand the platform. Likewise, honestly, the help page with actual tutorials is kinda bad (the tutorials seem ok from what I’ve skimmed though). It’s big and bulky and stretched out and it makes getting to the actual tutorial you might need a little bit of a hassle. I’d suggest to rework that layout over the dashboard layout any day.
And regarding the people that don’t read? Well, first of all, that’s their issue. Secondly, the way new account making works on Tumblr needs to be reworked in a way where doing whatever is necessary while making the account before getting to use the platform needs to be optimized and clearer, with better instructions. The issue isn’t the layout, as much as a fundamental misunderstanding of the platform, which I’ve written about 6 paragraphs of just above.
Section 3: Engagement
With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the meat of the problem. One of the key issues Tumblr seems to have is this:
“To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.”
I’d like to go in on this because to me this is the most important facet of why Tumblr is changing things. I urge you, staff specifically, to read this carefully and clearly.
Feedback: Engagement with the platform
A lot of reasoning for changes comes from a lack of engagement with the platform and its contents, and the want to get more users and as a consequence earn more money to keep the site running. I’ve already written about introducing new users to the website interface and culture better, so I’m going to write the following with the assumption that all site features are understood. Platform engagement and features are intertwined, and so this will include both feedback on current features and suggestions for future ones that I think would hopefully help engagement. Because this is about Tumblr changes, it’s only fair we start with the obvious.
Feedback: Make blogs and polls related to changes easier to access.
I’ve gone through a few blogs such as @/changes, @/wip, @/labs and @/staff. First off, most of these aren’t interlinked with each other, and it’s very very annoying. It costs 5 minutes to make a pinned post on each of those blogs that links to the others so people know what to turn to regarding which update/change. Likewise, please stop silencing/refusing blaze/putting mature setting on posts that discuss and complain about changes. This has never gone over well with anyone. You’re alienating your userbase.
Regarding polls about changes that you apparently do on one of your changes blogs: I’ve never seen them, and I’ve never seen any notices about them. If you care about retaining any user base you might still have, you might want to have these more often, and facilitate and encourage discussion and open suggestions. Mostly, just make a notice about the poll last until it is over just like you make the notices about “ask X from Y show!” things. I’d be more than happy to contribute if I actually knew there was a poll happening.
With that out of the way, let’s get to the rest of them.
Feedback: Algorithm and the “for you” page.
Plenty of people have said this before me, and better than me. I want to stress the fact that the “for you” page discourages reblogs, discourages interaction, and above all, discourages new content creators. The new algorithm functions use popular posts (without reblogs, no less!), which further pushes good and popular creators or bloggers, and leaves others in the dust. Making this the default dashboard and search results not only stagnates content, but also alienates creators you oh-so-dearly want to see bloom. I think having it as an option is inevitable in this day and age, but also, I would much rather see emphasis on the chronological, following and self-curating experience, than a trend-chasing one. You need to give people the space to grow if you want to encourage their growth. This space is hard to find when only popular things are pushed upwards.
Feedback: Search and tagged.
We all know the search function is broken in unspeakable ways. Unfortunately most new users a) don’t know that and b) don’t understand the difference between the search and the tags. For the latter, I’ve already suggested things. For the former: fix the search function. And maybe let people pick whether they want to default to search or tag they’re looking for when pressing enter in the search bar? I’m tired of double clicking because I tend to prefer going to tags.
Feedback: Issues with the Tumblr Live function.
Remove it. Few people use it, I doubt that it’s highly moderated, and I’m absolutely certain it’s costing you money more than it should. The fact that a recent Staff Q&A livestream was on it was a slap in the face given that at least a third of the userbase cannot access it given that they are in the EU. If your website function is banned in the EU, you might want to reconsider implementing it. If people want livestreams, they will go to Twitch, or less likely to Instagram. Tumblr doesn’t need this. It won’t make new users come. Market it as a blogging platform that it is, not a livestreaming platform.
Feedback: Issues with spam and bots.
There’s so many porn pots in all tags spamming everything and messaging users, and we all know it’s an issue. Work on removing them from the site more than you work on removing actual real live users that post porn on the site. At least the live users aren’t likely to give you viruses and scam. Related, make new users aware of this issue and urge them to change their icon or at least make an introductory post. If they get blocked for the assumption that they’re a bot, they see less on Tumblr, there is less engagement.
Suggestion: Following, specifically regarding new users.
The reason why “most users see only 25 posts a day” isn’t that they are lacking an algorithm, it’s that they’re lacking people they follow, and the fact that most suggested blogs to follow are ones that create content as opposed to reblogging it, and because creation takes time, well…people don’t get posts on their dashboard. The simplest way I can think to fix this would be to also suggest blogs that reblog based on source content tags they reblog. And because I know some people would rather have their little private corner: make this toggleable based on if their blog is searchable or such.
Alternatively, coin a known tag such as “New user follows” or something, wherein both new users can post asking for people to like if they post about XYZ fandom/topics so they can check the blogs out, and the old users can post a list of topics they talk about, and new users can just follow that way. “Like if you post X” in fandom tags used to be such a common thing, but I don’t think encouraging spam in said tags is a good idea, and so: new highly specific tag, which can also be noted and explained in the sign-up process!
New users don’t know this, but I (for one) find people that reblog things either by going up a chain of reblogs, or just visiting random blogs through reblogged posts of posts I like and content I enjoy. I’m sure every other user out there has their own method of finding new blogs. For this to work though, you need to have people that reblog, which leads to my next point.
Suggestion: Reblogging regarding new users only.
For the new users, it’s confusing to differentiate between a reblog and an original post, especially considering you can tag both. This kind of ties into tutorials that I suggested beforehand, but it should at least be mentioned somewhere, preferably during (or right after) the sign-up process. Granted, this might be mentioned in the help page somewhere, but after this entire manifesto, I don’t have it in me to check.
Suggestion: Encouraging reblogs for both new and old users.
I’m running out of singular brain cell power to one-man brainstorm things for the staff here, and I’m certain people have their own ideas to boot. The only thing I can think of is to give people a boon for a 1-minute crab run or 24-hour badge choice per, like, 1000 posts reblogged, 4 times a month to avoid spam. Either it will be funny or it will be ignored. I don’t have it in me to think about this because the moment I had started reblogging a decent chunk of things on my own blog, Tumblr made the layout change, and now I simply don’t want to.
Suggestion: Change replies to posts.
If there’s any one thing I ever actually wanted on Tumblr that Twitter has, it’s the fact that replies to an original post are threaded. I know this has been asked for plenty of times, but keeps getting delayed. You want to encourage connection and communication? Thread the replies. Please.
Feedback/suggestion: Reblog chains.
Bring back the ability to look at singular reblogs by going through a reblog chain. You're killing the culture of "previous tags". Also this just sucks. And it's harder to find blogs through a reblog chain that way. This suggestion is not eloquent because I'm adding it in as an edit since my brain is literally fried from writing the rest of this.
Likewise, don't condense reblogs. People have said it better than me as well, but that kills the culture of the site, it kills engagement in the way the site is made, and frankly seeing a punchline before the joke isn't going to make anyone reblog anything.
Feedback/suggestion: Advertise the option to have custom themes.
This is primarily meant to attract new users, and is bound to my suggestion of letting blogs open in new tabs. People love custom things and self-expression, and most new users don’t even know that this is an option. I know that the theme shop wasn’t profitable since the themes weren’t all that good; fine. But you can still use this function of the site to attract and keep people. Yes, the dashboard is the same for everyone, but each personalized blog can look however you want it to, and that’s the joy in it.
Suggestion: Accessibility
This goes without saying, and given that I luckily don't have many things that hinder me in using the site, I am not the best person to speak on this. Make gifs toggleable. Let people zoom in on images. Listen to those that need these features to happily use your site if you want them to stay.
Suggestion: More items in shop.
I imagine the reason most people don’t outright buy merch is that items with the name of any kind of internet site aren’t usually “cool”. I understand Tumblr needs money, and there’s only so many silly trends that are always going to be popular to buy. I also understand that a decent chunk of users probably don’t want crabs. The items in the shop are not my job to workshop, but honestly you could ask for userbase suggestions for it to get a feeling for what people want.
A few things that come to mind for me would be: more critters (just change the crab to something else!), more badges that are really just emojis, icon frames for you on the dashboard, self-picker for dashboard colors beyond the basic 12 offered, etc. Cash in on the customization. That being said: listen to your userbase regarding changes, features and functionality of the site, so that they in any way shape or form want to spend money on you in the first place, and so that they’re even there to do so. People won’t want to buy things if you’re actively working against them. There was a post about trust in website changes somewhere which explained it well; if I find the term I will edit it in here. I find it important.
Suggestion: Introduce a function to spoiler text and/or images.
This speaks for itself. The function to put text under a spoiler bar (think: Discord or Reddit) is to me, less necessary on Tumblr than the function to spoiler images. This leads back to the fact that Tumblr is a blogging platform, and you don’t censor things on blogs like that. However, spoilering images would be a good addition, especially given that some people might want to post leaks and/or content they don’t want people to see outright. This also introduces the option to have more suggestive content under a filter if people so choose. But I’ll be straightforward here: we all know what my next (and last) suggestion is going to be.
Suggestion: Bring back porn/mature/explicit content.
I want to preface this with the fact that I frankly don’t care about consuming porn, but I do care about content creators, fandom, and seeing art. And I do understand that Tumblr staff, for every request they have had to bring back porn, said that the issue is with apps and Apple etc. But this also needs pointing out, explicitly:
You want to attract and retain users? Bring back porn. Everyone and their mother knows that some porn is still alive and well on Tumblr, if you know where to look. Everyone but new (and non-) users. It’s a bit of an open secret, but if new users don’t engage with the old users because they don’t know how (issues and resolution suggestions mentioned beforehand), they are never ever going to find out. Let me be absolutely clear: People are not on Twitter because of the layout, or the algorithm. People are on Twitter and other popular platforms because they allow mature content, and so, a lot of content creators they care about are there.
And the issue here is, is that the mature content remaining on Tumblr is either live porn, comes from porn bots, or absolutely censored in like 3 posted art pieces. You want to encourage content creators and retain users? Stop alienating half of them from your platform. A lot of adults enjoy and engage in mature content. I repeat: the issue isn’t in the interface, or the function of the website; the issue is the content, or lack thereof, and fundamental introduction to the functions of the site.
I considered making Twitter JUST for the fact that certain artists were alienated on Tumblr and (shadow)banned for posting suggestive art, or porn art, and moved to Twitter to put their mature content there. It’s not about the layout.
It’s not my job to figure out how to do this. Frankly, I think a step in the right direction would be to enable and un-shadow mature content on desktop first and foremost, while still censoring it on app, especially for people who in their settings do have mature content enabled. Why can I still not see mature posts in the tags and search even though I’ve enabled it? Go from there. Figure it out. But you’re lying to yourself if you think the lack of engagement only stems from the layout and certain functions.
Allow mature content outright. I can guarantee you that this will help with the userbase, considering a majority of it left after mature content was removed, and some tried to “come back” after the false (recent-ish) assumption of it being once again allowed. We all know they went back out the moment it turned out mature content was still banned.
That's it! If you read this far as an user, thanks! I've surely missed out on a lot of things and barely scratched the surface, but this helped get things out of my head, and will hopefully stay in the thoughts of staff. If you're staff: you should have read all of it.
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quincyhorst · 10 months
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A Little Recopilatory post of all Euro B References (So far)
Yesterday, I reflected on the rather unfortunate treatment when it comes to certain FFI teams. The whole topic of how Inazuma treats its (minor) characters is still debated to this day, but I'll give credit to the franchise of doing some unexpected yet appreciated gestures; such as including artwork of almost every single minor team player in specific merch (Inazuma Eleven All Player Directories, or Memories) or in in-game sections. However, not everybody gets the same luck.
In the case of the plot irrelevant Block B teams (Germany, Spain, France), unfortunately they weren't given proper anime artwork (Despite 2/3 teams appearing in-series) nor the team roster was given full references. It's sad, really. But the same way there were fans that still used what they had, I guess we'll have to do the same.
So, I'd like to make a little "masterpost" for Tumblr, recopilating everything that could be taken in consideration when drawing these characters (Mostly focused on heights), with things both from the videogames and anime.
Either way, let's start. Long post ahead.
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Brockenborg
To clarify, both BB and RM references are from the IE3 gallery, whose images were ripped and uploaded to The Spriters Resource by PokeAdry. I will post two versions of said images, one being the original and the other being an upscaled version with Waifu2x; as to make it look more clearer. Looks decent on the following ref, but not in the spanish one... :(
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In this image of particular there isn't an Endou/average height placeholder, so we couldn't really say how taller or shorter the characters are compared to him.
Missing Characters: BB Bench (Gerald - Erwin - Jens - Ern - Manuel)
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Red Matador
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...Yeah, not even W2x is able to properly show the little side/behind doodles of each character's face. Sad :( (But I guess the wikia 3D models are enough?)
Something that I find interesting about the character placement of this chart is that it follows the order in which the team lineup appears during Episode 85's FFI Opening Ceremony (Not posting the original picture as it takes too much space, but you can see it for yourself). Like in Brockenborg's chart 5 players are excluded, but 3/5 are benchers (Federico - Juan - Carlos) and 2/5 (Mikel, which is covered by the emblem - Igor). Kinda curious that the excluded main ones appeared the less on episode 102.
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Rose Griffon
Unfortunately, out of the three, RG is the most unlucky, not appearing neither on the IE3 Gallery not any official good. However, the japanese fans who loved this team never gave up, and thus made their own height chart using as reference the 3D in-game models. Here's the link to the original one, posted originally by the user mofmoffu over on Twitter (ありがとうございます!!🙏).
The intent was to repost it, but I don't want to make the original user uncomfortable by making this image appear on any search console.
And here's the Waifu2x upscaled version, given the original is too tiny:
Also in the form of a link as to respect the original format.
(Keep in mind this is most likely NOT 100% accurate, given the 3D models are quite limited when it comes to the actual heights. But for now, that's all we have.)
Of course, there's also their appearance on the opening ceremony, being the closest to official art there is, but it doesn't tell us anything about their heights.
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So, I guess that's all there is for now. Let's hope VROH manages to bring anything new to these teams 🙏 But for now, hope what's here manages to help out someone!
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mirukimary · 1 year
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My Art Summary for 2022!
(Under the cut I'll go into more details for each month, for memory's sake. Warning: It's LONG.)
Come one, come all for your opportunity to see all of the drawings I should have posted but never did! The ones that make me work harder every december to remember when tf i drew what! The ones that, in missing, make it seem like i only draw once a year--! (going through my twitter media tab is depressing LMAO)
JANUARY
[Pictured: Iola in Prenda clothing. There was a Twitter Post going around asking you to draw your WoL in your country's traditional clothes. Ofc I didn't skip the opportunity to do it! And drew my BF's WoL too for good measure. Still my fav drawing of the year!]
Also worked on a VTuber model for a friend (i drew it as a bust january last year; then this year was asked to expand it to full body). It was very challenging, but also fun!
For the rest, I designed some backstory NPCs for Asera (Daimyorus childhood friend, his goddess and a mage that helped us multiple times); and drew some twitch emotes for a client. Was a fresh, fun start. I remember having a lot of fun and finding that month quite relaxing.
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(Goddess Rondra, Mage Rupin & elf-friend Pedro (RIP))
FEBRUARY
[Pictured: My friend's bunny boi~]
Further work was done on the VTuber model, a lot of parts that weren't quite working before were redrawn. He was taking form!! Now that most of the work was done, also did a ref sheet to go with it. I couldn't wait to see him moving!
That's when I started preparing to open commissions for realz, trying to think of prices and set up examples. I drew some BGs and the Complexity Guide, and set most of the boring things up. I plan to open comms either Jan 2023 or February 2023, so let's hope all the work paid off~
MARCH
[Pictured: 'Smile at the Blue Skies', or "Fuq i need a bust sketch ref for my commission examples page". Sounds a bit less dreamy now, huh? LMAO]
But yeah, most of the month was dedicated to the VTuber model, working to fix it as the rigger found issues. Ref Sheet was finished this month. I'll stop mentioning the model, but the back and forth lasted till june or so?? Had to fix all of his toggles; and redraw his entire hair to allow for a better 3D effect when moving (it went from 3~6 layers to over 20). This was my first time working on vtuber models, so there was A LOT to learn. It surprising how many pitfalls there is in vtuber making. I'm very proud of how it turned out, and eternally grateful to the rigger (and to my friend) for being so patient with me. I was sent a small demo of what he looks like, and seeing your drawing move so beautifully like that feels magical!! There's still much to design and draw before he can debut, but hope you can support him then!
Oh yeah, there was this attempt too:
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APRIL
[Pictured: 'With Friends' the commission I worked on through March and April. Extra special because that's my friend & his pets there!]
Also sketched some ideas for illustrations of our RP characters (hi Irene), but never really completed them:
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It feels so long since I made these... Double checked like 3 times to make sure it wasn't April 2021 LMAO
I REALLY want to revisit some of these now.
MAY
[Pictured: #XIVARTBASH drawing, featuring Nero.]
Also drew the catgirl from Love2DrawManga. Didn't do much this month (...or did but forgot). I believe I worked on some BGs I can't show, but these are still very much stuck at WIP :(
JUNE
[Pictured: Nia's WoL, Mat. Just a smol gift for someone that brings a lot of joy to FFXIV Twitter.]
So... I completelly forgot I was drawing my OCs outfits [facepalm]:
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(Don't mind the two in the corner, I don't want my essay to get hit with Tumblr hammer LMAO They're nowhere near done). But yeah, these are my OCs from 'Elder''. I've had them since childhood, and still love them, even if I gave up on the book idea. Will make an actual post once all is done and I can go back to their character illusts uwu
JULY
[Pictured: Cade from 'Still Shining'. Working on this was an amazing experience~ Won't go on detail bc I already did, but still glad for the experience!]
Instead I'll talk about... Art Fight month!!!
SO.MUCH.FUN
I'm 100% going back next year! This event just proved how much I love drawing people's OCs. I really want to be a commission artist so I can do that for a living. Sadly I didn't get to draw everyone I wanted, plus I wasted a lot of time trying to look through OCs while the website was dying LMAO Next year I'll come prepared!
Also I drew that Spring picture to use as a reference in her profile there. I missed drawing her!
AUGUST
[Pictured: Commission for 'Under Maintenance'.]
Mostly worked on commemorative stuff. Anniversary chibi for Brie; that Under Maintenance pic; Thank You for DL message for 'Loving You Fully' and 'Still Shining'. Also designed some outfits (and painted some sprites) for Mythic Meetup: Midnight Mystery (not released yet!).
Started a bday gift for my boyfriend, but something kept looking 'off' about it so I didn't finish in time. Turns out it was overblended... And will require a redraw. Sorry boyfriend TT But my wife (tm) needs to look perfect!!
Also made the design for our new RP characters:
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(mine is the not-cat girl, obviously)
...And I belive this is when I made that cursed Yshtola feeding Zero picture? Yeah.
SEPTEMBER
[Pictured: Witch Torunn]
Made the YCH bases, as well as 3 examples. I have no memories of this month, but Windows says this sketch is from september:
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OCTOBER
[Pictured: Old OC redraw, for my Commission Guide. Decided to do it after a client asked for clarification if an old drawing was halfbody or fullbody (august last year, Torunn sitting down).]
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They're really old OCs of mine. Ever RP-ed in Deviantart groups? I did!!
Cecilia (<-) is pretty much a Iola prototype: salve maker and potion seller who lives with her dad (who taught her the craft). One day he collapses during work, and Cecilia ends up overworking herself to afford his medicine and other living expenses. In desperation, she joins The Guild as a novice magician for money, and gets herself involved on a war she never intended to join.
Celticca (->) is a archer and aspiring musician who wants to make the most beautiful song (tm) for her family. She's very sweet, but naïve and scatterbrained. I didn't have much planned for her, but had a lot of fun seeing her constantly get involved with Evil/Neutral alligned characters w/o noticing LOL
....Now that I think about it, she's literally a FFXIV bard, before I knew anything about XIV.
The rest of October was focused on Magni's Birthday Project and my YCH Halloween Commissions.
...And THIS:
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Halloween pictures of our current RP characters \O/ To go with our halloween session~ Also drew these two for our halloween one-shot:
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Ellie (<-) and Hadrianus (->). Ellie is a yandere witch I made as a joke and fell in love with. Hadrianus is my BF's wizard. Yes, he looks like Dr. Strange. Yes, that's the joke. The 3rd character was Rosemary, but I didn't ask to draw her so she's missing :( I do want to draw all of them at some point. We accidentally made "Spy x Family, but it's horror and Loid wants to run away" LOOOL I love this trio!!
Made 2 adoptables, but since they went unsold I decided to remove them and redraw for next year:
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(The neutral pose doesn't help them stand out ^^;; Sorry bbys)
Also sketched Julio from Atelier Sophie~
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(Hoping to finish it early next year. He's not the only idea I had while playing, but other stuff took priority"")
October was so much fun!! Sadly it let me completely drained by the end of it. I got hit with such a HUGE art block it was like my hands just... Forgot how to draw. Everything came out weird. Sadly, that resulted on me having to drop a drawing I was making for Brie :/ Hoping I can pick it back up soon... (better late than never right?)
It's around that time I decided to work on an AI redraw. Used Crayon (old Dall-e Mini) to create some monstrosity for me and tried to turn it into an actual drawing.
The monstrosity:
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The Work In Porgress:
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This drawing is a bit painful to look at, because of all the self doubt and bad feelings attached to it. But I want to finish it someday. My prompt was something stupid like 'cute anime girl having fun'. I want to remain true to the prompt and make her meeting with lil ladybug feel warm and fun!
...Like of the feelings I was missing back then, and am just now starting to get back.
TL;DR: Take breaks or you'll break.
NOVEMBER
[Pictured: Chibi Adra for Kyou.]
Managing burnout through most of it. Eventually just decided to stop fighting and played games instead. Even with the frame drops, Atelier Ryza is pretty fun~ Hoping to go bk to it soon.
At some point my boyfriend said I should just draw things to have fun for a bit. I followed his advice...
DECEMBER
[Pictured: Art Party (DracoLunari's WoL)]
...By drawing Iola as a sheep herder. It was much more fun than it sounds. I didn't care for polish at all, just seeing Iola in a cute outfit LMAO It's... A mess of a drawing. But it's MY mess of a drawing. I feel this thought calmed my mind a lot.
Also went for my first ever Art Party. It was fun, tho brain did get in the way after a bit, as expected ^^;;; Still want to go to these more often!! It's fun to draw & chat with others.
For random drawings, all I have is a(n embarrassing) fanart of Elf from Isekai Ojisan. I'll post eventually..... (that anime is hilarious)
For now I have a commission and a collab to take care of, and a certain Moon Goddess to draw as soon as possible~ Will be doing my best these next few days, and hope Iola can be my sheperd and guide me to the path of 'having lots of fun drawing again'.
ONWARDS TO 2023...
May my year be filled with bad drawings that I love;
And good drawings I'm proud of.
May your year give you the same
And everything else you wish for!
Thanks @/Taxkha on twitter for the Template!
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