#can we trade?

[excitementshewrote]

#the simpsons #gif #homer simpson #can we trade?

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

the fact that shakespeare was a playwright is sometimes so funny to me. just the concept of the "greatest writer of the English language" being a random 450-year-old entertainer, a 16th cent pop cultural sensation (thanks in large part to puns & dirty jokes & verbiage & a long-running appeal to commoners). and his work was made to be watched not read, but in the classroom teachers just hand us his scripts and say "that's literature"

just...imagine it's 2450 A.D. and English Lit students are regularly going into 100k debt writing postdoc theses on The Simpsons screenplays. the original animation hasn't even been preserved, it's literally just scripts and the occasional SDH subtitles.txt. they've been republished more times than the Bible

#due to the Great Data Decay academics write viciously argumentative articles on which episodes aired in what order #at conferences professors have known to engage in physically violent altercations whilst debating the air date number of household viewers #90% of the couch gags have been lost and there is a billion dollar trade in counterfeit “lost copies” #serious note: i'll be honest i always assumed it was english imperialism that made shakespeare so inescapable in the 19th/20th cent #like his writing should have become obscure at the same level of his contemporaries #but british imperialists needed an ENGLISH LANGUAGE (and BRITISH) writer to venerate #and shakespeare wrote so many damn things that there was a humongous body of work just sitting there waiting to be culturally exploited... #i know it didn't happen like this but i imagine a English Parliament House Committee Member For The Education Of The Masses or something #cartoonishly stumbling over a dusty cobwebbed crate labelled the Complete Works of Shakespeare #and going 'Eureka! this shall make excellent propoganda for fabricating a national identity in a time of great social unrest. #it will be a cornerstone of our elitist educational institutions for centuries to come! long live our decaying empire!' #'what good fortune that this used to be accessible and entertaining to mainstream illiterate audience members... #..but now we can strip that away and make it a difficult & alienating foundation of a Classical Education! just like the latin language :)' #anyway maybe there's no such thing as the 'greatest writer of x language' in ANY language? #maybe there are just different styles and yes levels of expertise and skill but also a high degree of subjectivity #and variance in the way that we as individuals and members of different cultures/time periods experience any work of media #and that's okay! and should be acknowledged!!! and allow us to give ourselves permission to broaden our horizons #and explore the stories of marginalized/underappreciated creators #instead of worshiping the List of Top 10 Best (aka Most Famous) Whatevers Of All Time/A Certain Time Period #anyways things are famous for a reason and that reason has little to do with innate “value” #and much more to do with how it plays into the interests of powerful institutions motivated to influence our shared cultural narratives #so i'm not saying 'stop teaching shakespeare'. but like...maybe classrooms should stop using it as busy work that (by accident or designs) #happens to alienate a large number of students who could otherwise be engaging critically with works that feel more relevant to their world #(by merit of not being 4 centuries old or lacking necessary historical context or requiring untaught translation skills) #and yeah...MAYBE our educational institutions could spend less time/money on shakespeare critical analysis and more on... #...any of thousands of underfunded areas of literary research i literally (pun!) don't know where to begin #oh and p.s. the modern publishing world is in shambles and it would be neat if schoolwork could include modern works? #beautiful complicated socially relevant works of literature are published every year. it's not just the 'classics' that have value #and actually modern publications are probably an easier way for students to learn the basics. since lesson plans don't have to include the #important historical/cultural context many teens need for 20+ year old media (which is older than their entire lived experience fyi)

[sexybritishllama]

strap in folks it's time for another neopets drama update

some background reading before we begin: back when neopets wanted to introduce customisation (i.e. dressing up your pet) in 2007, they decided to 'convert' all existing pet art to align with a rigid body structure, rather than all having unique poses. it was just not feasible to create new pieces of art for hundreds of different pet poses every single time they released a new clothing them

customisation had been highly requested up until this point. however, the conversion was NOT popular. in some cases, particularly for basic colours, the change wasn't huge, but in other cases.... uh....

you get the idea. the more expensive colours like plushie, faerie, grey, royal and darigan got the worst of it because they had the more unique poses pre-conversion, and therefore it was largely agreed that the change to the stiff 'samey', frankly kinda goofy converted look did not look great

most users did not get a choice in having their neopet converted and it was done automatically, but if you had one of these colours where the change was huge, you were given the choice of converting or retaining the old pose (but not having the option to customise your pet). those pets that retained the old, pre-conversion poses are therefore referred to as 'unconverted', or UC for short

once a pet is converted, there's no returning to UC. you also couldn't create UC pets anymore, making UCs a limited resource that would only increase in value with time, particularly as people abandon their pets, leave the site, get frozen, etc.

i could write an entire dissertation on the drama that UC pets have caused for the pet trading economy, the neopet account black market, and general retention of the userbase, but to sum it up, people REALLY want UC pets. they are the single most coveted status symbol on the site

we skip forward now to 2023

the neopets team are planning to introduce UC pets back to the site, so that people will be able to create their own UC pets again for the first time post-converstion (legally at least)

they drip feed bits of information over the year about what this will look like. the main points are

changing a pet to UC will be done via some kind of item bought with neocash, the premium currency on neopets that you need to spend real money to get

putting this item on your pet will give it the UC art style appearance

so. not much really known. but expected release is set for january 2024

yesterday, they hosted an AMA focusing on the new UC pet system and how this was going to work. noticeably absent is any explanation of how much this is actually going to cost and whether it is going to involve any kind of gatcha mechanic, so that's causing our first lot of concern

second lot of drama is that the new UCs aren't actually going to be COMPLETELY the same as the old art, as they're making some small changes for style consistency, see below (old on top, new below):

the biggest drama, however, comes from how they're dealing with the 'original' UC pets. ALL pets will be getting forcibly converted on the 23rd, with anyone who has a pet that is already an original UC immediately receiving the UC neocash item. there's mention of possibly some kind of trophy or badge recognition for particularly old pets, but it's vague, and generally seems like it won't be possible to distinguish between the original UCs and these new ones

the people who already have OCs are not happy about this

people are allegedly pounding their pets, cancelling their premium, and quitting the site in protest. the boards are flooded with people complaining about the changes and laughing at the downfall of the 'neo-elite' in equal measure

it's t-minus 5 days until the second great conversion goes live. let's all pray for our souls

#eloise talks #neopets #neotag #this isnt even going into peoples displeasure at the fact you dont even need to be the og colour to make it oc #i.e. from what we can gather you can have a red kacheek #apply this nc uc item #and then it can look like an uc faerie kacheek? #AND the drama over this now destroying the uc market and possibly requiring people to get gift boxes for trading #i can keep going

[ningadudexx]

Today was my birthday and i had a good day :) i hope everyone had a good day too

#monkie kid #lego #lego monkie kid #lmk #monkie kid mk #mk #qi xiaotian #monkey king #sun wukong #lmk monkey king #lmk sun wukong #six eared macaque #liu er mihou #macaque #lmk macaque #lmk mk #animal jam #if you ever see me on animal jam and you want a painting #just tell me and i gotchu #we can trade for sapphires #i look like monkey king on there ^_^ #i was thinking about having an event where people can come to my den and i can draw requests for them for trade :3 #would anyone be interested in me doing something like that and posting about it on here? just lemme know if so :D

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 287

self indulgent headcanon that sollux and kanaya were friends really young and also are both trans

i like to think they'd try trading outfits with some of their old pre-transition clothes but unfortunately given both of their respective aesthetics i don't think it would go very well

#day 287 #year 4 #sollux captor #kanaya maryam #homestuck #also keep in mind they're like Little here lol its quick doodles so idk how clear that is but like #they are baby #sollux is a walmart ass graphic tee son of a bitch and kanaya is wearing evening wear and costume jewelry to the supermarket #but theyre like hey i think we might wear the same sizes lets see if we can trade some of our old shit that would be so convenient #and then.

[nesushii]

I WANT THE LOGAN BLIND PLUSH SO BADDDD

#Can we please establish a blind box economy #Like I will trade you my patton for your Roman #i will trade your Roman for my Logan #PLEASE #i am a simple artist #i can not afford to risk not holding him in my hands #sanders sides #neshu talks

[ghostskyee]

“jerma always doin shit like hes barbie”

IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU. the comparisons between barbie and jerma are few but they’re out there.

BIG INSPO of @1percentcharge‘s Barbwi985

#jerma985 #barbie #jerma dollhouse #drawss #2023 #what can i say i like barbie and i watch too much jerma. my two interests #digital #shout out to milky for telling me we should do an art trade but of jerma barbies #i went out of control #jerma

[ganonfan1995]

Burnt out

#initially this was meant to be something else entirely #but i wasn't really liking how it was going so I scrapped the idea and opted out for something a bit more personal #ive been really suffering from burn out for the last few years and just barely keeping my head above water #there are times where i seriously feel like ive failed in every aspect of my career #like if i were good enough i wouldn't have burnt out #i love my job and i love my trade i love every skill ive gain up until this point #but its been hard not to take it personally when all the effort you've put into honing those skills #are abused or exploited #life is difficult enough already and and time is fleeting #taking time for yourself is above all the most important thing you can do to help your work flourish #taking a break isn't failure #its health #we aren't machines despite our industries treating us as such #just waiting and hoping that itll pay off #ive certainly learned my lesson #and im looking forward to brighter horizons #and healthier more respectful ones #ill be okay ive learned how to love my art in my personal time again #but i certainly need to let my mind rest and my body to recover #these tags are lengthy anyways #unionize and dont work for nothing from large companies #be gay do drugs love your friends make art for yourself too #my art #scuttles out of here #i hope these long ass images actually show up in full resolution #i did draw them fucking TOLL as hell

[shadowtraveled]

“will you do it? will you do it? i will help you.” this is it for me

#for essek to say this right after refusing to turn back time to undo his own treason. shadowgast makes me so insane you do not understand #‘i think this is a bad idea. too many things could go wrong and i’m unwilling to risk trading my guilt for something that could rival the #calamity. if you want to though. we can do it together. and we’ll make sure it works.’ #what if i fucking died. what if that killed me #essek thelyss your lines in this episode will live inside me forever #what a problem #critical role #essek thelyss

[bakudekublogblog]

god thinking about katsuki murmuring "gotta win... right izuku?" right before charging right into his death is so so so fucking batshit insane of a thing to include. like he's yearning for him. like not only is he speaking as if izuku is still at his side, but he still remembers what izuku said to him all those months ago and is fighting to live up to the version of himself izuku admired. and then he goes "tell me.... izuku.... can i still reach you" CAN I STILL REACH YOU LITERALLY LONGING FOR HIM, TELL ME, ONE LAST THING BEFORE I GO, JUST TELL ME IF I CAN REACH YOU FUCKING I'M LOSING MY MIND OVER HERE IT'S PEAK PINING TRAGIC ROMANCE

#bkdk #bakudeku #i'm literally going insane thinking about just how hard katsuki was yearning for him #all of this happening knowing he's probably going to die specifically to hurt izuku #the word choice the TELL ME #IZUKU ONE THING SPEAK TO ME ONCE MORE JUST TELL ME #CAN I REACH YOU #RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAA #CAN I STAND BY YOU CAN I BE BY YOURSIDE AM I WORTHY AM I STRONG ENOUGH #the fucking YEARNING IS GOING CRAZY AND THIS IS WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT WHEN HE DIES #when izuku thinks he's gonna die to muscle man in s3 he's like “sorry mom” #katsuki is just full god i wish i could be at your side izuku i want to speak to you one last time i want the silly trading card we got #signed #hori i swear to god if you dont let these boys hug each other after all this tragic gay pining i'm gonna scream

[mamawasatesttube]

kon bart and cass as a trio who have just never had a childhood experience could be so funny. i want to see it

#kon and bart are debating about the tooth fairy and cass is like we can test it! here i have some teeth #kon: WHOSE TEETH ARE THOSE???? #cass: tim's baby teeth :) #kon: oh okay that's fine then. WHY DO YOU HAVE THOSE-- #cass: stole them from dick :) #bart: wait then won't he notice if we trade them to the tooth fairy?? #kon: im not even gonna--tim gave them to dick didn't he. didn't he. #cass: yes :) #bart: does the tooth fairy even pay you for someone else's teeth??? #all 3 of them: 10 full seconds of stumped silence #and then all 3 of them: WELL! ONE WAY TO FIND OUT-- #rimi talks #kon #bart #cass

[cupophrogs]

I honestly dont trust Ollie either. I do wonder if he’s tried to tell drew to not trust daddy or pops. Cause like poppy Ollie seems to not care of the bigger bodies die or live.

“Poppy ain’t perfect, but trust me when I tell you that she cares. But you’re right about one thing, I don’t trust Ollie worth a shit.”

(This is a joke, please do not take this seriously! I thought it was funny)

#no Poppy slander in this clown car/lh #okay but seriously I ADORE Poppy’s whole character #OML I could ramble for ages but I’ll keep it short for tags sake #Poppy cares so much and I will die on this hill #she wants to be free; she wants to expose/uncover the company’s secrets so that SOMEONE knows what happened to them #she wants to LIVE #Yes Poppy kept us from leaving but she said it herself #she NEEDS the player. she physically can’t do anything on her own #and we see through her interactions with Kissy that she DOES want to save who she can- remember that she had no idea Dogday was alive! #likely why she never says anything about it #SO #What Poppy is doing; trapping the player. forcing them into this savior role so that she and anyone they can find can be saved #is incredibly human of her #trading the freedom of the one for the validation and seeing and possible freedom of the many is so human #and I adore it so deeply #phrart #art #ask phrog #poppy playtime #ask the three d’s #the three d’s #Ollie ain’t shit though lmao #that’s GOT TO be the prototype #poppy playtime chapter 3 #poppy poppy playtime #will smith meme

[ozzgin]

I'm announcing myself as 🌼 anon (if it's not taken) and I've proposed to you before and you presented with a form to ozz harem ;)

I have no problem with these yan anons because I'd already have some type tracker/s on you you ozz, so that i know where you are always and I'll bring you to the harem as I'm very peace-loving and sharing anon wife. Ofc after they think that they succeeded, I'll rain their parade ^^

I'm also the type to force everyone interact so that no one's feeling left out because why not?

My skills: i do karate (with nunchucks), i cook, i clean, i can serenade you singing love songs, I'm nerd at heart so i promise we will never run out of topic to talk about, etc.

You have my blessing, 🌼anon. Do what you must. Nunchuck them back into law and order.

How it feels like on this blog sometimes

#personal #doodle #ozz harem #an orchestra of madmen and I wouldn’t trade it for the world <3 #I can't serenade you back sadly but we can figure out something

[keryth-fr]

Ancient Parchment

I'm seeing a lot of chatter about the new MP tab split for ancients (and for good reason!!) but I also want to make sure that everyone saw the update section about gene parchment.

Activities like Baldwin/Swipp/Coli/Arlo/Avery will not drop breed-specific genes. Instead, the Ancient version that would drop will instead be a "Parchment" for that gene. Instead of Blossom (Gaoler) or Blossom (Undertide), you will now receive an Ancient Gene Parchment: Blossom.

One you have a parchment, you take that to Glass and Gloss to trade for the specific breed you need. It doesn't seem like all ancient genes from these activities have parchments yet, but there is a lot of steps going on here to help address the ancient gene bloat.

#flight rising #maybe i haven't crawled through enough of frblr to see people mentioning this #but everyone seems excited about new eel genes AND the long awaited MP split #but now!! we're finally getting universal versions we can trade in

[tracle0]

Feast your eyes! My pride stars :)!

#pride stars #origami #paper craft #paper stars #handmade #arts and crafts #so it was my cities pride yesterday and I spent the ENTIRE month of July making these lil stars to give out to people! #it went really well actually #I was saying donations appreciated but not mandatory and some people looked so happy just to have some stars!!! #some people were SO generous too like oh my god???? #I think there was only one experience I disliked during the event where I was vaguely swarmed and people were helping themselves but #yknow we all get excited haha #got a really cute mushroom bracelet as a trade as well!!! #I have a fair few leftover - lots of aro and ace ones #couple of bi and a couple of pan #ZERO non-binary I should've made more!! #nd obvs some rainbow and trans cause I made the most of them #I'd say lmk if you're near me and you can have some but I am pretty sure none of you know me irl so you can't have any I'm afraid #oh also worth saying - I made the stars I could with the papers I had! Bought purple and pink but I did not try more complex flags cause #I mean. I couldn't really afford to haha? #maybe next year I'll try the lesbian flag too! #ok bye xx #trade-marked

[egginfroggin]

Yeeting both Ingo and Emmet into Hisui and having them get taken in by the Pearl Clan and Diamond Clan, respectively, is fun, but what if they were both taken by the Pearl Clan.

And then became Lady Sneasler's Wardens (coughadoptedkidscough).

And proceeded to tell absolutely nobody that there were two of them.

As far as anybody who isn't from the Pearl Clan or who hasn't been introduced to the twins by Irida -- the Responsible One -- knows, Lady Sneasler has a really weird Warden named Emmet who just abruptly swaps coats and demeanors seemingly arbitrarily.

And is terrifyingly good at getting around the Highlands quickly.

Honestly.

It's almost like he's in two places at once, sometimes.

Yeah, they went off to the Highlands and one of them (probably Emmet) was like, "Hey what if we just didn't tell anyone that there's two of us," and the other (probably Ingo) was like, "That's a horrible idea. I love it. Let's do it."

The player character knows that there's two of them because Irida herself introduced Ingo or Emmet as one of Lady Sneasler's Wardens, so the player character was basically directly informed of the fact that there's two of them.

Nobody else is aware of this.

Warden Emmet is just a mysterious cryptid lurking around the Coronet Highlands, and everyone is very confused by him. And maybe a little afraid.

Except for Melli, Melli is just exasperated with him. As usual.

And due to the distance between the Highlands, the Pearl Settlement (full of people who know) and the rest of Hisui (the people who don't know), it never really gets properly stated that there are two identical Wardens running around the Highlands. Irida just thinks that people talk about Emmet a lot and chalks it up to him maybe being the weirder of the two. Or maybe Ingo's shy, or something. Who knows.

Either way, they get away with it for years.

#pokemon #subway boss emmet #subway boss ingo #submas #warden melli #pla irida #hello I'm making the twins be gremlins again #egginfroggintalkin #eggin's writings #kamado coming up the mountain when the sky is red: why are there two of you #ingo and emmet sharing a Look: whatever do you mean commander? there's always been two of us #'operation: gaslight the galaxy team's leader' is a-go #irida is just. guys. guys why #lady sneasler loves it and is cackling at the entire situation #the twins are so disappointed when the jig is finally up #oh well it was fun while it lasted #... let's trade clothes sometime and see if we can confuse people. yeah