#posting this way too early for tumblr standards but again

[mizartz]

a continuation

thanks to these tags by @hailsatanacab xoxo

#coping with ao3 being down by animating silly little comics #danny phantom #ghost king danny #animation #posting this way too early for tumblr standards but again #ao3 was down #what else was i supposed to do with myself

[labs]

Hello again, Labs here with a recap of our test of Collections! We introduced this prototype back in September and then handed the feature to a handful of volunteers sourced from the notes on that post. Thank you again to all volunteers! 

We got so much useful feedback, and wanted to share some of that here, and reveal some next steps we’re taking. There are a couple of big projects cooking in Labs, and Collections has taken a backseat lately, but it is important to us to not leave y’all hanging. We very much want to build things with you here.

Our goal with the volunteer-based super-early phase of Collections was to see if those volunteers actually use the feature, watch what they come up with, and check whether anybody they invite to Tumblr signs up and becomes a regular user of the site. Turns out, nobody did sign up — it’s not as useful of an onboarding strategy as we thought it could be.

However, one piece of feedback we got is that Collections make great custom feeds, which people on Tumblr have been asking for a lot over the years. We hear you loud and clear: you want to supplement the standard Following / For You experience with more intentional control over feed content. That’s really important to us.

With that in mind, for those in the prototype, we’ve moved the Collections list to the left sidebar / mobile navigation as an expandable area like Account, for quick access. We like this better than putting them in the dashboard tab bar, but it’s still something we’re mulling over:

We also heard the need for more filtering options beyond just blogs and tags. What about only including a blog’s posts that use a certain tag, or excluding posts using a certain tag? Or list tags with a boolean AND operator (“posts tagged [tag] and [other tag]”), not just the OR operator we’re using now for sourcing tagged posts. Lots of ideas on how to further customize what shows up in the feed, and better define what the feed is “for”.

There were other fun, tangential bits of feedback, too, like the desire to make these Collections a collaborative feature, so that more than one person can help build a Collection. There were also several usability issues that came to the forefront, which we’ve addressed. And there were some well-articulated thoughts and questions about etiquette, such as how to seek a blog’s “permission” to be included in a Collection – that’s something we care a lot about, to help prevent this kind of feature from being a source of abuse.

Another piece of feedback we heard repeatedly is the desire for Collections of posts. This is not really what we intended with what we built, but it’s not too far afield either. We totally agree that having better, easier ways of collecting and curating individual posts would be useful, so we’re going to investigate that as a separate project.

With all of this in mind, we’ve split the work on Collections into two separate tracks:

Shaping this feature as a “customizable feeds” solution, away from an “invite others” tool.

Building a new thing for saving and curating static posts.

Stay tuned here on the Labs blog for updates on when/if we’ll be moving these Collections tracks of work to more people on Tumblr. (If you are one of the volunteers who helped us with Collections, you’ll still have access to it for the time being!)

Thanks for reading! And please reach out to us via Support, the replies here, or your reblogs, if you have any more feedback, as always.

#tumblr labs #collections

[leafofkudzu]

Hello and happy endless January! Despite how long this month may have seemed, it is almost over - and that means it's soon time for another art party hosted by my guild, Verdant Shield [VS]! We're taking a little tour of the cozy size of the jungle this time, over at Mabon Market in Caledon!

For those who aren’t familiar with art parties, they’re a concept carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - in-game get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all types to hang out, chat, and create together! Get your favorite character/look together, head to the location, find someone that catches your eye, and create! Afterwards, everyone posts their creations in a shared tag (ours is #VSArtParty) so others can see, interact, and share! Tl;dr: the ‘goal’ of an art party isn’t to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Time and /squadjoin information is under the cut, but will also be posted again via reblogs as the squads go up on the day of the party!

Location Information:

Caledon Forest is a nice easily-accessible map for everyone, and Mabon Market even has its own dedicated waypoint (that is, Mabon Waypoint)! I imagine we'll kind of scatter out across the market and beach, so don't take my exact location in this screenshot too seriously!

Time & Squad Details:

As we always do, we'll be having two parties - one on EU servers and one on NA ones - with an hour break in between. People tend to arrive early and/or jump between accounts as soon as the break comes up, so don't be surprised to see tags and announcements going up ahead of schedule!

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Time (aka 3pm Eastern Standard Time or 4 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Aemryn of Dusk for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time (aka 1am Central European Time or at in-game reset). I’ll be hosting this one on my main account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Kirslyn for an invite.

Closing Words:

A few days ago some nasty info came to the surface about various GW2 sources being scraped for AI purposes, with tumblr tags specifically being mentioned. Though I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for being discouraged and not wanting to draw at all (even this post was delayed because of it), I think at the end of the day, even if you don't post anything publicly, you still shouldn't deny yourself the company and community of your fellow creatives! If you'd like to make this art party have more of a focus on screenshots, or even just hang out and not draw at all, please feel free - your presence is what makes these parties...well, parties, after all!

If you are still interested in posting your artwork though, please check out Glaze and Nightshade as potential ways to protect yourself (and hurt AI datasets) if you haven't already! And even if you don't do that, make sure to slap signatures/watermarks/etc wherever you can. This may be a disheartening time for us, but it doesn't mean we have to stop doing what we love.

So, whether you're coming to create or just to hang out, I look forward to seeing you all this Saturday. Take care, stay safe, and see you soon! ♥

#please check the closing words this time too btw #i don't usually draw attention to them but it's about all the ai bullshittery that came up a few days ago #gw2 #guild wars 2 #vsartparty #obnoxious tourist simulator #📢🎨

[raayllum]

Been thinking recently about the idea in fandom that boils down to, usually, "the Character that Changes the most being deemed 'the most complex'" and that character development (i.e. character change) being held up as The Golden Standard of a Good Character and...

I fundamentally disagree, but first, a little bit more explanation about what I mean

Very often shows and movies, when being recommended on tumblr, are sold on the basis of having enjoyable/in-depth characters. Often times this also means conflating enjoyable with likeable, but that's a discussion post for another day. And even more often, it means there are characters who are seen as Deep because of how radically they change over the course of a story.

Lots of times, this falls into two camps:

Characters change radically, but early on in the story, and remain largely the same past that point of change (think anytime in a first season) until the end of the story

People recommending shows based on characters having traditional redemption arcs (enemy or bully to friend / good guy / love interest)

Now, I'm not saying that 1) character change can't be deep or 2) that character growth is bad. Neither of those things are true, even subjectively. What I am saying is that 1) character change / a character changing is not the same as automatically being a good, interesting, or well written character and 2) character growth is not the be-all-end-all of character writing. Yes, there can be problems with characters be overly stagnant, but typically that's only an issue if 1) a work is serialized and concerned with character development and they don't change at all, 2) a character never adjusts (rightly or wrongly) according to their mistakes, or 3) all of the above but they're a main character.

However, assuming that Character A has to be radically different at the beginning of a story in terms of their personality/values/etc. as they are at the end of the story is just... not how it works, necessarily. This is, I think, one of the reasons why antagonists who get redemption arcs tend to be more popular than heroes who had good values the whole time, because there's more opportunity to point and go "look, they've changed! they act on and have basic compassion now!" Which, fair enough, but again: other types of characters are fine too.

Particularly for characters fandom tends to have the hardest time with: paragons.

Paragons are characters who are usually the central hero, pretty morally if not entirely moral upstanding, and because they already start out in a place of "always doing the right thing," they rarely radically change by the end of the story. Instead, paragons are used to progress theme/messaging and inspire other characters around them to change (a good example might be Buddy from the Christmas movie Elf and to a lesser extent - as he's more transformative as a character - Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who's there to return childhood to his friends as an ideal and carry on Air Nomad values).

And for TDP, that's Ezran.

He's the youngest in the main cast and by far the most measured. While Callum and Rayla are off fighting, he keeps a level head. He assumes responsiblity largely without guilt, holds other people accountable most often without being cruel, he's kind and deeply compassionate, he shows regular empathy for his enemies even when he has to treat them like enemies, he loves his father but does not idealize him, he is king without craving power, he's trusting and honest and while he has his flaws (overly optimistic, his passivity, sometimes struggles to consider other people's emotions, naivety, etc), they - as of yet - are not overly connected to his sense of morality (which is a distinct difference compared to the rest of the main cast).

Now, TDP is less concerned with the theme of Childhood compared to something like ATLA, but Ezran being a child (again, in a way the rest of the cast is not) is also very important. Ezran, and Callum to a lesser extent, is the embodiment of the concept that children aren't born with hatred in their hearts; it's learned, or earned, through experience, society, and suffering. And as Ezran spells out for us in 4x03, he has suffered and been hurt - and he believes in breaking the cycle and believing in hope for a better future anyway.

Ezran's steadfast reflection of the series' core theme of "true strength - to break the cycle - is found in vulnerability, in forgiveness, in love" in both word and action does make him the closest thing to a paragon in the series. He's the one who finds the egg; he's the one who forgives Rayla and Soren; he's the one who still tries to help Claudia; he's the peacemaker, the literal bridge between peoples and species in spite of witnessing so many of their worst crimes/actions.

In both arcs, there tended to be a trio of characters who rapidly change, and a trio of characters who are more, comparatively, stagnated. Early S1 Rayla, Callum, and Soren are radically different in a ton of ways than they are even at the beginning of S3, but especially by the end. On the other hand, Viren - post 1x03 at least - Claudia and Ezran are far more consistent in arc 1; their circumstances change, but their viewpoints and realities and choices are largely the same from season to season - they just keep doubling down. This doesn't mean they don't change at all, but they don't radically transform - they just become more of what they already are.

I'd say that in arc 2, things have switched up, with Callum, Rayla, and Viren being the three who are radically transformed (thus far) with Soren, Claudia, and Ezran still being in the more stagnated corner. (For more notes on Claudia and Ezran's shared passivity, check out this pre-S4 meta.)

Ezran starts out the series as a good hearted, slightly mischevious little boy who loves his family and believes that people can be good. The point of the series is not to change these parts of him. It's to demonstrate the difficulties - losing both his parents, taking on the kingship, struggling to make the right choices, keeping his friends together, caring about peace and sentiment in a world that increasingly does not - of maintaining those positive traits, again, in a world that is determined to test those ideals and attributes.

Ezran is not here to be transformed by the storm, the same way his friends and some of his companions are. He is here to demonstrate the strength and necessity in weathering the storm so that the world cannot make you cold, or uncaring, or violent, even when those paths and emotions would be much easier to go down.

Good character development isn't about changing your character; it's about changing your audience's understanding and perspective of your character. Sometimes that means the character is also changing simultaneously, but that's far from a requirement for a character to be interesting. Like most things in writing, what it really boils down to is execution.

And I could go on about why I think people gravitate towards characters who start off evil (often part of imperialist empires or older, institutionally backed systems) and learn that the evil was wrong actually (and sometimes not even that) but that's a meta for another day, and this one is long enough.

TLDR; Ezran, like a few other characters in the show - antagonists and protagonists alike - is not meant to be a radically transformative, even though he very much has grown and changed. Instead, he's meant to exemplify the importance of not losing your sense of self in an increasingly cruel or difficult world, and what parts we should arguably try our best to hold onto as well.

#writing advice #tdp #as an example #analysis series #analysis #tdp ezran #ezran #the dragon prince #writeblr #i've always preferred paragons / non traditional redemption arcs so my preferences are #very opposed to general tumblr's but not at all surprising #also don't think i need to spell out why paragons would be particularly compelling for ND / autistic folks

[thephantomcasebook]

They still haven't learned their lesson from the Game of Thrones Season 8 cataclysm ... and they probably never will

I'm old enough - probably an old man by Tumblr standards - to remember the premieres of the first five seasons of Game of Thrones in which the show eases the viewer back into the world and the setting. the first two episodes of an early Season of GOT was set up and characterization, reintroducing the characters and their status-quo to open the season.

This was the hallmark of good writing in a set up for a ten episode season structure.

However, GOT began to sink when they divorced themselves from that structure for the need of thrills and kills every five fucking seconds, hitting the gas peddle right off the fucking cliff.

Now, I see that they're doing it again. But this time it's "House of the Dragon".

Tell me, in what fucking universe is it a good idea to do "Blood & Cheese" in the premiere?

We don't know Team Green well enough. Fuck dude, we haven't even seen Team Green fully assembled with their best dude Daeron away from home. We don't know what their family dynamics are, we don't know the relationship between Aegon and his children are, we don't even know how anyone feels about Daeron yet. We don't even know if we're getting college boy Daeron studying in the Hightower or war veteran Daeron fresh from the Stepstones.

To do "Blood & Cheese" right away, without any set-up of characterization or status-quo, picking up right after 1x10 is the absolute worst kind of exploitive emotionally manipulating tripe that sank "Game of Thrones" in the end.

It's literally soulless shock jock armature hour shit to exploit a dead baby for a cheap pop from the audience.

I mean where's the fire?! Where are you rushing off too?! What is the big fucking hurry? The drama post Luke's death and the ambiguity waiting Aemond at the Red Keep should be enough to get an audience hooked without jamming in the murder of a baby for an astro turf boost in the ratings.

"Come, come, look at our show ... we kill babies!"

That's what a "Blood and Cheese" in the premier is going to look like to a normie and it ain't going to go the way they think it will. No one is interested anymore in GRRM's Nihilistic world anymore. People are tired and have moved on from subversion in a narrative.

I swear to Christ the level of retard that goes on in the "House of the Dragon" writers room and among their producers is just top notch foolishness.

Look, Jaehaerys is going to die, "Blood & Cheese" is gonna happen, it has to, that's part of the story, yeah? But there's a difference between integrating it into the fabric of the story, weaving the tragedy deeply into the complex tangible human characters. And then there's what the writers are doing now, which is acting like some edge-lord middle schooler who thinks they're cool cause they're atheist, listen to "The Smiths" and have a dead baby joke book.

It must get cramped in that clown car of a writer's room.

Just shoot me, fucking shoot me!

#House of the Dragon #Aegon II Targaryen #Helaena Targaryen #Jaehaerys Targaryen #Jaehaera Targaryen #Daeron Targaryen #Daeron the Daring #Alicent Hightower #Aemond Targaryen

[comicaurora]

You've mentioned your disinterest in zombie apocalypse scenarios (which is very fair, it's a very bleak scenario), but how do you consider zombie post-apocalypses, where people thrive again, but with the wandering undead as just another fact of life? And have you seen the "blooming undead" concept that's been passed around Tumblr a couple times, with flowers and sweet scents being able to keep hoards of zombies docile, and thus people planting blooms of sweet-smelling flowers in the zombies? I'm curious what you think of these, as they're structurally different from the zombie apocalypse, but still contain the trappings of "zombies"

It's a nice concept, but there's a reason you wouldn't see it as the sequel to a standard zombie movie. The biggest issue with a zombie apocalypse is that people get immersed in the world logic and then lose sight of the fact that it's very explicitly a horror genre, and horror genres are very frequently written as no-win scenarios.

If a zombie apocalypse setting claims to have a cure, no it doesn't. If it claims to have a safe haven, not for long. If it's got someone helpful and kind, just kidding they're either too good for this sinful plot or they're secretly a cannibal murderer. If someone thinks there's a way to successfully treat a bite, enjoy your new friend zombifying at the most inconvenient possible moment. The best the heroes can hope for is getting the Final Girl treatment and successfully escaping to moderate, temporary safety at the cost of everything they love.

If you see this enough times, you start to realize that all these things aren't following from the setting or even the headspace of the specific cast of characters, but are arbitrary Hand Of The Author decisions built to reinforce the bleakness of the setting. The heroes cannot win, not because it makes sense that it would be impossible, but because the writer will not let them.

One of the reasons World War Z is the only pure zombie story I respect is that the author eschewed that approach, because he felt exactly the same way about zombie apocalypses as I do - they're absolutely terrifying and bone-crushingly sad. So he played it out like a game with himself; start with the standard Romero apocalypse, then see if humanity can still win. No cheats, no miracle cures, no isolating it early. It's a fun read precisely because it traces the entire logic puzzle out and it internally makes sense. Even the diabolus ex machinas feel reasonable, like people zombifying from transplants before anyone realized what was going on, or shock-and-awe military tactics absolutely failing against mindless undead. When humanity loses, it feels earned. When humanity wins, it feels doubly earned.

Zombie post-apocalypses are an interesting premise that you could do a lot with. They feel topologically similar to most low-fantasy settings - low-tech pockets of feudal civilization with hordes of cannon-fodder monsters in between. My beef with zombie apocalypses is not that they have zombies in them, it's that they so often cheat to maximize misery. You can't win because the writers won't let you.

#asks #not aurora #writing stuff

[aurorawest]

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi - 5/5 stars

This book managed to rip my heart out at least 3 times. I loved it. Medieval enemies-to-lovers slow burn; very romantic. Kinda read like fanfiction at times but in a good way. 10/10 would read a follow-up love story about Arundel and Captain Wekena. If you like Captive Prince, give this one a try.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - 4/5 stars

Pretty good bodyguard romantasy. Ironically CS Pacat blurbed this one (another am-I-in-the-matrix moment). The world was interesting and I enjoyed the politics, though they're definitely not as complicated as other SFF politics I've gone feral over (see: Captive Prince, Winter's Orbit, A Memory Called Empire). I ordered the sequel after I finished this.

The Doctor's Date by Heidi Cullinan - 4/5 stars

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars

Where do I start? I love, love, LOVE A Marvellous Light. It's one of my favorite books ever. None of the rest of the books in the trilogy could live up to it, really, because it's so good. You'll notice I rated this one 5 stars though, because quite honestly I fell prey to a bit of The Academy Paying The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Its Due syndrome. I did love this book and thought it was better than A Restless Truth (which I still loved!) but part of that is, quite frankly, just due to the fact that I prefer m/m romance to f/f romance.

Anyway. This was such a good finale to the trilogy. I loved that the romance was a giant middle finger to purity cultists. I loved that one of the mains was Italian. I loved finally getting the story of what happened to the Alston twins. One thing I thought was really cool was how, viewed from the outside, you totally get why Edwin is such a loner. I really admire from a writing perspective how Marske pulled that off.

I feel like there's a lot to be said about what Marske was trying to SAY with this book, but I definitely need to reread it first before I can articulate any of it. The purity culture stuff is obvious, but the magic system too. I feel like Jack when he's almost able to connect everything in his mind into a bigger idea, but he can't quite get there.

I've got a special edition from Illumicrate coming, so I'll be rereading it when I have that.

Oh also, this book was the embodiment of all that one tumblr post -

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 stars

I saw this in bookstores for years before I finally gave in and bought it. The blurb makes it sound insufferable and twee. Ignore the blurb. This was such a good book about grief and learning how to live again after terrible loss.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber - 4/5 stars

At last I can stop getting the Lauv song stuck in my head whenever I set eyes on this book (it's stuck in my head as I type this). Pretty standard-issue YA, but it was cute and had a good message.

The Stagsblood King by Gideon E Wood - 4/5 stars

Another book about moving on from grief! This is the second book in a trilogy. When I was trying to determine if I wanted to read on beyond book 1, I scoured the internet for information about what happens in books 2 and 3. Eventually I decided, hell, I enjoyed book 1 well enough, even if what I want to happen in the rest of the trilogy doesn't happen, they're worth reading. SO, to that end, I will tell anyone looking for info that Tel gets romantically involved with a new man in this one, which, eh. I still want him to somehow end up with Vared. It was still quite good though.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - DNF at pg 82

So funnily, we were at the bookstore the day I was about to start reading this, and my wife pointed out Ravensong (also by Klune) to me and said, "Do you have this one?" I made a face and said, "That's an older one of his books and I'm wary of his early work after that horrible Verania series. I don't think I've ever read an author as hit or miss as TJ Klune."

I wrote the above when I was 60 pages in and now I have officially DNFed this. Listen. You know how in Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was clearly given free rein to do whatever he wanted, so all of his worst impulses made it to the final cut unchecked? Yeah. That's what this book is like.

Here's my Storygraph review: I see Klune is officially Too Big To Edit now. This book has exactly the same problem that his awful Verania series had—a joke that's funny at first but quickly grows tiresome when it's repeated five times per page. The emphasis on Victor's asexuality was also weird and read like Klune was just super proud of himself for writing an ace character.

Lion's Legacy by LC Rosen - 4.25/5 stars

Queer, YA Indiana Jones, but less #problematic. This book had some eerie similarities to my own archaeology adventure novel(s), which made me wonder half-seriously if I somehow know Lev Rosen? Anyway, I feared this would be very heavy-handed and not nuanced on archaeology's ethical dilemmas, since it's YA and also the current culture is to view said dilemmas as completely black and white with no nuance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It manages to examine that, queerness, and daddy issues, plus has time to be a genuinely fun and exciting adventure story. Highly recommend.

Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black by Ismail Lagardien - 4/5 stars

I picked up this memoir in a bookstore at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg as research for Six Places to Fall in Love, since Percy is coloured. A pretty brutal read, but good, and definitely good research. The author was a photographer and journalist through the most violent years of apartheid.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - 5/5 stars

Two nonfiction books in a row?? This is the second book by Erik Larson I've read, the first being the excellent The Devil in the White City. I'm not, in general, all that interested in WWII when it comes to military history, but this book is about the day to day lives of Churchill and the people surrounding him (with brief stops to visit FDR and high-ranking Nazis sprinkled throughout). This is a very, very good book, and I recommend reading it if only as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of ordinary people under terrifying circumstances.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

Holy shit. Holy shit is this book good. Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in.

I need everyone to read this book. Now. Yesterday. Get to it.

#the scottish boy #alex de campi #reforged #seth haddon #reading tag #a power unbound #freya marske #the last binding #the guncle #steven rowley #i like me better #robby weber #the stagsblood king #gideon e wood #in the lives of puppets #lion's legacy #lc rosen #too white to be coloured too coloured to be black #ismail lagardien #the splendid and the vile #erik larson #some desperate glory #emily tesh

[13tinysocks]

hey dude! What's up :)) been just a little since l've said something

Initially, this is me saying thank you and goodbye

This isn't supposed to be a weird pity story, so l'm so unbelievably sorry if it comes off that way, lol.

When I began reading your work, I was enamoured with fiction because of personal issues (as many usually are, honestly, I know I'm one of god knows how many people trying to run away from life for just a second with fanfics or media in general). I don't know if I will ever be able to communicate this properly, hell, this will even be unbelievable funny or dramatic but I need to get this across because it's coming from a genuine place. Your stories and work thus far has brought me comfort, immense heaps of it, and even still when I deal with things that feel out of reach or too much to actually face head on I find myself wandering back to syg or just your blog in general

I mean this, from my entire heart, thank you and thank Bee. A million times thank you, for making that one silly silly stupid piece of fanfiction, because oh my god it got me through some major stressful hardships within my life for the past 3 years.

I am leaving tumblr, however I’m aware I have submitted asks with my actual accounts before, so you'll likely be able to see they're still gonna be up. I'm just deleting tumblr the app instead of my account, but for other social platforms they will be deleted properly (such as quotev) so I won’t be indulging in much reading anymore when it comes to fanfics and such lol

I don't know if I'll come back, if I do I likely will not be back for long or to be as active as l've been because of the toll social media’s taken. So even as ridiculous as this feels, to tell someone I’m simply a fan of and barely truly know, that their fanfic of murderers and their love story with my self insert kept me pushing through a lot of tough days, I genuinely just had to.

I needed to thank both you and your partner for the work you've both put out. I still have that smiley pin I’d made, and I will cherish what you made quotev have been for me ( I literally found out about the website during early or late 2020 I can barely remember, then later found your fic, I was DEEP DIVING into that shit LMAO )

I hope whatever happens for you and bee in the future is only good, and I only will wish nothing but the best of luck with everything man.

feel free to post this (idk what it’s called but when you publicly reply lol) or not, as long as you read this it’ll mean lots to me !! >:))

your coolest weirdest ticci toby fan whose also named toby, 🐚 annon

I always struggle to convey gratefulness for messages like this and readership- especially repeated readership. My life would be different if it were not for comments and messages egging us on to keep writing from syg to ho1c. While it's easy to say that writing is solely out of passion for the craft there is also the drive to share something with others. Hearing those others loud or quiet as a favorite- does push us forward when we have no motivation or desire to work. That drive has made us closer as a couple, better thinkers, and a halfway decent writing team. I thank you and all the others who send us stuff even if it's shit post asks I never answer because I like having them in my inbox like a personal horde of platonic Valentine's. I like keeping the pieces you give me to myself sometimes. I know it may seem like I'm ignoring you but I find genuine comfort in these messages. That there are so many. That they are so varied. That we have reached beyond our shut-in existence to touch the lives of others.

I find myself wondering where an anon has gone when I do not hear from them in awhile. I wish them well. I wish them better standards than us.

Maybe we'll meet again someday space cowboy. If you're ever back in town feel free to shoot me (a message).

Thank you for reaching out. Thank you for reading. I wish you peace and love and good books.

#though i may be inactive as of lates my thoughts have not been #abby and i talk about you #abby and i talk about a lot of you #we are happy to be present day comforts or 2020 nostalgia #🐚 #anon #reply #long post

[directactionforhope]

Go Here for Instructions on How to Submit Posts!

And go here for an example.

Submissions limit of 5 posts per person each week, please!

Otherwise, unfortunately, I'll get too overwhelmed by the submissions volume to post anything. Thank you for your understanding!

Me and the Basics

Call me Cactus! They/them, late twenties.

I'm the person who runs the Reasons for Hope tumblr.

This is a sideblog-to-a-sideblog for Reasons for Hope, because I want to promote actions and spread awareness for things that don't always fit on a good news blog specifically

For context: Queer, trans, disabled, white, USian, for context.

Let me know if I post something offensive, I promise I have practice fixing things when I mess up instead of lashing out at the person who told me. I don't want to post hurtful things, so I genuinely want to always learn more about how to not do that, even when it's uncomfortable.

This is all very long because I'm still incapable of being concise.

About This Blog

Made this blog because I keep wanting to reblog or post about actions people can take, but didn't want to put them on Reasons for Hope unless they were actually mostly good news.

As a person who's Been There with spiraling, I really get the need to have access to a space that you know will contain good news and ONLY good news, in this day and age.

Also made it because I have Opinions and want to talk about Issues and activism and I'm committed to not doing that on my good news blog unless it involves, again, actual good news.

So, follow if you want! I definitely invite people to send in actions (links to campaigns/petitions/major protests/letter writing campaigns/etc.) specifically as submissions. I'll put up a how-to and link it here at some point, bc I've learned from Reasons for Hope that if they're in ask format I won't usually have the time/energy to reformat that/make it into a post.

(Sorry to people who've sent asks in on there, you're great. I'll switch to a submissions-based attempted system there too once I get the chance. May be a minute, I'm about to start a new job(!!).

My Editorial Standards

My usual editorial standards from Reasons for Hope apply, modified for this sort of blog:

Any donation-related posts/submissions need to be from some kind of established organization. It can be super grassroots etc. but I need to be able to verify that it's not a scam.

For that reason, no personal fundraisers/gofundmes. I'm genuinely sorry about this because I know a lot of people need the help but like I say on Reasons for Hope, there's no way to truly vet the vast majority of those posts, and I really don't have the time to try.

I'll come up with some sort of tag to put on all the particularly upsetting/fucked content so people can filter it and just see the action posts. Preferably something unique so it doesn't screen out other people's posts if you want to filter

More below:

I'll also have a tag for any particularly upsetting/fucked informational/educational things I post, because I do want to help spread awareness about a number of things, some of which will be pretty upsetting.

That said, I'll try to keep those informational posts only to things that are solutions-focused and/or have an element of good news or hopeful updates, where possible.

I'll also keep most of those posts behind a read-more where possible.

For more info about why I'm including that stuff, see the bottom of this post.

I will not post any campaigns or actions for reelecting Joe Biden until either the genocide in Gaza ends, or until September 1, 2024 (the month early voting starts).

Why do I have that policy? Because Joe Biden is absolutely committing war crimes, but Donald Trump would still, in fact be worse, for the US in general, for BIPOC in the US in particular, and for Palestinians/Gaza. I made a post about this with more details that I'll link here at some point.

Everything is going to be labeled with the link's source, the organization running it, the date posted (if identifiable), and the dates of the campaign/campaign deadline.

Re: Posting bad news here

I've been thinking about starting this sideblog-to-a-sideblog for a while now, because there are a lot of actions/campaigns/etc. that I really wanted to help promote, but did not want to put on Reasons for Hope, because I'm trying really hard to keep that limited to actual, you know, reasons for hope.

That said, I will be including upsetting stuff here. It will have its own tag for people to filter if they only want to see the links to actions. But I am committed to including it.

More below the read more, because this got longwinded and a bit personal:

That's partly because there are a lot of issues that very people know about, and I believe a lot in the power of spreading knowledge/awareness.

It's also because of the reason I finally stopped pondering and decided to start this blog: I just found out tonight that my grandfather died young because of toxic radiation from a nuclear meltdown at a super dangerous and experimental nuclear reactor, which the US government covered up completely and continued operating for decades. Right next to Los Angeles. btw.

If you live in or near Simi Valley, Chatsworth, or the West San Fernando Valley, or your parents did, get high-risk-level-appropriate cancer screenings. And if you're in Simi or within like 5 miles of it...probably don't drink the tap water. Also maybe try to move. (Consulting with a public health scientist/activist friend about this, will report back.)

I was already anti-nuclear, including anti-nuclear power, because of the absolute devastation it's done, especially to Indigenous communities and Japanese civilians. I didn't want to get into it on Reasons for Hope because of the whole "urgency of climate change" thing. But suffice to say that being anti-nuclear just shot very far up my "activism priorities" list.

None of this, or any other horrific things I may post about, conflict with or ruin my faith in humanity. I've definitely been incredibly pessimistic and misanthropic in my life.

But I believe that, for all the bad and evil things humans do, there is equal or greater potential for good. I believe it's like they say: "Hurt people hurt people." That's not the case always, but it is very often. Now, for the first time in history, we have the physical ability to end starvation and scarcity and a lot of death and suffering. We're still getting there, though we still have a long way to go.

I believe in a future where we can all hurt each other (and the other life around us) far less. I believe in a future where we have beaten and reserved at climate change.

I want to live to see that future, and I want all of you to get the chance to see it with me.

#blog business #me #admin

[deviant-dveloper]

Hypno.exe in 2023!

Read on: Subscribe Star | Itch.io | Tumblr | GitHub

See all my stuff on AllMyLinks

Like a good time in the night, the new year has come and gone.

I have taken the liberty of getting some rest from focused development through January, so now with the turning of the month I return again to continue working towards a better application for better mind-melting, brain-washing, awareness-annihilating, goodness.

So what does this mean, exactly?

Firstly: Dedicated development time each week, set aside from the standard, full-time work I am engaged in. This will be accompanied by social media posts about the work done that week, available in four flavors: Twitter, Tumblr, Mastodon, and Hive Social (which has nothing to do with the dronification fetish collective of the same name). This way you can keep an eye and/or ear on me and the work I am doing, and can immediately call me out should a week pass without an update of some kind.

Secondly: Hypno.exe itself is getting a major overhaul. While I am not entirely re-writing it from the ground up, I am giving it heavy restructuring as part of upgrading it to Unreal Engine 5.1, so the next release will be slower coming than in the past, but when it does arrive it will have the same amount of features as it currently has, while having a completely reworked UI and better handling of large data like images and audio, as well as the general upgrades to stability, usability, and under-the-hood goodness. Maybe even proper VR support too, if the stars are right.

Thirdly: I will be taking a more proactive approach to both social media and whatever kind of community can be fostered around Hypno.exe; the more who use it and share their experiences, the better for everyone. Interacting with the people who use Hypno.exe in their hypnotic hi-jinks will better help to shape and guide its development as time goes by. Likewise, a healthy community provides avenues for people to request from, and make Programs for, other users.

To these ends, here is how you can help and/or be involved:

You can help by supporting development on Subscribe Star! This will help fund source control and automated build pipelines, which will drastically improve my production process, as well as generally supporting me and the work I am doing. With enough support I could even bring on a real UX designer to make a real UI not designed by me (a programmer). As a supporter you will also get you perks like exclusive discord channel access (more on that below), early builds, direct influence on development, and even priority support.

You can help and keep updated by following me on any social that you prefer, or all, or some. In order of my preference/favoritism: Subscribe Star, Twitter, Tumblr, Itch.io, Mastodon, and Hive Social. The serotonin and dopamine that your encouragement provides is no small thing, so it helps production.

You can get involved by joining the Discord! It is early days yet, but a major part of how Hypno.exe is being built is to have Programs and experiences be easily sharable, be it via .hypno files or exported videos, and Discord is a perfect test-bed for such features. Likewise, a community of other users is a great way to learn how to better make use of Hypno.exe's features, and meet other people interested in hypnosis generally.

Finally, you can keep informed by checking out the GitHub! It may seem boring (and it is) but there you can find information like: known bugs, planned features, how-to documentation, systems diagrams, and possibly more.

I am going to make 2023 be a big year for Hypno.exe, and those of you who are already providing support and encouragement are deeply appreciated, you have made the road to this point far more enjoyable than it might have been, and I look forward to your continued support in the year(s) to come!

#erotichypnosis #hypno spiral #hypnotic #hypnosis #mind control #brainwashing

[gamora-borealis]

hi so im one of those ppl that watched dnp religiously years ago and ive been out of the loop for a long time so what’s the thing about the wedding theory & the phil tag thing? if you dont mind explaining or maybe pointing me in the direction of someone else who could?

Oh well hello welcome back! Very long rambley answer under the cut :)

Tbh there's been way more insane stuff that's happened since, but in 2022 the biggest thing that had happened was Dan released his video "Why I Quit YouTube" where he announced that he was going on a solo tour ("We're All Doomed") and making some YouTube videos to go along with / promote the tour ("Dystopia Daily"). So I don't remember the exact details (I bet if you search dan and phil iceland on tumblr you might find some stuff), but Dan's tour was supposed to end in Iceland, and based on some stuff his friend PJ said on twitch it seemed like maybe he (and his gf) and Dan and Phil were going to have a vacation in Iceland after the last show. And idk if there was anything else (like maybe based on stuff they were liking on social media idk lol) people were like... what if they are having a wedding in Iceland after the last show? Apparently Iceland has been advertised as a gay wedding tourism destination too so idk. I think tumblr phannies were just bored and clowning but also it was 2022 which was the infamous prophesized year they were supposed to get married (based on a joke Crabstickz made years ago), so there was this thought like, what if they get married in early 2023 (when the Iceland show was supposed to be) out of spite.

Anyways, the Iceland show ended up getting cancelled. I'm not exactly sure why, but there were some other cancelled shows too and some people suspect it was due to poor ticket sales / too many shows in one city / issues with venues (maybe they were scheduling some that were too big) / issues with promotion (dan's management and touring agencies left most of the promotion to him outside of the standard local venues in-house promotion). Both Dan and Phil got new management this year after all that (Dan now has an agent for his comedy / touring stuff, Phil has an agent for his own channel, and then they have another agent for the gaming channel).

Anyways, 2023 kicked off and Dan and Phil started doing all kinds of insane stuff, which that's a whole other long post about how wild this year has been (Japhan 3.0, OnlyPhans, Gaming Channel comeback, Dan being a slutty nun for Halloween baking, Catboy calendar, etc) and they have been pretty open and comfortable together online lately (while still being fairly private) and more settled in their lives that some people actually think they might actually be getting married. Which, idk maybe we are just being insane again but this time I actually do think it's more believable lol. They bought/designed a house together (though I think it's actually a condo? penthouse? something like that) and Phil has had some health issues so even though they might not really be the kind to want to get married, some people are wondering if they might do it for legal reasons and also to maybe celebrate their relationship with family since Dan came out to his family and then like 9 months after their coming out videos the pandemic happened. Also doesn't help that next year is their 15th anniversary, which the anniversary of the first day they met takes place on the same day Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance are performing at the We Were Young Festival 2024 lmaooo. I mean some people are still convinced that they are queerplatonic and romantic exes or something like that but there's a lot they have shared that heavily implies that they aren't.

Okay, now the Phil tag examiner... Idk there was this blog that kept sending people asks anytime they posted something in the Dan and Phil or dnp tags that didn't explicitly mention Phil, and were like "hello this is the Phil tag examiner please keep posts only about Dan out of the Dan and Phil tag" and it was kinda funny to be honest. It stopped after a while idk what happened to them but no one was taking them seriously.

Anyways, I got back into dnp while Dan was on his tour about a year ago, and it's been such a wild year and now is probably like one of the best times to start watching them again there's sooo much new content with the gaming channel and they are being very authentically themselves it's really great.

#dan and phil #dnp #phan #<- for the fandometrics <3 #ask

[wildegeist]

OH BOY MUSIC PROCESS RAMBLES

Sorry for the long post, music making is one of those topics I ramble about a lot.

We can post multiple audio files now. Thought it might be fun to ramble about some of my process and show some clips of how different (and cursed) my music can sound when it's early in production, cause I do save samples along the way sometimes as sound tests. They then become relics and examples of why the first choices aren't always the best, but also that some ideas were worth keeping. My early production clips can actually sound really rough, fair warning, but I like looking back on them because they're still the beginnings of what eventually became a finished piece that sounds way better.

Shitty audio balancing/EQ ahead by the way, I generally don't balance my audio until I start getting to a stage where I have to start polishing my sound. That's kinda the standard for most composers though, I think. I don't know. I'm not formally trained and have no idea what I'm doing half the time.

Here's two super early versions of Ad Sidera Caeli (the Sableheart theme). You can tell this is the phase where I had the ideas, but I wasn't sure how to arrange them yet, and I wasn't entirely certain in the musical direction. I eventually fully decided I wanted the Sableheart music style to take a more symphonic rock direction, and dialed back some of the electronic sounds- though they are still present and part of the style, they're more subtle now. Other Sableheart tracks could be more electronic, but a lot of it didn't feel right for the main theme.

Here's two clips of an early version of Ex Tenebris (Arctos's theme) with some sounds I ended up not keeping. It was too dramatic for points that early in the song and I wanted to save those swelling sounds for peak moments in the track. It also has some melody differences near the end that I ended up changing. This was also before, again, I decided to dial back some of the electronic sounds and let them be in the background. Some of the pacing and transitions were off too. This track is also sort of a redo of his original theme, and you can hear that I was still coming out of some of the old sounds. Also, the early version of the track had too much energy for too long, so I ended up adding more "breaks" in the final track for the music to breathe. The early versions of this track were overwhelming for how few calm moments they had and it felt necessary.

(I still love the little descending note part near the beginning of the second clip that I ended up keeping in the final track. It's so simple but I feel like it tied that section up in a neat little bow. The final part of the finished track is one of my favorite sections I've composed in general.)

Here's a random bonus sound test where I just fucked around. I was mostly doing it to figure out some sounds and warm up. Maybe I'll pick pieces off of this one's corpse for future tracks though.

(Tumblr won't let me upload more, but that's okay. Five audio tracks in a post is a lot, and I guess that's the limit!)

#wildesound #wilde music ramble

[buttonso]

So… today I’m 40.

I don’t really feel all that different from yesterday, even though by societal standards I’m pretty much a used-up old woman now.

I’m a wife and a mom and an employee. Those are all the identity people like me are expected to have.

I’m also a fandom dork (though I have little time for it anymore). I write fanfic and draw fan art (again… not often anymore but I still claim those hobbies). I play video games. I like fantasy and sci fi books/shows/movies. I have a pretty serious My Little Pony collection. All of that is stuff that’s considered juvenile by many but I see no real reason to give any of that up.

But…

Life is too short to pretend to be anyone but me! And I know I’m pretty old for the Stardew fandom and for tumblr in general, I’ve made a lot of good acquaintances and some honest-to-goodness friends along the way, and I’m just super grateful to be here.

@runawayface , @witchfall, @blackcoffeewrites63 — thanks for talking with me about mom stuff, especially last year when I was pregnant and pretty spooked by the whole thing! I admire all three of you a great deal for your wit, creativity and kindness! You’re also all wonderful writers and AMAZING moms!!

@voyagerlotus - thank you for being my first commenter on my fic who wasn’t also an irl friend. Your early support really helped keep me going. I haven’t seen you online lately but I hope you’re well!

@purpleandgreen13 @stardew-atlantis @ienjoywallpaper @starfruits-and-honey and SO many others… please do not feel slighted if I haven’t tagged you, this post would be SO long if I tagged the whole world— thank you for making tumblr and discord fun, even though I don’t engage much! You all also have fun and wonderfully creative voices and are also so kind and supportive! This goes for pretty much the entirety of Grapefruit Sky and Zuzu City discord servers!

@jer-tan - we don’t interact directly that often anymore but I always smile when I see your posts! I hope you’re doing well!

@purpledemoncat - I respect and admire the hell outta you! You’re so cool and hilarious and talented and I feel privileged to think of you as a friend!

@noirandchocolate - I know I don’t interact directly with you as much as I do with your partner , but your blog is honest-to-goodness one of my favorites and I think you’re amazing! One of these days I’ll stop being shy and interact with you more 😆

There’s so many others I could tag, including folks I know IRL but I already feel like I’m meandering too much. Thanks for making me feel included, everyone. I’m happy that there’s more to my life than just being 40. 😆 I hope all of you are finding joy in something today and that you never feel like you have to stop being YOU just because you reach a certain age. I’m trying not to!

((…heaven knows when I’ll get another fic chapter out but that’s a whooooole other ball o wax lol…))

#personal #buttonso is boring #happy birthday to me #I guess lol

[mykatzone]

Answering asks #3

I got some wonderful asks recently and finally go around to answering them :D!

@sweetstrawberrytea This makes me really happy :'D it's so rare to see Kuroshitsuji fans who are also Umineko fans! We gotta do something and create more overlap fr fr (doing my part with my silly crossover arts XD) In any case thank you so much <33

@aeowolfestheater Thank you :'D I resonate with your comic struggles ;w; while yes I have drawn pages of my comic many times (entire chapters too), I'm stuck in this reboot hell, where I am never satisfied with what I make so I keep redoing it... over... and over again... SO I GET U!!! But it's ok! We have so much time to do our comics and other passion projects, I really wouldn't stress over doing it asap! It's ok to take things slowly and not rush into it (trust me ik)!

Thank you also for liking my Grelle art <33 Always happy to hear that!!

You mention you wanna see all of my art, idk how serious that is, but I do have a lot more art, just not on this account. I usually go by Katrinci online, so you can find a lot of my older art searching that username! Some of it is kinda embarressing, a lot of it is art I did as a kid and I cringe. But ykno! If you wanna look for more there u go!

In any case feel free to use my art as references or for studying if you want!!! I don't mind at all, you can even trace it for practice (though please don't post any traced art if you do). In any case thank you for this sweet message !!! :'D

@shadowalkingschemer AAA this is so cool to hear!!! I assume you haven't played Umineko and just watched the animatic/song because it interested you after watching my Grelle amv? That's actually so cool you have no idea :'D

To answer your question- I haven't thought about it! Mostly because Kuroshitsuji actually does have an official series of musicals, so I didn't think my contribution was necessery? But... I kinda wanna do it know... I'm not sure which songs I would use but I wanna do it...

Thank you for inspiring me XD I'll ponder about this!

@melodyofthevoid HI!! It's been awhile Melody :D Omg how did you come across my blog? Through my (occasional) Invader Zim drawings on this blog or? 👀

In any case I've been mostly good! Kinda directionless atm honestly. That's why I started a Tumblr again! It's good to have a space where I can just draw fanart and have fun without stressing abt online art career stuff lfkghfds. It's a chill relaxation area here!

Anyhow thank you so much :') I hope you've been well too!!! Sorry for the late reply btw! I answer my asks in a batch, I hope u don't mind!

Wishing you all the best <3!!

Aww thank you for thinking I'm cool anon! But sadly I have to decline! I only befriend people online veeery occassionally after being mutuals with them for at least a month or few (and even then that's not guaranteed). I worry about befriending people who already know me, but I don't know them at all ;_; it's too parasocial for me sorry!

I am so sorry anon... I may have given you a false impression of what Black Butler is about... It is sadly not about the cool red haired lady... She's actually barely in it... And the show does not treat her with respect usually... I'm so sorry for the false advertisement pls forgive me </3

Sure thing anon!

These are all the ones I have saved on my computer!!

@zoeyfoster-blog Omg I'm extremely biased, but I would say yes. For one, GX is a comedic masterpiece especially if you watch the dub. Yes the dub takes itself way less seriously and changes a lot of stuff from the canon japanese version BUT. It's so funny. It's so so so funny. Other then that I mean, GX is just a fun show with fun characters. I love the characters dearly (Chazz it up for life), but it's not like. The most brilliant piece of media out there. It's a pretty standard show for kids really. Though it get's really angsty and dark in seasons 3-4. Idk I really love it personally. If I were you, I'd watch s1, maybe early season 2 dubbed, because those parts of the show are a lot more silly and watching them dubbed would make it more funny/enjoyable. But def switch to sub on the more serious episodes like those in s3. Also thank you for liking my art :'D!!

@anawkwardlady Whenever we talk and are totally normal about Higurashi characters years are added to my lifespan <3

I actually haven't heard of it before! Thank you for the song rec!! I listened to it and yeah.. yeah heavy Natsuhi vibes.

Speaking of Umineko-esq Mitski songs, I think Me and My Husband is a very Sayo coded song? I actually thought about making an animatic of that song with her...

Anyhow thank you for sharing this thoiught!!

Thank you so much anon!!! And hang it there! You are getting your own post where I draw Finny and explain my art process while drawing it! I will do it as soon as possible, please be patient :'D!!

#📬 askbox

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

Curious your thoughts on Linzin post-canon (show, not comics)? Would they ever get back together, or have angsty we can’t be together sex? Who is pining for who? Why or why not?

Well, I do have a lot of thoughts on post-canon Linzin. It's gotta be my favorite kind of Linzin ngl. I think I've said this before where I don't quite like the idea of them getting back together without any proper redemption or catharsis, you know? I will die on the Lin-deserves-better- hill and even if that means she reunites with Tenzin or finds love elsewhere, I'll take that.

This may be a little long, so brace yourself.

In terms of the angsty "we can't be together sex", I'd see that happening very early on. Pretty much breakup sex in that very moment and nothing more. With the way Lin has the tendency of being, raging before anything else, she wouldn't be someone who'll let sex manipulate her as good as it may be. She also holds her moral standards quite highly, so I don't particularly see her having "we can't be together sex" with Tenzin anything later than when they're breaking up. She'd never be one to cheat, or even facilitate cheating, even if she was/wasn't cheated on. Tenzin, on the other hand, would have sex with Lin given the opportunity, but he'd be super guilt-ridden through it and either want to turn it into an extramarital affair (our man loves committing to the deed) or do it over and over with the promise of it being the "last time". I don't think Lin deserves that though, and like I said, with her characterization, I see it nearly impossible for her to allow herself to be seduced by Tenzin again. Although, everyone makes mistakes and has moments of weaknesses. Make of that what you will😌.

When it comes to pining, that's a simple answer. Lin doesn't pine. She rolls her eyes, walks away, and stays mad with a fat grudge. Tenzin, however, definitely pines for Lin. It's so blatant in the way he looks at her. Plus, Lin took the hard route of grieving their relationship, moving on, and building walls around herself. She processed their breakup, albeit not in a healthy fashion. Tenzin jumped straight to Pema. He didn't take the time to heal or learn or grow. He just went on to the next available thing. He'd hide from his feelings while Lin would spar with those same feelings. Pacifist versus head-on, right?

Would they get back together? That's a toughie. When I watched the show for the first time, I really thought the side story was going to be a Linzin reunion, thereby normalizing divorce lol. I also thought that not having Lin be Tenzin's wife, his kids' mother and the Chief of Police was such a wasted opportunity to display how women are multifaceted and can do literally anything they want to. Given that, and everything that conspired through the four books of the show, I'd say maybe. They certainly love each other, platonically and maybe even a little more- and that's canon. But, would Tenzin throw away his picture-perfect life for Lin? Would Lin want to return her heart to the same person who broke it? The answer's yes. Because of love. But there's more: How much have they changed as people? How much around them has changed? Is it worth discarding what they now have for something they once had? Have they grown? Couldn't the memories be enough? Can they deal with each other's flaws again? Can she trust him again? There's more baggage, kids, exes, and whatnot. What would people say? I can see them doing this only if they had some kind of assurance and validation from the other. And that would require communication. But Lin is emotionally constipated and loves bottling up her feelings, and Tenzin is too much of a pusillanimous man, buckling under the pressure of anything under the sun, even a damn feather. It'd be difficult to get them back together, but not impossible. And that's what good writing is for.

I think this should answer all your questions, anon. I'm sorry, I have no work-life balance, and getting on Tumblr to answer asks has become a faraway dream for me. But this year, I'm going to try and have a better hold on life and dedicate more time to the things I enjoy.

Thank you so much for the ask! I enjoyed answering it. Now, good luck reading my mini Linzin thesis.

#linzin #lin beifong #tenzin #chief beifong #kat needs a worklife balance #merkittty answers

[stevetonyhorrorfest]

Happy Halloween, everyone! Thank you to all of you who participated in the inaugural Steve/Tony Horror Fest. 

Although the event has ended, you can still fill treat bags and communal feast prompts. For treat bags, leave a comment in the recipient's bag and I'll inform the recipient as they may not check their treat bags after reveals. For communal feast fills, email [email protected] or send an ask/DM via Tumblr or DM via Twitter so that I can share the fill on Tumblr and Twitter and update the master list of works. You can also post the fill to the Horror Fest event AO3 collection.

See all the treats and fills below:

ART

“horrors unknowable but fuckable” - @amysnotdeadyet​/swtalmnd An 8-bit remix of “horrors unnameable and unaccountable” and The Me You Love in the Dark. When Steve finally overcame his nervousness and asked Tony out, he was somehow not expecting his lover to be an eldritch horror, mutated in the womb by the Tesseract. But that didn't mean he wasn't into it.

Monster Tony and Steve embracing - lomku/@oluka​

“The perfect son” - Kota RiverRoad/@unstable-river (also on Twitter) Prompt: "Never satisfied with his disappointing son, Howard experiments on Tony throughout Tony's childhood in his quest to make the perfect son and perfect human being"

“The living animatronic” - Kota RiverRoad/@unstable-river (also on Twitter) Prompt: “SteveTony go to a haunted house for Halloween. The displays make Steve genuinely unsettled, but Tony won't shut up about how badly all of the animatronics are built - until they come across an actual dead body"

Peanuts-inspired Steve and Tony running away a vampire in a cemetery - lomku/@oluka​

FIC

- 616

“Elements” - Albuss  When Steve Rogers is found in the ice, it isn't pretty. It isn't pretty at all.

“Early Onset” - Albuss  It's Halloween. Tony doesn't know that. It's not his fault.

“Mirror Mirror” - ralie  Tony and Steve stumble upon a cursed mirror that pulls Tony into its dark interior. Things might be simpler if Steve knew that Tony was Iron Man or if the key to getting Tony out wasn't something Tony wants to avoid at all costs, even if it means he stays inside the mirror forever.

“Puppet Master” - @nostalgicatsea​ Time flies when you're having fun or so the saying goes, but Tony can't say that he's enjoying himself if he can't remember any of it, even if the way that Steve looks at him now is everything he's dreamed of for years.

Excerpt from a 616 sentient armor and Steve in the ice WIP - ralie Prompts: - The sentient armour can't get Tony to comply to its demands. It realises Tony loves Steve and decides that hurting Steve will make Tony do whatever it wants. - Steve was awake during the ice. Tony finds out in a very bad way.

- MCU

“another look (to know for sure)” - @ishipallthings​ The first time Steve sees Tony again, he’s in his garden planting daffodils.

“Blood Red, Snow White” - SummerKnight717 Vampires. Of all things it had to be vampires. Mix an ancient artifact, incompetent cultists, and a way too curious playboy-billionaire-genius, and the Avengers are left with a problem that is weird even by their own standards. In which things go surprisingly well...till they really really don't.

Excerpt from “Second Turn of a Broken Clock” - @nostalgicatsea​ Endgame Steve getting unstuck in time after a confrontation with Loki when he’s returning the stones leads to Loki casting a spell on him that goes awry.

“sometimes it scratches like barbs” - @ishipallthings​ The back of Steve’s throat tickles in a warning.

“The house on the fifth” - lomku/@oluka​  Stark Mansion has stood empty since 1991. Decades later, Steve Rogers steps inside, and ends up face-to-face with Tony Stark, who, by all accounts, should be dead.

“these bruises leave a trail” - @ishipallthings​ Tony pretends he doesn’t think of that night.

HORROR AND OTHER ASSORTED FIC/ART RECS & MISCELLANEOUS TREATS

You can see the treat bag master list here.

#stevetony #stony #superhusbands #steve/tony #stevetonyhorrorfest #stonyhorrorfest