#I could see someone with a bad faith take assuming I meant that it was part of the problem

[1moreff-creator]

Regarding your revised Eden!Culrpit Theory Post:

If you're okay answering this, why do you believe that people who believe Hu is the culrpit have to be reading her actions in bad faith? You said that Eden taking the tape means there's more physical evidence for her being the culrpit so arguments about her putting on a facade come from less of a place of bad faith.

However, Hu's wire is involved with the crime & there's no explanation for how it got there. 'Nico took it' but we don't necessarily know that or how, so there's arguably no less reason to assume Hu could be involved as well.

This isn't meant to be inflammatory either, I genuinely just want to understand what you meant by that; I'm impartial one way or another but I don't understand why you would need to be reading Hu's actions in bad faith while you wouldn't also be doing the same for Eden.

ty for answering if you do, and if not ty for reading anyway. ♥️

Hey! Yeah, honestly, I feel I expressed myself pretty poorly in that section of the post you’re referencing, in fact I’ve decided to edit it because I believe it came off as more aggressive and meaner than I intended it to. So it’s fair of you to ask for clarification.

CW: Eden!Culprit, discussion of murder attempt

Technically speaking, both theories revolving around Hu trying to kill someone and Eden!Culprit require some level of “bad faith reading”, in the sense that suspecting anyone of murder is going to make you look at most of what they say in a negative light. So I was wrong to use that term with Hu. I think a more accurate way of saying how I feel about it (and keep in mind this is just my opinion) is that “the level of scrutiny Hu and her lines are placed under is not justified by the concrete evidence of the case(s).”

That should make my feelings a bit clearer. I see the tape’s disappearance from the gym as near irrefutable evidence that Eden is the culprit, so I’m willing to bend and twist her lines of dialogue to fit the evidence. Dialogue has an openness of interpretation that the tape, in my opinion, doesn’t, though I get why that’s not how everyone feels about it.

However, I don’t quite see an equivalent for Hu. The wire in the Ace crime scene doesn’t incriminate her any more than the turpentine used incriminates Rose, or the letter written to Arei (by itself) incriminates Eden. I can pretty confidently say that either Ace or Eden took the tape from the gym; I cannot confidently say that Hu took the wire to the gym.

Despite Nico being caught mid-murder attempt (and they admit they did try to kill Ace), Hu is nowhere to be seen; none of her dialogue afterwards implies she was there; none of Nico’s dialogue points to her being there (their secret quote doesn’t count, we don’t know if that’s gonna be said this chapter or not); unless there’s some method theory I’m missing here, I’ve never really seen a method that requires Hu to be there alongside Nico, and Nico never denies being the one to take the turpentine, meaning they must have been involved since the start. You get the idea.

You need to somehow get around all of that if you’re going to believe Hu is involved in the Ace case, plus the fact that a lot of her dialogue seemingly contradicts the notion at first glance. Meanwhile, the only assumption Nico!SoloAceAttacker requires is that Nico, somehow someway, was able to take the wire at some point; and given there’s precedent to believe they can and would do something like that (turpentine), I find it quite easy to believe.

Obviously, it’s a matter of opinion. To some people, the wire is a smoking gun that proves Hu’s involvement, the same way I feel about the tape for Eden. And I guess, in that case, I can’t really blame them for reading Hu’s dialogue in a different manner. For me, though, the wire has perfectly acceptable workarounds. And I feel Hu being involved in either crime scene makes far more assumptions than simply saying Nico did everything themselves, which then by Occam’s Razor makes me inclined to believe the latter.

Thanks for the ask, and sorry if anyone felt hurt or offended by my original wording, it really wasn’t my intention.

[secondbeatsongs]

for anyone too young to know this: watching The Truman Show is a vastly different experience now, compared to how it was before youtube and social media influencers became normal

before it was like, "what a horrifying thing to do to a human being! to take away their autonomy and privacy, all for the sake of profits! to create fake scenarios for them to react to, just to retain viewership! to ruin their happiness just so some corporate entity could harvest money from their very humanity! how could anyone do something so evil?"

and now it's like, "ah, yeah. this is still deeply fucked up, but it's pretty much what every influencer has been doing to their kids for a decade now. probably bad that we've normalized this experience"

[ooctlt]

I really like this blog most of the time, but sometimes you take reasonable earnest asks that are trying to be thoughtful, and are such a dick about it.

Like if it's the characters being dicks, fine. But you could say something in the tags or post to indicate you're not just viciously mocking someone for trying to engage.

I still haven't submitted an ask since seeing your response that led to comments along the lines of "anon should go die in a hole" for asking, pretty reasonably, why harrow would want to stay with people she didn't seem to like or want to be around or interact with.

(i know, because she does like them and does want them around but doesn't know how to show it) but it's an ASK blog. How do we hear that from her unless someone ASKS

i understand it might be surprising and a bit hurtful to see an ask answered with the characters being mean/flippant, and for that i do apologize that it wasnt made clear that it would be a common thing in this blog. id like to issue the disclaimer: there is always the possibility that the characters here will not take your question well. they might answer rudely, and instigating behavior is not only encouraged but expected on both ends. this does not reflect my personal opinions as the artist; there are over 250 asks even after i constantly compile duplicates, and i will answer the asks that i personally like.

i will assume you are referencing the two most recent posts where gideon acts rudely and i repost an old panel: for the former i thought anon was really sweet for being so heartfelt and encouraging, but gideon isnt the kind of person who needs to be told shes brave for doing that by a stranger. it was a simple act of survival. and harrow is still very much in the passive deprogramming phase. the latter response was meant to kickstart (spoilers) what i will call the "dicks last resort" arc, where i clean out the inbox and share more simple, low effort, but potentially rude responses*. this is because i have roughly drawn almost daily for 87 days straight, and would like to recuperate without being burnt out because i love this blog and i love art.

this leads me to my next point: some of these answers will be curt and short and rude, because they are easy to draw. if i only prioritized the "good" asks or to make certain ask responses kinder, or longer, it wouldnt be a daily blog. it would be a monthly blog where 5 asks get answered among 100s. i didnt anticipate people asking about harrows piercings, and i considered shutting it down by just having harrow say she likes them etc. but i did want to give more insight into harrows character even if she wouldnt say so herself, and that took roughly 3 full unemployed nights. if i treated every ask in good faith the same way i wouldnt have time for anything else, because they take more effort and have to be seriously considered for the future. i can retcon their favorite ice cream or play off griddlehark fighting - it takes more to keep track of a narrative about people talking Around their issues

* by rude responses i mean "this will affect the 679ers negatively, much like making your sim 🧑‍🤝‍🧑➖➖ someone" there are a few asks planned to hurt in the same way one drafts a bad end in a visual novel, and this type of interaction is encouraged. of course if you dont want them to get worse dont send asks telling gideon she should flirt with MILFs (you cant send this ask now i already said it), but i encourage the banter.

TL;DR this is the "characters think you are weird for personal questions" blog. i am sorry i didnt warn of the ask-response banter, because i also enjoy drawing these characters being dicks. i do like when aggravation and conflict leads to character development. "how do we get earnest answers unless someone asks" sometimes you will never explicitly get that from them, and thats what the dead ends are for: to let you know to try something else and read between the lines

[sflow-er]

I saw the YR confessions poll, and while I wouldn’t say I ship Walty, I enjoy reading them sometimes. And I particularly like your version of them! Please don’t despair. Your stories are wonderful and your versions of these characters are so compelling 🧡

Thank you anon for your incredibly kind words, and for reading and enjoying my stories about Henry and Walter! Your message made me smile 🧡

I'm sure there are people out there who, like you, enjoy the occasional Walty fic even if they don't ship them! But conversely, I think there are also a lot of people who will vote to ship on these polls (the more ships, the better!) but aren't actually interested in fics or posts about them.

[Putting a cut here because as usual, this turned into a rambling thought piece]

The fact is that most viewers simply don't get attached to minor side characters, and that's particularly understandable when it comes to the Hillerska students in YR. I've noticed that many fans are not only indifferent to these characters, but they actively dislike them. A lot of people never forgave them for shunning Simon in S1, and the glimpses we saw of their elitism in S3 didn't do them any favours either. They represent a world that Simon doesn't fit into and Wille is meant to break loose from.

I regularly see posts questioning how anyone could like these characters, and even the occasional bad faith take on why they are popular. I assume those people are in the minority; the majority just scroll past posts or fics about Walty, Stedrika & co because they simply have no interest in exploring them further. (I keep thinking of how someone once told me directly that they couldn't stand any of the privileged brats, which was why they hadn't read my fics.)

In the immediate aftermath of S3, there was in fact a small surge in enthusiasm for Walty, as the meadow scene moved their relationship from "strictly platonic" to "open to interpretation" in many people's eyes. In my poll on their canon status, the result of 42.9% shippers/fans was probably skewed by my followers being more likely to ship than the average YR fan, but there was also very real excitement on their tumblr and ao3 tags. Many new posts and fics (by non-Wilmon standards), good responses to those, and new kudos/hits on older fics too.

However, that surge was virtually over by May, and since then, interest seems to have plummeted. Walty still appear in some fics as a side ship or as part of an ensemble, and there's one post-S3 WIP focused on them that has 130 kudos, but there have been very few new tumblr posts or fics focused on them since the spring. When people do make posts or publish fics, they don't get much of a response.

Of course, the immediate reasons are many fans moving on from YR as a whole since canon ended, and summer happening in between. But if we disregard those and just look at the fandom at any given time, there is a definite "Wilmon only" trend that I feel has grown stronger as the fandom has grown smaller. (Here's a link to my thoughts on said trend after S2.)

Take, for example, the fic numbers for other ships on ao3 (for the sake of clarity, I'm only including fics tagged with /): 121 Salice, 110 Walty, 86 Stedrika, 28 Vingust, 23 Madirosh, 22 Nilcent, 21 Sigust, 5 Vindie, 2 Madisander, 2 Nilgust. Plus 106 Sircus and 92 Sargust, but few of them are shipfics.

Even if these were all separate fics focused on each ship, they would only make 420 (+198) to Wilmon's 4,799 fics as of this morning. In reality, most of them are either fics primarily focused on Wilmon with other ships on the side or in the background, or multi-ship fics.

To bring this back to Walty, those 110 fics make six pages on ao3. If you sort them by kudos, only five fics on the first page are primarily focused on them, with 1,227 (OPS in which Wilmon are prominent side characters), 561, 517, 469 and 423 kudos. There are way more Walty-focused fics on the second page, but the decline in kudos is pretty steep. The bottom of page two is already down to less than 200, and only the very top of page four is over 100.

As a non-Wilmon author, I do find it sad how often I see people say that they aren't interested in anything else. I don't blame anyone for feeling that way - it was Wilmon's story that hooked us all in the first place! Everyone should get to enjoy fandom in their own way, and there's a strong sense of community in people being obsessed with the same ship and keeping it alive with all their love and creativity.

But for those of us who are also interested in the other aspects, the heavy focus on Wilmon can become a demoralising cycle. New fans coming into the fandom don't see much enthusiasm for other ships or characters, which means they don't get invested in them, which means there's even less incentive to create more fanworks or posts about them. There are no subcommunities for us; just the outer perimeter of the already small YR community.

For me, personally... Let's just say it has been an adjustment to go from OPS, which had 700 to 1,200 hits per update, to TRD where 200 hits per update are a windfall. That's partly my own fault for taking too long between updates (creative burnout is a bitch) and insisting on such a niche angle (ace/allo fics simply aren't as popular as allo/allo). But interest in Walty has also been on a steady downward trend I would say since the long wait for S3, and the brief upturn after S3 was very likely the last one. It's good to set my expectations accordingly the next time I post something.

Which I fully intend to do! I still have one or two new stories to tell and one WIP to rework and finish, and the "write for myself" approach is working for now. The "share for others" part will be harder than ever, but I'm keeping faith in my small group of loyal readers. Some of them may have been swept away by other things, but some have already reassured me they'll be there.

So you don't have to worry about me throwing in the towel just yet, dear anon, but thank you again for your supportive message! It really means a lot in light of everything I wrote above 💜

[jq37]

Here's my conspiracy theory for the Ratgrinders and Buddy Dawn: He was always meant to be a disposable pawn. They wanted the Bad Kids to go to the Last Stand and have Buddy be the cleric so they could kill him and leave the Bad Kids to die. And they wouldn't have to worry about failing because (and here's the crazy part):

They have a body double of Lucy prepared.

That would explain why Ivy wasn't shocked to see Fig disguised as Lucy (Ivy already knows there's a second Lucy around) and why the Ratgrinders specifically asked for someone from another school (they could write him off as "not technically part of the party" and thus, his death doesn't affect their grade)

It's really making me crazy that they haven't chased the "Ivy noticing Fig as Lucy" thread harder. I've been obsessed with it for so long at this point. It could just be a matter of Ivy clocking that it was someone in disguise as Lucy because she has high Passive Perception or something, but if not then it's a huge loose end! We've had body doubles on this show before (Lydia had one made by Aguefort I believe) so it is something that we've seen can be done. Still doesn't explain why she'd be so chill with seeing the double just casually at Fabian's house party.

I think Buddy is def a pawn. The only question is to what end. Killing Buddy to leave the Bad Kids to die is def possible--insane overreaction but that's kind of the nature of this season. I don't think they'd be able to claim that Buddy isn't part of their party--he's a transfer but he is a student--but I think they would be able to take The Last Stand if they wanted to and didn't want to go pass fail. Also, iirc, they didn't ask for a transfer. They asked for a *Helioic* cleric. Assuming I'm remembering correctly, that would mean there was something about that specific faith that they were interested in. My OG theory is that they were trying to create another Kristen they could control--like if you wanted to create Batman so you found a rich kid and killed their parents after a screening of Puss in Boots 2.

Even if they have a double of Lucy to swap in once Buddy is axed, I believe the rule is that if your party comp changes at all, you're cooked. And I think swapping your cleric would be a change in party comp. But who knows. Maybe there's something in the bylaws that can combat that? They really need to read those bylaws.

[genericpuff]

This isn't meant to be a hateful ask, but you should probably stop saying you've 'fixed' Rachel's art whenever you redraw comic frames. At first, I could see why your posts were titled that, considering they were just edits made onto a frame, trying to keep in mind the style of the comic alongside it (and let me say, you absolutely nail colors when it comes to your gLOw series, I use your notes for my own art all the time). But it seems like for your more recent posts, you're redrawing panels in your own style and saying that you've 'fixed' the frames. I'm not saying that you can't do that, redraws are a core part of the LO community. But it feels as if you're putting Rachel's art style down in favor of your own. For example, your recent post. Smaller necks and 'googly eyes' (big eyes with small pupils) are usually apart of LOs more cartooney style, they aren't something as bad as LOs men's shoulder to head width, or awkward hand and feet positions, etc. The point I'm trying to make is that you should probably start titling frames you redraw in your own style as that, a redraw, not 'fixing' someone else's art style

EDIT: oh god I totally went off with this, BIG apologies for the essay dump in response to a very simple ask, it's just a topic I'm very passionate about and am willing to talk about at really extreme lengths. I appreciate your takes on this even if I do disagree with them, I just don't make shit easy and I apologize for that 😖 😂

Oookay, so I'm gonna try and answer this as best I can, with as little curtness as possible, because I know you're asking it genuinely, but please understand that this is a topic that comes up a LOT in artist/LO spaces and I'm sorta exhausted with having to talk about it. Often times because it's approaching the argument with a very misconstrued idea of what 'style' is.

Ironically enough, before I get into this, I actually do have a post queued up for tomorrow already that's called a 'redraw' because unlike the panels I'm assuming you're calling out, I actually painted the upcoming ones for tomorrow entirely from scratch. I'm still trying to replicate the LO style, of course, but it's not trying to remain quite as faithful as my edits tend to be because it's meant to be a redraw in the true sense of the word like you're referencing. My edits are often just a normal layer on top of the original that I paint over, which is what the last few posts have been. My redraws are drawn from the ground up, backgrounds, faces, poses, etc. often times with the goal of re-compositing the scene entirely. The ones from the last couple days were not drawn from the ground up, simply altered over the originals - but the unfortunate reality is that some of them simply can't be accurately edited entirely due to the original composition being such a visual mess. That includes this one which was a struggle to edit faithfully without my own anatomical stylizations bleeding into it due to how janky the original was (IMO). Like, the original panel didn't even "look like LO", it's godawful, and it's a stretch to say I'm dissing Rachel's "style" when I'm fairly certain Rachel didn't even draw any part of that original panel, it's INCREDIBLY obvious two different people from her team drew it and there's no way of knowing whether or not Rachel was one of them. I did not touch Hades because he's not the problem with the panel. Hades as you see him in that panel is exactly how he was in the original, I merely tried my best to edit Persephone to look more consistent with Hades and less creepy.

Disclaimers over, let's get on with this.

So here's the thing - if it were a simple matter of "style", I'd agree wholeheartedly with you. I'm not about pitting artists against one another, we're all different people with different takes and inspirations making our own thing.

However, there's a difference between style and execution.

With full disclosure, I do not accept the argument that because LO has a more "cartoony style", then it's "fine" for it to very blatantly lower its quality in technical execution or turn into a cheap copy of what it once was. LO was never 'cartoony', it was more akin to storybook art, like something you'd find in old Disney concept art pieces or in children's illustration books. 'Cartoony' as in 'not realistic', sure, but definitely not cartoony in the way most people envision it or market it (like what you'd see in legitimate cartoon shows). The use of color was vibrant and had thought put into it, compositions were dynamic, lineart was only used where needed to create depth, and overall, there was a vibe to it that many of you can still recognize, it's what a lot of my blog talks about.

When I do these panel "fixes", my goal isn't to go "hey, my style is superior to Rachel's! Fuck Rachel!" Far from it. My goal is to analyze what made the original LO art so special and unique, and help preserve those elements in newer panels through key elements such as color choice, glow layers, composition, texturing, etc. many of which are elements that are outright missing from S2 of LO onwards.

Because, full bluntness, LO has zero effort being put into it anymore.

LO never had perfect anatomy and it's always struggled with creating a cohesive visual narrative, but it hid its issues well with a good balance of color choice, mood/tone, and lineart-less rendering. It wasn't meant to be some hyper-realistic comic, what set it apart were the colorful panels and vignettes and use of 'cutout' style backgrounds and foreground elements.

Stuff like this:

I have spent literally hours dissecting LO's art style, researching and hunting down its brushes, crawling the best and most recognizable color palettes, drawing and redrawing old panels in attempts to replicate Rachel's style and techniques as best I can. I'm not doing all that just to try and be like "I can do it better", more so to preserve what once was and could have been. Because I genuinely miss how old LO looked and so do many others. It's my own way of participating in a fandom that's being torn apart each week by the new episodes that only seem to further degrade the comic's original presentation and why people liked it.

Trust me, if I wanted to just draw LO in 'my style' as some sort of self-gratifying flex (because everyone in the art world nowadays thinks the only point in creating art is to have a "style" that they can pit against other "styles" as if styles are collectables like fucking Pokemon lmao), you wouldn't even recognize it.

THIS is my "style", y'all. The only elements that I've purely taken from LO is the background and how I did the lighting effects along the side but everything else is my standard 'style' when I draw anything that's NOT LO, especially with my own comics and my day job.

"Style" is not a tangible thing, at least not in the way people nowadays tend to define it. Style is an accumulation of everything that's influenced an artist over years of practice, learning, refinement, and mastery. It is not something any one person can 'own' nor is it something that can or should be 'fixed' in and of itself. Just like how Rachel has adopted elements of her style from inspirations such as Glen Keane and Mary Blair, I've gotten my stylistic inspirations from anime, manga, video games, and other webcomics. Our styles and why we create art and who we create art for are completely different.

I have zero issue with Rachel's 'style'. At its core it's actually freaking gorgeous, when she puts in the effort. Not even just LO, take a look at her even OLDER art that's still available to sift through on her DA:

The issues I'm bringing up have to do with the execution of said style, how it's blatantly obvious Rachel doesn't put any effort into the art anymore and often has her assistants picking up the slack in a very disorganized manner that leads to disjointed, bland, weird ass art that often can't even maintain consistency between SINGLE PANELS, like this:

The magic is gone. These are not reflections of Rachel's capabilities in the slightest. She is far capable of so much more, this is beyond being a 'stylistic choice' and falls more under the implication of laziness or lack of care.

What's wild is that she's outright stated that she's "streamlined" the LO creation process to make it easier for new assistants to acclimate - which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that 'streamlining' shouldn't mean 'downgrade'. There are plenty of ways to streamline the LO art style that can still retain the original charm of LO that drew people to it in the first place without cheapening it. It's not like LO is the only webtoon under strict deadlines, Rachel has more assistants than most working for WT and yet everyone else on the platform seems to only improve in their comic's production workflow and its presentation whereas LO has only declined.

(The Kiss Bet, 2019-Present)

(Tower of God, 2014-Present)

Not every comic needs to make improvements this drastically, and technically LO didn't even have to make improvements in its original execution - but it's so far gone in the other direction that it begs the question, "Why do other creators and comics with less prestige and as many or less assistants compared to LO seem to make such bigger strides in the technical execution of their work?" Regardless of whether the style is erring more towards anime or cartoon or realism, 'style' doesn't make up for poor technical execution and lack of consistency. That's the same energy we get all the time from newcomers to the craft who reject any form of criticism towards their technique and understanding of the fundamentals with "THAT'S JUST MY STYYYYLE". Even many animators who predominantly work on cartoon productions still understand their fundamentals and utilize them in the creation of stylized pieces of work. This isn't even me questioning how much of the fundamentals Rachel knows because, again, she clearly has understanding of it in her older work, she just seems to have stopped caring or isn't doing a proper job directing her team.

I criticize the stick necks and googly eyes the same way I do the inconsistent body types, refrigerator shoulders and same-face syndrome because they're all things that are detracting from and lowering the quality of LO's art as a whole. They didn't always shade whites in the old episodes of LO, but they did often tint them to make them less jarring against the more vibrant colors. They didn't always color in the irises back in 2018/2019, but at least when they were just solid black pupils, they were actually drawn EQUALLY, vs. the solid pupils nowadays which feel like they're each on their own schedule and are never the same size or facing the same direction. They didn't always draw perfect necks and faces, but nowadays it feels like the heads are being stuck on sticks and attached to separate bodies that aren't even consistent with the characters' body types. All of these things are issues, there's no 'hierarchy' of problems, they're each a part of a much bigger lackluster whole.

When it comes to my own panel fixes/redraws/whatever you wanna call them, if they don't look enough like Rachel's 'style', that's either because we're failing to recognize what makes Rachel's art unique due to it being so watered down over the years, or because I'm just not doing a good enough job replicating it. Undoubtedly a little bit of both. I'm still 'adjusting' to a workflow that accommodates the LO style and how it looks. It's not exactly easy to just jump from one style (my style) to another without my own usual biases bleeding in (trust me, I'm not happy that there are people who know my usual art style who can still 'see' it in my LO art, because that completely defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do lmao)

All that aside, we can't pretend that S1 LO's signature style is still being executed to its fullest potential in S3.

If I can be really brash here, there are WAY more egregious panel 'editors' out there who straight up are drawing stuff legitimately just in their own style. And they're still all great in their own right and get to the point of what they're trying to say even if they don't fit what you would define as a "fix". Don't bug me about mine.

Rachel's style in and of itself is gorgeous and unique. It's the lack of effort in the execution as time goes on that is the topic here. I can never hope to fully achieve that 'vibe' that so many people miss about 'old' LO because that was all Rachel and I can never fully capture the spirit of her work because it's hers, it's the accumulation of everything that's inspired and influenced her in her artistic journey.

What I can do is point out and design alternatives to the many errors, inconsistencies, and technical issues that tries to get it closer to that original look and feel of S1 LO that better reflected Rachel's original efforts. It's what it could potentially look like if modern LO art wasn't so disjointed among its scattered assistants and rushed with as little visible effort possible. It's what could have been if it didn't feel like Rachel has essentially given up.

Does it really matter how I specifically word my posts between 'edit' and 'redraw' in this context when both things are attempting to accomplish the same goal?

[opinated-user]

Catching up on stuff I missed and that whole debacle with Batman’s food just doesn’t make reasonable sense no matter what way you slice. Why do you need to show a receipt for buying cat food? Does this person not know what a receipt is for? It’s mainly for being eligible to return an item if it wasn’t satisfactory to your tastes, but you can’t just do that with food, because you have to have ruined the packaging in some way in order to use it. No store is going to take back a cereal box someone opened up because the cereal turned out to be stale. You keep receipts for shit like buying clothes in case the clothes might not fit, which is actually what happened to me a few weeks ago when buying new jeans so there’s an example right there.

And second, this has to assume that Courtney wouldn’t, you know, feed her cat, like she said she was going to. What kind of person would just intentionally starve their cat, if they weren’t already abusive to their pets? The fact that she considered pawning off her laptop, which is going to have long term consequences in any capacity, just to feed the poor guy shows she clearly was really to take the long term hit just so she doesn’t have to lose her cat.

And third, how the fuck does this relate to Lily using money that was supposed to go to Mikala (not sure if that’s spelled right) immigration fees to buy a new desk. This is a giant stretch to put those on the same levels of seriousness. I can reasonably understand that Courtney’s current situation could mean that she can use some of the money meant for cat food to buy other things, since I can reasonably assume that her Ko-fi was made for that purpose, and Courtney’s character means she would probably be upfront if that’s something that happened, and good on her for doing that anyways, she seems to be tight on money as is. Meanwhile, Lily committed actual fraud. I’m not sure if this could count as charity fraud, but even someone like me, with no law experience, clearly knows taking money meant for something big and spending it on something else is legally questionable.

THERE WAS AN ENTIRE CONTROVERSY LATELY WITH THE COMPLETIONIST HAVING DONE EXACTLY THAT, WHY DID NO ONE QUESTION THIS

Sorry if this is long-winded and redundant at this point, but I saw that whole thing when catching up on the LO drama and I just needed to vent my whole frustrations with that.

i have to thank you, anon, for putting everything i have felt about that particular situation so succinctly. after everything was said and done, i have a strong feeling that sparky was behind those messages. just like i'm almost sure that he was behind all the "apparently" messages that LO is getting with archived links of our posts. why? because that's exactly how he used to talk to me just to hear my response. the only times we talked at all was when he wanted to bring some new thing that LO had said or done. that without even bringing up he confessed to Brittany he just likes to stir the pot to see what happens. that's his way to try to sympathize with you, to show you that he is on your side. "i bring you all this stuff that you can use against the people you dislike, so that must mean that i'm good in your eyes, right? only a friendly person would do that!" nevermind that even back then, i'd find weird the frequency with which he did it because... sometimes he'd share completely innocent and small messages from LO and i'd have genuinely no idea of how to respond because they were completely useless to prove anything. that's the exact same thing he is doing with LO, but he has upgraded now to just completely lie or intentionally misrepresent everything to self that distorted version back to LO. LO's being played like a fiddle, just like he played all of us for a while until he revealed his true colors. i have no doubt in my mind that only an individual acting in bad faith would seriously try to take me trying to talk about LO scamming her audience, literally going out of their way to copy my words, spamming me with multiple messages even after i blocked their IP by using a VPN, as somehow Courtney being the one to scam everyone because she didn't show the receipts for cat food. but of course that LO only cares about having something, anything, against the sibling that is dennouncing her, so she won't bother to use reason, logic or even check if the allegations are true before just publish them for her audience to stick only with whatever she tells them. they already believe that a 6 year old can be blamed for the abuse perpetrated by an adult after all!

[summitclan-chronicles]

On the evening of the halfway mark of November, I thought it would be good to go over the expectations of SCC. Expectations are meant to define the community & how it is meant to behave; a simple guide to ensure everyone knows what is appropriate behavior with each other. These are barebones, non-negotiable. While they fill the same niche as rules, I like to call them expectations since I tried to make them as positive/pro-behavior wherever I could, and remove the aggressive, restrictive, negative feeling of a "rule." However, if I need to start using rules ("no [thing] allowed!"), I will.

All Members are 18+. As a baseline this roleplay will only be open for those over the age of 18. While nothing inappropriate happens, it just is a very daunting task to manage a space with both minors and adults in it. Considering there are other roleplays going down to as low as 13 being allowed, and with the intent of the roleplay getting into the "gritty" end of being a warrior as much as the joy, I thought SCC could sit comfortable as an adult space.

What if I'm a minor? I hear you and I understand how hard it can be to wait for a roleplay you want to join. However, it's better for everyone if you wait! There are lots of places you can go in the meantime. You're also free to follow the blog, read our posts and send in asks. And here's the thing: SCC is designed to last beyond myself, the current admin. The idea is that if I cannot head the roleplay, someone else can, and systems are in place to ensure Summitclan does not lose its way. If all goes well, SCC will be there when you are old enough to join!

Behave in Good Faith. In today's climate it's very easy to fall into sand traps of assuming everthing everyone says is the worst version of itself. With a world growing so thorny, it's important we cultivate trustworthy spaces where we can break down those defensive walls. By promising to take everything we see in good faith while participating in SCC, we foster a community that can be truthful, calm, and curious about one another.

Welcome the Unpredictability. The reason SCC is a roleplay is because players bring a certain home-grown, organic feel between characters that can't be replicated by a single writer. In many roleplays I've found myself caught in a web of complex plans among other complex webs, and I thought this would best be left behind in SCC. The true "draw" of a roleplay is not knowing what the future holds - so unpredictability is explicitly encouraged and welcomed. Planning is of course allowed, but try to let the unknown in!

Be Light, for Light's Sake. It can be exciting and fun to write an angsty character, and not everyone has a perfectly peaceful life. But in the same way, not everyone is having a nightmarishly bad life either. Why not have a character with a close relationship with their mother? Why not have their whole litter live to adulthood? Why not give them a constructive rapport with their mentor? Tragedies and joys come in equal measures, and it's the mark of a well-rounded character (and writer!) to have highs and lows balanced.

Understand, And Be Understood. SCC is a roleplay made by an English-speaking person with an English community in mind. We welcome all people from everywhere, of course! For ease of moderation, please come with the expectation of English usage - if you choose to send a message in a different language, it's best to provide translation so you're not misunderstood!

Take it Slow. SCC is, majorly, a story about characters & the many ways their lives can intertwine. In order for big, defining moments to hit right, we need to establish the small, sweet, soft moments first. The day-to-day grind of cleaning dens, sorting out bad prey, border patrols, telling stories to kittens and celebrating holidays can create complexities we don't even write - allowing characters to become creatures of their own, somewhat outside even their writer's control!

Uphold Your Wellbeing. Not every conversation will be for everyone - some topics may make us feel afraid, anxious or unwell. In these moments it's important to realize that it truly is just a discord server. You won't ever be judged for taking a step back - muting the server for a period of time, or a specific channel/category, can do wonders. If a member is struggling to remove themselves from a highly stimulating scenario, we have gentle measures in place to give people space to feel those emotions without having access to other members, avoiding brash decisions and protecting staffs' ability to study what went awry and how to better manage it.

Speak and Share Freely. Not every idea can be used when it is said, but we have a dedicated list for suggestions & who brought it up (and who contributed, if anyone). Should the staff need inspiration for a plot or fill in a hole, they refer to the list and pluck ideas from what people have said before! You never know - a year and a half from now your totally random 2am idea might define a significant point in your character's story!

Appreciate Members & Characters. In a roleplay where each member has only one character, it's extremely important to remember that a character does not and often will not directly correlate to a member's behavior or views. A character that is a huge jerk likely has a member that is perfectly kind and gentle (especially in a roleplay where those traits are encouraged!). Likewise, a character that is very good should not stop you from reporting bad behavior and holding others accountable for their actions and choices.

Always Act In Kindness. Like all the other rules, this ensures other members can trust you, and you can trust other members. Rest assured that in this roleplay you will be among friends, and if any act in an unfriendly way, they will change their ways or find themselves quite unwelcome. This does require some effort - in order to trust others one must be trustworthy, and prove as such continually, which I plan to do as a member of my own roleplay. As long as the community puts in the effort to uphold these expectations even when no mods are present, it will run strong and noone will have to worry about whether this is a good place to be.

What about staff? Staff are given hard rules, which correlate to what have been listed. While these are not shared publically, staff are handed scripts & methods to use in order to diffuse and redirect tense conversations, open up curiosity where there might be room for aggression, and promote positive, patient interactions. They will inevitably be held to a somewhat higher standard than typical members as the intended authority and role models, but should things go sideways we use the same tactics on members and staff alike!

On this lovely night I hope you have all eaten well, done something kind for yourselves, and learned something new. As we draw closer to 2024 and our follower count grows little by little, I find myself even more excited to meet everyone and see your applications roll in - be that now or in the future when that big birthday hits!

Goodnight... or morning!

[alyjojo]

Thinking of You - April ✂️ 2024 - Sagittarius

Whole of their energy towards Sagittarius: King of Wands

Feelings: Ace of Wands

Intentions: 7 Swords

Actions: 5 Pentacles, The Hermit, 2 Wands

Well if nothing else, this person is extremely attracted to you, they find you to be the center of attention & a commanding presence, you do it for them in that regard. This could be a fling or side piece sort of energy, they see you moving towards a new beginning, one full of passion & sexual desire (I assume with them). It’s not going to last though, and I’m not sure on which side that’s to blame, you? The oracles here being Calm & Self-Care could have you or them focused on peace in yourselves, not necessarily planning a future. Maybe just some temporary fun. At the bottom, they’re unsure from the get go 💯 If you two get together, it’s purely impulse & attraction.

Their feelings do hope to grow, but there’s issues at the bottom. A bad cycle, bad karma, bad timing, something is off with this or someone just isn’t ready. They do have romantic feelings for you, though it doesn’t seem meant to be. They’ll flirt, date even, try to, maybe even feel some kinda butterflies, it’s very possible this is a 3rd party situation - this most likely being the 3rd party. If so, they know, that could be the bad karma I’m seeing, and if this is a crosswatching read - you being the lover - that could be what you fear. This person wants you bad 💯

They intend to dance around issues, hide whatever they need to hide. If they’re a side chick/dick, they could be aiming for more, but they’re not trying to cause drama. Or if it’s switched, then this person knows you want more and they’re ducking & dodging accountability left and right because they don’t want the drama. No intention on there ever being committed, lasting, long term love. Just sex. In action, they feel left behind, not important or prioritized, like you don’t really care about them (because you don’t 💯 or switch). They’re staying to themselves and trying to move forward, hoping you’ll come around again and take this leap of faith with them, with The Fool clarifying your energy. I don’t see it, they have to worry about themselves. It’s possible they love you, they definitely feel something more than just passion. Or know you do.

Messages:

Their side:

- Sneaky Messages

- Love at Work

Your side:

- I am DAMAGED 🤕

- Lighter skin tone

Oracles:

Peace. It starts with releasing the bullshit 🕊️

Calm 🧘🏻‍♀️

Inner Peace - Simplicity - Meditation

Self-Love 💆

Self Concern - Self Healing - Independence

Possible signs:

Aries, Aquarius, Cancer & Virgo

If you’re dealing with:

Page of Pentacles can be many things, but most of all they’re a good friend, it’s the “friend zone” card for romantic readings. This is someone that won’t say something they have no intention on following through with, they’re a planner and a studious person, could be focused on school or studies, planning a future and lining up their steps to apply effort to. Not flighty with others, maybe just this person. Someone could be apologizing as well, or you are.

Aries - feels pressured to be nice even though they’re disappointed in you - or switch it

Taurus - overcoming something shocking and life changing successfully, with grace even

Gemini - holds back from you because they have several options and they’re waiting for clarity on the one they want? The one that makes them happy or idk - it’s a competition with them

Cancer - feels bound and unable to reach their happiness because of family, someone else’s decisions - or it’s just taking forever

Leo - expecting financial blessings as a reward for their hard work, or yours

Virgo - talking to a couple of different people and not sure which is the right one, or simply getting advice from others because…help

Libra - seems to have suspected something of you and they’re turning out to be right 💯

Scorpio - could be married to them or in a deeply committed relationship, that’s currently in the process of a major change - positive ones

Sagittarius - coming back around and you don’t even care, or that’s switched, there’s no real communication or deep bond going on here

Capricorn - could start working at home or you form a closer relationship with them at work, could be literally working on a home - or the relationship

Aquarius - passionate messages back and forth, could be someone new you’re seeing, they see lasting future potential with you

Pisces - loved you deeply in the past and loves you still, nostalgic & always thinking of you

[broodwolf221]

okay banter practices to try and get my new inky's voice down a little bit and it's still elusive but this does help

also ajkfjkalf this is so long? over 1k of just banter. so. under a cut it goes

Valyris: Solas. Solas: Yes? Valyris: You seem contemptuous of the Dalish. Solas: I understand why you would believe that. Valyris: Are you saying I’m wrong? Solas: I do not hold them in contempt. Pity, if anything. They are wrong, but they do not realize. It is... tragic. Valyris: You do realize we don’t want your pity? Solas: [laughs] Oh, I am quite aware.

Solas: Your clan taught you your magic, I presume? Valyris: Yes. Solas: Your Keeper taught you well. Valyris: I’m surprised you dare compliment anything the Dalish have done. Solas: [sighs] If I offended, I apologize. Valyris: It is not your words which have offended, but your opinions. Solas: Hm.

Solas: I wonder, what would you have me do? Valyris: What? Solas: For the Dalish. What would you have me do? Shall I go and tell them their entire history is wrong? Tell them the truth I’ve seen? Valyris: [laughs] You’re so arrogant. Why not listen? Solas: [pauses] They are wrong, my lady. Valyris: [sighs] It is faith, Solas. Belief. You may think it is wrong, but we do not. You could learn a great deal if you sat and listened with an open mind. Solas: And swallow all I know to be true? Valyris: You say you’ve seen our truth in the Fade? Solas: I have. Valyris: And you say that the Fade alters things, that each memory is changed by observing it, that each is real - but none is the only truth? Solas: I... take your meaning, my lady. Valyris: Then perhaps, someday, you will also take my advice. Listen to the Keepers. Choose your own beliefs only. Ours are not a matter for debate.

Varric: You’re quiet. Valyris: I’m concentrating. Varric: No, you’re just quiet. Concentrating was what we were doing ten minutes ago, killing those demons. Now we’re just walking. Unless you have to concentrate on that? Valyris: What would you have me say? Varric: Anything? Valyris: You talk too much. Varric: [laughs]

Cole: Armor all the time, the old memories, Herald but I don’t believe- what will my people think? Valyris: [sighs] I do what I must, Cole. Cole: You do. It doesn’t make you bad that you’re angry about it, though. Valyris: I... thank you.

Vivienne: So, Herald, I assume your clan taught you magic? Valyris: They did. Mostly my Keeper. Vivienne: Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you meant to take on that role? Valyris: Yes. When our current Keeper... when she passes, I will take on that role. Vivienne: Ah. Valyris: I do what I must, Madame de Fer, but I am still of my clan. Vivienne: Of course, my dear.

Sera: Herald of Andraste. Valyris: [sighs] Please don’t call me that. Sera: It’s your name, innit? Valyris: It’s not my name. It’s not even my title. And I don’t believe in Andraste or the Maker. Sera: Sure, sure, elfy gods and all. You got that all over your face. But... Valyris: But what, Sera? Sera: Well... what if it was Andraste? Who saved you, I mean? Valyris: I don’t believe it was. Sera: But what if? Valyris: Then she made a bad choice. Sera: [snorts]

Iron Bull: We gotta work on your wicked grace face. Valyris: My what? Iron Bull: It’s a game. Valyris: Okay, and...? Iron Bull: It’s about not showing your cards all the time. Valyris: You’re not making any sense. Iron Bull: See, like that! You’re showing your cards all the time. You’re way too expressive, boss. Valyris: What? Iron Bull: [laughs]

Valyris: Bull... Iron Bull: Yeah? Valyris: What did you mean, before? Iron Bull: About what? Valyris: Wicked grace...? Iron Bull: Oh, that. You try to keep yourself to yourself but you’re doing a real bad job of it. No disrespect intended. Valyris: Meaning? Iron Bull: Meaning... your reactions are as plain as the nose on your face. Valyris: Fenedhis.

Dorian: So... I’ve never spoken with a Dalish before. Valyris: And I’ve never spoken with someone from Tevinter. Dorian: New experiences all around, I guess. Valyris: Hm. Dorian: Look, I just... I hope this won’t be an issue between us? Valyris: I care deeply about my people, Dorian, but my focus is on their future, not their past. What is done is done. If you are truly committed to restoring the peace, to stopping Corypheus, then I see you as an ally. Dorian: That is most gracious. Valyris: Not at all. We need all the help we can get. Dorian: There is that.

Blackwall: I, ah... Valyris: Yes? Blackwall: Well. I am... very curious about your people. But I don’t know how to ask anything without sticking my foot in my mouth. Valyris: [laughs] Blackwall: There I go. Valyris: [still laughing] No, it’s alright. Ask your questions as you will. Blackwall: Ah. Then I suppose I will, my lady.

Blackwall: What we were talking about before... Valyris: Yes? Blackwall: Do your people truly travel all the time? Valyris: Not all the time, but frequently. We will often stop for a season or two in a particular area. Sometimes she- ah, humans will come and drive us away earlier. Blackwall: Damn. You’d think we’d give it up after all these years. Valyris: You’d think.

Blackwall: May I ask about the markings you wear? Valyris: Yes. They are called the Vallaslin. We use them to honor our gods. Blackwall: And yours...? Valyris: Honors Dirthamen, the god of secrets and mysteries. My magical talent was discovered when I was quite young, and I’ve always asked too many questions. My Keeper thought it an appropriate marking. Blackwall: She was more right than she knew, looks like. Valyris: [laughs]

Cassandra: Your clan must be proud of you. Valyris: For what? Cassandra: Well, you’re closing the rifts. Helping people. Valyris: I suppose. Cassandra: Do you disagree? Valyris: I... no. But I want to be with them, Cassandra. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be at my Keeper’s side, learning our history, our magic. I’m supposed to be in training to be the next Keeper. Cassandra: Surely they will understand? Valyris: Would you understand? What if your Andraste had allied herself with another group? What if that group had oppressed yours for ages? Cassandra: I... do not know what to say. Valyris: [sighs] I apologize. It is not your fault. Cassandra: You must miss them. Valyris: All the time.

Cassandra: I take it you plan to return to your clan, then? Valyris: As soon as I can. Cassandra: The Inquisition will not be the same without you, I fear. Valyris: Perhaps not. But I have been away too long as it is. Cassandra: I cannot in good conscience ask you to choose us. Valyris: But you hope I do. Cassandra: I believe you were sent to us. I pray that you are able to fulfill your purpose... and that you are able to find your peace, wherever it is. Valyris: ...that is kind, Seeker.

[msfbgraves]

hey <3 it's funny how different people tale things isn't it. i've been following the ~discourse~ and i find the pearl clutching over terry "cheating" rather bizarre. you've mentioned before it could very possible that super affectionate daniel would cheat(?), which is more unusual to me, as i interpret omega biology and nature to be very faithful for various reasons (most notably safety). terry processing his feelings (which is already a challenge because he's an Alpha) via sex makes a lot of sense to me as a seasoned a/b/o writer and reader.

fanfic is writing, writing is art, art is meant to challenge us. i think this sort of issue comes about in fandom/fanfic because a) the world is a garbage fire and people want to escape and soothe via stories - understandable - and b) there's a small but significant part of fandom communities that is very puritan and demands perfect morals/ethics in all fics at all times. i mean sure, write your extremely pure, ethical fics if you wish, but imposing that on everyone else...? no. absolutely not!

i'd rather read the messy, the complex, the nuanced stories - and yes, the dark stories - personally. i'm defo weak for softness and fluff too. but two things can be true, right? right. terry can deeply love daniel, he can also be selfish and cruel sometimes. that's reality, and that's what the best fanfic does - weaves the surreal (say, a/b/o) with the real (complex, difficult relationships).

Storm's over it seems, but I had no idea it was such a sensitive topic. I've always seen it as a sorry fact of life. Regrettable, but circumstance and intent matter. And omegaverse is a free for all. There are no rules because well, they don't exist. Shoking, I know!

And yes, for unrelated reasons I have seen so many mafia movies with the men being despicable, unapologetic, sexist brutes that I kind of assumed that a mob boss could at least be capable of it in my fic too? For a seasoned Don to think, this guy is bad news, uh... to only see him be sweet and loving could make you think "what was Don LaRusso afraid of?" Let there be consequences to selling your child to a dangerous criminal. Let's see what happens when you marry someone who has never had to take no for an answer! I actually find it interesting to see what it does to Terry, going through life with that Alpha and mob boss entitlement and finally understanding the cost of that to others and himself. For him to change, to need to change for love. That's the good stuff, baby. To see what entitlement can wreck. And maybe, unlike so many mobsters in films, to understand they have to change their ways before they're too old to throw a punch. And what heroism it takes for others to stay long enough for that to happen. What sacrifice. Knowing how much he owes his mate. That's my fantasy. To see that before they're 80 and on wife nr 3 because the first two couldn't take the abuse anymore.

Of course people also want escapism and no one should have to read what doesn't give them joy. I also understand the fun in essentially collaborating with a story in real time. But even though influence is welcome and valuable, I still think that an author should have the final say on their story. The idea that protagonists can never be unlikable, not even for a second, is strange to me. People fuck up, that's interesting! Martin Luther King jr. cheated on his wife, that does not negate the good he's done!

Of course I understand to want a fantasy world of fluff too... but then I'd recommend, and I mean this sincerely, The Babysitters Club. I read the hell out of that for precisely that reason. My protagonists mess up and deep love is both the force that keeps people alive but does not - and again this fascinates me - solve everything.

[noco7]

Why are you so invested in Total Drama if you find it so atrocious and hate all of its creators to death?

Look, anon, it's hard to take your question in good faith. There is an interesting question at the root of your ask, "If you consider the media bad, why do you still engage with it?" and that's a question I've actually grappled with before in previous fandoms. BNHA and Kpop alike, and well - the answer was that I LEFT those fandoms. Haven't done that with Total Drama yet, and I have my reasons. But that's not the question you asked, anon. You asked: "Why are you so invested in Total Drama if you find it so atrocious and hate all of its creators to death?" And thats a very different sounding question! Because it sounds like you hate me when you ask it! And maybe you do - which is okay, I'm not mad at people for having Feelings. I'm not the Thought Police. But I can be mad at you for your actions, which in this case... is assuming and lying about me. So instead of answering the question you meant to ask, I’m just going to point out what’s wrong with the question you did ask. "if you find it so atrocious" Okay, I'll admit I've bashed the TD writing plenty of times. But I've also praised it? In the Emma post I've talked about liking a specific plotline:

In my Noah post I've praised an epiosde

I've repeatedly mentioned liking Courtney, Noah, and my profile pic is Cody so like. I do like him too, lmao. I enjoy watching Total Drama the series. Maybe you should have asked me "Do you even like Total Drama?" before assuming I hated the thing. Sure, I dislike a lot of TD writing. But to reduce my views on the show to just that, to just the negatives - "you find it so atrocious," is misrepresentation. Besides that, no one has asked me "whats your favorite plot point," or "whats your fave TD moments" so like. I answer what I've been asked, including this one. If you want to see more TD positivity from me, which is okay, then ASK me for TD positivity! Do that instead of jumping to accusations, I beg you. But the worst part of your ask is this actually this: "hate all of its creators to death" Fuck you. I don't do that, I've never EVER did that. I've never threatened or thought that the writers should be dead. Because I don't actually hate the writers! Thinking someone is bad at their job does not equal personal hatred. I understand taking criticism a little too personally sometimes, I've done it before. But unless you're a TD writer yourself, you should not be taking it personally, because it's not about YOU. And even if you are a TD writer, as a human being you have a responsibility to like... not LIE about what someone else said? Because lying is bad!  So ask me "Could you be less mean about the writers?" or "What is your opinion on the TD writers?" But you didn't! You just jumped straight to "critique = deathly hatred." Which is again, false. I don't want these people dead. I don't even want them fired. Because jobs are important in this economy! Writing a slightly mediocre children's cartoon episode once or twice should never be followed by a real world punishment. No death threats, no harrassment, nothing. Because it's never that fucking serious. The only reason I could ever hate a public figure is because like... they are advocating for terrible LAWS or have committed REAL CRIMES. And I've never checked for the TD people, but I sincerely doubt they are doing either of those. And even when a public figure does that, I'd rather just do my own activism, or block and move on. So like, the TD people might as well be innocent saints to me, lmao. I don't "hate them to death," they're just people who made silly mistakes that I write about sometimes. That's IT. tl;dr: never send me asks this accusatory and downright wrong again. I do not hate the writers, and sometimes I do like the TD writing. Anon, please do better next time. Because any other asks like this will not be answered.

[venus-haze]

Elvis Ask Tag

I know multiple people tagged me to do this, and I want to say thank you so much! I appreciate y’all🖤

When and what was your first exposure to Elvis Presley? My family (especially my mom) have always been huge Elvis fans so pretty much since I was born

And what was your first impression? Annoyed😅 Some days all my mom would play was Elvis and I’d be like god can we listen to something else. To be fair I was in elementary school and was more concerned with like Backstreet Boys. Oddly enough she doesn’t listen to him much anymore

Lace shirts or jumpsuits? Both!

You can steal one of Elvis/Austin’s outfits, what’s it going to be? Pink suit from the Trouble scene, it’s iconic and I want to see a drag king’s take on it so bad

C’mon, we know you’ve been watching/reading old interviews and random footage of the man, so what’s your favorite random Elvis quote? “I’ll be so horny I could die” Beautiful. Moving. Eloquent. 

Did you find Austin Butler’s lips distracting despite them being in a movie about the King of plush upper lips? (Be honest now) Yes, that’s why I mention them in my fics so often!

What’s an aspect of Elvis’s character you wish people appreciated more? I think how religious and also charitable he was, but his faith meant a lot to him, like it was something that gave him hope when he needed it. As someone raised in a religious household I would have loved to pick his brain and talk with him about Christianity and his beliefs

You meet Col. Tom Parker for the first time, forewarned with the knowledge of what a scumbag he is, what do you do?: A. nothing, you’re a coward who doesn’t care about abused golden-hearted men B. you give the Colonel a stern telling off C. you encourage Elvis to leave him and break the contract E. you slap a legal document against that fat suit and declare "Mrs. Claus is bringing you a lawsuit" F. you waste no time with formalities, it’s a letter opener to the jugular for that piece of trash: I would go full Andrew Garfield in The Social Network “lawyer up asshole” scene. Prada at the cleaners, fuck you flip flops, the works

What was your favorite aspect/scene from the Elvis 2022 movie? The Vegas Rehearsal scene was magical, seeing everything come together for the opening night. Amazing work on Baz’s part!

You can choose only one song or piece of media to convince someone to become an Elvis fan, what is it going to be? I would honestly say Elvis (2022)

How many children would you give Elvis Presley from your own -or theoretical- womb? (listen to the beast in ya, your feminism won’t serve you here) None because he was apparently weird about having sex with women who’d given birth? Not setting myself up for that but also this is why we need accessible and comprehensive sex ed

Where are you hanging out with EP, his bedroom with the teddy bears, Club Handy, his private jet or Graceland? Graceland would be so fun🖤

What is the peak Elvis era? warning, this says an awful lot about you… Comeback Era to when he did (what he assumed would be) his first Vegas residency, he was on top of the world then

How long have you been an Austin Butler fan (be honest now, God is watching) Since the movie came out. Before then I only knew him as Vanessa’s boyfriend, sorry Austin

What kind of Elvis chick are you? -a 1950’s prospective wife material that he’s already sampled, a 1960’s filmset fling or a Vegas torrid backstage affair? Vegas torrid backstage affair if I have to choose from the provided options, but I really would have liked to be there for him, even as a friend, toward the end of the career and try to seriously get him help and make him know he wasn’t alone and he mattered

Is Austin Butler an honorary southerner now? Answer options: A. hell no, California can keep his sweet cheeks. B. hell yes, he’s practically been possessed by the soul of the King of the South: He’s a Cali boy and there’s nothing wrong with that

Pick your poison in the fan-fiction realm: angst, fluff, smut, fluffy smut, angsty fluff, angsty smut?…or is reading about Elvis Presley an acknowledged health hazard? Y’all already know how I deal🫠

Spit or swallow for this man? (And if you don’t understand this question move right along) Swallow but shotgun once in a while to keep him on his toes🤭

Would Gladys approve of you? Take your above answer into consideration. I think we’d clash at first, and have a mutual tolerance for each other at best. I’m not the type to baby people so I think she’d take the most issue with that in regards to if I were in a long-term relationship with Elvis lol

Which of Elvis’s cars is your favorite? Pink Cadillac of course!

What are your odds of beating him at karate? Absolutely none

If you could meet Elvis and have enough composure to tell him something, what would it be? That his career was lasting and meaningful, and so many people still love and are impacted by him to this day. Also to hire a good lawyer and a forensic accountant

What’s a hobby or pastime of yours you wish you could share with Elvis/Austin!Elvis? Travel! It seems like he went to so many places, but was so overworked he never got to be a tourist anywhere which is a shame

What’s the Elvis 2022 quote you’ve been mumbling to yourself ever since you heard it? Any time one of Elvis’ songs comes on inevitably one of my friends goes “he’s hwhite!?” because of that absolutely insane scene at the very beginning of the movie so probably that

What are your top three go-to Elvis songs? Angel, Surrender, It’s Now or Never

If you could spare him one tragedy, what would it be? His mother’s death, I think that really opened him up to being taken advantage of in his career because it seemed like she was the only one willing to be blunt with him who he’d actually listen to

Is there a modern artist that sorta scratches for you the itch that Elvis’ absence leaves? Bruce Springsteen! He’s cited Elvis as a huge influence on his own music which you can definitely hear, and I mean his stage presence is incredible (especially all the moments with Clarence Clemmons🥲 I wish Elvis had someone the way Bruce had Clarence, ya know?) There’s a reason his concerts are still selling out stadiums all over the world. Also during the Born to Run tour in 1975, Bruce and Stevie Van Zandt got drunk as hell in Memphis and hopped the fence at Graceland because they saw the lights on and thought Elvis was home so they could meet him…he wasn’t.

How did you react at the end of the movie when In the Ghetto started to play: A. I got up and fixed a snack because I have no soul, B. I left feeling alarmingly horny, C. I was impressed but didn’t realize how affected I was until days later when it was still with me D. I cried buckets they had to bring in a mop E. I may have appeared emotionless but in fact my soul was leaving my body and I don’t think it’s returned quite yet: B obviously!

I tag @munano-theprophet @mpmarypoppins @positivitylane112 @holy-minseok @emmymaehereeeeee @ninebluehearts @crash-and-cure and whoever else wants to do this!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Zen Katagiri.

...

Akeru.

Hm?

*Everyone returns to the camper. Toko and Komaru have already tucked Akeru into bed.

Are you ok?

...No, not really...But I’m doing better than I should be.

I wanted to meet Seishi Yodogawa for a while now, but I never thought it would be like this.

Akeru...

...

404...

*Toko stands up.

Who...is that guy?

Pardon?

That bastard we saw in the holograms. Zen Katagiri. Who IS he?

Hm...Well, he’s bad news. That’s the be-all-end-all of it.

But...if you want the FULL origin story...Ask your boss.

Huh?

I had a feeling...

*Makoto turns around.

...

Kyoko. You know who Zen Katagiri is, don’t you? You’ve been dropping hints about him for a short while now.

...I might...

That’s not an answer.

*sigh* Ok, yes, I do. But his files were secret. I signed an NDA with the Samidare Detective Agency after they investigated the case.

Well, in case you forgot, Samidare’s dead now, so balls to that NDA.

Kuripa!

WHAT!?

...!?

*Hina bites, but Kuripa bites back twice as hard. She backs down immediately.

...

You are right...but you could stand to be a little less insensitive.

Not my style Bosswife. Normally I wouldn’t be like this, but in case you forgot, I’m PISSED OFF!

Whoever or whatever Zen Katagiri is, he deserves to HURT. And the sooner we take care of him, the better.

*He looks over at Rantaro.

Assuming that Agent 404 here upholds his end of the bargain, and helps us track down our BIGGER enemies.

I fully intend to.

Oh, that’s right. This was part of the deal.

Honestly, I’d be down to stomp Katagiri in the dirt even if it wasn’t.

But we’ll need more information before we do, so SPILL! IT!

...

Fine...Although I must warn you, the actual amount of information I have is far more limited than you might think.

We’ll take whatever we can get.

Alright. I suppose first things first is that I know of the relationship between Seishi and Zen.

They were classmates at Precepts Peak Academy. They attended the same year, and I believe they were somewhat close.

So Katagiri was an Ultimate too?

Makes sense. It takes a genius mind to come up with something like this. A DISEASED mind, but a genius one nonetheless.

So let me guess. Katagiri was the Ultimate Programmer, or something along the lines? It would explain why he was so good at tech.

...No, not by a long shot.

Then what was he...?

The Ultimate Hitman.

I’m sorry...the WHAT!?

HITMAN!? He’s an ASSASSIN!?

It’s all true. Zen Katagiri...Precepts Peak Academies Ultimate Hitman.

Famous for using his aptitude with technology to commit his bounties. Automated AI drones and turrets that make killing quickly, security cameras that gather information...He could do it all.

So right from the early days, he was using his technology to kill. Why am I not surprised.

How could Yodogawa trust someone like that!?

Seishi’s faith was indeed misplaced, but...let me turn that question back on you.

Why did YOU trust Mukuro Ikusaba. She’s a mass serial-killer/terrorist, right?

...!

...

Sorry, we were just talking about not being offensive to the dead...I just needed an example, that’s all.

No, it’s ok. You’ve made your point.

Mukuro was a valuable classmate to us. Back then, pre-killing game we might not have known her history, but we would have known she was a soldier. And we still got along with her.

However, we were unknowing that she and Junko were in cahoots at the time, and that she was unknowingly against us.

I see...Our situation with the Despair Sisters isn’t too dissimilar to Yodogawa’s with Katagiri’s.

And because Katagiri was skilled, when Yodogawa was suffering, he went to him for protection.

Protection from what?

From the people hunting him. Yodogawa did have altercations with the Yozora Clan before Shinitani’s death, in case you forgot.

...Right.

So he was under the impression that the Yozora Clan was still hunting him.

It’s not like he could have known about Shinitani Yozora’s untimely demise.

It disgusts me though...He sought out his old friend for help, only to be used in such a horrifying way.

But you see now what I meant? That’s the extent of what I actually know about Zen Katagiri.

All I know is that he was the Precepts Peak Ultimate Hitman, and he and Seishi knew each other, hence why Seishi would have gone to him for help. 

Also, according to what information I read, Katagiri vanished and hasn’t been seen in years. This was concerning, but no crimes reported in the years after matched his modus operandi. Everyone was willing to think that he might have given up killing, or that he’d died.

I see now the truth, but the problem is most of Katagiri’s past isn’t on file. So there’s nothing I can really share aside from that.

Actually, the information IS on file. You just need to know where to look.

Huh?

Allow ME to fill in the blanks for you ma’am. I’ll send you a file complete of all of the information I was able to dig up on Katagiri.

None of it is really essential to my cause, so it’s not worth mentioning right now. Really, it’s just nitty-bitty parts of his childhood.

How did you FIND that...!?

Let’s just say that Agent 404 is a title I deserve.

The biggest problem, and I mean the BIGGEST problem, is that I’m missing the most crucial piece of the puzzle.

Katagiri’s location.

Exactly.

I KNOW he’s here in New York. Given the circumstances, he can’t exactly leave...

What do you mean, “given the circumstances?”

Togami. We’re the only people in this country that know Seishi Yodogawa is Zen Katagiri in disguise. Unless Katagiri somehow found a way to steal Yodogawa’s body, he can’t exactly go out in public.

But if no one recognizes him, what’s the problem?

Didn’t you hear the part about Katagiri having gone missing for years? I think he’s trying to keep it that way. General public might not recognize him, but he’s gotta be on some sort of government list.

Fair enough.

Besides, his company is here, and he kind of needs to hold it down here to run it properly.

By the way, if I had nickel for every corrupt tech company that I tried to take down in the last few months, I’d have two nickels.

Which isn’t a lot but...y’know, it’s weird that it happened twice.

...

*Akeru suddenly sits up straight.

I might know where Katagiri is.

What?

Huh!?

Excuse me!?

...

*Akeru reaches into her pocket and takes out her phone. She hands it to Rantaro. Makoto peers at the screen.

What’s this? A text message?

It’s from Dad...

What...!?

Before I shut him down he...he sent me a thread of text messages. When I tried to reply to them, it didn’t work.

He...He agreed to send me Katagiri’s location if I deactivated him. I did, and before he vanished, I got sent this.

...

Wha-hey!

*Kuripa snatches the phone. He looks at the text and starts to read it aloud.

“Akeru. I must apologize that we didn’t have much time to talk after you discovered the mansion...”

Woah, hey, why are you reading it out loud?

Should I not? Better than passing the phone around to everyone one by one.

Besides, isn’t hearing Yodogawa out the entire reason you ditched the FF and came to the USA in the first place? If you don’t want Akeru to hear this, then cover her ears.

But I think she should listen. This message is for her after all.

...

...

...

*Toko and Komaru don’t take action. Akeru just sits still and listens.

“Due to what he did to me, my vocabulary as an AI was very limited. Zen didn’t feel it would be important for me to use words that weren’t relevant to the role as his housekeeper. Hence why I felt the need to send this written text to you before I passed.”

“Zen had a bad history, but to be betrayed by him like this still stings. But this isn’t about me, or him.”

“Truth is, I wanted to apologize. I know I haven’t been a good father, and I can make no good excuse. All I will tell you is that I had no idea that my daughter had survived. I left Shinitani and her clan behind shortly after she became pregnant, and knowing her, I thought she would abort the child.”

“But after seeing how strong and healthy and brave our child became, I’m eternally glad that she didn’t.”

...

“No, in fact, I have no right to call you my child anymore. Whether I was running from the Yozora Clan or not, or whether I was suffering from my disease or not, I should never have abandoned you. My unborn girl.”

“This does not make up for any of my misdeeds, but I must repay you for finally putting an end to my misery. You had no right nor reason to deactivate me like I asked you to, and had you refused I wouldn’t have blamed you. Nevertheless, you did what I asked, so I will return the favor.”

“I do not know where exactly in the institute he’s hiding, given that it’s an open area, but Zen Katagiri has a secret facility hidden in Central Park. THAT’S where he’s concocting his experiments and the development of AETHER.”

Central Park...! YES! That’s what I’m talking about!

A PARK? He’s not using some sort of building or facility...!?

No, and that’s why it’s so clever! If you’re looking for a lab, you’d naturally look at every famous building in New York. Central Park would be one of the LAST places you’d check, even if you were to do a city-wide scan of the entire Big Apple.

“I apologize, but this is the last time I’ll be able to speak with you. So before I go, I just want to say one more thing.”

“If this message ever reaches the ears of Akeru’s new parents, I just want to let you know something.

...!

...!

“I have nothing but gratitude for the both of you for making my daughter so happy. You did what I could not.”

“Believe me, you and I both know that despite being the victim, I am hardly the good guy in this situation. So you have no right to answer any of my requests.”

“Nevertheless, Akeru seems genuinely happy to be with you both. So please...Keep up the good work.”

...

That’s it.

...

...

...

*Toko, Komaru and Akeru don’t know what to do. They just sit and snuggle.

Right...That’s that then.

Woah, hey, where are you going?

Sorry, but I think I’ve overstayed my welcome.

After hearing all that, you Naegi’s need some time to recover. I wouldn’t want to come in crashing your family time.

Besides, now that Yodogawa’s given me a place to look, I need to find out how Katagiri was able to mod Central Park.

AND I need to find a way to access it. Give me some time, and I’ll be back later with my results.

Alright. Good luck out there.

And please. Next time you need to contact us, don’t do it through your creepy website.

Haha...I got it. See you soon.

*Rantaro exaunts.

...

...

...

...

*And Makoto just quietly watches his sister and her family as they mourn together...

[taxfraudhousewife]

hey toga

getting a job didn’t cure the depression

the new kind of depression

at least it’s not personal anymore

at least everyone doesn’t hate me for reasons no one can place but everyone can see

i don’t know what to do now

i have so many questions

i wish it didn’t take me so long to think of them

i’m sorry i took so long

i really wish you were here

my friends don’t want to do illegal shit

my mom thinks i’m brainwashed

maybe you are too

i can’t decide if it’s better or worse than regular brainwashing

what the fuck did you do

i haven’t even internalized your actual death how am i supposed to internalize the fucking concept of socialism without tearing myself inside out

how did you hold your outsides out

what kind of outside did you even have to grow

i think mine is bad

i know yours is worse

how did you just sit inside your own outside

i can’t keep it separate

maybe we’re not supposed to

but everyone else can

i can’t tell if you did

i assume not if you were abusing that many substances

but you weren’t as insufferable as i am

that extremely likeable disposition

i know it’s wrong to be jealous of you

it’ll never stop until i am you

i wouldn’t have to be become you if you were still here

if you took me with you or not i could’ve been something else

someone whose muslim jesus is alive and well

im so desperate to be the person you might’ve turned me into

but there is no one to do the turning

except for me

who still really misses you

me who can’t just let you go

maybe i’m just a woman who needs a man to follow and serve

so ready to throw the second brick that the first no longer crosses my mind

and boy have i seen my beloved men be strong and brave

but maybe that’s why i put too much faith in them

it could’ve been you

i will never get over that

a god i would fight to my death for

isn’t that dramatic from me of all people

id probably get you killed a lot sooner

you’d never let me come in the first place

you’d talk me out of it and i’d obey because that’s what religious freaks do

who knows how long i’d spend believing im meant to follow the rules

because you’d say what you need to say to keep me from becoming you

i’m not anything like you tho

i’m too scared to do anything alone

and jesus louisis i am so alone without you

and i’m so fuckin lost and i miss you

my friends say let it eat itself

but that would make you an accelerationist

and i have that same accelerationist demon inside

but he’s just as afraid to act alone as i am

it’s so lonely

that’s the point

and i could get over myself for the sake of actual human connection

i could let the world eat itself

maybe even be happy

and you wouldn’t blame me

you’d probably encourage it

i know you wouldn’t want me to throw away my undeserved place in the machine for ideologies and promises

i know you wouldn’t want me under the fireworks and orchestras

it must’ve been hard

the balance between keeping the teenagers safe and radicalizing them too far

teaching revolution without violence

when you know it’s not possible

i assume they weren’t as hardcore loyalist as me

i assume they know better than me that nothing is possible without violence

i imagine you desperately wrangling angry nineteen year olds

your incantations are only half as effective on them

i keep wondering if you were afraid that you’d set them up for death so young

wish you’d wrangle me

or choose not to

but an active choice rather than dead omission is all i really want

i could hate myself less if you carved away what you deemed excess

if i could keep everything in me that i learned from you

if the reactionary anger slathered over the grief could melt away in your light

if everything in me had your seal of approval

come on muslim jesus

you’re the closest thing i’ll have to a real prophet

i’m sorry i thought you were too smart for your religion

i get it now (in a way)

you showed me where to find fundamental truths about the universe

maybe in a way you were too smart for your religion

but your golden light didn’t come from your smarts

your light was fever hot and smelled like ketosis breath

damp like my gong gongs jungle and dehydrated like my grandmas sand storms

scaled like a dragon and sweetly sung like a bird

i felt like a cat laid in the sun

is it crazy how bad i wish i could curl up with you again

i used to fantasize about your angry nineteen year olds busting you out and sending you here

sometimes i still do

they were strong and able to pull it off because of what you gave them

sent you here swollen and bruised but with your organs intact

and you just needed to rest for a week and you voluntarily rested

because you believed those angry nineteen year olds had east turkistan in the bag

and i doted on you like you did me when we were both younger and more functional

and between the doting i curled up beside you and watched you write and after every word i’d ask

what’s that say

you’d respond in perfect russian

and i would say naxui and roll my eyes at you

and you would roll your eyes at me

and i would press my brow to yours and try not to cry

cause at this point in the maladaptive daydream i’ve remembered it’s not real

if i could cradle that giant asian head and just hold on for five more seconds

i don’t need enough time to confess my undying religious devotion

but enough for you to know that even tho i can’t say it to anybody i love you

and i believe you

[lovewithoutresin]

You've already implied through your reblogs that taylor shouldn't be singled out for her private jet use, which is fair, but what are your thoughts specifically on how she threatened legal action against someone who was posting information that's required by law to be publicly available?

Hi anon, I think the posts earlier also expressed this, but here's my sense of the issue.

I admit first of all to not having seen much of this issue outside of people talking about it, so please take my words with a grain of salt here. But according to what I've heard, this person isn't simply tracking her emissions. They're actively posting her whereabouts.

I have no way of knowing what Taylor's intentions are or what specifically she sent a cease and desist about - whether it was the emissions tracking or the location tracking specifically that got her. I can only give her the benefit of the doubt on that part, and that's often what I try to do with people in these situations. But she is well within her rights to prevent her current location and travel patterns themselves from being tracked, given the severity of her security risks.

People tracking her jets to stalk her was a big issue back during rep era as well (see the LWYMMD video and her sawing off the plane wing) and frankly, while her emissions should be public and she is not entitled to being unaccountable for her impact on the environment, she IS entitled to whatever privacy she can manage. You or I (most likely) could travel anywhere in the world without everyone else in the world hearing about it. She should also have that.

I don't know how emissions are USUALLY meant to be publicly available, whether they get reported through an agency or some other way - again I am WOEFULLY under-informed on this issue and I won't pretend otherwise. But I'm sure there are ways that don't require a constant monitor on her available to everyone. I also won't pretend not to believe she should cut down on the amount of air travelling she does, OR that I believe it would ever be remotely reasonable to ask her to fly commercial when she does.

I do believe it also came out at one point that she does buy significant carbon offsets, which doesn't eliminate the issue obviously but does make me feel significantly better about it and shows an awareness of the impact private jet use has.

Anyway, I think the cease and desist was within reason. There IS often a narrative built up around Taylor (and there has been for YEARS) that she's too heartless and lawsuit-happy and those accusations bring an undertone that I REALLY don't like (although I think this is a good faith questions you're asking, anon, so this isn't directed at you in any way).

Ultimately I would just say that, while everyone is free to interpret her actions and the reasons behind them however they wish, you have to understand that there are reasonable explanations for them too, and I personally don't see the point in erring on the side of assuming malice (even if it's a bad habit we all fall into sometimes).