#the algorithms are so annoying

[fugamalefica]

I just wish there were more active forums.

i'll just be controversial and say discord is not real social media. it's a fine communication platform but it is not Posting! saying you're gonna move to discord is like saying you're gonna move to facebook messenger get outta here

[squidcandy]

siblings in every lifetime

[crowrrupt]

Posted these on Bsky so might aswell post them here, my helmetless (and face) headcanons for X and Zero.

[bvckbiter]

fandom pet peeve rant incoming: i hate it when people are like “im [obscure character]’s #1 fan” “you dont get them like i do” so on and so forth but then dont actually post or even repost/support any fanworks with said character like r u kidding me…

[anonyanonymouse]

Addiction

Malleus pampering Silver with feel-good pleasure magic that takes away his nightmares and sadness, pushing Silver's problems to the back of his mind so he can go limp and thoughtless in his arms. Silver will always tell him not to (if he knows what Malleus is about to do at all) but he likes it so much while it's happening, doesn't he? He gets so upset about it, but what for? Malleus just wants him to enjoy himself, and if he's so bothered by it afterward, he can kindly cut away those memories for him <33

Sometimes he gives his blessings through food, sometimes through kisses. He thinks he has control over the effects, but he really does go too far most of the time, leaving Silver drooling and flushed and broken...

Before NRC, it was less frequent, but now that he can see him and play with him every day, he can accidentally leave Silver in that dumb giddy state for days. Obviously, others worry, but Silver likes it, right? He would never refuse it if it was something Malleus wanted of him, would he? It's not like his grades perform any better when he's in his regular state of mind anyway, not like he doesn't miss classes already, so why not let him stay in Malleus' bed all day like the little spoiled pet he is?

And even if Lilia or Sebek do fight to get Malleus to stop, it just leaves the poor boy an even worse mess than before. Silver's head hurts, throbbing and sharp, and no amount of healing magic from the nurse, his father, or anyone else can fix it. He has nightmare after nightmare, sleeping for a mere few minutes at a time before he's waking up screaming his throat sore. He's nauseous, he can't keep food down, and everything hurts.

The only one who can put him back together is Malleus

[sixteenthtry]

I keep getting recommended YouTube videos in which there are explicit mcr references despite them not having anything to do with the main topic and I feel like I am losing my mind.

[not-the-conversation-starter]

The Death Of A Website.

tl;dr click source to see an AU of my blog.

As many of you may not have heard, Cohost has gone read only. The website infamous for "Zero Discoverability" and its users "Not Being Funny." Servers will close down at the end of 2024, if not earlier, being backed up on the Internet Archive before that. Since their user counts were still low after 2 years (about half of all sign ups ever were from people evacuating twitter, which then didn't know how to use the site so most left almost immediately. Kind of hilarious) they didn't feel like anymore money bleeding OR the fact that a staff of only four people being on call 24/7 was worth it anymore.

However,

the people who DID use the site loved it. And they did some genuinely cool things on it, far cooler than anything I ever saw even in the glory days of Tumblr. You know, like Finn and Jake hi-fiving between 2 posts. Stuff like a playable maze, or a fully navigable 3d room you move around in with your mouse entirely within a post. They really did some cool stuff.

There were also a ton of really talented people, people like the composer Lena Raine(Celeste/Minecraft) who loved the site because you could just. Actually talk to people on it! Without an algorithm to boost their posts, the only people who saw it were genuinely looking for it.

Also some of them were just good posters, we did get Pikmin 18 billion and eleven from Cohost after all.

The point is, I think if anyone outside of Cohost actually knew what was being done on Cohost, it would of succeeded. There would of been enough active users for them to invest more. If I knew about all of this I would of been there way more!

But rather than just you blindly believing me, I decided to spend (almost) every hour I would of on Tumblr, on Cohost instead. Clicking that link, or the source, or the link on the source above in the tl;dr, will take you to my Cohost blog. At least while it's still read-only.

You should check it out. I reblogged a lot, but the first page or 2 (every 20 posts, I kept trying to stop but I got sentimental and reblogged more) is pretty much just people's last posts. I'd say give it 3 pages to see if you're interested or not in exploring more of what the website has to offer.

If you've ever wondered what people would post on a dying website,

If you ever wondered what some of the best posts people were making on Cohost that got shared again in its last dying moments were,

If you want some reference for what inside jokes would look like to an outsider,

If you're just bored and need something to scroll through,

if you ever wondered what I would of reblogged on that website if I remembered my password easily enough to log back in easily...

You could think of my blog as a small encapsulation of a small website. There's only 60 pages, including the ones from before the announcement from me just rarely using the site!

I reblogged all kinds of posts. Goodbyes, sarcastic hellos, mourning, long speeches about the spirit of Cohost set to sad music, nothing burgers, inside jokes I didn't understand, The New Garfield, posts I flat out didn't read past the title because they were too long and I just wanted to move on really there's a lot of posts to archive, CSS crimes, stuff I found funny, "Where to find me" and webrings and website posts for people I never knew, Love Honk, reviews for movies and games I never intend to play or watch, 88x31 buttons, music recommendations and history, entire games, signing up for RSS feeds, asks and answers related to other stuff I didn't share on accident, regular memes, Intern Secretary Eggbug, a post that's just an image hosted off-site so it'll update even after readonly, and so on.

(Nothing overtly NSFW. Tag search still works if you want that)

One that I, personally, am sad is gone. That I'm glad I got to see at least in its dying days. That I genuinely hope someone makes another attempt at creating.

[sak-supernatural]

My oppinipn below the cut.

I don't think it is and all those I have asked agree. But I thought I'd try a poll since I've never done one before.

[tangents-within-tangents]

I can't believe people still say The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch are "just kids shows" when whatever this show is literally exists:

analysis of target audiences below (there's a TL;DR don't worry)

Okay so the whole "it's just for kids" fallacy/excuse/conversation stopper is such an issue as it is. Here's a good video about it, I'll probably do a whole rant at some point, but in short: the level of storytelling merit, emotional depth, and thematic exploration a work can and should achieve has never been limited by it's target audience/age group, nor it's storytelling medium. (And if you don't think that's true, try to tell me Pixar has never made you cry, go on)

So it doesn't matter if it was made for kids or not. There's nothing wrong with that and anyone can enjoy it anyway. But what I actually wanna talk about here is not the merits of "kids shows" but the misconception on what "kid show" even means.

For one thing, I think when some people say "it's a kids show" they are lumping anything from like Winnie the Pooh to Avatar: the Last Airbender into the same category, and that's just not how it works. The above example demonstrates that not all kids shows/stories are the same anyway (partially bc level of development/education changes drastically between the ages of like 3 and 12, and these are things that are really taken into account in the publishing industry).

I found Disney's ratings guide and I think this should clear some things up:

For reference:

Young Jedi Adventures is listed as TV-Y

Clone Wars (2003), Rebels, and Resistance are TV-Y7-FV

Clone Wars, Bad Batch, and the Tales of the Jedi/Empire are TV-PG

Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Kenobi, Book of Boba Fett, Andor, and Acolyte are all TV-14

And if we put that in context with the films:

The Clone Wars (2008) film and the Original and Prequel trilogy are PG except for Revenge of the Sith which is PG-13 along with the Sequel trilogy, Rogue One and Solo.

So basically TCW and TBB are considered by Disney's own system to be about the same level as most of the films. They are 4 degrees away from 'Young Jedi Adventures' and only 1 degree lower than the live-action shows. Which frankly feels like we got some animation bias going on since all the live-action shows are automatically in one category (which is silly as is and undue here anyway (here have another video) esp since the Clone Wars animation style is clearly meant to be older/more realistic). But regardless, it's literally right there:

And again there is nothing wrong with TCW/TBB being kids shows, but some internet-ers dismiss it as "made for 7 year olds" and that's just objectively not true. Strictly from this system (which idk how it compares to whatever system Cartoon Network used when it aired) you could say the TV-PG might mean 8-13 years old (which is a wide range tbh, there's a big difference between being 8 and being 13), but since TV-G says "suitable for ALL ages" it's also not limited to that.

Also if TCW was aimed for ~8-13 year old's back in 2008 then those same people, who TBB was clearly meant for based on the marketing, were ~21-26 when it premiered in 2021 (and I think that is definitely reflected in writing).

Age of the protagonist is another a good indicator, though it's not a strict rule (i.e. Ender's Game and To Kill a Mockingbird have younger pov characters but are clearly meant for older audiences) and we have a wide range in these shows (Ahsoka 14, Anakin 20, Obi-wan 35, Clones early 20s, Omega ??? 10ish?? idk it's unclear) and time passes. (And while a lot of TBB is filtered through Omega's perspective, there's also plenty of scenes/subplots/episodes where she isn't even there. Also I doubt anyone would call TLOU a kids show just bc Ellie is 14)

But also target audience is a lot more than just content ratings. Note how the first few ratings above say "this program is designed for" the age group, while after TV-G it's about if it contains anything that could be unsuitable for age groups. And ratings can be pretty vague and arbitrary, especially since they change over time (like I get RotS but I could not tell you what makes the Sequels PG-13 compared to the PG films. And why is 13 the age we draw the line at? And why is it 14 for TV instead?)

I think TCW confuses a lot of people because it jumps around a lot; some episodes are about Jar Jar or the droids, and then some are, you know, Umbara. But on a rewatch, even some of the more serious episodes like the Citadel or Kadavo arc still tend to have a more juvenile or simplistic tone/writing style, like repeating information a lot or joking in the middle of the mission (like right after Echo died, hello?!). This actually feels like a writing issue to me, like maybe the writers weren't very clear on what they were going for. (Reminds me also of the only episode I watched of the live-action Atla, where compared to the original it increased the violence/death, but also dumbed down the exposition and didn't seem to trust the audience) Though there is also a clear difference between the seasons, again because the audience and characters are growing up as time goes on. I don't think TBB really had that issue though. It never talked down and it was much more tonally consistent, even in the lower stakes episodes.

Personally TBB feels generally grittier than TCW, though it doesn't really have any of the dark/gruesome deaths and "this is a kids show?!?!" moments like TCW (i.e. clones getting airlocked, decapitated, cut in half by doors, squished by Grievous, and whatever the ever living eff Colt's death was). Though actually come to think of it, there are a few things (like Crosshair killing civilians, the electro suicide pills, and the clone on Tantiss who got skewered (rip)) but I don't think they stand out as much, maybe because they're given the proper weight so they fit the tone rather than feeling out of place. Well, most of the time at least...

Like the friendly fire incident is probably one of the heaviest moments in TCW but I don't see it in those compilations, maybe because the characters respond appropriately and it fits within the Umbara arc. Verses when stuff happens in the middle of lighter more childish plot lines that feel more shocking because they are somewhat brushed off.

But also here's the thing. I think people get really fixated on the darkness/violence/death thing, but it isn't actually as big a deal as we tend to think. Like you'll find "this is a kid's show?!?" compilations for so many shows like these (with a similar age range, like Gravity Falls) that are just anything remotely creepy or intense or related to death, as if kids can't handle anything at all. Like I'll admit it's surprising sometimes (Infinity Train traumatized me bro lol) but most of the time I think we're underestimating kids. Like do you remember being 12? It's not that young.

There just seems to be this misconceived barrier, like the argument goes: "Clone Wars is just a kid show" "No it's not, look at this death scene!" But like there's death scenes in Disney movies all the time, you know? I think that's also why we get so many of these MA animated shows (i.e. Invincible and Vox Machina) that feel the need to overdo the blood and gore to like prove themselves as adult shows (bc again, animation bias).

As a writer that's just not really where the distinction is. This came up in my 'Writing for Children and Adolescents' class and we were all a little surprised when our professor said that death/violence is actually fine for middle-grade (8-12, the 'golden age of reading' and probably the equivalent to TV-PG). Like think of stories with ~12 year old protagonists like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Gregor the Overlander (tho Suzanne could stand to tone that one down imo lol). Basically, violence is okay actually. And most of the TCW and TBB characters are way older than middle-grade.

(Also I think the difference is usually more in the delivery. Like death and violence being more implied (no blood, or cutting away/seen with shadows), and themes/emotions generally being more clear, simple and stated upfront rather than more nuance, subtle and subtextual. (And tbh writing for kids is actually usually a lot harder btw))

The distinction we did learn about that has been most insightful for me has a lot more to with the story itself: what topics and themes does the story deal with? And what age group/phase of life does that speak to?

For example, Love You Forever is a picture book (generally considered 3-6 yr old range) but it deals with topics that are clearly aimed for an adult. It follows the parental character until they are on their death bed being taken care by their kid, that's not something a 6 year old would care about or relate to. That's why age of protagonist typically aligns too, bc they will be dealing with/worried about things that the reader is dealing with in their life too (like high school struggles vs career and family struggles etc).

Aaaand this post has (once again) gotten away from me lol so I don't feel the need to analyze all of the topics and themes in TCW and TBB, but basically look at what is being explored and how it is being talked about (since a lot of things, esp with war, aren't necessarily age exclusionary) and that can give you a good idea. I think it's clear TBB generally deals with things in a more nuanced and complex way than TCW (most of it at least, honestly the difference between seasons is stark). And there is a main emphasis on family and parenthood, especially with the very end speaking to both young adults growing up and moving out, and the parents letting them go.

TL;DR:

-Animation doesn't automatically equal for kids

-For kids doesn't equal lesser

-Not all kids media is the same bc not all age groups are the same

-Violence doesn't necessarily equal NOT for kids

-Age of protagonist and themes/topics are a better indicator

-The Clone Wars is def middle grade, and The Bad Batch is probably more YA to adult

-But nothing is exclusionary regardless

[tinyfantasminha]

👍

[rattusrattus3]

.

[fexarii]

The fact that subscriptions are just the norm now is so weird to me sometimes. Digitalization in general feels more like companies cheaping out on producing dvds/bonus content and also as a shitty counter measure against piracy.

Am i insane for thinking that ? Maybe lol I'm not very educated on this topic, but as a kid I did grow up with a load of pirated movies because we were a low income family and not every dvd released where we lived at the time. A bunch of ppl prolly experienced the same.

It's just odd to think some kids might never grow up watching classic movies nowadays cuz they can't afford a subscription and pirated content is becoming harder and harder to access. Shrug ! I know my websites but I'm gonna assume most average joes don't lol.

[the-maddened-hatter]

Whoever says Tumblr doesn't have an algorithm has never looked curiously in a tag that had things they didn't like/didn't hate but don't care about and then after exiting respectfully been bombarded with more of that content

[glimpsesofeuterpe]

how do you keep scam bots away from your sideblogs' askboxes? are there any tricks besides turning asks off? are there any tricks invented so far??

[moodr1ng]

one super interesting thing i keep running into while gathering references of historical clothing from across the world is while you would imagine that those clothes are super different across cultures, you kinda end up running into super similar elements the world over. like, ive looked at historical dress of north africa, western europe, eastern europe, and to a lesser degree various parts of asia and africa (i do tend to mostly take inspiration from the mediterranean and the slavic - i also dont tend to pick from native american stuff too much as it is kind of the exception where i see a lot less overlap and it feels a lot more dicey to lift from those sources when the inspiration would become a lot more obvious and come w implications of coding and appropriation i dont feel equipped to tackle) and kept seeing things reappear. layered skirts and aprons, short vests over blouses, jewelry over the chest in layers of metal circles, hair coverings... in a way it makes total sense, people come up w the same thing everywhere bc people have the same bodies to accomodate everywhere so it just makes sense, but its also rly rly fun to be like "this traditional russian costume has so much in common w traditional north african costumes" yknow? it also rly helps to define general trends across geography and history when designing fictional traditional clothing bc i can mix and match the elements i like most and still end up w something that looks real and tangible. thats what i did for ajdig (that one comic i made for my grandma) - the original refs for the character designs came from all over the world but i think when you look at them you feel like these are the real clothes of a people

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

i really be out here sabotaging my future and not caring