#[ Let them have a little fun. ]

[inkskinned]

there are a lot of posts out there that are positive and healthy coping mechanisms for handling the holidays. this is not one of them :)

i think there's like. going to be times in your life you will be stuck in a social situation that you cannot escape from gracefully. i do not know why the internet doesn't believe these times exist. it's not always just that your physical safety is at risk - sometimes it's legit like "i just don't currently have the energy or time to put in the effort of responding to this." sometimes it's a coworker you hate so much. sometimes it's just like, fine, you know? like you know you can handle your aunt when she's cheerily horrible, but if you actually set a boundary around her, it's going to be weeks of fallout with your father.

i don't know why people think the answer is always just "cut them out!" or "don't let them get away with that!" because ... the real world is tricky and complicated. i think kind of a lot of us have an internal "radiation poisoning" meter for certain people. like - i'm talking about the ones who are absolutely giving you gradual ick damage. like, you can handle them, but you'll be exhausted.

and yes. you absolutely should listen to your therapist and the good posts about handling others and set good boundaries and take care of yourself. prioritize peace.

HOWEVER :) ...... since im often in a situation with a Gradual Sense of Ick person i cannot just "cut out" of my life (without losing someone else precious to me) - i have sort of developed the most. maladaptive form of mischief possible. because like, if i'm going to have to listen to this shit again, i like to have a little bit of private fun with it.

now! again, i am physically safe, just mentally drained by this man. you should only do this with people you are not in danger with. which leads me to my suggestions for when your Unfortunate Acquaintance shows up and says oh everyone pay attention to me.

my favorite word is "maybe!" said as brightly and happily as possible. whenever the Horrible Person starts in on a topic you do not want to go further with, particularly if they make a claim that you know to be inaccurate, do not respond to it. you and i have both tried to actually argue with this person, and it hasn't gone well, because this person just wants the drama of an argument. however, "maybe!" gives them literally nothing to go on. it is incredibly disarming. they are used to people having some response. they know they can't prove what they're saying, and maybe! treats them like the child they are. it dismisses them in the politest way possible.

i like to say maybe! and then, in their stunned silence, immediately change the subject. this is because i have adhd and i will have something unrelated to talk about, but if you can't think of topics fast enough, i recommend just pointing to something and saying, "isn't that lovely?" because fuck you let's bring in some positivity.

by the way. that second trick - of pointing to something and stating an opinion about it? - that just works on its own, like, 70% of the time. i picked it up from teaching preschoolers. it's an intentional "redirect". it stops children crying and it also stops grown adults from finishing their explanation on why women belong in kitchens. dual wielding!

keep it silly for yourself. i absolutely do not care if people think i'm fucking stupid (it's more fun if they do) and as a result i will purposefully misunderstand things just to see how long it takes them to realize i've completely removed them from the subject at hand. when they say "women aren't funny" i get to be like. "which women." "all women." "all women in america?" "no in the world." "like the mole people? the people in the world?" "what? no. like, alive." "oh are we not counting the mole people?" "what the fuck are you talking about." "you don't believe in the mole people?"

similarly, i play a personal game called "one up me." my Evil Acquaintance literally knows this game exists (my family & friends caught onto it and now also play it) and it always fucking gets him. i don't know why. you have to be willing to be a little free-spirited on this one, though. the trick is that when they make one of those horrible little bigoted or annoying comments they are always making, you need to go one unit weirder. not more intense, mind you - just more weird. "you don't look good in that dress." "yeah, actually, my other dress was covered in squid ink due to a mishap at the soup store." "you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." "wait, what? oh shit. sorry, your son tears off strips when no one is looking and eats them. i swear it was longer before we left the building."

the point of "one up me" is to completely upend this person's narrative. we both know this person likes setting up situations where you cannot "win" and then they really like telling other people how badly you handled it. in a usual situation, if you respond "please don't say something that rude", you're a bitch. but if you let it happen, you're letting yourself be debased. they are not usually expecting door number three: unflappably odd. because what are they going to say when they're telling everyone how badly you behaved? "she said my son eats her dresses" ".... okay?"

if you can, form an allyship with someone whomst you can tagteam with. where they can pick up on your weird "soup store" story and run with it.

the following phrase is amazing and can be deployed for any situation: "oh, be nice :) it's the holidays!" i do not know why this works as often as it does. i'll say it for the most random shit. i think this is bc most of the time these people know they're being impolite, they just like to fight.

godbless. when in doubt, remember that you could always start stealing their pens.

the whole point of this is - if you can't escape. maybe see how long you can just be. like. a horrible little menace.

[h0rr0rimus]

Gripping Withers firmly to spend 300 gold so I can make my funny band of weirdos be a Band as a Treat as a break from experiencing The Horrors.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

christ sometimes I just wanna. steal a time machine & go back & sit down next to my 9-year-old self and just like. let them pull out their pokemon card binder & gush about their holographic gyarados or whatever. I'd just smile & ask questions about motherfukcing bulbasaur & tell my kid self that I thought they were a neat person, & someday they'd find other people who thought so too.

like i'm a grown adult who honestly finds most kids stuff boring, but. damn if i could go back & hang out with my baby self & listen to them ramble...just so they knew someone was listening. i would in a heartbeat. thinking about u kid

[cosmicwhoreo]

.... Okay, so I might have made a ahit oc during my downtime. Based on the idea of "yeah the idea of hat kid being a little space orphan doing a job is sad.... But what if they were separated from their family and needed to get back home instead?"

And what if their worried mother came to the planet they were on, looking for them after they'd JUST LEFT like a month ago?

SOOOOOO HERE'S SUMMER!

I may have gotten carried away with myself on this idea-

[chalkrub]

more assorted stuff. giving funney animal people versions to my human ocs because i'm normal

[bluegiragi]

do something (on purpose)

support me on patreon (nsfw)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Do you like sci-fi and indie animation? Check out Monkey Wrench!

[sysig]

Chewtoy (Patreon)

[chloecherrysip]

Nothing can hurt us as long as we're together.

(AKA a humble collection of 10 of my favorite Mario & Luigi frames from the movie!)

[lionbearfox]

shes helping him conduct interviews :)

[buglaur]

my favourite posts from 2023

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Would Bardaby (from the Fantasy Au) still do his affectionate biting as shown in the original WH or would it be different?

i'd say Yes Absolutely!

he's gotta be more Careful about it tho... look at those chompers...

[tanked-up]

Price talking with a Higher up: Of course, Sir! We take things here here very seriously

Also the 141

[volatilemask]

i love your v1mdk stuff so much i think it’s so cute but i cannot stop myself from thinking of owl just third wheeling constantly lol

technically i just avoid this by not drawing owl whenever i doodle them being very gay but. even when all 3 hang out i think 70% of the time is taken up by mdk and owl chatting with eachother so it balances out naturally. probably

[dyketubbo]

ik some people dont like considering the fact that minecraft is a game into their interpretation of lore but tbh i really like lore that acknowledges that their lives adhere to video game mechanics and thats a part of why i like that tubbo doesnt shy away from including his knowledge of game mechanics in his roleplay. it adds to his character and story and tubbos knowledge of how the game works directly translates to his character being extremely intelligent and skilled

and i think a big part of why people dont like acknowledging that tubbo isnt fail rping by using the game mechanics to his advantage is because they dont like admitting that hes intelligent. they dont like him being more than just the dumb bee boy. they dont like him being able to get a one up on their faves even though their faves are using game mechanics to their advantage too, hell because their faves are doing it too.

using game mechanics to his advantage isnt fail rp. being intelligent and skilled in his own way isnt fail rp. the admins keep him in line when they need to and when they dont they let him do his thing because no matter how many people get upset about it, tubbos knowledge of how the game works is fun and its cool to see.

a good roleplayer knows how to use the medium to their advantage. tubbo isnt failing rp or breaking the no metagaming rules in any way that actually ruins anyone elses enjoyment. hes just using the medium to his advantage. minecraft is a video game and there are literally plot points that depend on acknowledging that. tubbo is intelligent and on top of that he is a good roleplayer and its fine that he roleplays in a different way than some other ccs do because that makes him interesting. if you dont like it then theres a very easy solution: dont watch him

[turtleblogatlast]

One of my favorite things about Leo’s portals is the fact that they’re tangible.

He can throw those like frisbees and hit people with them like?? The boys’ abilities are so fun and magical and even sci-fi-esque but this aspect of Leo’s portals are so distinctly a Looney Tunes flavor of cartoon-y that I absolutely adore.

And sure this aspect of the portals can be used for fighting, but moreover the sheer amount of visual gags this does and can create is infinite.