#I loathe this website (not the people on it; just the website)

[emeryleewho]

I genuinely enjoy posts that offer the "your work is good even if it's not getting the traction you wish it had" platitude, and sometimes it really lifts my mood, but I also hate the way "just love your art, if you please just one person, you're doing enough, even if that person is you!" is just kind of... thrown around in a way that treats people lamenting not reaching audiences as a matter of self-doubt, personal insecurity, or feeling "not valid".

Like... I love my stories and my art and my OCs. I share them because I want other people to love them. I want to be able to give people something they can take and use. My art doesn't exist in isolation. I create it to be in conversation with the larger canon, the culture, other stories and audiences. If nobody sees it, nobody engages with it, etc. I can still love it, but it's also devastating because that means that art will never fulfill its purpose. It'll never live up to its potential because its true potential isn't just as something pretty to look at or something to entertain you but as a form of communication between artist and audience. Like, even beyond the capitalist concern of "if nobody buys my art, I will literally starve to death", I'm not sad when a piece fails to reach people because I'm just so full of self-loathing and insecurity that I can't believe my work has value if it's not being externally validated by the commercial masses. I'm just sad that that piece will never find a home with other people, that the part of my soul I put into this project will never be heard or understood by anyone but me. It's isolating and lonely.

[mars-ipan]

honestly i don’t really think any mental illnesses have been like “destigmatized”- not fully at least. i think the stigma has just changed from demonization to “that’s not a real problem get over it god”

[ariaste]

So listen i have this book coming out in uhhh 10 days and I am Worried about it, because it is a Comedy, and comedy is really hard to market (why????? it's funny pirates, what's not to like??) even when it is, yanno, normal mainstream comedy.

It is even worse when it is Unhinged Comedy That's Mostly Going To Be Funny To People On Tumblr. (For example, the main character being a supreme gremlin made of 90% memes by weight (examples: carries around a bag that is never called anything but his "little rucksack"; has a near-verbatim "stick me legy out real far" moment; talks about his metaphorical "orphan gruel bowl" which is a direct reference to that one Oliver Twist gif) because those are funny to me personally.) Unhinged Tumblr Comedy is difficult because tumblr is not a platform where it is easy to market things to people, because we are generally violently anti-capitalist and LOATHE advertisements and reflexively resist being marketed to for most anything. I LOVE that about this website. Except for right now, because I have bills to pay and a cat to feed. So look, fellow tumblr gremlins, I am just trying to say that if your personal brand of comedy is laughing at the kind of jokes that could only be produced on this hell website, and:

you like pirates

you're queer and want to read more books by queer authors

you want your fictional queer characters to be a hell of a lot more Messy and Unhinged than they often are depicted as being

you're interested in seeing a love triangle (M/M/NB) that resolves into polyamory

you want books where the hottest character gets to makes Passionate Speeches about rebelling against oppressive institutional regimes like governments and organized religions

you believe that capitalism is the most oppressive institutional regime of them all

you think it's fun when two characters have been in a 15-year-long relationship where the vibes have been "We're Newly Divorced" nearly since day one

you believe that All Cops Are Bastards and want to know what to do when you get pulled over by the boat cops

you think the Great British Bake-Off would be improved with weaponry, ritualized bribery/coercion of judges, and elaborate shit-talk

then this book might be for you. Beneath the wall-to-wall hijinks, it is political and it is righteously angry and it is the funniest thing I have ever written (which is saying something, because I have written some funny shit). It's called RUNNING CLOSE TO THE WIND. Here's a picture of it.

If all that sounds cool, you can read a review of it here and the first chapter of it here to see if it as funny as I am claiming it is, and then if you think that it is, you can preorder it here. It comes out on June 11! Ten days from now!

Thank you for letting me market to you for a minute. Signal boosting would be very much appreciated.

[eepyvictim]

I feel like it's worth saying but over the years having used both Tumblr and Twitter in different periods (long time Tumblr user, moved to Twitter because it's where everyone I knew was, moved back to Tumblr) that i don't care what people say but Twitter sucks for community actually. Yeah you can interact with people in different ways and prior to the techbroification of the site it was super useful for highspeed access to news (which I'm still thankful for), the sharing of tools and information sucked ass actually and the lack of good archival makes it impossible to retain anything actually useful on that site. Twitter fills the same part of the ven diagram as Discord for "most useful way to share important tools" compared to Reddit and Tumblr which still to this day has the same use as sharing information in an actual in person community.

Someone puts something on Twitter and it's like a single piece of paper with useful information pasted at a bus stop that gets taken down within 24 hours by rain and it's lost forever. Tumblr people hand out flyers in person at events that tell you exactly where to go locally for support and safety and that shit gets passed around for years after the fact by people that want to then get kept in a local store front by people who care and want to keep something alive for years.

I know Tumblr and Reddit both have equal chances of deteriorating even worse and dying in the future like all social media has over the past decade but it's a kind of universal community that can only keep existing on sites like this as long as people care about mutual aid and help. Even the most mundane shit like "damn this website is super useful and will support your hobbies in ways that capitalism has let down" can only thrive on these style of websites and I'm so thankful that Tumblr has stuck around as long as it has. You put that information out on Twitter and that shit's gone within a month never to be found again unless the person posting has 100k followers and pins the damn tweet.

[welcomingdisaster]

halls of mandos dashboard simulator... part 2

Recommended for you!

🦊 fairfaefox Follow got a song on the tip of my tongue i haven't heard in like 400 years and it's driving me nuts. all i can remember about it is that it started with this really vivid image of burning ships & it had a drum beat that went sorta like dum deee dum ba beee crackle-crackle and got more intense as the song went on think it might have been in quenya? could be wrong

🌃wordsmithfoul Follow ........... ,,, op....... are you talking about the Ñoldolantë

🦊 fairfaefox Follow oh yeah that's it thanks! :)

🌧️ rainelf Follow SCREAMING LMAO OP???

👒 fllfrrur Follow

🦊 fairfaefox Follow HJKHJHKJ GIRL IM AVARI LEAF ME ALONE 😭😭😭😭😭

🏇 doriath_dude Follow Exhibit #4555 of the insane Noldor-centrism of this goddamn website. Most culturally important song of our age to fucking WHOM?? #ugh #curas fights the noldor AGAIN #discourse

( 3555 notes )

🌀positivitydaily Following positivity for elves that died in stupid and embarrassing ways! positivity for elves that don't have a cool and exciting death story! positivity for elves that fell off a cliff or drowned cave-diving or died of heartbreak over someone who was objectively speaking like a 6/10! no matter what posts get popular on here, it's totally OK not to have a cool death story nor does it make you any less worthy of reembodiment! lame death positivity!! #positivity #i'll go on record and say i died from mushroom poisoning

( 121 notes )

🧵broiderycreature Mutuals look i know it's just selection bias from my beloved mutuals but i think it's funny to imagine we're all gonna leave the halls having transed our gender & gotten radicalized. like yeah mom i'm not the daughter you thought you had but more importantly we must abolish the monarchy #lol. lmao even ( 45 notes )

🏰 Turgon_Of_Gondolin_1 Following Update: Minecraft server is back up, but I've disabled PvP and increased raiding protections. I will not name names, but please think before you act next time. ( 203 notes )

💠 LoveStruckLoaf Mutuals hey girl uhhh. sorry your boyfriend didn't come to the halls of mandos. yeah no one can say what his fate is because it isn't woven into the tapestries on of the world i'm really sorry about that haha. uhh i guess he did chose it for himself so there's that. we're still cool right? #lariel's copium

( 108 notes )

🔥Fëanáro_Official Follow

#If they are truly so loath to restrict us they ought not fear the voice of the people #Which I am sure shall be in my favor.

(12001 notes)

🐝 bee-leg Following anyone know whom I petition to learn the everlasting fate of my lemur (beloved companion)? thank you faithfully #personal

( 8 notes )

[centrally-unplanned]

We have results of the "Denver Basic Income Project" targeted at homeless groups in the region, which from their lens must be quite disappointing:

Groups A and B are the experimental groups, receiving $1k a month for a year or the same amount as a lump sum. Group C got $50 a month, a "compliance" payment to make sure they show up for data collection essentially. Hilariously, the website is pretending Group C is not a control group, since they got the pennies they dug out of the sofa cushion, and saying this is all a success!

"Statistically significant across all groups" this is a hate crime against data science. But it is so laughable that it isn't really worth getting into; what else can you say?

More substantially, what you are observing in this data is that the homelessness population is a little bit bimodal between the chronic and the temporary. Not fully ofc, but it's normally evident in the data - the median person is homeless for ~12 months, but ~1/3rd are chronically homeless while another ~1/3rd are generally only homeless for a few months, and then the rest bleed out in the middle. With no UBI the results above are what you would expect - half the group found income sources, found housing, and returned to being poor-but-housed, that is the default. For the other group, homelessness is a combination of the "willing" homeless and the structurally excluded, from drug problems to actively violent behavior to track records of similar that disqualify them as too high risk, or those who simply loathe all bureaucratic systems and refuse to comply (mood).

$1000 a month is pretty substantial, you aren't realistically going to have UBI higher than that. And it is not like recipients were excluded from SNAP/food stamps or anything. Giving radically more could maybe shift things, sure, but I think you are seeing close to the "cap" here on what you can realistically shift with lump sums.

For a certain kind of UBI proponent I could see this being a failure, like "oh why did money not fix this". I sort of view it as the opposite? Why would I expect money to fix this in that way? UBI is a consumption subsidy, the entire point is that it's no-strings. If people want to spend their consumption differently than I would expect, good for them? UBI is about broad based income support; it is not targeted at specific social ills by design. I think it can have structural changes in the economy - UBI permanently shifts bargaining power between workers & employers a bit for example - but I wouldn't expect it to say close the educational achievement gap outside of marginally.

I do think this should be a check on a sort of naive "poverty" lens for social ills; ~50% of homelessness is about money churn. This paper actually does a bad job of showing that, because it tracks everyone at "time zero" when they are all homeless. If you look at other studies where housed and unhoused alike get UBI, you see that they are less likely to become homeless to begin with. And it is just one study of course - additionally 2021-2022 was a bad year for housing as temporary Covid eviction & rent control measures expired, and this pilot started in 2022, while meanwhile it was a *really* good time for the poor-but-working income-wise as low-end wages increased dramatically, so it was a big dip combined with big churn in the poverty rates. Still, with all those caveats poverty is probably not the lodestone for that other ~50%. If you want to address those social ills you are going to need more involved social programs - or be a libertarian about it and let them do as they wish. Your call, as long as the limits of "throw money" at a problem is understood.

[dailyrothko]

Hi, with the idea that there should be a central place from information on Rothko shows and eventually a worldwide database of Rothkos in collections, I've secured a website which is not up yet but will be in progress for a while. This will be daillyrothko.com

In addition, I'd like have a mailing list for occasional Rothko news because my experience is that people don't regularly check websites.

So if you would like to get the occasional email with information on exhibitions or new writing or general news on all things Rothko, shoot me an email address at dailyrothko@gmail.com. Only Rothko related material will be emails, I'm not trying to conquer the world or anything.

I can also help you with general questions here of course but email can be useful for lots reasons. I recently sent out articles form my archive to someone doing a research paper on Rothko, for instance. Also if you don't want to be on the list, maybe save this email in case I go down. Tumblr has been known to just delete people.

In the meantime, if you'd like to donate I am currently hemorrhaging money, but I am sure all of you are too! I loathe asking for anything but I put it out there, hopefully to do more with cataloging and bringing information to people.

Thanks

[olderthannetfic]

Watching the downfall of Wattpad is as entertaining as it is sad, tbh.

I have spent a lot of my life in fandom, starting off with a site similar to fanfic.net, then moving on to Wattpad, and finally landing on Ao3 (there was also a time when all the translated fics were coming from a site whose name started with a Q? I think it's not around anymore, though. And most of the "older" people in my fandom had started off with LiveJournal), but this is the very first time I'm seeing someone defend so callously a platform that's clearly going to hell.

The moment the mods on that similar-to-fanfic.net started going on power trips and striking down users and their stories for no reason, people began calling bullshit, both on the site and other places (at the time it was trendy to have Facebook author pages). The site went from having a team of seven mods to one of four to, as of today, a single one plus the owner of the site. Why? Because the mods were rude, didn't listen to the authors and readers, and people rightfully started being upset and leaving for better places.

With Wattpad... it's like observing someone stuck in an abusive relationship and constantly coming up with excuses as to why it's better for them to stay.

The purge happened and they were mad for about two days before they started defending the decision to implement AI to delete (random) works, with a crescendo of accusations towards people who complain their stories were deleted: "I'm sure you can contact the Wattpad Ambassadors and have your story reinstated, don't worry!" to "Surely you did something wrong" to "Why do you want pornography on this website??? Won't you think of the children????"

They're also arguing that the CEO is in the right for deleting those pesky NSFW stories, because otherwise advertisers won't buy ad spaces, and no one wants the Wattpad CEO to go hungry.

Now the site just put up an announcement about how they're going to pull the feature that allows users to DM one another, something that apparently plenty of people relied on because it helped them build friendships. As they did with the purge, people were devastated, then started coming up with half-solutions, then outright attacking anyone who dares say it was a shit idea.

I don't think I've ever seen people brigade so strongly for a site that's clearly falling apart.

--

Quizilla. Quotev lives on, but the more popular Quizilla is no more.

That's amusing. People are generally loath to move, but Wattpad has an unusual level of loyalty.

[teaboot]

I was just inspired to find the Olaf Post and 1. Its fantastic, I've never particularly disliked Olaf (apart from the 'in summer' song which I've never listened to more than three seconds of because it awakens some kind of primal loathing in me) but your fury is in itself beautiful. 2. The discourse in the notes on that post is UNHINGED. I was prepared for people saying they like Olaf. I was not prepared for you to be accused of homophobia and abelism towards a cgi animated snowman. I finally understand just how deeply and completely derranged this website is. Help.

the wild thing is I don't even dislike him that much anymore. It's like the act of articulating my rage destroyed it

[musashi]

You think the brand of people who hate MVK and call him neglectful also hate Misty or does she get a free pass as a Girlboss(TM)

no, they're just as bad to misty (but weirdly fine with morgan?)

honestly the person i compare misty to isn't mvk, it's miles. miles and misty both did the same thing (jouhatsu) but miles is forgiven, rarely held accountable, lauded as morally complex or untouchable because he's twaumatiiiiized but misty is demonized always and forever as a neglectful, absent mother whose love is worthless because of the choice she made.

i've never met a single person in this fandom with a favourable opinion on misty, it's fucking depressing as all hell. meanwhile no one gives a shit about morgan who canonically beats her fucking daughter (amongst many, MANY other things)

how the aa fandom chooses to declare parents abusive has nothing to do with the parents and everything to do with how easy it is to project onto their "victims." case in point:

misty fey: morally complex in canon. maya, while not super popular, is growing as projectionbait due to her self-worth issues & the fact that she's often shipped with franziska who everyone is inexplicably horny for. VERDICT: ABUSER.

morgan fey: abusive in canon. beats her youngest daughter & controls her access to the outside world. manipulated all three of her children into committing attempted murder for her. iris is not projectionbait because she is viewed primarily as a threat to narumitsu and thus despised. dahlia is not projectionbait because she is not mentally ill in a sympathetic way, instead exhibiting severe cluster b tendencies and being "one of the bad ones." no sympathy is given to dahlia despite the fact that she was clearly a severely mentally ill child in need of support. pearl is not projectionbait because people's only perception of her personality is "child" and nothing more. VERDICT: NOT ABUSIVE, SIMPLY A CHARISMATIC VILLAIN.

blaise debeste-winner: abusive in canon. berates his son every single opportunity he gets. i am almost certain he does worse by the end of the game but have not yet finished it. eustace is not projectionbait because he is a narcissist and that is not one of the acceptable mental illnesses, see dahlia. VERDICT: NOT ABUSIVE.

manfred von karma: not abusive in canon, I AM INVITING EVERYONE READING THIS MESSAGE TO COME INTO MY INBOX AND DEBATE ME ON THAT POINT RIGHT NOW. DO IT, COWARD. cartoonishly evil. ridiculously so. so evil that it loops back around into being hilarious. morally complex in that we are rarely allowed to know what he is thinking, and so many interpretations of it arise, rightfully so. miles was made to be projectionbait. punitive view on justice that all the fucking catholics on this website share. canonical post-traumatic stress disorder. attractive young gentleman. shippable with the protagonist. severe guilt complex. deep-seated self loathing. would identify as an "anti" if he were on fandom twitter. depending on your interpretations of canon, suicidal. franziska is debatable projectionbait--being like dahlia in that she is the 'wrong' kind of mentally ill--but she inches ahead into a firm yes because she is a burning-out gifted kid and, again, annoying lesbians on this website want to have sex with her. VERDICT: MANFRED VON KARMA INVENTED CHILD ABUSE AND IF YOU COME AWAY FROM THE TEXT WITH ANY KINDER INTERPRETATION ON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS KIDS WE WILL UNPERSON YOU ON TWITTER.

i could go on, but i love myself, so i won't.

[prof-peach]

You've mentioned that you are dyslexic and I was hoping you might be willing to answer some questions? No pressure if it's too personal though.

I'm trying to revamp my blog* and make sure it is accessible to as many people as possible. I have already figured out contrast for colorblind individuals, but moving on to the font has been a nightmare. I know comic sans was designed for people with dyslexia, but my old literary magazine teacher is in my head telling me I can't use it. Are there any other fonts that make reading easier for you personally? Or just other things I could do to the text (size, color, boldness, ect.) that would make it more accessible for you?

*not the blog I'm sending this ask from

Sure, though don’t know how much help I’ll be!

Colour choices are very helpful, dark mode literally saves my life on a number of websites, a lighter text on a darker background often helps me focus up. I find a larger font is better too, more because when I’m reading my eyes will jump around irrationally between words to do so.

Most people will apparently go from A, to B, to C, ect ect. In order?? Sounds wild to me haha

I tend to go from A to E, to C, back to A, to B if I’m lucky. Takes me a while to get through big chunks of text. A lot of how I adapt involves a physical item on my end. A card, a pencil, a piece of paper, something to separate the line of text I’m on to stay on that one point.

I am not educated in terms of what others go through, this is just my issues, and I won’t lie, there’s defo a little tism and adhd in the mix, it’s a hot pot of distractions haha!

So bigger text makes lingering on one word easier, least from where I’m standing.

Breaking things up into more manageable chunks is handy, formatting helps, big paragraphs (which even I am guilty of writing) are hard to get through in one sitting. I gotta highlight where I got to, get up and come back to it sometimes. Or if I’m in a rush read it like 4 times for the information to go in and stick around. Even then I’ll forget stuff.

As for comic sans. I personally loathe it with a burning passion. It’s a combination of art eye that hates how it looks, growing up with teachers using it “for legibility” but not realising it’s like…a child font. It bugs me so much. What’s worse is I live with a really talented graphic designer, who makes all his fonts himself more often than not, and so his hatred for it only fuels mine haha!

‘Helvetica Neue’ is designed for ease of reading, used in public transport particularly in new york subway systems, it’s whole thing was to be glanced at and quickly be legible. So try that one? Might be easier on the eye.

Sorry I don’t have better advice, I can only say what I do to work around it, but it might help a little? I’m sure people can message you or chime in on how they adapt and cope with dyslexia.

[khalemchurstcomics]

THE SECRET (AKA DIET CULTURE)

It is amazing to me how early we are indoctrinated. Even as tiny children, we were taught that there are 'good' and 'bad' foods. But food has no actual moral value. Certainly different foods affect us in different ways, but they are not inherently good or bad.

As people socialised as women, a certain amount of self loathing seems to be expected of us. I already had the building blocks in place simply from existing as a girl in society, so once I developed an eating disorder it was only a small step to lean into the 'pro-ana' websites that taught deeply unhealthy ways to stay not just thin, but dangerously underweight. At the time it felt validating, like these websites were telling me some truth that the rest of the world wanted to hide from me. I learned some awful behaviours, but most of all, I learned that at the centre of it all was hating myself as much as possible.

I'm still unlearning, even after being eating disorder free for 7 years. It takes daily work. But every now and then, when I eat ice cream without feeling guilty or exercise to feel good instead of as a punishment, I am astounded by my progress.

(this was originally posted to my socials - you can find me @khalemchurst).

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 4

Amy Rose

WAUGH okay so basically like everyone villainizes her when shipping Sonic with any other character (and 99% of the time its Amy being villainized against a m/m ship ://) but yeah Amy canonically has a "crush" on Sonic and stuff (which is weird in its self cuz age gaps and things but creators smh) and anyways any time people write Sonic in a relationship with other characters they always make her super upset and mad that Sonic isn't dating her etc etc and basically make her a pouting 12 year old because her super hero crush doesn't date her instead of writing her as a supportive best friend to sonic WHICH SHE SHOULD BE WRITTEN AS !!!! and uh yeah if you couldn't tell this makes me so upset because amy is such a good character people should stop ruining her

Even outside of yaoi, she is the most hated character in the FRANCHISE. THERE ARE ENTIRE WEBSITES DEDICATED TO HATING ON HER. HER MERE EXISTANCE CREATES SHIP WARS. IT IS HELL. EVEN THE OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT AND THE ARCHIE COMICS HATED ON HER IN THE PAST.

Not only is she a incredibly serious victim of yaoi, she is bashed in every fic where Sonic is paired with someone other than her. And when she is paired with someone other that Sonic, Sonic is bashed. And when she is paired with Sonic, other characters commonly paired with Sonic are bashed. It is a chain reaction of madness. Even outside of shipping, she is one of the most hated characters in the fandom. She was flanderized to ridiculous amounts. Even the official Sonic twitter used to mock her. Even official gaming news sites mock her, with a particularly horrible case being when TheGamer outright said Sonic being paired with TAILS is better than Sonic being paired with Amy. The amount of hate this character has attracted is incredibly large. There are entire websites dedicated to hating her.

Sakura Haruno

Her husband is gay and her author doesn't know how to write women. So many people say she's the worst but she. DESERVES. BETTER!!! Save her from this franchise.

My baby girl my bestie my best friend. She committed the crime of um being written by kishimoto who both doesn’t know how to write women and somehow writes men in the gayest way possible specifically naruto and sasuke. Like the thing is naruto and sasuke ARE gay and also she gets so much hate for the crime of kishimoto writing her one dimensionally in love with sasuke. I know her personally she is a butch lesbian to me just trust me she’s in love with Ino and has a lesbian thing going on with Karin okay just trust me. My everything. She needs to divorce the loveless lavender marriage she’s in 

What is there to say, even? The OG Threat to my 90s anime brain, the only woman I've ever hated with such a passion she made me turn away from the color pink. I used to write fics with my friend where she got left behind on purpose so our OCs could join the Naruto and Sasuke team instead. I loathed this bitch until I was 16 and realized the author simply couldnt write women and decided it was time to make peace with Sakura. It is not her fault she's vaguely written and obsessive over Sasuke. She deserves better. Sasuke and Naruto still should be together and Sakura shouldnt be with Sasuke but I no longer believe this because I hate Sakura, it is because I love her. She deserves a spouse who will actually put in the time to treat her like the hero she is.

[thatonefandomjumper]

I feel like a big part of Heroes of Olympus was influenced by audience reaction. 

I don’t think I’m grasping at straws here. I genuinely just don’t get why some decisions were made if this wasn’t the case.

The plot of the books themselves has always felt very muddled to me and that’s why it always feels like it’s supposed to be a story about characters and relationships, but it just kind of isn’t. Sure, on a surface level, yes, and we get some very lovely character dynamics, but it also feels slightly artificial in a way? The plot was built first and the characters thrown into it, but there wasn’t much thought given too how the characters should be with each other. Even the romantic ones.

Though I feel that I could tie this idea into pretty much every part of the books, there are two things that I personally think of the most while discussing this idea.

For one, there’s Octavian’s entire character.

I have always been confused as to what exactly Riordan wanted from Octavian. He really feels like a plot device most times, made solely for the purpose of stirring conflict between the Greeks and Romans. He as an individual never really mattered. Now, there are some very cool people on this website that have managed to squeeze a decent character out of the scenes we got, but with the way he was written, that in itself is a challenge, as post SoN, it feels like the only intent behind his character was to make him as unlikable as possible. He really was a real character in SoN, despite weird decisions here and there (The killing Gwen scene for example was purely to establish that the doors of death weren't working, and to make Octavian unlikable, but Octavian himself really didn’t have any motive for the killing. It benefitted him in no way.)

In SoN, Octavian is manipulative and well spoken, but after that, he is portrayed as some sort of dim witted idiot, clouded by his desire for personal glory.

The only way I can rationalize this shift in character is in the truly visceral reaction the then fanbase had to his character. They loathed him, taking not a second to rationalize his actions, but simply hate. It also made it so Octavian became the but of a lot of jokes. Those jokes characterizing him as his idiot and megalomaniac that it he shown as in Mark of Athena, House of Hades and Blood of Olympus.

I always suspected Octavian was supposed to serve some sort of grander purpose, or his role in HoO was supposed to be at least a little more dignified or dare I say sympathetic, but there really was no turning back with how hated he was, making Riordan embrace it rather than giving him actual human qualities.

Then on the other hand, there’s also Leo and his relationship with romance in general.

I’ve touched upon it in my Caleo essay (That I kind of wanna redo with more points and evidence to back up my claims, because I am unhappy with certain aspects but I still stand by all I said) that Leo is a character that was written in such a way that getting a romantic partner before resolving certain things would actively detriment the development of his character, including healing from his trauma. The way he was written was just not meant for romance and I will take this to my grave. I’m not saying there was no room for romance, but the way they went about it was... very bad. (A girlfriend will fix my problems. That is his mindset. But he doesn’t grow out of it. Instead he gets a girlfriend. A girlfriend that he treats as a fix to his problems when she is not. A girlfriend that is bad to and for him in so many ways.)

But it is very interesting to note, that especially after Mark of Athena, the speculations and demands for Leo’s future girlfriend went absolutely crazy. I can’t speak from experience but from the tweets from Riordan and fanarts from that time that I've seen it was at least to the point that he took active notice of it. 

Besides Nico and Reyna, there weren’t really any other characters just lying around to pair Leo monogamously up with (I doubt Riordan be willing to make any characters besides Nico explicitly queer at the time and then in the next book he decided to pick up one of the background characters and said, you will do, when pairing Nico up with someone. )

There are many more examples I could go into. The universe suffered in many ways from this. Sure, it’s not the only problem that were detrimental. I believe Riordan had a plan from the beginning with all the main plot points of the series, but I feel he didn’t exactly know where he was going with the characters besides the basics. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the HoO characters. That is why I spend so much time talking and thinking about them, but the issues with the series and characters are so many that it’s borderline ridiculous.

[dayseternal-blog]

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween Halloween" 🎶

October is there (or almost here, in your case) 🎃

It is time for an October-themed fanfic rec list!

Okay :D

Here's a list with something for everyone, I think! Creepy, fluffy, smutty, funny, angsty... 🍁👻

October: Fall & Halloween NaruHina Fics

Chapter 28 from "Between the Trees" by @utsus - Rated G, Canon-Compatible, One-shot. NaruHina Prompt: Autumn [NaruHina Fanzine Submission]

"A Little Fluff for the Fall" by @nightowl27-writer - Rated T, College AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata Hyuga is an Art Major with an eye for photography, and a certain basketball player: Naruto Uzumaki. When she offers to take pictures of Konoha University's final game for the student website, she ends up with a lot more than just a few snapshots of the blond guard to drool over later.

Chapter 4 from "People Like Her" by @happyocelot - Rated G, Canon-Compliant, One-shot. For the prompt "I know you're afraid but we can't hide in this closet forever" + Naruto's obvious fear of ghosts.

"Stay" by NightOwl27 - Rated E, Supernatural/Mystery AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata is a young reporter looking for her first big break. A mysterious fire at the infamous and abandoned Farmhouse has the potential to be a big story. Thanks to the help of a hot firefighter named Naruto, Hinata finds out much more than she ever wanted to know.

“October - Horror” from “Still Falling for You” by @chloelapomme - Rated E, High School AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. When despair turns into a feeling of love so intense that obsession is the only thing that can help you protect the one you love.

"Spooky Season" by @secrettastemakerland - Not Rated, Canon-Compatible AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. One thing about Uzumaki family is that when they dress up, they dress up. Halloween, the national holiday of dressing up, is no different. or 5 times the sunshine family/siblings dressed up for halloween and the 1 time they couldn't didn't.

"Consume" by @wickermayne - Rated E, Vampire AU, One-shot. It was like a fire burnt through his veins as Hinata fed on him, consuming him, demanding him to give everything to her.

Chapter 1 from "naruhina oneshots" by @powerful-niya - Rated T, Vampire AU, One-shot. She was taught to hate vampires all of her life, leaving her to loathe their existence. But one dark night, she is faced with the one thing she hates.. and also, fears. But what happens when the very same creature she hates so much saves her, taking her into his warm home. He doesn't seem to have any intention of hurting her which confuses her. Should she run, or stay? 

"Let the Moon Help With Your Love Problems" by @lostinaseaofstars - Rated T, College AU, One-shot. After a failed confession, Hinata's been avoiding Naruto. And in the process avoiding her childhood friends in the process. Sakura's had enough, managing to convince Hinata to dress up for their last Halloween together as college students. Hopefully Hinata's costume carries with it the message of love!

"Getting Laid at a Halloween Party" by Nicole the Dragon Rider - Rated E, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. Hinata is going to a Halloween party with her friends at Sasuke's house. She was forced into a French maid costume but finds Naruto there. They talk and drink punch unaware that it's been spiked. Will this lead to a confession? Will Naruto accept it? Will the punch lead to something between the two friends?

"Bunny and a Fox" by The Four Crosses - Rated T, College AU, One-shot. Hinata couldn't believe she was here doing this. Here, at her friend's house, for a party, in a bunny outfit!

"Torch Song" by @mmmbuttery - Rated T, Historical AU, Multi-chapter, Complete.  "You're my girl, Hinata. Promise you'll write." "I-I promise, Naruto." How could she say no to a man going off to war?

"Killer in the house" by DarkHime213 - Rated T, Modern AU, One-shot. "It started with the old Uzumaki house up near the cliff."

"Ravenous" from "NaruHina Month December 2022" by @sessakag - Rated E, Modern AU, One-shot. “Hinataaaa,” Naruto pouted, leaning inside the open bathroom door, “you ready yet? I’m starving!”

"If I Were Real" from "NaruHina Month December 2022" by Sessakag - Rated E, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot / Incomplete. This story is based on the greek mythology Pygmalion and Galatea. Long story short, Pygmalion was a sculptor that created a statue, fell in love with it, it was brought to life by Aphrodite and the two lived happily ever after and had a son.

"a home is a dream" by bluebeardsbrides - Rated M, Modern AU, One-shot. Naruto Uzumaki returns home with all the force maelstrom, three days after her husband’s disappearance and six years since she went and stumbled on Neji’s body floating in the creek downtown.

"It's Halloween Naruto Uzumaki!" by PeacefulWarrior82 - Rated T, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. In the spirit of Halloween, I whipped up this little one shot, It's about Naruto, Hinata and a little thing called compromise.

"The Anger that Wanted to Bite" by @teavious - Rated T, Vampire/Werewolf AU, Short One-shot. AU in which fantastical creatures are a part of the society + if you don’t think Hinata is scary and deadly when protecting those close to her, then you’re probably wrong.

"Birthday Cake" from "Sunbeams" by mangospoons - Rated G, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. Prompt: Happy. Of course he would be.

Untitled by @jadeandonyx - Rated T, Demon AU, One-shot. Prompt: selling soul to a demon

"AU Prompt 1: Phone Booth" from "Tales of Two Ninjas" by @magmawrites - Rated T, Modern AU, One-shot. Prompt: "It's the middle of the night and I'm walking home alone in the dark and there's this guy following me and he's starting to gain on me and I found this phone booth with a lock on the door and I tried to call my best friend but my hands were shaking so badly I accidentally dialed the wrong number and I don't even know you but help me"

"Best Halloween Ever" by Wandering Wonderer - Rated M, Canon-Divergent AU, One-shot. Naruto attends a Halloween party thrown by Hinata and Neji. For the boy who hates Halloween so much, he sure does enjoy this night.

"happy" from "Secret Lovers" by @quirrrky - Rated G, Canon-Compliant, One-shot. Prompt: Hinata celebrated Naruto's birthday while in the hospital

"Birthday" by ReadingBennie - Rated M, Canon-Divergent AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. A collection of various birthdays for Naruto. Some were bad, some were good, and then they were the absolute best.

"Down the Rabbit Hole" by @vegebulsoup - Rated E, Modern AU, One-shot. Despite his protests, Jiraiya takes Naruto out to a hostess club for his birthday and it’s not quite what he expected.

Dark!NaruHina fanfic recommendations list

There are other Halloween fluff fics that I remember, but I can't find them. If anyone knows more, feel free to add!

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

Splitter Girl (weevildoing)

Another night, I’m all alone, enthroned within a screen/RGB light reflects uncut orgasmic tragedies...Oh, I can’t stand these awful thoughts inside of me/Only way to compensate is lead and metal, sharp and clean!

"VIOLENCE. ITS ALL ABOUT VIOLENCE it got its mv censored to start. its not even justified but hey i cant say that about many songs lmao its about the glorification of violence from mental illness (and some other things, but really its generally all about mental illness), and is done extremely well. its extremely clear that theres a lot of care put into this song, and like... determination? i barely ever see representation of things like this (violent/intrustive thoughts, glorification of it, etc) in music, so seeing it here (and in a way that shows that weevildoing truly gets it + isn't patronizing) is really nice. really this song is like... a community? something to show that you arent alone. and i love that so much, i love how much has been put into this song, every single lyric and instrumental choice shows an abundance of love and care and understanding. and this song has an entire developed character to go with it, and is alongside multiple other songs! its a part of the post-traumatic manifesto, and the character featuring is Splitter Girl (no other name, which is on purpose). the song is basically her mind, and the mv (uncensored) her internet life. showing what she's searching, listening to, shopping for, etc. once again it hits the nail right on the head for what mental illness is like. the visuals are very unafraid and purposeful in the clips and websites it shows, up to blade shopping, #guro and how to tie nooses being included. it pulls no stops in showing what it's truly like to be so low, what it really feels like, the highs and lows of it. it's like a love letter to me, to everyone who feels this way, and thats why i love it so much. it doesnt demonize us. it offers a hand (with a glittery pink gun) and an understanding i said its all about violence but man. its all about being *understood.* and violence too"

Karma (AJR)

I've been so good, I've been helpful and friendly/I've been so good, why am I feeling empty?/I've been so good, I've been so good this year/I've been so good, but it's still getting harder/I've been so good, where the hell is the karma?/I've been so good, I've been so good this year

i try to explain the good faith that's been wasted / but after an hour, it sounds like complaining / wait, don't go away, can i lie here forever? / you say that i'm better, why don't i feel better? / the universe works in mysterious ways / but i'm starting to think it ain't working for me / doctor should i be good, should i be good this year?

You say that I'm better, why don't I feel better?/The universe works in mysterious ways/But I'm starting to think it ain't working for me/Doctor, should I be good, should I be good this year?

"The song embodies what it feels like to try with everything you have just to be unrecognised and pushed aside. To be overlooked and for people to not see your struggles. Each line is written with so much energy and emotion, not to mention how the last verse hits you like a truck. It's become a song that I resonate a lot with and so do a lot of other people."

"It makes me want to cry every time I listen to it, the emotion build at the end of the song makes my chest hurt, and the lyrics fit me way too well and its. aaoiuuhhgg"

"It is exactly what it feels like to struggle with depression, self-loathing, etc. I sob every time I listen to it or even think of it (I’m tearing up right now). It’s just so painful to be reminded that I genuinely used to feel that way constantly, and that I still struggle with it. And of course, the instrumental just feels like the inside of my brain."

"It's like, the feeling when you're trying your best, to be a good person, to be liked by everyone, and still end up getting nothing, your not happy(er) or better, you just still feel lonely and like it was all for nothing, and you end up asking yourself "does it even matter?" and you want to get help, to get better, to feel better, but still, it all feels the same."

POLL RUNNER HERE - VOTE KARMA THE LYRICS WILL DESTROY YOU. Especially the final verse/bridge where the singer just launches into one long breath of really raw lyrics - that's what ajr is all about. Destroying you with words that are real

Splitter Girl submitted by @uniquezombiedestiny

Karma submitted by @space-shuttle-discovery + others