#and I think I'm going to be thinking about that for the forseeable future

[episodes-without-incident]

2/8/2024:

8 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Cats (2019)

6 episodes since Drawfee last referenced Everytime We Touch (2005)

[starberry-skies]

i have work tomorrow and i'm coping by looking at and saving the same pictures of my blorbos over and over again hey this sounds familiar

[catboybiologist]

Hi! I’m CatboyBiologist.

Formerly a femboy, now a trans woman just starting HRT, and a PhD student in molecular biology. I started using this online persona as a fun, shitposty way to explore gender a few years ago. I post selfies (generally sfw, but somewhat sexy, so minors and ppl who don’t like that have been warned), rambles about science, tutorials and advice from the stuff I’ve learned by being a femboy in the past, nature pictures, stuff about the ocean, my adorable grumpy little tortoise, and unsolicited opinions on random nerdy topics. Any pronouns are fine. I don’t plan to socially transition for a while, and still present as a man most of the time, so I’m used to whatever you wanna use for me (for now, I’ll update this if that changes). Please send me pictures of your pets or other cute animals in your life!

As a scientist, I’m also documenting my transition! This google sheet will be updated at least monthly. I also have additional metrics I’m keeping to myself, and pictures that go with this, but I’m not sharing them publicly yet. Keep in mind that this is just one person’s experience with HRT, and may not represent universal trends!

Adding a little something here, bc I think it was an interesting bit a writing: if you want to see me respond to a transphobe about what "biologically female" means, here's a thing I wrote about it. CW for transphobia and discussion, obviously.

Also, if any of my measurements look weird, its entirely possible I fucked up. Let me know if anything looks off!

Here’s some of my favorite pre-HRT pictures:

If you want to see more of my pre-HRT selfies, browse the “femboy” tag on my blog!

And as of this writing, I’m only 2 days after the start of HRT, so here’s a picture with my tortoise that’s technically post-HRT (but with 0 time for actual changes):

If you want to see my future post-HRT selfies, browse the “trans selfie” tag on my blog!

Also here's another really cute picture and fanart of my tortoise by @whalesharkcat:

I have affectionately given my tortoise the title of The Grumpus.

I also wrote a couple of tutorials and general vibes about being a femboy before I started HRT:

Sometimes I make shitposts of myself, I don’t take myself too seriously:

This includes the way I came out on tumblr:

And here’s an overly serious, long ramble about trans thoughts and things that I wrote shortly afterwards:

Later addition: Someone asked how I take selfies, so I wrote a quick and dirty guide with some tips on how I do so in response to their ask:

Oh yeah and apparently I was a 196 microcelebrity? I never to thought I was popular enough for that but apparently some people do 🤷‍♀️. So uh, hi 196 tags, I'm abusing you for my pinned post LOL

As for terminology, I personally do think of myself as a “man who is becoming a woman” as opposed to having always been a woman. If that doesn’t resonate with your experience, I totally get that! But that’s why I freely call pre-HRT me a femboy, while still calling post-HRT me a trans woman. I’m also keeping the blog name as CatboyBiologist for the forseeable future, because at this point, Catboy just seems like a gender neutral term to me.

I’m also trying to put together a script for a podcast regarding how studying biology influenced my perspective on sex and gender- lmk if there’s any interest in that! It’s probably gonna be way too long and indulgent but oh well.

So uh. Yeah. I don’t end these types of things well. Byeeeeee

[txttletale]

So I'm a leftist because I can plainly see that capitalism sucks, but I have a really hard time pinning down what I think we should replace it with because I have "agrees with the last theory I read" disease. (Or, more embarrassingly, "agrees with the last Post I read.")

Something I've been wondering about recently is what's the point of planning and arguing over what happens after the revolution anyway? The chances of a successful worker's revolution in my lifetime, let alone the next few decades, feels vanishingly small. The preconditions just feel so far away.

Is there really value in committing to a specific ideology right now, or is it sufficient to say the anarchist future and the ML future (and even, like, the DemSoc future) sound better than what we have now, and require many of the same preconditions, so let's work towards those shared goals now and figure out what comes after in a few decades when the groundwork is actually laid?

i agree with you that i don't think a genuine revolutionary situation will arise (at least, not in the imperial core) within our lifetimes. i also agree that there is a meaningful degree to which the theoretical differences between marxist-leninists & anarchists are far enough from being present and pressing concerns that they should in almost all cases be working together and employing similar tactics and action.

however, i do think there is a value to having an ideological framework: it keeps you consistent. if your ideology is vague and empty, you're liable to (intentional or unintentional) opportunism--you will fill in the gaps or approach new ideas with the default positions, the ones that require the least divergence from hegemonic cultural norms and values.

that sounds a bit ideological-jargony so i'll phrase it another way: if you grow up in a [joker voice] society, you're going to grow up with a lot of assumptions! like, 'cops reduce crime', for example. and if you don't have an underlying theory of capitalist society and how it functions, then it's entirely possible to realize (through experience or analysis) that capitalism is bad and that our society is inherently unjust, but continue thinking 'cops reduce crime' because that's just the default cultural position you grew up with. these two things are pretty impossible to reconcile, right--because of course the actual purpose of cops is to enforce private property rights and maintain the capitalist system of economic relations--but if you don't have a full theoretical framework of capitalism & society that you can use to analyse things, that incoherence is very easy to let slip by!

i also want to say that while i think that anarchists & marxist-leninists (and all other revolutionary) communists share common goals and functionally very similar political projects for our forseeable lifetime, there is a meaningful difference between these two and the 'demsocs' you mentioned. not an uncrossable gulf by any means in terms of working together and forging political alliances--but the steps one takes to agitate and organize the working class in anticipation of a future revolutionary situation, however distant, are imo very functionally different to the steps one takes to advocate for social reform within liberal legislatures. rosa luxemburg put it well when she said there is nothing reformist about supporting trade unions, welfare legislation, as a vehicle for revolutionary class struggle--but when you take these things as ends themselves, i.e., as viable methods for resolving the contradictions of capitalism, you become unable to use them as such a vehicle.

but, yeah. tldr; i think it is far from the most important thing (the most important thing is to be a principled anti-capitalist & anti-imperialist--these are the two litmus tests for whom i can consider a political ally), but it is useful to have an underlying political framework rather than a collection of individual positions, because the latter can lead to contradictory and self-defeating worldviews and political programs

[lucabyte]

i am looking at nohats au 👀 please share more

So! NoHats! I'm going to grab you and use this to ramble. A Lot.

The NoHats AU is @samhainian's it's just that I'm the strange little freak who takes the words said unto me and executes on them. But I can still do a little explainer on what our overall thoughts and vibes are. (And, that we are in fact propping up a little box with some cheese under it here. 🪤 Please (PLEASE) feel free to pick up what we're putting down.)

We're far from the only ones exploring a "what if siffrin fucking died" AU, though the main difference with NoHats is the placement of the death in the timeline. Instead of being 'Mal Du Pays Wins' or 'Act 6 encounter goes horribly wrong', the death is… Just after the (literal) falling action.

(This placement is because Sam is a comic book fan who thus has become used to characters being ripped away at the cruelest times by shitty writers. THANK FUCKING GOD adrienne is not that and isat is delightful yippieee, but, back on topic.)

Giving the party the full understanding of What Happened that you get by putting the death after black hole siffrin, but before the A6 encounter leaves an interesting gap to be filled. See, making Siffrin's death very much not Loop's fault means that… this once again reads (when not read as simply a tragedy...) as the universe doing what it sees fit to fulfull Loop's wish… Thus making Siffrin's death Loop's fault again, but only in their eyes. And only in a way they could express if they were honest about who they were…

And this is where having had excuse to waffle about my general Postcanon Loop thoughts the other day comes in handy, because Sam and I have that as our canon-compliant reading to begin with, NoHats plays off of a lot of the same readings of Loop's character. Namely: Uh Oh Somebody's Lying By Fucking Omission Again. (BECAUSE TO BE FAIR THIS TIME… HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU HANDLE THAT?)

Now, neither Sam nor I are fanfic writers, so this has been a little bit trapped in our heads and DMs (and my unfinished art but,)

But our thoughts on how NoHats like… Goes.

Siffrin's death is peaceful, but that does not mean the aftermath of it is. I can't imagine the party takes it well, especially after understanding the circumstances of the Loops. (And, of note, in A5 where nobody had the discussion on what to do with each other's bodies should something happen…) But I'd imagine it traumabonds them somewhat (understatement of the century) and now knowing how the rest of the party feels, they resolve to travel together for the forseeable future.

The party track down Loop to deliver the terrible news, since they were clearly Siffrin's friend too, and invite Loop along to travel at least long enough to (let them grieve) get the burial over with. Loop, here, can be helpful in knowing what Siffrin would've wanted where the party would be at a loss. Loop, I think, takes a bit of a lead on the funerary aspects of it all, because, um. (Performing rites on your own body, huh?)

Then, as things are after a death, life just… Kind of has to continue on as normal. The party travel, pick up Nille, and get to know Loop as this mysterious new person. Maybe in this situation they might stay in Bambouche for a while to give Bonnie more stability since. They are probably taking it the worst. It would've come out of absolutely nowhere for everyone in the party obviously but god, for a kid? For A Kid?

It should be stated NoHats is not intended to be grimdark, just y'know. An exploration of grief. This is also why it's got a bit of a lopsided focus on Bonnie vs the rest of the party because hhrrhghghhghghhhghhghhh <- incoherent

Now, a crossroads.

How does the party discover Loop to be Siffrin? How long does it take. How much have the party embraced them as part of the family (especially with something as intense to bond over as this)?

There's the Odile option. Have her put it together and have to bring it up somehow. This could also be done by Isabeau, perhaps. He's smart. (which. God. If anything's the real Isabeau Torment Nexus it's this)

Then there's the other option batted around by Sam and I. The: The Universe Dislikes Duplicates option.

The items in the house that fzzt away when inspected. The Universe doesn't like there to be two of something, at least not when they're acknowledged. But one of something is just fine…?

Which is to say. I'm not a personal proponent of 'Loop getting their body back'. EXCEPT …… except this one time.

There's only one Siffrin now, so they don't need to be obfuscated to exist.

Consider, if you will. Loop swallowing their guilt for long enough to be comfortable. Falling back into old habits. Without another Siffrin around to compete for the niche of, they actually begin to act like Siffrin again. Not intentionally, it's just… The party is as welcoming as they've always been. And the party swears they keep catching glimpses of a face under all the light.

Then, one day, while still not fully human again, the resemblence becomes undeniable. Loop having not even noticed until everyone looks at them like they've seen a ghost.

Has it been months? How long have they kept up this lie? Is it even a lie, to them? They're Loop. But they were, once, Siffrin.

Even after explaining it, does that make it better or worse?

Bonnie cuts through the betrayed, struck-nerve reactions with a sobering "I missed you."

… Anyway !

Yeah so that's the vibe for NoHats. As for LoopLoops? That's more nebulous. I think it can go anywhere really in the NoHats timeline. I err personally toward the "Loop continuously replays the last 10 minutes before Siffrin's death almost immediately after they find out and have to parkour their ass up the House in the most distressing situation possible to try and get them to hold on, just please hold on." (Remember! Siffrin can remember the contents of Loop's loop backs in the A6 fight!)

But there is the possibility that this happens months, or worse years down the road. One last Loop back. Throw it all away for the chance to just get that one thing you didn't know you even wanted but now know you NEED.

Misc:

Okay miscellaneous time.

This is where I admit that I have a bunch of unfinished NoHats art that I haven't gotten around to yet because I feel like a right tool being so obviously Loop-Centric with my fancontent (I AM . . I REALISE I AM NOT DOING MUCH TO BEAT THE ALLEGATIONS.) So like if people want to see that please say because euaghghghhfh <- the nervous.

this is like the most fucked up place to do isaloop fr. anyway.

one of Sam's mid-game observations that I'm just going to share for no particular reason is that Bonnie's hair shares a bunch of shapes with Siffrin's. The flick up at the top, the 3 pronged shape of the fringe… just something to think about.

Without 2 Siffrins around to compare each other to it'd likely be a lot harder to notice Loop's similarities. Doesn't mean that those similarities don't sting more in this context though.

If you do NoHats without LoopLoops. The concept of this all fading into memory years down the line while they just have slightly-glowy but otherwise regular Siffrin hanging out is fucked up to think about. Just like real grief. Augh

6. a peek into the original dms as a treat from us

[aziraphales-library]

Hi! I was wondering if you knew a fic where Muriel and Crowley are just like,, hanging out? Or if the soho gang (nina and maggie) comfort crowley or something? I really liked their dynamic in season two so I was wondering if there were any fics like that. thanks so much!!

Hello! We have a #crowley & muriel tag with a couple of posts. Here are some fics to add where Crowley spends time with Muriel, Nina, and Maggie...

The recovery of a bog body by Joseph_Amadeus (G)

On the third day of sitting in his car at the bottom of the Border Mires Crowley receives a prophetic vision — Dorothy Zbornak of The Golden Girls appears next to him, all gray curls and no-shit-taking attitude, and reminds him, as kindly as she can, that one shouldn't turn mourning into a way of life

Muriel And The Art Of Bookshop Maintenance by cosmic_day (G)

Muriel has taken over the bookshop, and is doing their best to run it, with helpful advice from Maggie and Nina, and occasional visits from the depressed demon who seems to come in a package deal with the bookshop. And for the first time in their life, they’re reading a book, a book called The Crow Road. All of it is new, and exciting, and wonderful, but it is quite a lot for one 37th class scrivener to handle.

Angels Like These by slapsticks (T)

They shifted back as Crowley stood up, smiling, "You know what? Forget about–all of this, Constable, I think I'll be going now." He declared, shoving the teacup into the startled officer's hands. "You know me, I've got errands, that terrible demon-y stuff," The cup and saucer clanked together as Muriel struggled to hold them. "But – you just arrived," They protested, almost sadly. "I'm..." The words died on their tongue. "Mhm, yeah-huh," Replied Crowley, hardly listening, or at least trying not to, sauntering towards the doors. "Nice seeing you – now, goodbye, for the forseeable future." "The forseeable future?" "For the forseeable future, Inspector!" in which crowley begins to form an unlikely bond with nina, maggie, and muriel ! birthday gift for my good buddy pal bro frank who basically wrote the last couple interactions with me and inspired the whole fic . i might be too dedicated. I Dont Care. happy birthday bro

In Nothing Else So Happy by Ducks Have Ears (NR)

"I count myself in nothing else so happy, as in a soul remembering my good friends." Richard II, Act 2, Scene 3 - Shakespeare Crowley had only ever had one friend and he was beginning to realise that maybe one friend simply wasn't enough. (Part two of the Crowley & Friends series)

That's What Friends Do by Barbarian_MP (NR)

Nina had found him, coming around the corner on her bicycle and at first not being at all surprised to see the car parked in front of her shop. The car seemed to be in that very spot on the daily. Little early for it to be there, sure, but maybe it had been there all night. She wasn’t all that worried about it until she noticed the car’s owner was inside, unmoving.

The F-Word by haleinedelail (T)

Post Series 2, how the living f**k is Crowley ever going to find solace or comfort? Whiskey? Coffee? Cursing? Antisocial behavior? Yes, all of the above. But HOPE is a puzzle that we all must put back together multiple times throughout our lives, and demons are no different. He will find it again, but it might take a village to get all the pieces together.

- Mod D

[leupagus]

Beard and Nate: friends to enemies to God I hope they get to be friends again

One thing I found interesting about this episode is Beard and Jane's axe-throwing date with the bespoke Nate Crotch Targets. Leaving aside Beard's 17 axes, which he cannot imagine having in a different country (and I do love that at some point between probably season 1 and 2, when he and Ted decided to stay in the UK for the forseeable future instead of going home after those first four months, Beard had his axes shipped and has added to the pile since then. Also that Ted is aware of Beard's axe problem), the vitriol of that is something that's really narratively significant, I think. Because it speaks to the fact that Beard has not remotely forgiven Nate for what he did. And I think that says a lot about Beard as a person, and as a friend.

Beard and Ted have been friends for a long time — long before Wichita (remember, they were only there for one year) — and whatever their past may be, they have a loyalty to each other that is really remarkable. Yes, Beard came to the UK along with Ted; but Ted must have insisted on them as a package deal, and Beard would have a pretty nice salary from Richmond too, not to mention comparable company housing to Ted's pad. They're very close and comfortable talking about complicated, messy emotional stuff with each other — part of the reason the Diamond Dogs formed was because Ted and Beard's rapport began to expand to encompass Higgins and Nate. He sees those two as similar kinds of men, willing to honestly express their feelings and mutually support each other.

And then Nate starts to change.

Beard and Ted first clock it in the very first episode of season 2, in Nate's attitude toward Will (which I think is more Nate repeating the mistakes that his father made with him than Nate actively reveling in abuse — I have a whole BOOK I want to write about Lloyd and Nate's conversation in this past episode, I absolutely cried, don't look at me). Neither of them say anything, which I think would be a mistake if this was real life but in the show is meant to reflect the idea that "sometimes you can let people make mistakes and improve on their own, but sometimes you have to step in early." But Beard, throughout the season, watches Nate a little more carefully, and then when Nate really goes over the line with Colin, he finally steps in. Nate makes his public apology to Colin and things are seemingly fine — remember, Nate's awful comment to Will happens out of Beard's sight.

But Beard obviously doesn't stop watching Nate, because he figures out pretty much instantly that Nate was Trent's source for the story about Ted's panic attacks. Not only that, but the first thing Nate does when Beard sees him is to ask where Roy is, and then lie to him when Beard makes a pretty blatant comment about the article. Then later, when they're all talking with Roy about the Jamie & Keeley situation and Nate confesses about the kiss, Beard makes the flat "I'd be happy to punch you in the face" comment. Because from his perspective, Nate's done something absolutely awful and won't even admit to it, even though he'll readily admit to trying to kiss Keeley. (I'm not making any claims as to which one is "worse," but the show clearly wants to portray Nate talking to Trent as the bigger problem.) Then you have the fight between Nate and Ted (which Ted 10000% told Beard about, I cannot imagine a world where he didn't), the ripped sign, and Nate leaving the club to coach for Rupert Mannion.

As far as Beard can see, Nate took what Beard and Ted had given him — not the assistant coachship, but the camaraderie and trust — and used it to hurt Ted in the most cowardly way possible.

And I don't think Beard is right.

We still don't know exactly why or how Nate told Trent about the panic attacks (what I wouldn't give for THAT flashback), but I think the folks who assume he did it to advance his own career or at the behest of Rupert or something are way off. I think Nate's anger at Ted is a whole other essay, and this past episode has really made it clear how much it's tangled up in his expectations for himself as well as for his father-figures, but I don't think that it's something Beard has been able to understand. All he sees is the fallout from Nate and Ted's broken friendship, and the grief that caused Ted this past year. He's only seen the pain on one side and not the other.

So we have Beard celebrating Nate's departure from West Ham, despite (and maybe because of) the fact that Ted's already forgiven Nate. We see Beard slowly trusting Trent — who after all did write the article but who wasn't Ted's friend or confidante at the time and owed him absolutely nothing — but still willing to erect boundaries when he wants to (even if he pulls them down within 30 seconds). And what I hope we get in the next two episodes is Beard understanding Nate more and accepting that his friend still needs him.

And that his friend is Nate.

[girlcrushart]

Wow, Kristen is out of control. I can barely handle it. SO MANY incredible photos all at once. And don't even get me started on the gifsets. Jesus fuck. Like, I'm glad that Kristen is super out now and clearly very happy and seemingly more comfortable with herself and all that which is so wonderful, but I don't think trying to kill all her lesbian fans is really the right move? Maybe she's not aware? Perhaps someone should tell her? Or not. No, don't tell her. I think a few dead lesbians is acceptable collateral damage. I've come close a couple times and it's worth it. I'll take one for the team if it's needed. Ya, so, I'm gonna try hard not to post Kristen every day for the forseeable future, but it's not gonna be easy as I have 5 more pictures that absolutely must be made into posters, and at the rate she's going, it'll probably be 5 more by the end of the day. It's just how it's gonna be. There are quite a few post-Oscar's outfits that I really did like, so I will sprinkle those in between Kristen posts for some variety and so that I'm not posting Oscar party looks months after the Oscar party (even tho traditionally that's not something I've cared about in the slightest but I'll pretend to now to make my blog more interesting and diverse). But for today, Kristen Stewart is the girlcrushart guardian for the 23rd time.

[thatdogmagic]

This is the last post I plan on making about the current situation.

I've been trying to recall what it is that might be getting repeated, and there's a couple instances I can think of that are pretty ripe for taking snips:

There are chat logs where I made unkind generalizations about autistic cis men, in the context of the majority of my experiences with them being largely negative, and being relieved that I had a space where my own neurodiversity had room to unfold.

She has chatlogs where I commented on not fully understanding trans men who still veered ultra-femmy, even though I don't have any trouble wrapping my head around butch trans women. That contradiction made me think about it quite a bit, and ultimately decided it wasn't a great opinion to have/was mostly just some lingering All Things Being Binary shit I still find myself unpacking.

I'm sure there's other thorny conversations that can be pruned for content, but I'm having trouble thinking of what it is beyond interpersonal clashes and, yeah. I've already seen the depths of missing context there.

There is no better example, in fact, than the comparison of shadowy werewolves with glowing eyes/teeth. It was taken from a concept that was tabled after approval was actively sought because there was a recognized stylistic overlap. Since 'shadow werewolf with glowing eyes/teeth' is a very common visual element in a lot of werewolf artwork, we also went on to discuss when those visual elements would best be avoided, and when they could be put to use.

This wasn't mentioned in the original comparison posts. Nor was it mentioned that it was never intended for public posting. It was a thumbnail idea for promotional material, drawn over a month ago - and nearly a full year after Lacey's skin tone changed - and it was quietly set aside in favor of other ideas.

Bottom line, I don't have any control over what she does with what she has. I don't have any control over what people think about it. But I do have control over what I do with me, and what I plan to do is stay off social media for the forseeable future, and keep working on the projects that matter to me, like I always have.

In the meantime, if you know me off social media:

I do not want to be contacted about any additional escalation

I do not need to know about any further instances of reposted chatlogs or artwork

It's kind of you to want to know my side of the story, but for my own reasons I'd rather not go into it beyond what I've already posted.

If we discussed commission work that you no longer want, please let me know ASAP so I can remove you from the list I have prepped for when I get back to taking those. Those of you who contacted me about it already have my email address.

All that being said, I understand if even with context, some comments lose people. I'm not gonna hold that against anyone. Where I'm at in my own development is probably not going to be enough for some, and that's fine. It doesn't have to be, and it won't stop me from continuing to try.

End of the day, keep in mind that this is still a personal altercation being made public, with everything that entails.

PS - If any other art is being posted: understand that it is being done without permission, after Ependa and I both actively tried to delete those pieces off the server, stated we'd done so intentionally, and then actively requested those files be deleted off the server/her machine when we were made aware of the fact that she was using third party plugins to retain access.

[dr3amofagame]

thinking about how sam built that big island to be kind of like a "peaceful retirement community" for the rest of the server, presumably under his rule (bc clearly he knows best, always) and wondering how long it would have taken, if things had played out that way, for someone to do something in that community that sam opposed. wondering how long it'd be until there would have been open rebellion, perhaps a funding of a group, a nation if you will, trying to separate from sam's rule. wondering how sam would have handled that..... (l'manberg 2.0 is what i'm saying, but probably put down much earlier and much more brutally. in some ways, dream and sam are indeed very very similar)

man they'd wish that sam was like dream lmao

but yeah, i can't imagine that sam--given that he's like, the Ultimate Authority, Ruler And Warden And Judge, Jury, and Executioner of this community of his, officially the Guy In Charge and therefore the Law--would be. Well. Lenient on people messing with his authority. See c!Bad being gaslit, not even because he was doing anything quote-unquote evil, but because c!Sam was worried about the hypothetical of him getting in the way of doing "good." See c!Ponk having a life taken and her arm cut off for stealing keycards that didn't even work. See every time people were threatened for trying to break blocks of the prison, or building something on top of the prison, or just touching the damn prison, or just asking a question Sam doesn't like about the prison, or just being someone that Sam is suspicious of so don't-you-dare-step-out-of-line-or-you'll-be-sorry. See how c!Ranboo was killed and his toddler child kidnapped as a power play. See how c!Connor was thrown into prison for the forseeable future over a fucking fast food order. And that's not even beinning to touch on what happened to c!Dream.

Like Revolution c!Dream? Revolution c!Dream was scapegoated in a conflict he wasn't even there for, accused of being responsible for the actions of individuals that were in no way even under his rule (because the server literally didn't HAVE a government at that time and c!Dream even types in server chat shortly before c!Eret joins L'manburg DEFERRING TO C!ERET AS RULER, likely just because of the fact that they have a castle) and accused of oppression for literally just. Existing. Like he hadn't even met Wilbur yet. And during the Revolution itself, he took the exact actions he thought were necessary to keep the opposition from being a significant physical threat (with the explicit aim of disarming them at the time, prior to the introduction of canon lives) and went no further, going as far as warning them of traps once the war was over and giving them their gear back. He went into the conflict itself with the intention to give them independence because he knew that they wouldn't give up.

c!Sam, on the other hand, gave himself THAT much jurisdiction over what was happening ALL OVER THE SERVER without even as much as an explicit position of rulership over anything in the server itself other than Pandora's Vault. He feels entirely entitled to everyone's lives and obedience. Like, in a c!Sam society, not only is that worldview going to remain the same way that it's remained consistent regardless of if he even has the physical power of the prison backing him anymore, but it's probably going to be further inflated by his very literally being the Ultimate Authority on the grounds of his entire faction and therefore unable to be questioned, doubted, or opposed. And as for what happens to opposers?

We all saw Pandora's Vault. In my humble opinion, if anyone were to pull a L'manburg (on c!Sam, who would actually be reasonably considered a ruler unlike c!Dream prior to the Revolution, and could likely be accused of oppression just given his track record, gestures at the number of people he's thrown into solitary just because he said so)--they'd be pretty damn lucky if all they got was the c!Connor "get silently put into prison and forgotten without anyone knowing" treatment.

[halevren]

FHJY Spoilers || my live thoughts as I watch episode 10

Happy mid season episode! I am saddened by the fact that I work on Wednesdays because I will be late to watch fhjy until the forseeable future. If anyone cares though I plan on buying the adya statuette next week if my finances allow for it :3 also I am so tired rn but I NEED to watch fhjy

Do you guys think ayda will appear in this episode after her statuette was released last week? (Praying)

tttaking over teenage rebellion!

Lucy Frostblade... You were just a girl. You didn't deserve everything that happened to you

"We're feeling bad. But we're feeling... Hopefully positive."

stress isn't always the bed guy

Aelwyn!

big old burned down house

Cottoncandy Bitchfuck

"I'm.... Bored. That's not true. I'm not bored at all. I'm just tired."

Hindesight is 50/50

"Oh I love this. Tell me all about it."

Siobhan is loving Aelwyn rn

"I do sometimes believe in you"

"So Sentimental"

Aelwyn and Adaine are so important to me their sibling relationship is everything

AELWYN AND ADAINE NOT BEING USED TO NICENESS

"Oh, my sweet little boy is sick!"

"just don't tell fab— don't tell anyone my apartment looks like this"

The Gukgak

I'm the Gukgak guy!

"Oh, Riz, you have to sleep, Kiddo." "I can't, mom, I don't have time." Oh Riz....

Framed?

Riz is so exhausted

It's been an hour and a half and his mom has chips and a drink 😭😭

"Mom, you have to be so careful."

"Keep my name out of your mouth." FIG 😭😭

"it's all good, mom"

yulenear

"Fig has like 3 majors now" "maybe 4, i might take a level of wizard."

"Kristen Applebees, believe it or not." "... huh." HWHHWKWNEB

"You both keep my name out of your mouth."

"It's been our month!"

Lola Embers recommended Gorgug's place??

"Mom I'm going to go to Loam farm."

*shrug* "mom." *shrug*

"We're having a rough one." "GOT 'EM."

"I'll do it." Fig cleric teacher?!?!

TAMAGOTCHI. MaryAnn my beloves

The puppet master!

"Ha Ha! Darling Girl!"

Gilear is king for the day

"My mom called you?"

"I don't need a ride to school anymore"

"I believe she's wanted here."

BUSINESS CLASS FOR CLOACA

"Can I say hi??"

NOOOOOOO NOOO SHE HUNG UP BEFORE FABIAN COULD ANSWER

That's so devastating

Coffee all over the DM screen

Yeah they haven't addressed the fact that fig is cursed

Pussy out, tits away

Theres so much going on

ohhh they might be sacrificing the rats

"I'm wearing a sports bra and a G-string, and I want to be closer with all of you."

Fabian with Mazey is so painful. He's so flustered and awkward I love him

MAZEY TRUSTS FABIAN

"I'm here, for you."

"Kristen was in a mood."

NOO DON'T KILL MAZEY SAVE HER FABIAN

Fried rice

SHE LEANS IN TO MAKE OUT

THIS IS SO EMBARRASSIJG

"Wait, they don't like us??"

"When you think about me, why do you always bring up the ball?"

SHE WANTS TO MAKE SURE HE'S OKAY BECAUSE HE'S ALOne

oh Fabian...,...........

"The legend continues."

"I was going to get a tattoo, actually."

"Even if you weren't maximum legend, I would still wanna hang out with you." MAZEEYYYYY 😭😭😭😭

BOGGY

Absence of divinity???

THE GOD'S DOMAIN CHANGED OVER TIME????

RUVINA'S SIBLING??

The gift is only mentioned in old texts??

"Well I guess I'll go to work."

Basrar is dead

"Literally your circus, literally your monkeys."

Tips are bad

RODEO MODE

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL FOR A SPEECH???

NOOO NAT ONE

Check the soil kids

Lydia mention 🔥🔥🔥

Kristen holds so much hostility for Kalina 😭😭

Oh Lydia...

AV club mention

THIRTY ROLL 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The powerhouse of the cell

Aggression and protectiveness

7 becomes a 21?!?!!

?!?!?!?!?! SOMETHING COMING OUT OF HER CHEST???

22 Arcana, 25 religion

Elemental alignment???

Fiendish things going on

Yellow gold

Kinda like the pride of armor and lemon yogurt

PISS CURSE????

Ratgrinders sticker

"I don't get angry, I think I get sad sometimes" me too buddy, me too

Sometimes a spell comes out and obliterates people

Comedy of errors

Autopilot

Bobby Dawn and Pam Dawn

Bobby Dawn coming to Aguefort sounds like a bad thing

"I'll never let you do that."

"Yours only came back once." *middle finger* Kristen Applebees you will always be famous

A+ in paladin classes!

"Sorry! Get away from me"

Reasons he won't divulge???

A+ in all classes!!!

THREE PARAGRAPH ESSAY? NOOO ABOUT SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT NOOOOO

FIG NAT 20 FOR THE INSIGHT 😭

Zara is gorgeous

The days of Goldenhoard is over 😭😭

"MY GOD IS KRISTEN????"

Oh my god I almost prophesied this when I said Kristen would become a cleric/warlock of Fig.... instead Fig is the warlock/paladin of Kristen 😭😭😭

I'm the closest thing to a prophet holy shit

New god, agreement, todo list

Complicated Women: Lucy Frostblade 😭😭

NAT 20 DECEPTION FOR WANDA CHILDA

Oh my god

"Frick. I'm so sorry." "I'm not." Wanda Childa

GET MY ROCKS OFF TO 😭😭

"I'm off the grid that's why I only have an iPod"

God... Wanda Childa

rubby46@sol.com

"Do you want me to get you a phone?"

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE"

"I want to do relationships with Riz."

Medal of Wit

LITTLE METAL BRIEFCASE

You absolutely sweetie

29 performance 🔥🔥

GARTY O'BRIEN MENTION 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Naked Kristen. Again.

Oh god Fabian is at 4 at his second roll

"Breaker Breaker, this is Fabian Seacaster, looking for his papa, Bill Seacaster, somewhere out there in the nine hells............"

This is so heartbreaking... Fabian...

Oh Fabian...

His papa.....

He probably feels so lonely

Rage token.....

This rage token is making me take a stress token

Everyone single one has been bad

FABIAN TAKING THE BARDIC FROM FIG

Constitution saving throw???

oh no

oh no

oh no

"I shit myself"

I CAN'T BRWATHE

"I've only been eating leftovers"

UNNAMED BARD STUDENT NO

QUINCY NO

DID QUINCY TAKE A RAGE TOKEN?

THAT'S IT????

oh my god

[wordtotherose]

"ASTARION!" 

His head shoots up from the book he'd been reading. He catches Gale's inquisitive look whilst the entirety of the camp turns to look towards where Elizia's roar came from. 

"I'd say you're in trouble, my friend," Gale says ever so helpfully. 

Astarion keeps his eye on the barn across camp where he'd left Elizia with Jaheira and Karlach after dinner barely an hour ago, he's watching for her approach as he snaps his book shut and drops it onto the table behind him. 

Shadowheart appears at his shoulder, silent as the shadows she was named after. "Oh what have you done now?"

Continue on AO3 or under the cut

There's movement from the path up from Lae'zel's camp. Yes. Yep. There she is. Storming towards him, fire bright hair in those long low braids and top buns. Adorable, he remembers thinking when he first saw her. She is not quite adorable now. Gorgeous, certainly. Furious? Absolutely. Adorable? Not with the array of knives and blades he is intimately aware are hidden on her body even now in the late hours of the evening at camp. 

A large part of him is ordering his legs to turn tail and take off at a sprint to avoid being skewered for whatever it is he's done but the better part of him, the part that's trying to be better, is busy running back over the day to figure out what is going on to sort it out like the adults they are. It's also in no small part self-preservation that stops him from fleeing and turning what looks to be an incoming argument into a hunt through the farmland they're stationed in. She's damnably persistent like that. 

She's nearly on him, Gale having shuffled into his tent to hide from the drama already but Shadowheart is still with him to hear the drawn out 'oh /shit/' he utters under his breath. Her lips are a beautiful deep red tonight, delicious. And probably the trouble he's caused. There's a red line smeared from the corner of her mouth towards her cheek where she's clearly tried to wipe it away. 

Shadowheart takes one more look between them as Elizia stops in front of him, glaring up at Astarion, before retreating to watch from her own tent. 

"Good evening, my dear," Astarion tries, it sounds weak even to him and Elizia's eyes bright ocean eyes narrow. "Or...not?"

"I want my wine back."

He makes a show of looking around him, delaying the inevitable and maybe trying to make her hate him a little less for the mishap. Then he lies and pretends he hasn't a clue what's going on because habits and all. He hates habits currently. "Wine? I haven't been drinking any wine tonight, my love."

"I'm well fucking aware of what you have been drinking, Astarion, considering you mixed them up and it's now in my mouth."

He winces. "Ah. There's been an accidental swap, has there?"

He's immeasurably relieved when she loses some of her anger at his roundabout way of proclaiming it an honest accident. She does know him scarily well. Far too well. 

"Wine." She says, nodding at the cup he'd brought back to his tent with him earlier but not touched since dinner. "Please."

He passes it over easily and tries not to laugh or grin when she takes a gulp, swills it round her mouth then spits it out. The cup is then drained and pushed into his chest where he instinctively reaches up to hold it still, by extension catching her fingers too. 

"Not a fan, I take it?"

Her deadpan look breaks his cool demeanour, a smile slipping through. 

"It truly was an accident, my dear."

She sighs and steps back, disconnecting their hands. "I know. I'll laugh about it tomorrow I'm sure."

"Let me make it up to you?" 

Her expression is unsure, which he finds fair, he's not entirely sure what he's offering either right now. Not when they've agreed to let things be what they are without sex for the forseeable future. He deposits the cup next to his book and makes an impulsive decision.

"Sleep here tonight? With me, in case that wasn't clear."

There's no trace of annoyance now as she leans back, emotions flicking too fast over her face for him to pick up on the one that has her putting distance between them. It hurts, a little. Like a splinter. A metal, twisting splinter that he wasn't expecting and can't find the source of. 

"Astarion, no, that's not- you don't have to- it's fine. I'm serious. Tomorrow I'll be laughing about it with the others. You do not need to make it up to me. Not like that. I would never- I-"

He pulls her into a hug to shut her up and it works. It's only the third or fourth embrace they've shared and Astarion is still learning how to hold on to someone whilst letting himself be held up in return but Elizia is a willing teacher and a good one. He cradles her close, letting the seconds slip by as they wind their arms around each other, savouring the closeness. Her earrings are cold against his cheek, his fingers are forever moving slightly where they've inadvertently crept under her camp shirt. He breathes her in. Wood smoke and cheap soap and the intoxicating undertones of her blood. She is entirely different to anything he's ever had the chance to know. Anyone he's met. He has little doubt that even back then she wouldn't have let him get away with taking her to Cazador, not without weeks or months of seduction first. She's too smart. Too suspicious of the world and especially the people in it. 

He shivers involuntarily at the worn path his mind is beginning to tread and she takes it as a sign to let go but she doesn't retreat again. He brings a hand up, pausing before touching her chin to give as an offer instead of taking, she smiles and he tilts her into a kiss. The sweet kind she asks for at random times that he still hasn't cracked the pattern for. 

"I meant," he says quietly, their lips brushing still, "to sleep. Or just to pass the time. Whatever you wish, darling. But no watches, the others can handle it without you for one night."

She considers before nodding and looping her arms around his neck, foreheads pressed together. He sneaks one more kiss as an excuse to lick the blood from the corner of her mouth and she squirms, laughing slightly as she pushes him away. Then she realises what he was doing and the unimpressed stance is back. He shrugs innocently.

"Wouldn't want any more to go to waste," he reasons. 

She still stays and sleeps on his chest for half the night. 

Unlike anyone else in the whole realm, he thinks.

[gabessquishytum]

I was struck by an idea for an au. So this would be similar to thw warprize!Hob au's, but a little different.

So Dream is a prince in some kingdom and he's recently came of age (I'm going with old laws and going to say 21 here) and because he's come of age, he's allowed a concubine of his choosing. Dream being Dream, he's very picky.

But one day a bunch of revolutionaries are brought in and tried in front of the entire royal family for treason after an assassination attempt on the king, queen, and crown prince (Destiny) while they were on a trip of some sort.

Hob is looked to as one of the leaders of this revolution, with him being very action oriented, practical, and friendly. But because he's one of the leaders, he's one of the first to be tried. And the moment Dream lays eyes on him, he knows he must have Hob.

It takes a bit of convincing (and Dream owes Death a favor for her part in convincing their parents) but Dream manages to get the king and queen to spare Hob's life in order to have him serve Dream.

Hob is very confused by all this, but as the rest of him companions were sentenced to death, he's not exactly complaining too much. As much as he'd love to die for his cause, he firmly believes that living for it is a lot more productive way to go about things. And he's not entirely opposed either, of course it might not be an ideal situation but he's not opposed to being Dream's concubine. He finds Dream very attractive and he might be a little more into the fact that he's going to spend the forseeable future being dommed by a man about 10 years younger than him than he's ready to admit.

When Dream first interacts with Hob, Hob is surprised to find that his first concern is that Hob is okay with this arrangement (which Hob answers with a shrug "beats the hell outa rotting to maggots in the ground"). For all Dream appears to be no better than his parents (and some of his siblings), he's very gentle with Hob and is always making sure that Hob is getting something out of their arrangement (lets switch up a common trope in this fandom and let Hob be a bit of a pillow princess here)

As time goes on, Dream and Hob become closer and more like friends than master and servant. For some angst, maybe there could be a whole scene where Hob is like, "I think I know why you spared my life, it's not cause you wanted a concubine. You were looking for companionship. I think you're lonely" and of course Dream blows up and runs off but then comes back quite soon because Hob isn't wrong and doing anything to prove that Hob's wrong would basically sentence him to death and Dream really doesn't want that, so he comes back and admits that yeah, they're friends now, but that they can't go telling people that.

Anyway, but cause they're friends, Dream spends quite a lot of time around Hob and Hob tells him about their attempted revolution and why they did it and all that and eventually gets Dream over to his side. It really wasn't that hard because Dream knows that his parents are pieces of shit. As Hob and Dream spend more time around each other, they fall in love but have to try to keep it a secret as best as possible (not from Death though, she supports them) and they also have to deal with all sorts of things like people saying that Hob is manipulating Dream and all that. Maybe those rumors also make Hob really upset and so Dream has to reassure him that he won't let anyone take Hob away from him because Hob was "manipulating" Dream. Excellent opportunity for a very possessive Dream to remind Hob just who he belongs to.

At some point Dream (and so Hob as well) is given leave by his parents to go live somewhere else and while he's there, he and Hob may or may not start raising a revolution of their own, this time because it's backed by a prince and his own small army, it gets a lot more support from people who are tired of the tyrants in charge. They end up overthrowing Dream's parents and both Destiny and Death agree to step down (neither wanted the throne anyway). Then together, Dream and Hob establish a government that's a lot more democratic and fair (I'd go into details, but I'm tired and thinking up a whole ass plan for a government takes more energy than I have right now) and they also make it so that they can legally get married and then there's a wedding and they live happily ever after

I love this idea for an intriguing, slowburn fic!! They're fucking the whole time, as they slowly become allies and then friends and finally admit that they're in love... as if it wasn't obvious by the way they hold hands as Dream gives Hob the most amazing series of orgasms he's ever had in his life. Hob loves being dommed by his Prince and Dream loves having that element of control, because the rest of his life is so carefully orchestrated by his family or advisers.

Hob honestly saves Dream, and although he thought the revolution was a bust and has completely failed, the ideals that he and his fellow plotters had espoused are actually coming true? Both for Dream (free of his parents control, able to live as he pleases) and for the rest of the country. Hob really can't believe that he's actually managed to have an impact on the fate of the country and make a difference! That was all he ever wanted!

The best part is that they can be properly public about their love for each other, and Hob can still get to be a lil pillow princess! Dream is his husband now and they probably both deserve a nice long honeymoon tbh!

[the-s1lly-corner]

Attention TADC fans!

I'm officially opening requests for characters! Below the cut will be my base list of rules in regards to requesting and that sort of thing!

To everyone who followed me for creepypasta, do not fret! Creepypasta is still this blogs default and I'm not going to stop writing it for the forseeable future, I will still be responding to creepypasta based asked in the meantime

oh also, im adding this right before i post this but i do have fluff alphabet requests open for creepypasta, but to my TADC fans, how do you guys feel about the possibility of me reposting that list and letting you guys ask for it? im still kinda itching to do alphabet stuff... let me know ! ill probably do it anyways but i want yalls input!

without further delay:

RULES:

please do not spam requests, i know it will be hard to enforce this on my end since i want to keep anon enabled since i know it can be intimidating to ask for stuff non-anonymously

since the main cast + caine only totals to 7 characters i will allow people to request the entire cast in any given request, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE that the more characters the shorter their list of hcs will be

please do not pester me to answer your request, i will very likely answer your initial ask. consistent breaking of this boundary will result in warning, and if further boundary breaking takes place, the request will be terminated

^SHOULD NOTE! sometimes tumblr eats the requests you guys send in so simply asking if your request made it through is 100% totally fine!! I'm specifically talking about people who try to pressure me to answer sooner, I want to make that clear because I do not want to discourage anyone from reaching out about that sort of thing

Reader is GN by default, you can request a specific gender but know it likely wont be important due to my writing style

WILL WRITE:

SFW, angst, comfort, hcs, short imagines and scenarios!

As mentioned I will do all characters, asides Bubble since I don't think there's much that can be done for them

Poly, LGBT, readers with disabilities and/or disorders (will let it be known here that i am in no way well versed in every disability/disorder, however i will attempt to do basic research for the request)

I am also comfortable with writing platonic requests and found family dynamics! I am not limiting myself and you guys to romantic stuff!

reader abstracting, while this may seem contradictory to some of the things in my will not write segment I have written about grief and loss before and I don't think it fully fits the category of what I won't write + death in general, so it shall get a pass

really there isnt much i will turn down that comes to mind, if something is breaching a line or making me uncomfortable i will let you know

reader inserts, ocs, and the like are all welcome here! im not too confident with oc x character stuff due to the simple fact that i fear i may interpret your oc wrong but i am still willing to try!

WILL NOT WRITE:

general problematic stuff is an immediate no

^so like, straight up abuse and abuse adjacent topics since as far as Im aware all the characters in TADC are adults (if I have that wrong please please correct me!!)

i am also iffy on yandere requests, this one is more on a case by case basis so please be sure to specify the intensity of it, since that will really be a make or break for whether or not if the request is accepted

NSFW, this blog is for the most part SFW. I occasionally vague certain aspects, however nothing is ever explicit. That's how far I'm willing to go with these things and I want to keep it that way

Full fledged fanfics; a lot of my scenarios/imagines tend to border on that just on a much shorter scale and in a slightly different format, but I am not totally confident in my ability to write proper fics :(

no graphic depictions of gore or self harm, and i ask that you keep that out of my inbox in general. topics like SH are allowed, however covering requests for the act of it as its happening is an automatic no (IE if you ask me to walk in on a character walking in during an act of self harm), the same applies to suicide

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

i have a nasty habit of not proofreading my stuff, so grammar and spelling mistakes are bound to happen unfortunately. this tends to be a worse issue when im posting on mobile (which i am doing less and less since i like typing on a keyboard more)

^ on top of that i struggle with writing, english is my first language but i have a hard time getting stuff out right on top of having dyslexia so please be patient

i typically tend to respond to requests fairly fast, typically within a day or two, though i do have some periods where it may take longer. (possible) same day delivery YAHOO!!

back to a forewarning, i have a habit of rambling and adding additional ideas and concepts into a request though for the most part i think i remain on topic (that just means you get a little extra content for your request ueueue)

[wildflowerteas]

hella got through chapter 6 everyone cheer!

i don't know how to respond to this coherently so i'm just going to scroll down and let the word vomit happen:

the choice of emoji reacts to some of these . . . i'm surprised hella hasn't killed you guys. keeping gin away from this mess is the last thing on my mind, unfortunately *stares at the BEAST tag*

ARRGHHHFGHHH IM SO GLAD YOU GUYS LIKE SSKK. they're such a breath of fresh air, and writing them comes so easily to me. while i like writing skk ( fucked up as they are--even at this point in the story ) and the fast-paced nature of their relationship, this is romance writing work coming from the guy whose only other fic had a first kiss at uhhh...160k words.

yesenina did serve too hard. i imagine her as similair to the others, but with a Rita Hayworth-like air of ambition about her, and that's a serve. and it's what gets her killed.

Chuuya Yuan history coming in SOON. actually. Next chapter. seeing hella lose it over Chuuya's internal monologue here has been absolutely hilarious and kind of rewarding. I Knew All That because I'm the author ( duh ) so i never really grasped how strange the shift to Chuuya's thoughts about the relationship would be. I mean there's snippets of it, like the diner scene, but you're right, it's fanfic and so that is a lot easier to sweep under the rug.

ACAB. I considered putting a line from Doc Riedenschneider in The Asphalt Jungle ( 1950 ) "Experience has taught me to never trust a policeman. Just when you think one's alright, he turns legit." in a divider chapter between part I and part II, but I thought was too on the nose following 7 ( and a bit pretentious considering this is just ao3 fanfic and not a published work or anything ) so i grabbed myself by the metaphorical monkey backpack and didn't. Mafia Nepo Baby 😭 I love Hella HUGE WIN FOR ME. I was so nervous because i needed to balance Chuuya being observant but also quite literally *out of the loop.* He's not from the same world as Dazai--he's not involved with the murders or the politics or the mess going on yet. He comes across as oblivious at times because Dazai's POV is purposefully designed to make you see him that way. Dazai's so sure he's in control of what Chuuya knows that he doesn't realize he might have met his match.

ZSKK are uhm. yeah. all im gonna say there.

the "PARDON." IM CACKLING

argh. the switch up with this chapter...why the hell am i getting nostalgic for something i wrote less than two months ago ( ican't believe i've been grinding through this fic so fast jesus ).

i love unhealthy dynamics, truly. this fic was really a test to see if i could write soukoku making each other worse. which is a pretty stark contrast to my other stuff.

HELLA. OH MY GOD. that bit about their careers . . . i can't believe she noticed that. Chuuya started the fic genuinely ambitious, wanting the spotlight, wanting to defy expectations set upon him by his looks, his race, and his past. Dazai's a cop, sworn to uphold the law, but he doesn't feel like a good person. He can't ( interlude chapter . . . stares out the window ), but he can use everything about who he is to give Chuuya the life he wants. like a guardian ange--*gets taken out by a sniper chapter 8 style* Their original goals aren't gone, per se, they've simply been reoriented.

can't wait for chapter 7

i know it'll make Hella want to hunt me down for sport, so i'll sleep with both eyes open for the forseeable future.

[triviallytrue]

Honest question, how are you so consistently optimistic about technological changes in recent years, especially in AI and its connection to creative fields? I admire your writing and respect your opinion, but I just do not see anything to be optimistic about, as you've probably noticed.

I wouldn't call myself an optimist, and I would say some of the reason I'm not a pessimist is because I don't really buy the hype.

There's a lot of people who are doing the math, going "LLMs can produce human-looking output in this field, so they're probably very close to consistently producing human-quality output as well." If this is true, it will probably be pretty bad for human society, and your pessimism will be fully justified.

And for sure, this could be true! LLMs have blown past where I would naively have assumed they would be at this point in time. But what you're scared of is LLMs replacing writers, and I'm just not that worried about that at the moment. Maybe I should be, maybe GPT-6 will be able to write coherent novels. But it feels a bit too early to be so pessimistic. I need to see an effective application first.

My experience with LLMs in practice is as a better form of code autocomplete, and that's very nice to have - last week I saved maybe half an hour using a LLM to write a bunch of boilerplate functions that I would have needed to do by hand.

But I'm not scared of them taking my job - around 5% of autocompletions involved some form of basic hallucination (usually a misused API). It's possible to get it to write more complex functions, but only using a fair amount of prodding and prompting, usually sufficiently time consuming that I don't bother and just write the function myself.

They will undoubtedly get better, but for the forseeable future, anyone who tries to use them to replace humans will crash and burn. I expect the same is true of most forms of writing, especially longer form writing.

The people who are actually the most threatened have to be the visual artists. AI art looks pretty good and is already seeing some use cases. This sucks for people who make their living doing visual art. I think people will adapt and the need for human artists will continue, but it's going to take a bite out of their market share, there's no doubt about it.

We're on the edge of a precipice and we don't know if it'll be a 3ft drop or a 300ft drop, but I don't see the point of freaking out about it until we see more actual applications, instead of just hype.