#and here I was feeling kinda bad for tumblr and thinking about giving them money but FUCK THAY

[apostaterevolutionary]

I’m really upset by the upcoming functionality loss as apparently tumblr is getting rid of the desktop post editor and switching to the crappy mobile one. But I’ve seen NO posts about this? Am I the only one? They’re basically killing gifsets (don’t work properly on the new editor) and fucking over artists with crappier image quality and I’ve just seen… silence? The archive will be worse as post types won’t exist anymore? No copying multiple paragraphs? A hint that old posts soon won’t be editable? I have over a decade of posts here and I do NOT want to lose access to them. Like I’m fucking panicking cause this WILL really hurt fandom, the group tumblr has been most trying to cater to. Like I think between this and other social media sites going down the tubes, I feel like fandom as a whole will not exist in a few years at this rate. I’m not trying to spread panic, I genuinely feel this way unless some other site comes along or staff gets their heads out of their assess

So poll (which ironically don’t work in the desktop editor although it’d be literally so easy to implement)

[triviallytrue]

Watching something as iconic as NGE is kinda funny because every now and then something happens and you're like "oh! that guy! from tumblr!"

General thoughts:

Poor Shinji. Dude keeps getting put in situations.

The Ender's Game comparison keeps coming up for me - child soldiers utterly essential to the cause. The big difference is that they are just completely flubbing their psychological management in NGE - in Ender's Game they had eyes on the kids 24/7 and maintained in-depth psychological profiles on all of them, whereas in NGE they have loads of money and manpower focused on maintaining the EVAs but their equally-essential pilots are just... going to school. Shinji got punched and they didn't know!

And what is Misato's deal, anyway? She's in her 20s and has a crazy amount of authority (she just requisitioned all of Japan's power) and they're just kinda... letting her manage Shinji? It's not her job, but she's just doing it? She's his commanding officer but also his mom/sister, which is a really bad combo. Also I don't think I'm imagining the grooming undertones, those seem intentional.

The real motivator for someone like Shinji is (of course) his social connections - the two schoolkids and Rei, and then maybe to some degree Misato, and then even more distantly his father. Kids don't put themselves through severe distress just for the abstract concept of "saving the world," especially a world that has thus far been very unkind to them. To bring back the Ender's Game comparison, this feels like a very deliberate point that Graff and friends were aware of (the way they used Valentine as a strategic resource) but in NGE it seems to be mostly happenstance that Shinji made some human connections before completely shutting down.

Rei thus far is an interesting foil to Shinji. Normally I get kind of put off by scenes like the one where he walks in on her, but it gives you a lot of important information about both of them. Shinji, underneath all the abandonment issues and repression, is still a pretty normal kid - awkward, horny in that embarrassing adolescent way, deeply self-conscious. Rei is alien (or perhaps just very autistic). She just doesn't clock 90% of the tension at all. She pilots the EVA without complaint (though perhaps with equal psychological distress, just heavily repressed). She also gets along very well with his shitass dad, which is revealing in its own way.

I'm told there is another child, a red haired one, named Asuka(?), the thus-far only implied Second Child. Wonder why she isn't here yet?

I heard that it was some kind of twist that the EVAs were alive in some sense, but doesn't that naturally follow from the first couple episodes? Unit 01 moves to save Rei without a pilot and then goes berserk to kill the angel. Maybe there's more to the twist that I don't know yet.

What's up with the angels? Why are they here, what do they want, what are they exactly? Who cares. They are a plot device in purest form - they enable the rest of the show, but the show is not meaningfully "about" them. They didn't half-ass it though - the designs are absolutely phenomenal.

Oh, and there's some second project NERV is working on, a human transformation thing that got mentioned once and never again. That will probably be important eventually.

[writer-freak]

Dates | Hazbin x Gn reader

Characters: Lucifer, Vox, Husk and Rosie

Warnings: gn reader, mentions of reader possibly being a cannibal in Rosie's part, I think everything else is pretty fluffy, english isn't my first language

A/n: So I'm currently busy with a personal fanfic for me and my friends so I haven't spent that much time with writing stuff for Tumblr but here are a few headcanons that I wrote real quick.

Comments, likes and reblogs are always appreciated and really motivate me to write more <3

Lucifer:

I think Lucifer would sometimes use his authority as the King of hell to give you the best dates ever

He would take you to exclusive restaurants that are like super fancy for hell and would even book out the entire restaurant so that you could spend time together just the two of you 

If you want to visit a specific location he will do everything in his power so that you two can go there

Though I do think he personally would be particularly fond of spending just time with you at home

Maybe watching a movie and cuddling, I think after Lilith left he would be quite a touch-starved 

And now that he is finally ready again for a relationship he just really enjoys being as close as possible to you

I think as gifts he would often handmake you things but if there is something specific that you talked about wanting but are not able to get at the moment he would buy it for you in an instant

Vox:

He would definitely take reader on some overly fancy dates, you would be sitting in a restaurant where you wouldn't be able to afford a meal with your entire month's salary

But Vox obviously tells you to get anything that you want as he will pay for it

In general, he would really shower you with the money that he has

Gifts from him would be something overly fancy and expensive and even if you tell him you don't need that stuff he will still give it to you

In general, I think he tends to be a bit overly obsessive so he probably will never let you leave his sight

The gifts are almost ways to ensure that you will stay by his side even if it's just because you feel bad that he spends so much money on you

Husk:

I think Husk personally prefers more chill and relaxed dates

At least when he has some free time for them, because if Alastor just wants him behind the bar all day then he has no say in what he wants to do

So often your dates are just you sitting at the bar while Husk is working

But hey at least you can spend some time together

But outside of that, I think if you wanna go out it could be like a chill bar date with good music if you can find that kind of place in hell

Or you two just spend time in each other's rooms 

Cuddling together while watching a movie and maybe you can give Husk a massage until he starts to purr loudly

I think he would give you some good liquor that you two can share together or in general something more practical that you can actually use 

He just enjoys being able to relax with you and forget about everything else

Rosie:

I think Rosie is almost playful while dating, she just has this really charming personality

She would take you out around cannibal town maybe to a nice cafe or restaurant around there

Or even better a picnic in a park with food from her own shop she really wants to make sure that you are eating well

I can kinda imagine her also enjoying spending time with you playing music, singing and dancing together

I think she would handmake you some gifts and in general, she is someone who would regularly just gift you something because she likes seeing you happy

She would just really cherish you and always shower you with compliments

Divider by: @saradika-graphics

[monstrouslyobsessed]

…tumblr can you go and soak yourself in a burning pit of hot sauce…i never even got notifs of any of the older asks i got…

so very sorry if you've been waiting for like two months on my answers;;; and here i was wondering how dead my inbox was last month…rude, tumblr, very rude. all the asks are under the cut!

just a quick note, to the super sweet asker who send in two very long asks v recently, ima answer them separately after this one, if thats okay!! &lt;3

tw / tags: dirty confession, monster fucking, breeding mentions, implied noncon, brief pregnancy mentions, long post, beastfolk / beastfolks characters mentioned: lady hyena, the lioness, conservative lion, papa bull, duke, cerelos, father fox, velarius

I love Daddy Bull and Duke, (along with so many other of your works!), do you have any plans on doing a confrontation between the two bulls and the reader? My thirst is dryer than the Sahara for these two bulls. I need more content. I’m a desperate whore… 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。 —anonymous

hm i'm STILL chewing on how this saga should go tbf because it really could go any way!!! i might just bite the bullet and write au's of papa bull and duke saga, even if i feel a little weird making varying storyline au's of my characters.

it was just supposed to be a bull daddy enjoying his little human, how did duke end up there lol

I know everyone is dying over Baldur’s gate rn but have you heard of Lustful Desires on itch.io? I just got into it and I’m dying to talk about it. They literally let you have a poly relationship with 3 different werewolves it’s so good —@flameshadowwolf

i've never heard of it! ima have to check it out now, thanks for the rec &lt;3

Sorry if you consider this a request, but I'm very interested about your OC's yandere MBTI types (from @ddarker-dreams), so if you feel like it, can you identify them in this system? —anonymous

i…ah, am kinda bad with these mbti things. idk if its because i'm older than most writers i know (hi lock my love!! hope you're doing fantastic!), but i guess i can make my best attempt…? i'll just pick a few characters and list them for ya. if you want more specific characters or want me to make an official post with expanded explation, lmk and i'll make my best attempt

here's the link for anyone who are interested

lady hyena: reverent, delusional(?), manipulative (?), lenient, rdml the lioness: reverent, aware, honest, and strict(?), rahs conservative lion: cruel, aware, honest, and strict, cahs papa bull: reverent, delusional, honest, and strict(?), rdhs duke: cruel(?), delusional, manipulative, and strict, cdms father fox: reverent, aware, honest, and lenient(ish), rahl valerius: reverent, delusional(?), manipulative, and lenient, rdml

that's just a few! and they're all beastfolks since they're more fresh in my mind, aha. i tried my best hhh

Thirst chat thought: Have you ever thought that Cerelos could just find a way to tie up his wife underneath him as a cock sleeve, gag her, and just walk around a bit for the day doing royal duties and stuff? The man already has a equine skirt he wears, so he can easily hide everything underneath… (Also I’d happily give this man a dozen babies because I am a simp for him 💕) —anonymous

i think i touched upon that at one point! i wanna say he did that during a large meeting, maybe with his darling magically gagged? lemme see if i can find that post…

found it! its super brief but still

well, now i wanna write that…that's one more to my long to-do list, aha.

also you're valid

I am a simple man all I desire is your happiness. Tis all. I noticed you were feeling sad lately and I thought man next time I have extra money I'll kofi MO but recently I acquired a small fortune and I was happy to find a way to repay you for the time my friends and I giggle and go horny over your works Re-Reading your works is payment enough ….but if you wish to repay me I wouldn't mind maybe a dilf monster vampire (kinda like what you did for wolf pack? but Victorian times) or sequel to snake movie star or sequel/prequel dragon But I would rather you do what you are passionate about! Share your creations with the world! Rejoice in your delights! —anonymous

hi i love you and i swear i answered this before

i did the snek boi just for you <3 i hope you (and your friends!!) enjoyed it! he's a difficult boi to get through but i had fun writing him and his weird camera hobby

link: SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

Also increase your kofi goal —anonymous

im…okay. i didn't really have a goal target in mind so i hope thats sufficient??? sdfkdfj

Which of the beast folk are most likely to mate with humans? Like what about big cat beastfolk? —anonymous

it'd be fangedfolk, since they're canine (dogs) and are most attracted to the humans'…hm , simplicity and openness, i suppose you could say? and possibly treefolk (primates). i based my beastfolks' basic common grounds with irl animals, as canines are pack animals and dogs are more emotionally connected to us. as for primates, humans have evolutionary connections, similar social intelligence, and the shared abilities to solve problems and such.

that said, while fangedfolk are the most likely to have a human "companion", they are also most likely to have a poly pack with their human. whiskeredfolk (feline) are probably in the top-middle of that list, if we were to have a most-to-least likely ranking, with toothedfolk (rodents) due to their prey/nervous natures and seafolks (aquatic) on how dangerous/rare they are to communicate with, at the very bottom. the reason why i feel the whiskeredfolk being in the top-middle is that they can be fairly arrogant and being independent, but adores the complete attention their human can give them and how easily they are to manipulate.

that said, this is extremely generalized list, since the list is not really factoring in specific sub-groups under these categories, such as lions being social animals and are more likely to acquire a human lover, cheetahs more likely to need a service human pet to help with their anxieties, maned wolf being solitary type, etc. and other facets, like countries/areas, cultures, when/which eras, political affiliations, etc.

hope this answers your question, love!

Hello, I've been binging your Masterlist and I just want to say your OCS are exquisite —anonymous

i think you're exquisite as well, love! <3 thank you~

Are you eventually going to do more father fox content?? He's my favorite and I love him so much ♥️ —anonymous

ye! i have couple requests for more hcs for him~though they're all kinda pretty broad. if you have anything more specific for a hc request, hmu! i'd love to write a full piece of him someday too, since i think his quietly manipulative personality is fascinating to work with.

Daddy Bull and Duke content soon? I NEED these two fine beasts in my life!!! And can’t wait till the cute baby arrives!!! And hopefully many more…😋🥰 —anonymous

send in a request then~! preferably something a bit less broad, aha, but yes!

i especially would love to write a full story of those two someday, maybe as a book?

Hi hey sorry to bother you, hypothetically if I wanted to make an ai bot of one of your beastfolks, would that be alright? If not I totally understand, I just want to make sure! —anonymous

as long as there are proper credits included, go for it! just please be sure to link back to me if you do make one &lt;3

whewwww, i...really hope i didn't miss anyone. most of them were (or looked like) a request of some kind and two i wanted to put into their own posts for me to answer soon.

hope yall are doing wonderfully and are having at least a decent holiday season!! ima try and get something nice out by christmas so heres hoping!! just...gonna decide on which i wanna do...lol.

[rebouks]

Hello! Do you have any suggestion for someone who wants to start storytelling on simblr? Thank you <3

Hiii nonny! I'm a lil honoured you'd ask me this ngl 😳 Have some rambling advice ❤ (using the word advice lightly here - please believe me when I say I'm winging it)

General writing advice:

DO THE THING! Seriously, just start!

Tell your story because you enjoy it. If you're not enjoying it, think about why n' switch it up.

Try and avoid comparing yourself to others. Easier said than done, but it'll only lead to self doubt and demotivation, so quit it!

Personally, I'm not a planner.. but it can be useful to have something set out to begin with, even if it's as simple as an idea or a basic beginning/middle/end kinda deal.

Any writing advice you come across out there is simply that, advice. Take it with a grain of salt and just do you.

Give your characters depth. No one's perfect, and we're certainly not black and white. We all make questionable decisions sometimes, but we're not defined by singular actions. A villain and a hero are equally boring without a decent backstory. Maybe it's not your thing, or it's boring.. but digging into psychology can really help with this one. I kinda find it interesting anyway ¯\(°_o)/¯

Regarding the above and backstories, don't bore everyone by spelling it out at the beginning.. we probably don't need to know. Drip feed us it bit by bit so we can figure out the why and the how behind every character slowly, it's way more interesting and engaging. No one needs to know all the facts from the get go.

Think about the why behind everything. Say someone steals some money, why did they do it? Did they have no choice? Was it to feed their family, or their drug habit? How does that make them feel? Were they bullied or forced into doing it? Did they do it for the thrill, if so.. why do they need that rush? So and so hates the snow, why? Do they just prefer warm weather? Does it make it harder for them to do what they enjoy? A bad experience? Why why why, all the time!

This one's gonna sound a bit weird, but bare with me here. Try and think in terms of but and consequently, instead of and then. For example.. X happens, consequently Y happens. Or your character was gonna do X but Y happened so consequently they've gotta do Z instead. It makes for a more interesting set up rather than a bunch of scenes with little correlation. A happens and then B and then C etc etc.. boring! Consequences have actions!

Similarly to the above, don't rush! Sometimes X and Y have to happen before we get to Z. Take romance for example, we all love a good slow burn. Those big pay off scenes are worth a little patience.

If you're having trouble piecing things together, try and keep the above two points in mind. If you need to get to Z but don't know how, just think about what has to happen before you can get there.. aka X/Y. I do this one all the time because I don't plan much.. so I'll get an idea but I'll have to piece together a bunch of other shit happening in the background first before it makes sense to end up there, y'know?

Split your story up into chapters/arcs, especially if it's a big 'un! It'll make it easier to plan/manage.

Don't worry about plot holes too much. Planning can help you avoid 'em but meh, you can always figure out a way to explain or cover 'em up later.

General Tumblr advice:

Okay, so first things first (I know, I know.. it's been said a million times and it's bleh but) you've gotta do it for you. Make a story YOU want to tell in YOUR way. Screenies and dialogue, sure! No dialogue? Sure! A few screenies and a bunch of prose underneath, sure! Comic/manga style? SURE! Do whatever you want, it's your hobby. It's SO important that you're enjoying yourself, whatever you decide to do.

DO THE THING! (again ahaa) Try not to hesitate or worry about what people may or may not think. I know it's hard putting your shit out there and you might be insecure, but take the leap! It'll be worth it.

If you want engagement (ew - I hate this word lmaoo but this is social media after all) you've gotta give what you take. Other people enjoy you interacting with their stories and characters just as much as you do.

Notes matter.. we wouldn't be putting our shit out here if they didn't, but try not too get to hung up on them, especially not at first. You might be shouting into the void for a while; it can take time for people to find your stuff (that's where the above comes in ⚆_⚆) Also take quality over quantity, it's always nice to have a few avid readers/commenters/mutuals.. and they will come!

Have fun and be awesome!

[justserahtonin]

Let's talk about Moonvale.

Ok, phew, it's been a while since I used tumblr and needed a new one.

I've been in the Duskwood fandom since pretty early on the game, so I wanted to jump on the thousands of opinions on Moonvale. Now, I'll state first the negative facts but also the good ones. I've seen tons of nasty opportunists trying to throw hate, including other devs.

Also, IMPORTANT, Moonvale is NOT Duskwood, we know. But I'll be referring to Duskwood to point out exactly why the fandom or at least I feel negative about.

First of all, let's go with the bad stuff. I'm not even going to say anything about the diamonds and their price, I just refuse. But what I want to talk is about the minigames and the AI art. AI art is just... oof. I know some people don't mind, but as an illustrator, let me tell you how much it hurt me. This community has always valued artists, I remember I had a blog where I drew other people's MCs and that made me make some cute and valuable friends, I remember how much the fandom loved artists, so seeing this... just hurts. I get the "we want to give your new friends their own spotlight" but Everbyte did that in Duskwood beautifully with stock images, with the gang trying to add us in more activities or chatting with us. You don't need stolen art to give someone a spotlight. Those new to Duskwood may not remember it, but Richy was faceless for a big part of the game until they got an actor for him and no one was mad about it. In fact it gave Richy some kind of shy guy charm.

About the minigames... Look, last time I played Duskwood, I did without any extra moves and those were hard, more or less like Moonvale's. But you know where the real problem is? In how the interrupt the story. And how little immersive they look and feel like when playing them. Let's look back to Duskwood. The minigames had a goal: hack Hannah's phone. Whether it gave us a clue or not, it felt real and, in words on MC in Moonvale "not every lead will take you to a clue". But you put work in there and when something unlocked, it felt good. And if you didn't, you had at least one or two credits and a character praising you for the good work (thanks, Jake). In Moonvale, it feels like "oh, nobody's here, let me play some candy crush". Also, the vibe does not match the tone. In Duskwood, the minigame design felt like you were hacking, you were decoding something. But here it really feels like some Project Makeover game.

NOW, let's get to the good parts. I feel the story might be interesting. Who's Unknown?, how can Charlie help us?, what happened to us and that fame we got in Duskwood? I find Eric quite lovable and Charlie kinda like a big mouthed friend with good heart. Ash is like the mom friend or lil sis friend, worrying but being kinda childish and Violet being the shy one. There's something with the mysterious figure in Eric's call that looks familiar. Was the figure wearing a cap? Am I imagining stuff?? And the last call??? Let's be real, Duskwood had real plot holes and was a bit bland the first episodes but we grew to like it as the story kept going. I see real potential in there and some theories I'd love to share once sometime has passed, but not now.

Why am I saying all this without mentionion UI design, lack of premium choices, message history and so on? Because those are easy fixable things. Those are little changes that can happen over the time, like Richy's gallery in Duskwood or little sponsorships, packs and so on. I think I'm not the only one who wouldn't mind paying up to 10€ for a premium pass, I can save the money. Everbyte heard their fandom before and I really hope they do now. Let's be honest, we are to blame too. Half of us went looking for a "Duskwood 2", but Moonvale is not that. Expectatives can often be harmful to both sides. I really think Everbyte didn't wait for such backlash, so I want to have faith, I want to believe they will read these reviews and stop to think "why was Duskwood so beloved? Let's go to the core".

Have faith in Everbyte and in Moonvale, we still don't know who Adam really is, what people know about us and how is it that two people in danger had our contact. Maybe this story can give us some clues to MC's past. Maybe Adam turn out to be Jake. Who knows, there's a lot of space for plot twists and I'm here for it.

Let's keep the Duskwood community as peaceful and chill as it has always been. Let's leave no room for free hate and put logic and reasons to our opinions so everyone can learn and so Everbyte can know exactly why are we angry or disapointed.

[atmilliways]

Wrong On The Money (40)

part 40 of ?? | 1108 words | Teen+

Blackmail fic on Ao3 | on tumblr

Summary:

When Steve gets back from dropping off the kids, Eddie is waiting for him on the front porch.

40.

When Steve gets back from dropping off the kids, Eddie is waiting for him on the front porch. 

No, not waiting for him. He happens to be there, smoking with the porch light off, sprawled on the near end of the couch he and Wayne had salvaged from their trailer. His has his socked feet propped up on the bottom rung of the porch railing. but he gives a little wave as Steve walks up and drops them, an invitation to pass by and sit if he wants.

“So, how was your first foray into Dungeons & Dragons?” Eddie asks. He booms the name of the game in a low, dramatic voice that makes Steve have to smother a laugh. 

“Oh, uh,” Steve says a few beats too late, remembering that he’s supposed to answer. “Yeah, it was . . . kinda confusing? But also, uh, interesting.”

Eddie spins slowly to look at him, eyebrows reaching up towards his bangs. “Confusing . . . yet interesting. That’s some complex feedback, Harrington. Care to elaborate?”

“I don’t. . . .” Steve frowns. He feels like Eddie is making fun of him, big dumb jock who couldn’t get into college—except that doesn’t make sense coming from a three-times high school senior.

But also, Steve isn’t sure what elaborate means. Is it like explain?

He’s just going to try and blow past it. First step: slumping onto the empty end of the couch and putting up a hand, palm up. Second step: “Whatever. Can I bum one? I’ll pay you back.”

Eddie tsks around his cigarette. “What did we decide about owing, dude?” He knocks a stick out of a beat-up pack into Steve’s hand though, and offers his lighter. “I’ve got weed, too, if you’d rather have some of that. No charge. Because,” he continues before Steve can get a word in edgeways, “it’s more practical this way. You make lunch, I share smokes. . . . The barter system is a hell of a lot simpler than quantifying every little thing into cold hard currency.”

“Oh.” That does sound simpler. Steve blinks, takes the lighter, then hesitates. “I . . . kinda would, then. Long day, you know?”

Just like that, the cigarette and lighter are whisked away again. Eddie thumps his feet down onto the porch and leans forward, a tin in one hand now and rolling papers in the other. “Cool. You mind sharing? Don’t think there’s enough in here to roll two.”

“S-sure.” Luckily it’s dark enough to hide whatever Steve’s face is doing—he knows it’s something, probably something embarrassing. And now he’s watching and thinking way too much about Eddie’s lips, the way they purse around the last of his cigarette while he rolls the joint. The joint that he’ll touch to those same lips, then hand to Steve to do the same.

Jesus, he’d never had this problem while smoking with Tommy. Or smoking with pretty girls, for that matter, but that was different. He could’ve kissed those girls anywhere. With Eddie, he can only let himself look for rationed amounts of time, not wanting to be too obvious or get too . . . invested. Steve knows himself, knows he has a tendency to go all way too fast, and doesn’t have a good sense of where that line is. 

Maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, actually. Getting high with Eddie could be a bad idea, put him too far out there and offering too much of himself like he always does.

It’s already happening though. 

When the joint is ready, instead of handing it to him, Eddie glances up and cocks his head to one side. 

“Hey, you’ve got. . . .” He reaches, and just as Steve is about ready to demand if there’s a bug on him or something, Eddie pulls the joint out of his ear. “Tada!”

Surprised, Steve laughs and takes the joint when Eddie offers it to him with a flourish. “How did you do that?” (Again, he thanks the darkness for hiding the fact that both of his ears are now burning.)

“Picked up some sleight of hand as a kid,” Eddie says with a grin and a shrug, holding up his lighter but this time flicking it on for Steve to lean towards the flame. “For legal reasons I have to tell you that I wanted to be a magician when I grew up. Got a little more into that side of it after I moved in with Wayne, but only as a hobby. Now it's just something to entertain the kiddies with when I’m old and gray.”

It’s not just the lungful of smoke that’s making Steve feel warm on the inside, though that helps. Hanging out with Eddie, talking like they’re actually friends, feels. . . . 

It feels nice.

A while later, when the high’s had time to settle in, Eddie asks, “You did have a good time, though, right?”

Steve blinks at him. His eyes have had plenty of time to adjust to the dark, and he can actually see Eddie pretty well, he thinks. The long line of his neck and the faintly gleaming shapes of his rings for sure. “Yeah. It was. . . . Well, too nerdy to be cool. But I had more fun than I expected to.”

“Good.” Eddie stretches, and Steve doesn’t even notice his own head lolling to better follow the motion. “‘Specially since you did it for Will. I’m glad you got something out of it for yourself, too.”

The words make his head snap up. “Uh. Will?”

With a shrug, Eddie explains that oh yeah, kid’d walked in shy as hell and Steve had done nothing but build his confidence up all afternoon. Like it’s nothing, like it doesn’t completely floor Steve that he’d noticed. Why would Eddie notice? That was quick, adding Will to his collection of ‘sheepies’ already. 

Not that Steve is one to talk. He’d come out as bisexual to the kid not twelve hours ago, and that was something he’d only ever said out loud to Robin before. 

But Eddie is smiling at him, and that warm feeling is back, only it’s bigger now. Thick and syrupy and welling up and up and up, like the panic when he’d found Dustin cradling Eddie in the Upside Down only good, and. . . .Oh. He recognizes this feeling from the weeks before he’d first kissed Nancy, not quite in love yet but hopeful, always thinking maybe. Out of self preservation, he hasn’t let himself do that this time. He’d tried to clamp down on it hard, as though if he could starve it of oxygen the embers would die out—forgetting that love isn’t a fire, it’s a battlefield, and Eddie has been sneaking up behind him this entire time.

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

Feel free to ignore, but-

Do you think it's wrong or hypocritical to be excited for the HP reboot? Like, I am beyond excited and really hopeful that it will turn out well since they can go in depth more for the books, but of course, JKR has kinda... gone off the deep end. again, I want to watch this show unironically, and I am so happy we get new content, but I hesitate to show excitement because of JKR and her opinions. IDK it's just something I've been thinking about a lot recently. I don't want to seem like I support her, because I don't, but at the same time the idea of a reboot fills me with a lot of joy and excitement.

Hello, anon, and thank you for your question! I have been thinking about it as well, and it's a discussion I've seen on Discord, here on Tumblr, and elsewhere in the world. To answer your question, I am going to give you a long-winded answer. I will provide you a short tl;dr of my opinion and then get into it below the cut.

The tl;dr: I don't think it's wrong or hypocritical to be excited about the reboot, as long as you're conscientious about the way you engage with new merchandise and media. I see it the same way as how we interact with most evils of the world. Is it cheaper/easier/faster to buy on Amazon? Oh yes. Does it line Jeff Bezos's pockets? Also yes. Is it avoidable? For most people, yes. Not for everyone, and not for everything. Ditto for Walmart in the USA. The key difference I see with the HP reboot is that it's associated with HBO Max and Warner Brothers, so there are these two entities involved, that, if you truly wanted to boycott and not support any finances going to JKR, you'd have to cut off these services. That being said, it can be done. No one needs HBO Max or WB to live. However, because it's part of this bundled service that provides other media/goods, it requires closer examination. Moreover, there is value to engaging critically and conscientiously with the intersection between institutions, cultural phenomena, and social justice. The world isn't morally black and white,* and our engagement with it shouldn't be black and white either.

And now for the essay, below the cut.

Have you ever seen The Good Place? It's one of my favorite shows. There's this one clip about the point system, meaning the way people go to The Good Place/The Bad Place, or a Heaven/Hell equivalent, and one of the issues is that no one has been good enough to get to The Good Place for hundreds of years. Why? The world is smaller and more complicated. This clip will show you what this means.

Why mention this? Well, it helps to explain what our role is, or could be, in a world in which cooperation with one entity or person necessarily means cooperation with more forces around us. Take HBO Max, whose parent company is HBO, whose parent company is Warner Media. WM also owns CNN, CartoonNetwork, DC, TNT, TBS, Warner Brothers, adult swim, etc. If you choose not to see the HP reboot and dissociate yourself completely from any entity that puts money in JKR's pockets, you need to avoid not only HBO, but anything Warner Media produces. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do this - it's up to the individual to determine what they deem acceptable and morally good.

We have to go further. Take CNN: their money goes to Warner Media, which helps to fund the HP reboot. Does this mean that any establishment that plays CNN in the background (hotel, restaurant, bar, etc.) should be avoided? If we're going to be very strict about this, then yes. CNN isn't a necessary good. You can get news from other sources, and you can stay in hotels, go to restaurants, etc., that don't play CNN, or just ask them to change the channel.

But then, where's CNN getting their money? We ought to look at their advertisers and see which companies we should boycott. Among such advertisers: Humira and GEICO. Now you can say - wait, Humira is an important medication for lots of people. GEICO you could do without, there are other insurance companies. I haven't even touched who the CEOs are for these companies and what money they're paying lobbyists, consultants, and other entities to keep their market share. Humira keeps getting new patents and indication uses on it so Abbvie can charge a premium and not give its formula away for generic production. They're making shitloads of money to keep the product patented.

Now you may say, Celeste, what does this have to do with trans rights? Abbvie makes money, pays money to advertise on CNN, CNN gives some of that money to Warner, Warner uses that money to make HP reboot. Money flows in and out. I will grant you this: it is very remote, but think about every entity that flows in and out of this cycle.

I ask my students about this all the time: is there any possible way to be completely free of ethical or moral complications in a world like this? The answer is obviously no. So the question becomes what can we do about it, other than retreating to the mountains and living as hermits (and by the way, that's actually a terrible decision, because if you subscribe to the belief that I do that we have a moral duty to help others, you're certainly not helping anyone by disengaging from the world and avoiding problems because they make you feel uncomfortable.)

So what is it that we can do? Let's think seriously about what it is we struggle with. We don't want money going to JKR, but as I just demonstrated, you'd have to go to various possible lengths to do this. It's possible, but let me ask another question: is the time, effort, and energy you're putting into this actually improving the lives of trans people? Is it actually improving the local laws and policies that put trans people's lives at risk? It's easier to pinpoint one person as our problem and the face of evil, but that gives too much power to one person. In fact, the power sits more with you than with her.

That doesn't mean it's a bad thing to feel uncomfortable. It doesn't mean it's a bad or even a pointless thing to avoid the HP reboot and all its associated entities at all costs. You are most welcome to do so; you are also welcome to watch the show with a very critical lens/eye on the world around you.**

I would ask, if you're of the inclination to avoid all the associated entities of the HP reboot (CNN, Humira, GEICO, and all its other associates), what would happen if you invested the same time and energy into local groups, charities, and organizations that support/help trans rights? it may seem smaller, but consider the impact you as an individual can have on a real-life human being in front of you, who needs help, rather than spiting someone else who lives an ocean or more away. You're welcome to spite and help the person in front of you. However, as a comment on human limitations, we all do have to decide our own most personal important issues.

For many of those on Tumblr and younger people on the internet, it can be trans rights. For others, it might be workers' rights. For yet others, nuclear disarmament and peace. Clean water. Clean energy. We all have our pet projects, and that doesn't mean we should neglect other issues, but if we take on everything so strongly, we will not be able to act.

This brings me back to The Good Place and the character of Chidi Anagonye, the moral philosophy professor who cannot act because of his anxiety. He ruins his life, and others', by his indecision over moral quandaries, which appear everywhere.

No, you're not going to be perfect. That's ok. As long as you are trying, in my opinion (which is based on years of studying morality, philosophy, and ethics), you are moving in the right direction.

My on-the-ground moral recommendations: it's OK to see the HP reboot if you're already subscribing to HBO Max or plan to for other things. I might also recommend doing on the ground, in person or monetary efforts to help trans people with basic human rights like housing, food, and personal safety. That, the personal connections and improvements we make, will be far more effective at making the world a safer place for trans people than continuing to center the argument on JKR. She is but one person, and so are you. You may not be as wealthy, but you have a voice, and using it in your own locality/context will do far more good.

You're most welcome to send questions or ask for clarifications.

*(I will add, as an aside and more of my own opinion, that the black and white thinking I find among people of all backgrounds is more or less a defense mechanism against having to critically reflect/think deeply about what makes us uncomfortable and navigating confrontations or things that challenge our worldviews. Human beings are really terrible with cognitive dissonance and we don't like looking at ourselves in a bad light, and I mean that in the way that white people can sometimes get uncomfortable with the concept of white privilege. It's not a slight against the individual white person but rather a phenomenon to sit with, reflect on, and pledge to improve.)

**I would also like to address the contrast between the HP reboot and Hogwarts Legacy. Unlike the HP reboot, HL is its own entity and far easier to avoid, because you have to buy the actual game. But again, if you want to avoid any/all money going from Hogwarts Legacy and its makers to JKR, you'd have to avoid gaming systems, stores that sell the game, and all those involved in creating it. That being said, HL and the reboot are QUITE different because one must be purchased as a separate entity while the HP reboot will presumably be available via streaming, which means it's bundled with other shows and services, which is what complicates this. If the HP reboot were only available as a DVD or online purchase, I would have further questions, and I think it wouldn't sell for that reason exactly, based on the backlash to HL.

Edits, a few hours after the original post:

After doing some discussion with valued fandom friends, I thought it important to add a few considerations.

First, an immediate consideration: deeply consider the way you and others are discussing the show. Though it might not seem like a big thing, enthusiastic support, without considering the ramifications the show has for people in the trans community, and/or trans allies, will distance those people in the fandom. One way to do this is to keep discourse private among friends, and/or to refrain from discussing it at all in public spaces. Think of the message it potentially sends to trans folks/trans allies to be enthusiastic without considering the underlying messages you are sending in support of JKR and her views.

Second, a longer term consideration: one way to curtail or curb the success of the show (though highly unlikely) is to wait to see it until it is cancelled or complete. That's a long wait, potentially, but it would reduce the immediate views and support for the show. That's not necessarily a perfect solution, but it might be the one that says "we're not going to give this our immediate attention, and we are willing to wait until it's not as profitable or important." This isn't necessarily a perfect solution, but it may be one of the most ethical ones if you're very interested in seeing the show.

Please do send questions and comments if you have them.

[aurosoulart]

hey, for the record ive seen a few posts now about lives privacy policy/tracking being pretty sketchy, just for the record. idk how true that is since i haven't touched live at all but i just wanted to mention it in case there IS something sketchy going on that could potentially be bad for you/other potential live streamers

oh yeah I read through the ToS and I think I know exactly where peoples' concerns are coming from

in many social media ToS's, there is a section saying that by agreeing you consent to have all your content reproduced freely and without pay by the platform.

the purpose of this term is so that the platform can take your content and do different things with it - like DeviantArt's or INPRNT's Twitter accounts promoting artists by posting people's artwork, or basically anything involving a platform taking user content and featuring and/or changing it in any way. these use cases include things like automatic thumbnail crops of images, automatic watermarks, and content being categorized and featured in any way - but the list goes on and examples are many.

here's a specific example: I signed a similar ToS contract when I submitted my work to be featured on Intel's Office Hours. giving Intel permission to 'reproduce and transform my content without pay' allowed them to take my art and reproduce it (via screenshots) on their Twitter feed in order to promote the Office Hours session, and it gave them permission to actually show and record my work on the livestream in the first place.

these terms are broad in their wording and many people are not comfortable consenting to them because the language sounds predatory, but this is how social media currently functions in the internet ecosystem we know today.

we create and share content for free, and while social medias may give us tools to make money using them - these platforms are not obligated to pay creators when, say, crossposting their work somewhere else or featuring it on the Tumblr Radar.

the ToS DOESN'T mean these platforms get to take and sell your content directly - like they can't take my art and start selling merch with it - which is the only thing I personally care about regarding my own work.

it's definitely a tradeoff though, regarding privacy and personal data. like with late stage capitalism, there is no real 'non-sketchy' way to produce content for social media these days because we are all treated as products ourselves.

as a content creator, I have to weigh the pros and cons of what a platform provides for me vs. what it takes - but ultimately if I want total, %100 control of my work, I would have to stop using social media entirely, which unfortunately isn't feasible for me because it would directly harm my income. (my feelings on that warrant a whole post of their own but I think I'll stop typing here LOL, this is a novel already)

TLDR; the ToS sounds predatory but it's not as bad as it's worded to be... but it is still kinda iffy because that's just the state of social media. you can take it or leave it depending on your own preferences

[animentality]

I haven’t read your books yet, you know how it is, money~, but I bet they’re pretty good and I am planning to buy and read them, they’re on The List, and I hold you in high regards as a person I kinda vaguely barely know. I say this first to preface, because, from the kindest most adoring place of my heart okay, this reminded me of you, no offense: https://www.tumblr.com/pjackk/721300009283420160/whats-up-tunblr-basically-i-just-wrote-this-book

Ouch.

Glad you preceded this with a compliment...

But brutal.

For what it's worth, I also hate having to reduce my books to tropes...and I try not to, with any of my promotional posts...

But uh...good to know this is how I come across :S

But in my defense...and in defense of other authors... it's super easy for people to make fun of how we have to promote our books, but in this terrible digital economy...I mean.

It's hard to keep people's attention, and it's hard to sell books.

It's not like selling art, doing commissions, making animations, or well-edited videos. Books are inherently harder to sell and market and build an audience for, because they're an investment of time and focus.

They aren't as easy to dive into and enjoy. A webcomic chapter you could read in twenty minutes. A pretty picture you can reblog, and you can commission the artist if you love the style. A Youtube video can be ten minutes of investment. Maybe an hour, tops.

But a book?

Books will always struggle more than shows or animations, because it takes a certain kind of person to read books, and in this day and age, attention spans are shorter than ever.

You spend fucking years writing your books, and you edit, and you revise, and write some more, and edit some more, and revise some more, and then you have to promote.

All the time, in every way you can imagine. Using whatever tools you have... all the time, every way.

Otherwise, you don't see any sales at all, and then it's like you wasted three years of your life fiddling around, while everyone you know is making bank on crypto or whatever the fuck.

If I was good at fucking BookTok? I wouldn't be fucking here promoting at all.

I could leave my blog as the little meme machine it's always been.

But I'm bad at fucking TikTok.

And I mildly resent being compared to a TikTok author, because if I was any good at that, I WOULD NOT BE HERE promoting my books at all.

Tumblr is the worst place to promote anything, ever.

That's part of why I like it...but at the same time, that's why it's such a torturous practice, trying to promote my novels here.

No one here gives a fuck. And I'm fine with that.

I'm ok with that.

But I can't throw away hard work without at least trying.

I don't really get the criticisms of authors in those comments anyway.

What have those people tried to put out into the world?

You think self published authors are just jokes, or that they aren't marketing themselves well?

Maybe both are true, but someone who makes something, no matter how shit, has still MADE something.

It's easy to tear others down. It's not easy to make something that you care about, and put out into the world for others to see and judge.

And for those people in the comments too, I have to ask.

Is a book only good, if it's published by a company?

Because books that are self published are actually a LOT LESS likely to be made up of tropes and cliches.

People who self publish tend to write weirder and more out of the box things. They RESORT to tropes because they feel you won't pay attention to their books without them.

they feel you won't give their concept a try, unless they dumb it down for everyone.

They pretend the book is something it's not, out of sheer desperation.

I market 7 Deadly Habits like it's a fucking adventure action romance comedy...?

It's actually pretty fucking dark and grim and sad.

the main character is fucked up, and so are all his exes. So is the entire world they live in.

It's really not a funny book. It has dark humor, but it's hinged on an unhinged concept, one that I find darkly interesting.

But I lie and say it's a funny adventurous romp of sex and violence.

Because that's how I have to market it.

I try other things, of course, but I have found most people would rather read a romance than an anti-romance, which is more of what it is.

People don't want to try new things. They want more of the shit they already have.

to make something new, or different, or non-conventional, is to accept that you will have to water it down when you're trying to offer it to people.

So yeah.

I get it. Authors who blaze their book promotions are desperate losers and weirdo freaks with very bizarre interests and isn't it funny, how hard they're trying?

But you know.

What else can we be?

Leigh Bardugo?

Trust me. I wish I was a good writer. I wish I wrote straight YA fantasy books that kids and adults and everyone can enjoy. I wish I had a literary agent and five star publishing houses giving me 20 million dollars for my next book.

I wish I was a multi millionaire white woman, in an industry of rich white women, who write sexy murder mysteries and cozy thrillers and steamy vampire eroticas.

But I am what I am, and that's a queer self published POC author, who has no one in my corner, but me. Whose only means of promotion is my own efforts.

So no, I don't really look at other self published authors with disdain or wry detachment.

I know how they feel.

I know how much it sucks.

[taylortruther]

I am interested to see if people who are reacting harshly online which is fine if that’s what they see fit would react the same way in real life with say a friend. People talk big talk online but don’t really do so in person and maybe these people do but I find usually that in person when you know someone you give them more grace. I’ve had a friend or two who have dated weirdos like matty and I’ve been annoyed with them but ultimately I didn’t like cut them off or whatever because I genuinely believe that you can be a good person and still make bad decisions and that’s the same way I’m reacting with this.

i think lots of them would, if they knew people who were saying the outright offensive stuff matty did. i do! but frankly i am very aware of the racism that surrounds us all daily, and i also know that 1) other people are unaware, even other poc, and 2) if they're aware, they don't DO ANYTHING about it.

examples? certainly!

how about who we date. i have white friends who only date white people, hell, i know poc who only date white people, and i know this will make many people reading this uncomfortable, but there is a racist reason behind that. you can call it your "preferences," but like... how/why do you think those preferences are formed?

or who we befriend. most of my white friends only interact with white people. except me. i'm the token poc for several of my friends. why?

i have primarily white friends who bought homes in gentrified areas in historically black/latino neighborhoods in my city. and they're like, aware that gentrification is bad. but... they still bought 'em! why?

a close friend of mine recently told me that i looked "gangsta" in my gold jewelry but she didn't say anything at all to my asian friend who was wearing the same exact jewelry as me (literally the exact same, from the same store, we were modeling it together.) i'm a brown latina. i look ghetto in gold jewelry, according to white people. i know this. sucks to be reminded by someone i love but i didn't disown her for it. can anyone reading this honestly tell me they haven't accidentally said something stupid like that?

i've had multiple people in my life say they "forget" i'm a poc because i "act white." might as well just say i don't play the race card lmao. same question as above.

i have friends of color who, during the blm protests, went through a lot of very painful and public education about the history of police brutality. i had multiple friends of all races who said they "didn't understand" how bad it was until george floyd was killed. and most of those friends don't actually seem to care about the issue anymore. it's kinda over. has every single one of us americans donated our time or money to a related cause this week?

most people in my life don't organize or take part in a form of activism at all! we talk about these things, so i can confidently say that. i think some of them donate, but that's like a "set it and forget it" type thing. many of them feel guilty for not doing more but they just... don't make it a priority.

like. these are all common, pervasive issues of racism (or other isms). and i guarantee that some people who are very upset about the matty/taylor situation encounter these things, and more, as well.

i don't know everyone on here but do i believe everyone involved in this convo is confronting these things? nope. i do not. because it's hard, uncomfortable, and makes you unpopular/unlikeable.

this isn't even a judgment. it's just reality. but these are all things that i'd rather people confront irl regularly rather than exhaust themselves talking about matty healy on tumblr.

[taylorhawkins]

I haven't been active on anything lately so I don't know, what kind of hate are the foos getting? also just why? how can anyone give them hate after what they're going through

Hi love ❤️ Ugh, so I haven’t seen it on tumblr, mainly just Instagram & Facebook & YouTube, but there’s been a lot of hate comments towards Josh, and to the band for continuing on without Taylor, calling them greedy and money hungry and saying they don’t care about him. Like??? It’s fucking ridiculous. I did think some of the new music is a little forced sounding - not that they’re trying to rush it or anything but just that they’re struggling to continue without him, which I think is a natural part of the healing process and I’ve seen it in other bands I love that lost a member. It’s not like they just went oh here’s the new guy we’re resuming as normal, they’re honoring him at every show and they made a record dedicated to him, I haven’t seen Dave get through one FF performance without tears since then, and Josh is an amazing guy AND he has the hawk logo all over his drums. And he was friends with Taylor. 🙄

It kinda reminds me of how many people just brushed over the rest of the band when Taylor died and singled out Dave as the only one that could be grieving. Like yes, maybe he took it the hardest since they were the closest, but I seldom heard how Pat must feel despite the fact that he’s lost 3 bandmates now, or how Nate must feel despite the fact that he knew Taylor and loved Taylor for 25 years too, or how Chris and Rami felt despite the fact they were best friends with Taylor too and were just as impacted by him. Like they are very open about how they’re all best friends, and the fact that Josh has stepped in to act as the glue to prevent them from drifting apart and to stick together during such a painful time makes me incredibly happy… I have no idea why other people see it as a bad thing. And the whole “greed” thing is probably coming from Karens who can’t wrap their head around the fact that most musicians make music because they love it, not because of the money, and that’s why they’re containing on as a band lmfao

I hate to give it attention but it was a lot of comments and it honestly shocked me, I was thinking the same thing. How can anybody be that fucking cruel and senseless after all they’ve been through is beyond me. I guess maybe it’s coming from a perspective of not wanting the band to be different or to see someone else behind the kit, but they have to move on and heal, and it’s selfish for people to not want them to do that. But then again there’s a lot of loonies out there that believe in wild conspiracies or that Dave worked him to death or forced him to do things against his will so who fucking knows 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you for the ask 💓💓 sorry I ranted a little there LOL

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Girl I love all your analysis and meta and commentary, here, in the comments on AO3, everywhere! I wish you had been on Tumblr in the GG heyday when a lot more discussion was happening. Since you weren’t, what’s YOUR fave Brio headcanon? Top 5 Brio and/or show moments for you? Opinions/rankings on Annie’s love interests? Give it all to me if you wanna!!!

Anon, that is so sweet! Thank you so much! ❤️ The validation for someone who loves to hear herself talk. Haha! The way I love Brio and every unspoken thing between them. I could talk for hours. And so funny because in the show’s heyday I was such a passive watcher. It was the pandemic that really escalated my fixation and fandom participation. I know I missed so much fun involvement. But really though, I can’t believe how active and committed this fandom still is, over a year after cancelation. Once Brio get their hooks in you they have you forever, I guess.

I think if I had to pick my favorite headcanon (there are so many!), it would be about this smurfing scene.

I was absolutely obsessed with this whole scene for a while there! The way Rio is just sitting out there. Not texting her, not calling her. Just sitting there in the dark. She only saw him because he flashed his brights at her when she was taking trash out. So by all presumptions he’d been there a while. And when she asked him what he’s doing he said, “Just thinking.” Oh, you’re thinking? What are you thinking about, Rio? Sitting alone in the dark outside your gf’s house. 🤡

The headcanon is that s4 finally started to show us glimpses of brooding Rio, and in this particular moment he was sitting in his car, regretting all his life choices. This came on the heels of one of his first vulnerable moments – “Kinda like being almost pregnant,” when he touched the wet money. He showed his hurt in that moment and I think that hurt continued to show in this smurfing scene. He’d been all in his head out there all alone. Maybe hating himself, maybe hating her. Maybe wondering why he keeps fucking with her at all. Wondering why he even cares that he took all her stuff but she didn’t even care and just bought new stuff with HIS money, and was inside with her husband who she kept enabling despite him being a terrible person. Rio didn’t know exactly how he was terrible. Just that he was. And on top of all that, she was in there thinking about what wonderful people she and her dumbass husband are, and thinking how Rio’s a bad person while Rio himself is outside her house fixating on her entitled ass and helping her and trying to think of ways to divert heat off her while she’s probably plotting to kill him or jail him or whatever it is she decided to plot next. Just that turmoil in his head, I’m convinced he was fidgeting his beautiful little fingers and brooding about Beth.

And then she came outside and he flagged her down because he just couldn’t help himself and she acted so put out by his presence like usual.

“Just thinking.” About you.

“You’d rather I do it inside?” Where you’re hiding your true self as if you’re better than me. As if you deserve my kindness. As if you deserve my money. As if you aren’t a conniving bitch who’d kill me if she could and take everything I have, take a father from his son and not blink an eye.

“How’s Dean?” You had enough yet? Has he fucked someone else yet? You like how he makes you feel? How he has no idea who you are? Hates who you are. Wants you back barefoot and pregnant, serving him. But you want him, huh? Wanna spend my money on him? Let him have rule of the kingdom I made? Get me out of the way so you can ruin everything I created? For who? For you? Or for him?

The way he looked at her and the way she didn’t even see how he looked at her in this scene. The way she slinked down in her seat when Dean came outside and Rio watched her with all that self-hating resentment he felt for her. Yeah, he needed something from her. And yeah, he threatened her to get his way. But it cost him something, too. The way this man has no idea how to extricate himself from toxic situations. He almost feels safe in them. Chaos is familiar to victims of abuse so he seeks it out because he doesn’t know how to be without it. And Beth is nothing but chaos.

I appreciate the ask! I can do more of these. There are so many moments between them that are so laden with meaning that’s unspoken and unacknowledged. I just love them. These emotionally stunted little babies with all their big feelings. 🥰🥰🥰

All of Annie’s love interests are tied at 0/10 wouldn’t recommend. I could do a whole separate TED talk on Annie and her problems. 😂

Top 5 moments:

1. Bathroom scene

2. Family dinner (his hand on her back omg!!!)

3. “That’s what I am? Work?” (The huuuuurttttt!)

4. Smurfing scene (poor Rio)

5. “If you need something, darlin’…” (lmao, Rio! You just spent two seasons terrorizing her. And now you’re here with that sparkle in your eye telling her she should have known she’s your favorite little baby and you’ll do anything for her. 😂)

[aslanscompass]

Wild Blue Yonder

Thoughts as watched

Star Beast went from a two to 4 after second viewing, so

 Let’s see what happens with Wild Blue Yonder. I saw something on Tumblr about Frobisher and that seems promising

Title sequence is a bit more promising. Still looks like steel wool though.

1666 pre title sequence

Isaac Newton

Is that actor a POC? Yes he is. And from it’s a sin. Not ssurprised.

I do like the new diamond logo

Empty room in  space

And why would the TARDIS give Donna coffee if the console isn’t waterproof? Saw that last week and yeah.

They don’t look much older, either of them. New screwdriver is odd

Song reference in-universe

Where /are/ you

oKAY, another tardis? Naw, don’t think so.

So that’s where the money went! Very long space ship corridor

Bad noise, TARDIS Leaving noise

And what’s the rip behind Donna? Is that damage from the TARDIS getting fire-y

Really cheap drama here.

This is playing kind of weird

Like, this is at least 50 percent Tate and Tennant versus Donna and the Doctor.

Which, isn’t, like, necessarily bad, but

Oh, tessellation. Why do I have the feeling they’re on a launch ramp

TARDIS translation doesn’t have a range limit. At least,I’ve never seen it before.

Hover cart money

We did have it ‘shut off’ when Ten was sleeping off the regeneration.

Eggman robot

I never really thought about it before, but why is the steering wheel on the left?

Is this just gonna be a wander through an empty spaceship?

Liquids.

Kinda looks like the tower/spaceship in World Enough and Time

Very long cylinder

Decent question, Donna

They’re at the end of the worlld, aren’t they?

yEAH, I thought so. 

And I think that’s the first ‘sorry’ from 14. Or one of them

Liar. Doctor, you’ve been pretty far out before.

You just look weird leaning against the glass.

Noises. At last

Signs of life.

Or the car? Is the car alive? Could be?

It looks like a stack of air purifyers for my furnace.  But orangy

And a dishwasher

Ok, lights. This is paced more like classic who, very slow beginning

Which is fine, but not what I was expecting

I mean, we’re 20 minutes in and I have no idea what is going on

And Donna’s invite for the Doctor to hang out hits harder remembering the Ponds

Is that real Donna? Fake Donna?

Knew that!

Knew it was too weird, cutting between Donna and the Doctor like that. So two imposters/shape shifters. Fake Donna in pipe room and fake Doctor in orange room. Blue and orange lighting is good, and honestly,, the cinematography is good. Not, outstanding, but decent.

‘aRMS Too long: “we get hungry”

Ah, repetitive. Not good

Do they only have one brain?

Still judging how good the special effects are

There were a few obvious trick moments to save on special effects

Kinda like the flesh monsters in that episode

Not exactly creepy, just odd. I mean, wouldn’t like to meet them iin ha dark corridor

At least they’re somewhat safe in there

Ship was probably designed for humanoids of roughly same scale, judging by chairs and access panels

Or did the fleshies shrink and get in

CCould actually see breath in one scene, that’s a start

Blue and orange

Are you going hard down on the Timeless child?

And yeah,Donna wouldn’t know that

At least, you’d think that that copy of his brain wouldn’t have that part in there

And he’s doubling down on Flux. Davies, did you have to

IIs there are chance that both of them are shapeshifters

Possiblly?

Part blows up. But not all? oF Course alt Doct thing dies. No, they arne’t killing Donna. She’s got

Squishy Looks like melted starburst

Honestlhy the stupid iinsult should lose force by now.

Though crab-walker is interesting

Okay, this is the Doctor. Only he would throw a tantrum like that

Salt line

Hmmm

Emotions.

Hmm

Rolls eyes. Of course the aliens only got the bad bits  of humanity

Ok, eggman

What on earth

Another glass wall. Exactly the same wall as in the mEEP’s  spaceship

Nice to see they’re still carrying on with the prop reuse tradition

This makes more sense.

This feels more like right things

Dead astronaut

Music

What

Wrong one? Okay, so we’ve got an Izzy/Destril siutation here

Okay, possibliyty Too short a moment. I wanted that to last a bit longer

Liike, the eIGth doctor wrong companion was fine.

Blue. sO yeah, the salt thing was a stable time loop. You’re worrying too much about the salt line thing

The memory thing …. Does Donna remember 11-13? Or not?

Sighs.  HMM

Please DON’T DOUBLE  down on timeless child

The sad face doesn’t work the same anymore and that’s good. It was so soppy

What about Frobisher? I saw mentions? \

Wilf WILF WILF WILF WILF! YES YES YES!

gIANT silver thing in background

That makes  no sense. Spaceship? Plane?

Trailer pleasE?

[zergula]

Get To Know Me Sims Edition

I got tagged again, yay! Thanks @oasislandingresident Anyone else who wants to do this, I officially tag you!

What’s your favorite Sims death?

I don't think I have a "favorite" death but it's always the meteor strikes that get me. I haven't had too many happen in my game but when they do, it is an EVENT lol

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

Alpha for hair (SUPER SHINY PLEASE) maxis match for clothes and everything else

Do you cheat your sims weight?

There is no cheat in this game that I have not nor will not try. If I wanted to be miserable, I'd just live in real life so my sims get whatever they want, look however I want them to look, and never ever run out of money or get sick or anything bad. Nope, if there's a cheat for it, I'mma use it!

Do you move objects?

Absolutely. I am very particular about how I place things, I do not know why lol

Favorite Mod?

Probably the NRAAS mods or any mod that removes things that annoy me about the game. I use a lot of those!

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

I started playing Sims 3 late so the first pack I got was a combo Base Game, Late Night, and High End Loft stuff. World Adventures came next and then everything else very shortly after lol

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

Alive.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

Autumn Moon! She is absolutely the most gorgeous sim I have ever had. She was the daughter of a sim I made and Anoki Moon.

Have you made a simself?

I started to but I can't seem to get it quite right, lol

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

I don't know, really. I guess it depends on what kind of look I'm going for on the sims.

Favorite EA hair?

Definitely this one from the Showtime pack:

Favorite life stage?

I play mostly as YA but my favorite is child life stage. Toddlers and kids in Sims 3 are A D O R A B L E !

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

A little of both, really. I love building but I am not as good at it as other folks but it's so fun to try and create different places! Gameplay sometimes feels like a time killer until I can think of the next place my sims absolutely must have.

Are you a CC creator?

I make patterns but other than that, no. I love all of the people who do, though, endlessly!

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I don't know really. There are a lot of folks here on Tumblr and elsewhere that I consider friends and hope they think of me as a friend as well <3

Do you have any sims merch?

Weirdly, no. I don't think I've ever even thought about buying any. I spend enough on the game and stuff for the game, I think lol

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

I don't have a YouTube for anything but watching and occasionally commenting on videos.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I have a certain list of things that I do before I even start a save now. Another list for once I start. It's a process but it's time tested and perfect! I use a lot more player made creations instead of defaulting to whatever EA gives us. I also do A LOT more travelling and challenges now.

What’s your origin id?

I have no idea.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

ALL OF THEM

How long have you had simblr?

I don't even know. I think maybe 5 years now ? but it's probably longer than that. I know once I got here, everyone made me feel so welcome! Now you'll never get rid of me muuhahahahahahaaaaa

How do you edit your pictures?

I am really bad at editing any photo and my sims pics are just as bad, lol. I kinda just crop and clean them up a little but my ability really does not extend very far beyond that.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

Surprisingly to me, it's Supernatural. I say it's surprising because I had no interest in play occult sims or anything like that at all but Supernatural is essential to me for one reason and one reason alone: witches can magically upgrade everything in WAY less time than it takes to manually upgrade something. I know, it's a weird reason but that's seriously why. Big fan of Seasons and Generations as well!

[nanjokei]

Thoughts on miku NT update getting delayed? I think she was supposed to get a major update for her anni but she just got a minor update and wat asked to wait 6 months for a ''real'' update

oh man, if i sound combative sometimes here its because this subject triggers my "vocal synth fans are way too angry at nothing" gag reflex, but im not mad at all just frustrated. also sometimes i just accidentally sound aggressive when my tone is actually neutral, so i hope you forgive me if i come off like that.

its difficult to speak about miku NT frankly because if you ever have anything positive to say about her or are patient about her release or even respect the circumstances she exists in... you get called a shill and/or people get mad— and someone on tumblr has picked a fight with me over it and refused to absorb anything i said about the subject, so i have a bit of fear naturally but...

well for one thing i didn't know about the huge update at all so thanks for telling me!

first of all i think the stated mission statement of miku NT aligns with how i see miku— v3 and v4 strayed too much from what miku actually sounds like, and people get really mad if you say this for some reason and accuse you of being picky or a boomer, but if you listen to any iconic song posted before v3, there is a mikuness present in her original version that is lost in the newer engines, is there not? (honestly i think this is true for every v2 vocal. especially luka. literally no one survived the transition to v3/4 but gumi and the VYs, but luka v4 is the worst. luka has lost her popularity and personality bc of how shit v4 is) she sounds more like fujita saki than miku the more she gets rerecorded. that is why NT exists, aside from crypton wanting to be software agnostic. miku NT is basically a V2 emulator, but the current commercial version is rough. it's enough for me to see the vision though. i say commercial because its clear the private version given out to crypton's trusted few (people like mitchie m and nyanyannya) and used in proseka sounds way more progressed... i'm assuming the huge update is either this or something beyond that. and perhaps, this huge update, if it sticks the landing, maybe means NT could be heading to a more presentable state. it could mean the release of kaito next (because it seems like to me that of the unreleased vocals kaito is the one they work on the most)

another thing people get mad at you for pointing out is how wat is the only person developing the engine... like, sorry, that is just how crypton's company culture operates, piapro charas are not their only product and those who handle them in the company are so few precisely because of how tight the vision is. and they barely make money from miku at all considering the licensing fees are practically nonexistent (for the sake of ease on everyone). so no it's not like how people think they can throw money at the project until it's suddenly successful. people think you can just hire someone from the outside to help develop it— arguably, yes— but if you read any interviews wat or other involved peoples give you immediately get the feeling that their vision is something so specific, they'd never involve a third party even if you put a gun to their heads. and i respect that. i can wait 10 years for NT to get good if it means miku will be miku forever and not fujita saki. if it makes people mad, they've literally never taken any version of miku off sale, you can buy miku v2 or 3 or 4 from their website right now if you wanted to. is it kinda bad they decided to put NT up for sale so early? yeah i can't defend that. but i also think that they underestimated the whole "make your own engine" bit. and people are hard on crypton because a lot of dumb missteps on their part like when the append update dropped and they used the incorrect audio for every demo, giving the impression that there was no difference or improvement.

comparisons to other companies don't work either— companies like yamaha and technospeech have entire research teams and periodically publish said research and then eventually implement such things into their softwares. such research is funded heavily by investors. they are company's companies. no comment on dreamtonics idk what is going on there. crypton on the other hand came in with like one guy lol. maybe it is a trap of their own design but lmao no one has to buy NT or pay attention to its existence if they hate it

i sincerely believe that vocal synth fans are raging bulls who root for products to fail just so they can hoot and holler and scream that they were right on the off chance they do fail, with 0 appreciation for the fact that for example every software has a different philosophy in its creation and a different end goal, yes NT is embarrassing at times and yes it could have been better. and? have they abandoned it? have they taken the money and ran? if they did not care they would have released the other cryptonloids and that would have been it. if there's any people whose vision i trust, whose love for their characters and the creators who love their creations that i unwaveringly believe in, it's crypton. (and vocalomakets. but that is not the point)

and i'm not even a crypton girlie!!!

i think literally everyone who buys NT aside from the clique-y cover artist twitter weirdos (who sit in a circle and shit on every new release) buys it with the understanding that at this point, it is a beta product against crypton's will, and you're in for the ride at that point. if people want piapro studio to be synthv, then they missed the point entirely. miku NT will never be realistic, and will probably never implement AI, because miku is not realistic and AI learning dilutes the mikuness. if people want synthv they should just buy synthv lol. if people think v4 miku is better (i'm telling yall she is not) then just buy v4 miku. what's the issue?

basically if wat tells me to jump i jump. i trust him on this even if it gets delayed beyond that. sorry if this strayed from what you asked me nonnie but as you can see I Have Feelings re:this