#i tested this on real people too but i didn't want to post pics of my friends to prove a point without asking but the same thing happens

[softpine]

what if you wanted to see your sim in cute 90s fashion but AI said

[hazelpuff]

I just wanted to say that I'm in love (and a bit jealous haha) with your style. It's so pretty and unique! Your hoods are gorgeous and your sims even more! (may i ask you what technique do you use to make them? Pooklet's? Face templates? A lot of sliders?)

I jumped around a lot between maxis-match, semi realistic, etc. trying to find something i liked (and i still feel i didn't quite found something i like 100%) and I'm in awe of how you made something that doesn't look like ts4 nor ts2 but a so cool and pretty in between!!!

(also a disclaimer because I'm a tiny ball of anxiety: this is no shade to anyone who likes other styles, i find them pretty awesome in other people's games, they just look a bit boring on mine. The sims is about having fun and everyone deserves to play it as they like!)

Hi! Thank you for your sweet message!

(disclaimer at the beginning of the post, my keyboard is dying since half a year and i'm putting aside the moment to replace it, but after this post, I think I'm gonna make my mind soon lol. So sorry for any misspeling - you can get double nn, no n, no m, no c, double cc, no c and many other surprises - i tried to fix everything but I could miss something xd).

I've restarted my hood 5 times I think before I got it to my recent version. I'm terrified every time through most of the process, it doesn't come easily to me xD.

Also ofc, everyone can have whatever aesthetics they like - the sims is the perfect series to express that.

With my sims it really depends. I mostly make a sim that I really like and then use it as a base for other sims, but not always. Sometimes I make a sim that I think looks quite unique but it's still missing somethig when it comes to features and makeup face details. During those moments I just open up my body shop sometime later or the next day and try to tweak this sim, sometimes it's more than once. And other times I end up liking the idk 3rd attempt but i still keep going since i want to make more similair sims, and also it's tiring to start the process from the beginning every time xD.

(pics under cut)

or

OR

OR

sry for the baldness xD - i deleted the wip hair conversion files they had and now i can't never change their hairstyles lol, idk how i did it for those two last sims seriously.

As you can see, all those sims have this maxis chain necklace, which means that I started the process using the same base sim and it just evolved into many differet results lol.

Other times I'm editing some maxis face templates to make them more my style (it's really fun!)

I also made one of my sims face into face template to make the rest of the family. I didn't want their faces to be - mouth: mom; eyes: dad; nose: mom - just a mix of both and adding something extra to make them a little more unique. Kinda pookleted their faces with two face templates.

I just really like this face. It can look either goofy or good xD.

I sometimes get inspired by images of some real life ppl (models, actors). When I'm really out of ideas I'm also dowloading sims made by others and use them as a base - just tweaking their features to be my style, mostly it's about face proportions and replacing the cc they used to the one I have. There is muuuch more examples that I could give but a lot of times it's just a result of tweaking some sims a couple of times xD.

Also due to the fact that i make my sims in body shop, idk how their faces will look whit face expressions. I was always using my sims to create previews for my cc conversions so I'm also testing them that way and if something looks too off - I'm just going back to body shop to fix that.

I think I've developed my style around the clay hair conversions that I've made - I wanted the sims in my previews to go well together with clay hair. I remember that I've picked the hair first, THEN sculpted my sims faces. There just werent that many to choose from at 1st.

I don't really use face templates - I have some, but I don't use them much - i think the proportions on faces of my sims are the closest to the maxis sims 🤔. I like their sharp features so when I'm stuck with making a sim, I'm using the pooklet method with those maxis templates but only a tiiiny bit - like 10-20% and only on those parts of the faces that I want to tweak a little more. After that I'm going back to editing the face myself.

(also a lil bonus of my sim from 2017, the only older picture that i have, i found it recently by accident and i think this is the only time when it's kinda in-context to post it 🤣).

[sirfrogsworth]

Hey I saw your post on wheelchair accessibility - was wondering as someone who does not use a wheelchair if there is anything we can do? Like checking the buttons at doctors offices and reporting that to (??? Somewhere??) If they don't work?

It's one of those "If you see something, say something" situations.

For instance, if you see someone parking in a wheelchair spot and they don't have a placard, just say, "I think you forgot to put up your disabled placard. You don't want to get a fine."

This is better than straight up accusing someone of not being disabled because sometimes it is not apparent they are disabled and people do forget to hang the placard on the mirror on occasion.

Now, if they say they are not disabled and give you an excuse like, "I'm just going to be a few minutes." this is where you have to decide what kind of confrontation you are comfortable with.

If you don't feel safe, wait until they leave, take some pics and feel free to alert the non-emergency line. That usually doesn't amount to much, but in some areas, they might send someone out to fine them or tow them.

If you feel safe enough, you could ask them to please move their car if they are not disabled. You might even start taking video at this point to reduce the chance of escalation.

You could give them a sympathetic anecdote. Doesn't have to be true. "My uncle is in a wheelchair and he has such a hard time when the parking spaces are all used up. Would you please reconsider moving your car?" I do not recommend a hostile approach, though some feel comfortable with it.

You could also start taking pictures of their car and license plates and if they ask what you are doing you can tell them you are going to send them to the authorities. "Your car will be towed if they get here before you leave. So maybe it is best to just move it now."

I do like the idea of testing door buttons and then just letting someone know when they are not functioning. Usually there is a receptionist or security person nearby. Just keep an eye out for accessibility features in public and if you see something in disrepair, alerting someone could save a future disabled person a great deal of trouble.

And general awareness is great too. If you see someone blocking something or parking in the wrong spot, take a picture and post it. Tell your followers "Saw this. Very not cool." Visuals can help make this real for people and get them to actually think about the problem.

One other thing you can do is watch out for shopping carts blocking accessible spaces. I often see people leaving carts in disabled parking spots or blocking entrances. If you see that, just take the cart back to where it is supposed to be.

And like I mentioned before, please don't ever assume someone is not disabled. Disabled people sometimes get confronted for being fakers out in public. Just because someone uses a wheelchair does not mean they cannot stand or walk. It usually means that standing/walking is very painful and they can only manage it for short distances. I've seen countless pictures on social media of someone in a wheelchair standing up in a grocery aisle to grab something from the top shelf. People laugh and call them frauds. But people have no idea why they need that wheelchair so don't make assumptions.

And some disabled people have invisible disabilities. I personally cannot walk long distances without terrible lower back pain. People like me can benefit greatly from parking closer and cutting down the total distance walked. I don't feel I need disabled parking yet, I can usually manage the pain. But that could change someday and it would be nice if people didn't accuse me and others of fraud without proper evidence.

OH! One more thing. Do not give disabled people help unless they explicitly ask for it or are in danger of hurting themselves. Like if you see someone losing their balance or something. I know people think they are being kind, but this can be maddening. Sometimes people need to feel independent and capable when they have physical limitations. Disabled people will go to great lengths to find ways to help themselves in all sorts of situations. They may have grabby thingies to reach things on high shelves. Visually impaired folks may have apps on their phone that help them know which groceries are near them. Yes, it might be easier for them if you gave them a hand, but that is up to them to ask for that help if they want it.

So just be mindful of those things and do your best to help out when appropriate.

Thank you so much for wanting to help.

[beachy--head]

Hey Nonnie, Hang on...because yur bout to hate Krusta more than you may already (really anyone who is reading this will, if they don't know) Because they completely screwed over Sarah, Jessica, and Jesse. I don't remember the name anymore, because they long ago disappeared and left GA completely. We had a source who either was on set, or had access to someone who was, like a crew member. And this posted was trusted because they had been right many times in the past. This source was rightfully angry because of all the lying and just crappy behavior. They made a big post calling GA out ( that I can't find anymore) What happened was Maggie was a brainchild character that they loved (because she was theirs) but really wasn't being received well. The character never tested well with test audiences, or GA generally. Too many people though she was annoying (wonder why lol) The plan was to make Maggie more popular by pairing her with their remaining "single" most popular male character, Jackson.

For back story, Krista doesn't like April or Japril. She has never made a secret of it, and I think she called them toxic years ago when she came back she also made negative remarks if asked about them or passive aggressive swipes in interviews. I don't know if they are still there, but her likes had negative Japril things as well. And I think Jesse even trolled her once for it with a Sarah pic lol When she took over she wanted everyone to adopt only her vision. We know this for a fact because when she came in she did a blind writing test and fired everyone who she didn't agree with, or more like..who didn't agree with her. The source told us that. And it was also confirmed later when that GA writer who lied about cancer was caught and investigated. She was one of the ones Krista fired, and then rehired for pity and because it wouldn't look good.

Problem was to put Maggie with Jackson they knew they had to nix April/end Japril. GAudience would never accept him with someone else while April was still around. During that season Sarah Drew herself pitched her crisis of faith storyline. It was supposed to be a path to Japril getting back together. They told Sasse that, they lied. And actually when Jesse found out, he was pissed. We know this is true because after we were told, photos surfaced of Jesse meeting with Krista and clearly being pissed. And if you look at things Sasse says knowing the truth, it makes more sense.

Jessica, was unfortunately collateral damage. They didn't want GA to see the truth of what they did so they figured if they fired two actresses people wouldn't be smart enough to figure out the real target was Sarah, April by extension. April is so much of who Jackson is, but they wanted to push Maggie w/ Jackson to work for Maggie, but knew they couldn't with April still present.

I'm sure budgeting played some role, but ultimately this was Krista and her personal ridiculous dated opinions of two of the most popular remaining OG characters. And one of the only superships Grey's had/has left.

Just look at the show itself, Jaggie was sloppy. Jackson makes comments about her being his sister, they place them as siblings. Jesse made posts about them being siblings. The actress did as well. Neither of them liked the pairing. And I think Jesse was at times almost forced to show support. They never would have done that if it had been any kind of plan. They make APRIL of all people point out Jackson likes (his sister) opps, I mean Maggie. They rip off an iconic Japril bus explosion to do it. Maggie is the one they make sure April thanks for saving her.

Watch how Jesse and Sarah play their scenes during the COF. They play it like they think Japril is heading to a reunion. They gave interviews like it. They made posts that make sense if that was the truth. Sarah and Jessica found out about their firing on Woman's Day for crying out loud. No smart comp would do that to two of their most beloved actresses.

Obviously I can't quote directly, because the person and posts are long gone. But this is what I remember and why so many of us quit GA. And why a lot of us did the airplane surprise in part, because it was so messed up. They lost millions of viewers when they disrespected Sarah and Jessica. And many of us I'm sure will never come back. Krusty is gone now and they wised up and tried to fix Japril. I believe part of that was actually because Jesse used the power he gained and demanded it for his exit. He's gone to bat for Japril many times, and so has Sarah. But they/Krispy did what they did.

And personally, I'm thrilled to call them out on their BS once again for those who weren't around or don't know.

This ask is for the previous anon who wanted more info on the BTS. The screenshots of the post referenced in this ask are here btw.

I'm going to be honest and say that I've already read this and I go back and forth with believing all of it. At times it reads like fanfiction, but at the same time, some of the stuff said would totally explain some things that happened, so I truly don't know. One thing I believe is, like I said, that Sarah and Jesse firmly believed Japril would go back together in season 14.

[alarrytale]

i think a lot of things went wrong with bbg:

1) i think if louis + band had actually not communicated about it being not real and louis actually tried to play a dad for the first two years, then they could have easily ended it by latest 2017 with a paternity test. because they were communicating and all of these "theories" are wild and A LOT of people are aware of this "conspiracy" I believe this is why they cannot end it smoothly because they know we are gonna go "i told you so" and then it's gonna be another hot cup of worms.

2) at the same time I also think his personal losses affect him mentally to be putting his energy into this and that's why it didn't happen immediately?

3) do you think the contract has an end date? at this point I'm afraid it doesn't have an end date and they keep renewing it of some sort.

4) i am a quarantine larrie but i have heard many many times that there were seedings of it ending in 2016 and 2018 and even at the time around early 2020? but after I have joined the fandom i haven't seen any such signs of the bg ending. it has just amplified.

5) altho at the same time i do feel there have been contrasting changes to bg then vs bg now, louis is more involved and the clarks are not followers hungry as they used to be? B's instagram is also bare minimum (just a couple pics of F and i don't follow her so idk what goes onto her stories but i think she doesn't post a lot of F; ofc cause she has her life and she's not a mother)

6) in the past couple years i have actually sat back and thought if im sane about it or not or if louis was actually the father but then immediately i recognise that nope, above anything I know that woman was not pregnant aka no baby came out of her vagina and it's all bullshit. ofc they are other proofs of him not being a father but this tops them all. and it's also laughable how the sisters don't have any other pics of F apart from the christmas stunts.

7) louis can make sony money too, if they just fucking LET HIM. i don't understand why all cruelty is imposed upon him. maybe get harry engaged to some blonde for 2 years (and make him SELL IT? 2 years can do. they did with OW) as an exchange to bg getting ended. who the fuck cares??? as long as it's not bg 2.0 and HS is fully straight and in love with a WOMAN and engaged (maybe bring on the baby rumours too to feed the het fans BUT I WANT THE KID GONE)

8) at this point im just hoping they'll end it before he turns 10 but then ill be in excruciating pain to think that this sweet boy had to endure ten years of this torture just because he's 🌈 and in relationship with mr styles? this is tortuous.

9) maybe they can end it and louis can dip of the face of the earth for a year and then come back with lt3 and be the next big thing. i am manifesting for bbg to get over before july 2025.

10) truth to be told, i am losing hope but at the same time im optimistic that it'll end someday (hopefully soon) and they don't wait for hs downfall (just because he's on his peak rn) idfc. i hate it for louis and freddie, too. the child has no agency, he didn't sign up for this and he'll grow up with a lot of trauma if he's exposed to it anymore (2 years and he'll be 10? what another 2? and he'll most probably be on the internet? this is horrifying)

Hi, anon 💚

I think bg was something so horrible and traumatic to Louis (and the rest of the band) that the only thing he really considered was fighting back with everything he had. H and L had tried to position themselves to get more freedom within their closets, and this was undring everything they'd worked for. So it was important for him to show those who sees him for who he is, and sees and support his relationship with H, that it was not real. It's not who he is. He didn’t have a choice when it came to participating, but he could restist, resist and resist as much as possible. If he hadn't, and he played willingly along to really sell it, he'd be miserable, H would be miserable and larries would have left the fandom in droves. He'd have no fans to launch his solo career with. He'd have no support.

I don't know when it will end, it doesn’t seem like it's ending anytime soon, but then again bg could end at any time. It doesn’t need seeding. But if it ends, there's nothing stopping us larries from being very vocal about it and the larry rumours coming back again. L would be halfway out of the closet and dragging H along with him. So i think it will last until they're allowed to come out. I don't know when that will be.

[tomatoland]

Hi! I’m not sure if you will see this or even reply to this but I do want to say that I want to show a lot of appreciation for your blog and your breakdowns about TopMew so much. I saw your post about only friends being a morality drama and the idea of media literacy and it made me reflect a lot about myself as a viewer.

You spoke a lot of truths in your post. I think a lot of viewers resort to archetypes (e.g. TopMew) or comparisons (e.g. Top vs Ray) when they find characters on “different sides of the same coin” or stereotypes that they can associate characters with. But at the end of the day, these characters don’t have the same upbringing/backstories/personalities. Ngl I do admit my opinions do get swayed sometimes by other meta posts because it’s difficult to find meta posts that analyse TopMew without turning them or their actions into something rancid/evil or there’s a lack of TopMew analysis. Your analysis posts have truly been a gift.

I agree 100% that accountability is a major theme here. I’m guessing other people brought in ephemerality due to the idea that these characters are still in college, hence they are more likely to act without thinking about the consequences. But accountability is very much the bigger picture imo. I just don’t get the idea of being a “___ defender/apologist”. As a FB stan, I do like TopMew, especially Mew. But do I excuse their wrongdoings? No. I can enjoy and like them while acknowledging their misdeeds. All I need is to understand is their rationale behind it. 

I also see a lot of viewers constantly trying to push ideas what they want the characters to do ___ (E.g. TopMew doing a threesome with Boeing, really?). More people need to realise this show is not made to fulfil people’s fantasies. I mean MewRay happened, which was clearly what the majority were against. I think it’s also important to keep in my mind what would make sense for these characters to do (e.g. what are their best interests, their characterisation). My only fear right now is if Jojo and his crew would try to appease the majority, given that they cut out a Top scene from EP7 based on fans’ reactions. Are they going to bring justice to these characters’ actions and consequences by the end of the series based on how accountable/responsible they are? Or is it just going to be based on what the majority wants?

I want to thank you again for speaking out about this. I love your posts, especially the ones on Top’s wounded inner child, the Madonna-Whore complex on TopMew, TopMew working on the hostel project. I also love it so much about how TopMew can be linked to “Young and Beautiful” by Lana Del Ray (I just vibe with it so much). I think we the FB fandom can agree that ForceBook has brought so much to their characters and we’re so proud of them. Thanks for reading!

You are so sweet!! ���� and thank you very much. foxmochi hug!

Oh! Is that what people mean by ephemerality? I honestly do not understand lol. Because life is also ephemeral? No one is guaranteed a tomorrow.

Right? Human beings are complex. And people treat TopMew as morality foils or NPCs. And in real life, no one is a side character, you know what I'm saying? No one is an actual villain except well, Boston, but I actually think his storyline is going to get justice. Boston looks like he's going to have an introspective moment in the preview and I am here for it.

Okay, I actually do know where that comes from. Mond re-tweeted this pic adding "I'd like to be friends too."

And this

While I'm down for a little jealous Mew and Boeing testing him, Top & Mew have only ever wanted to be with each other. And the confirmation that one of the deleted scenes being Top trying to move on, but not being able to, really confirms this. So I'm gutted we didn't get it.

Yes, that was a bit surreal to hear from Jojo. And it makes me uneasy.

Like the story of the series is in flux when it shouldn't be. And those theories about re-shoots 🙃 I'm just going to remember that FB would have told us if they did re-shoots. Being the spoiler kings they are and the foxmochi thai superfans definitely would have known.

Top & Mew are almost there. They just need to have honest communication and not the kinda cautious communication they had when they were courting. And I need FB to have at least one scorching hot sex scene so absolutely no one can deny that TopMew and FB have chemistry coming out of their eyeballs. And I think FB as artists would be down to do it.

Okay, you're going to get my Ray take because I have written it and I don’t want to make a separate post.

Not once in the show does Ray try to curb his drinking. It's one thing to try and then to slip, you are at least trying, but not once has Ray ever said, no I'm trying to cut back. He doesn't and has never seen it as a problem even after the accident.

Ray needs to learn that while trauma might explain why he does what he does, it is not an excuse. Ray needs to do some soul-reckoning. Some people want it be a case of "Love conquers All" and *dun dun da dun, insert hero fanfare here* Sand is going to swoop in and save Ray from himself without losing himself in return. But Sand and his presence are not enough to make Ray change. Ray must want it for himself. Read any article on how to handle addiction for loved ones and they all say this. And this is actually the hardest and most painful life lesson I've ever had to learn in my life. People have to want to change and as much as you can want it, no matter how much you beg, nothing will change unless they want for themselves.

I am actually really sad that in the preview Ray says he'll go to rehab if Sand wants him too. It's only Sand, he's thinking about? Not himself, not his friends, not his dad, or his fellow humans? It's really weak character development. He still lacks the ability to be introspective or think about others. Ray has to do some honest soul-discovery before he can be a good partner to anyone. And I'm praying that it's still coming. Please, show, please do this for Ray.

I know I'm basically preaching to the choir at this point but whatever, I want these posts to exist because sometime from now, after the show finishes airing, someone will come to Tumblr and find one of these posts. And TopMew deserve the right to context.

You are the sweetest. Yes, I love "Young and Beautiful" for them. And I agree, ForceBook have done an amazing job in OF.

And just remember whatever weird stuff is happening here, Thai fans LOVE them and don’t overanalyze TopMew.

I hope you have a wonderful day, hun and thank you for dropping by my mailbox~ You made my day 💕

[pochqmqri]

It has now been a full year since my ex broke up with me, after "no longer having any romantic feelings" for me. The same ex who had been so dismissive of my sexual wants in our relationship, that she would never give the time of day to even look at or compliment any of my nudes because she was asexual now, that she didn't feel horny anymore to engage in sexting, but would continue on the side to do those activities with random strangers on her 18+ accounts. The same one who, on the day of the breakup, just before it, asked to see my nudes to "test something," since she was "feeling horny again and wanted to check against something [she] knew she wasn't for," only to break the bad news after, and then criticize my nudes because she only likes "full body shots" despite constantly sharing tummy and dick pics of other random girls. The same one who said that when she reblogged posts about girlcock, she said it was "only in jest" and didn't mean that she was sexually attracted to me, that is, I was being fetishized by her. I'm not going to say another trans woman is a chaser, but she was showing chaser tendencies. The same one who would engage in sexting with other members of the polycule server I used to be in, but when I brought up that I felt left out, she said there was nothing she could do about that. The same one who refused to be there for me emotionally during our relationship, such as when my own native country was being coup'd, or when my friend's mom died after a driver hit her, that she didn't have "the spoons" and would consistently pass it over to our other (an another ex) partner or ask if I had a therapist to talk to, treating the polycule like she could designate tasks she didn't want to do with me to other people.

It's also been a full year since I last talked to her, the last thing I said to her being that she had gaslighted me too many times in our relationship, and her last thing trying to deny it, ending with, "seeing all this, i feel like you were only looking at my sexual side as if you were trying to isolate it from the rest of my self but in doing so failed to understand key things about myself as a whole, hence your confusion as to why i would interact with sexual content that i wouldn't theoretically like." I have several regrets of that relationship, such as spending an exorbitant amount on Canadian shipping to give her gifts for her birthday from Japan, which she felt no real remorse for in our breakup, but one regret that sticks with me was how I should have called her out on her hypocrisy and been more rude about it. I was stupid for letting her get away with so much, and she was thus able to get away scot-free thinking that she did nothing wrong (technically it was a centrist both-sidesy "neither of us did anything wrong uwu" thing).

Directly following the aftermath, I had to set aside my emotions, because I was in the midst of finals week for my last semester of university as an undergrad. If she had been waiting about a week and a half to break up with me, I would have appreciated it if she waited a little bit longer until I was done with school. Nevertheless, I persevered and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

Over the summer, my ex would coax her partner (also my ex but broke up with me a month earlier) to move in with her across the country. They had planned this for a while now. I was a bit envious, two trans girls in an online relationship finally moving in together, that's the dream isn't it? Looking back, it was funny that my ex, who when we started dating, was in a polycule dating four other girls including me, then proceeded to lose each girl one by one with me as the second-to-last one. It's almost like I was just a "test." I spent my summer looking to get hired, though I had little luck being a bio major with barely any experience. I had to settle on unpaid internships for a while, where I was treated like shit and made to do menial tasks.

I wasn't doing well, even a few months after, I was lonely. I still had my online friends, who stuck by me, but I realize that after my horrible experience in an online relationship with her, I no longer wanted to go headfirst into something like that again. I didn't want to "e-date," and I wanted to make more friends IRL. After graduating, I lost touch with a bunch of people, including my work friends who I cherished a lot, and I was back to my reclusive ways. This all stems from my insecurities of being closeted IRL, how it's hard for me to create a "fake face" to make and keep friends, and even that I'm ashamed to date if I haven't even bothered to come out as my true self, because I'm lying to everyone including myself. Yet still, I made the effort to reconnect with a few friends in person, even one who I had not talked to for about four years. I'm still working on that though.

My fortune that year turned around towards the last few months, when I went on vacation to visit my relatives in Australia. It was the first time I left the U.S. since early 2018. I enjoyed my time there greatly, I got to see and do so many cool things, such as snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. It definitely helped take my mind of my ex.

When I came back to the U.S. earlier this year, I had to hit the grind on job hunting again, and I still wasn't very successful on that, especially since I promised to no longer work for free again. Luckily, at that point, I was working part-time as a babysitter for a family friend's child, being paid pretty well. Around late March, I went back to one of my internships (one that treated me much better) and did a paid internship with them, of which I just completed recently.

As of my ex, I learned back in April that she debuted as a vtuber, with a live rig and such. I knew she was considering it a year ago, and though I don't care about that subculture, I would have supported her had we been still together. What's peculiar is that she wanted to study to become a pharmacy tech, and that she would get a stable income from that to become a vtuber...I guess she got that "stable income" rather quickly, since live rigs cost hundreds of dollars. It's really suspicious to me that she's able to sit on her ass pretending to be a "nekomata slime girl" (who's actually white) that can speak Japanese, playing video games, while her current partner since moving in with her last July, has made several donation posts asking for money due to her struggling to find a job. It feels extremely selfish to me.

I thought about if I should call out my ex, with all the receipts on what she did to me, along with her seemingly not helping her partner pay the bills as a no-name vtuber isn't making much anyways. For the receipts, I thought that they were too personal and people would see it as stuff that "should stay in the DMs" so I stalled on the issue. Not to mention, because she's no-name and doesn't even have 100 followers, I thought it would be cruel to even target her.

Over the last couple of weeks, I settled on a decision. I'm moving on. That doesn't mean I forgive her, or that there's a chance I will at this rate, when she rebranded as a vtuber, she unfriended me on Discord (of which I never messaged her since the breakup but kept it open in case there was an opportunity to talk again), which probably makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with me anymore. I don't want to get "revenge" or even with her anymore, because I already have the best kind of such, which is the way I currently live. I could do better for sure, but looking back at the past year since the break up, I'm much happier without her, I've experienced a lot of new things on my own, met new people and reconciled with old ones. I spent time streaming anime with friends again, hung out with a friend downtown, been making and saving up money, and there's so much more ahead for me. I haven't come out publicly and transitioned to be my truest and fullest self yet, but I know that will happen eventually, that I will have the courage to do so, even if not to my family, in stealth. I want to maybe go on a trip by myself to see friends who live far away, I want to go back to being my pre-pandemic self. I don't want to be tethered to her any longer, I want to take more risks in my life, stop feeling too comfortable.

[obscuremechala]

testing testing 123

i just got here so i wanna test things out, probably won't keep this post in the long run but maybe i'll forget this is up or something idk

this is my profile pic, i drew it myself real quick and i don't feel like elaborating why. the url is a tad different bc i was thinking of sharing it on instagram (i didn't tho) and tumblr doesn't allow underscores apparently

but i digress

i don't have much to talk about but that's 'cause i don't have a prompt or anything this was just meant to be a test

one day i'll ramble about my story stuff bc there's a lot going on there but there's still a lot i need to figure out

hmm maybe ill do an intro or something

but probably not here i don't think it'll fit

ill test things in the meanwhile

italics? oooh yes

bold

[redacted] (huh would that be unredacted or what is this a paradox)

awelkhfas ooh different fonts too

point 1

point 2

there are no points

what am i doing

idk man

i just got here and want to learn and maybe interact

i tend to just lurk on socials but i am capable of interaction

i just usually don't

friends are nice, i wish i could interact with mine more

testing testing one two three

bigger

biggest

moths are cute, i like moths

one of my fantasy races/species are inspired by moths but that's for another time

i don't expect anyone to actually read this

tho i do expect it'll take me some time to get used to things here

ive seen a lot of posts on pinterest while looking for writing advice and character design inspo, tho now my feed is 1/3 transformers, 1/3 pokemon, and 1/3 misc. tumblr posts

i also like robots and transformers

what if moth robot

hmm lemme think

i could def make it work in my universe, i shall ponder

anyway more tests

ooo smol

wonder what this does

color text nice

this song is great i found it a few days ago and have listened to it several times on loop

however i don't have spotify i just have youtube music

sad that they deleted google play music, at least i could listen to music outside of the app and with my screen off without paying money

i haven't actually played undertale, i watched a neutral run playthrough and have played deltarune, if i get the game id probably do a pacifist run

undertale music is good tho

h

there is no 2

what did that do

i don't really get it

maybe it'll do something when i publish this

ooo i should post some art

i don't have a lot tho

maybe i should redraw my old art bc i looked at some last night and yikes

apparently i only recently discovered decent anatomy/proportions and that was via mostly guesture poses

i have recently been shown the way of shapes and im watching a lot of character design and redesign stuff along with my hermitcraft

i never really got into miraculous ladybug but for some reason watching people tear into it and redesign the characters tends to pull me in like a moth to a light

it's funny bc i have no investment in what people are complaining about but im interested in how they make things better/different

also taking notes on what not to do so

i wish i could draw my characters, a good chunk are robots and hard to design, 90% of the rest of them are homemade fantasy races/species i have to actually conceptualize, and then the humans are kinda just there

bc i do have humans there just arent a ton bc i must make everything hard for myself

dw its fun for me it just takes a long time to actually hammer out

i wanna talk more about them but im thinking of better ways to actually organize my thoughts that just vomiting words on a page that no one will see anyway

it's gonna take some tome to figure out this place

maybe ill make separate blogs for original and fandom stuff idk ill explore the features more and get back to

[sweet-little-iris]

I posted 661 times in 2022

That's 646 more posts than 2021!

112 posts created (17%)

549 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@heavyarms55

@rinlanddess

@lets-talk-panties

@want-to-be-iris

I tagged 637 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#femininity - 254 posts

#tgcomic - 98 posts

#feminization - 97 posts

#cuteness - 65 posts

#owned sub - 59 posts

#genshin - 38 posts

#female pov - 35 posts

#hypnosis - 21 posts

#youtube - 16 posts

#mind control - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 35 characters

#i just want a normal life as a girl

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I got to take some new pics today!! What do you like better, black or white?

49 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

#4

Me and a lot of the mutuals I've interacted with

54 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

#3

Way back around middle school, I began to realize my deep need to be feminine, and I fought it every day, even wearing oversized clothes to hide my slender frame because i "shouldnt" be feminine. In my first year of high school, a friend left her onepiece swimsuit at camp and it was given to me to deliver it... Of course I tried it on, and it blew my mind! The fight ended that day, femininity won with a single blow. It wasn't a sudden total change, but it was a decisive victory.

True story. I cannot deny the power of the swimsuit!

78 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

#2

Michael was a lazy jobless freeloader. Like many other people, he would stop by the fancy chocolate store for the free samples when he was at the mall each weekend, but he would always take extra, despite being told to stop.

One day the clerk told him he had a new flavor he'd like him to taste test, since he was one of their best customers, if not a paying one. Michael wouldn't turn down free chocolate, so of course he agreed, signed the NDA and stuff without bothering to read it, of course, and was taken to the back room.

He woke up on a bench as the mall was closing, and couldn't even remember going for his free sample, but he had a big box of chocolates from that store, and it had a note attached which read "our FREE gift to you!", So... free stuff, whatever!

He rationed the chocolates out over the week. He'd never had anything quite like them, very tasty! Each one seemed to melt into his very core. Even better, he was losing weight, and nothing else had changed, so it must have been the new chocolates! But when the weekend rolled around he was out, and he wanted more... He needed more!

He went back to the store and was welcomed, and ushered back into the back room, and woke up on the bench again, with no memories, and with another free box. It felt hard to think too hard about it... or about anything, really. It's free and it's amazing! So he stopped thinking too hard and left.

Over the next week his hair started growing faster, but he'd always wanted to try a manly ponytail, right? So he put it up... higher... higher, yes, now that's a manly ponytail that will sway nicely as he walks! Time to go to the mall and snag some more chocolates!

He woke up on the bench, as usual, but he didn't care. Thinking about it was hard. He took the bag of stuff home and went about his week, eating his chocolates every day. By the end of the week his nipples we're getting really sensitive and rubbing against his shirt, and looking for a solution he found that bag of stuff had a cow pattern bikini top. Huh. Well, it would do the job, and no one would notice, and thinking about it was hard, so he just put it on and felt much better. Off to the mall!

He woke up happy and took his bag to go home. Where was his shirt? Everyone could see his bikini! Well, thinking about it was too hard, so he didn't. He'd figure it out later. By the end of the week he had lost so much weight that his pants weren't fitting, they were so baggy and even too long, somehow! Stupid washing machine, it messed up his undies, too! Lucky for him he found some skinny jeans that fit perfectly in the bag from the mall! Yay! They made his ass look really girly, but whatever, thinking about it was too hard. The problem was without undies that fit, his cock was uncomfortable. Digging through the bags he found a cow print thong bikini. He tried to think if it was ok to wear, but thinking was hard, and it did match his top, so whatever. He tucked his little cock back into it, put the jeans back on, and was looking good and manly with a nice flat front! He put his hair up threw on a baggy shirt that hung off one shoulder sometimes, showing his bikini top, and headed out, hips swaying with every step thanks to his narrow manly waist.

He woke up missing his shirt again, but that's ok, it was too baggy anyway, stupid washing machine. By the end of this week he realized he needed new shoes. His were feeling waaay to big! Lucky! He found some that fit super good in his mall bag! They were pink and white sneakers, but at least they fit and were cute so no use in thinking about it. His socks were all too big, though, stupid washing machine. The bag had some that fit, but why were they were sooo long? And cow print... and missing the heel? Weird. Whatever, he threw them on and just bunched them down around his ankles. It was kind of a hot day so he didn't want to wear pants. He had found some shorts in one of the older bags when he was tidying up. They hugged his round ass and were really cute and short, leaving a lot of leg exposed, but that was ok, because he had shaved his legs this morning, so he didn't think about it, thinking was hard. He left, not thinking to put a shirt over his bikini top, which cradled his growing chest nicely.

He woke up again with a new bag and a new batch of free chocolate, yay! His thigh high stockings were pulled all the way up, now, where they belonged, and as he moved he heard a sweet clinking sound from the little cowbell on the cutest little collar fastened around his neck! He noticed some guys looking at him, but they were probably just jealous of all his great gree stuff. This week he pulled his cow print thong up over his cute little pussy, which, he made sure was hairless and smooth, wedged it between his round butt cheeks. His large breasts felt full of milk as he tucked them into his cow print bikini top. He rolled the thigh high cow print stockings up his soft legs, which he shaved like any man should. The collar was still around his neck, it seemed to be locked, so he didn't bother trying to take it off anymore. His hair was bothering him, today, he just couldn't get it right, so he just put it in a kind of double bun twintail style, and threw on a cow ear hairband that he found in a bag along with the cutest cow print gloves! They matched his outfit so well! But as he looked at his petite feminine form in the mirror, a single clear thought finally pierced the fog in his head... ... ... ... He needed makeup! Fortunately he had gotten some for free in his bag, so he applied a light touch with some eyeliner and lip gloss, just the basics any man needs, which completed the look. He slipped on his cute shoes, and headed out to the mall.

He woke up in a stall and his breasts felt really really full! He wobbled sleepily over to the door, cowbell clinking, and called out. Thank goodness, the clerk from the chocolate store was there! He'd help! Before he could even think of anything to say, the clerk led him to a machine, bent him over and strapped him in. Pulling his top down, the clerk hooked up suction pumps to his nipples, and he moaned, sweetly as the milk flowed out from him, not even caring that the clerk was caressing his sweet ass. The clerk said something about his milk making more special chocolates... and girls? It was hard to follow so he didn't really try. Then there was something about a finder's fee, as he felt his thong pulled to the side and something warm and stiff slide into his pussy, making him moan more as the milk flowed out of him, and he lost track of time...

A week later he was sitting dazedly locked in his stall, happily reflecting on his situation. A free place to live, free food, free pampering and milking, and all the free chocolate he could eat! What more could a man want? He always did know how to take advantage of generosity!

Story Source: @sweet-little-iris

Image Source: Pixiv

297 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

427 notes - Posted April 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[birdiesbuckley]

tactless its a test ch. 2/3 thoughts!

hey sexy people i hope you enjoyed that chapter. I've literally been writing this since I posted the last one but took a month break bc I randomly decided i hated everything i had written! honestly did not think a canon rewrite would be so difficult but here we are! some things in this chapter i wanted to talk about;

-yes i know samantha is mean to nancy. but listen. coming from a sister, this is appropriate sister behavior. sam realizes that shes kinda bitch to nance but doesn't care bc she hurt steve. yes i know steve and nance hurt each other, but sam is partial to steve obvi. they’ll be better post stancy breakup, and become the badass girlboss duo we want them to be i swear. i am a nancy lover first and foremost. 

- on that note i should mention i hate stancy. they are not good for each other

-yes i snuck rob in there for a sec. sorry not sorry, i had to write about the loml for a few paragraphs or i was gonna get separation anxiety before the st3 chapters. 

-also i wasn't originally planning on revealing sams sexuality until the great coming out scene but i decided to change how i was gonna do it bc i think I'm gonna write st4 now too so I'm plotting. 

-yes samantha’s costume is magenta in rocky horror. i love that musical with my whole heart, so obvi sams go to costume was gonna be my own go to costume. also im not sure if it was ever mentioned but samantha is blonde. 

-yes i had always planned the samantha scene. did i think about it after i changed sams name from scarlett... no... but honestly canon lesbian experience, and it was a brief enough scene that i decided it didn't matter. also you cant put a girl in a siouxsie sioux costume and not expect me to make her gay.

-dustin has a tiny crush on samantha bc i think its funny. sams style is not super common in hawkins and tiny twelve year old dustin is amazed. 

-on that note, in my mind sams style is very new wave. think a more rocker debbie harry. while new wave may be a basic 80s style, it definitely wasnt as common in buttfuck nowhere indiana. on the same note, her hair is blonde as i mentioned, and she has the debbie harry log bob with messy wispy bangs, minus the dark underside, for sure (see the top and bottom right pics below). she can also have a little metal/rock influence on her style as a treat. here's some style inspo for my girl 

-however, sams music taste is not new wave at all, she is a rock girl through and through. she def loves led zep. you’ll see her fav song in the st4 chapters teeheehee. but anyways she can dress new wave and listen to rock bc she can do whatever she wants and this is my fic. here's my spotify playlist for sam, tactless

-in the junkyard scene i picture sam in this cute little number, patterned jeans and leather jacket, everyone say thank you madonna. its more late 80s but i do whatever i want. also technically the real outfit is jorts but ignore that in my world its jeans. 

-sam taught steve how to do his hair. its canon. they both definitely smell faintly of hairspray.

-on that note a little bit of a gay backstory for sam. if you notice, i make several references to 80s queer culture, and that is because i have a huge hyperfixation for it. as a queer person, it is so important to recognize what a queer elders have done for us and part of that is acknowledging queer culture. so yes, sam is kinda my love letter to 80s queer culture. with rocky horror, siouxsie sioux, bronski beat, and anything else i mention. in future chapters i will go back into how sam learned all of this, bc you dont just learn it living in a small town in the 80s. but shes also gonna get to have her queer mentor moment which i love, so get excited for that. 

-sam has adopted max. she loves all the kids, but she is closets to max, will, mike, and eleven, as youll see in future chapters. shes fighting for the elmax friendship train. in this fic, steve is closest with dustin, lucas, and max as well. sam and steve love them all equally, but based on how close their friendship are thats how it it. 

-hopper is a softie agenda. thats my dad for reals. some of my own fav fics have hopper as a father figure to steve, so i just had to add it. hopper has a huge spot in his heart for kids with shitty parents, and he wants to protect them all. and later in the chapter, joyce has her pseudo mom moment. i love fics where steve somehow ends up adopted into the byers-hopper household. 

-the action scenes were definitely the hardest to write, and i rewrote all of them several times. the junkyard scene was similar to my og plan, but the billy fight at tunnels completely changed. originally i had no clue how i was gonna knock sam out, bc there was no way she’d go to the tunnels if steve was passed out. her using a pocketknife is slightly unhinged, but tbh love that for her. unfortunately, the harringtons are destined to receive concussions. 

-originally it was gonna be sam holding onto max in the tunnels, but i didnt wanna take away from steve, so i had a twin moment. you may think it takes away a part of steve and dustins friendship, but i dont think so, i think dustin is already obsessed with steves companionship. 

-say goodbye to saint cecilias bc this is the last time we’ll see it! good riddance i think! 

-also sam was originally gonna help max get ready for the snowball, but i think her having her mom help is important, and el needs girl time so that happened instead. the snowball scene is so special to me, and has been since i first watched the season when it came out. els dress is so cute, and im pretty sure i heard somewhere that it was nancy who helped, which is why i added the shoes bit. 

-also the timeline in this is fucked and i know. you mightve seen my timeline related mental breakdown, but in my defense it is seriously confusing no matter how many times ive seen the show. it starts to get fucked once they go with dustin to the cellar, like i know that technically its night when they go, and then railroad tracks scene and junkyard is the next day but in the show theyre also wearing the same clothes the the next day? making it two separate days made the flow weird so i chose to ignore it, even though i know it would mess up every other storyline going on, esp nance and jons, but whatever. so if its messed up at all in this fic my apologies. i had to study the season two fandom wiki page and make my own timeline.

those are my full thoughts on these chapters, hopefully i get my shit together and keep updating but im about to go to uni so we’ll see! if i havent updated in awhile, feel free to come threaten me on insta/tiktok same user as here! ive written some stuff for the future chapters (rating might be going up) so that should keep me motivated. look forward to multiple s3 chapters, goodbye my lovelys!!! 

[psychicequalizer]

Hi! It's your Secret Santa again 🎅.

How are you? I'm glad there's only 2 days left of my workweek. Adulting sucks sometimes lol.

Ooh, finals week. I remember those, definitely a hectic time. I'm sorry to hear about history. I struggled alot in biology. Made like ds and fs on all the tests. Then miraculously made an a on the final. Kinda saved my grade. Maybe you'll get lucky in history too 🤞.

I love guitar music. Alot of people in my family play guitar, so I grew up listening to alot of great guitar playing. I think you sounded really good in the videos, and I bet you sound just as good when you're sober too.

Thats awesome you've been in a band and play solo too! What kind of places do you play at? Do you ever get nervous about it?

Yeah, college definitely isn't for everyone. Do you know what you might want to do if you decide not to go the college route?

I read some of your poetry! One of my favorites was this one... it didn't have a title so I just copied the beginning of it: "somewhere in south carolina there is a dying boy sitting". What inspires you most when writing poetry?

I would love to see your photography! Is it posted on your blog as well?

I see you have alot of Dukes of Hazard pics on your blog. Is that one of your favorite shows? I'll admit, I've never seen it before, and don't really know much about it. So I'm curious, what are some of your favorite things about that show and what draws you to it?

I hope you have an amazing night tonight and a wonderful day tomorrow!

Until next time!

i'm doing pretty good, just turned in a final paper for philosophy. a little hungover lmao, me n the boys got a little crazy last night. crossed while watching fight club is INSANE.

as far as where i play: parties, bars, church, funerals, you name it, i've probably played it. any old place will do.

im gonna be so real i've always said that if life don't work out i'll be a trucker. already know how to drive a rig pretty good—i been driving bigass trailers n hauling shit around the hunt club since i was old enough to drive. n by old enough to drive, i mean old enough to reach the pedals.

i'm so glad u like my poems! really im mostly just inspired by the world around me n my own experiences. also, i'd forgot about the one you mentioned n goddamn that hit different rn.

some of my photography is on here, yeah. tag is my photos.

lmaooo yeah i been on the dukes BAD lately. watched it growing up bc they played reruns on tvland and my parents liked it. i don't remember why i started watching it again but im glad i did bc its rly fun n takes my mind off all the big pressing shit i have going on. bottom line abt me n that is: im from the south, i like cars, n i don't like the cops. the whole thing is just fighting the system (any system) n driving like hell. whats not to love fr

you have a good day too!

[vera9811]

Well I just tested a few people.

Posted to my Instagram story some personal things for 1 month

And posted memes and bullshits for 1 month continously

Here is the results

------------------------------------------------------

It's funny how many people are your fake friends. They only just watching your personal stuff and didn't give a shit about "your" funny side.

I tried the NGL stuff too where you can ask anonymously. I got a few and boosted it a little bit by myself.

It was the same. They were reading the first few but after that the numbers slowly decreased.

One of my "friends" was very suspicious to me. I don't know why, I just didn't feel good about her. And my intuitions was right.

It turned out that she submitted the information about me to others.

Our mutual friend only watched my story when she watched it and if it was personal. If it was a meme or something else, she didn't cared about it or just told her it's bullshit again, I think.

They even posted a pic about a bday party, three of them plus one other person. I was angry at the moment when I saw it. I mean yeah it's your bday, you invite whoever you want, but replacing me...really?

But anyway, I posted on that day four pics after I saw this, just in case as a little revenge, so I can show them that I had fun on that day too with others, with my real friends. And as it is, everyone saw it from that group. So basically they talked about me behind my back, again.

But there was even more of this shit.

Long story short, one of them or somebody else from the same elementary school class they send to me literally an university degree geek. And I mean by that, his D only can get hard when he's hearing about someone else from our old class. So he can boost his ego about "how is he going better in life"... Because he is having a chemistry degree and how smart is he...

In that few months when I talked to him, it got even worse, everyone popped up everywhere.

When I stopped talking to him, I only saw these old classmates in my FB friend requests. Then I blocked them. And blocked this geek guy from Instagram, but it was just one profile from the two, he tried to follow me again, but after a few weeks I didn't accepted it and blocked that too.

After that, this guy continously walks into my girlfriends workplace and looking at her suspiciously to this days.

Few days ago, I met the bday girl in a shop it was random, we talked a little bit. But I saw it on her face that she is anxious, didn't want to talk to me, she felt uncomfortable, she rotated her head and eyes to search for an exit etc.

Basically I don't know anymore who I can trust.

Anyways, I'm still gonna post memes, jokes, personal stuff.

If anyone realized themselves, make a good move and unfollow me

or

grow a D and send a pm about why are you all hating me, why are you all putting the fake mask on or why are you all acting like a clown.

[rotkinshock]

Baldur and Usopp

(I copy it from my post on Worstgen cuz I'm lazy)

This thought is fresh and unsteady so bare with me: While going through norse god mythologies and google pictures, trying to find some reasonable references for my work my eyes were caught by that pic and Baldur here making me think "huh, reminds me kinda of Nika but it is just a halo thing":

I know that taking such picture seriously is stupid so I started to dig. I knew Baldur from few games in my life like Baldur's Gate or God of War. Especially this one made me think, since in that game he called himself as a coward and stuff like that, what was kinda interesting too but still, it is a game so I can't take it 100% as a source of knowledge, especially since we don't have that much information about him. To say it short: He was the most beloved god by gods and creatures around. His name mostly translated as "bold" but in some sources it can be hardly translated as "white fire" and such. He was fabulous, cheerful and all of that. He was depicted as a brave warrior who was accepting every battle and even connected to the name of a warlord. You start to see some kind of ironic similarities? Or more like similarities to the picture of a warrior what Usopp wants to be? In here will be needed the most important myth of Baldur's Death.

The Death of Baldur starts with that mother of Baldur, Frigg, was worried about her son's dreams of his upcoming death. Dreams in norse mythology were important, giving them prothetic meaning. "Frigg, yearning for any chance of saving her treasured son, however remote, went to every entity in the cosmos, living or nonliving, and obtained oaths to not harm Baldur." (The Death of Baldur summary, it is a legit source what I visited multiple times)

Mother didn't asked only mistletoe, since she thought that it is way too harmless to do harm. It links to the prothetic lies of Usopp and his non stop fear of death, about which he always says, that he will die if he will come on a curtain island. It is a common knowledge that his lies are becoming true with each adventure there and there so we might link myth dreams with his lies. He is beloved by many, having tons of followers, being the reason why Strawhats has now a fleet. Later we can read about Loki and that he tricked blind god and brother of Baldur, Hodr, to kill him with a spear made of mistletoe, since other gods were testing his new invincibility. Oda not once linked Loki and Usopp together, starting from their similarities about being a tricksters, not fitting to others around, or straight up comparing them visually.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRFc0nz677bBLi6cVFr_UHKfU64H16d5sJ70g&usqp=CAU

Many predicts that Usopp will fight him in David vs Goliath style but yet I fear that despite the result, we might see his final breath while that meeting. From beginning of the myth beings from the underworld celebrated fact that Baldur will join them and after his death, while the rescue mission done my Hermod, we find out him sitting next to Hel and learn that if everyone will mop after him he will come back to life. Everyone did that besides a giant Tokk, who was believed to be Loki. By that we might try to predict of how he will die. My prediction is that Usopp by that death will become a real God but hey, it is just a theory! AN USOPP THEORY- But nah, to be serious I don't expect people taking it serious or light, cuz I didn't checked the whole myth from original original straight up translated source. I just didn't wanted to forget it as fast as my theory of Usopp and Luffy the Jesus story,,, Don't ask me, I had that thought in the middle of the night.

[maxthommusic]

Maxwell-Thomas' Gear Buying Guide

I often write things and then delete them. Either I run out of time and don't feel the motivation to come back later and finish/edit, or I decide they're just useless. When I was younger I used to think sharing my thoughts was contributing to some collective knowledge base -- that if others could know how I was feeling about the circumstances in my life, maybe that would help somebody else out. But with Apple, Amazon and Google pretty much owning the world, smaller voices are nearly irrelevant. Only the best SEO surges to the top and if you Google something nowadays, you actually never have to leave Google to get your answer. Clicking thru to a webpage is essentially a thing of the past and most of the results in Google are ads Google wants you to click.

Want to grab an app on your iPhone? Has to be through the app store. Why? Because Apple charges 30% of all sales.

Want to sell stuff on Amazon? Better hope Amazon doesn't make an "Essentials" version. And good luck making record profits without Amazon.

The big boys are killing the smaller voices -- and while communities exist for the independent outlets (I think of all the amazing Twitch streamers out there killing it with their fanbases), the uphill battle is impossible to deny. YouTube constantly demonetizes channels and gets people with unfair copyright claims. Just think of Twitter and how long it let Donald Trump say whatever the hell he wanted to even though we damn well knew it was causing real world harm. Twitter didn't want to silence a giant. But it would block you from posting a dick pick immediately.

Interestingly enough, the bigger outlets have made traffic even more transparent too. You can see how well each and every post of yours does across almost any site. How well is that new pic of you at the beach performing? Did your provocative question on Twitter generate a fervent reaction? Is your blog actually worth pursuing?

In my mind, a blog is near useless if you're not some sort of influencer. And I guess you gotta start somewhere. But do I really have something to say that hasn't been said before?

If anything, I just feel like a voice of reason sometimes and the Internet does not glorify those with pragmatic thoughts. It crowns those with the hottest takes. And I just don't know if I have anything hotter to say than, "Games don't need to be more than 10 hours to be great!"

But today is a different day. Today I'm at the office early with time to spare. I could work on some stuff ahead of time, but when things are quiet like this, it's nice to take advantage. When I'm at home I usually go for a walk, game, clean, play guitar -- there are hundreds of other things I'd rather do than sit and write. But at the office? What else is there to really do besides work or mess around on the Internet? And I'm 32 years old. "Web surfing" just really isn't my thing (nor was it really ever). I love a good deep dive on something I'm researching, but that was yesterday when I decided I might need to get a 4x12 cabinet in my life.

At rehearsal on Monday I played through a garbage "Dime" guitar head, but it was through a 4x12. And I asked my metalhead buddy if the "power and thump" I was feeling was coming from the cab or the head. I'd deduced it had to be the cabinet because I've played through many a guitar amp that's a 1x12 or maybe even 2x12 that are rated 80 watts and higher (Fender Twin's are at least 100W without me double checking...) and I even remember testing plenty of beefy heads when I worked at a music shop and never feeling this power I was getting from a garbage amp. Buddy confirmed the 4x12 life is probably what I'm looking towards.

Here's a breakdown of how I decided what amp is for me in 2022 (maybe this can help you buy an amp too).

So I first knew I needed a head because I want to upgrade to a 4x12 cabinet (no way in hell I'm getting a combo with a 4x12 configuration. I think a few exist... at least 4x10... and that would just be way too needlessly heavy).

Then I was thinking of my favorite artists -- Minus the Bear, Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters -- what amps do they use? MTB is known for their use of Vox, Mesa/Boogie, Fender. Third Eye, Matchless. Foo Fighters, Friedman, Hiwatt. A lot of my favorite records feature the Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier.

But I know what I need: 1 or 2 channels (TOPS), not too many EQ controls, definitely don't need Rev or Tremolo. So I'm looking at some of my favorite brands and models -- everything in the vintage market is just too expensive. It ain't happening. The Orange OR15 from the 90s I'd love to rock? Just never gonna happen unless I start making more money (which seems doubtful in my lifetime).

So I went to Sweetwater to see if there's anything I can finance. Sure enough -- I checked the filters for the brands I know I like and trust. And I know I want plenty of headroom for massive clean tone. So filter for 50W and above.

I then got rid of anything 3 channels or more -- I'm never going to use that many channels on my amp. I prefer pedals to rock multiple gain stages. Hooking up a footswitch to my board is just inelegant.

That honestly left me with only a few options. From there I ditched anything with too many knobs (I just don't need Low, Low Mid, Mid, Hi Mid, Treble, Hi Treble) and anything that didn't boast clean tone. For example, a few amps claimed, "Go from saturated to scorching! Classic vintage tone!" See ya.

From there, I landed on Morgan Amps' MVP 66. A brand new amp that apparently boasts the moniker, "King of the clean tone." It's a stylish amp that's got modern sensibilities, only a few knobs (but one very important feature: POWER SCALING), and boasts exactly what I want.

Obviously you gotta try these things out. Check videos on GOOD speakers (to really hear the tone) and do your best to find a shop that has it to scope out. But sometimes your gear selection is in the details. What do you need? What can you live without? It's that simple sometimes. What brands do you trust? Who do you want to know better?

Idk if my story is helpful or not, but let me know if it helps you buy a new guitar, amp, pedal, or anything cool.

[punkscowardschampions]

Rio & Nancy

Rio: If you wanna head home 'fore nan and granddad are ready, you can always have a lift back with us Nancy: Thanks Nancy: I'm in no rush though Rio: Having a good time then? Nancy: Sure Nancy: It's not a classroom, I'll take it Rio: Yeah, I bet you're buzzing Nancy: You mean you can't tell? Well, that's devastating Nancy: I reckoned on it being so obvious, like Rio: I mean, your poker face ain't all that, babe, if you wanna be real about it Nancy: More of a resting bitch, I know Nancy: The good news must not have sunk in yet Rio: Give it a few Nancy: Yeah Rio: Anyway, can't do anything about it now Rio: May as well enjoy your summer Nancy: Like I said, I already am Nancy: Aside from the prospect of going home Rio: 👍 Rio: How bad can it be Rio: he's taken one for the team Nancy: No, he's made sure exams mean more than they did before Nancy: and made me the focus since he's a less than safe convo topic Rio: Well, your family's inability to communicate is longstanding and not my fault so I'm not gonna take the blame for it, nor is my baby Rio: Sorry, like Nancy: I didn't ask Nancy: It's not my fault that his fall from grace makes me their poster child for success now either, I definitely never asked for that Rio: If you're going to feel so sorry for yourself, don't be surprised when people feel it for you in return Rio: Oddly enough our decision to have a child wasn't exactly about you Nancy: I'm only surprised the pity party isn't full already Nancy: My brother tends to take up a lot of space Rio: Please Rio: We've got no reason to be sorry, either definition Rio: we're happy, if you lot wanna be miserable then the party is all yours Nancy: Does he know that? Does he feel it? 'Cause he sounded like he wanted me to be sorry for him many times over when we last spoke Rio: Like I said, you're all crap at communicating Rio: but thanks Nancy: Yeah, and he's one of the worst Nancy: If I feel sorry for anything, it's for you, for that much, like Rio: Fuck off Rio: I don't need your pity Nancy: Don't tell me to fuck off Rio: Why not? You've seen fit to talk to me how you please Nancy: 'Cause you're judging my communication skills like its your job, for one thing Nancy: And for another, I haven't said anything like that to you, ever Rio: You said in as few words as possible that you don't think Buster really wants our baby, implying that I don't know him and we don't talk, whilst you were at it Rio: but no Rio: the f bomb in response, so much worse, Jesus Nancy: No I haven't Nancy: All I've said to him is that his timing is ridiculous and when was the last time we even spoke, me and you? Before exams probably so Rio: What does it matter to you, or your parents for that matter Rio: He's still going to Uni, he's still doing everything they want Nancy: I don't care what they want Nancy: I care about him and how hard it's gonna be Nancy: I won't be here to help either of you, not even in the same country, so excuse me for being worried Rio: When ain't life? Rio: You can't let that stop you from doing what you want Nancy: You don't need to make it harder on yourself, Jesus Rio: Well that ain't how it's going to be, or how we see it Nancy: It's easy for him to see it that way when he never admits that he needs help or that anything could possibly be a struggle in the slightest Nancy: He's just perfect and everything will be, end of story Rio: I help him Rio: and I know that, I knew that before this even started Nancy: I know you do and you know I love you, yeah? I'm not saying this to be a bitch to you Rio: I know Rio: but I don't get why you can't translate your worry into supporting him, that is literally all he needs from you Rio: instead of the constant barage of questions Nancy: because I'm scared for him and he scares me Nancy: how little he thinks about anything Nancy: He just wants and he gets and I'm the only one who cares if it'll work out or not Nancy: you know that's what he's always been like Rio: It's going to work out Rio: even if you wanna talk worst case scenarios, we have to get divorced, yeah Rio: he'll still have the kid, I'm not that bitch Nancy: I hope it does Nancy: Genuinely Nancy: You know that Rio: I think I do Rio: but you don't always show it Rio: I know it's a lot Rio: but it's hard for him when none of you seem happy for him or even say it's alright, like Rio: why do you think he can't admit he needs help, when has he got it? Nancy: Do you? 'Cause when you got together I had to re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about him and you Nancy: He says he's loved you since he was a kid, I was there, I have almost the same memories Nancy: But I don't Nancy: at all Rio: Why does it matter? We were all kids Nancy: 'Cause all this time he was so unhappy and I didn't know, okay Nancy: I didn't do anything Rio: None of us did Rio: He didn't want you to know, anyone Rio: you can't take blame for it like you wilfully ignored cries for help but he's trying now Rio: he needs you now, okay Nancy: I'm trying too Nancy: I just Nancy: I don't know him, if I ever did Nancy: How am I meant to know what to do? Rio: You did Rio: You were close then, just because you didn't know this one thing doesn't mean you weren't Rio: You wouldn't tell him about every crush you had, especially if you felt shame about being gay or there was another reason you knew he could judge you for it, you know? Rio: Just, try and be nice to each other, simple and as stupid as it sounds Rio: that's all you gotta do in this world though Nancy: You can say wanting to fuck my teacher, that's pretty shameful, babe Nancy: Lord, did you really have to do the one thing that scares me most to test me Nancy: Babies are terrifying Rio: Well you know, I assume you weren't child thirsting after your reception teacher like 👌👌👌 nice cardigan miss Rio: Nah Rio: they're just people Rio: I guess that's kinda the problem though Nancy: Hey, she was cute! And very attentive Nancy: Well, not to be dramatic and turn this into a therapy session but the last time I was properly excited for a baby to be born, he died Nancy: And now we don't talk about him Rio: That isn't going to happen again Rio: and you could talk to Buster about him Rio: he's thinking about him too Nancy: Does he talk about him to you? Rio: Yeah, a little Rio: we're going to give the baby his name as a middle Nancy: Really? Rio: I should say we don't know it's a boy yet, we just think it is Rio: but I won't say 'if not, the next one' and freak you out further, like Nancy: Go ahead, I'm just out here openly crying at the beach Rio: I'm sorry Rio: you can use my ugly dress as a hankie if you wanna Nancy: It's not that bad Rio: It's years old 'cos everything I own now would leave no need to announce this Rio: tempting but probably not Nancy: You should have come to me, my wardrobe runneth over Nancy: Literally, I need to have such a huge clear out before uni starts Rio: You planning to reinvent yourself as a minimalist? 😏 Rio: local charity shops gonna be a goldmine, like Nancy: Reinvent myself, yeah, as that, no Nancy: I get it, not tempting to come over when I'm being a bitch Nancy: I'm sorry you have to suffer that dress as a result, babe Rio: Well you know, or we could say I was giving you space and time Rio: politer Rio: I'm not even sure it was ever mine Rio: maybe it was yours, the ultimately bitchery to get it out of my system Nancy: Not to be that bitch or lesbian stereotype, okay, but what's under it? Can you not just remove it now the secret's out? Nancy: Be you again Rio: 😂 Rio: Still got it, babe Rio: I guess I can now Rio: It's weird Nancy: Do it for my brother if not me Nancy: You think I need to sort my face, look at his right now Rio: Poor boy Rio: at least I didn't straighten my hair, then he'd really be devastated Nancy: 😂 Nancy: I wish you had, I'd have taken so many pics to post and tag him in Rio: 😏 Pure evil, like Nancy: Genetically, sorry Nancy: Not saying you should watch The Omen again or anything but Rio: 😲 How rude Rio: but if I remember correctly that fucker was adopted so it would've been more cutting to come at me with Rosemary's Baby, like Rio: slacking Nancy: Oops, horror movies not really my forte Rio: You should reconsider Rio: yeah the bitch always dies, but she's usually half-naked beforehand, like Nancy: Are you gonna put your arm around me when it gets scary though? I think not Rio: You know I would you just ain't vibing 💔 Nancy: Lies! I just told you to strip Rio: True enough Rio: There's hope yet then Nancy: I'm sorry for being a bitch this whole time Nancy: I've missed you, it feels like exams lasted years Rio: I know, it was stressful and I weren't even taking them so God knows how you lot survived Rio: How do you feel about them, genuinely? Nancy: I know you love him, but how much of a prick was he during his, like 1-10? To make me feel better Nancy: I feel bad but like, I always do about that stuff so Nancy: It doesn't mean anything Rio: Oh, 11, for sure 😏 Rio: no, it was hard though, he was stressed as fuck Rio: you'll have done what you needed to do, I know Nancy: At least you could play the pregnancy card, like DO NOT STRESS ME, BOY Nancy: I basically had to shut myself away to get the same effect Rio: I feel it, Junior looks like this is his first time seeing sunlight in years, he hasn't taken his sunglasses off Rio: know they're prescription but come on Rio: as for the pregnancy card, great for getting out of arguments you've probably caused being a crazy bitch, like Nancy: I don't think he remembers who any of us are 😂 Nancy: It's not too late to have some actual fun today, is it? Nancy: You need it too, Buster said you've been pretty sick Nancy: He's dramatic, but still Rio: Of course not Rio: Someone suggested going to the pub to celebrate but as I'm the one with the baby I can make sure they choose somewhere nice with a decent cocktail list and beer garden, not a grotty old man pub, like Rio: Just morning sickness but it was pretty shitty and lonely when he was at School and so was Indie Rio: but fingers crossed I'm over that now so Nancy: We have to do something about that dress first Nancy: Come with me before we go anywhere else Nancy: I will save you Rio: 🙌 Rio: If you take me near a maternity section, we will brawl Nancy: God no Nancy: I'd burst into flames Rio: 😂 Rio: You remembered suncream today though, yeah? Nancy: Yes, mum Nancy: Maternity clothes are actually disgusting and I'm not letting it happen to you Nancy: Or my niece or nephew, how embarrassing to look back on Rio: It's just not necessary either Rio: do you know how big most clothes go these days like Nancy: Thank you! Like be more creative than that Nancy: If you wear a smock I'm disowning you Nancy: I don't care if you're having twins in a heatwave Rio: You'll be glad to know it ain't, unless one of them was hiding real stealth, but I'd be much bigger, pretty sure Nancy: Yeah, you'd need more than that dress to hide behind, right? Mum was such a ridiculous size with us, the pics are actually like something out of a scary movie Nancy: Say what you like about her, and do, but she always looked good Rio: Honestly, poor bitch Rio: Feel her small girl pain in a way you can never Rio: feeling like a human ball some days and it is just the one Nancy: Why do you think I'm not taking you to a maternity section, they'd think I was the one with a baby on board Nancy: No offense but kill me Rio: Oh bitch no Rio: like, is daddy excited or terrified, Nance? Rio: straight girl bants Nancy: I nearly threw up in my mouth Nancy: Not morning sickness, sorry lads Rio: You keep down your breakfast if you getting in my car, thank you very much Nancy: Such a mum 😏