#i try to id all my posts to be accessible so this made the most sense to me so it could still be accessible and to be able to share it :)

[martyrbat]

the snow queen

| pt. 1 | next

(ID below cut)

[ID: Part one of a short story featuring Batman. The first image is the cover, announcing the title as 'The Snow Queen'. There's a snowflake and ice skates behind the text. The rest of the story is narrated like a storybook and will be transcribed (hopefully) as smoothly as possible instead of divided per image:

Once Upon a Crime... there was a man lost in a storm. And another who searched for him. Each step became a burden. Each inch forward, a promise. The Batman would continue for as long as he could hold out. But nature was relentless. And she was winning. Batman has his cape and arms wrapped around himself in a futile attempt to block the merciless elements. He walks away from the Batmobile, the snow coming up to his knees as a harsh wind blows his cape behind him. He continues through the snow, growing weaker and weaker until he collapses.

Until she appeared. A radiant glow of serene grace. A royal lady in white, dressed in soft fur and crowned in crystal. The Snow Queen. The ethereal woman stands before Batman. She offers him her hand as he looks up at her in a silent awe. The narration continues, As she approached, the white surface remained undisturbed. She helped him to her carriage. Where her faithful transport patiently waited to depart. He lets himself be guided to her reindeer led carriage and settles into it, the Snow Queen sitting beside him.

As he trembled, she smiled. Not uncaring, but with kindness. The cold air chilled him. His breathing became more labored. Unable to continue, he exhaled, allowing his breath to escape. Batman's head is slightly downcast as he breathes through his mouth. Each struggling breath is suspended in the air as a long vapor. It trails all the way back to his exposed mouth as The Snow Queen looks ahead with a frown. The narration continues, But swiftly, she retrieved it with a delicate touch. Offering it back to him, warm and in full. Restoring what was, so he could continue. She has her hand extended near him as the transparent cloud now surrounds Batman's mouth. He picks his head up with the gift of life, having the strength to look ahead once more. He looks over his shoulder briefly as his car gets further and further away.

Leaving his vehicle, he could not go back. For she needed him for something else. He soon forgot what he left behind. His only concern... what lay ahead. - 'Where are we going?' he asked. "We are searching," she answered. "For what?" he wondered. And she replied, "A cold hand to hold."

The carriage continues through the bare trees and across the icy tundra. Wolves howl on a cliffside above their heads as the narration continues, Faster they raced, over land and lake, across snow and ice. The cold wind roared, the wolves howled, and the birds screamed above. But the Batman was not afraid."

END ID]

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's (Almost) Very Productive Day

I try to fit as many out-and-about chores as possible into a single day so I only have one set of post-exertional malaise consequences instead of consequences after each day of doing a thing. So any time I decide to drive, I try to find several tasks to accomplish all at once.

My first stop was the Family Services Division in the hopes of getting some help with grocery bills. I am making ends meet, but it seems to be getting harder each month. And maybe I could have skipped my trip to Florida and saved that money, but if I don't do something drastic for my mental health, I fear this first holiday season without a parent could send me into the darkness.

I needed to do an interview to finish applying for SNAP. I wanted to do a phone interview, but the next appointment was in January. So I went to social services where they allow walk-in appointments. I waited in a tiny plastic chair for several hours until they called my name. She yelled out "Benjamin" because when most people see "Grelle" they aren't really sure how to say it. (Rhymes with belly.)

She started my interview and it was going swimmingly at first. But then she started asking questions about the house and my inheritance and my trust. I had no idea what to tell her. It feels like a mistake now, but I have had pretty much no involvement in that process. I have no idea how it works. And I started to panic because she was acting like I was committing fraud or something by not mentioning the trust. But the entire point of the trust was to protect my benefits. Nothing is mine. I own nothing. I have no access. But I had no idea how to explain that.

Maybe my lawyer can help me apply, but I did not want them investigating everything and screwing things up before we even have the estate through probate. We specifically hired a lawyer and went through this convoluted process to make sure everything was on the up and up. But she really made me feel like I was doing something wrong. And that made me panic, which probably made me look even more guilty of something. So I just canceled everything and left.

After a few hours in a crowded government office, I decided to head to a different crowded government office.

I know I didn't need it until 2025, but I decided to go ahead and get my Real ID thingie before my first flight. I was kind of hoping they'd retake my picture because my current driver's license is... well...

And I'm so glad they took my big terrible picture and made it into a smaller, more terrible picture.

People complain about the DMV, but the one near me runs like a machine. It was filled with people and I still only had a 10 minute wait time.

I'm starting to wonder if all of those 80s comedians who were all, "What's the deal with the DMV?" were exaggerating.

Good stuff, Jerry.

I head up to the counter and ask for a Real ID. She asks for two pieces of mail and my birth certificate.

And this disappointed me a little bit.

I did my research. I went to the Real ID website and used their interactive guide to figure out exactly which documents I would need. They gave me this entire checklist and I printed it out and went through all my records and mail trying to find everything.

I had to wait a week for my internet bill to come because it's the only thing I forgot to change to paperless. This took a lot of effort and I was ready to be validated for being so prepared.

And she asks for two pieces of mail.

Any mail.

So I was off to get new tires.

Driving around on 8 year old bald tires was giving me anxiety. I didn't have the money for new tires, but I remember the guy saying they had financing. Recently several of my past debts went past the statute of limitations, and so my credit score lifted itself out of the pits of "poor" and into the realm of "fair." So I decided to take a chance and apply for a Discount Tire credit card. It's a 6 month payment plan with no interest, so that didn't feel as predatory as all the credit card offers I get in the mail with 8000% interest.

We started going through the approval process and I was answering all of the questions and then I saw the name of the bank offering the credit. It was the same bank that tried to sue me and also the bank that can longer collect due to the statute. I was worried they put me on some sort of list and would deny me. But, to my surprise, they approved me instantly. And wouldn't you know it, they gave me almost exactly the amount needed for a new set of tires.

I'm hoping we'll be doing another auction of the house stuff soon, so I plan to pay off the card and then cancel it, but this was the only solution I could come up with to drive safely until then.

I was having a weird day where photos of crusty rich wide dudes followed me everywhere I went. Here is my good ol' boy governor at the entrance to social services.

And at the tire place, I noticed this fella...

Why does every rich CEO think they are a font of wisdom capable of creating compelling quotes?

Does he think no one has ever said "work hard" and "have fun"? And after he said this was he like...

"That's gold, put that in *every* store."

"Oh, and use that picture of me where it looks like a handsome gal just grabbed my undercarriage."

He probably thinks, "Well, no one has put these specific generic platitudes together into a single mega-platitude. I am a genius."

"Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful, pay it forward" sounds like he had a bunch of motivational posters on his wall and started reading them all at once.

Like, every line could have a picture of an eagle above it.

In any case, the guy at the tire store, Dakota, was really nice. He made the experience very low anxiety. And he really liked my Thor's Hammer keychain with built in fidget spinner.

He went around showing it to all his coworkers. "Look, it even spins!" And they were like, "Dude, where did you get that??" And I was like, "Amazon." Now I'm just imagining 10 dudes at a tire store all fidgeting their hammers.

As nice as he was, Dakota was still a salesman and had a job to do. He gave me two tire options and tried to upsell me. The cheapest tires had a "1" rating for winter. He said they get "super hard" in the cold... I tried not to giggle. But I explained I drive about twice a month and mostly to the grocery store. If it is a bad winter day, I'll just wait or get delivery. He understood and set me up with the cheaper tires.

He then checked out my car and noticed my tire pressure sensors were dying. I keep getting a warning light on my dash. Apparently they all have tiny batteries in them that die after 7 years. And you can't just replace the batteries so you have to install brand new sensors.

And this is where my social anxiety got me into trouble.

I don't actually need these sensors. They are usually inaccurate. I prefer to test my tires with an actual gauge. But I got so caught up in his sales pitch that I agreed to replace them... at $60 each. For that I could have gotten the fancier tires. I really don't care if an orange light shows up on my dash. And I looked up the price online and a pack of 4 is $30. Though that is without installation.

But still... I wasn't thinking and he was so nice that I was just like, "I want to please Dakota. Saying no might make Dakota sad." Dakota's job is selling me but that doesn't mean I have to buy anything. He would live if I had said "no thanks."

To make my blunder more blunderous, when they finished the tires he asked for my key fob. And it decided that was the time for the battery to die. And in order to reset the system for the new tire pressure sensors, you have to press two buttons on the fob for 7 seconds. Thankfully I had a spare fob at home, but if I want my fancy new $240 sensors to work, I have to return to Dakota and have him initialize them.

I really hope these are the Cadillac of sensors.

Or, like, the ones they use on Cadillacs?

They better be accurate, is what I'm saying.

I do feel safer with new tires. So I am glad I did that. And I gave them a good obligatory kick and felt the tread. They seem nice enough even if they get boners in the winter. It's crazy how bald my other tires were in comparison. Like, I can fit half my finger down into the tread on the new ones—which did not get them super hard.

The way I drive, I probably won't wear them down. They'll probably start to rot before I do.

Before I do, meaning before I wear them down.

Not before I rot.

I am not in a rotting competition with my tires.

I was then off to Sam's. I decided all of my hard work accomplishing 2 out of 3 goals deserved some sushi. So I grabbed some California Rolls and headed home. On my way out, a Hummer and a Porsche nearly collided in the parking lot. And they sort of got stuck facing each other. One of them needed to back up and they both signaled at each other like "You back up, I'm not backing up." And it was just this weird standoff between the two douchiest looking cars you could imagine.

I mean, you have to be a douche to drive a Hummer.

I still remember the mystery Hummer dialysis patient from when my dad was going 3 time per week. We could never figure out who owned the Hummer, but we knew it was not the underpaid nurses and techs. So it had to be one of the patients. And none of them seemed the type. We never solved that mystery.

That hummer started off a delightful safety yellow. (Elon would cry.)

They decided this wasn't extra enough... so they did this...

Katrina and I could never decide... are these cow spots or the world's least effective camoflauge?

There was another patient who drove this old beater...

And I loved seeing this car because we had the same one when I was a little kid. I'm afraid the aesthetics of the 1980s Caprice Classic did not stand the test of time, but it had great sentimental appeal for me.

But this maroon beast that squeaked and sputtered its way from here to there belonged to a very sweet older gentleman. Sometimes he and my dad would be dialysis buddies—sitting next to each other in the recliners. And the worst thing about dialysis was the boredom. All you have to do is watch broadcast TV with 4 channels.

All of the TVs require headphones. They give you your own set of super cheap headphones in the dialysis welcome bag. They were very uncomfortable so I ordered my dad better ones with cushioned ear cups.

His dialysis buddy noticed them and thought they looked nice. And then he revealed that his free headphones broke and he didn't know how to get new ones. He had been watching TV with no sound for weeks. So, I bought another pair with the soft ear cups and my dad gave them to his friend. And it just made me happy imagining the two of them watching The Price is Right in matching headphones.

I do have to make fun of this sweet old man a little bit. When I walked passed his car I noticed he implemented the world's most effective anti-theft device ever created.

That's right... The Club™.

If someone decides they have to have a 40 year old car with an engine that sounds like a dying hyena and a hubcap missing... they are out of luck.

But hey, you gotta protect what is important to you. And if I needed a getaway car and my choices were between his beater and the Cow Hummer, I'd take his ride for sure.

Well, I'd try... and then get arrested because The Club™ is undefeatable.

Do NOT look that up on YouTube. It's 100% true. (And the Lock Picking Lawyer doesn't count due to him being able to break into Fort Knox with a paperclip and then doing it again to make sure it isn't a fluke.)

The dialysis center is in the same complex as my local Tolerable Schnucks and I still see that maroon boat of a car every once in a while. I always smile whenever it is there because it lets me know he is hanging in there and hopefully still has sound for his TV.

Wow, I went off on a mega-tangent.

I didn't even finish talking about my day. Where was I? Oh, the douche standoff finally ended. The Porsche Douche capitulated and backed up. Probably due to the fact the Hummer Douche has 0 visibility behind him.

When I got home I started devouring my sushi. I finally heard back from my lawyer. He submitted the last of the evidence for my appeal. And I was finally able to confirm he got the records of my ECT treatments from 20 years ago. I worked so hard to get those. At first, they forgot to send all records before 2011. I had to call back and figure that out. They shipped them and they didn't arrive until a week before we had to file. Everything was so last minute and my anxiety has been... palpable. It felt like when I did my science fair project on Sunday night.

He's hoping to get a decision at the beginning of next year. He warned me that these appeals are usually rejected. And that the most effective method of approval was a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. But that could be delayed by up to a year. So I might need to figure out how to survive until 2025. As long as my brother does what he is legally required to do, I should be okay. But counting on that also gives me palpable anxiety.

And that was my day.

Every time I go out is always an adventure.

But remember...

BE NICE. EAT YOUR VEGGIES. PET CUTE DOGS. DREAM BIG. KEEP YOUR TIRES WARM... FOR REASONS. 5 LIFE LESSONS -Froggie, Mildly Famous Internet Person

[thefiery-phoenix]

YANDERE ERASERMIC X READER

It's been over a month since Hizashi and Shouta kidnapped you and you were going crazy out of boredom and with nothing to do. They assured you that living with them wouldn't be THAT bad since they could take care of your every need and you would never have to work again. 

To top it all, you were also quirkless but having a smart brain didn't exactly help either since hizashi and Shouta made sure to destroy all possible means of escape for you. They rarely ever punished you and most of the times, punishments included leaving you isolated for a few days and having your favorite things take away from you (YES, even the CAT!) but to be honest, life with them wasn't ALL bad... they were nice and caring towards you, in a sickly manner of course that sometimes made you want to barf

You were sitting on the bed that you shared with your captors and you were watching a movie on Netflix on your laptop. You were bored out of your skull and weren't focused on the movie. You missed your old life dearly and you've always wanted to be an author and get your work published. Suddenly, an idea popped into your head and you immediately started typing away on your laptop

After a few days, you finally decided to post your work online on Wattpad since you had a Wattpad account and you were an author there (Lol, I feel like I'm breaking the 4th wall). It had asked you to log in but failed even after you entered your password repeatedly. You decided to check your email to see if there was something wrong and when you entered your email id, you couldn't log into THAT too

''Hizashi, why am I not able to access my email?'' you screeched from the couch that you were sitting on while Aizawa and Mic were making breakfast for you. They came out of the kitchen sat next to you, cuddled you and Aizawa said, ''Now now kitty cat, don't tell me you don't know WHY we disabled your email now do you?'' 

''You. did. what?!'' you asked in a steely calm manner since you knew it would be pointless to waste your voice against them. ''Aww.. come on little songbird, don't be like that. We did it for a very good reason and it's for your safety. Who knows WHAT sort of emails you'll be getting from WHAT sort of people. They could try stealing you away and you would be in GRAVE danger without us and that's why you need ONLY us'' Hizashi chirped like he was explaining why he couldn't play with you 

''But.... I just need it for something. I swear I won't try contacting anyone! You guys can even be next to me if you want'' you pleaded with them as they traded curious and worried looks. ''Kitten, do you have a fever?'' Aizawa asked placing his hand on top of your forehead. ''Leave me alone, I'm fine'' you said grumpily

''What do you even need an email for anyway?'' asked Hizashi all curious like. ''Well, I've written a story and I want to publish it online so people can read it'' you said. Silence. That was NOT a good sign

After a few seconds, you heard Hizashi laugh and say, ''Oh you mean that action story which you wrote? It was quite good and amazing. Shouta and me liked it but tone down the violence all right baby? We don't want our precious little darling getting all violent thoughts now do we'' and started cooing

''Wait.... how did you guys even read it?'' you asked them confused as Aizawa said, ''From your laptop of course. You can't hide anything from us you know kitty cat'' and pet your head 

''So.... is it a yes?'' you asked them slowly. ''NO'' they both said in unison as you looked at them with sadness in your eyes and asked ''WHY NOT!?'' They hated seeing you sad. It broke and shattered their hearts into a million pieces, but they had to be firm with you

''We won't stop you from writing your stories and books. In fact, we'll encourage it but why do you want to share with the other underserving SCUMBAGS and filth who don't deserve to read your beautiful work?'' asked Aizawa. ''That's true and besides the internet is getting to be dangerous place nowadays so I think we'll have to limit your time of use on your laptop. We don't want to affect your health and it's all for your safety of course'' chirped Yamada enthusiastically as you leaned back in Aizawa's touch, silently crying as Hizashi wiped your tears away 

You were 100 percent sure that now they would CERTAINLY change the laptop password or make you use the laptop under their supervision for a limited time or not even LET you use it... but what could you do? You were helpless and powerless against these so-called pro heroes who wanted to save you from all the ''dangers'' in the society and you couldn't do anything but follow their rules and abide their conditions 

''Now come on and have some breakfast'' chirped Yamada and dragged you towards the kitchen as you saw Aizawa eyeing the laptop suspiciously. You knew you weren't going to use it any time soon, that was for SURE......

[brainlessrot]

Ranking NRC dorms on how much I would trust and like their cooking -

fair warning: I've skipped like most culinary croucible events and forgot 90% of the ones i played, so this is all based on my subjective reading of their vibes and the limited canon knowledge i could gather in my brain

Contents: As the title says +individual characters ranked

Characters: All dorms + students and teachers

1. Scarabia

do i even need to explain this one??

One of the first episodes in their chapter was literally cooking with jamil

I LOVE middle eastern food. give me hummus and some pita bread and im set for life.

Pre scarabia arc jamil would be a dangerous choice, but post chapter? im gonna be knocking on his door with bribes so that he gives me any extra food he made 🙏

not kalim tho, yall stay safe

(also wrote this while at Agrabah's cafe in disney land, so my opinion might be skewed)

Continues under this cut!!

2. Octavinelle

Mans whole bussiness is food

if im paying for it i better be getting something good

but would NEVER try to ask any of them to cook for me (for free obv) bc i dont think that would end well (for me)

Jade?? mixing mushrooms he found somewhere

Floyd? forgets and goes somewhere, now the kitchen is burnt

Azul? nuh huh 💀 i aint seeling my soul for some toast

theyre like, Norwegian/italian i think?? and idk much about Norwegian cuisine but like italian is soooo good 🤞

3. Heartslabyul

Only for the sweets (i might not trust trey but i have a sweet tooth)

I dont mind tea, but they better not bring out their British cuisine out

If i see any fish n chips im evaporating from that table (lies, free food is free food)

i wanna go to an unbirthday party 😔

riddle would cook something too healthy and would count my calorie intake 💀

ace or deuce? id better be getting ready to get intoxication

cater... i just dont see him cooking

4. Pomefiore

listen... theyre mostly rich pampered boys, so would they even be cooking?

i dont trust the source of Rook's food

epel would only give me apple based foods (tasty, but gets boring after a while)

Vil would probably give me those weird natural green smoothies AND I DONT WANT THAT 🤬

+ i dont like french people (jk)

5. Ighnihyde

listen

HEAR ME OUT

ik theyre all nerds and all they eat is instant ramen

BUT GREEK FOOD.

all for that greek yogurt 😩

idia doesn't know how to cook except for instant foods which i dont mind (he gets favourite character treatment)

ortho,,, questionable. He has access to the internet (aka infinite recipes) but would it taste good? hes like 10

6. Savanaclaw

sweaty men.

i should just leave it at that ngl

leona? rich ahh man (a GROWN man at that!! 20 whole years of age!!!) and he probably doesn't even know how to fry an egg

ruggie? no way he gives me anything good for free 😭

Jack is the only one i would trust, but man probably also drinks protein shakes and those sad chicken breast and rice meals.

7. Diasomnia

no thank you

i like my soul staying where it is.

i dont trust their magical food

lillia is not even my last choice if im ever hungry, he aint a choice AT ALL

Malleus... he probably doesn't know how to physically cook?? sure he can bibidi babidi boop me some food like the giant fairy godmother he is, but i want something real man 😔

Sebek... protein shake man...

Silver MUST know how to cook (living with lillia would be imposible if not) so if i HAD to, I would go to him, but i dont want him to fall asleep and faceplant on my food 😭

+ Characters Ranked in tiers! (students and teachers)

The best, five star Michelin food:

Jamil, Trey, Trein

You could be happy eating:

Vil, Epel, Floyd, Silver, Azul, Ruggie, Crewel

Its food:

Jack, Cater, idia (if making instant ramen) Ortho, Sam

its... food?:

Rook (seriously, where did he get that?), Jade, Ace, Deuce, Malleus (the food is uncorporeal), Sebek, Vargas

dubious taste, would rather not:

Riddle, Kalim, Leona (its just a slab of uncooked meat), Idia (if trying to cook real food)

call 911 BEFORE eating please:

Lillia, Grim, Crowley

[villainessxassassin]

May i have a request of a scenario of Yandere! Overblot Idia shroud? where Overblot idia kidnapped fem reader? (He also love and obsessed with reader) But suddenly reader tries to escaped from him?

Yandere! Overblot Idia Shroud x f! reader

warnings: spoilers for chapter 6, yandere themes, obsession, invasion of personal space, kidnapping (reader is led into a room)

We apologize for being late in posting this request, we were waiting on finishing chapter 6 (we know it's getting really old how we keep apologizing for being tardy in doing requests but ya'll we still gonna do it🥲)-kishira

After getting seperated from Vil and the others you were mindlessly looking for the right way out off S.T.Y.X hq. What you found most strange however while sneakily walking around was how the doors would open automatically every time you walked a distance near them, while the other workers had to have some type of ID or scan in order to get in. It's almost like the building already gave you access to every room you entered.

Unbeknownst to you someone was keeping tabs on your every move, watching you through every cctv camera and listening with every hidden mic installed in the building. At this time all the captive students with past overblots were trying their hardest to find you while also looking for an exit.

Idia could only sigh. You looked so lost, trying to find your way out of there and back to your friends, but why go back to them when you could just stay here with him? Idia felt really overjoyed when he heard of your arrival, and now you're trying to escape? Now that simply won't do. You came all the way here so that you could talk some sense into him right? well he'll help you of course! making sure to open every correct door that led you closer to his location, and giving the nrc students a harder time so that they can't find you and take you away from him.

⊰⊹ฺ

You thought you were going the right way, stupid of you to have walked in on such an obvious trap! You were right to be suspicion of all the automatically opening doors, as it now led you here in some room with little to no furniture aside from a bed and small table with the door now refusing to open on your side. What's worst is in that very same room was the Idia Shroud you were looking for, but you didn't expect to see him in his overblot form now of all times!

"You kidnapped me!"

"Remind me again, who on her own accord waltz into this very room without permission, and is now yapping at me for her own mistake?"

"Then why don't you let me out?!

"You were opening doors left and right before you got here, surely you can do it again with that one."

Idia couldn't help but tease you now that you two were finally alone. He enjoyed watching you struggle to get the door to open as he slowly approached you. He finally did it, he can finally have you all to himself with out the pesky problem children breathing the same air as you.

You don't know how long it's been since Idia decided to embrace you out of nowhere with your back to him. Every time you tried to move or tell him to let you go his grip on you only got tighter as the space between you couldn't get anymore closer.

This was a total invasion of personal space! You could imagine the smile creeping onto his face as he continued to cuddle himself further in the crook of your neck. You on the other hand were uncomfortable, just because this happened to be a somewhat messed up intimate moment didn't mean you had to like it, and with his sharp talon like black hand resting on your neck it only made your breath hitch.

You were being obedient atleast. His overblot form alone was enough to make a shiver run up your spine, you didn't need to know what else he could do if you were to show any more further signs of defiance.

"If only we could start over with just me, you and Ortho. To hell with what this world has to offer, it doesn't interest me in the slightest.

So why don't we find something new, a new world with just you and me. I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my time suffering as long as I'm with you.

Even if the new world we make doesn't turn out to be the way we wanted, that's the reason why the restart button in games exist right? We'll just redo this game of life over and over, and with each restart you'll be there to witness every new game file. Wouldn't that be nice?

Delusional is the first thing that comes to mind. How could you be happy if he was basically going to eradicate the whole world to make a new one to fit his own standards?

You needed to escape, to help the others think of a plan to stop this madman infront of you.

With everyday that went by with you trying to escape, Idia's resolve only hardened even more. He blamed everything around him. It's because of that why you're like this, it's because of this why he turned out this way. Ah how the world corrupted you both, but that's okay—.

"I'll show you how amazing of a life you'll have by my side, and the only main quest you'll have to take is me, me, me, me!"

Right now he might be having fun with your little escape attempts, but you can only have such a limited amount of lives. He won't hurt you, but with every life consumed is going to be the duplicator of how difficult he'll make things for you next time.

------

Request are open until August 20!

[interact-if]

[ID: a graphic-style banner featuring text centered on a black field. The field is at an angle, and on the borders of it are squares in yellow, green, blue, and red. The text reads: “interact-if presents: Guide To Image IDs. Tips to add good image IDs to your posts.” The section that reads "Guide To Image IDs" is written in red text, while the rest is white. /end ID]

Hi everyone! As July was Disability Pride Month, I (being QR) have volunteered to write up a post about how I write image IDs, particularly for graphics like we use in our event posts. I’ve been writing IDs like this for nearly a decade now, and want to share the tips I’ve learned over the years with the greater IF community.

ID are extremely important for those who use screen readers to navigate tumblr, and those who may otherwise have reasons they can’t see images. My hope is that others will find this helpful and will feel more confident including IDs in their IF intro posts, update posts, and maybe even their art!

This post will be getting long, so most of it will be under the cut. Before we get into it, though, here’s a brief outline of what I consider to be important when writing IDs:

Write as much detail as you feel is necessary to describe what’s important.

Write IDs in simple language.

Make the ID readable: make text from the image distinctive, and don’t hide it under a cut.

With that in mind, let’s get started!

Why Write IDs?

You may be wondering why image descriptions (or IDs) are important enough to warrant a full post about them. For me, at least, it feels natural to try to make IF content as accessible as possible.

IFs are, largely, a text-based medium, where the most important information in the work is conveyed through the text. This makes them accessible to people who are blind and use screen readers or text-to-speech functions, whose bandwidth might have trouble with images or videos, or who prefer a text-based approach to online content for any other reason. It therefore makes sense, in my opinion, to approach online content about IFs with that text-based nature in mind. Writing IDs for your images, screenshots, and graphics is a great way to go about this.

Of course, accessibility isn’t just relevant to IF content. IDs make images more accessible to all those people mentioned above, which means that even if tumblr wasn’t designed with disabled people in mind, there’s a way to include more people in the content of this website.

Ready to give it a try?

Basic Image Descriptions

What I try to keep in mind when writing an ID is that you’re trying to convey the important parts of an image to a reader. Give descriptions of as many details about the banner as you can, with a general description of what to expect at the beginning and any important text at the end for maximum impact.

To illustrate this, I’ll use a banner that could have been used at the top of this post.

[ID: a banner-style graphic featuring white text in a futuristic font, centered against a dark photo of the night sky with a great expanse of far-away stars. The text reads, in all-caps: “interact-if presents: Guide to Image IDs.” White horizontal lines frame the text on the above and below; in the middle of the bottom line is a white 8-pointed star. Under the line and the star is the subtitle, in the same font: “Tips to add good image IDs to your posts.” /end ID]

(Btw, all banners used in this post were made by fellow mod Manon, our resident Canva wizard!)

In this case, I start with what exactly the image is -- a banner-style graphic -- then describe the vibes -- white futuristic font, and a great expanse of stars. The lines surrounding the text aren’t crucial information, but they do help situate the reader in terms of where everything is located.

I’ll cover each of the three points I made above the cut, one by one:

1. Write as much detail as you feel is necessary to describe what’s important.

The text, obviously, is important in a banner like this, since it’s meant to convey information! On top of that, it was more important that I give the impression of a starry sky as the background than, say, to detail where exactly certain stars were shining especially brightly. Also, since the text is written in all caps, I’ve included that but haven’t written it in all-caps, since some screen readers will read all-caps text as individual letters.

2. Write IDs in simple language:

This will become more apparent in other examples, I feel, since there isn’t a lot of technical language to use in something like this. Still, I didn’t use the specific name of the font, instead describing it as a futuristic font to get the point across.

3. Make the ID readable: make text from the image distinctive, and don’t hide it under a cut:

This tip is why I bolded the text as it is in the description, to set it apart from the description of the image the same way that it’s apart from the image in the banner itself.

Note that these aren’t be-all end-all rules for writing IDs, these are just tips I use when writing mine. Not everyone will appreciate the text being in bold or italics, and different people have different opinions of what’s important to include. That being said, I find these three tips can make an ID less overwhelming to write.

Let’s try a more intricate banner as another example. (Thank you again Manon!)

[ID: a graphic-style banner featuring text on a stylized scroll that's been unrolled and laid out, as if to display the text. A simple map, a stylized bust of a man's head, an intricate compass rose with an elaborate arrow pointing north, and a round globe are positioned around the text on the scroll. The scroll and other icons are all in shades of beige and brown, and a line of text over the top and under the bottom of the scroll are in beige as well; the text on the scroll itself, as well as the background, are red, and a thin purple border surrounds the red background. All together, the text reads: "Interact-IF presents: Guide to Image IDs. Tips to add good image IDs to your posts". The text that reads “Image IDs” is written in a font to resemble cursive. /end ID]

This graphic is a little more involved, but the description doesn’t have to cover every detail of where everything is! For the three tips again:

1. Write as much detail as you feel is necessary to describe what’s important.

Words like “stylized”, “simple”, “intricate”, and even “realistic” help to convey the tone of a particular image without delving into every detail of it, which could overwhelm a reader. Also, if a particular detail stands out -- the cursive font of the text, for example -- feel free to point it out separately to draw attention to it.

2. Write IDs in simple language:

There are different parts of a scroll with different names, and I was going to try to describe the scroll itself before remembering that not everyone knows what different parts of a scroll are called. I sure don’t! I looked them up at first! Instead, I described the scroll as being rolled out, which gets the point across without getting into technical jargon.

3. Make the ID readable: make text from the image distinctive, and don’t hide it under a cut:

The text is once again bolded in this description to help it stand out. To tie into the first tip again, trying to go into detail about each of the icons would have made the description unwieldy and hard to read.

Why do I suggest not hiding IDs under a cut, you might ask? Think of it this way: if someone is using a screen reader to interpret all images, and every image description was hidden behind another link, it would be frustrating and exhausting to worth through them all. Plus, if you change your URL or the Read More link is broken in some other way, then the post becomes completely inaccessible. To this end, I put my IDs directly under the banner I’m describing.

Basic GIF descriptions

Writing an ID for a GIF can be tricky compared to writing one for a still image, but the basics are the same. To illustrate this, Manon’s also made us a couple of GIFs!

[ID: a graphic-style looping gif banner featuring a photo of a field of tall poppy flowers in green grass. The photo has been tinted so that the colours are paler, almost pastel. White text with red shadows in the center of the image reads: “Interact-IF presents: Guide to Image IDs. Tips to add good IDs to your posts.” Behind the text, a blot of orangey-red appears like someone applying a paint brush to a surface, then swishes in a circle, creating a red circle to help the text stand out against the photo. /end ID]

It should be mentioned in the beginning of the description that the image itself is a GIF.

Instead of copying and pasting what I’ve already said, I’ll just touch on the three points I mentioned earlier briefly:

The saturation of the colours can be really important to help describe the vibes of a piece: the flowers, for example, are not a vivid red, and neither are the stems vividly green, which makes the banner feel like a peaceful painting (at least imo).

An ID writer can decide for themselves if the fact that the flowers are specifically poppies is important or not, but I decided it wasn’t. Also, a “blot” of orangey-red isn’t a technical term, but it gets the point across of what the animation looks like.

And, of course, the text from the graphic is written in bold, with the animation described afterward because it’s directly behind the text and mostly affects it, as opposed to affecting the rest of the image.

What if everything in a GIF is moving? Describe it all, as best you can! Here’s one final example, courtesy of Manon once again:

[ID: a banner-style looping gif graphic featuring blue light against a black background. A blue mote of light travels slowly in a triangular pattern, leaving a long trail of light behind. In front of it, two light blue boxes quickly swipe across the screen and leave behind large glowing white all-caps text that reads: “interact-if presents: Guide To Image IDs.” Underneath the text, the outline of a white box appears, and all-caps text is typed in to read: “Tips to add good image IDs to your posts.” After a couple seconds, the light blue boxes swipe across the screen again to remove the large text, the white box fades away, and the text within it is removed letter by letter. /end ID]

Writing an ID for a GIF with a lot of animation can seem intimidating, but it can help to break it down. As with the IDs written above, I described the background first, which provides a sort of backdrop for the rest of the banner. From there, describing how the text appears (and disappears, in this case) is fairly straight-forward.

What about ALT Text?

Recently tumblr has been working on making their ALT text function more... well, functional. And that’s a great advancement! There are screen readers can pick up on the description in the ALT, but the description won’t appear in the post itself unless you click on the ALT button on the bottom left corner of an image that has such text.

One of the problems with this function, though, is that not everyone who needs an image described uses a screen reader. If that’s the case, they may not even see the ALT button, since it’s very easy to see through it on a post as it isn’t trying to obscure the image. Screen readers that don’t use audio (an instead present text on the screen in Braille, for example) also won’t pick up on the alt text.

Another problem, and one that I often run into, is that there is no way to see ALT text on the tumblr mobile app -- the only way I’ll know that one is even there is if OP says so in their tags, and that information is less helpful than seeing the ID itself.

I’ll include a link to a post by @blindbeta​ that details how and when ALT text can be helpful: here. To explain their post in short, though, one thing they recommend is to include both ALT text and an ID in the post, with the ALT text being a simpler description of what the image or GIF contains, and a more detailed description in the post itself. If you’d prefer to only use one or the other, they recommend just writing an ID in the post itself.

Resources

If you’re new to writing IDs, or you otherwise want more guidance when writing them, don’t worry! I have a few resources to offer. (Each bullet point is a separate link leading to what is being described).

An article on WebAIM.org about designing a website with screen reader accessibility in mind, including a description of how screen readers read content.

A post by tumblr user envythepalmtree with a set-by-step guide to adding image descriptions to tumblr posts.

A post by tumblr user combeferre, reblogged by tumblr user accessibleaesthetics, about how the purpose of the image is more important than putting every little detail in an ID.

A post by tumblr user blindbeta with several links to helpful posts about image IDs, as well as posts about writing blind characters.

A tag on my IF and OC blog, ice-knife, where I reblog posts about image IDs and other related accessibility features.

And one final resource, which is more of a tip than anything: keep in mind that a simple image description is better than none at all, when it comes to accessibility. Any of the above descriptions could be written in just a sentence or two while leaving out all but the most important details. Don’t worry about how “good” your ID is, and focus on getting them written in the first place!

Thanks for reading, and good luck writing your IDs!

[bigskydreaming]

Bit of a vent post, bit of a housekeeping post, bit of a 'so that's what's been happening in Kalen-land' post:

So I have officially done everything that can be done to prepare for our relocation to a different site while they do construction on this one for the next year, which should be....any day now. Since it was originally supposed to happen on October 2nd, lol. Oh, bureaucracy.

If I wrote a memoir of the last two years specifically, 'Oh, Bureaucracy' would be the title, actually. So obviously its no secret that Moukie & I have been struggling for a long time, even after my surgery back in December 2021. But pretty much all of that has to do with our struggles to hack through bureaucracy to secure some actual stability and longterm living situation, since....oh, January 2022. We've finally secured a five year lease to stay in this place (with the exception of the next year, at a different site during construction, as I mentioned), but like....we only JUST got that agreement officially in writing, signed & notarized & all that...last week.

After being told it was basically a done deal but they couldn't finalize anything or put anything in writing until the building sold and the property changed hands and one city service took over oversight of this particular property from another one....pretty much every month since November of last year. They changed dates and timelines on us so many times it was like every three week we'd have a completely new timeline we were looking at for when we could expect to have everything finalized or for the relocation to happen, etc. Most recently, we were told with complete certainty that everyone HAD to be out October 2nd, that construction would be starting immediately after that, nobody would be allowed to stay in the building.

October 31st, and we're still here, lol.

So that's been a fun non-stop rollercoaster ride of stress, lol. The problem, of course, is that before my surgery (12/2021), I'd quite literally been homeless for at least the five years prior to that. Fortunately I never quite made it to the point of having to sleep outside, though there were plenty of times it got close, and spent most of that time living out of cheap motels & extended stay housing while working towards getting enough money together for my surgery, but as far as any landlord or potential renter is concerned, I was for all intents & purposes homeless during that time, and that's....not great when trying to secure housing in the middle of a pandemic right after basically starting your life over from scratch after the surgery to fix the problem that basically derailed your entire life, lol. Not to mention my credit score was practically nonexistent, all my credit cards were maxed out to pay for the surgery & insurance, my driver's license had been expired for years due to not being even able to drive while I had my issues w/my jaw & everything related to that, and getting it back was easier said than done because I'd had like, two unpaid parking tickets at the time of my medical issues beginning & they kinda completely dropped out of sight, out of mind, only to multiply w/fees that were fucking ridiculous to contemplate & going down to the DMV or traffic court to try and argue them down, while my medical issues were still ongoing, was a nonstarter due to how little travel I was capable of in that state....

LOL. Not a great starting point when rebooting for Kalen 2.0 - and of course I'm not going to get into why we had to use my ID & everything for renting & all that, instead of Moukie's, just trust that there were Reasons.

And of course there are programs to help people out with these kinds of circumstances, which is basically what we've been doing since January 2022....navigating that labyrinth of red tape, because actually ACCESSING those programs, proving eligibility, meeting all requirements, keeping consistent with all requirements throughout the months of waiting on a verdict from higher-ups your file's been passed up the chain to....MUCH easier said than done. The hoops are just. The stuff of legends. Especially when you're still having trouble consistently staying stocked on the meds you need to be productive & functional, or even just keeping your phone active. Oof. All of that was very Not Fun.

Which segues into a bit of that venting I was talking about, because over & over the past couple years we've had well-meaning (and not so well-meaning & largely just obnoxious) people asking us in response to our donation posts like, well why don't we just move to a cheaper city? LOL. I just. I wish people would stop to think that maybe if there's such an obvious solution that someone hasn't availed themselves to yet, there's probably a REASON for that.

We actually had several. For starters, there's the fact that I still have stuff related to my jaw to deal with....I still have no teeth, lol, and haven't really been able to even START getting the bone grafts I need to be able to get implants at some point, so I'm not stuck with dentures for the next fifty years....and it took me literal years to find dentists familiar with my situation, willing to work with me on payment plans & longterm strategizing, etc.....not that easy to just start over with all of that in another, smaller city. Not to mention if I do have any problems with my prosthetic, LA's one of the only places that has ANY surgeons that deal with this specific kind of jaw replacement surgery, so I'd always have to come back here for any further medical related stuff.

But then there's additionally the fact that all those programs meant to help people like us who are literally trying to restart their lives after medical issues, homelessness, etc.....they're pretty much all specific to their own city. They're all contingent on each individual city's resources, services, populations and a million other details.....so moving to a different city basically means having to start all over again with applying to THAT city's housing aid programs & navigating THAT city's bureaucracy from its beginning & forfeiting however much time or progress you've put in already in the city you're currently in. And frankly, most cities don't HAVE as good of aid programs as LA does....its just...it takes fucking forever to actually make full USE of such programs, as evident from the fact that after almost two years, we're only FINALLY to the point where one of those programs has been able to actionably help us secure longterm housing.

(And also there's the fact that when we don't even have enough money for groceries, how cheap do people thinking picking up and moving to another city actually IS? Like. You need starter money to even GET there & get on your feet or you wind up in an even worse situation than we were in).

But honestly, we didn't have it so bad, we have been able to stay housed & working various odd jobs for the past two years....its just been long, and stressful, never actually knowing when or even IF we'd get to the point where we stopped worrying about being kicked out at any given moment, and there were times that looking for housing or trying to deal with bureaucratic red tape was the equivalent of a full time job, in terms of hours required.

All of which is to say....be aware when assuming the worst of various donation posts & their posters, that except in the case of actual scammers, no matter what you may think of how a particular donation request was worded or described their situation, its almost always VASTLY more complicated than can be summed up in a couple of easy to read paragraphs that might actually get people to help. I promise you, if super obvious solutions seem evident to you, they've occurred to the people living with that situation 24/7, and there's a reason that they haven't tried that solution or maybe they even did & for whatever reason it didn't actually work out.

And that said, all of this is also to say just....thank you again for everyone who's helped us out over the years. I know it often seems unending or like we're never getting our acts together, lol, but trust me, it feels that way to us too, times a million, and like....we're working on it. Its just. Much easier said than done. For every hurdle cleared, there's usually another one waiting to pop up like a fucking whack-a-mole game from Hell. Since January 2022 we've been consistently working towards a longterm, stable housing situation and this is it, this is what we were working towards.....we've been fully approved for relocation to the other site for the next year & then returning to this one after construction/renovation, w/a lease agreement for the next five years.....and that's the dream, honestly.

Genuine stability, not having to worry about whether we'll have to move at any given moment, actual housing security....allowing us to FINALLY focus on building our lives back up, instead of constantly grinding just to keep a roof over our head & make sure nobody's about to kick us out....and having the room to breathe & for the first time in literal years (in my case, almost seven at this point) actually prioritize something OTHER than figuring out where we stand on paperwork, filing, tracking down various liaisons to bug them yet again about an accurate timeline for when we'd be notified of whether or not we'd been approved for this program or that one, when we'd actually be relocating, when we had to make x payment by to ensure we didn't lose our qualified status, etc.

And I, for one, definitely can not WAIT to give more of a shit about the absolute stupidest shit imaginable instead of like....warily checking the hall to see if new eviction notices popped up overnight. LMAO.

Anyway. Like I said, we finally have our agreement in writing, we know where we're relocating to, and as soon as that actually happens - which they keep insisting should be any day now, sigh - we'll finally be in a much better place. As part of the relocation program we landed in, our rent at the other site is covered during the year this site is under construction, so already just from that alone we'll be much better off financially.

Moukie's been sending around a donation post this month, and we'll probably keep it circulating up until the day the movers arrive and they finally pull the trigger on us leaving this site, because for the last three months they've been insisting that October 2nd was absolutely going to be our last day here, and we planned around that timetable....meaning that since October 2nd came and went with us still here, our only jobs at the moment are whatever freelance ones we can scrounge up, since the new place is far enough away a commute to & from a workplace around HERE wouldn't be viable, so I can't even go look for a new one to replace the last one until we're actually in the area we'll be spending next year in, lol. So in the meanwhile we've basically been surviving off donations since freelance work is painfully dry at the moment, and as it is, the company Moukie does editing work for still hasn't paid them for their last job yet, which was back in September, I believe? Its ridiculous, but it is what it is.

So yeah, we'll keep that post circulating a bit longer til we're out of here for good, basically just for food money until we're settled in the new place & can grab a new 9-5 and I would say something about that damn patreon I'm always claiming I'll make except I am a Proven Liar Not To Be Trusted On That Subject at this point, but hey, once we're in the new place, maybe that will finally change.

That's basically everything I set out to ramble about, I think, so....I'm done. Wait. Lemme check - yeah, no, that's it, I'm good. I've said it before but it'll never stop being true: we would not have survived if it weren't for the kindness of strangers & the help of mutuals & followers & we really are so much more appreciative of it than I can ever adequately express. I know that can come across as lip service, but genuinely, people here have done more for us and to help us and to see us succeed than our families ever did and we've been reduced to ugly-crying more than once as a result. Its gotten bad, guys. Like. When I go all out, it's not a pretty sight. I've got that pale Irish skin that gets all splotchy when I'm emotional, my nose gets all stopped up, I make scrunchy faces like a baby that KNOWS its not as pretty as its parents keep trying to pretend and is out to prove it....its a whole mess.

And on that note - and imagery - I'm officially done here. Thanks for reading!

[visualnovelboyfriend]

like yeah you got me. i dont tihnk trans men experiecne a particular type of transphobia that nobody else on earth experiences. block me about it i geuss. i dont believe that men can be lesbians onthe basis of lesbianism being exclusive of men in every capacity adn yes that includes your AFAB UNITY!!! type of sentiment willnot fly here. yiuare not inherently granted access to lesbianism by being afab and you are never excluded from access to lesbianism by being amab. cry about it spme more bioessentialist worm bcoz im not reading ur dumb ass essays pulled off the script fo a lesbian corrective rape fetishist. oh nooo the joy of mutual udnerstanding and solidarity and recognition of our similarities adn differences what the fuuuck i want a single homogenized Queer identity so i can minmax my slurs. what the fuck are you talking about? youdont even believe in this stuff and if you genuienly truly do id hope nobodys takinf you seriously because lookng at this kind of sentiment offline for about 10 seconds shows how harmful u are to our community. but ppl fall for it. cuz tehyre hungry ot throw lesbians and transfems and bi women under the bus 24/7 by being so uncomfortable wiht acknoweldging any privilege they may have they fight tooth and fucking claw to identify out of it by saying first 'well the victims have privilege over me!! look at this thing i made up by misunderstanding my experiences are not unique!!'. do u think anyone will take u seriusoly in any debate forum like the moment a transfem comments on ur posts u crumple itno insisting fucking idk I can say the special slur still tho right? right? or just pull out the fucking All women are bitches who nevwr understand True Male Suffering adn somehow thats their fault too!!! just like ur cis counterparts. its embarrassing when tehy do it but its even more embarrassing when u do it ebcause u pretend ur knowing better when ur NOT. so yeah whatever comemnt a wholeessay on my post about fucking who knows what the hell yorue even saying your little word salad of whatever to basically boil it down to 'if a woman ever says no to a man she deserves to be shot'. pick out the pronoun taht makes it look most like im a Girl too so yiu dont have to pretend i might also be affected by this Transandrophobia yorue trying to claim so hard exists. reblog it to the dream smp sideblog who eveen gives a shit. at the end ofthe day are u happy w urself? do u look in the mirror at night and go yeah! i did good today!. are u even kind of thinking abtou the randomly generated syllables yr mashing togehter to divorce yoruself from any privilege and harm you cause to everyone around you? or is asking tht some kind of hatecrime too?

[chaotic-average-child]

ngl i usually dont have problems with dash updates etc, i get used to it. but for the love of god the new one is just physically painful to use.

I already made a shitty edit of what i meant, but i wanted to improve now that im not fucking exhausted lmao

I am going to be critiquing the new UI, and comparing it to twt, and how poorly they pulled it off dont keep reading if u dont care/think im overreacting

and im not gonna sugar coat my opinion on it. please understand when u read.

Honestly its just bad, its a copy of twt, and I use twitter??? you'd think id have no trouble adjusting since ive used both since 2020. (tumblr first but ykno)

but it just feels totally wrong. the buttons are too small, compared to twitter's much larger ones, the change between the top bar with the post types vs the new +create button is just???

If it was about icons, you could make a form of hover to see what they do. but now it feels so much more painful to use. like i physically struggle to find shit on the new dash because tumblr decided to put shit in weird ass locations.

all the improvements supporters are talking about could have been done without messing with the whole site alignment.

(blogs censored cuz im digging into tumblr here like im not holding back and i dont want randoms being brought into smth)

This would have accomplished the exact same thing

(not perfect but i need to get my idea across.)

Id probably spread out the icons too, to get room for text. especially since theres room over there

AGAIN I DONT WANT IT TO LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THIS!! THIS IS JUST DEMONSTRATING WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT

Or like this so that its even with the tumblr logo

Or hell, just make the upper ui look similar to the post ui where it extended the bar to add the text in.

like this.

(again i dont think this exact layout would be best but Im trying to show what i mean.)

Like I LIKED the explore update

I liked getting recommended blogs!

I even like radar n shit

But the new layout is objectively worse.

this was messing w muscle memory for no reason. and just making the whole site look bizzare

and its not even a GOOD twitter rip off.

Here is my biggest issues with the new ui

(not written but i have a problem with the fyp and shit being so high up, like it s at the same level as the logo)

Here's a direct overlay

The tiny icons is what really confuses me + the placement of the create button? like why????

the misaligned tumblr logo too. like really??? would that be copying too much??? they already had a pretty good ui??? just add the text to that????

Tumblr really wasnt that hard to use? most confusion could be fixed with text under.

anyways if tumblr REAALLLYY wanted to do this like desperately

everything on the right makes slightly more sense, given the fact tumblr has always had right side ui.

(please ignore the shitty parts, im just trying to get a point across not actually make a new ui lol)

Anyways,,, I may be overreacting but its really not the change that bothers me.

its how they changed it

also recent stuff i heard about tumblr recently is making me really not wanna be nice about this, at all.

Its just weird that in their path of adding the text they have removed other accessibility features they used to have.

and the fact that tagging a post with "epilepsy warning" puts it in the epilepsy tag is abysmal.

I kinda dont buy that this was for accessibility given tumblr's other actions.

Anyway i dont blame individual members of staff but cmon yall...

[gerbits]

Tagged by @irrewilderer for this lil questionnaire, thank youuu!! tagging with zero pressure @plasma-janes, @tipsy-clouds, @biffybobs, @whyeverr, @saartje77, @justkeeponsimming, @simgerale, @wildmelon, @introvertedfox

1. what’s your favorite sim death? death by cowplant 🐮

2. alpha cc or maxis match? maxis match

3. do you cheat when your sims gain weight? no, but I do 'cheat' to try to make them look a bit more proportional in CAS

4. do you use bb.moveobjects? do....do people not use this cheat

5. favorite mod? there are a few I can't play without but I think my favorite has to be lilmisssam's pregnancy overhaul (pregnant sim bellies are atrocious & still, years later, idk who approved it or why they haven't adjusted it???)

6. first DLC you got? unleashed! 🐾

7. do you pronounce ‘live mode’ like ‘alive’ or ‘living’? living

8. who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? probably pigeon :3

9. have you made a simself? yes but I don't play her, I would feel a bit weird having a simself save. I mostly use her for profile photos on the gallery or twitter (or rather, when I actually used twitter). See most recent version below!

10. what sim traits did you give yourself? Geek, Squeamish, and Hates Children (though I promise I am not mean to children and I don't hate them, but it's a well known fact I am certainly not a kid person)

11. what is your favorite maxis hair color? I don't really have one, I just...pick whichever hair color I think suits a sim.

12. favorite maxis hair? idk off the top of my head, but when I play cc free I feel like I tend to gravitate towards the eco lifestyle hairs the most. or the claw clip hair from laundry day

13. favorite life stage? probably YA since it's the only life stage EA gives any thought to

14. are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? cas enthusiast (but I guess gameplay if it's between that and 🤢 building)

15. are you a custom content creator? once upon a time I was known to recolor a shirt or slap a decal on them but it's been a while and I don't see myself going back to it

16. do you have any simblr friends/sim squad? yes and I am forever apologetic that I am Bad™ at replying to messages or holding a conversation in discord (ily you all truly 💜)

17. what’s your favorite game? ts2, nothing will beat the charm & quirky gameplay

18. do you have any sims merch? nope

19. do you have a youtube for the sims? I don't have a youtube for anything

20. how has your ‘sim style’ changed throughout your years of playing? it's gotten a lot less cartoony. gone are the days of gigantic eyeballs squished super close together

21. what’s your origin ID? gerbits

22. who’s your favorite custom content creator? anyone who doesn't use paywalls or early access. you have my heart.

23. how long have you had simblr? this will qualify me for an elder's discount but it's been about 12 years 🫣 (and LET ME TELL YOU it used to be a lot more fun before everybody became so obsessed with making money and gaining followers...now I am sad thinking about it)

24. how do you edit your pictures? photoshop

25. what DLC is your favorite so far? tbh most of the dlcs are meh but the ones I cannot play without are seasons, parenthood, and get together. Honorable mentions are cottage living bc bunnies and cats & dogs bc it's better than having no pets at all

26. what DLC you want next? realistically a hobby dlc, unrealistically give me a legit post apocalyptic dlc and I can die happy

[thesomewhatliterateaxolotl]

Hi!! Question, since you do a lot of IDs (image descriptions) do you have any resources or tips for someone who wants to start writing them as well? What to pay special attention to, what is irrelevant, checklists etc?

Hi Anon!! This made me so happy to see. I'm glad you're interested in writing ID's!!

It's definitely not as overwhelming as it may seem. I will say I'm still learning myself, but here's my process. I boiled down my steps into a basic checklist to get you started:

Describe the category of image (digital/traditional art, photo, social media screenshot, etc.), unless it's already stated in the post.

Next, the summary. Pretend you're explaining the image to a friend (since that's pretty much the goal). You'll find yourself naturally starting out with the broadest/most obvious things. If it's a drawing or a photo, for example, that'll be the main subject[s] and whatever they're doing: "[Character] holds a bouquet of roses." "A fluffy cat blinks at the camera." OneLook Reverse Dictionary is your friend if you can't find the word for an action or pose.

Then, once you have your super basic one-to-two sentences, you can start on the details. When I'm low on energy or time, I stick to describing the most punchy details of the image: "A heart-shaped frame surrounds the characters. The piece uses pinks and reds." I also found this site for identifying drawing styles. For art, pay attention to color (or lack thereof), presence/absence of line art, and shading. For photos, describe style, mood, and color if you think it's relevant. It might be for artistic photography, not so much for a news article or a meme.*

There are different ways to demarcate your ID. You've probably seen that I use brackets around the description ( [ ] ) and sometimes a slash ( / ) right before writing "end ID." I've heard these aren't required, but lots of people prefer the visual distinction.

Use plain text (normal-sized font, no fancy formatting). You'd think it'd go without saying, but I've seen far too many people write their ID's in tiny font. Bold text at the beginning and end is fine, but that's about it.

Some subjective language is fine for describing mood (melancholy, cheerful, etc.), but don't overdo it. Don't add jokes that aren't in the image itself.

*For fictional characters, I usually only describe their outfits and features if they deviate from canon. For real people, I use my judgement on whether describing these details is relevant: Without those details, would they miss out on something important?

As for what's irrelevant, people have different preferences. I've heard from some blind and low vision people that they prefer really straightforward descriptions, while others prefer the detailed ones because they give them an equal or equivalent experience to what a sighted person would have.

I try to strike a balance, writing shorter descriptions for memes/informational images and longer ones for art. Active voice can help simplify your ID, though this isn't a strict rule.

What I have almost universally heard, though, is this: Even the most basic ID is better than none. If all you can do is a quick one-sentence description, that's ok! You've still opened up a previously inaccessible image to a new audience.

Now for resources:

Image Desc. Guidelines - This helped me out a lot when I started out!

Writing Image Descriptions

Giant Google Doc for Describing Memes

Resource for Video Desc. (I'm still learning how to improve my VD's myself)

Lastly, I know not everyone likes joining discord servers to ask questions, but The People's Accessibility Server is a great resource. (I removed the link because I couldn't find a way to hide my discord # from the invite, and I don't want to just put it out there, but here's this invite via keplercryptid's blog.) You can ask for advice, for someone to review your ID's, or even for someone to write them for you. You can DM me as well if you're comfortable with that.

I hope this is a good starting point for you, anon!! Best of luck <3

[pathos-logical]

I really appreciated your post about image descriptions. I’ve been trying to do at my small part, I do for a little extra work into describing color if it’s important since I was partially blind for a year and I could still see color and remember :-) but that doesn’t mean everybody has to be quite as elaborate as I get sometimes.

You wrote that wonderfully and you say you’re on a03 ^^

Do you think there is any way to sell the idea of doing simple image descriptions to people who do creative writing? I know I do and I usually do it when I have writers block. Sometimes it helps. I wouldn’t know which groups to approach on Tumblr because I am not all that outgoing and I’ve already written too much but nice to “meet” you, you rock.



Ah I'm so glad that you found my post well-written and helpful!! That's also super sweet, I genuinely love that for you :) And ooh, I hadn't really ever made a connection between image descriptions and creative writing, but posing it as a way to get over writer's block is *unbelievably* big-brained!! Sometimes wrapping your brain around the physics of a photo really is a good way to unstick the creative-describing juices!

That's honestly a really good idea in itself :) I would only caution people against viewing IDs themselves as a writing exercise, because while a bad ID is still usually better than no ID, they are not the place to get silly or fancy (I personally get really ticked at seeing IDs which get excessively interpretive or casual, not to mention long-winded). But as you've said it, I see absolutely no harm in your approach! Framing image descriptions as a way to practice simple, concise writing which also does active good for the world is like... the coolest win-win in existence. Otherwise, I really would just urge people to do their reading on why accessibility is a must and how they can do their part!

As far as groups or people to approach, I'm not sure myself... You could always try writing an explanatory post and tag it with tags writing communities frequent? To make sure there's no pushback against "cluttering" the tags, maybe you could preface with an intro which defines what image descriptions are and clarifies the connection you're making between creative writing and IDs! I see a lot of fandom-focused description blogs doing that, like here and here, it's a great way to introduce people to the concept!

As an example, I often work with my friend @ci-ah to write IDs for their super cool art, and they're a huge help in paring down the descriptions so they cover all the aspects they find most important while not getting too wordy! I find that a great writing exercise in itself; I utilize sentence structure to keep things clear (read: so. Many. Compound sentences), and staying conscious of things like that is really important for writers!

I'm so so glad you sent this ask, it made me think about descriptions in a totally new way!! You rock too :)<333

[caseythebunnyboy]

Hi, I hope you're doing well when you see this! Just wanted to say thank you for existing haha. I found your blog when you just started and it was sort of an interesting thing. I'd really really started questioning and recognizing things about myself a few months before and your blog just popped up on my feed one day. I never followed until just now, I kinda just lurked and came back every few days or so (this literally sounds so creepy im so sorry) and each time i saw your posts I'd be like "damn well we think the same". I'm also poc too and I don't see many poc trans guys so you're sort of a role model. I'm not able to get any sort of gender affirming items or care so I kinda just live vicariously through your posts haha. Still figuring myself out but your blog has been very helpful for me, so thank you!

hello, anon! i also hope youre doing well, and thank you! 💜💜 the fact that youve been here since the beginning and ive made such an impression that you still stayed means alot to me. nothing wrong with questioning yourself either, if i helped you in any capacity to find who you are, or helped make you feel more comfortable with yourself then thats extremely touching. cant believe a blog i originally made just to horny post is actually helping people, but im happy about that! definitely not complaining! 🐇

(rest under the cut! have a lot to say but taking up dashboard space makes me nervous)

its not creepy at all, actually! ive noticed a pattern of some of my anons sending me an ask, saying theyre sorry if they come off as creepy, when nothing in their ask even made me slightly uncomfortable. i thank you for being considerate of my feelings, but i assure you i dont find you creepy, no need to worry about that! 💜 side note, being relatable to other people is actually something i find great joy in, because it lets me know im not alone in how i think and act! it gives me comfort 😊

and that poc part hit me pretty hard. i rarely ever see other queer poc, which genuinely does make me feel isolated in the community sometimes, knowing im not white like a majority of other queer people are. its hard, especially when youre not exactly the most common type of poc either. i had almost no other people to look up to that were also like me, so it truly does mean alot that i can be the person other poc look up to instead. for that, i thank you.

if it makes you feel any better, im pre-everything! the country i currently live in has almost no gender affirming care, mainly because my country is LARGELY religious. luckily, there is a high chance ill be moving out soon to a place with better access to trans healthcare, which makes me excited! but if that comforts you that ive also had no medical treatmemts yet, then yay! another thing we have in common hehe 💜

nothing wrong with still trying to untangle things either, im so glad i could help in any capacity, and if you have any questions then please feel free to send me another ask! 😊 i also wouldnt mind you becoming one of my emoji anons, id really like that, actually! so, if you wanna be one, then id love to reserve an emoji for you 💜 thats all, i hope you have a great day, and that maybe ill hear back from you! 💜

[kdc705]

My JP Visit (Starting with this most recent one)

There are times where I'm visiting JP Ship 2, the ship in the JP servers that started my PSO2 journey. Of course.... the account I use isn't what I started with... So backstory...

Sometime a bit after the Xbox E3 announcement that PSO2 would come to the west with the Xbox One, and then later Windows 10, I downloaded PSO2 on my PS4. At the time, I didn't have a PC that can run it because I was using my dad's pc cause my old PC was being weird with heating and stuff. That, and my dad's PC's hard drive at the time was dying, so PC was not an option to me back then.

Whether it was on PC or PS4, I was set to move from JP to Global when the PC version released, so I stuck around till that faitful day. Of course, I did do the predownload, so it got some additional time for me to play more of PSO2JP, and then uninstall it when I start Global, or NA as it was called back then.

On PS4, back then, I used what was called "Simple Login", which skipped logging into a SEGA ID account, and pretty much bound my PSN account as the login. As such, I no longer have access to that account anymore today, cause of the IP block on NGS, that and VPNs don't quite exist on PS4.

On PC, sometime back, wither this year or last year, I finally use that SEGA ID I initially made to use on PS4. Using the Tweaker, as that's the only way I'll be able to get in the JP servers today, I made a new account called "GL_Emil" and attempted to recreate Emil, my main, as she currently looked like in Global at that time. Since at that time Slayer wasn't released, I stuck with Braver. Then now recently, I am transitioning my main class to Slayer. I am struggling, cause... well... lack of good gear will do that, but I'm enjoying the challenge that's given to me.

Currently, as of this blog post, and it's long, I am in the Sita Region, trying to get through the Driesen Plant to do some Yellows, probably, to level up Slayer more.

So the main question...

Why did I visit JP after so long in the first place?

Well... If you want my honest opinion, it was to see if my older account, that's the same name as my currently Global account, is still there, and surprisingly, the Lookbook is. Which is a start, so it's still there. I also came to visit some friends from Phasion Arks. I don't go on JP much, but it's nice to get that nostalgic feeling again, despite now seeing things in a different way since JP and Global are all different. O.o

When I moved from PSO2JP, it was before Luster was released. So when Luster was released, and brought to Global, I was in unfamiliar territory, that and my Global self long since overtaken my JP self. So it's a good idea to let JP "Emil Sato" rest and have a visiting "Emil" come by and visit some friends.

Also she looks similar to younger Emil, before I made her look older, because I didn't have all the stuff needed to make older Emil. So in a sense, I could do a lore thing where Emil was dreaming of being in another reality or something. Ehh... who knows.

[jonphaedrus]

2022 fic year in review

2022 was a weird year. i pulled an all-nighter on feb 16 and i was possessed by the ghost of prfr past and an opera only i care about and then i woke up ten months later (kidding. i have not woken up at all) nearly a million words later and with my entire life in slight disarray and an unbreakable obsession with pokémon villain from baby jrpg fake france

anyway let's do the breakdown. im gonna take some questions from the overall ao3 wrapped lists going around, and then do the greatest hits/thoughs of all my fav fics from every month of the year (by posted date, including if it was adjusted for reveals; im not taking into account when things were "actually" written, but also neither will ongoing wips still unfinished count)

total word count in 2022: i waited to post this until id posted my final fics of the year and got the final count and cant stop staring at that 780k total. wtf. some of this is wips from across multiple years updated in 2022 (and much of it is roleswap which is going to get bumped into 2023...) but it's the most i've ever written on my own, ever. multiple past years combined. i stuggled so much with writing from 2018-2021 and i thought i'd never find it as easy or relaxing again and to have found joy in my words makes me so happy. LOOK HOW MUCH I WROTE! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!

fav fic i wrote this year: not counting ongoing wips (sorry roleswap. otherwise roleswap would be like the #1 thing on every answer), "tomorrow you must love me" is the best thing ive ever written (before roleswap) and it was such a joy and struggle to work on. i was so nervous and scared writing every bit of it but it came out exactly the way i wanted to. learning how to write longfic (for me) has been such a beautiful experience and it's made me so happy to share with others!

fav fic i read this year: "do let the old enmity be" by sam (my favorite gift anyone has ever given me on ao3 i cant—i cant even handle it i melt i explode i climb onto the rooftop to holler across the atlantic ocean), both fics in sam's mutual pining series (i have read both of these fics so many times... my favorite sam fics. or close to my favorite sam fics. we met because of mp1... these two STUPID, STUPID FUCKING FISH!!!!) and "mira vs. sasha cant" which might not have been written for me but it was written to infiltrate my brain and give me strength beyond imagining. oh, my god, it's so good, please read it. I AM NO LONGER ASKING.

fav series i read this year: royals having a nice time by ba_lailah. if you like polyamory, gender, sex (both the kind you do with other people and the bits attached to the body), pregnancy, family, parenthood, developing relationships, realism and worldbuilding, kids, the complexity of monarchy and the realities of rule, really REALLY REALLY hot porn, and some of the best bdsm ive ever read, treat yourself and go read rhant. there's a 250k novel coming this year. it's incredible. worth your time. go. read it.

fav exchange this year: fic in a box. the chance to play around with mediums and stylesheets and the exchange community around fiab was lovely. all the pinch hits i wrote were so much fun—i literally don't think i saw a single prompt i didnt adore!—and the mods were fabulous and i got LITERALLY THE BEST GIFT EVER. fiab is honestly a ton of fun. if you're new to exchanges and you want to try something a little out of left field, i really recommend fiab! the signups can be sort of esoteric but don't let the mediums or the complexity of the rulesets scare you off (they almost scared me off but sam coaxed me through it like a nervous small mammal) or the 10k minimum. you can break that up in so many ways (vids, art, cross stitch or knitting patterns, pixel art, voxel art, interactive fiction, asw remixes, comics, poetry, drabbles, standard fic, social media...) that it's really accessible and encourages so much thinking out of the box. i am SO EXCITED for next year.

fav ship i wrote for: GEE, I FUCKING WONDER.

fav character pov to write: you might think "prfr, either half" but no. it's shauna, actually. i love writing her and her perspective on things. she's so relatable and i just. i love her. her voice comes so easily to me, i cant wait to write her more in 2023

fav scene i wrote: a three-way tie between "as you treated him, so shall i treat you" which is just one scene but it set me on such an unexpected and amazing path to meeting some of my best friends and the most important people in my life and improving my craft and becoming so much happier on every axis ALL BECAUSE I DIDNT SLEEP AND I WAS MAD NOBODY ELSE HAD WRITTEN LYSANDRE GETTING STEPPED ON.... the scene with shauna and augustine in the grass in "with tenderness and pretty words it is easy to conquer good girls' hearts" which was a lot of catharsis for me as well as augustine and shauna, and a very specific chapter late in roleswap. i'm not saying which one. that's for me to know and you to find out.

wip i finally finished: inspired by the ficwip server, i've been working (slowly) on some of my old wips, and finally finished starry heavens, which was meant to be done like eight years ago. it's character studies of every major character in tales of symphonia, and getting to see it in full and my growth as an author over the better part of the last decadeis a little humbling. ive come so far! writing is great actually!

wip i've yet to finish: roleswap. 2023. we will do it. it will be done. as soon as my fffx is draft complete, roleswap is my heart and soul.

most read fic: it is (a little unsurprisingly given how long it is...) roleswap! which makes me so, so happy. sam and i have worked so hard

longest fic (completed in 2022): "tomorrow you must love me" at 57k

shortest fic: apparently it was "in which the author reaches the end of his rope" at 193 words. i didnt even remember writing this so jkhlkdfjhglsdhkfg

fav fic title used: "RÉEL FIBSHING: LUMIOSE CITY EDITION" which is twine-style interactive fiction about magikarp jump, set in sam's "as the night the day" universe which i wholeheartedly adore and you should go read it.

biggest surprise while writing: how much easier it is for me to do multi-chapter and longform works! i've always really struggled in the past to stay committed and complete things, but this year i've really started to move into the realm of being able to just... write longfic! that's very exciting to me.

fav comment received: shout out to ao3 users yelp, who is an absolute delight in exchanges. like, seriously, yelp is such a sweetheart. omg. i would write for them in an exchange again in a heartbeat and their comments are so sweet.... and also every other comment i got. thank you ;;v;; they make me so happy... i hardly ever even know what to say

fav fic author i read: i wonder who that ao3 user samifer is. what a guy. in all seriousness, this year my favorite authors were my friends. they helped me out, gave me advice, and made me feel so full of love i can't even begin to say how much. i'm so lucky to know these amazing people and i can't encourage you to read everything by sam, kay, neku, lailah, or sushi enough. theyre all amazing fabulous authors and fantastic people and i love them so much. you should go love them too!!!!!

total fics/chapters uploaded: 174. i said that aloud and my husband said "holy crap babe" from the other room. what the actual fuck

what am i most looking forward to next year: FINISHING ROLESWAP IM SO EXCITED ITS ALL IM THINKING ABOUT!!! IM SO READY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

ok and finally under the cut my favorite fic from each month of 2022!

JANUARY 2022 -- SINCE THE DARK (owain & l'arachel, gen)

i've been doing nagamas since the very first year and it's still one of my favorite exchanges. getting to play around with a narrator as fun as owain and contrasting him with l'arachel was great and seeing their crossover interactions was so good. nagamas gr9 actually. 10/10 exchange will always participate again

FEBRUARY 2022 -- AS YOU TREATED HIM, SO SHALL I TREAT YOU (prfr, m)

what else, lol? i didnt sleep i listened to an entire opera, i blacked out, i woke up ten months later and discovered i'd moved in and written like four novels. i am never moving back out. i love everyone in this house. especially sam.

MARCH 2022 -- IN EVERY PLACE, AT EVERY TIME (prfr, e)

inspired by sam prompting for phone sex and mutual pining, playing around with academia and conferences and giving this the most #onbrand title/chapter title/summary combo i could come up with this also led to me meeting new dear friends!!

APRIL 2022 -- TOMORROW YOU MUST LOVE ME (prfr, e)

im so stupid proud of this fic. setting up a plot this complex with so many moving pieces and multiple povs and multiple mediums and dealing with so many real life issues was a lot of moving pieces but it was so, so worth it. it was worth all of the work because it's one of the best things ive ever written and it came out just how i wanted to and it helped me make my friends happy and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i just love prfr and writing c/c/c has been just amazing and I WILL KEEP GOING NEXT YEAR!! THIS YEAR WHATEVER IT'S 2023 NOW BUT WHATEVER ITS STILL 5783

MAY 2022 -- WHO COULD USE FORCE AGAINST A HEART LIKE HIS (IV) (prfr, e)

sam prompted me for using bdsm as therapy and i wanted to write cnc and it spiralled very out of control. one of the questions someone asked early on with c/c/c was what happened at The Incident and i'd intended to write that and playing with vanilla sex and safewording and cnc and trust was really difficult and i've struggled off and on for most of the year with this series of 5+1 but every one as i've finished it has been such an accomplishment even when it's been hard. especially when it's been hard.

JUNE 2022 -- 'TIS NOT LONG BEFORE THEY FEEL THEIR FEEBLE SOULS BEGIN TO REEL

how, HOW, HOW??? WAS I THE FIRST PERSON TO (APPARENTLY??) WRITE T4T SEX POLLEN FIC ON AO3? anyway it was fun and the result is sexy sexy sex

JULY 2022 -- AS THOUGH IT WERE POSSIBLE TO COMMAND LOVE

sam asked for prfr one bed and then FIFTY THOUSAND FUCKING WORDS LATER they finally made it to the bed and fucked in it. good for them.

AUGUST 2022 -- SILKEN DALLIANCE

the entire writer's month challenge was an experience (writing that much every day for a month... im glad i did it but im not doing it again i dont think dfkjhgkdfhg) but of all the fics i wrote i think this was my favorite. i really struggled with this prompt and i wasn't all that happy with it as i was writing it/right after but as time has passed i've been more and more proud of it.

SEPTEMBER 2022 -- TIRED OF THIS BODY

i dont really have anything insightful to say here. uh. getting into new and slightly unexpected kinks is character growth?

OCTOBER 2022 -- ONE CANDLE IN THE RAIN

something something if i had a nickel for every trans serial killer au i've written id have two nickels which is a weird number of nickels to have for something this specific and niche. anyway getting into new and slightly unexpected kinks (and then getting your friends into new and slightly unexpected kinks) is character growth

NOVEMBER 2022 -- WHO COULD USE FORCE AGAINST A HEART LIKE HIS (V)

i stuill have mixed feelings about this fic. i think this was like... my fifth or sixth attempt at writing it, and it honestly still didnt turn out exactly how i wanted it to and im a little bit frustrated by that, but as much as i tell people it doesn't have to be perfect it just has to be done, i struggle with "done, not perfect" and "done, not perfect" here meant i finished this and it made me happy. ive learned a lot this year and one of the things i learned was to let go of perfection and finish stories and be happy with the growth from them. this grew out of so many ideas and the way it ended up is just right just the way it is.

DECEMBER 2022 -- AZURE AS ANTEDILUVIAN SONG or RÉEL FIBSHING: LUMIOSE CITY EDITION

fiab was such a good exchange ;__; i had so much fun and i can't wait to do it again next year. pinch hitting and treating and getting to write for some of my best friends and trying out new mediums was so much fun and i definitely feel like i grew a lot as a writer in the process. writing interactive fiction was a new one for me (i've never written anything even like a choose your own adventure even just for friends before as a kid or anything) and it definitely was a new experience, especially playing around with 2nd person like that, and twine had a learning curve, but it was a fun learning curve c: azure as antediluvian song came out of me all in one go based on a prompt without even intending to write it. kazuha is my favorite genshin character and i loved this au concept and getting to play around with ayato was unexpectedly enjoyable! genshin lore good.

[halcyandaze]

what happened to your deviantart

sadly yeah it's gone now, longer explanation under read more

tldr: AI database scraping is a bitch and man the social media landscape looks pretty bleak rn woof

when deviantart starting pushing the eclipse redesign and got rid of access to the old UI it lost a lot of features and customization options and such that I and many other people enjoyed so it lost a lot of its charm, function, and users. so I stopped using it as much if at all

then when AI generated images started to pop off, the front pages (which always had an issue of always either only showing the same 5 popular artists who were buddy buddy with the site staff or untagged/filtered MS paint sonic inflation or anime foot fetish bases or some crap) became loaded with AI junk instead of, oh y'know, actual art

final straw was when deviantart started making their own AI image generator and made all accounts automatically opt in to having their images possibly used for the AI's database, and if you weren't ok with that, you had to manually go in and find and shut off all those new hidden settings. I felt I couldn't trust deviantart anymore, I liked having my deviantart page still up even if I wasn't active because it was my first social media site where I shared art back when I was 13 years old, a literal whole decade of growth and memories. but I felt I couldn't have that anymore without risking it all being scraped or misused, so I finally deleted a while back. still kind of bummed about it but yeah no deviantart ain't what it used to be

I'm kind of in a similar boat with twitter right now. my posts get no traction, I never see content from the people I signed up to see posts from anymore and instead get nothing but blue checks and scams and ads and bots and AI, you can't even scroll more than 20 minutes without RATE LIMIT EXCEEDED or paying up and joining blue check loser circlejerk club, oh hey did you notice all tweet contents and imbeds prior to 2014 just got nuked off the place of the earth with no warning, they're trying to make their own AI with a database fed by tweets unless you lock up your accounts, but locked accounts are reporting their tweets and activity being seen by people who don't follow them and should have no way to see any of their posts but they show up somehow, anything can get you shadowbanned or blacklisted by The Algorithm, and rumor has it you may have to soon send government ID and sensitive info and images of your face to twitter HQ for verification to squash down the bots (that toooootally didn't get worse after the company got bought by that X obsessed nutjob nah this time he'll totally fix it you guys trust us)

yeah, I totally trust those loser dweebs who completely tanked one of the most popular social media platforms of the past decade in less than 6 months I totally don't see anything bad happening with having my legal government info on the twitter servers

so I'm currently in the process of also deleting my twitters if this shit doesn't improve. if you want to keep up with where I'm most active, go over on my carrd and I keep my links page updated with where I am and what I'm doing on each :]