#i'm not sure i actually answered lol

[ancientstone]

hey there! i've been seeing a lot of tmnt on your blog and i wanna ask something. i really wanna start the rise series and i was wondering, is it all shenanigans and fun or will there also be the depth and seriousness and thoughtfulness i see on tumblr? (i mean bc sometimes with kid's media, it's the fandom that constructs the deep parts from what canon only implies and never fully acknowledges) so like, is it actually deep or is it a case of the fans going "it's not that deep but i'm imagining that it is"? either way is fun, i just wanna know what to expect. i'm super excited to start btw!

If you cut me in half, tmnt would be at my core haha 😅 I feel honoured that you chose me to ask!

Hm, good question. I'd say 50/50 depending on what subject you're talking about.

If it's about the family dynamics, then it's very much canon the closeness of the brothers and them with April, and how they care for each other. With Splinter it develops more over the seasons, but it's also there. Tumblr may notch it up a little, or give them more serious topics to talk about than what happens in the show, but it's based of a solid base.

If it's the 'Leo being the front man with jokes to hide pain' part, eh, more headcanon? He makes a remark once about hiding behind jokes during the series (the episode portal jacked, I believe), and since the movie people have taken that and ran with it given the topics that covered (they may have before as well but I wasn't active in the rise fandom then so I couldn't say)

In fact, most of the mental health stuff is more along the fandom route, as the show is typically more lighthearted. Though I think part of that is because Rise suddenly had it's second series cut and the writers had to rush the final four episodes, so there wasn't much time for the emotional scenes they probably would've wanted put in, therefore fandom 'fills the gaps'. (Rise had a 'Network Keeps Screwing Us Over' problem.)

That being said, there's still lots of more emotional moments and depth in the show! Especially in that series 2 finale and the movie (seriously, the movie is so good! If it doesn't get nominated for best animated picture I'm gonna cry!)

Also, as a side note if you're watching for the first time: The episodes got aired out of order (see; the Network keeps screwing us over problem), so it's good to look up the actual order to watch in!

Also also, the first number of episodes are generally considered the weaker of the show, so stick with it and give it a chance!

[rodent--quinn-queen--posts]

So I haven't had the opportunity to watch Deadpool 3 and won't have it for quite a bit however going by what I hear about the movie from the people of Tumblr

I can't help but think of this one time me and my mom were watching the hedgehogs that like to come to our yard to steal cat food

And my mom said "hey, come look two of them are fighting... Hmmm. they're fighting kind of oddly". to which I just looked at her and said "mum, I don't think they're fighting... I think they're fucking" they were not in fact fighting

Anyway that's the vibe I'm getting from the way you're describing the new Deadpool and Wolverine movie did I get it right??

[yujeong]

Me being totally normal: I can surely figure out what page he's at if I stare at it for too long

Also me, staring at it for too long: Wait...is he reading....the foreword...? I can't believe it took me this long to realize Vegas is reading the first page here. It might not even be the foreword, it might be info about the author, it's so funny. But don't worry, the good news is that he's actually reading the book in this scene:

which, of course, you can make the claim that beforehand, he was not in a good mental state (Vegas? not being mentally well? No fucking way right?) so he was trying to distract himself from whatever the fuck the whole thing he's doing at the safehouse is, but after him and Pete talk and bond and all of that good stuff, his mind can focus and actually read the damn book. Sidenote Because I'm a bit insane and very committed in finding things to obsess over with my hyperfixations, I estimated the possible percentage of the book he might be currently at, then went to the appropriate page and found this line there: "He felt very gay and light-headed, and quite forty years younger, as he walked to the door."

I swear to God, it was there, and I laughed so hard they must have heard me over in Thailand.

[velvetvexations]

As a trans man who has gone from not supporting to term transandrophobia out of fear and pressure from friends to supporting it and feeling upset about the many ways it affects my life and interpersonal relationships. I am curious to hear perspective from non-transmascs such as yourself or anyone else in the replies (and I would like to hear from any transmascs too about this), what kind of discussions and questions did you come across or ask yourself that made you confront the transandrophobia you might have learned from society? Or even become more aware of how to be an ally to transmascs? Are there any good litmus tests I can use to either filter out transandrophobic people or cause people who care about me but might not think about it enough to question their own biases? Not just a gotcha question about including men in feminism but things that have inspired genuine self reflection on what trans men/mascs face in society and how we can support them. I would really like to hear what the process of unlearning transandrophobia has been like both for trans people who aren’t transmasc and for transmascs unlearning internalized transandrophobia.

(putting this in the tag)

What alerted me to the issue was two transmasc friends coming to me to ask my opinion on some posts as a trans woman. It really makes me doubly angry when people say transmascs have brainwashed me into it, because they came to me in deference and I drew my own conclusion about how fucked up it was.

As for unlearning transandrophobia, I'm not sure. I don't want to say I didn't or don't even now carry unconscious transandrophobia to at least some extent, but I've always been close to so many transmascs and just not at all living on the same plane of reality where people think they're equivalent to cis men in power or mistreat trans women or women in general.

I always desperately want to be corrected when I do or say anything that makes people uncomfortable, and very much want my followers and friends to tell me when that happens. That's nothing specific to transandrophobia, though; it's the same for other races, cultures, etc. and I even recently asked people to watch how I talk about transfem SRS because I was afraid I was getting too hostile about it.

I'd love for other people to chime in with better answers to your questions. <3

[coquelicoq]

i've been dying for a poll option ever since i saw my followers' answers to that text post from february 2022 asking people whether they pronounce beloved as "be-lov-ed" or "be-loved". many people were emphatic about only using one option, and many others use both but were not always able to articulate when they use 2 syllables vs. 3. so out of the goodness of my heart and my insatiable lust for knowledge i have gone through the notes on that post and written down some likely contenders! you're welcome!!!!

BEFORE YOU ANSWER! think about how you would pronounce beloved in the following syntactic contexts:

noun, talking directly to the beloved: hey there beloved

noun, talking about rather than to the beloved: my beloved lives in a pineapple under the sea

adjective in a noun phrase: my beloved x lives in a pineapple under the sea

verb participle: x is beloved by y

okay poll time! there are no wrong answers!! and apologies in advance if i didn't capture your truth, i only had 10 options and life is a rich tapestry!!

[sysig]

You’re new to the Princess-Rescuing business, aren’t you? (P1 | P2 | P3) (Patreon)

[majimasleftasscheek]

hi i got my ramen shop standee and the arcade machine keychain a while ago and they are AMAZING quality, they arrived just in time for a convention i cosplaued majima at and it was such a fun little addition to my bag. if you don't mind me asking what manufacturer do you use for all your stuff :0? they're super high quality compared to some manufacturers I've seen people recommend

I use vograce! it's not everyone's fav choice from what I gather from various other creators but my personal experiences so far (and I've ordered so much crap lol) is very good. they're a lil pricier than others too but I go to them cuz their products are good, they have a decent moq, and their customer service is very helpful/responsive

if you're interested in acrylic stuff, I would rec them. they have a ton of other products too that I haven't necessarily tried yet but they also offer sample services (sometimes free, sometimes a fee depending on what it is) so that's super helpful. and if you ask em, they'll provide proofs of items before they make em so you can check the art or whatnot (very helpful to make sure they don't make something backwards lol esp if there's text involved)

rn I'm having them test some buttons and I'll be going to them for my booby mousepads too cuz me and a friend collab'd to make some and they turned out very good

[chiimeramanticore]

[so-much-for-subtlety]

My company has a thing where if you do something that other people appreciate they give you reward points* that you can then redeem for gift cards.

I never know what to use them for, but today I just redeemed some for some absurdly expensive pillows and bed linen that I would never justify spending real money on.

Goodbye Ikea pillows!!

[scourgeblooms]

14 & 19 for the commander ask game ^^

(both you and @starlightsuncrow asked for #19, so I'm combining this into one big post.) and thank you for asking!!!! I'm blasting you both with my good vibes beam ✨

9. How is your commander perceived by their allies/colleagues? Does this perception differ from how their close friends see them?

Azilab, from an outside perspective, is everything a good commander should be: strong-willed, competent, brave, strategic, and well-spoken. He is certainly all of these things, but those that have gotten past his (very) high walls know he's also paranoid, anxious, quick to anger, and combative. While he's pretty good at navigating professional inter-personal conflicts and handles himself well in politics, private relationship are something entirely different. He can be a bit clumsy when it comes to casual friendships, and his paranoia results in him shutting himself off from engaging in anything that isn't work related.

14. Are there any characters that your commander used to hate/dislike but now regards as an ally or friend? How and why did their perception of this character change?

Azi actually really struggled with Taimi at first. If I'm remembering correctly, after first meeting Taimi and speaking with her while playing as a sylvari, she makes some pretty wild/insulting/presumptuous comments. Azilab takes criticisms to heart (even when said by a literal child) so he was pretty put-off and offended by the little asura in the beginning. It's hard to interface with a child when you, yourself, are only like two years old. This changes pretty quickly, and Azilab adores Taimi now. That's his sassy daughter and you will not lay a finger on her.

(I kinda combined 19 & 20 bc I think they go hand-in-hand!) 19/20. What is your commander's relationship with how they are publicly perceived? Do they appreciate this perception, or is it something they wish they could change? If so, how would they change it? How is your commander depicted in popular media?

I love thinking about how the commander is depicted in Tyrian media. I love the idea of the commander being used as a propaganda figure ("The Commander WANTS YOU for Pact Army!" "Fight Alongside the Commander and Join the Pact Today!"). When it comes to Azilab, I think for the most part, his media coverage is pretty positive. As I've mentioned before, he tends to internalize negative vibes that are thrown his way, and he does his best to correct them. I wouldn't say he's obsessive about reading about himself in the media, but he likes to stay in the loop to see what people are saying about him. He wants to do good, to save people, to make people safe and content. If people are upset with him, he likes to know why and how he can make it better (he's a people-pleaser in a very petty, slightly pathetic way. that one elona fractal in soto also messed him up in a major way. he's given himself full on breakdowns when he remembers that there's a version of himself out there that failed and abandoned an entire people/nation). He's also very adamant about making sure things are factual in the media (/side-eyes joko in a major way).

When it comes to Goldclaw/fanbases/gossip, he wants that stuff out of his face. The fact that people idolize him to the point of having fanclubs and literal smut written about him makes him wildly uncomfortable. He doesn't want to see/read/hear about any of that, thank you very much.

[gothhabiba]

.

[not-poignant]

Hi there! I absolutely love your works and, having followed you for a while now, I also really admire you as a person and an author in general. Every update on AO3 and Tumblr is always such a delight. I'm sorry if this ask is coming out of the blue or if it's something you've been asked before, but how did you take the plunge from writing predominantly fanfic to posting original fiction in serial form and also self-publishing novels? I'm currently in the process of drafting two original works after writing/posting fanfic regularly for years, and I'm just lost as to how to set everything up. I have a general idea (post chapter-by-chapter on AO3 and offer early access and some exclusive content on patreon or some other subscription service), but it all feels so daunting right now. Any bit of info or advice on how you got started would be immensely appreciated <3

Hi anon,

Tbh, I went from writing fanfic to original fiction because I had original characters in my fanfiction and readers asked me about them.

I had no kind of...dreams of being an original author in this way, I was published via other pathways already, and fanfiction was really an escape for me, a chance to break with all the conventions of standard writing and just do what I wanted.

But I needed a broader cast than what the movie gave me re: my first fanfics, and I added my own OCs, and left them in the background as much as possible, but even back while writing that fanfic, even the OCs were getting fanart. Sometimes readers would send me anons about them, or ask me more details about them.

Finally, I decided to write some hatesex between them, just something to kind of...idk get it out of my system? Answer what the readers were looking for?

The flow through therefore felt natural. Game Theory flows very naturally on from From the Darkness We Rise & Into Shadows We Fall. And from there, moving into other original works has been easy, in part, because I've often being doing alternate universes from a core of original characters.

If I want to introduce new original characters, I introduce them in stories where pre-existing original characters have already been established.

I didn't even start writing original works with a view to making money off that. In fact I thought it was a very foolish thing to do. A lot of people on AO3 don't want to read original works on AO3 and refuse to do it or only do it if it's PWP / pornography.

I started my Patreon account because readers asked me to. I got asks from very very generous people who wanted to know my Paypal, or asked if I'd start a Ko-Fi, and finally a few people just asked if I'd start a Patreon. I said I didn't think it was a good idea, and they said it was up to them if they wanted to pay me or not, but I should at least consider giving them the choice.

From there, I found it all very overwhelming. I made lots of mistakes. I had to go on hiatus for a year because I promised too much and couldn't deliver on many of those rewards. And for many years I only offered one early access chapter per week for one story, and my main stories were never early access (and still aren't, Underline the Black goes up for everyone at the same time - and while that may change in the future, it's definitely unconventional).

I've always been transparent with my readers that with very few exceptions, if they just wait, they eventually get everything for free. But if they want to support this kind of writing and/or enjoy it, and can comfortably afford to send some dollars my way, they can ensure that I can keep writing this way.

I have for a long time offered no exclusive content at all, I believe that can do well, but it's not my preferred way of doing things.

This career has been incredibly reader driven, anon. I would not personally attempt it cold, without a really fantastic readerbase who encouraged me every step of the way in the first place, because I am a cautious, insecure writer who doesn't like to take risks. So I can't give you advice on how to build this career without the support of the readers there in the first place, and I believe the only reason why I had their support was, in part, because of the actual strength of the writing itself. Which isn't to say it's the best, it's not, it's what I needed at the time and it's what a few other people needed, and that's basically how this works.

If you turn up with the writing, and the audience comes, and they want the story, you have the career.

In terms of practical advice - you can introduce original characters in fanfiction, just be aware that readers tend to be hostile by default if they pull any significant 'screen time' away from the fandom characters (and readers are extremely savvy to authors trying to build a financial business through AO3)

It IS daunting, but the good news is you can do a soft launch. You can open a Patreon or Ream account tomorrow and tell no one. You can mess with your graphics and your tier rewards to your heart's content when you don't have any subscribers. Build a buffer of early access/chapters, and make sure you don't overpromise on anything. Whatever you think you can realistically deliver to readers, cut it in half, because the stress of chapter update deadlines every month can really add up and it's a very different landscape to novel releases.

You can take your time, you can build interest slowly.

Remember you can never ever mention any kind of site where you're getting paid inadvertently, sneakily, or directly on AO3. You can't mention Ream, you can't mention Patreon, you can't mention Ko-Fi, you can't go 'learn more about my writing here' and link to those places. You can't mention buy links. You can only mention sites like Tumblr, Linktree, Twitter etc. Places where the point of sale isn't happening. Not doing so risks AO3's Not For Profit status and risks your entire account, and it's not worth it.

I did an interview with Subscriptions for Authors where I actually talk about many of these things so you can watch (or listen to) the podcast here if you're inclined! It also talks about the importance of community-building, gratitude to the readers, and generosity.

I am here because my readers wanted me to be. So I'm very concerned with making sure I can give them the best writing possible within my abilities. This makes me not very suited to offering 'how to start in this career' advice because it was a happy accident. It's hard to teach something I have never done your way myself, anon, because I worry I'd give bad advice. My writing had people turning up, but I'm not sure anything else I did, added much! I think responding to Tumblr asks and replying to every comment helped too! But...I don't know for sure.

But this career path does make me pretty well suited to offering 'how to keep this going' advice, because I've been doing this for ten years. <3333

[mymarifae]

i will always advocate for skipping classes btw. to all the high schoolers following me: don't sweat having a perfect attendance record it quite literally does not matter. if anyone tells you good attendance is important for being considered for scholarships they're lying to you. my attendance was fucking abysmal and i was offered several full-ride scholarships because my grades were still solid and that's all 90% of colleges care about.

and besides. taking care of yourself - whether you need a mental health break or you're tired or you just frankly don't want to go to that fucking class - should always take priority! now don't take a page from my book and skip a month and a half's worth of pe classes because you ditched One Time because the coach said he was going to make everyone run a mile that day and then he kept trying to get you to "make up" the mile that you missed so you kinda just stopped showing up until he gave up on you forever like please know that you should go to class regularly BUT.

i think taking time off and leaving early and such needs to be normalized. for school and work. i don't think it's fair to punish people for needing breaks. the human brain is literally not made to sit in the same stifling environments for 8 hours almost every day and just focus on "working" or "studying" and "learning." it's very cruel to deprive young, still developing minds especially of proper breaks and time to Play (not that it's not cruel to do the same to adults)

if the system won't give them to you freely though... well. break the rules a little. you know your limits better than anyone. don't try to work to an impossible standard. rest when you need to!! it's very, very easy to burn yourself out, but it's very, very, very, very difficult to recover from it

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Bleach is so cool sometimes and then so funny other times. Like, the fact that Ichigo's DAD is talking about temporal and spatial displacement and restricting this place's spirit energy on his own because he's powerful enough to do that and he can give Ichigo approximately three months to train in this pocket dimension.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

fun connection on this archived kickstarter update from the 2011 production/s of "the bus" as found by @broadway-heere-i-come ft. many pics from their trip to wichita, kansas for several performances there, including this one

fantastic stuff & was noticing that it seems like partly legible lyrics back there, which sent me over to consult that q&a sincerely me vlog again like hang on lol. and sure enough

lo, behold

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

just did my last dissertation interview and guyssss i am feeling SO much more positive about the whole thing!!! i have like. actual research to talk about and some really really interesting conclusions and yes i only have nine days to write it all down but i can actually finally see the route i'm going to take and i'm just SO relieved omg