#please no one take this as an attack i am fully aware i'm being a mean and jealous little killjoy lol

[cuddlytogas]

entering my bitch era (trying to get more into twitter fandom and finding my tl flooded with people talking about A Certain Popular AU Fic that is, frankly, mostly just fine, and being overwhelmed with some of the pettiest little jealous rages you ever did see)

[cherrieflavouredheadcanons]

Hi can we please have fluff w Aventurine where reader and him reunite after 2. 1 and just fucking elope start a new life etc? Please I need it.

God yes. This is what we all need after 2.1. I'm aware he is in a coma-like state technically now but for the sake of fluff and this headcanon he is awake from that coma and is now reuniting with you. CW: Spoilers for 2.1 and Aventurines actual name, starts angsty but then turns fluffy, Gn reader, pre established relationship hurt/comfort

I am still accepting requests (especially for aven) btw so if you wanna see something send it in!

Back in your arms

You had lost track of how long it was since Aventurine left for his mission in Penacony. Has it been 2 months? No, probably more. It had been months since you last had been able to make contact with him. Your messages no longer went through, unable to be sent.

Looking at your textlog and scrolling up, you came across the last message he had sent you. It had come in while you were asleep, and it simply read “I love you”.

Waking up to that message would have been a sweet message for most people, but for you it had made you immensely worried.

 Aventurine was never someone who professed his love openly, so such messages were quite rare. Receiving such a message, especially unprompted, made you send him a barricade of texts, none of which went through and even now months later none were able to be sent.

If you were honest you were starting to lose hope of ever seeing him again, who knows what happened in Penacony after all? He could be…dead for all you knew, you had no way to verify whether that was true or not after all. 

You tried continuing your life on as you would normally, what else could you do? It was hard though, everyday you missed him more and more. Sometimes you imagined his face in a crowd somewhere but whenever you would take a closer look he would vanish.

Sighing you closed your phone and looked around your apartment, it felt so liveless ever since Aventurine was gone. Tears were falling down your eyes as you wondered how much longer you had to live with the uncertainty of where he was and if he was even alive.

Exhaustion was taking over as you began falling asleep. A common occurrence nowadays, since at night you were restless, unable to fall asleep as you worried. Just as you were beginning to fully doze off, you heard the door to your apartment open, immediately waking up.

No one but you and Aventurine had the key, and with him being absent panic coursed through you thinking someone was breaking and entering. You grabbed the nearest heavy thing to defend yourself with.

“For fucks sake…” You muttered as you made your way to where the noises were coming from. Cursing every entity out there for piling even more shit onto you as if your significant other being possibly dead wasn’t enough.

Readying your weapon (probably a heavy book) you stepped foot into the room where the noise was coming from ready to attack and hit the intruder. But once you saw who it was that was in your appartment, you dropped your makeshift weapon, a sob escaping your mouth.

Before you stood Aventurine, alive and breathing. You rubbed your eyes, making sure that this wasn’t your mind playing a cruel trick on you again. Aventurine watched you with a smirk on his, albeit very exhausted looking, face and his eyes held a new found softness you had never seen before.

You fell into his arms immediately, holding him tightly against your body, feeling his warmth. Desperately you grabbed at his clothes as you held on to him, scared this was all just a dream and you would wake up all alone once again. Tears were falling from your eyes, unable to hold them back, the relief washing over you making you let out all of your emotions.

“Wow you missed me that much?” He asked, in his usual teasing tone. Though there was something in his voice that usually wasn’t there. Desperation and a bit of fear. Was he afraid you wouldn’t have missed him? Or was there a deeper reason for it?

Moving away from the hug you grabbed his face in your hands, the tears still falling from your eyes as you took a good look at him. His face had fallen in, and he seemed exhausted. But there was also something in his eyes, his beautiful eyes you were so sure you would never see again, that you couldn’t recognize, having never seen it on him before.

Before you spoke your first words to him, you pulled his face closer and gently kissed him. The feeling of his lips on yours felt like you were floating in heaven. They may have been more chapped than usual, but fuck was it nice to feel him again.  Breaking the kiss you finally were able to muster up your first words to him.

“Fuck…I was so worried about you…I…When my messages stopped being able to sent I was…so sure you…Please…never worry me like that again Aventurine…”

You leaned your forehead against his, your words jumbled together from the adrenaline coursing through you.

He took in a deep breath, and held it for a moment before letting it out. A gesture you saw in many people before they needed to say something important and heavy, but one you never saw in your lover.

“...Kakavasha…” His voice seemed unsure and meek as he spoke. 

You, of course, had no idea what he was saying, so you looked into his eyes confused.

“Wha-”

“Kakavasha…it is…my given name. The one my mother gave me” He inhaled deeply before he continued.

“It is a long story but the short version is…I am no longer affiliated with the IPC, they probably think I died or something. So I no longer go by Aventurine, and…with how close we are and how much you mean to me. I felt like it was appropriate for you to know my true name...”

His eyes refused to look at you, flickering about unsurely as he spoke. Though he tried to sound confident, his voice wavered, scared that you would not accept him for who he truly was and reject his true self.

You looked at him gently and with all the love you had for him, gently pulling him close again and kissing his nose.

“Well then…It is nice to meet you Kakavasha…” You smiled brightly at him, showing him you accepted him as he was.

He felt relief course through his body and could not help himself but pull you into a passionate kiss. He kissed you like you were the oxygen he needed to stay alive. As if he would die without you.

Breaking the kiss he whispered “Marry me.” It wasn’t a question but a request. One that you were too stunned to answer to, looking at him with wide eyes.

“I mean it. Let’s get married, run away from everything and start a new life just you and me.”

His eyes were pleading with you to agree. He knew that he wanted to start over, but he knew he needed you with him.

“...yes!!” You once again fell into his arms and kissed him. The two of you holding each other so closely it was as if you were one.

Kakavasha knew that he would need to tell you everything that happened in Penacony at one point, even the part where he tried to end his life. But he knew that if he explained everything to you, you would still stay by his side and be with him. 

You were his family after all.

[lily-lovelyy]

Hello! Could you possibly write König and Ghost (separately) x a stoner reader who’s just faded 99% of the time? You can make it NSFW if you’d like! Please and thank uu! Have a nice day/night!!

Ahhh this is actually so cute to me!

(A/N sorry about not getting around to answering a lot of these this whole month has been very crazy for me but I am trying to answer them as soon as possible!!)

I'm going to do nsfw and sfw with both of these! And the reader is fem!

Simon "Ghost" Riley

SFW

- Simon smokes with you, his doctor prescribed him some for medical purposes, to help with his insomnia so he understands why you smoke!

- He thinks it's a fun way to bond with you, and you two have such deep conversations when you're both stoned as shit 💀

- Simon always orders pizza and takeout whenever you two start smoking, and he also has a snack drawer in your bedroom or near your smoke spot!

- speaking of smoke spot, at Simon's house he has a sun room he always drinks his tea or coffee in whenever he wakes up, or whenever he smokes, and he let you decorate the entire room however you wanted whenever he figured out how adamant you were about smoking!

- He is very caring with you whenever you're the only one smoking though, he coddles you and makes sure you're not paranoid or having a bad time! He's a sweetie.

NSFW

- It took a lot of convincing to do anything sexual with him while you're high, he just doesn't want something to happen without you being fully aware of it

- however, he absolutely loves it when you go down on him when you're stoned, apparently something about the weed makes your gag reflex disappear, and you can take him all the way down your throat

- whenever you're high, you also have a hard time understanding when he's sensitive or overstimulated, and you make him cum at least three times, and you leave him a mess.

- he's whining and moaning, gripping the sheets and stuttering pleas to stop, but he wants nothing more than you to keep overstimulating him

- you're also very good at aftercare with him, you let him share your blunt, and you both take a nice hot bath and after you cuddle in bed and watch your favorite show or movie while eating your delivery food

Konig

SFW

- Konig gets quite upset when he first finds out you smoke, but only because he never actually knew the benefits of it.

- all he knew was what his parents and teachers said about it, he thought you'd grow horns or get a mutation or something like that, but when you told him all the benefits, he was cool about it

- now Konig himself doesn't smoke, but he knows the signs of when you smoke, the smell, your demeanor and how clingy and sweet you are

- He also keeps snacks for you, in his backpack he has a designated pouch for chips and sweets when you get hungry, and an extra chilled water bottle in case you have a coughing fit!

- He also has an entire drawer dedicated to snacks for you, he has some comfy clothes for you in his dresser, some of your 'smoking gadgets' in his nightstand and whatever else you may need!

- you let Konig smoke once, and he coughed so hard you thought he was going to have a heart attack, so instead you bought some edibles for him to try, and he was into them, but only takes them when his anxiety is bad or when he's going to be around too many people.

(in my eyes, I don't think Konig could do anything sexual with you if you were high, but I will indulge your fantasies anyway 🙏🏻)

NSFW

- Konig is normally very rough with you during sex, because you do like it that way, but whenever you're stoned he's very gentle

- He doesn't go too hard unless you deliberately ask, and he definitely cums too fast, only because you're very...open when you're under the influence

- you admit to him how hot and sweet he is, and how his arms are just so veiny and big, and his eyes practically roll back into his head at the obscene squelching and moans that leave your lips

- you're not very vocal normally during sex, but when you're high, he's sure only porn actresses make the noises you make.

- Konig is an aftercare god, running you a bath and cooing to you how well you've done, and for the sake of it, hits a blunt once because he knows how badly you like to share with him.

[isa-ghost]

Attention JSE Community: Important

PLEASE REBLOG

This will probably blow up in my face, but something needs to be said. Besides, anyone who comes after me for this supports genocide, so. Whatever. Free blocklist if anyone sends me hate anons.

There's a person in the community, who runs a few blogs you may know, which you'll want to block if a) you're Palestinian or b) you wholeheartedly oppose the genocide taking place against them. I'm going to provide context, then list the blogs you'll want to block.

Back in November or so, when I first started reblogging pro-Palestine posts, I as an American wasn't as informed at the time about the war going on as I am now. Like any sensible American, I fully expected that any major media source I'd be given info from would be feeding me propaganda or just lies in general. (I'm right but I digress). As soon as I started reblogging pro-Palestine posts, I got concerned asks from two anonymous Israeli people who were formerly veteran followers of mine (one had been following me for at least 6 years). I thought their concern was reasonable, given I doubted the media sources I'd be most likely to get information from. I offered to let them correct me if I reblogged misinformation, assuming America would lie to me about both sides of the war, because of course I want to ensure I'm not perpetuating misinfo.

Mind you, I only reblogged 3 types of pro-Palestine posts: charity signal boosts, posts BY Palestinians, and videos of actual literal real life footage of proof or interviews about what Israeli forces are doing to Palestine and its people.

The anons I was getting started getting angrier, more aggressive, and guilt-trippy. I'm not sure which post was their last straw, but either the main anon (the one following me 6+ years) or BOTH anons I had previously heard from attacked me in my askbox calling me antisemitic and saying other nasty things because I was supporting Palestine. The main anon guilt-tripped me and straight up claimed Israel is not harming Palestine whatsoever, in other words denying the genocide is happening. Then they unfollowed me. This person owns the blogs I'm going to list to you.

I haven't heard from this main anon or the other one on Tumblr since, however they both were, until recently, also in a JSE Community theorist server I mod in, and recently blew up in there after the server mods declared their support for Palestine. The server owners AND the mods have been getting hate anons from Zionists (presumably the two anons sending multiple asks) for the last few days because of it, just like I did when I kept reblogging pro-Palestine posts.

One of the two anons, I'm unsure which, also owned a blog called @/hamas-is-isis, which is now inactive and/or deleted. You can still block the blog regardless just to be safe. Whichever anon didn't own the blog was reblogging its posts. So both anons supported the blog to say the least.

NOTE: DO NOT INTERACT WITH THESE BLOGS. ONLY BLOCK THEM. THIS POST IS NOT INTENDED TO CAUSE HARASSMENT, ONLY AWARENESS.

The main anon, the one denying the genocide is happening, owns the following blogs, two of which are/were major community blogs (which is why I'm fully expecting this to blow up in my face somehow).

@/theoristsden

@/hug-bot

@/aceofspades-lena (this is the main anon & possibly the owner of @/hamas-is-isis)

I strongly urge anyone who sees this post to block them, because I and at least 6 other people I will not name to avoid them getting harassed further, have witnessed this person being legitimately malicious towards Palestine and the topic of it. Again, they sent me an ask denying that Israel was hurting Palestinian people.

The second anon, the server mods realized today, had previously been sending subtle Islamophobic dogwhistle art in the server. We didn't catch it until after it came out that they're Zionists. Obviously, for any members of the server who see this that may be concerned, the mods have now deleted that art. The following blogs are theirs and I'm urging anyone who sees this to block them too:

@/phantomhunt

@/spacetimesystem

On the spacetimesystem blog, there are other sideblogs they listed in their pinned post if you want to go as far as to block those too.

I won't share it on this post, but the mods of the server I mentioned have screenshot proof of some of the hate anons that have been sent (I don't have any of the ones I got months ago unfortunately), as well as some other things these two have said. We also have a screenshot of the art.

I also want to mention, we found them discussing the idea of making a JSE community space that would "accept them." If you see Discord invites floating around, be wary. You could unknowingly be joining a Zionist-owned, anti-Palestine server.

Absolutely mind-boggling to me that these two would do all this or be this way when the charity that Sean supported for Thankmas this year is helping Palestinians. Not to mention he just straight up doesn't want hateful people in his community at all. But I digress.

Anyway, I urge you to block the blogs I listed. At least one of them is genuinely malicious and has attacked multiple people on anon over voicing support for Palestine. The other made art that implied Palestinians are monsters.

Free Palestine, and stay safe.

And once more: DO NOT INTERACT WITH THE LISTED BLOGS. ONLY BLOCK. I AM NOT MAKING THIS POST LOOKING TO GET ANYONE HARASSED.

[cardboardheartss]

Breaking My Silence

bts sajaegi issue

Firstly I would like to apologise to my followers! I'm really sorry you all had to see me lash out and use such vulgar language, that was really embarrassing to be honest, which is why I edited my posts lol! I genuinely believe I only reacted like that because I was scared of losing this blog and I was really offended by that one ARMY, so I decided to just cuss her out because I could not imagine losing my one and only blog over a tarot post. Now back to why I have written this post, we all are aware of the BTS Sajaegi issue all over social media right now and from my tarot reading you can tell that it was in fact true. To be honest, I really do not understand K-Pop stan's obsession with Payola/Sajaegi, saying who paved/paid the way and all that ruckus. I need K-Pop stans to understand that ALL these companies pay for streams, sales, youtube views and etc. They need to understand that this K-Pop industry is hella competitive as hell, I mean we literally saw BSH wanting to step on AESPA, SM buying people to study NEWJEANS concept, SM staff listening to popular K-Pop songs to study the popular songs and see how they can replicate them, BSH debuting Sakura and Chaewon to compete with IVE and soooo many more instances. ARMY are all over social media posting concert photos of BTS tours, trying to prove that they did not use sajaegi does not make any sense to me?!

I really do not know how to explain this in words but different K-Pop groups have luck in being the "it" factor making it easy for them to pull fully dedicated fans this does not mean other groups that do not have that factor or fewer streams are not as talented compared to the groups at the top. I mean look at BTS, BLACKPINK, LE SSERAFIM, NEWJEANS & TWICE, they have that "it" factor to pull crowds both domestically and internationally, and I am certain they use sajaegi but does this sajaegi thing affect their quality of music, talents, etc?! NO! So why on earth are people taking this to heart specifically ARMY? I am currently listening to BTS as I am typing this and I will repeat this once again! The sajaegi thing really does not affect their talent and producing abilities, all of their discographies are honestly the best... so why would you cry and whine about how BTS paid for streams and awards. That is NOT what you guys should be looking at, the boy's music and talent because that is what matters the most. If newjeans were to come out and say they use sajaegi for streams, I would not be crying because why should I? I love new jeans but them buying streams will not affect my school fees payments and stationery money so... why are I-ARMY having a full-blown meltdown over things that will not affect them in their everyday lives?! THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO DETACH! PLEASE I BEG! So I need ARMY to stop attacking people for sharing their opinions and thoughts on this situation ANDD stop attacking other groups for the same thing right after this drama dies down soon! Attacking "rival" groups is not going to help in this current situation, and saying BUNNIES are not part of the "HYBE Family" because we agree with Min Hee Jin who tried to "bewitch" BTS? and also because we saying we do not want her to leave?! look... newjeans is where they are because of her, Min Hee Jin, they all worked together and became successful so why would we want that main person who created all of this to just pack her bags and leave? not saying we agree with her past actions, right now newjeans art and music are what we are worried about, and this is the main reason why we do not want her to go. anyways... I have a class in 5 minutes! later everyone!!

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

The most frustrating thing to see in the HogLeg tags is people in the notes of TERFs and edgelords and Devil's Advocates and Consciencious Objectors trying to beat some sense into them.

Like, what happened with "don't feed the trolls", guys? Here's a helpful list of what to do when seeing specific types of braindead/inflammatory posts.

"Um if HogLeg is straight up killing people then gender clinics are mutilating children!" That's a TERF. Block, report if applicable, move on. This one wants to hurt you and takes pleasure in doing so. Hates you probably. Do not engagee.

"LMAO at those snowflakes being upset at a game! I'm gonna play it and nobody can stop me!" Edgelord. Block, report if applicable, move on. Do not engage, you are the snowflake they're trying to trigger. Do not give them the satisfaction.

"Um um I'm trans and POC and Jewish and this is getting out of hand, guys! You're radicalizing the normies by being mean to them for playing the game!" or "I'm trans and POC and Jewish and you're all insane for acting like wild dogs and attacking people for playing a stupid game! I'm not like this! Be normal!" At best, a sad creature still hoping that if they act "normal" enough, the power structures that be will let them live. At worst, a rando pretending to be these things in order to further their own argument. Yes, that still happens. Yes, even on Tumblr. Either way, move on. Block if you want. Do not engage with the bad faith arguments, they're either too stupid/insecure to get anything you say or they're actively aware of your arguments and know exactly why they disagree. Not worth your time.

"Uwu uwu *crying shitting throwing up* I love Hawwy Pottew and it's my hyperfixation/comfort thing and I will play it but I that doesn't mean I'm a transphobe! I promise I love my trans siblings! I am trans/am friends with transes! Please don't call me transphobic for simply enjoying some media! I'm full of love and affection and am an ally! Let me have my comfort thing! I'm so hurt by your mean accusations, but look, I'll donate to good causes and reblog trans rights posts!" Sad bottom-feeding slug, hasn't grown a spine yet and might never do so. Don't engage, this one's definitely not worth your time, your arguments might either pass through them (on account of it having no solid bone structure) or bounce off them (the skin is thicker than it seems, and it's just pretending to be soft and squishy but actually fully knows what it's doing and doesn't want to be held accountable).

Basically, stop, don't, turn around. Don't waste your time.

Anyway, to the rest of you: Keep on being haters and godspeed.

[absent-o-minded]

YR S2 Trailer Talk (Pt.1)

My, my has it been a fair whack of time since I last did one of these. The release of the S3 Trailer was like being opened from my rustic tomb, so I thought that I would do an analysis/thought/prediction post ! (Also - Please excuse the quality of the screenshots x the red play bar):

The Lake (Continuous):

As we know from previous seasons, the lake's function has been situated as place of solace for its location outside of the royal, institutional and domestic spaces. It is both meditative and reflective.

In S1, the lake was one of the only occasions where the boys were not just happy (a rare instance) but also where they were afforded a sense of privacy (even if it was the illusion of privacy). It's on school-grounds, so it is somewhat controlled, but Malin was also there. Here, I get the impression that they might actually be on their own. The shot is so serene, with the golden-green landscape refracting off of the water, and the boys' silhouettes slightly obscured.

We also got a snapshot of this scene from the teaser pictures, where Wille and Simon were floating atop the water, and they were sort-of peacefully basking in the Sun. The lake has been consistent throughout the seasons: Season 1 was Winter, Season 2 was Spring (I think?), and so Season 3 may be the Spring-Summer transition (although I am aware that people are wearing coats and jackets during the trailer). If so, a change in season similarly ushers in social/cultural change, or anticipates a transition. In Summer coming around, tensions rise with the heat, and the pressure amps up.

Importantly, the lake shows up multiple times throughout the trailer:

The hammock clip looks incredibly domestic and peaceful, which is nice to see, considering the arc that Wille and Simon have been on in order to get to this point. It's something simple and perhaps (on appearance) not particularly narratively potent, but it is important if we consider the lake to be a place of nostalgia. The Wille and Simon who lounge here in Season 3 are different versions of the lads that they were in Season 1. And honestly? I think that they're going to grab at any moments of peace they can get without the looming presence of the press.

Ohohoheheheheuegeuhuege- The big questions !

As well as being a place of tranquility, the lake provides an open space for Wille and Simon to talk without constraints. We have seen Simon be critical of the monarchy since S1, but (I think) that this is the first time where Simon openly directs his criticism to Wille and asks him outright. However, what I'm more interested in is what he follows it up with: "I've seen how it makes you feel."

Now, this could very well just be Simon remarking on how Wille has been in the past. He's seen him scared, stressed, worried, angry etc. But, it makes me wonder if this might be an inclination of Simon seeing it at it's worst with Wille's anxiety (and by extension - His panic attacks). Maybe Wille has fully let Simon in? Maybe he's shown him what he's been afraid to let anyone help him with?

Also - Simon is wearing what looks to be his purple shirt in this shot, which makes me think that this could possibly come after the palace visit?

(Pretty sure that this is the lake so we're gonna go with it-)

The thing that is honestly ripping my brain apart is that this could be a response to a NUMBER of different things. In the trailer, it comes after Kristina says: "You supposed to be able to take over from me." But there could be a chance that this ^ is in response to something else:

You have to maintain a traditional image. What if I don't want to?

You have to choose. What if I don't want to?

You have to stop fighting. What if I don't want to?

The options are endless.

(Also, Wille is wearing the same coat here as he is in the hammock frame above ^^.)

First of all, the trailer really is indulging us in some beautiful shots. Look at this lovely composition of land x water in a wide.

Secondly, my word. It seems remarkable that something as simple as this shot could summarise the goal of 3 entire seasons, because surely, this is it? This is all they wanted? The both of them, with a picnic, by a lake, with the sunset. That is all. None of the grandeur. None of the drama. None of the unwanted extras. Just this.

Which is why the next two shots appear more unnerving:

It looks so picturesque...and then we get these two close-ups. It's one of the few instances we receive where Wille and Simon are sharing a fraught moment and openly reacting to it in front of each other. They are unified in their experiences. But really, how else do you try to articulate what you and someone else have gone through in the past year? How do you explain that to someone who isn't either of you two?

No one else would have been under the same scrutiny or the same institutional rigidity or even the same stress as they have been forced to get through in just a number of months. They have both suffered, from the hands of others, as well as the hands of each other. There have been moments where hope was high, as well as moments where the end was not in sight.

And again, we're back at the lake. It persists. The sun is setting and so it’s late in the day. But it’s still this continuous, emblematic thread that connects interrelated sequences and bares witness to everything that goes on. It’s almost like an omniscient location.

I don't think that they would have shown anything from Ep 6 in the trailer, purely on the basis that it's separate from the other episodes. I could be wrong, but this seems like it would happen at the end of an episode, maybe episode 5? I'm unsure of how you could transition away from this because summarises the whole relationship. I can't say if Wille's "Is everything okay between us?” comes from this scene, because I just get the impression that they understand each other. The tears, the looks, the furrowed brows, the positions, it all seems like they have a mutual understanding that evades the need for speech. Perhaps it’s less of a checking in and more of a rhetorical question. Will it be okay?

_________

This part solely focussed on the lake so I'm hoping to write another post discussing other elements of the trailer. Nonetheless, I am very excited ! Anxious and sad to see it go, but I’m so happy that I was here for the whole ride and will see it to the end !

[hornyhermitry]

Professional translations & public witch hunts

For starters: If you think "TL;DR, who cares, I ain't reading all that" and are incapable of processing words for a prolonged amount of time beyond 240 character clickbait, you are not entitled to an opinion on translation to begin with.

I will take sufficient time for this one.

General:

In recent weeks I've repeatedly had the misfortune of coming across public harassment and incited hate mobs towards Jujutsu Kaisen's manga translator.

There's hordes of anti-social harassers pushing for someone to get fired from a professional job - in which he works because he is equipped with the necessary qualifications - purely due to disliking occasional translation choices in a comic.

This behavior has reached levels of exaggeration and reality disconnect, it'd be funny if it wasn't so sad due to a real person's livelihood being attacked.

This is not normal and tolerable behavior. It is equal to drumming up a hate mob in front of a café and threatening some employee inside, throwing rocks at the window and demanding for a barista to get fired because you didn't like the coffee beans they chose, or sure, maybe because they put actual sugar instead of sweetener into your coffee.

This is not a normal and acceptable way to behave.

If you think it is, there is something deeply wrong with your perception of society and what's respectful conduct towards another human being. When you encounter another person, you act respectfully at the very least. Kind, ideally.

Feel free to imagine yourself at work, making a mistake and thousands of people starting to call, email, shitpost online and harass you over it, dragging you publicly, shouting on the parking lot for you to be fired. Please reflect on yourself.

Now:

This dude does comic translations.

He did not authorize biochemical weapons in a war. He did not pass a law to deport all migrants and close the borders. He did not accidentally kill someone during a surgery. He did not hack & rob the annual employee bonus' account.

He wrote a word you don't like in a comic.

Planet Earth to Werry hater: Please come back down to reality and dial it back a few notches. This is a non-issue. Whether he makes mistakes or not, this level of hate and harassment is ENTIRELY out of pocket.

Moving on to translations.

Translations/criticizing translations:

Opinions on translations are like assholes - everyone got one. But that doesn't mean you need to pull them out in public. And especially not that you have to shit into random people's lives with them.

I've been reading manga and playing games in private for 27 years. I speak 4 Western languages and A2.2 Japanese. I've been working in the international entertainment industry with a focus on Asian to Western markets for over a decade, including Chinese, Japanese & Korean.

A lot of my time at work is filled with liaising between East and West, internally as well as externally. In my career, I've spent a lot of years supporting and later on consulting on localization.

I know what it is like to be a fan, and I am fully aware of the work reality behind translation.

I'm also intricately aware of the difficulties one faces when interpreting (!) from a source language as abstract and contextual as Japanese to a spelled out language such as English, French, Spanish, German, etc.

You cannot do a 1:1 translation. The nature of these languages is so different, you have to decide on one of many ways to translate something. And oftentimes, the content is so vague with so few indicators, the only thing you can do is guess and hope for the best - unless you happen to hit a rare jackpot of a person who has a guide with additional info and is able to provide this within the short deadline you are left with.

Even the most basic words already illustrate this difference.

Look at the example of

元気ですか / げんきですか = Genki desu ka

Genki is an adjective, "desu ka" is a question particle similar to "is it".

Genki already has many similar variants in meaning: "lively; full of spirit; energetic; vigorous; vital; spirited"

It is commonly translated as "How are you?" but that is not what it literally means.

Since "Genki desu ka?" is commonly used after the initial greeting when meeting someone, "How are you" is the closest equivalent to it in EN, due to it's function and usual placement within a dialogue.

The literal translation would be "Energetic is it?", or "Lively is it?"

That is obviously is no proper English.

Adjusting for grammar, it could be changed to "Are you lively?" - but the "you" is already a "fictional addition" to the sentence, as the original JP has no adress like this.

And asking someone if they are "lively" is also out of place. So more changes are needed.

Further adjusted for "natural sounding" would be "Are you doing good?" which now has 2 additional made up words, to transfer the question from JP to EN - "you" and "good".

This sentence does not necessarily have to mean "Are you good/How are you?". If I tell you my aunt Emma sends her regards, and you reply "Ah. Genki desu ka?" the translation would be "Oh. How is (Emma) doing?/Is Emma doing good?" JP's grammar works without these precise indicators who is talking about whom and is highly contextual whereas - Western languages need those.

Concluding, depending on who is talking to one another, who was mentioned on a page before, etc. a simple "Genki desu ka?" can be anything from "How are you?" to "Is (Panda) doing good?".

There is no literal 1:1 translation possible. The languages are too different.

The reality of translation is unclear source material open to multiple interpretations, once you settle on an interpretation having another dozen options to decide on for the specific wording, then having to adjust that to character and spacing limitations and doing all that with little turnover time.

On top of that, official translations work with styleguides and glossaries.

There could e.g. be a kind of character bible with notes about all characters and their peculiar ways of talking and what character traits those convey and an instruction to use approach XYZ to convey that.

"Speaks in a very poetic way, very roundabout and meandering" which could e.g. lead to overhauling the literal translation to add "personality" based on that.

Going by "(O) genki desu ka?" suddenly "How are you?"for the "poetic trait" becomes "How has life been treating you?"

Again - at the end overhauled again to make room for character limits and such, so maybe it becomes "How fare you?"

This change could have been added not because this particular line offers the exact context, but it is rooted in a style instruction to work with a certain speech pattern/type for a character - since the JP indicators at another spot might not offer satisfactory EN translations, so you have to add the "personality" elsewhere.

Translations of ongoing works utilize glossaries and you cannot use new terms if there is already a term established and submitted. Else it would be a mess of e.g. Cursed Energy in Chapter 2, Jinxed Force in Chapter 25, Hex Flow in Chapter 112, Curse Power in Chapter 156, Hex Energy in Chapter 287, etc.

Even if some months or years in you think another translation would be better suited, you are obliged to keep consistency with previous mentions and cannot just change these.

This also means if you take over translation work started by someone else, you have to work with their groundwork and established rules and terms and cannot change them.

Official translations commonly aim to make a foreign work accessible to local readers. If there is a bunch of teenage characters going to school, they should be relatable to local teenagers. As a result, regional and current slang might be added to make it sound more natural whereas the JP might just have "informal" indicators but less variance in vocabulary. The goal of a translation is to make a work accessible to a whole new language audience, hence the focus lies on making it readable without a prior 8 year degree in cultural studies. Things get simplified or changed for that reason.

Usually translators for a work consult with each other what the difficulties translating are, what possible options are, and what each language will run with. These considerations take a lot of time.

Having fans work out occurences deviating from the OG and explaining the specifics behind is it AMAZING community content and something for the people passionate about a story and about learning more about a culture. But it's not needed for the average joe buying a comic at a gas station.

This kind of deep dive is fandom! Enjoy and share and get excited! Enrich each others lives and understanding of a story! It's one of the best things there is.

Finally, a translation has to be timely & approved. There are multiple people involved in this.

It is not on poor John alone to make all decisions as he fancies and send it straight to print after going rogue, but he works within the guidelines & constraints this jobs brings with it. It's his name on the page but there are a lot more people involved in the final result.

Publicly claiming things like a translator "brutally butchers" a story or "is incapable of doing a job" because in a sea of solid translations of a very vague source language, every few chapters there's a specific word deep fandom who spends all their free-time on this particular story would have translated differently, is wildly inappropriate.

Interpreting differently is not doing a wrong job.

People on social media love attention and shitstorms. You get one narcissist with a following pointing out a debatable translation in a snarky smartass way and everyone wants a piece of the smartass cake.

What I struggle with is how people who don't speak a second language & often barely speak their own language with literacy above elementary school, feel entitled to an opinion here. What makes you an expert on cross-cultural art interpretation? What makes you think your opinion holds any weight here? Oh you read a Tweet by s/o else? *clap*

What makes you think you have the right to go after another person's job for no reason other than spite and some internet gotcha over a comic?

If you really value the creation of near perfect translations that much, be the change you want to see in the world.

Learn another language. Get that degree. Get that job in animanga and do your best.

Or for a start, send a polite mail about your concerns to VIZ instead of starting a personal witch hunt for some guy doing his job.

[fourswords]

starting sketching out light and like. HES 12??? like I get it- he's about to be 13- And knight is the oldest at a grand total of 15 but like-

BRO DOESNT EVEN HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN YET???

like I know they're dumb in the manga but 😭 every 12-13 year old I've ever met is like a certified dumpster fire, which you might wanna consider in his character lmso

but I just feel like after the manga it wouldn't even matter that he saved Hyrule, he's just getting grounded until he's a legal adult 😭

like azure THATS A BABY- Aint no way he's smart enough to have even survived half the manga even with his dumb luck!

im crying please add like one year to all their ages im on my hands and knees is your goal to give this tiny child some form of PTSD because he is IN CONSTANT DANGER.children need to have a sense of safety (and their stupidity doesn't count, blue got swallowed alive and frozen, vio was lying to SAVE HIS LIFE, green was straight up about to kill vio and had to deal with attacking another knight, and couldn't bring himself to attack their own dad, and then red got chased by an angry mob and then lost all will to LIVE with blue in that one temple-) 12 is barely even conscious and self aware 😭

like I know 12 year olds have complex emotions and can handle abstract concepts and start getting into deeper moral understanding- but my human of earth the self awareness is either ONE THOUSAND OR ZERO AND THERE ISNT A BETWEEN AT THAT AGE-

im sorry if I sound rude or something btw I'm mostly just joking and I tend to overdramatize for comedic effect but I genuinely cant wrap my head around him being just 12- like at least 14??? maybe bump knight to 16 while ur at it? ?

also I'm gonna figure out some way to incorporate the different colors into his hat probably, its big so its like a bag lol since in the manga blue just shoved his whole hammer in there I'm pretty sure

smithy will be extremely small without complaint.

feel free not to take my words seriously tho lol I just cant imagine a 12 year old going thru the manga, like look me in the eyes and tell me a 12 year old-

if I misunderstood anything lmk lol I am a lil stupid sometimes

HAHAHA YES HE IS IN FACT TWELVE. The Legend of Zelda is a series that's all about "yeah let's hand this child a sword and let him go nuts" (to use a popular example, BOTW Link being canonically handed a sword at age four and is said in Mipha's diary to have been able to best grown men in fights: "At the request of Hyrule's king, a group of outsiders came to greet us at the domain. One of them was a Hylian child of only about four years of age. His name was Link. He made quite a first impression. He was curious and full of energy, with a ready smile. Are all Hylian children that way? One thing that surely sets him apart is his swordsmanship, which I hear is exceptional. He has even bested adults. He must be somewhat reckless, however, as he was covered in bruises.") and I absolutely intend to lean into that as much as possible. Light's age comes mainly from comparing Akira Himekawa's designs for Links of varying ages side-by-side with each other; for example, you have Minish Cap Link, who's very obviously drawn like a young child:

You have Twilight Princess Link and Ocarina of Time Link, both drawn to look like older teenagers (and we know OOT Link's older age is 16-17 depending on who you ask):

We have Skyward Sword Prequel Link, who is a fully-fledged adult (his other panels illustrate the difference more sharply, but this is what he looks like, so):

And then we have FSA Link in the manga, who is drawn to be VERY visibly younger than OOT, TP and SS Prequel Link, but is definitely visibly older than MC Link (he's got the rounder face + eyes, the shorter stature, and it becomes even more visible when compared to the knights in the FSA manga itself):

His maturity level also does, to me, match that of an average 12-year-old nepo baby (which he really kind of is)—kid who thinks he knows everything & that he's hot shit but is kind of a giant train wreck internally.

All three Four Sword heroes prior to him were explicitly stated to be "young boys", and FSA manga Link is really no different in that regard—in the context of my own AU, he's actually the one who went on his adventure at the oldest age (with Smithy going on his around 8-9, Four going on his at 10, and Knight now going on his at 11). It's just been a shorter time since his adventure than it has been for the others ^^;

[handoha]

whew hi sorry i'm late!! and that my blog is still a bit under construction!! but this is mars (@seoyvn) again with a second muse who's... not really all that much more lighthearted but certainly friendlier and easier to get along with than the first boy!

i'm also just getting back from a trip across the country so i'm hoping to get on top of replies/etc. with seoyun too so please take this as my official "i am back and ready to party" message 🤪

anyway a brief intro on doha under the cut since his pages are still in progress <3

canine mimicry boy... can turn into a wolf at will but unfortunately has the side effect of permanently having wolf-like senses... which is good in the sense that he has wicked good hearing and sense of smell and bad in the sense that he has good hearing (thunder/fireworks give him a massive headache) and sense of smell (gets very distracting and overwhelming) PLUS he's red/green color blind and has terrible peripheral vision.

bonus: blood empowerment minor ability... if he consumes blood (doesn't have to be human or anything) he gets a bit of a boost (stronger/faster/etc) for about 2 hours or until it's been processed fully by his system, the strength of the boost depending on how much blood he consumed... thankfully being a predator (wolf) makes the consumption itself a little easier

as for backstory... his parents were a regular human (who had shapeshifting metahumans in her family but it skipped a generation apparently) and a metahuman with canine companionship... aka relatively useless and not very impressive. they were both SUPER active in the community with volunteering and were sort of parents to all of the neighborhood kids, especially those who needed a gentler family than the one they had. possible older siblings too... i'm sort of leaving those as open plots to be developed if anyone is interested in a connection :)

to make a long and sad story short, a major accident (villain attack?) reduced doha's family home to nothing more than rubble and ruins and he could hear his family screaming for help from where he also was trapped. the aeternals who arrived on the scene first were... not very helpful. they expressed that they didn't see the point in helping the useless and vulnerable; the human race is evolving to no longer need them anymore anyway. so doha literally watched them ignore his family until their cries stopped. they only saved him because he was a cute small child; he was perfect for photo opportunities and they carried him, completely shellshocked, in front of cameras as they talked to reporters, etc.

after they were done using him, they dumped him in the care of the state and completely forgot about him. doha grew up rough and never forgot what they said or did that day; he swore he'd expose the corrupt organization and dismantle them someday.

and after a long, difficult journey, that's how he ended up here! he's an aeternal trainee since he figured that was the best way to get Inside the organization to figure it all out. and joke's on them; his ability isn't as useless as they thought it would be. but he's pretty selective about who he expresses his views to; he only ever says that he wants to help people and that no child will have to experience what he did. he doesn't specify that he means the treatment of the aeternals, not the disaster that occurred in the first place.

personality-wise, he's so kind and gentle and soft spoken! he doesn't want to hurt or scare anyone (he's aware a wolf is an intimidating creature so he doesn't spend a lot of time in that shape). he sort of wears a mask and keeps most people at a distance but if you can worm your way into his heart, he's the kindest, gentlest, most loyal friend you could ask for.

as for plots... i'd love to get him some older connections that knew him at his 'worst'; foster family members, old classmates, etc. who know how angry he was as a child and might be surprised by how well adjusted he is now? or friends that go back even farther to that neighborhood he grew up in, people who mourned his family alongside him. those with aeternal relatives could be related to the event that ruined his life? he could either hold a grudge or plan to use your muse to get closer to them to expose them.... he's secretive with his plans but if someone can convince him that they're on the same side, he wouldn't say no! and of course, general exes, lovers, friends, enemies are all open for exploration :)

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

hey all, first off, please know that although i didn't post your asks, i'm not ignoring you, your thoughts or your concerns. i hear you, i just have like.. 80 messages that are essentially the same thing, asking if it's real, questioning the validity, the motive, etc. and i'm just finally at home going through my messages. there's a few things i want to share in the spirit of transparency, and the fact that in the absence of clear facts, we all need to think critically. hopefully this answers some of you guys' questions in the process.

first, various people have messaged me the same screenshot of a patreon page purported to be frances' showing explicit, but blurred photos - no faces are shown and no identifying features. every screenshot is the same, which to me is indicative of a singular screenshot being reposted by multiple people, not multiple people seeing the same thing and taking a photo themselves. i also have not seen multiple ''different'' screenshots of frances' alleged tumblr posts; they all appear to be the same source photos. it would be very strange that the only existing photo of the leak is the preview page, where images would be blurred unless you subscribe to her patreon. it's been hours since this ''story'' broke, by now i would think there would be additional images leaked. there almost certainly would have been a period of time, no matter how brief, where someone would have either already been subscribed, or saw france's alleged tumblr posts and then subscribed, seen the actual patreon page, and took a screenshot. there is someone who i chat with on here (off anon) who i trust, that has also shared some things with me that i feel cast doubt on the origins of this story. because multiple people are involved here, i'm awaiting consent to share those details with any identifying details redacted. there's only one person who has messaged me alleged information about what was seen on the patreon page (meaning what frances wrote in her patreon posts), but had no proof of this part. allegedly this took place at around 2am est and i did not receive any messages nor did anyone post about it on twitter until around 4am est. so that would mean approximately 2 hours elapsed without anyone posting about it that i am aware of. the user who messaged me did so from an account that had few posts, and they were all from today, which to me signifies the account was created for the purpose of sharing this information. and we now know the news made it to frances herself, who has denied it vehemently. despite some of the criticisms towards her, i fully believe that going this far and doing something of this nature would be completely out of character. all of these things, to me, are casting a large shadow of doubt on the validity of this story. in the absence of undeniable proof, i urge everyone to pause before jumping to conclusions.

additionally, i know many of you are concerned about rosa, someone we know to cause issues in the fandom and exhibit bizarre behavior, and seeing as she is the only twitter user who blasted this story out to everyone.. i get it. but there's also a very good chance that her involvement is a false flag, seeing that she so frequently just reposts things other people have said. my advice is to report her account, which i have done myself. i will say that right now, to me, this feels like a set-up. i have my own suspicions about the motivation in doing this, but i don't think right now is the time to speculate outside of saying that i think there's a high likelihood that there is someone watching our spaces, wanting us to lash out, spread this defamatory image, attack frances and run wild with the narrative that she has leaked nude photos of evan. personally, i am not risking making myself a pawn in someone's fucked up game and i advise anyone who follows me to refrain from engaging in any judgement calls and assumptions. i will be the first to say i don't know anything with certainty; i'm just sharing what to me seems most likely, until someone can provide substantial evidence to the contrary.

personally, this situation has been upsetting to me and i know it has been for many of you as well. real or not, evan's name being dragged into something so despicable and violating is not okay. there's no scenario where doing something like this is okay.

[chipsncookies]

ngl I am kinda looking forward to the Ultraman guy thoughts compilation and a brief summary about him. You talking about Ultraman definitely sparked my curiousity. I saw Ultraman briefly mentioned in a few manga when I was young so I was aware of it before but now I'm getting curious but I'll wait a bit more. I don't even know where to start.

The results have been compiled here! Please take a look!

For you guys who want to know who this character is, he's Ultraman Blazar from the latest Ultraman series! He is a warrior of light who's taken the duty of protecting humanity from kaiju and alien attacks 💪

If you're unfamiliar with the Ultraman series, it's a science fiction tokusatsu, meaning they use live action special effects. Commenters who mentioned kamen rider and power rangers/super sentai got it close since those are also tokusatsu. Fans of one usually enjoy the others too.

Like i said, the basic premise is ultraman, an extraterrestrial being comes to earth to defend humans from kaiju or aliens. They usually disguise as humans when not fighting, or they have a human host who can call them out when the earth is in danger. When the time comes, they transform into Ultraman.

This series is very old, it started in 1960s. So it has so many entries, where fans have grouped them by the era they were released (showa ultramans, heisei, reiwa etc). Some of the entries are in similar continuity, while others not.

I grew up watching some of the series so I'm already familiar with it, but I've been out of the loop for years and just got back into it, and im already confused, so i understand how you feel when you said you don't know where to start.

However, I think if you're curious and want to start watching, it doesn't hurt to watch the original series, Ultraman. It's available on YouTube. The effects might look outdated (it was the 1960s after all) but a lot of fans think the story holds up to this day. It has 39 episodes. It's the foundation of the series, and many plot beats & kaijus/aliens that appear in it will reappear/remixed in later series, so if you watch this you'll recognise them.

If it's too long, you can watch Shin Ultraman, the movie that came out last year. It's based on the Ultraman series i mentioned above but condensed into 2 hours. I haven't watched it myself but fans seem to like it and i heard it did well in theatres. The only downside(?) is the ultraman and kaijus are cgi so you're missing the tokusatsu experience. If this is your preference that's great but this is the only entry that uses fully cgi ultraman

I mentioned these first because they're a fresh start of the ultraman experience. Other series especially recent ones tend to feature other ultras/characters as fanservice, and I don't want to overwhelm you, but if you're interested there's nothing wrong with checking them out. A lot of them are available on the official YouTube channel with subs and some with dubs unofficial means also available

I'm currently watching Ultraman Blazar, it only has 5 episodes as of now but I'm really enjoying it a lot. In my biased opinion i find the story so far enjoyable for adults and children.* Also I think the visuals are some of the best in recent entries.

*I forgot to tell, ultraman is a series directed to kids, so it can be silly goofy at times and heavy on the toy selling, but some entries can be more dark/mature than others. Shin ultraman is more mature for example.

So yeah!! Ultraman is a really old series and it has become a pop culture in Japan and many places in the world (but somehow not america?) i think if you watch this you'll start seeing its influence on other shows (yes, including pokemon!). If you're curious about other ultraman you can take a look at the list of ultraman here and see if there's any you like. This series is big so it can be overwhelming but I'm sure you will find something you like! I hope you'll enjoy it! 🫶🫶🫶💖💖

Edit:

[anonymousad]

Hey, this is Harlan. I get that I'm not perfect - I've definitely made mistakes - but seeing as in the past I've overshared, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't contribute to this by posting comments explaining the details of the things I've over-shared... that I shouldn't have. My show got popular and this "massive community" that I shared things with - things that the previous poster commented about, were posted when it was much smaller. It was still a very bad idea and a stupid move, so feel free to tell people about my mistakes - but I'm asking you to maybe not help spread the details of the stuff please. If you want people to stay away from me and generally share negative Harlan stuff - honestly I'm fine for it - I can take my lumps. I'll take accountability too; yes I overshared in the community, I shared stuff from my personal life, I treated fans as friends, I made mistakes in dealing with them at times. I'm sorry to those who were upset/hurt/frustrated or disappointed in my oversharing or general mistakes. I'll be pulling back from public spaces in general, interacting less, and overall just stopping. I am garbage, I get it. Please stop tagging my real life name in every terrible piece of my life I chose to share.

first of all, I appreciate you taking a moment to address this by sending me a message. a lot of creators would just ignore it or go off on a tirade to play a victim, and you haven't and I think that does show a lot of growth and maturity.

I don't think dredging up old issues is particularly useful, if they have been appropriately addressed. I've never been part of the Malevolent community in a way that it seems many others have, so my context for these things is based on what I am being asked to share. if there are aspects of the messages that I am getting which are already closed books, I think they don't need more than a passing mention. and even that I only say because patterns of behavior are something we should all be aware of in the people/figures we interact with, online or in-person. that's just a healthy thing to do generally to establish personal boundaries that can stop you from getting burned by someone over and over.

I also would not say that you are a garbage person, I don't think that name-calling (even yourself) is a healthy way to approach any kind of situation.

what I think seems to be the issues and the reason that I am getting these messages NOW is that there have been recent events that the community feels you have not dealt with.

no one has been calling for your head or your cancellation, the tone I am picking up is that people just want some accountability. these more recent issues with the Discord server and ex-mods seem to have hurt a lot of people, some of whom are calling it out as a pattern.

I think most people (especially people who were once fans of someone/their work) want to see acknowledgment of mistakes publicly and positive changes being made more than they want any kind of attack campaign.

the problem comes when polite requests for this go unheard or ignored or the seriousness isn't grasped until it is called out on a more public scale.

I have nothing against you or your podcast or your family or friends or anything. I just think it is important to provide somewhere that people can share their experiences safely (which in our community does mean anonymously because of how tight knit some of the cliques are).

I hope you are growing and learning from this and that you can regain the trust of your community, but it starts with addressing them and their concerns upfront where they are relevant (none of that YouTuber apology bullshit where it goes on a much smaller second channel or a Twitter account that not even a quarter of their YT subscribers follow). fully owning up to any mistakes you've made is a good first step, and how you approach it will dictate whether people accept it.

this stuff is bad for you (not even in terms of image, just in terms of your general health as a person) and for them, so I hope it gets resolved as best as it can.

[cleopatrick94]

Elvis and Priscilla didn’t see each other again for 2 years after meeting in Germany. Elvis got back together with his girlfriend Anita Wood when he returned to the U.S. Priscilla had high school boyfriends like Ron Tapp when she was separated from Elvis in Germany. She moved to Graceland in March 1963 and turned 18 in May. Her parents and Colonel Parker forced their wedding. Ann Margret was the love of Elvis’s life and he wanted to marry her instead. Priscilla stole $900,000 from Lisa Marie yearly and recently tried to contest her will and filed a lawsuit against her granddaughter Riley over it.

Dionne Warwick: Elvis Presley did me a big favor in Las Vegas

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FjFnYn_vn_o

Gonna take this in good faith and because there are no personal attacks and this is low-key the most excitement I've had on this site in a few years a: It was in the tags, I didn't expect anyone to see it. I was being facetious. Sarcastic. A bit of a goof. I just like Falk more, mostly because Columbo rules, and he was friends with John Cassavetes. b: I am fully aware of the nuances of their relationship (thank you, Sofia Coppola*) and like. People are complex, y'know? ESPECIALLY Elvis Presley. Like. Yes, dude was a victim of the Colonel, and was a deeply sad figure, but his relationship to Priscilla, especially in those early years when he was literally ten years older than her (and while she was a minor), while sadly wasn't too out of the norm at the time, was still deeply fucked up. This is just my two cents, Appreciate you trying to educate me on the subject, and lord knows most of my favs are problematic as shit so I try not to begrudge anyone for artists (especially older artists) that they like, unless someone's in like the Mussolini fandom or something lol. I was gonna go on a whole thing about how nothing's truly black and white, and how you can like an artist while also acknowledging the rough edges they have, but idk that felt a bit too condescending and the thought ran out of gas halfway through typing it. Anyway, hope you have a good day, if this touches a nerve then I apologize, but do me a solid and keep it to yourself, please. I'm just a random guy on the internet, you don't need to defend one of the most famous musicians in history to me.

*the Sofia Coppola comment was another joke. Movie's excellent, though!

[dinosaurchurch]

2023 has come and gone. We're done and spite the insanity that ensued over the course of the last twelve months I feel like I'm going to miss it. What it provided for me was definitely a sense of clarity, there was a lot of things that really put it into perspective of where I am and where I'm going to go with my life.

It's been a whirlwind of emotions having every little bit of the rose coloured vision of the people and places I care about being wiped away. I feel like it was when I really became an adult, leaving my twenties behind was almost symbolic in a sense. There was a point where this felt so far away and yet here I am.

After the past three years and the strange fever dream that was the pandemic it was relieving to head into last year. I had enough mental fortitude to handle what I had to weather over 2023, that was the biggest thing I think I had going for me. I wasn't going to let anything stress me out to the point of panic attacks like 2022 or the year before.

I may not have done everything I wanted to and there's definitely things that took a back seat but all in all I'm okay with how last year unfolded, the good and the bad. I much rather know the truth then not. Having to say goodbye to people or simply leaving when I know I'm not needed or wanted in a space for the sake of my own mental health are things that I've had to do. Burning down the bridge entirely with some folks and being aware that I'm never going to able to please everyone is something that I've gotten comfortable with. Having to entirely let go of all the little things that I had gotten hung up over the pandemic.

I've become more grounded mentally over the past year. At the end of the day as long as I'm still breathing I know I'll be alright. The people that have stuck it out with me on this journey have been nothing but a gift - an absolute blessing - and I'm thankful for each and every one of them.

Giving myself enough space to breathe and having to know when to lay off the gas peddle is equally important as knowing when to fully lean in and just go with the flow. I think giving myself some leeway and letting myself experience my emotions with enough time to process them has been one of the biggest things I've worked on in recent times. I kind of had to, I didn't really get a solid break over 2023 - it's been one thing right after the other. Honestly the biggest thing that did take a back seat was my lifting, spite that I still managed to get stronger so go figure. Rest is important.

Guess looking forward now to 2024 I've got to ask myself what goals am I setting? I'm not entirely sure to be honest, I accomplished a lot more during 2023 than I expected to. I finished DIVE (and now I'm doing a prequel arc lmao), I did a lot of drawing, and I even got to play some of the games I really wanted to (I'm currently chomping through Jedi Survivor which is fantastic!). If anything I've been very productive.

It’s bittersweet to see another trip around the sun come to an end. I suppose for now I’ll just get back on track with what I normally do and probably continue to give myself the much needed TLC I should have from time to time.

Either way, onwards and upwards! Goodbye and good night to 2023. Thank you for the adventure once again.

Hello 2024!

Happy New Year!

[notmuchtoconceal]

I say this with love, but...I really have no clue who some of your most upset-sounding rants are directed to. It seems like it's a different person every time. Do people really wrong you that often? Are they not really directed at a specific person at all, but really just part of an artistic performance? Are they designed to be deliberately ambiguous? Is it wrong for me to make assumptions about you? Is it too arrogant? Is it too close-minded?

One thing that helped me get better (and I still have relapses, as you are well aware) was to outline a set of principles for myself as a means to eliminate ambiguities. And then just stick to them. And it feels rigid and stifling at first. It feels like you're sacrificing complexity. But you learn to find the complexities within those principles. They don't have to be absolute. They don't have to be dogma. But they help people understand how to approach you, because you've made very clear what you want from them.

You're taking a personal grievance you've had with some...Wisconsin otter...somebody with Republican value...somebody who believes they're too poor...whatever...and you've placed them in public. And thankfully you've given hints that these are specific people, but other times these hints are noticeably absent in your work, which makes it less obvious who you're speaking to, or if you're speaking to anyone at all, or if it's a fantasy sequence you're envisioning as part of the art.

Which makes me wonder if you're actually trying to disguise your personal grievances as something ambiguous so that they can be whatever they need to be in any given moment. Call me dogmatic, but I think those worlds should have a thicker line drawn between them.

If I tell you my personal opinion about you, it's not necessarily some cooing diagnosis about how clearly you're in great pain. And to me, you are, but also you've developed a striking and uniquely attractive shape because of it? It's not some manipulative way to make you doubt yourself. I don't even operate on the assumption that I'm correct about you. I'm simply telling you what I think, as an outsider, with no access to your mind. This is how normal humans operate. And if I'm wrong about you (and you have often been wrong about me), it's not meant as a personal attack. If I tell you who I think you are, and I'm doing this fully with the knowledge I could be wrong about you, that's kind of the whole point of conversation.

I wasn't insulted when you laid out your diagnosis of me. I loved you more for it. Even though it was so very, very wrong. But also I think I should adjust myself a bit and reign in my demons more, because you are also right. In other words, you are correct about how I should approach people and you were correct about what the solution is, but wrong about who I am. The slap in the face you gave me was much needed, though. Thank you for that. Please make sure to do it again, if I get out of hand.

I have work to do. You already know that.

The point about principles, which I interpret as being about lack of focus, is the primary reason I wish to both diversify and simplify my approach with additional pages. To cultivate more ambiguity within context.

While I do enjoy the chaotic, free-flowing approach, I feel there are moments where it becomes too overwhelming, too fragmentary, too utterly divorced from anything tangible or rooted in the fleshy and bawdily sensible, or even circumambulatorily coherent.

Mostly I want to narrow my primary account to within acceptable and delineable parameters, and I'm figuring out what those are by just doing it. Sometimes it still surprises me how messy shit can look.

I don't need to tell you about who I'm addressing with these posts. I don't particularly care if people who've been following me for years know who I'm addressing with these posts. Some most likely do, most likely don't.

The person I'm addressing, aside from all the ways in which he is uniquely complicated and special, embodied a plurality of ideologies in lieu of crafting a pragmatic and singular approach to life, hence I feel many of his follies, in isolation, are worth picking over for general consumption without needing to sully things too much with personal details, but yes -- you've caught me. This man I loathe may be your envy.

Every once in a while, for the sake of personal catharsis, I let things become a one man show for a one man audience, and just lance the shit out of the festering boil which keeps trying to pop back up on my ass.

I know he's watching. I'll bring up very specific things this one crazy person said to me a year and six months ago -- respond to insinuations. Pull apart arguments. Put projections back in their rightful context. I'm realizing this is the shit I used to do with all the other assholes I never dated. The long recovery process. All those arguments in your own head, months and sometimes years later, when you realize when the chip went it and you rip that fucker out. Aw, yeah. Can even feel your brain snap.

It's happening again. This time, though? I know the fucker's watching.

I know he's watching me and hating himself and watching me get better and attracting better versions of him who I can love instead.

This time that fucker gets to see how much of a loser he is.

Maybe when you bros get into the really long nasty shit, you can put yourself in my place, adopt that perspective. Really revel in the joys of your piece of shit not-exes clamoring to hear all the shit you're sayin about em cause you're a stud with a page people can't get enough of.

See, there you go.

Now the fantasy is readily at your disposal. Enjoy, bro.

Good things happen when you ask questions.