#this doesn’t apply if what they’re reading is problematic

[mywitchyblog]

"Debunking Misinformation: The Truth About Age Changing in Shifting and Why Your 'Mature Soul' Argument Falls Flat"

Disclaimers : read the post fully you dont understand something ? ask me and i will happily clarify it for you. And debates and arguments are welcome, Fallacies arent.

And also i apologie for the tone that may be rough and/or intense i am trying to change that and perfect it , my apologies.

Alright, it’s time to really break this down and rip apart every flawed, uninformed argument you’ve laid out. You’re out here acting like you’ve got it all figured out, but spoiler alert: you don’t. So buckle in, because we’re going deep into the weeds, and I’m bringing receipts to debunk every one of your points with twice the heat and twice the sources.

"You bring up the fact you fully embody the reality that you go to, but your soul and experiences from here whilst ur there. It’s a mix of both."

Let’s get one thing straight: this idea that shifting is a "mix of both" is flat-out wrong. When you shift, you fully immerse yourself into your Desired Reality (DR) and become that version of yourself completely. There’s no half-and-half bullshit where part of your Original Reality (OR) self is sticking around while you live in your DR. If that were the case, no one would even bother shifting—what would be the point if you’re still dragging your OR baggage with you?

As I’ve said before and as extensively covered in sources like this Tumblr post, when you shift, you adopt the mindset, emotions, and even the memories of your DR self. Your awareness is fully aligned with the reality you’ve shifted into, meaning you think, feel, and live as that person. You don’t just “borrow” the body of your DR self while keeping your OR experiences in the background. It’s not a costume; it’s a complete immersion.

To say that part of your “soul” from OR sticks around? That’s just an uninformed take. Souls in this context are not limited or bound to the rules you’re trying to impose. Consciousness is vast, all-encompassing, and when you’re in your DR, you’re fully there. The idea that there’s some kind of fractured awareness where part of your “mature soul” is lurking in the background? That’s nonsense. As I’ve previously said, your soul adapts to the context of the reality you’re in. You’re not half in, half out. You’re all in.

"Being romantically involved with a minor knowing at least a part of your soul has matured is incredibly disgusting no matter how you phrase it."

Let me stop you right here because you’re trying to apply OR morality and assumptions to something that doesn’t even apply in a DR. You’re not walking around with your adult OR mind when you shift to a younger version of yourself. When you shift down, you fully take on the age you’ve shifted to, and that includes your mental, emotional, and cognitive states. As I’ve discussed before, and backed up by posts like this one, you aren’t keeping any “mature” part of yourself intact while you’re in the DR. You are mentally and emotionally aligned with the age you’ve shifted to, whether that’s 16 or 60. So this whole "part of your soul is still mature" argument? It’s based on a complete misunderstanding of what shifting really entails.

And let’s talk about your use of the word "disgusting." You’re trying to frame consensual experiences in a DR as inherently gross, but that’s just because you’re stuck thinking in OR terms. When someone shifts into a younger version of themselves, they aren’t an adult with a teenager’s body—they’re a teenager again, period. They think like a teenager, feel like a teenager, and experience relationships as a teenager. There’s nothing inherently disgusting about exploring love, relationships, or even sex in a different stage of life—especially when you’re doing it as a fully immersive part of that DR.

If you really want to cling to the argument that having any part of your soul "matured" makes romantic relationships problematic, then by that logic, you’d also have to condemn teenage shifters aging themselves up into adult relationships, because guess what? That’s the exact same thing, just reversed. But no one’s out here screaming about that because it doesn’t fit the "adults are creepy" narrative, right?

"It’s vile to see how many shifters do this and will never get any repercussions to their actions. I’ll die on that hill."

Alright, let’s talk about this hill you’re so eager to die on. The idea that shifters should face “repercussions” for engaging in consensual relationships in their DRs is just ridiculous. Shifting isn’t the same as living in OR, and you can’t impose OR consequences on DR actions. In your DR, you are the age you’ve shifted to, and the dynamics of your relationships match the context of that reality.

Here’s the thing: Intent matters. If someone is shifting to a younger version of themselves to relive missed opportunities, heal from trauma, or just experience youthful love again, there’s nothing inherently vile or wrong about that. As I’ve written extensively before, shifting is a deeply personal and immersive experience, and most shifters are doing it for reasons that have nothing to do with anything harmful. The idea that people should face "repercussions" for their DR relationships just shows you don’t understand how shifting works in the first place.

And let’s get real: If someone truly had vile intentions, they wouldn’t even bother shifting down. A real predator wouldn’t waste time becoming a teenager in their DR. They’d shift into a reality where their disgusting behavior is normalized or even celebrated. They’d create a world where their actions have no consequences. So the fact that you think “repercussions” are necessary shows that you’re missing the bigger picture. As I’ve discussed in depth here, the true issue lies in intent. If someone’s intent is to heal, grow, or explore, then no harm is being done. Full stop.

If your hill is built on assuming that every adult who shifts down is doing something harmful, then you’re standing on a pile of fallacies and fear-mongering. You can die on that hill if you want, but it’s made of weak arguments and ignorance. The majority of shifters aren’t engaging in anything harmful—they’re using shifting as a tool for self-discovery and healing. Don’t throw the entire community under the bus because you’ve failed to understand the complexities of the practice.

Bonus: Let’s Address the “Soul/Consciousness” Argument One More Time

Since you seem stuck on this whole “soul and consciousness” bit, let me break it down again. Souls and consciousness are vast, all-encompassing. When you shift, your soul is fully adapted to that reality. You’re not carrying over some mature OR fragment of yourself that suddenly taints your DR experiences. As explained in this Tumblr post, souls are adaptable and expansive. The idea that part of your soul stays mature while you’re in a younger body is a complete misunderstanding of the nature of consciousness. You’re just not aware of the vastness of your soul because, in that moment, you’re immersed in your DR self. Trying to claim that you have this lingering OR maturity floating around is just plain wrong.

Conclusion

So here’s the bottom line: Your entire argument is built on misunderstandings, double standards, and a fundamental lack of knowledge about how shifting works. You’re out here trying to apply OR morals and logic to something that exists outside of those rules. Shifters fully become the age they shift into—mentally, emotionally, and cognitively. There’s no half-in, half-out soul situation happening. And when shifters engage in relationships in their DR, it’s not “disgusting” or “vile” because they’re living in a completely different reality where their mindset aligns with that age.

You want to die on a hill of fallacies and false assumptions? Fine, but don’t expect everyone else to follow you there. The truth is, the majority of shifters are using this practice for self-exploration, healing, and growth. Intent is everything, and unless someone’s specifically scripting harmful dynamics, there’s nothing wrong with shifting to explore different stages of life.

So maybe it’s time to rethink your stance before you go throwing around accusations and blanket statements about how “vile” shifters are. As I’ve said before, most shifters aren’t doing anything harmful, and they’re not dragging their OR experiences into the DR to manipulate age dynamics. They’re fully embodying the age they’ve shifted into, living that life with the mindset, emotional capacity, and maturity of that version of themselves. Your assumptions about maturity and the soul are based on a limited understanding of what shifting actually entails, and frankly, it’s not helping anyone.

You’re out here dying on a hill made of shaky, fallacious arguments, while the rest of us are living in realities where intent, self-discovery, and healing are the focus. If you want to keep painting shifters as predatory based on a misunderstanding, that’s on you—but maybe take a second to realize that your perspective is rooted in fear, ignorance, and a flawed interpretation of how consciousness and shifting really work.

If you can’t wrap your head around the fact that shifting is a deeply personal, nuanced, and immersive experience where your OR doesn’t come into play the way you think it does, then maybe it’s time to step back and reconsider how much you really know about this community before making sweeping judgments.

P.S. Let me hit you with one more thing:

When it comes to your Original Reality (OR), you’re not walking around in your Desired Reality (DR) with your OR brain tagging along for the ride. Instead, you have extensive knowledge of your OR through the lens of your DR self. Your OR becomes more like a distant memory or background information that your DR self is aware of but isn’t actively living or processing with the same emotional or cognitive weight. So yeah, you’re aware of your OR, but it’s not some dominant force influencing your every thought or action. You’re living fully as your DR self, with only as much knowledge of your OR as your DR self needs to function in that reality.

You’re not straddling two worlds, dragging OR maturity into a DR body—you’re embodying your DR self, period. The knowledge you have of your OR is filtered through your DR self’s perspective, which means it’s not the same as living with your OR mindset in your DR. So again, the whole “part of your soul is still mature” argument? Nonsense. You’re aware of your OR, but you’re not mentally living in it while you’re in your DR.

Hope that clears up whatever lingering confusion you’ve got about how this actually works.

[vyadeity]

Being Army Can Be Exhausting

Some Army are going to hate me for this but at this point I don’t care.

First off, I really don’t expect anyone to read this and that’s fine because I expect it.

There seem to be some very blatant rules in being Army that I feel either get misconstrued or are enfrorced with iron fist and if not followed….well are you even Army? I’ve been Army for years but sometimes we can be toxic as all get out.

This of course doesn’t apply to all Army. Get it? Got it? Good. If you’re sensitive, leave. I’m not debating or arguing with anybody.

Now, I’ve made a few notes, walk with me here:

BTS Only!

Yeah, no. I’ve been a K-pop fan for 14 years now and I’ve seen this sentiment come and go. Guess what? It never sticks. While I love BTS, they aren’t the only group to ever exist. It may feel that way to a lot of Army, it’s simply not true. You liking other groups doesn’t make me or you any less Army. Sorry not sorry.

And while I’ve only ever loved two other groups as much as BTS (honestly I don’t see that changing), I’m not cutting off an industry because of some bs If Multi Not Army rule reinforced by some.

Being a Multi is not some grand betrayal to BTS.

Buy Everything, We Must Support!

I simply can’t express how much I disagree with this! You know how many people can’t “afford” to be Army if that’s the case?

This shit is expensive lol. It’s not for the faint of heart. While I’m fortunate to be able to fund my support for them, I very much recognize that it’s not the case for everyone. BigHit drops merchandise almost on the daily! Between BTS, solo endeavors, TinyTan and BT21 our money is vanishing out of our wallets monthly.

Now have I spent a good amount of money on BTS merchandise? Yep! Official and unofficial, I sure have. Even spent a good amount of money on both my BTS tatts. Is what it is. But again, that’s a privilege I recognize. Some Army can only show their support through YouTube streams. Why? They’re free. And I’m sure BTS appreciates them all the same.

The pressure to keep up with other Army financially is enormous and even if you don’t subscribe to that way of thinking, you’ve surely seen it.

“Look at my decked out BTS themed room or apartment!”

“I bought Gucci/LV/Dior because now that BTS are brand ambassadors I have to show my support!”

Good on them but good God. Next thing you know, you’ve spent thousands of dollars trying to keep up and living on ramen packets but it’s okay because…I dunno…Army? No! Get a white T-shirt, a permanent marker, write BTS across the front and call it a day. Again, you’re just as much Army as anyone else.

They’re a Solo! Stone Them!

Shut up!

This is my biggest gripe with this fandom.

They’re a solo, so what? It doesn’t automatically mean that they hate the rest of the group. I know, I’m cool with a few of them. Not all Solos are created equal. You people have turned them on par with Satan and it’s nowhere near that serious.

Sometimes, you gel with one member and one member only. Sorry people, that’s just true for some. Nothing against the other members at all.

And yes yes, they are some extremely problematic solos out there. Not negating that. I specifically talking about the ones that aren’t.

Have I personally been called a solo? No but that’s because I rarely express my views on anything BTS because you will be attacked for it if it’s not the most positive glowing view.

Also the things I’ve seen on X, Instagram, TikTok and here have shown me some of the idiotic reasons people are labled solos. These are the reasons I see the most on my side of these platforms:

“You only post one of two members”

It’s called having biases, have we forgotten about that?

“You only buy music from one member!”

My wallet, my prerogative. I love the group’s music but not all them seperatley. Oooo I said it!

Solo music wise I regularly listen to Joonie, Jimin, Yoongi and Jungkook’s music. I don’t necessarily vibe with Hobi, Tae and Jin’s music. I don’t dislike their music, it’s just not for me. But I do buy the albums in show of support.

“You only watch content with certain members and not others!!”

This goes back to my initial point, sometimes you gel with certain members more than others. I gravitate, like we all do, to certain personalities. It’s just that simple.

There’s also burnout. I can’t watch everything because I do sometimes get sick of them! Love them to Jin’s moon and back but sometimes, I need a break. Get over it!

Live, Laugh, Love, Breathe BTS

No.

We have lives outside of BTS.

We have other interests outside of BTS.

BTS paved the way? I agree but I’m not going to get into Twitter and other social media battles over it. What’s understood doesn’t have to be explained.

BTS have lives outside of BTS. Some of you need to follow suit.

All In All

There’s a certain sub group of Army that try to make the rest of us adhere to what their definition of what Army is. It’s not cool, it’s not fair and it’s out and out toxic. Your willingness to be incredibly overbearing and toxic doesn’t make you more of a fan than the next Army member.

It goes against everything BTS stands for and some of you have lost sight of that.

And I will forever die on that hill.

And if any of these bullets hit you, do yourself a favor and make Joon proud, do better.

[goodtoyous]

The Trouble With Tagging

Tagging in fandom is useful, but ultimately detrimental because of how people are using it.

When I shop online for shoes, tagging is what lets me filter my view to white sneakers in size 7.5. But there are other attributes I look for in shoes. Maybe I want shoes with widely-spaced holes so they aren’t too tight when I lace them. Maybe I want to buy soles that aren’t too thick because I think that makes them clunky. And there will be other people who have these preferences too, so that must mean they’re useful classifications to have!

So it should be in a company’s best interest to provide me a way to find white sneakers in size 7.5 with widely-spaced holes, thinner soles, and whatever else I want in my shoes. Because otherwise it’s just a waste of time for me to buy something and return it later when I don’t like it, right?

No. Absolutely not.

I can’t ask for all the shoes that aren’t red to be tagged as #Not Red. I can’t ask for all shoes to be tagged #Loose Around the Ankles, when that isn’t a universal metric. The best way for me to find the shoes I want, and maybe this is still somehow controversial but I can’t imagine how, is to go into the store MYSELF and either try on shoes until I find ones I like, or ask a salesperson to help me.

Yet, somehow, people fail to see how this applies to tagging.

Back in the days of cable television, when a show was about to start, you’d see a rating and a content warning. ‘Viewer discretion is advised’, and maybe a few more words on what kind of content to expect: crude language, sexual situations, or graphic violence. We still use variations of those ratings and contents warnings on AO3 today, and they are very useful, standardized indicators.

Writers would use these indicators, and it was understood certain ratings would contain adult topics. There was nuance there, and room for interpretation, and responsibility on the reader’s side for monitoring their own content consumption.

In fandom, we coined our own terms to help enforce the idea that fanfiction was a free space for everyone to write what they wanted. ‘Don’t like; don’t read’ (DL;DR) is a common term that has perhaps become less common over the years, and has lost some of the meaning it used to have.

DL;DR does not mean ‘we, the writers, will warn for every topic that this work will include so you can avoid it’. What it meant was, if you read a story and came across something you didn’t like, you would stop reading. It did not have to be something triggering, it could just be something you didn’t like. You would hit the back button and that was the end of it.

Using tags became a way to include additional information on a story so that people could avoid certain topics more easily. So that back button didn’t need to be hit quite as often. Nowadays, I feel as though people have begun to see it as a requirement.

People will preach about wanting to avoid content they don't want, but you have always been able to do that from the very beginning. You always have the option to close the tab, to stop reading.

‘I wouldn’t have read this if I had known ___’ is a complaint most writers are not unfamiliar with. Readers complain about having wasted their time on stories that were ‘disappointing’, ‘problematic’, or ‘misleading’, simply because there is an aspect of a story they disagree with.

If a story doesn’t have ‘Unhappy Ending’ slapped on it, readers hold the author responsible for their emotional response. If one topic isn’t tagged, the author is somehow at fault for being ignorant, insensitive, or irresponsible.

It is grossly misleading to approach this by assuming authors are acting incorrectly, or possess malicious intent for not including a tag. Simplifying fiction by categorizing it into tags is exactly what that is, simplifying it. Maybe it isn’t tagged because it's a spoiler. Maybe the author didn't think it was an important aspect of the story. Maybe they just forgot!

If an author is mistagging and misrepresenting their work, that is a different story that is subject to different nuances. But it is not a requirement, unspoken or otherwise, to include a tag, because this isn’t how reading works! There is a reason why 'Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings' exists, and that is because tags are for an author to classify their own work how they see fit. It is their choice!

People have been trained by social media into not curating their own content; they let algorithms and FYPs do it for them, and when they see something they don't like, they blame it on the person who posted it.

"How dare anyone encroach on this public space with something I don't want to see!"

So I ask you this: does an author’s opinions and desires on how their work is presented not matter? Are authors shackled to public opinion irregardless of what they believe is most important about their own creation? Should creative control be fully relinquished because people who had nothing to do with a work's creative process believe they know better?

If your answer to that last question isn’t a firm, resounding NO, then you are admitting you feel more entitled to a creator’s work than the actual creator.

Society has evolved to no longer value art for being art, but value art only if it is able to conform to various labels for commodified consumption. Yet there is no faster way to kill true art than to try and cram it into a billion tiny little boxes.

Fiction is subjective. Tastes are subjective. Tagging is useful, but it isn’t everything. Take responsibility for the content you consume. Stop asking people to pick out your shoes for you, and go try some on for yourself.

[writing-for-life]

“M/M Ships Smash The Patriarchy”—But Do They?

Little disclaimer first: I don’t have a problem with m/m fics or art, quite the opposite. I’m a bisexual woman, I can find the idea of m/f, f/f and m/m interesting and yes, sexually arousing (each for different reasons though). And I’m saying this so explicitly because the idea that women need to engage in mental gymnastics to justify m/m ships is relevant to this post.

So please don’t take this personally if you like m/m, especially not if what I write very obviously doesn’t apply to you. This also has nothing to do with shipping m/m as a queer person, because the context invariably changes in most cases. This post is exclusively about the “justification” of m/m ships as something that “smashes the patriarchy”.

With that out of the road:

I’ve seen so many posts stating that m/m ships are removing “the whiff of patriarchy from fandom”. That the same dynamics would be problematic in a m/f or f/f ship, but they’re less “harmful” in a m/m ship.

And yes, of course women have been bearing the brunt of these objectifying dynamics since the beginning of time, totally true. But here’s the thing:

a) Problematic dynamics are okay to explore (not necessarily to condone, they are two different things) in fanfiction; it’s happened for as long as fanfiction (no, fiction) exists. We could go off on a whole tangent about what’s “problematic” (or not) in fiction now, and I’m not overly keen on that term, but it’d lead too far because we’d need to talk about a lot of stuff that’s not really the topic of this post.

b) Problematic dynamics don’t magically change because you apply them to a m/m ship, especially if you’re a (straight) woman heavily projecting onto characters. If there’s an age gap, it stays an age gap. If there are power imbalances, they stay power imbalances. If there’s violence/objectification/whatever else going on IT STAYS THAT. The mental leap from, “Men in m/f relationships are often, either consciously or subconsciously through what society condones, the perpetrator in that particular dynamic,” to “that’s why it’s not a problem in m/m relationships,” honesty baffles me.

So my question is:

If you want to remove the “problematic whiff of patriarchy from fandom”, but you are ONLY and EXCLUSIVELY centering two MEN in your fics, art and what you consume, are you really doing that? Where are the protagonist WOMEN that are written or portrayed in a way that isn’t patriarchal?

Too much of a stretch?

Why bring in “the patriarchy” (or whatever other justification) instead of just saying you like the idea of two men getting it on, and that you project on at least one, if not both of them? And I know many women are honest about this, so this is obviously not aimed at them.

And I’m not writing this in a vacuum—there are endless posts about exactly this, and quite frankly:

It is actually patriarchal and misogynistic to deny women the right to just feel horny when they read about/look at two guys fucking. Without justifying it in any way, or making it about something that feels performative (“We like the m/m ship because we’re queer-positive feminists”. Please…). That, right there, is internalised misogyny:

Women don’t need to morally justify their horniness. They don’t need to justify whatever they’re into and turn it into a performative event. They’re just allowed to like it as is. The end.

Why not just like what we like while still critically engaging with the question whether some of what we read and create is potentially fetishising gay/queer men instead of calling it “feminist and queer-positive”?

Because let’s face it: Straight women who ship m/m don’t like gay men because they’re gay. They like them because they project a straight woman on a gay persona that has nothing to do with actually being gay (just like most lesbian porn never had anything to do with being created for lesbians, or f/f relationships in books written by men were always serving the male gaze, but it’s easier to holler about that, right?):

At least one of them is the guy you fancy (sometimes both of them are), and sometimes one of them is (at least partly) you. It has always worked like that and always will.

But back to the main topic of “smashing the patriarchy”: We are talking about fanfiction and fanart here. YOU create it. It’s not the adult entertainment industry making billions that throws it at you. You are the CREATORS and CONSUMERS. You get to CHOOSE. And yes, that choice can absolutely be a m/m ship if that’s what you want. Again, there’s no problem with that.

But if your main argument is that you want content without the stench of patriarchy, how about actually centering women in it, at least from time to time?

[mxlfoydraco]

unpopular opinion: reading the books doesn't matter for jegulus because they're practically OCs. they are fanon drarry except reg is less problematic than draco because he got a small redemption arc and people can project whatever they want on him and make up his personality.

Strongly disagree to every single aspect.

First of all, James Potter is not an OC. He definitely has a canon characterization, both on his own and through the eyes of Remus and Sirius. Regulus doesn’t have a canon characterization per se but has canon characteristics. You also cannot write them without Sirius, who has a strong canon characterization. If you want to make up personalities, write OCs or small characters that don’t actually have any characterization (e.g., Evan Rosier, Dorcas Meadows).

Second, Jegulus and Drarry are not similar and saying that they are is a sign of why an understanding of canon is needed. I’m not even going to touch the problematic comment (LMAO) but not every enemies to lovers ship is the same? In this line of thinking Dramione is also the same? Drinny? Dron? Lucius/Hermione???

A relationship between James and Regulus is fundamentally shaped by Sirius. Best friends brother is a defining characteristic for them. The fact that James is how Sirius got out if crucial. They’re also more or less in a similar position as two rich, priviledged purebloods. James chooses to fight for whats right, Regulus conforms until the very end. In which he deflects because Kreacher is hurt. But he has that spark, look at the wording of his letter, so putting him with James is compelling because he can fan his flames.

Harry and Draco don’t have someone as formative as Sirius to their dynamic. They are the “different side of the same coin”, both of them are child soldiers indoctrinated and martyred to a cause they’re not wholly informed on. Their dynamic is built on the resentment of Draco’s broken fantasy of a friendship Harry rejects. They’re obsessed with each other, they can never ignore each other. They actively hate each other. They’re the person that draws the most emotion from the other to such a point that sectumsempra happens. But they also cannot let the other go. They are defined by their exchanges of lifedebts. Draco not identifying Harry at the manor, Harry rescuing him from the Fiendfyre, Narcissa saving Harry to get to Draco…

These are vital to their dynamic and none of these apply to James and Regulus. You don’t even know if there was hate between them. Sirius himself spoke of Regulus with disappointment, not hate.

So yeah, if you want to interact with these characters you need the nuance of canon. You can write them differently but you still need to be informed on who they are. They are not OCs and acting like they have no canon characterization is resulting in hollow, cardboard cut copy characters that neither fit together nor in the narrative.

[avocado-ramen]

My Tybalt Exposition

I read somewhere (likely on Twitter, but no guarantees) about people getting really upset with the depiction of Tybalt in the two most recent October Daye novels (Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep) which cover the same events, one from October's POV, the other from Tybalt's. This is the first time there's been another narrator in the October Daye series outside of short stories/novellas.

That original poster said that while they saw Tybalt's behaviour as problematic in Sleep No More, they had hoped that The Innocent Sleep, since told from his point of view, would clarify matters and perhaps 'redeem' his character. They went on to say that The Innocent Sleep made it much worse, and (I am completely paraphrasing here, I read this weeks ago and no longer have those posts available for reference) that Tybalt was basically abusive trash. If I recall correctly, they toed the line with calling the author a DV sympathizer/apologizer, but it was a near thing.

Even if I remembered where that original post was, I wouldn’t link to it, because I don’t want to bring attention to what they said, nor do I want to risk people piling onto them as is common when people feel like an IP they love is being attacked in any way. I’d rather just make an entirely too long post explaining my own views, and possibly rambling too much and make no sense – because that’s what I do. 😊

As I’ve now finished The Innocent Sleep, I felt the need to get some thoughts down to address some of the things brought forward in that post/thread/whatever I read just after The Innocent Sleep was released.

The author: people need to realise that these books are FICTION. The bonus of writing fiction is that you can safely explore troublesome parts of humanity and society without actually agreeing with those troublesome things.

A significant portion of the books I read have murder happening either on page or off screen in the first few pages because the mystery of a dead body gives the protagonist something to do. Do I think these authors all believe that people should be able to go around killing each other just for fun? No. So why on earth would people think an author including any other kind of violence in their work approves of that violence? This could be it’s own post, and many others have made this point much better than I ever will. Tybalt’s behavior in Sleep No More: We are seeing Tybalt through October’s eyes. Sure, we as readers are privy to the previous 16 books worth of information (even more if we’ve read all the shorts and novellas), but at this point in time, October doesn’t know Tybalt. She’s never seen a Cait Sidhe. She doesn’t know anything about them aside from what Titania’s illusion tells her. From this framing, Tybalt comes across as brash, angry, controlling, and violent. He has a tendency to storm off if things aren’t going his way. To October, Tybalt’s behaviour is completely out of line, and she’d be correct – from everything she knows at this point. Tybalt’s behaviour in The Innocent Sleep: One thing people need to remember before they start applying present-day human morality to Tybalt is that he is not human. At all. He’s fae. Cait Sidhe. He is both a cat and a humanoid, but he is not, and has never been, human. One of the things the author has reiterated time and time again is that both the fae as a whole, and Cait Sidhe specifically, live by an entirely different set of rules than humanity does. Titania hates the Cait Sidhe because she believes they are beasts and below the perfection of her other descendant lines like the Daione Sidhe. As much as Titania is the villain, she’s not entirely wrong. First and foremost, the Cait Sidhe are cats. When backed into a corner, they’re going to lash out. If they’re stressed, or hurt, etc., they’re going to lash out. It’s what they do. I have the scars from my own cats to prove it.

Tybalt knows he is barely in control of his emotions. He freely admits that, and the fact that he at times needs to walk away before he lashes out and does something he’ll regret, which I feel is smart and responsible of him.

Tybalt’s attack on Ginevra in the throne room in Golden Shore is excessive. And it’s meant to be. It’s completely unexpected and jarring in Sleep No More when seen from October’s point of view. In The Innocent Sleep, being in Tybalt’s head, while still a severe overreaction to a situation he wasn’t paying attention to and therefore didn’t have full context of, it is completely in line for how a) a cat would react, and b) how a Cait Sidhe king would react when they believe someone has attacked/injured/wronged someone that ‘belongs’ to them. Does that make it right? No. And Tybalt himself shows as much shame as his position allows when he sees Ginevra at dinner. Do I think Tybalt is an abusive asshole that needs to be shunned, killed off, or whatever other over the top reaction people have had? No. And no, that doesn’t mean I approve of his behaviour or think he should face no repercussions. But context means a lot. I can see when his behaviour is completely in character for his species and title, while also admitting when he’s crossed a line. The benefit of an ongoing series is that it is quite possible that Tybalt will face the fallout of his behaviour in Book 19, or even further. I don’t expect everything to be wrapped up in a perfect bow at the end of each book. None of the characters in these books is perfect (with the exception of Spike, Cagney, and Lacey), and if the author can foreshadow some of the things we’ve seen in Book 16 way back in Book 1, then we can believe she’s got plans for them for Book 19 and beyond.

This is the same author that took one of the most loathsome characters and made me want to wrap him in wool and protect him at all costs (ok, I still want to shake him now and again), to the point that I named my new kitten after him. Please, admire Simon “The Tiny Terror”.

[waitmyturtles]

TRIGGER WARNING! CONTINUED UNPOPULAR OPINIONS OF STEP BY STEP, EPISODE 10

Stop reading if you like it! Stop reading if you liked that episode! Stop it! SHOO! DON’T COME AT ME if you’re upset after reading this!

Okay.

In the words and paraphrases of my dear friend, @bengiyo: 

Dick is not magical.

Dick cannot fix a drama.

(Ben also says: dick is abundant and low in value, lol, which doesn’t quite apply to this review, but I gotta share it out anyway, GOD BLESS YA, BEN, ILYSM.)

I’ve had my eye ever more trained on Step By Step, critically, since watching TharnType. I understand Tee Bundit criticized the BL industry with Lovely Writer, which I have yet to watch. But: regarding TharnType to Step By Step, I had accountability issues with Tee’s filmmaking and direction in TharnType anyway, besides the problematic content. (TharnType DID NOT DESERVE an hour-and-a-half finale.)

Y’all know I have been on my tip for a second about Tee’s filmmaking and direction for Step By Step -- my biggest issues being pacing and editing. These episodes did not have to be so damn long. They didn’t. I am still barely seeing a connection with the side stories and the main story of Pat and Jeng. Episode 8 was the tip of the iceberg for me. 

Then episode 9 comes, and I feel -- and I know my dear mutual @lurkingshan was more critical of this -- that episode 9 HELPED get Pat in his words. I really appreciated that we spent some time with Pat verbalizing what was going on with him, his confusion at Jeng’s attraction to him. 

But episode 9 ended with QUITE the emotional breakdown on Pat’s end with his parents. And then he’s laying in bed, surrounded by birthday snacks from Jeng. “It makes sense to me” -- Jeng’s attraction makes sense to JENG, but I didn’t get, at the end of episode 9, whether it made sense to PAT.

So we start Step By Step, episode 10, with Chot... scolding Pat. And telling Pat to run to Jeng. Okay.

At that moment in time: Pat may like Jeng. Pat IS upset that Jeng is likely leaving. 

But is this a Pat that’s going to run to Jeng? Is that a mindset that I find convincing AT THAT VERY MOMENT?

CONSIDERING ALL OF THE CONFUSION WE WERE BEARING WITNESS TO IN THE LAST EPISODE, AND.... THE LAST NINE EPISODES???

And then... they boing? In the kitchen?

And then the car?

And they’re.... still working together?

And.... where are they in their relationship at this point? Because they’re in a RELATIONSHIP-RELATIONSHIP now?

And they’re.....fantasizing about getting married?

Tee Bundit. You and I are gonna have words. You need a fucking editor. You also need to listen to your team if your team was telling you to be more balanced in your filmmaking.

Dick is not magical. I love me some D. But not to make up for your RUSHED, UNVARNISHED, CHOPPY-ASS FILMMAKING. 

I’m mad. There was so much potential here.

I just said to Ben in a DM: I did not find this to be a celebration of queer sex. I found this to be using queer sex as a method of cheating on bad filmmaking to rush a story. To rush a story that Tee KNEW he had to close a loop on -- Pat and Jeng’s intimacy -- because he KNEW the storyline had unwound for TOO DAMN LONG on Pat’s emotional processing, WITH NO CLEAR END. Dick is not magical. You can’t solve bad filmmaking with queer sex. That’s not where we’re at with BLs anymore.

This episode did Pat’s emotional processing dirty. To JUMP to the confession and the boing. AND: TO BE WORKING TOGETHER WHILE IN THE RELATIONSHIP. THEIR WORKING RELATIONSHIP was part of the reason why Pat couldn’t imagine them together in the first place! And we get NO processing on Pat’s end ABOUT THAT, in the end?

Dick is not magical.

Whew. Thank goodness for my OGMMTVC project. Without it, I wouldn’t be seeing that Tee Bundit repeated issues of bad filmmaking that I’m seeing in the earlier dramas. Tee -- you can’t use queer sex like that. Yes, Man and Ben are beautiful. I knew Man would act THE HELL out of intimacy, convincingly, and he did. I love them together.

But I find Pat totally unbelievable at this point. To gain such comfort in dating a superior in such a short amount of time on screen. Only to have a breakdown when co-workers are looking critically on it. To resigning.

Wow. Learn to pace, Tee. Please, for the sake of what could have been a totally fabulous and deeply interesting storyline.

This episode had so much potential.

I might have more later, but just. 

[bohemian-nights]

I’d like to in advance apologize for ranting it just seems to me that you may be one of the few people who actually like Nettles 😊. So I’m not gonna lie I was expecting more from the trailer(s). I mean I knew I wasn’t gonna get to see Nettles (I genuinely am obsessed with the idea of her being the only non-Valyrian dragonrider, I’m equally obsessed with stories in general when people (especially women) live in a society that usually counts them out or that they’re very low in the food chain in to becoming powerful + gaining agency and respect, and it heals my inner black girl when I see black women in fantasy) (anything to be honest because it seems as though we’re always done wrong either by narrative or fandom) (I’m also not opposed to her being a “witch” because if done properly it could be done in an interesting thing and tie into the magic that was used in the beginning to tie dragons to people) (though knowing this fandom they’d probably start coming up with their special “takes” about how she tricked/ r/ped Daemon into being with her 🙄 and will block you if you point out that’s the same thing they praise Alys Rivers for allegedly doing (I say allegedly because that’s awful and truly horrific and I hope neither Nettles or Alys are shown doing this) (speaking of Nettles and Daemon….🫠 lol I don’t really like Daemon (I’m 50/50 on book!Daemon mostly because I don’t get to know what he’s thinking which created a disconnect and I don’t like show!Daemon at all. He did a lot for a little in my opinion, and because I don’t know his thought process he just kinda comes off as a bit of a c*nt just to be one because it makes him “edgy” and a “bad boy” and while I don’t find Matt Smith unattractive he’s not exactly what I consider to be such a panty dropper that I can like Daemon) the age gap and power dynamic also raised both my eye brows but at the end of the day it’s fantasy, so different rules apply, and most importantly despite the discourse over certain (platonic, romantic, or sexual) aspects of their relationship it’s very clear that the two cared/loved one another) (anyway 🤞🏾 we’ll get her next season) but it seemed as though for the Team Green and Team Black trailers they just showed the same scenes in different order. And while there’s a lot more dragon action going on, it doesn’t feel like dialogue from different scenes forming a compelling trailer it feels as though multiple characters are just narrating I don’t know maybe I’m reaching. And personally I’m neither Team Green or Team Black but I still liked Team Green’s trailer more especially when Aegon (looking completely unhinged) said “to war then.” I don’t know I just remember thinking “he looks crazy as shit” lol. In general I’m kinda 50/50 with HOTD. I watched the first season because I like fantasy shows and at that point I had just finished up GOT and was getting started on the books. So having no prior knowledge to how it was gonna go it was entertaining enough. Then I read Fire and Blood (which interestingly enough I didn’t know was a history book….🫠) and was really invested in how they were going to adapt the actual Dance and I feel like I’m just getting into the ASOIAF fandom (steered clear of it back in the day because it seemed too unhinged) but it seems completely unhinged, misogynistic, racist, and really odd when it comes to the subject of blood purity.

Aww thank you and I don’t mind the ranting.

The Nettles fandom is extremely small, and I'm off in my little corner of said fandom because I think I’m the only Nettles fan who genuinely loves Daemon(which is fun).

He is a lot though and their relationship is somewhat problematic, but yeah you have to keep in mind that this is all just fantasy. And you can’t forget that Daemon does care for her and he is the one who saves her. The good ultimately outweighs the bad in their relationship.

That being said, Nettles is a fantastic character in her own right and deserves all of her props. And yeah it’s nice to see a Black girl in the medieval fantasy genre, but irregardless of race, she falls into my favorite category of characters for women.

Been through a lot, people doubt them, and yet they still overcome and get their happily ever after, sign me up 🙌🏽

As far as the witch thing goes, it could be interesting, but I find it cliché and ultimately demeaning and limiting. Not only because of the situation with Daemon(turning her into some Jezebel is a no-go), but it also takes away from her claiming of Sheepstealer. Instead of her wit she has to have used magic because there is no way someone like her could claim a dragon.

That would ruin the essence of a character that is supposed to show that it’s not our blood or some supernatural superpower that makes us, it’s us.

Honestly, I don’t think that the show will go this way with her character since they’ve already faced backlash for what they did with Laena, Rhaena, and Baela back in season 1. Playing into another trope with a Black-ish woman(voodoo mama Jezebel) will only make them look all the more like the racist jackasses they are.

Now for the trailer and upcoming season, It doesn’t spark any excitement within me. The show as a whole is just kinda meh(and the lack of Nettles isn’t helping).

HOTD is a far cry from the early days of GOT(which followed much more closely to the books). There is the issue that the show is based on historical text, but not everything in that was a lie like the show is trying to claim.

I don’t like the blatant whitewashing being done and then claiming they’re championing diversity and female empowerment while treating all their Black, particularly the Black-ish female characters, like shit.

Lastly there is the fandom. While racism and misogynoir are not limited to the HOTD fandom these fans really do act batshit insane.

I can’t take anybody who claims that a Black character should be cut because there are already enough Black people on the show then starts crying when they get called out for their racism and claiming they are being wrongly accused seriously.

And of course, we can’t forget the ones trying to save Nettles from the evil white man—while completely ignoring the one who tries to turn her into a hate crime statistic for the sake of the sisterhood…

(That is all I can say without being metaphorically stoned for not pushing Nettles under the bus for a racist white woman who tried to kill her so I'll leave it there, feminism am I right).

As I have said before, if I wasn’t already here I’d take one look at this hellhole, and a running I’d go, but alas. I am unfortunately invested in this circus so here I am 🤷🏽‍♀️

[vihattu-thethoroughbredofsin]

Okay, transformers fans, I need answers from you.

SPOILERS are possible, but not really. It's better not to read if you haven't watched the cartoon yet. Now a new animated series has been released, and for some reason I see the same thing in all opinions  — complaints and misunderstanding about why the GHOST is catching Decepticons and keeping them in prison. To this I have a counter question — why shouldn't they? It seems to be confirmed that for some time in the past, transformers openly fought on Earth. I very much doubt that they did it carefully and absolutely without harming humans . It is unlikely that the military conflict of huge robots did without any casualties at all (If it turns out that way, well... that would be stupid). And when the Autobots, and then Megatron after the destruction of the space bridge, went to cooperate with humans, the rest of the Decepticons did not. That is, there is a situation when supposedly aggressive huge robots that have not accepted the peace agreement are walking free, and it is not known what they have in mind. I doubt that all Decepticons are playful white and fluffy bunnies, considering the conditions they found themselves in. It is unlikely that they are just sitting peacefully somewhere without harming anyone. At least twice already, two of them were going to harm the child, presumably for the sake of entertainment, judging by the accompanying phrase before that. Moreover, there were rivals nearby who could really do harm, but they still threatened children who could not attack effectively. In such a situation, capture and detention in prison seems to be the only way out, if they did not come to an agreement in a good way. It's another matter what they do with them later, but the audience complains about hunting. Maybe the GHOST will turn out to be an evil insidious organization that eats poor and unfortunate Decepticons for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but so far their actions seem quite logical. Even if the Decepticons are starving and suffering, it doesn't automatically make them good guys. There may be reasons for fear. To condemn plot decisions with the fact that "well, they're cute and suffer!" when we don't even know what they did and what consequences their actions lead to is a bit strange. Maybe they demolished cities, maybe  humans were killed or maimed, we just don't know yet. If that was the case, then where else would they be if not in prison? There are more questions for Megatron, what kind of leader he was if the whole faction told him "No!" and went to hide and starve, just to disagree with his decision. Did he try to probe the ground before his decision at all? How did he not find like-minded Decepticons among his own soldiers? Did this Megatron really manage his troops so badly? Well, before condemning the actions of Optimus, he could think about what he could do to improve the situation. And if he has not come up with anything better than direct obedience... Then we found the winner in the nomination "The worst Decepticon leader". From this, I have a more global question for the fandom — do you really love Decepticons so much? To some strange blindness about the plots with them. After about a year of being in the fandom, I somehow got the impression that Decepticons are the public's favorites, no matter what, when fans treat Autobots rather coldly. And this applies to almost any media. Moreover, I do not judge from the point of view of morality, evil characters can be loved, there is no such popular "problematic" here. But it's just interesting. I can't understand what moods are floating in the fandom, I would like to know.

[inventors-fair]

Named Common Contest: Range of Playables

I have yet another confession; feels like I’ve been doing a lot of those these days. Maybe it was the fact that I’ve been doing a lot of work outside the Fair, or the fact that I’ve been really Magic’d out with fatigue and whatnot, but I came up with this contest more as a cool idea for the future and less about something I was personally interested in/something I’d build myself. We get a lot more entries on average, and hoo boy, commentary’s still a lot of work for a Saturday, but with this, I felt really backed into a corner. How am I supposed to write about this?

With fun. From the perspective of fun. That’s what makes the most sense. Am I going to apply my normal sensibilities? Yes, but designing for new players and kids and weird people is something that I’m drawn to, because I’m often surrounded by new players, kids, etc. So maybe this is a root return. But y’all don’t need to hear that. You want the goods. It’s nice to see your work appreciated and talked about. That’s...why this whole thing exists, heh.

BY THE WAY: Very important to note. If your card doesn’t meet the qualifications for the contest, in the future, it may not be considered at all. Please, please read what the contest is looking for. Carefully.

Judge Picks are cards that I want to showcase for some reason or other, cards that I like personally or that have good design sensibilities. Let’s see.

@10001gecs​ — Paul Bunyan, Forest Feller

As many Fair veterans know, I am not a man who is beholden to shenanigans. Shenanigans include outside/non-Magic IPs in otherwise serious contests. However, I hate to admit it, but this card’s really well-made. I feel that there were a lot of well-designed green cards this week? I’m worried about bias, but I always am—thought not as much as your opponents should be worried about getting smacked in the face with Giants.

All the same, let’s get some parts out of the way. For one, a legendary name without the legendary supertype on an effect that definitely needs to be legendary? That’s a bit of an issue. While I like the Giant archetypes, too, the fact that Giant Ox is a vehicle-based card and this card has nothing mechanically to do with that is a bit of a misstep to me. I would suggest taking a step back and considering what your card actually does versus what it might be sensible in some ways to do. Yes, Giant ____ is the meme, but how can you use that in other ways?

~

@bergdg​ — Krenko and Mizzix

They’re gonna kiss! ... Anyway. What they’re actually going to do is be pretty okay. I like the overall fun factor that you’re going for. It does feel super weird that this card only has one of their colors when all the other team-ups are, well, teamed up. Still, concept is neat. Krenko’s Command is one of those cards that my kids like so I’m very familiar with the attachment, heh.

The fact that “the exiled card” can potentially refer to other cards besides Krenko’s Command is problematic in execution, considering other spells/abilities that could exile cards. Additionally... Well, I don’t feel the team-up, honestly. It’s not particularly resonant with either one of their normal abilities and it’s not particularly strong either. Honestly, I think if you wanted to commit to the team-up, this wasn’t the contest for it; a new Krenko might have been a better option overall.

EDIT: I’m actually wrong about that exiling part! Florence pointed out that 607.2A takes care of that. Who’da thunk!

~

@ct-mayor​ — Nit, Restorer of the Old Ways

I’ll admit, even though I’m kind of a fan of Hieroglyphic Illumination myself, I haven’t considered it a popular or resonant enough card for someone to be a fan of it. Still, it makes sense, and this card’s not bad! The name “Nit” isn’t, uh, quite resonant with me in the same way? Considering the English word, it’s a little odd. But overall flavor-wise, that studious aspect comes across.

“Win the game” effects are a hard balance. I think cycling into a four-of with this card and then just recasting your illuminations is pretty rough to go up against, but it’s not out of the question. The fact that it’s all centered around a single card with no other interaction if you don’t have them makes it feel a little too specific even for this contest. If you don’t have any of that specific card, what’s the point? Yes, there’s build-around-ness, but no card exists in a vacuum. Consider how your card needs to interact with the greater formats in which it would be played.

~

@deg99​ — Invigorating Geomancer (JUDGE PICK)

This card is inviting infinite loops. How? ... Wait, gimme a second. ... Okay, well, Sakura-Tribe Scout, two Retreat to Coralhelms, Zuran Orb, and Junktroller can get you infinite life, but maybe I’m overthinking the loop. The point is: this one is actually really good. Lava Dart, IMO, isn’t too powerful for standard, and burn needs all the help that it can get at this point. I’m not quite certain what “Invigorating” is going for here? The mood’s a little odd, but the point is, this card can be crazy powerful with the right build. Frankly, I’m imagining this in Pioneer with some weird Jund decks, and it’s hecka fun.

It’s specific without being too powerful, although that loop, with land sacrificing, could mean awful things for other formats. The ability to just loop your Mountains is...crazy good. REALLY good. I think just about any mono-red deck with Armageddony effects will go nuts for this. Wow, actually, can you imagine? Old red “destroy all lands” cards are basically negated. That’s silly and ridiculous. I love it; it won’t impact the formats in which it would be played normally. Limited might mean more land sacrifice cards, or just permanent sacrifice, which is interesting to me... I wonder what other mechanics we might see!

~

@demimonde-semigoddess​ — Stillborn Demon

I’m a huge fan of visceral reactions. The term “Stillborn” to describe anything in Magic evokes a truly awful feeling for me. There are some descriptors that extend beyond the realm of natural human encounters, but the grotesquery of that concept here is...genuinely off-putting. Any other name would have been preferable. Within reason.

Card-wise, it’s certainly fine, and I suppose people are still making Shadowborn Apostle decks (although I’ve never actually played against them? Weird. They’re still kinda pricey.) here and there. The issue comes from the fact that, well, do you want to be sacrificing your Apostles, really? The Apostles are utilized to tutor demons, not to be fodder. If THIS is the demon that you’re looking for, well, you might be in limited, which is vaguely understandable, but constructed? It feels antithetical. As a card normally, it’s perfectly serviceable as an uncommon flying beater, nothing wrong with that.

~

@dimestoretajic​ — Kenji, Sokenzan Artist

I double-checked to make sure that Iron Apprentice was the card I thought, and wow, there you go! Kenji’s part of the sacrifice crew, and that archetype could be really nasty on Kamigawa. Maybe we’ll see him in another world. I like the fact that I can kind of picture this guy, an artist with all his little robots, shaping them to hone his skill. Maybe he’s a blade artisan of sorts! It would explain the first strike and the general warrior feel to him.

Sacrificing artifacts is great. The bonuses from the creatures and the huge bonuses from Iron Apprentice are even bigger. I feel that you may have boxed yourself in a little with them. Getting bigger is nice, but is there anything more? This card feels a tiny bit underwhelming without that direction. But, it’s okay to just call a card a bomb as it goes. I wish he felt a little more legendary and I wish that we could see more of his artistry. Still, someone could make the Sokenzan-Forge deck if they like him enough, right? I suppose that’s the point of this whole contest, heh.

~

@greensunzenith​ — Shadowborn Gravecaller

I feel that this card is close and that you’ve got some good things going for you. Shadowborn Apostle was NOT the right choice for this card. This isn’t going to be the last time I go over this, as y’all have seen, but Shadowborn Apostle fulfills a very specific deckbuilding archetype. Adding additional cards that aren’t apostles or demons is just going to make the deck worse and the math checks out on this. How many of this card would you want? What would you put into the deck?

Most importantly: would adding this card genuinely be any better than adding in another Shadowborn Apostle? Frankly, I don’t think so. Whatever they’re doing, the statistics are against you. Maybe in a Commander deck? In limited, that first ability is phenomenal, don’t get me wrong. But with all the other aspects, knowing what the deck wants to go for, I don’t feel that it’s the right choice for the Apostles.

~

@hypexion​ — Amp-Amp, Shock Jock (JUDGE PICK)

I hatelove this card. I have NO idea how to feel about it. A single splice card in standard isn’t out of the question if we have those other weird one-offs, the cyclings and flashbacks. But like, I know for a fact that this card’s probably not going to herald the return of a weird mechanic that I’ve still had trouble explaining to the kids. And yet, and yet! It’s just so fun and quite well-executed. Having a deck built around this card would be quite weird. What’re you gonna do? For five mana, I’m gonna Mystic Speculation/Shock every turn. What a twist.

Genuinely, I don’t think this card’s right for a standard environment, but I do want to commend it for pushing this contest to the absolute limit without going out of the bounds of realism. It’s phenomenally designed and equally silly. There’s all the radical complexity of Kamigawa with the silliness of the Akki and the thoughtfulness of how to design strange cards. I’m really happy that you submitted this.

~

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ — Necroprankster

Contrary to the Shock above, there’s no way in hell that Exhume is coming back to standard. It’s one of the most powerful reanimation spells ever printed, and at common, it wouldn’t see the light of day. As a rare? Perhaps. This card could have gone with Unearth (the card) and I would have been far more receptive to it; after all, this card’s three mana, Unearth can see it, you can kinda chain them together, yadda yadda.

Aside from THAT little piece, though, I think this card’s actually really good! The concept of choices and control and potential unearthing (heh) is really neat. It’s an uncommon that cares about relevant commons in an archetype that matters, it’s small but powerful, it doesn’t overstay its welcome with its ETB, and I really like the name. There’s that modern-Grimm feel to it that was a little more popular in the 00’s but hell, I like it all the same, you know? I’ll be honest, between the name and flavor text, I almost don’t need art direction. Not bad, captain.

~

@just--a--penguin — Foolhardy Excavator

I kind of want to know your thought process behind bringing back a bulk common from Onslaught into a standard-legal contest. I want to say firstly: I can see how this card would be incredibly good in, like, a limited format where there’s morph/manifest and there needs to be hate for it. That much I get. And you know what, I’m gonna pause my own tirade, because in terms of creative expressions, I can see the implications of new environments with new mechanics and old cards, and that’s fine. That’s another part of this whole contest I’m learning to appreciate.

Couple important things: For one, the first ability needs to shuffle, which you might’ve just forgotten, and that’s fine. For two, “foolhardy” probably isn’t the best term here. Look at the second ability you’ve made. This excavator, whoever they are, is here to deal damage. Maybe they’re foolhardy to us, but who are they in the grand scheme of things? They’re forceful, blunt, barbaric, and there aren’t any consequences befalling them. Adjective choice matters for polish. I feel that this card could be pretty fun until you turn-four break open their 8-drop beast. Whoops.

~

@lich-of-the-golgari​ — Venser’s Last Will

Firstly, this contest specified that the card to which you were referencing was supposed to be a common. Please ensure that you read all the contest requirements carefully. In the future, submissions that don’t follow Fair criteria may be ineligible.

From a story perspective, I’m struggling to find the sense of this card. Venser didn’t have a will, nor did he know he was going to perish on Mirrodin. The “last of his legacy” was the spark he gave to Karn, arguable. Mechanically, the wording is missing the shuffle clause, and the replacement effect should be “once each turn” and also be a trigger of sorts; how is this restriction checked without a “may” clause? The bottom line is that this card does not encourage the kind of cohesive deckbuilding we were looking for with this contest. 

~

@little-red-rabbit​ — Squadron Falconer

Everyone loves Squadron Hawk! Except my kids when I play against them, but that’s a whole other story. The point is, Squadron Hawk is great and I think the name you chose is awesome. There are a couple small mechanical things we’ll go for afterwards, but just to close out the good things, I think the idea of this guy being...carried? By the hawks? It makes mechanical sense, even if it is a touch silly, heh. I really like the way he forces an answer to the hawks. It does feel slightly redundant since the hawks can already search for themselves; perhaps consider a benefit to the birds as opposed to the falconer themself?

The first ability needs a shuffle clause, which is always important when you’re searching. The second ability has, er, some extra words that might have been left over? I believe it should be worded “As long as you control two or more creatures named Squadron Hawk, Squadron Falconer has flying.” There we go. 

~

@nine-effing-hells​ — Igniter of Horizons

Great balls o’ fire. Can cards...DO that? “...if it was put onto” etc.? I honestly don’t know the precedent. This card seems kind of fun, actually, and I wonder what the design space for cards like that it. Like a card that has an effect if it was milled by card X or whatever, exile it from your graveyard, big buff. Maybe. Anyway, dragons though! I think that Dragon’s Approach is versatile enough to be reprinted basically everywhere. I know that I have a kid whose M.O. is dragons, and he’d love to see this card. To be fair, he’d love to see any dragon. I suppose that if you’re going to build the deck casually, this is the card you’d be going for, right? There aren’t too many other cards you’d really want if you’re that dead-set.

I’m not going to check the wording on your card there. I assume that the shift from the targets to “permanents and/or players” checks out. Trample is a fun one there. As a body by itself, the card is good, and as a Dragon’s Approach payoff, it’s also pretty fun. I’m a little curious about the name? Not sure what you’re going for there, but it’s really cool, actually. Maybe there’s an explanation I missed, maybe not. Point is, card’s decent, does what it says. Is it any better than a better dragon like, I’unno, Ancient Copper? Obviously not but we don’t talk about that. It cares about what it wants to care about. Ooh, maybe if there was one for each archetype...

~

@noodlegirl-googlyeyes — Counterspellatog

So we did talk in the workshop about the potential for cards that cared about your opponents’ cards instead of your own, and I was iffy about the idea because this contest was more about the deckbuilding fun than, like, pure hate/interaction. Seeing this card, I still don’t know how to feel; I WANT to feel a little more justified, because wow, Atogs are a nuisance, but maybe not. Then I think about how this card’s implying that Counterspell will be in standard and I feel a little less iffy about my position. The fact is that, until the tides change immensely, Counterspell’s just not coming back to standard, and that’s what that’s.

I think the name’s just past the edge of silly, too, but it doesn’t make it not fun to say. I also do want to note that if you just have effects that put counters on things, this card works just fine. Still, it’s...a sideboard card at most and awkward most often. Just not quite the kind of thing we were thinking about for this contest. What a throwback, though. Through this contest we really get to see the personality of players and the ways in which they express what they think is cool. This is no exception.

~

@railway-covidae — Persistent Farmer (JUDGE PICK)

This card technically isn’t eligible because it’s a common itself and you were supposed to be designing for uncommon and up, but that’s an easy mistake to make and/or an easy fix. Sometimes there’s grace. For this farmer, there’s none. Let’s get two small templating things out of the way first. With the mana ability, milling should be part of the cost. Maybe it was intentional that it wasn’t, but Millikin implies otherwise as to how it should be. With the return ability, I think it needs to target? There’s no reason why it shouldn’t and it’s important that it does for stack reasons and whatever.

But the rest of this card’s really, REALLY cool. This peasant is a menace. He’s a mana dork (definitely not common) where you can build around that graveyard theme... Hey, haven’t we been here before, but differently? NGL, it’s funny to me that there were two Innistradian cards based around the G/B graveyard-filling archetype that I really liked this week despite only having played that in limited once. Anyway, casual players who like filling the yard will absolutely love this card. Mulch is fun, the grossness is just creepy enough not to be directly off-putting unless you’re crazy squeamish, and I’m glad Mulch got some love. Very fun.

~

@real-aspen-hours​ — Wastes Tender

Sorry, didn’t quite have the time to mock this one up. Anyway, this card’s missing ooooone small thing. Do you remember what it is? .... Time’s up! That’s right, the Eldrazi with colored symbols in their costs need (and I say “need,” I mean that in the metaphysical sense more than rules) the ability Devoid to make ‘em colorless. Womp. That said, this card’s awesome as a ramp spell. I think that the Wastes players will like that. Wastes was a great archetype! Very strange environment, ngl, but all the same.

This card is definitely from a different era, but if Arboreal Grazer can have its day, then so can the Wastes Tender. I mean, I would have liked a slightly less Waste-y name and you could drop the “far” from the flavor text, but the mood you’re going for is actually super cool. Indeed, a “perversion of growth” comes across in both the mechanics and the card’s overall feel; from the wastes grow more nothing, more horror, the Scions of tomorrow. Not bad, not bad.

~

@reaperfromtheabyss​ — Commando Consecrator

Of all the cards to pick for this contest, I genuinely did not expect Cathar Commando to be among them. Honestly, I really like how this card plays as a rare! Even if you don’t have the other Commandos (and if you’re P1P1 going for this, you’re gonna get some), returning a small creature is just as awesome. Humans, sacrifice, and spirits alike will enjoy that ETB, and it’s an on-curve beater at the very least. Cathar Commando, though, huh.

The only question is flavor weirdness. Sort of. How do angels on Innistrad go about their tactics? The Commando is depicted as being borderline dishonorable, or at least a little gruesome when it comes to executing her prey. Why would they want to be consecrated? Or need to, either. Perhaps it’s a small blessing, that it’s a gift because the angels are returning them. No matter. The point is, I suppose, that Angels and Soldiers have that kind of relationship, and that’s okay. Gotta say, I’m a fan of Commando as a card. Flashing in a first-striker and maybe getting it back with another Consecrator later is pretty good! Pretty decent stuff. I think that whether or not someone’s going to build a deck is a little up in the air, but for limited, this card’s pretty great.

~

@snugz​ — Eager Whelp

Ey, another Dragon’s Approach card. This one is definitely a little different, but I think it’s still pretty good. The expectations of the body-to-cost ratio is fine, and having a phoenix-like body swinging in is pretty great. If you search for this card using the Approaches, you’ll have an 8/2 flying hasty dragon! That’s pretty good, if a little weak for its cost. If you don’t get any DA’s in limited, then you’re kind of out of luck, but then it raises the question of how many dragons-to-Approaches are you running for cards like this to be worth it.

If you really want to go balls to the wall in standard, then I can see this card being pretty good even if the toughness leaves a lot to be desired. You know, I should be thinking of Arena, too, even though the mere notion fills me with...shuddering. I kid, though, I kid; I guess there’s the question of whether or not that easy casual environment would be down to get these sorts of cards. Maybe it’s a little late to be thinking of that crucible, but regardless. I would feel bad if my awesome dragon ended up getting Shock’d to death by the goblins deck after all the setup I had put into it, but the feeling is certainly solid.

~

@squeezyboi — Spell Piercer

So...yeah, unfortunately, this card’s not eligible either. I really should have checked some of these beforehand. Again, the actual, physical, other card had to be named and referenced, not just alluded to by the name. Card’s basically fine, maybe two mana, “its” not “it’s.” But I can’t give further critique in the same vein. The workshop’s here in Discord to ensure you’re on the right path, and double-check the contest requirements.

~

@stareyedesper​ — Bloodthirsty Sadist

That’s certainty a card name. I think that there’s something to be said for the sadism of vampires on Innistrad or otherwise, and it makes sense here. Dead Weight was an awesome card and I know its got some awesome limited hype around it. This card does indeed feel like it was made for limited, or for friends to build specific decks against each other. But getting an on-color aura’s still important, yeah? Flavor’s pretty good, and from a balance perspective, it’s really specific but I still feel the mana cost could be upped or the toughness could be ticked down just by one, perhaps. It’s way strong in the right matchup.

The wording feels a little off. Let me see... “When ~ enters the battlefield, search your library or graveyard for a card named Dead Weight, reveal it, then shuffle. If an opponent controls a Human, you may attach that card to that Human. Otherwise, put it into your hand.” The term “add it to your hand” is erroneous, and “Human” needs to be capitalized at all times. There are a couple mechanical differences with targeting, but you can take it or leave it.

~

 @wolkemesser​ — Vincent, Pit Gourmand (JUDGE PICK)

Every week. Every week, I’m either picking apart wording like I’m getting cat hair off a black dress with your cards, or I’m astounded by the new weirdness you’ve presented and there’s so much to talk about. Well! I’m not gonna look a gift demon in the mouth. This card is awesome. This is the PAYOFF for all those Shadowborn Apostles, the demon for which one searches, and following that, the rest of the deck is indeed full of Shadowborns ready to be eaten, which helps in deck construction. Yes! That’s the way to do it.

I’m almost positive the last replacement should only look at spells and abilities your opponents control, but that’s not too bad, all things considered, and the control deck that you can run with this is nasty if gone unanswered. Everyone sacrifice things! I’m just gonna throw an old piece of meat away. Jeez... I want to say that this card feels too weird to really be viable, and that’s what my brain says, but as a design exercise, hell, we’ve seen weirder, and who knows! Maybe I’m overreacting. I probably am. Fantastic job with a staggeringly powerful creature. This is how to do Shadowborn right.

~

@yd12k​ — Gnawbone, the Infestation

I’m not sure what to make of this second ability. The deathtouch is fine, and I like the last ability. Here’s the thing, though: cascade is absolutely useless. The reason is that every card in your deck, with Relentless Rats, is gonna want to be Relentless Rats. So what are you going to cascade into? What’s the standard format where Relentless Rats, this Kamigawa legend, and the ability cascade are all going to be together?

This card seems like it could be fun on the surface but ultimately the elements all clash with one another in a way that’s either mechanically disruptive or flavorfully not-quite-meshed. Relentless Rats (which, FWIW, was only common for one set, and for good reason in my opinion) was a brave choice and I understand the desire to make that cool stuff happen. This isn’t the card you want to go for with it, I don’t think.

~

Phew. Tune in next week. Bring a friend. @abelzumi​

[cyeayt]

If you’re reading a post describing a problem (this post focuses on fandom but I think some of it should be applicable irl) and you relate to the behavior or belief being criticized, that does not make you a bad person or inherently wrong. However, your response is important.

You probably need to process it, see how and why it applies to you, and if necessary, take steps to change it.

Examine the thesis of the post. What is the thing op is actually talking about? Does it really apply to you? Do you understand why op is calling the thing harmful? Do you agree? (For me these have mostly been yes, but who knows maybe you’ve found someone you want to block. Note: if you do end up deciding that the post is wrong, make sure it’s for reasons other than your discomfort. Curate your spaces but learn to take criticism.)

Dig into your mind. How does this apply to you? How often and in what circumstances do you do the thing? Why? Is your doing of the thing actively harmful? (Probably not on a huge scale, we’re all just people with phones, but you are part of collective movements opinions and actions.)

This is the most uncomfortable part. If you find yourself to be a perpetrator of something you’ve deemed harmful, don’t freak out. You are human, you are imperfect, and you can change and grow.

After identifying why and where the behavior happens, think about what you can do to break or reduce it. This might be hard. It’s okay and probably good if you have to put direct effort into it. Your brain is a ball of squirming meaty worms, and being aware that they’re squirming in a shape you don’t like won’t stop them from squirming there. Habit forming advice might be helpful here.

For example, this post is mostly talking about the tendency in fandom to focus on male characters. I’m guilty of this, and I’m working on it. Some things I’ve done/doing are: identifying women characters I already like and putting time into talking/drawing/writing/posting about them. Making effort to notice women characters in media im consuming. Figuring out why I don’t like certain women characters and deconstructing the stereotypes and mischaracterizations I often find there. Making women ocs with traits I tend to like in male characters.

These are just things that have worked for me in that area, but the energy and point can be translated into other problems as well. This is the longest step. It’s not even really a step, more of a habit to be formed. There isn’t a point where you’ll complete something and be able to go: wow, I’ve got it!

You’re also not alone. Depending on the subject, there might be books, posts, podcasts, zines, etc to help you. You can make posts yourself about it, talk to your mutuals and friends. Discuss it with people irl, if you can.

(Note, this is where it slips into minority “it’s not our job to educate you” territory. I agree with this sentiment. But oftentimes if you do a little digging, you will find someone who wants to and is making an effort to. I see this mostly in the context of white supremacy, the unlearning of which is a difficult and uncomfortable journey. Basically, don’t expect people to cater to you, but also chances are someone’s already written a book about it.)

I don’t have a conclusion to this post. It’s kinda rambly and the organization was dropped in favor of smaller more readable paragraphs.

Disclaimer! I am just some guy(?)! I don’t have that much experience! If this comes off as pretentious I’m sorry I’m just trying to be nice and understanding. I have and will engage in problematic behaviors in the past future, and right now probably, because its impossible not to. Chasing standards of moral perfection will always fail because it doesn’t exist and people are beautiful horrible messes and we all live under capitalism anyway. This doesn’t mean you can’t try to be better, but if you try to be perfect you’re going to have a nervous breakdown. Improvement is constant and eternal work!

I am personally also just naturally very self aware and good at identifying what’s going on in my brain. If you asked me how to deconstruct an assumption I wouldn’t be able to tell you. I would probably do an allegory with a big nasty knotted ball of string that hangs in your attic, and you just start poking the handle of a broom up into it at a frequency that is up to you. Once or twice a week I take a second to run through my misogynistic hall of mirrors and widen the cracks in a few of them and stick post it notes of women I love all over the place.

Also have fun and do whatever you want.

Did you know there’s a limit to the number of tags you can put on a post? I didn’t!

https://mashable.com/article/how-to-be-antiracist <- fun read, very important and topical, but also exploring ideas that can be extrapolated to other areas and biases

[ravenatural]

so I generally avoid posting anything relating to topics of common controversy just because I know the internet is full of folks waiting for the chance to misconstrue your words, and then use that as justification for harassment—and after this post I plan to continue more or less as I have been.

but I had a realization pertaining to the ‘how fiction affects reality’ argument. particularly, why the movie Jaws being ‘proof that fiction affects reality, therefore writing or reading fiction with x thing means you’re bad’ always bugged me.

You wanna know what it is?

Jaws affected reality NOT because it, somehow, actively changed peoples personalities or morals, but because it was a misrepresentation of facts.

People, rather than fact check a source of fiction—I assume largely in part to the fact that it wasn’t as easy as hopping on the internet at that point in time—took this at face value and reacted accordingly.

I think it’s pretty reasonable to say that the fact that Jaws is a movie that genuinely scared people played an active role in that, and it’s possible the movie being any other genre may have meant a different outcome.

All of this to say, Jaws had the perfect set up—completely on accident on the part of the guy who wrote it—to be anti-shark propaganda. The only reason I hesitate to call it actual propaganda, is because propaganda is, by many definitions, ON PURPOSE. I still bring it up, however, because the effect was widespread in a way that’s exactly what propaganda sets out to achieve.

Let me reiterate real quick that my point is that JAWS IS A FICTIONAL MISREPRESENTATION OF ESTABLISHED FACTS.

This is relevant to the conversation with the ‘fiction vs reality’ argument because it doesn’t even represent the same thing being affected here!

Jaws affected what people believed to be true, but it did not change who the viewers were as people, or their base morals. And, unfortunately, yes, this has come to cause active harm to sharks. This is not an excuse of actions, nor is it proof of anything except ‘when faced with the fear of a conceived threat, people tend to act in self defense’

( Also, once again, Jaws was never made with the intention of having the effect it did, or by someone who hated sharks. As it’s a piece of fiction, the idea was that people would just enjoy a movie while recognizing that’s it’s fiction and actually think critically on how true what they’re being presented is )

On the flipside, with the belief that fiction can affect you in a way that changes your very morals to the point you are actively committing crimes—any well adjusted person will be able to read fiction with ‘problematic’ content just fine and come out the other end with an OPINION on the CONTENT that does NOT affect their real life BELIEFS and ACTIONS ( This also applies to the people writing the content btw )

if someone reads a piece of fiction with murder and then goes out and kills someone, it’s not because the story had such a profound effect it changed their whole moral code and made them do it, it’s because they were already in a place where that was an action they were willing to take.

If people really were THAT affected by what they enjoy in fiction, you’d see a lot more active serial killers than has ever been historically recorded.

All of this being a really long way of saying that the Jaws effect was an extreme case that misrepresented facts in a way that affected people in how it played to their fears, in a time where fact checking was not as simple as googling the truth, and thus Jaws should not be used in an argument where strangers are trying to tell other strangers that they’re morally wrong for liking fiction that they recognize as containing content that appalls them in real life, but they find interesting to read about.

[jack-bytez-genuine-corner]

Random rambling on white in a bio description

[I don’t think I use Tumblr right but I’m just going to do basically a diary entry to myself but I’m going to post it online like a moron instead]

So a few days ago I read a post that I didn’t agree with on any level, with the TL;DR being that minorities are being forced to shoehorn in their race / identities into their bios which is just not true. The main reason I don’t think that is true is that people actively like to put identifiable information, willingly, into their bios especially when it can mean finding a community that is similar to you, for safety, community, and what not I don’t think it’s a force, and I really didn’t agree with the idea that their info undermines any work they post ala Art, Writing, etc. People LIKE labels that they can apply to themselves and to things and even, including when it’s wrong, to others. It gives us a sense of self as people and that’s [Usually] a good thing, it just starts to become wrong when that is no longer a thing for individuals to decide and especially wrong when it’s a large group applying a label to a smaller group by force. Putting that info doesn’t demean you, or your work, or your person, if anything it’s kind of you and brave of you to put that out there for strangers to know.

The main thing that’s stuck with me is moreso why I don’t put say white into my bio because I’m a white gay 25 year old cis man, and I think it has a lot to do with that just looking innately bad to me. I’ve never interacted with someone in a positive sense who ever mentioned that they’re white as a pride thing or put any value into being white in person, and online I think it looks even worse with the rise of antisemitism among whites and the obvious White Supremacy movements. The OP would argue that I don’t do it cause I feel like my race is “Default” when in reality I don’t do it because there’s basically nothing to be proud of in being white or identifying as white. My life long friend who is now happily married and has a kid placed a lot of value in his Meximerican upbringing [His own wording] and told a lot of fun stories based on his family culture, but for me the only love I have for my family tree is in my immediate circle, so mother - father and that’s it. There’s nothing prideful to my racial identity at all or even worth talking about in a positive manner. Like yaaaay I’m the same race as Christopher Columbus, a mad mass murderer who invaded indigenous lands and pillaged them for any and all valuables while killing every single person who didn’t lay down and die that’s soooooooooooo wonderful, or yaaaaaay, I’m the same race as a bunch of puritans who forced their way onto a different country, genocided all the people there causing the long, incredibly violent and racist history of the US, wooooooooooooot......

Obviously I know I can be wrong to an extreme degree, but I really don’t think I’m wrong on this bit when it comes to myself. To me putting the label of “white” on yourself is pretty close to putting “I’m a giant asshole” in bold on your forehead. That’s not universally true obviously, but it definitely doesn’t fill me with confidence. I don’t have the same view when it comes to putting a cultural identity up there, like if you’re Chinese or Irish or German or Spanish that’s all well and good, it’s just the specific use of “white” that tends to bother me. Maybe I haven’t been exposed to the right person, but it’s probably the last piece of info I’d ever want on someone online and in IRL if I hear you mention the words “Pride” and “white” in the same sentence I don’t think I’ll text you back ever. To me there’s an incredibly different context between putting “Black” or “POC” and whatnot on your bio and putting “white” on there.

... This is one of those posts that in 5 years someone will bring it back up to me with it being potentially problematic and I’ll implode right?

[rpreview]

now presenting a review for PITTSQZHQ !

@pittsqzhq​, a 21+ dystopian survival rp based on tumblr

first impression

ok based on the name alone i had no idea what to expect, so i’m excitedly heading over to your page! aaaaaa the aesthetic is very apocalyptic which gets me so giddy tbh, i am obsessed with apocalpytic plots, and the presentation is lovely, so you’ve got me so far! 

you may be fooled by the cutesy theme i’ve got going here, but horror is literally my favorite genre lmao

the plot

i already love the last of us so much (despite not even finishing the game yet because apparently i can only Do Things when the hyperfixation is fixated), so i can’t help but be a little biased here in just loving the concept alone. but you did amazing with setting up the plot! i think you’ve given solid information for anyone who has never seen the show or played the video game, so that it’s not entirely necessary to have that media consumption to play in your plot!

not only that, but you’ve provided details on so many things i’d normally have questions about, lol. i’m such an overthinker, i feel like i need to know everything i possibly can before joining a group. your plot even covers how the infection stages work, etc. so good on you, seriously. i really appreciate this as an overthinking bitch who needs to know every minute detail in order to feel safe to apply lol.

overall, the plot feels hefty and complete. it wasn’t a boring read, which sometimes long plots can be. i like that you’ve broken it up into multiple sections in which the sections aren’t too long either.

the details

i love the detail on your rules tbh. it feels very much rp once upon a time lol. rules are usually so simple now, which is ok! i just love this. 

i think you could use a location page (nothing fancy, even just a bulleted list with a little description could do!) to bolster the places mentioned in your plot! 

i can’t continue because i think your jobs link is broken :(

i’d also look into a navigation page, especially for those who are mobile, if you don’t have one! (i don’t think i’m seeing one) on that page, i’d normally expect to see like a checklist, a masterlist to follow, things like that, but i’m not seeing anything? and on the “more” button on the theme, it just refreshes the page.

organization

i love the organization, it’s very simple to look around, which makes me feel totally chill. if i was an applicant, i definitely wouldn’t be too scared to apply. 

atmosphere

well you have kat graham and sarah michelle gellar as your mascots, and those are literally two of my all-time favorite faceclaims somehow, so im happy lmao. from what i can gauge on the main, you’re very friendly, and you want to run a tight ship with this roleplay, and i totally admire that.

accessibility

i immediately struggled to find the navigation. i opened the page for my first impression, and i was really excited to find the plot, but i legit could not find the buttons for a good minute, aaaaa. it’s also really hard to read the text on the buttons. ok now that it’s bigger in this screenshot it’s easier but slkdfjsd it was very hard to see on the page. if the theme doesn’t allow you to change the text without changing another important aspect, check the html!

i know how crucial activity is to a roleplay, especially these days with everyone flitting about without sticking around anymore. however, as a disabled person, the activity feels just a tiny bit too tight-leashed for someone like me to maintain. i know i’m not the average person, but it’s worth keeping that in mind!

i can’t find the forward/backward buttons on the pages, either.

diversity

i do see diversity in the cast, which makes me happy! i do see a handful of problematic faceclaims though that might scare a few people away if they are feeling uncomfortable about things like that.

UPDATE: the admins have reached out about this, and have assured they’re working on it!

tumblr: theme/graphics

i personally LOVE the scheme and the graphics, but due to how difficult it is to read the theme, find buttons, etc, i would consider changing it up a little. if editing it doesn’t work, maybe a similar theme? i know that always hurts to even think about, but you definitely want potential members to navigate with ease!

overall

i love it!! i’d consider looking into the faceclaims that are being applied for, but i love love love an apocalyptic roleplay, and you’ve got a great plot here. i would just tinker with some of the minor details, and i think you have an incredibly solid group here i could see lasting for a good long while!

[boypussydilf]

you rbed it like hours ago but i want to send an ask anyway for the fandom blorbo terms thing do doctor who rn

doctor who is the best show ever and i say that with a lot of things but with doctor who i mean it with my whole chest it’s incredible why doesn’t everyone watch it

blorbo (fave) i mean……….. probably the doctor……. although there are also several companions who occupy my every waking thought…. jamie, ace, donna… hard to choose one person <3

skrunkly (baby) UHHHHHHH. Uhm m mmm. K9, I guess. He’s literally just robot puppy and he’s trying so hard. Sometimes he’s MEAN! He shoots lasers

scrimblo bimblo (underappreciated fave) i exist in such specific and me-oriented circles of doctor who fandom that i dont even know whos underappreciated. I see people who talk about characters like jamie and ace a lot, but that’s…. because i followed people who post about jamie and ace. who doesn’t get enough appreciation…… you can argue that for a lot of characters, tbh, and other people would argue those characters are plenty appreciated. I guess Martha, probably. Martha’s good, and I like her, and she got done dirty by the Doctor, and a bit by the show, and probably by some fans too. Oh! And Nardole!

glup shitto (obscure fave) CHARLEY POLLARD <3 She’s not THAT obscure, but like, she’s not THAT obscure in the same way I go “I really haven’t seen that much Doctor Who, I don’t know all that lore and characters people are talking about!” and then I’ve seen 30-40 seasons of television including the episodes they had to reconstruct from shitty audio and still screencaps because the originals got stolen and listened to hours worth of audio plays, but like, i haven’t read ANY books so I may as well know NOTHING. Anyway any of my Classic Who Blorbos would probably apply in the greater scheme of things because there probably ARE fans who haven’t watched….. hours and hours of 60s-70s-80s television …. but im sayin Charley. She’s from the big finish audio dramas and she’s my everything my silly little rabbit and I can’t wait to someday actually…. HEAR all of her dramas and know uh. What the fuck happens to her. Does she die? She’s extremely fated to die, but maybe she doesn’t, I don’t know.

poor little meow meow (pathetic/problematic fave) Uh. Yeah the Master i guess. They have every problem and they fuck shit up for the self and then they go to the doctor looking like a sad wet cat and go oh please please don’t let me die as a consequence of my own actions. Sometimes they die sometimes they don’t. Also Rose?? Rose is great and Rose makes reckless selfish decisions and she’s wonderful.

horse plinko (little friend to torture for lols) can i say the Doctor again? The torment is unending so I may as well have fun with it

eeby deeby (get superhell’d) DEFINITELY ALSO the doctor. ESPECIALLY ten. They’re just so. A little fucking bitch sometimes. This is why they literally NEED someone around to keep them in line. Otherwise they just like. On their own they might have fun but they also might spiral into depression and commit incredible atrocities that they’d irrevocably hate anyone else for committing. It depends on the mood. The vibe.

[yoursleepingbaby]

Eat, Play, Sleep. You may be very familiar with this routine or it may be completely foreign to you. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then keep reading…

Eat, Play, Sleep is the routine I recommend to ALL the families I work with. Whether you have a baby that’s a few weeks old or a few months old. Eat, play, sleep just works and it’s one of the first steps in helping your baby to begin to regulate their eating patterns which in turn regulates their SLEEPING patterns.

I say this ALL the time….Regular sleeping patterns follow regular eating patterns. If feeding is all over the board then sleep will ALSO be ALL over the board. It’s true and I’ve never seen a baby that this doesn’t apply!

So let’s talk about why Eat, Play, Sleep works so well for babies.

EAT

Once you begin to feed your baby on a flexible routine (meaning feeds are mostly evenly spaced throughout the day) you will start to see your baby’s hunger patterns line up with those routine feedings, as long as you’re feeding on an age-appropriate routine. So, no… we’re not going to put a young baby on a 4-hour eating routine and we’re not going to put an older baby on a routine meant for a newborn.

Feeding your baby at regular, age-appropriate intervals, completely takes the guesswork out of when your baby should eat, as you will be able to accurately tell when your baby is TRULY hungry. Eat, Play, Sleep helps you to step out of reaction mode and into being proactive and able to meet your baby’s needs in a timely manner.

Here’s the thing: Most new moms feed EVERY TIME their baby cries or fusses as they assume that ALL crying is related to hunger, or they struggle to differentiate hunger from tiredness or discomfort. They have no frame of reference for how often their baby SHOULD eat so they feed CONSTANTLY.

Downsides to Frequent Feeding

Your baby’s digestive system NEVER has time to rest. It is constantly digesting food. And while a newborn certainly needs to eat frequently, especially during the first month, there is such a thing as TOO frequent! Never giving your baby’s digestive system time to rest can also contribute to reflux and gastric issues. (Think about how you feel after a day of constant eating!)

It teaches your baby that the ONLY way to find comfort is through a bottle or breast. This becomes problematic as your baby gets older and will not be comforted any other way.

Babies have a tendency to do smaller feeds when they’re eating so frequently. This becomes a HUGE drain on mom over the long term as many moms cannot sustain the feeding every 1 ½–2 hours routine for months on end. This can cause mom to abandon breastfeeding prematurely.

Eat, Play, Sleep separates feeding from sleep. Ideally, you don’t want your baby to continually have the expectation that they’re going to feed to sleep. (Because Yes, this IS what happens when a baby is always fed BEFORE a nap!) Feeding before sleep is a slippery slope and if you’re not careful you can easily end up with a baby who WON’T go to sleep without a feed!

Your baby NEEDS your help in establishing routine eating and sleeping times. He’s not going to do it on his own. Starting with routine feedings will help EVERYTHING else fall into place.

Routine feeds are the EASIEST thing to start with because the return on investment is significant! When a baby eats AFTER they wake from a nap and THEN they have playtime, they are generally happy and content during that wake time because they’re rested and fed.

Having some structure to your daytime feeds (where you wake your baby to eat if necessary) also ensures that your baby is getting enough daytime calories to allow them to naturally stretch their nighttime sleep. Daytime calories and night sleep are connected. Especially with younger babies. It’s important that you wake your baby to eat if they don’t wake on their own, at age-appropriate intervals during the day.

PLAYTIME

Having active playtime AFTER the feed is going to make for a baby that will happily play on the floor or in a bouncer. They are rested and fed and are content because all of their needs have been met. This is also a time for them to burn off energy so when it’s time to nap again, they are worn out and ready for sleep! Even a young baby can burn off energy by doing tummy time, getting outside, or laying on the floor with toys above them to look at. Tip: Exposure to the bright light outside is great for helping to regulate babies’ circadian rhythms.

Now all you have to do is watch for sleepy signs (and use the clock as a guide) as some babies aren’t totally reliable with sleepy signs. Especially if they’re sleep-deprived. Sleep deprivation makes babies wired so they don’t show sleepy signs reliably because the cortisol in their body keeps them in a high alert state.

So once your baby starts to show sleepy signs ( fussing, red eyes, yawning, turning away from stimulation, glazed eyes) then you KNOW that it’s time to put them down. You’re NOT wondering if they’re hungry because you know they just ate and you know the fussing is because they need to sleep.

SLEEP

Once your baby is put down and is sleeping, the goal is that they sleep for roughly 1 ½ -2 hrs. Depending on the age of your baby and time of day. Then when they wake up it should be their next feeding time OR close to it. If it’s time for their next feed and they’re still asleep, then YES…You wake them! This ensures they don’t sleep unnecessarily long during the day and that they get to the end of the day with adequate calorie intake. You’ve now completed the Eat, Play, Sleep cycle and you’re ready to start again.

Why It Works

Doing these 3 activities in this order will stabilize your baby’s eating and sleeping patterns so that by the time they are 2–3 months old they are well on their way to a great routine. They now know day from night and this simple daytime routine is one of the components that helps to NATURALLY stretch nighttime sleep longer and longer. It also helps to regulate your baby’s circadian rhythms which is absolutely necessary for healthy sleep.

The other benefit is that it helps your baby learn “what comes next”. Giving your baby this structure in his day creates a more content, peaceful baby. Even young babies thrive with routine and structure. And while it may be loose structure in the very beginning, very quickly your baby will take to it and you will see him begin to thrive as each day begins to take shape and begin to look the same.

His hunger and sleep will start to look the same each day, as long as you’re starting your day at the same time each morning. It also helps mom to feel a sense of peace and calm as she knows how the day is going to go and can plan accordingly. We all need structure in our life to feel a sense of normalcy and safety. Babies are no different. Eat, Play, Sleep gives both mom and baby the flow to their day that they both need.

Think of it this way…

How would you feel if, every day, you awoke at different times, ate at different times, slept at different times, went to work at different times, came home at different times, got dressed at different times, brushed your teeth at different times, etc.?

You get my point!!

You would be so discombobulated and would feel terrible! If this was how we functioned as adults, our bodies and minds would be dysregulated and overall I don’t think we would be very happy people! It would be like constant JET LAG! We all know that that just doesn’t feel good to our minds or bodies. Think about how you feel coming off of a vacation. Most of us crave the routine and consistency that come with everyday life.

So while the first month after bringing home a new baby can certainly make you feel discombobulated, you don’t have to live that way for MONTHS on end. You now have a starting point.

Create an age-appropriate routine for your baby that serves your ENTIRE family and allows everyone to have a sense of peace and calm.

Now does this mean you NEVER feed your baby before he goes down to sleep??

Of course NOT! If you know me you know I don’t believe in being legalistic! Sometimes we DO feed our babies before a nap and we certainly always feed before bed but those feeds are the exception, not the rule. Maintaining an Eat, Play, Sleep Routine the majority of the time is the most helpful for creating a flow in your baby’s day.

And If you’re wondering, how long should my baby’s wake windows be??

I hope this has given you an action plan that you can start with your baby TODAY! If you want more info on how to introduce an Eat, Play, Sleep Routine into your baby’s day with ease, reach out to me and I’m happy to help you get your baby started on the path to independent sleep!

Looking for more great resources from Mamie?

Toddler Nutrition and Sleep How and Why to Create a Bedtime Routine for Your Baby Why Hire a Sleep Consultant?