#trying to put as many hashtags as possible

[junosteelisgonnakillme]

Introducing Strumpf Core

New asthetic. re blog and share to become strumpf core. use #strumpf core

[queerly-autistic]

I've been thinking about potential pick-up of Our Flag Means Death by another streamer, and how it all might be tying in with the current BBC release, and I have some thoughts about what might be happening and what we can do to give the show the best chance of being picked up.

I think it's important to start by saying that all the whisperings that I heard over the past few months (including from some people who work at/with the BBC) pointed firmly towards a scheduled March release for Our Flag Means Death on the BBC. Needless to say, this means I was extremely surprised when they suddenly announced it was dropping at the beginning of February. I think it's also clear from everything I've seen that the BBC's marketing/social media plan for the release was not ready for February (there was no trailer, which was odd), which, again, really supports the idea that the show was initially schedule for a March release, not a February release.

I firmly believe the release was brought forward. The question is: why? Is it because they saw how much noise and press the show (and our campaign) was getting, and decided to try and capitalise on it? Or is there something else going on?

On top of that, we now have specific questions about Our Flag Means Death appearing on YouGov UK, including asking whether respondents would watch another series. This doesn't just happen. The charity I work for has commissioned YouGov polling (including some very recently) which I have been tangentially involved with, and so I know that this sort of polling is not easy work, and it's not cheap. Someone has put time AND money into commissioning this polling. This is significant. Someone is not only watching, but they are specifically watching the UK response to the show, and putting questions to the UK audience about it.

I have strong suspicions that a streamer (or several streamers) are interested in picking up the show, and are using the UK release as a live case study (Apple, Amazon and Netflix also have a presence in the UK, so we are a big target audience for them in a way we never were for Max). This could account for both the potential bringing forward of the BBC release (they didn't want to wait until March), and the YouGov polling that's going on (bear in mind, the YouGov questions were specifically as part of a wider survey about streaming services).

And this isn't just a passing interest: working with the BBC to bring forward the release, and investing time and money into YouGov polling? That's a strong interest. That's so interested they've already invested something into it.

Of course, I don't know anything for certain, so take everything with a pinch of salt (it's just a theory...a gay pirates theory...), but I think it's something to consider as a strong possibility.

So what does this mean for us?

It means we need to keep streaming on iPlayer. Watch it as many times as you can. Share it with your friends and family. If you're outside the UK, get yourself a VPN and join the party. Watch the live broadcasts on Monday nights (if you have iPlayer, you can stream the live broadcast - this is what I do because I don't have a TV). Keep tweeting about it (add the #OurFlagBBC hashtag to the existing hashtags we're using). Tag and email the UK media (including TV guides and radio shows) and ask them to talk about the show/our campaign. If you're tagging/emailing Apple, Amazon or Netflix, make sure you mention you're from the UK (and tag their UK specific social media accounts).

According to Parrot Analytics, the demand in the UK for the show is rising - let's keep adding to that!

You can also sign up to YouGov and rate the show (more instructions in the quote retweets of the tweet I linked to earlier), and keep answering questions about TV shows and streaming (and marking Our Flag Means Death as one of your interests) as a way to try and get them to give you the specific questions about the show (these start as a question about streaming and streaming services, which then turn into questions about OFMD, so if you get a survey like that, take it!).

It's also worth considering that if there's any validity to this, then there's a possibility that they might be waiting until after the show has finished airing in the UK (the finale is airing on 25th March) to crunch all the numbers together. This means that if we don't hear anything in the next few weeks, do not despair! We need to buckle in for a long fight, and to keep pushing the show and making noise over the next few weeks and months, especially around the BBC release.

This show is worth the fight. Let's get our damned men back!

[drchucktingle]

DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS #1

hello buckaroos chuck tingle here to talk on my book camp damascus. i am very ADVERSE to spoilers and even though i LOVE discussing art i never want to discuss a book too soon, gotta give buckaroos a chance to read. i have been trying to find a balance of WHEN and HOW to have these talks because there is a lot to discover in camp damascus, and i finally think i have found safe way to do this.

i am going to write some posts talkin about various subjects relating to camp damascus themes and symbols and ideas. i will title these posts DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS and give them all the hashtag: "deconstructing damascus". if you do not want to be tempted you can go into your tumblr settings and MUTE hashtag "deconstructing damascus" until you are ready to come back and trot in this way.

i am also going to put all spoiler content below a READ MORE line so that buckaroos will not stumble upon it. you must click below to open these words up.

(EDIT: PART 2 IS HERE)

(EDIT: PART 3 IS HERE)

(EDIT: PART 4 IS HERE)

alright buckaroos lets trot. WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS #1: NEVERLAND

camp damascus is about SEVERAL things thematically, but i think in BROAD STROKES you can narrow this story down to two ideas. the first is about control through infantilizing victims of religious or conservative organizations, keeping them 'young and naive' forever, and the second theme is about taking a story and using the same text to pull out whatever viewpoint you want. in other words, there are MANY readings within a story and us readers see whatever story we want.

i will dive deeper into these topics in later DECONSTRUCTING DAMASCUS talks, but both of these concepts relate in some way to THIS discussion, which is the story of peter pan and neverland

camp damascus is about text having many interpretations, and so as a sort of META ART PIECE i wanted camp damascus to have many interpretations. i did this by creating thematic layers on top of each other in the SAME STORY, like a cake. in the case of camp damascus we have BIBLICAL LAYER, FAIRYTALE LAYER, and LITERAL LAYER.

today we are going to talk about the fairytale layer.

peter pan is the story of wendy darling, who is whisked away to a magical place known as NEVER NEVER LAND by peter pan, who is an eternally young boy. nobody ever grows up in never never land. in camp damascus we have rose darling, who is a resident of neverton, a small town in montana where all of to children are kept young and naive to their own true adult nature for as long possible. this is done in many ways, for instance all of the KINGDOM OF THE PINE kids act and talk like teenagers when they are technically adults (rose is 20). they are all still in high school due to intervention of the church. the practice of oppressing someones natural sexuality and growth into adulthood a way of keeping them young and 'innocent'. the KINGDOM KIDS are perpetually stuck between childhood and adulthood. when you are reading the book, there should be something about this age and behavior discrepancy that feels a little strange.

to capture this effect i also tried to create a book that was both categorically YA (young adult) and adult horror. there are topics and conversations and situations that should feel like you are reading a 'younger book', then moments of violence and layers of complex themes that feel like an adult book. it should straddle this line in an uncomfortable way.

now to the story itself. camp damascus is NOT a retelling of peter pan in any way. the plots are not the same at all. however it uses peter pan as a literary allusion in order to discuss the themes listed above. these references are to reinforce the idea of keeping buckaroos young and under the churches control by any means necessary.

many do not realize that the original peter pan character was quite a bit more sinister than the cartoon version. here is a quote from the original text about HOW neverland worked to keep the lost boys young:

“The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two.”

yes CAPTAIN HOOK is the big villain, but peter pan himself is just as brutal. this is where we get PASTOR PETE BEND, the current head of camp damascus. in his own way he is HIP AND COOL AND ETERNALLY YOUTHFUL just like peter pan, but he also falls into the roll of a ruthless captain who will do whatever it takes. to pull apart his name we have pete, as in peter, and bend. what is another word for bend? hook.

kingdom of the pine members wear a red band round their left wrist, which is where the hand of their prophet as severed. you can also note that when pete bend he uses a weapon he uses his left hand, which is pretty notable for someone who is right handed. consider where a certain captains weapon is permanently affixed.

also working for kingdom of the pine and camp damascus, under the direct orders of pete bend, is DR. SMITH. dr smith is a jolly henchmen with a white beard and glasses. despite his drab office he sits in a blue and white striped chair. i should also point out that a version of the name smee is smeeth. just SAYIN.

WILLOW is another interesting one. after her time at camp damascus she gets into photography. she turns to NATURE and TRUTH and as she takes these photos her finger is steady and rhythmic like a clock. click. click. click. click. click. could these photos eventually be the downfall of pete bend?

when we see willow early on she is drinking for a coffee mug with a certain reptile on it. her last name is crogall, which translates to the name of a specific animal in scottish gaelic. rose also goes to meet willow where she lives, one town over from neverton in a little village named lebka rock. i will let the buckaroos figure out what that means.

there is actually much more than this (who is saul for instance?) but i think i have said all that buds need to know to enjoy this layer.

thank you for reading. FEEL FREE TO REBLOG but try not to put spoilers in the tags. i will talk on OTHER aspects of CAMP DAMASCUS soon and i hope this has inspired you to look at the text in a brand new way. LOVE IS REAL

[tokomaru-week]

Tokomaru Week

August 4-10, 2024

&

Syomaru Week

August 18-24, 2024

After seeing that most of the people who couldn’t do the most popular set of dates could do the 18th-24th, I figured what better than to have Tokomaru Week and Syomaru Week both happen and let as many people as possible be able to participate? So, that’s what we’re doing!

Themes:

Monday- Picnic/Domestic Life

Tuesday- Coffee Shop/Bookshop

Wednesday- Pen Pals/Future Foundation

Thursday- Rainstorm/Despair

Friday- Y2K/Bloodlust

Saturday- Cupid/Haircut

Sunday- Family/Artist’s Choice

Rules:

PLEASE DO NOT USE AI. AI art is art theft and I will NOT support it.

All mediums of art are allowed! Digital, on paper, 3-D, ao3, etc. are all accepted!

There are no prizes; this is just for fun and love of the ships and characters. Please don’t turn it into a competition.

Whenever you post, use the hashtags #tokomaru2024 or #syomaru2024 so I can reblog it!

You can pick either prompt for each week, and if you don’t like one of the options, you can repeat the other if participating in both weeks!

You are under no obligation to draw something for all 14 days; again, this is just for fun. You can participate in just one week, or a few select days, or whatever you’re comfortable with!

Even though the 4-10 is Tokomaru and 18-24 is Syomaru, there's absolutely nothing stopping you from doing one or the other at whichever time you'd like.

Below I'll put some examples/ideas for how you could use a few of the less direct prompts. They're all just suggestions and not a rulebook by any means. Happy Pride month!!!

Picnic- In UDG, Komaru finds out Toko's never been on a picnic before and decides she's going to give her one once they make it out of Towa City. This is said picnic!

Despair- This could be a despaired mastermind AU, or you could take it as a hurt/comfort prompt. Either way, we all know Komaru went through it in UDG, so why not go a little darker?

Cupid- Someone please draw Makoto with a diaper and shitty plastic wings trying to set them up on a date. It'd be so funny guys please

Family- There's tons of ways you could do this. Maybe one is meeting the other's parents for the first time, a holiday celebration with the Naegis, or you could have them adopting- whether that be the WOH, a V3 kids' au, or your own ocs!

[drosselmeyerwrites]

SessKag Fandom Chat

Before I write more, I want to first say that this is not a warm and fuzzy Tumblr post. There has been a lot going on in the SessKag fandom over the past couple years, and this post is going to be discussing what has happened and what is still happening behind the scenes there. If you are not in the mental or heart space to invest time in fandom drama, this post is not what you are looking for right now. If you want to preserve your peace or do not want to be made aware of the unsavory details of what has occurred, now would be the time to scroll.

If you are still here…

I want to start by saying that this post was not approached lightly. Myself and others have watched for a long time now (mostly) quietly as certain creators and participants in the SessKag fandom have incited discontentment and exclusivity under the pretense of “support” and “inclusion.”

At best, they have spread individual perspectives that they falsely attribute to the masses; at worst, they have been outright bullying.

I am going to attempt to be as non-confrontational as possible. What has been going on, however, makes this effort intrinsically limited. But due to the harm that has occurred, negative things will be discussed. It’s the nature of the beast. I’m not going to say the names of those involved in this negative behavior. Fandom being what it is, many have already noticed who’s doing what and have spoken of it in their own circles. So, while I am not saying names, many of you reading this will regardless know. I cannot help that.

To those who have been doing this, my first instinct was to show fandom in no uncertain terms what you have said and been orchestrating behind the scenes. There is plenty of screenshot evidence showing how you talk about creators, their works, and even your own supposed friends when you think no one is looking. But, as others in this fandom far wiser than me pointed out, too many would be unnecessarily hurt by this because they don’t know what you’re saying behind their backs while you smile to their faces and put up a false pretense of support. So, for the time being at least, those will not be shared.

It is hard to know what to share about everything that has happened, but a bit back, this post popped up on Tumblr, and the hashtags pretty much hit the nail on the head and described this situation within SessKag perfectly. So, I am going to piggyback off these hashtags to talk about the garbage this select group of people has been inciting. Hashtags are taken directly from the post previously linked.

#fandom is supposed to be a community#fandom is not a competition or popularity contest

Communities evolve, and fandom is no exception to this. What matters about fandom is that a group of people have come together to share a common interest. Sometimes, that interest leads to closer friendships that are long-lasting, and that’s  part of the magic of fandom. But in the last couple of years, for some reason some of you have taken the focus off the relationships and what brought everyone together to begin with. Instead, a higher value has been placed on “stats,” whose work is being talked about, shared, who’s winning fandom awards, etc. And when it wasn’t what you wanted to see, for some asinine reason, you took it personally and made it your mission to try and change it to what you wanted by tearing others down.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to promote works that may be falling under the radar; there is something wrong with the way you’ve gone about it.

There have been a few different distasteful tactics involved, which are discussed below. What I speak of here is stuff there is screenshot evidence for or other virtual evidence:

 “Squash” posting, where you intentionally try to push the content of others down feeds

Event mimicry

Post mimicry

Collection theft

Server poaching (There is nothing wrong with inviting people to Discord servers you create. There is, however, something wrong with staying in servers you bash behind the scenes for the sole purpose of trying to pad your own member list. This is especially true when you send “recruitment” messages that in any way disparage the efforts of the servers in which you disingenuously stay.)

Performance expectations (Behind the scenes, you have been hypercritical of people who are not as active in fandom as you deem required to be considered “valid.”)

Bashing authors behind the scenes (You can critique works you read; there is nothing wrong with that. But there is a difference between critique and bashing. And while no one can control what you choose to say and do, bashing is not okay. Making assumptions about authors’ personal lives and character based on their work is not okay.)

On the matter of mimicry, the behavior has been particularly appalling. SessKag does have some established fandom events and spaces that have been around for years. Certain people, who are sometimes also creators, are a part of keeping these things together. And they have done so consistently for years. This doesn’t mean that other people can’t make their own spaces or events—they absolutely can and should. But trying to reinvent the wheel and “takeover” what exists, is a different matter. Why do I say “takeover” in particular? Well, the server poaching mentioned above is one reason. But there has also been:

Name-calling and insults

Outright admissions that you are attempting to usurp these established efforts because yours are, quote, “better”

Expressions of violence when those running these established SessKag events and spaces say or do something you don’t like 

It should go without saying, but none of this is okay or appropriate. At all.

To the one spearheading this effort, I’m going to speak to you as a writer for a moment. There is this well-established fact in writing that it’s all been said and done, but it hasn’t necessarily been said and done by you before. So, if you have a creative idea, giving that an outlet is something you should do. But remember also that writers are warned that things can become predictable, redundant, or boring if all we do is approach it the same way. In the most extreme cases, it results in plagiarism and copyright violations. IP theft. Bringing something new to the table within a genre, subverting tropes—all this is important to making creations that share inherent characteristics with others  unique. It also serves to avoid outright copying.

Oscar Wilde said it best: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

There is no room for copying and takeover attempts in any space. This does nothing more than destroy communities. If there is something more to add, add it. But adding to fandom means doing just that. It does not require the attempts there have been (and there absolutely have been) to destroy existing spaces and take someone’s idea and “do it better,” especially when your reasons to do so are nothing more than personal or straight up contrived.

#and no one is ‘higher’ than another because they write or draw or have a lot of followers #abolish this idea of hierarchy#we’re all here together and we’re equals

This one is especially interesting. Somewhere along the squall line of this drama, the concept of “pillars” came out. That is, this group of people inciting disquiet decided that certain authors were SessKag “pillars” because their work was popular, and these works were recognizable to a broad audience within our fandom. Others deemed “pillars” were involved in helping run different fandom circles they volunteer their time for. But for some reason, you all decided to paint these people as diabolical. As terrible people. As awful people. Other things I won’t waste time saying here.

And you do not know them.

I’m going to speak personally for a moment because I do know a lot of the “pillars” you’ve talked about and spread rumors about this way. They’re friends of mine, and they are some of the sweetest, most caring, honest, and heartfelt people out there. They do not call themselves “pillars” nor view themselves as such. And you’ve taken a steaming digital dump on them because, for some reason, them participating in fandom in the same manner that anyone else does has made you angry.

This is a you problem. And it is a big you problem.

“Pillars” do not control fandom audiences, and fandom audiences are allowed to consume whatever stories and art they wish. Just as we’ve seen within any genre of fictional works, some stories garner more attention and are more broadly read and discussed. That is literature. That is life.

No creator has done you wrong by writing/ drawing a well-loved work.

No member of the fandom audience has done you wrong liking any popular work.

For that matter, no one has done you wrong not consuming or commenting on your works. That is not owed—to any of us. Of course, we love feedback. But it is not required for anyone to leave feedback to be a good fandom member or a part of fandom.

There was no concept of hierarchy in SessKag until you all started this nonsense. You attributed a label, intent, and attitude to people you do not know that doesn’t even exist within them. But you committed to this garbage based on nothing but your own perceptions and false assumptions. This is not okay, and singling out people like this accomplishes the opposite of what community is supposed to do.

The only time there is a “hierarchical” structure, so to speak, is perhaps in fandom events or projects. And that’s because the whole world of fandom can’t manage a single event. It would be chaos. So, there’s an event runner who orchestrates things and sets up the rules, and if one chooses to participate in that event? Yes, there is a reasonable expectation that you go along with what the event coordinator has set up.

Fandom spaces like Discord servers, blogs, events, etc. are never without a need for help. Help has been asked for repeatedly in the past in SessKag spaces. What that help requirement is will vary by situation. But it’s not like there has never been an opportunity to step up and help in these roles. There has been. So we also cannot fairly say that certain people are just trying to control things in Sesskag, as you have also done. Participating in these broad fandom spaces has always been welcomed.

#and fic and art are not ‘content’#content just means stuff#what writers and artists make is more than just stuff

I touched on this briefly earlier, but we’re going to loop around back to it. Somewhere in the past couple of years, you’ve decided that people must actively create to “matter” in fandom. This is ludicrous. Fandom is a place to come as you are when you can come. Everything in fandom is done on a voluntary basis and is a labor of love. People have lives that take priority over fandom—as they should. Expecting that people constantly churn out fanworks to be considered relevant is unreasonable, and there's no place for this mentality in fandom. 

There is also plenty of screenshot evidence showing where you criticize what creators choose to produce, complaining about their works’ genres, tropes, etc. To add to the list, you are complaining behind the scenes about specific creators never reading nor commenting on your works or other works you think they should be doing so on.

So, to that, several things need to be said:

The only requirement in fandom is not being a jerk to others.

No creator owes a fandom stories.

No creator owes a fandom fanart.

No creator owes you fanworks that meet your preferred tropes, genres, categories, etc. rather than what they want to produce.

No creator/ reader owes you comments on your fics.

No creator/ reader is required to read your or any other creator’s fanworks.

No one is doing you or anyone else wrong by not doing these things.

Everything I said up above is true. 100%. Non-negotiable. Yes, it’s nice when we get comments or find works that fit our preferences. And, yes, creators and readers can have very valid frustrations on these matters. But you still don’t call the shots on what others do for fandom or what they consume. 

Fandom is no one’s personal playground where everyone must cater to your whims. You curate your own experience, and that’s it. But that’s not how you’ve chosen to act. Of course, you aren’t physically there to breathe down fandom members’ necks and try to make them do what you want. But when they don’t do these things that you’ve arbitrarily set up as “rules,” they are suddenly doing something wrong, and you put them on blast behind the scenes. 

This is where things begin to take a devious turn. In public fandom spaces, and we’ll include closed servers in this, you give lip service to the opposite. You express for people to do as they want when they can. But in the private conversations, you’re speaking out the other side of your mouth. You’re trashing people for violating your personal expectations on these matters.

Again, that is neither appropriate nor okay.

It also contributes to ableism in the fandom. That’s another topic in and of itself, but the bottom line is that not everyone can consume or produce content the way that your expectations demand–all for different and valid reasons. Whether or not that is understood by you doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t negate that it is ableist.

Following this, there has been this new idea perpetuated that “old works” or creators are out of touch or don’t matter anymore, but that is not how art nor literature works. Never has been. And significance and impact are not limited by a timeline that a handful of people arbitrarily decide. On top of this, it’s a massive lack of respect for the fans and creators that helped to build this fandom well before you ever dipped your toes into it. Disparaging old works in the manner you have does nothing more than poison the well, so to speak, because those works are either the whole reason people have a fandom to enjoy to begin with. Or, in the case of works created only a handful of years back, they’re a part of fond, meaningful fandom memories for SessKag fans.

Works stick in people’s minds based on that work’s own merit. This is why you have people who love maybe a single book by an author, but they don’t like any of their other stuff. It’s why you might enjoy one song by an artist and then none of their other music. You can’t make something suddenly more significant to people by telling them that something is more relevant or better just because it’s newer. That’s a single criterion in a long list of reasons on why works become loved by individuals, and the consumption of any art form is subjective to begin with. Trying to police how people perceive these fandom writings and artworks is an inappropriate and misplaced effort.

You have the same opportunity any other fandom creator does to create a fanwork with a long-lasting impact on the fandom. At the end of the day, it's the luck of the draw. Creators don't know what is going to stick with readers and become a broadly-loved fanwork. It just happens when it does.

The works and fandom members make that decision for all of us.

#let’s make fandom more of a community again and lift each other up and support each other and make friends again

Many of you have been in the SessKag fandom for a long time. Some of us have participated for a little bit now, and others are very new. No matter where you sit in terms of fandom longevity or how you contribute, you are a part of this fandom. You matter. Your thoughts, feelings, and opinions—as far as they do not harm nor attempt to control others—are valid. It doesn’t matter if your most recent fanwork share was yesterday or ten years ago. It doesn’t matter if you do nothing but lurk. There is no requirement to be a part of fandom except that you’re here for the subject matter and aren’t a jerk to others.

Fair is fair. As much as everything here in this post addresses a distasteful lack of judgment, humans are going to human. We all have moments where our asses show, and we all have moments we need to learn from. What we do when we realize that is what really matters because none of us are perfect. No one should expect perfection. Everyone, even friends we love and hold dear, will screw up at one time or another, and this is one reason why relationships take work.

I don’t want to step away from this without acknowledging positives to those people this post addresses. None of this means that, if you have been hurt by anyone in fandom, that you suddenly have to make nice and be buddy-buddy with them. No. You’re allowed to set and keep boundaries. But life is nuanced, so in light of that I do think it’s important to recognize more than just the bad that’s been thrown in our faces lately.

To those of you participating in everything discussed in this post, you guys are parents, spouses, friends—just like all of us. I know you have been there to support each other when that has been needed, and you all also contribute a whole lot of joy to fandom. People love the work you all put out there. Why? Because you are a talented group of people. I have seen art and moments in fanfiction you all have created that resonate with me and make me feel things. There is so much beauty in what you all contribute and can contribute to fandom. And really, moving forward, I hope that is what stands out and shines. Because that is the part of you people look at and are inspired by. These are the kinds of things that make fandom a better place and fosters an environment of friendship and a shared love for a niche thing that not everyone out there gets. But we do. We share that.

All this other stuff? It’s unnecessary. It doesn’t support fandom. It doesn’t support the people in it. It kills the spirit of fandom that has always made it the special thing it is. But it’s also something that can be left in the past. It doesn’t have to be how you choose to move forward.

All these people you have been talking about in the dark corners of Discord and the like? They’re people just like your friends. They’re people just like you. And again, I hope you take a moment to reflect on how you really do not know them well enough to be making the character accusations you have. A lot of assertions have been made in a way that acts like you know them better than you do. That is deeply inaccurate, and unfortunately because people’s names have been dragged through the mud, we have to point that out. Because at the end of the day, there are people you’ve said these falsehoods to who, until now, have heard nothing but your opinions on people you largely do not know.

As previously stated, humans will human. We will all mess up. But it’s how we choose to move forward after we’re aware of it that truly matters.

Here’s to choosing to do what is right. And here’s to SessKag reclaiming what it once was. 

[therubyreader]

The Fight for Lockwood and Co. Season 2

Ok, so, I was wrong, Netflix was stupid enough to cancel Lockwood and Co. after one season despite how good of a show it was and how literally all of the ratings were in its favor. But! there is some light at the end of the tunnel and I am back to spread more (hopefully not false) hope to the masses aka Lock Nation (I think that's our government name).

For starters, and I mean this in the best way possible, this fandom is probably the most aggressive one I've seen when it comes to trying to save the show. Now, I'm usually not the biggest fan of tv shows so I usually sit on the fringes of the fandoms, watching, so this is my first time really being in the thick of things and I don't know if it's due to my inexperience in tv show fandoms but this is genuinely the most dedicated fandom I've ever seen. The lengths that we as a collective are willing to go to in order to save the show is extremely admirable and honestly gives me hope for a second season. There's hashtags trending on multiple platforms, a watch party being planned, and a petition was created. If you're out of the loop on that and want to participate, @thisgameissonintendo made this wonderful masterpost pretty much explaining everything going on in the fandom in efforts to save the show.

While doing some research for this post (yes, I do research, I've been out of college for nearly two years but I still can't shake the habit) I was looking to see how many times Netflix has reversed a renewal decision, I couldn't find any examples of Netflix un-canceling a show, it's always been them deciding to cancel a show that's recently be renewed. But, there have been plenty of shows that have managed to have a second life outside of Netflix which is good news for us, especially since Netflix doesn't own the production rights, Complete Fiction, a company founded by the show's director and producers, does, which means they could, in theory, pitch the show to another network/streaming service. And, coupled with fan efforts, there is a pretty decent chance another network will swoop in to save the show since they know it will bring them money and viewers especially if they're seen as the heroes by the fanbase.

The point of all of this is to say that despite the cancelation this is fight worth fighting and we have a good chance of winning. So, keep trending hashtags, join the streaming party, sign petitions, get the word out, this isn't over yet and I'll be damned if I go down without putting in my all.

[scarletttries]

Kendall Roy x Age-Gap! Reader Headcanons:

Pairing: Kendall Roy (Succession) x Reader

Author’s Note: I've had a few requests around headcanons for Kendall Roy and a younger reader, so please enjoy these few thoughts. Fellow succession fans please send me more of your Roy family thoughts! 😊

- Despite recently celebrating his 40th birthday in questionable style, Kendall considers himself a young soul. Ever since he was a kid, he's always been in rooms full of middle aged professions, rather than the fun peers his own age he craved, and he's never quite grown out of that need to feel young.

- So when you come into his life, working hard at one of the many charities he's chosen to support in his efforts to rehabilitate his image, he feels a new type of excited affection.

- Kendall has to make you think he's cool. It doesn't matter what it takes, your approval becomes the sole focus of his day immediately. But in a contrast to the way he's had to live a lot of his life, he finds you warm up to him more and more the less of an act he's putting on. As he starts to share his true thoughts and feelings he sees you start to enjoy spending time with him more, putting in the effort to make plans with him without seeming to care about the mile-long reputation he drags everywhere behind him.

- Ken is obsessed with going to the latest clubs and dive bars with you and your friends, knowing anywhere you are will be infinitely cooler than Stewy's latest list. He loves being able to splash cash and get you whatever you want, but it also means the world to him when you sneak off to buy him a drink, even if it's the worst one dollar shot he's ever tasted in his privileged life.

- If you're into social media, prepare to help Kendall set up his own account despite everyone at Waystar begging him not to. I'm thinking a Tik Tok full of him dancing around on-trend, showing off his ridiculous life and trying as hard as possible to get you involved in all his videos.

- The exception to that is that no matter how many times you explain, Kendall has never once grasped the concept of BeReal - every time he spends forever trying to set up the perfect shot, and every time he's confused when he misses his window.

- Kendall definitely still texts like it's the 2000's - expect unnecessary abbreviations, excessive emojis and hashtags thrown at the end of messages for no reason other than entertaining you. Now that Kendall knows about dick pics, it won't be long until he's begging for pictures of you too (respectfully of course.)

- Kendall would never admit to not understanding a meme you showed him, desperately image-searching and cornering Humphry until she reluctantly tries to give him enough context to send a witty response.

- If you're into keeping up with new music, expect Kendall to demand you make him regular playlists to keep him up to date, adding his own recommendations proudly. If you prefer things a bit more classic then Kendall will feel incredibly validated by your exceptional taste.

- Kendall would start off a little self-conscious about dating someone younger, feeling like a stereotype of every powerful man he's ever met, and worried about the power dynamic being doubly-off between his age and his family status. But all those feelings would fade as he grew to realise that he is having so much fun. For the first time in his life he could just be himself, and be accepted. He wasn't overthinking and strategising with every breath, he gets to just really enjoy all the time he spends with you.

[earthstellar]

love the canonical implication that Earthspark Bumblebee's current alt-mode is possibly just a mid life crisis sports car phase

I mean I'm in my 30s, I'm not shitting on him, it's relatable primarily because most of my friends are at least slightly younger than I am

the "Bee hanging out with the Terrans" vibe is very real

but I also like that we're seeing a slightly older version of Bee here. usually he's the youngest of the Autobots (in most TF shows, anyway), but here he's roughly equivalent to middle aged

The Terrans are the youngest, so we get to see a more mature Bee stepping up into a carer/educator role

Bee has never really been one of my favourite TF characters (which I mostly attribute to burn out caused by all the marketing which solely fixates on him lmao), but I like him in Earthspark for the most part!

He's still a little on the "still learning" side of things coming into his current role, but that's what allows for further character development, and we've already seen him build some good skills for dealing with/training the kiddo bots

IDK it's nice.

would be interesting if there's ever an episode where Alex and Dot are unavailable for a not-necessarily-bad reason (maybe one of them is accepting a professional award or something so both of them go together as a Nice Thing)

and suddenly Bumblebee is Parent of Many Sparklings (Plus Two Human Ones) for the weekend LMAO

how long until he gives in and calls someone for help? because that is a LOT of children

eventually he calls everyone but they're all busy, Arcee just laughs at him lol she's having Fun Battle Time with Elita-1 so neither of them can do it, finally Megatron shows up and instantly all the kids are like "yeah STORY TIME" and Bee gets a 10 min nap in until a perimeter alarm goes off or something (it was just a cow but now he is Stressed)

Optimus gradually shows up like ha ha! outdoors enrichment for the children is a great idea and Bee is just like "have you ever actually raised sparklings, you had troops but you don't have SPARKLINGS"

meanwhile in the background Hashtag is trying to explain the differences between various social media sites to Megatron, who is trying so hard to pretend like he cares, but is also busy trying to keep at least two of the others from putting their hands a little too deep in his transformation seams so they can climb on him (they just want to be Large)

idk I think a Single Parent Bee episode feat. Grandpa Megatron towards the end at one point would be fun, arguably they did this kind of vibe in the first half of S1 a bit already

but it would be interesting to see how Bumblebee would manage without any other adults for support for like a weekend in its entirety (save for maybe Megs at the end taking pity on him lmao)

there aren't many bots in what seems to be Bumblebee's general age range, except maybe Arcee but she gives the vibe of being a little older than he is, so real talk he'd probably feel a little more isolated and overtaxed than usual :(

but the kiddos would likely pick up on this and they could plot with Megs to try to do something nice for him!!! it would go poorly but that's OK!!!!

just thinkin' out loud

[sonicasura]

Once again, the US government and Joe Biden continue to earn their genocidal title. These dumbasses really think people are gonna ignore the biggest hypocritical stunt in history. Everyone knew my country was gonna to use that veto. They were even trying to pressure other nations to not support Palestine so their veto wouldn't be used up.

Let this be known that the United States had many opportunities to put their foot down. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been purposely ignoring every recommendation on doing something about Israel's war crimes. Genocide Joe continues to provide weaponry which is later used to arm illegal settlers and bomb Palestine.

Israel isn't going to win so they are throwing a tantrum like a spoiled brat. Ben Gvir' wants to execute Palestinian prisoners cause their unfairly cruel arrests have overcrowded their jails. The idiots also plan on not only invading Rafah but risk a counterattack on Iran who has threatened them with NUCLEAR retaliation.

Iran's 'True Promise' has driven a deeper wedge into Israel's populace that the place is a lit powdered keg. Jordan screwed themselves by coming to their aid amidst the tactical strike. Germany already admit they are still snorting Hitler's ashes.

I request that everyone please continue to protest whenever possible, boycott every Israel related brand you can, share negative hashtags such as United States of Genocide or Genocide Joe on social media, and show that this isn't what anyone wants. We don't want our tax dollars to be used to kill innocent lives in mass.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!

[5-7-9]

I realize i should probably elaborate on how We Are Robin was inspired by a legitimate movement.

So while researching interviews by We Are Robin’s writer Lee Bermejo, I tried checking for the ones that were straight from his words rather than articles that quoted him. So i almost missed this one article that was worded as though it was not an interview, but CBR quoted from USA Today so it must’ve been. If it weren’t for a DC comics forum that had already read it, i wouldn’t have noticed.

When the series opens, it really doesn't have an identity, Bermejo says, but the group knows its mission statement. "It's one thing to put a hashtag on your Twitter account as a teenager and feel like you're part of something. It's a whole other thing when the (stuff) hits the fan and you have to stand up for what you believe in."

"Just with everything that we've seen happen recently with Ferguson, there's a lot of issues here that I think can be touched on and should be touched on."

"There's that element of this particular moment we're passing right now, and with a book like this you have a chance to comment about certain things and bring them into the Bat-universe in real interesting ways."

As a longtime fan of the Dark Knight and his supporting players, Bermejo admits that he always had a hard time figuring out why Batman would have a teen sidekick and put a kid in danger in the first place - for the writer, that was the beginning of how a series such as We Are Robin could work.

"Maybe there could possibly be many of these kids out there on the streets who have different talents and different capabilities that could be useful to Batman," says Bermejo.

"With ideas and big concepts, teenagers can get really passionate about that stuff and it can be their whole life. That was something interesting to me, that this thing could be bigger than just one guy jumping around in a domino mask."

(Just the first 3/three forum pages, I’m not reading all that 💀) Seems as though Bermejo wanted to make a commentary about Ferguson metaphorically through the Batman mythos. My interpretation of his message: the disenfranchised youth of America that have no one to help them (authority figures like parents and Batman) feel as though they must take justice matters into their own hands. Something Robin originally meant to represent, a child character for other children to project on. Bermejo thought to implement that literally into the story, where Robin is an actual symbol children use. In the case of real life, justice is done by protesting. But in the matters of DC comics, specifically Gotham? Their protesting comes in the form of vigilantism.

In the chapter where the We Are Robin kids try breaking up a random riot that kinda appears out from nowhere?

But when the Robins join in to stop the riot, they were suddenly framed by the Robot Batman cop as the aggressors (being controlled by Jim Gordon as he was temporarily “Batman”). Indiscriminating its force of authority onto the kids as well as the rioters.

This carries into the Riko’s POV chapter. After a WAR member died from a bomb, the television shows Troy’s parents being upset at the We Are Robin movement, claiming it “does more harm than good.”

Troy’s death is probably another comparisons to when 6 Ferguson protesters died. So his death seems to ask the question, is protesting worth it if it gets you killed? Are protesters making the situation of unjust violence worse? Riko answers: “I think… I think he was trying to do what he thought was right.”

If you aren’t aware of the Ferguson unrest, an 18 year old boy (Micheal Brown) was shot by a police officer after being accused of robbery. When nothing came about the police officer in question, many in the black community began protesting for about 400 days for the officer to be reprimanded. The media would often call it riots, with the negative connotations of unnecessary violence. This was apart of the Black Lives Matters movement of anti police brutality.

(here’s one video but i recommend doing your own research because i’m not great at keeping sources)

I’m sure you can see the similarities now. If not… essentially the We Are Robin is an allegory of the Ferguson protests. The vigilante kids are fighting crime, while the Ferguson protesters were the black community fighting injustice.

Robin War actually touches back on this Ferguson inspired media conflict, by having such an interestingly similar story involving a teenaged boy and a robber and a person dying from being shot 🤔

But here’s the twist: a We Are Robin member walks into a convenience store, he intervenes a police officer trying to stop a robbery, then, because this WAR member was a young probably “immature” teenager, accidentally shoots the police officer with his own gun.

Ha. Ha. 😐 Certainly not an insensitive plot to use at all (sarcasm)

(I should remind you all that Robin War was a piece of garbage mostly written by Tom King, and other writers like Tim Seeley and Scott Lobdell. i don't really need to explain everything wrong with these guys right now. Except for the parts Bermajo wrote, those were the best despite the surrounding shitty plot).

There’s also plenty of police imagery. See here an iconic picture of the Ferguson protest as a poster right smack down in the middle of a panel. Just in case you aren’t fully convinced about the Ferguson allegory… 🙃

Smack down in the centre of this panel has a iconic redrawing of a Ferguson protester (Edward Crawford) catching a tear gas canister thrown by the police, and throwing it right back at the riot cops faces 🖕☄️

So yes, We Are Robin was an activist movement.

[jadeazora]

A New Message from the Masters Team is out!

A new battle feature called the Battle Rally will be added on January 31, 2024! In this content, you'll see how many Rally Points you can earn as you try to win a total of 10 battles. These points are exclusive to the Battle Rally. The key to success is using the Rally Shop, which you can visit between battles. Opponents become stronger as you progress through battles, so you'll need to purchase items at the Rally Shop to help you proceed. Since you need to spend Rally Points to purchase items, putting yourself in a position to win while still leaving as many Rally Points as possible is vital. For each battle, certain Roles can earn you bonus Rally Points, so be sure to use Sync Pairs with the specified Roles! The Rally Points you have at the end will be converted into Battle Rally Medals, which can be exchanged for a variety of items including Roll Cake Coin Vouchers, which let you acquire the Roll Cake Coin of your choice. You need a Battle Rally Pass to take on the Battle Rally. We plan to make them obtainable from weekly Battle Rally Missions and other places.

A Log-in Bonus to celebrate the arrival of the Battle Rally will begin on January 31, 2024. You can get three Battle Rally Passes that can only be used for a limited time from this Log-in Bonus, so we hope you put them to use!

The Battle Villa will be made permanent content starting Jan31.

Wally will come to the Lodge Feb1! You need to have already recruited him and his Gallade tho.

Also Feb1, new Mysterious Stones chapter!

Time Trial featuring Chase and Pikachu coming Jan31. He's a Support Pair. An event where you can team up with the Pikachu PokeKid will come Feb2:

Palentine's Event comes Feb9. They also mention the upcoming half-year Anniversary.

At the end of February, they plan to release their expansion of the Profile feature that will better allow players express themselves more. You'll be able to add new things like titles and hashtags to customize your Profile.

Announcing the addition of a new photo feature that will allow you to create photos of up to three of your favorite Trainers, which you can then display on your Profile screen! You can line up Trainers in your photos, and also can customize aspects such as their positioning, expressions, and poses. Also, by changing the background and frame, you can recreate various situations. (I feel this will be great for memes 🤔)

[marveinator]

Bad Idea Bella Ramsey x fem!oc (original character)

inspired by "Bad Idea" by girl in red (after part one) masterlist

This story is complete imagination and how Bella acts here is probably not how they would act irl. They/them pronouns used for Bella. pairing: Bella Ramsey x fem!oc (Mina Willow Lane) word count: 2.4k summary: You and Bella have been childhood friends, but broke off contact because of their acting career. Will your paths ever meet again? a/n: I´ve had this obsession with girl in red for a while now and of course with Bella so... here yall go! I hope many people read this story, because I am again putting my whole heart into this. And I figured since I basically already read all the Bella fics existing, I´d just write my own. Enjoy! I will try to make the chapters as long as possible so that I don´t have to post so many parts and yall can read the story faster! (Don´t be mad I simply but Pedro in the hashtags because he´s a part of the story) chapter warnings: nickname calling, ig that´s it? next chapter: Bella and Mina decide to go to a party as friends- but are they leaving it like this again?

I closed my laptop. I had just finished watching an interview of Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. Not only because I was so interested in the series "The last of us", but also because… well. Long story.

I knew Bella. Well, at least I used to. I don't know what they´re like now…. but I'm trying to find out by watching all these videos about them. I miss our friendship a lot.

When we were little, our parents were very good friends and so we always played together. However, when they turned 11, their career went on and on and we broke off contact. They were too busy and now we really had no contact at all, especially since their new series.

I read through the comments under some tiktoks about them and realized how many girls admired Bella. Not only because of their acting, no, also as a person. For whatever reason, I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I wanted to go out and scream loudly "I know Bella Ramsey in person!" just so- I don't even know why. I knew all these girls probably had no contact with Bella, and to be exact, I was one of them too.

It just hurt to lose friends. I missed how Bella would still send me videos every now and then of them practicing their guitar, or when we would have a pie-eating contest together when we were 8. I missed their brown eyes and their beautiful hair. Which, as I had now noticed, was a lot shorter.

But Bella was without a doubt still beautiful. Even more beautiful than I remembered, to be exact.

Sometimes I wondered if they still knew that I even existed. My Bella would never forget me, they were outgoing and cheerful. But were they still like that? What if they had changed? I probably wouldn't even find out.

I turned over in my bed with a sigh. For a few months now, I no longer lived with my parents, but in a small apartment on the outskirts of London.

I grabbed my phone from the table besides my bed and decided to go a bit on Instagram. Only to find a new post of Bella on my home feed. They posted a few behind the scenes pics of their new short film “Requiem” which I had obviously already watched. I sighed and liked the post.

This is how it had been for years. I went on their Instagram, liked the new posts and it went unnoticed by Bella. Of course, they probably got thousands of notifications a day, but still, it made me a bit sad. Almost seemed like they completely forgot about me.

Sometimes I wanted to post something just to see if they would like it- but on the other hand I knew that if they wouldn´t, I´d be heartbroken.

I sighed and switched off my phone, after seeing it was already 11 pm. Usually I stayed up longer, but today I felt extra exhausted. Which didn´t make any sense, I mean I stayed at home the entire day.

That´s what I do most of the time. Normally I work at a small café, but it´s currently closed because they are fixing some stuff in there. I´ve been looking for a new job for the few weeks while it´s closed, but everybody said they only would accept me if I would stay. And I love the café I work at too much and having two jobs isn´t an option right now, so- whatever.

The boss said they´d probably open again in 2 weeks- which was 3 weeks ago. I honestly didn´t know what to do because I did slowly run out of money… I just hoped they would open as soon as possible again.

*1 week later*

I didn´t even know if it was legal that I wasn´t even paid while the café was closed (because that seriously wasn´t my fault?) but I managed to handle everything and was back at work again now.

I wiped all the tables clean; we would open soon. I already saw some people outside patiently waiting, so many loved this place.

Not going to lie, I mean the drinks were good, the workers were friendly, and the little muffins were worth coming here.

After we finished preparing everything, I nodded at my coworker Jamie, and he opened the door.

3 hours later the whole café was full, except for one table. This was good, maybe I would get a lot of tips today. I thanked an older couple who just paid and went over to the next table. “Hey, what can I get for you?”, I asked as I looked up from the wallet where I had just put the money in. You gotta be shitting me.

“Mina? Oh my god, you´re the last person I thought I would see here!”

It was Bella.

Bella fucking Ramsey was sitting on the table in front of me.

What is this, a fucking movie? I surely doubt that.

“Hi, Bella”, was all I managed to say. Bella smiled from one side to the other and happily jumped up from their chair to hug me. It hit me all of the sudden and so I awkwardly hugged back. Bella seemed to notice that I was quite surprised about their sudden action, because they replied with a short “Shit, sorry, that was a bit- out of nowhere…”

They sat down again and looked up at me. We were almost the same height; I was just a little bit shorter. I know, I was tiny or something. Sorry.

“Uh- how have you been? Oh wait- I´m probably interrupting you and your work- uh… Can you recommend anything that is vegan?” I looked at them. Seeing them in real life after such a long time was insanely weird but amazing at the same time. “I´ve been alright I guess, and no worries, they won´t mind if I stay here a minute longer than I should. Well, we have normal juices that are probably vegan, but also, I love the vegan version of our hot chocolate or the iced coffee”, I replied.

Bella smiled again and nodded. “Choose one of those for me, I don´t mind which one, it´s your choice.” I agreed and went to get them a drink. I decided to serve them the iced coffee, I loved it a lot. When it was done, I made sure to decorate it a bit, just because it was for Bella. I know, you shouldn´t prefer any customers, but… could you blame me? I just met my childhood best friend (who is also like- really famous now) after years of no contact again.

With this in mind, I went over to the “boss” of the café, Brian. “Hey, uh, would you mind if I-“ He nodded, without even letting me finish my sentence. “You´re free for today, I figured out it was them.” I had told Brian everything about Bella because overtime we grew closer. Not in any romantic way though, I mean he was a 45-year-old married man, and I was definitely a lesbian (he also knew that). I smiled as I thanked him before running of to Bella (not forgetting their iced coffee of course).

I asked if I could sit down a bit, and they said yes. “So- you just got free for today? That easily?”, Bella asked as I gave them their iced coffee. “Yes, but, it´s only an exception, because well, we haven´t seen each other in such a long time and… yeah- “, I answered.

“I missed you, Mina Willow Lane. I´m sorry I didn´t stay in contact with you, I was just so… busy with work and I know that´s a shitty excuse because I mean almost everyone our age works and you should never leave your friends behind”, the brunette across me explained. “I just felt like it would be easier for the both of us that we weren´t in contact that much anymore because I knew that if we stayed best friends, you would be pulled into the spotlight too and I knew you wouldn´t want that.”

I looked into their eyes and tried to smile a bit. “I know… still. You just like- vanished. I´ve missed you like hell too though, Isabella May Ramsey. Don´t ever leave me like that again, or I swear to god I´m gonna get more mad than last time”, I explained. Bella laughed and nodded. “Do you maybe… wanna hang out a bit? I´m not working for a few weeks and we could- get to know each other again, I mean it was a long time, right?”

I decided to agree with Bella and later that day we went for a walk outside.

“You know, I live in this hotel and the people there are like sooooo rude. I´ve been trying to find a better one for weeks. But they have so many good vegan food options, that´s the main point why I chose it”, they explained while walking next to me. I was so happy we were finally together again; I had missed them so much I almost went insane.

“You could stay at mine, I mean, I still have a guest bed left, and it´s just a tiny apartment, but I could make you any vegan food you´d like-“, I said without any hesitation.

Bella Ramsey POV

I stared at Mina. Was she serious about this? Oh.

"I mean, yeah, I'd love to.... But I really don´t want to get into your way of living-", I replied to her offer. "Keep it down Bella, you're not going to get in my way or anything. Besides, if you live with me, we can spend more time together, I mean you owe me that somewhere after all...", said the girl walking next to me with a grin on her face. I couldn't stop smiling either, we had seen each other for the first time in years and had only been walking for 1 or 2 hours- but I already never wanted to leave her again.

I had to admit, I had missed Mina a lot. Sometimes I even went to her Instagram account, but they didn't post anything there and so I couldn't even know what she looked like now. But when I saw her in front of me today, I recognized her immediately. She hadn't changed a bit. Her hair was still long and dark blonde, her eyes green. Her style was a bit different, but I wasn't complaining, I was convinced that she looked good in everything she wore.

"So... you get your stuff, and we meet at mine again?", Mina asked, nudging me out of my thoughts. I nodded and we parted ways again.

As soon as she was gone, everything was different. I immediately missed her laugh, her beautiful green eyes and her unique way. I hated myself inside that I had pushed such an amazing girl away from me.

Just as I was packing up my things in my hotel room, my cell phone rang. Pedro.

"Hey Pedge, what's up?", I picked up. "I just wanted to check up on you, you haven't called in a while..." I had to chuckle, Pedro worried about me so often, for no reason. But I was grateful to have him, he was almost like a best friend by now- or more likely an annoying MUCH older brother. (To be honest- most of the time it was a father-daughter relationship, with me being the dad of course-)

"You're not going to believe this. I met her. Let´s keep it short and sweet, we uh- move in together?" Pedro stared at me (he just loved video calls, okay-) "You what?!" (A/N: I swear I wrote that and had Bill's voice in my head...)

I just grinned a little sheepishly and stared at Pedro.

"I'm so happy for you. You had missed her so much, and now you're going to see her every day for a while.... But- Bella. Keep me up to dated... if- you know- anything happens-" Pedro said with a wink. I just rolled my eyes.

I had probably told him about Mina almost every day, so now he thought I wanted something from her (in a romantic way). Sure, I loved her, but she was really just a friend- (A/N: Adrien Agreste who?)

"Pedro please, nothing special will happen between the two of us," I replied dumbly. After a while I hung up again, I finally had to finish packing.

Mina Lane POV

Nervously, I bounced around my apartment while waiting for Bella to arrive. Everything was clean, I had put a new bar of towels in the bathroom, picked out a few vegan recipes, and prepared the guest bed for them. The guestroom was right next to mine, and about the same size.

Sure, why had I left this room vacant when I lived alone? Well... just in case an old friend would show up here once-

Suddenly I heard the doorbell ring and I pressed the door opener, so that the front door opened downstairs. Now I had only a few seconds until Bella would stand in front of me, with their luggage, ready to move in for a few weeks. Everything had happened so fast, I couldn't even believe it yet.

When there was a knock on the door of my apartment, I felt goose bumps rising all over my body. Carefully I turned the door knob to the right and opened the door. Bella was dressed differently now, they had gray sweatpants and a dark green sweater on, much more simple and comfortable - but still beautiful.

"Hey, come on in," I said and accompanied Bella into the kitchen. It was an open kitchen overlooking the living room (A/N: Here a plan I MADE of the apartment, so that you can imagine it better <;3).

"Cozy in here," Bella said with a grin on their face. I had to giggle and showed them around.

"There's only one bathroom, unfortunately, but it's between our rooms, so I hope that's okay-", I explained. "Oh love, don't act like I'm a complete stranger, we've definitely had sleepovers, so if we ever run into each other in the bathroom at night, I think I'll be able to handle it-", Bella grinned. My face turned red. Not only because of the nickname, but also because of the way they looked at me. What was wrong with me?

"Um yeah... I think it´s pretty late already, I picked out food, plain pasta with tomato sauce, hope that's okay..." Bella nodded and thus I started cooking the food while they settled into their new room. This was going to be a few interesting weeks....

[zee-rambles]

Hi Zee! new follower that came across your pinned post by chance very recently. Maybe a weird ask ahead, totally fine if you don't answer,

Do you really believe rise can still be saved? Because a part of me is still holding on, and the new andy sketches have been torturing me too. Ive signed all the petitions, done everything I can, I feel like its not enough. It's weird and been bothering me for the last few months, though I've never felt this way before about shows that didnt make it. How do you cope with the feeling, as a long time rise fan? Do you? Obviously not a therapist lmao just curious, trying to learn how to deal with a three year long obsession. Thank you.

I don’t know how many people are going to read this, but here goes.

So, I really tried to think of a nice, clear way to answer this question, but then I realized: it will never be perfect. All I can do is be genuine.

Yes. I do believe that Rise can still be saved. The same way that I hope that many of my favorite shows can return. And I do this because I simply choose to believe it. I choose to have hope. I don’t know, I can’t promise it will come back, but if I’m being true to myself, I choose to hope for the future that I want, and that future includes Rise in it. I once thought I would never get to see the Hey Arnold Jungle Movie, thought I joined the movement too late to bring it back…but it happened.

And I thank you for doing what you can. I did a lot for this show in the last two years. Been recommending it in real life, posting about it anywhere I can, supporting and uplifting other fans, liking as much art, and advertising projects as much as I can. I even put Rise related gifs in the comments of things I react to on social media, hoping that someone will get curious and give it a chance. I’ve sent emails, signed petitions, rewatched as many good videos as I can so that the algorithm can recommend it more. I’ve done a lot. I’m just…slowing down right now because I have a huge project I need to complete in order to graduate from Uni, and because it is hard to advocate for something on your own.

Unless someone is a billionaire and has ties to Hollywood, no one person can bring back Rise. It has to be a collaborative effort from as many fans as possible.

And I’m a lot like you. I’ve never felt this strongly about bringing a show back before. I didn’t even think I would be the person that most fans come to for hope. I just saw that no one was doing what I was hoping they would do: encourage fans not to give up. So I became that person.

I’m not going to lie. I did go through a grief process at first. I was genuinely heartbroken, especially when I notice that slowly but surely, people move on. That happens. It’s normal. But I don’t want to move forward without knowing that I did something. I didn’t just sit there and cry that things were unfair. I gave it my best shot. Sure, I may be wrong, and I may be disappointed, and nothing may come out of it. But I tried, a it’s a 1000 times better to try something, and fail at it, then to never give it a shot.

If I got just one person to fight for Rise, to sign those petitions, to make an effort, that’s enough for me. A victory is a victory, no matter how small. I remember when that petition was only 3 thousand signatures and now it’s over 10 thousand. I think that, as long as we don’t give up, as long as we keep spreading the word, as long as we try our best to bring in new fans, there is a chance. Someone sees a video with the hashtag #saveROTTMNT or #unpauseROTTMNT on YouTube, or insta, or wherever, and digs into the story, falls in love with the show, and tries to get in on the action.

Spectacular Spider-Man fans haven’t given up. Teen Titans fans haven’t given up. I don’t see why we should. And yes, there is always a possibility that the show may never return. But, just as much as there is a possibility of something bad happening, there is also a possibility of something good happening. We’re just pre-disposed to notice the negative, because part of survival is keeping our resources. We could gain 10 good things but still be heartbroken if we lose 1 thing, even if that 1 thing was a bad thing.

At the end of the day, I’ll say this. It’s okay to love something. It’s okay to be sad that it’s over. It’s okay to have a passion for something. It’s okay that a show inspires you, is there for you when you’re alone and scared, that it gives you hope, that it makes you happy, and so on. It’s okay to fight for it if you love it…and it’s okay to let it go, if you need to, or step back if you need to. There is no right way to enjoy a piece of media.

It’s all a choice. At least for me. I choose to do something. And I choose to forgive myself if things don’t work out. I understand that I’m human and there is only so much one person can do. There is no harm in hoping, or believing. I just do it because I want to. Because…well, hope is a ninja’s greatest weapon.

I don’t know if this answers your question, or if it was what you were hoping for. Sometimes we need to figure out an answer for ourselves. That was my answer.

I hope you keep finding things you love and that they bring you joy.

[heathtrash]

The Worst Witch December Events

Well met, everyone! 

It’s that time again where the festive holiday-themed fics are plentiful, and we all come together to collectively ignore canon in favour of being kinder to our favourites. Many of you are probably wondering if anyone’s organising any fun little Worst Witch fandom events, and the answer is yes! Over on the TWW Discord we've come up with two challenges that can be attempted by themselves, or combined - a gift exchange you can sign up for on AO3 via this link, and a December holiday-flavoured prompts list.

Gift Exchange

For the gift exchange, everyone will be secretly assigned a person to write a fic or make art for, matched according to your shared ships. There’s a simple form where you can provide details for what you’re offering as a gift and what you’d like to receive. Be sure to provide as much detail as possible and specify whether you are requesting or offering fic/art, what you are willing to create, and what you’d prefer to receive. For example, “I will write/draw fluff, but will not write/draw anything nsfw”.

When you submit, all fics will be invisible until the final submission date, when they will be revealed anonymously. Try to guess which fandom writer you received! The authors will be revealed on the 25th December.

Fics must be a minimum of 1,000 words (there is no maximum), and art (while subjective) must be of decent image size and quality. Your work must be submitted to the collection on AO3 (linked on this post). To give and receive gifts, you must have an AO3 account. Ships must involve consenting adults only. If you are submitting to the December Prompts, do not add your gift fic/art to that collection until after the authors have been revealed. No AI art or fic is permitted.

While this is for fun, please be serious about having something (relevant to the request given, of course) to submit. It would not be fair for someone to miss out after having put in a lot of hard work and effort on their own submission. 

Due dates are as follows:

Sign up is open until 20th November 2023.

Completed work submission is 18th December 2023.

Authors are revealed on the 25th December 2023. 

Full guidelines are up on the collection. Remember to sign up this week before it's too late!

Prompts List

There is a separate collection just for prompts! You can freely submit your works here to the AO3 Collection as and when you like.

The images below contain a variety of prompts that may be interpreted in any way you choose. How you complete those prompts is entirely up to you - whether it’s doing an entire day’s worth of prompts together, mixing and matching prompts from different days, choosing one prompt from each day, or picking a few that you like and working with them.

Use the hashtag "#tww december prompts" when linking your AO3 works so we can find and share them!

Many, many thanks to @hydr0phius for helping set this up, and all the lovely folks on the discord for providing inspiration!

(silly little art by me)

[burst-of-iridescent]

I’m confused, there are many zutara artworks I wanted to share but some of them dont have signatures or watermarks and I don’t know if they permitted to share if their posts are buried under all the blogs and hashtags. My question is, arent artists supposed to be flattered when their work goes viral? Why do some artists dont want to repost/reblog their art? Especially of course if they put their ‘stamp’ on it? And if they plan to sell it couldn’t they just put a watermark and remove it for the one who bought it like in etsy?

i'm not an artist so i don't claim to be an authority on this subject, but as far as i know, artists don't encourage reposts because it's very likely that their work will go uncredited, or even that credit could be falsely claimed by someone else. artists put hours and hours of effort into creating art to share with a community, not simply to garner faceless likes and notes. separating the creator from the art means stripping away that interaction, and that's not what fandom is about.

if you don't know who the creator is, don't repost their work. even if you do know, don't repost without asking them first and gaining their explicit consent. as far as possible, try to reblog so you can direct people back to the artist's page. that's just fandom etiquette 101.

if any artists would like to add on their opinions and respond to anon's questions, please feel free to do so!

[cutekittenlady]

Trains, Planes, and Autobots

Summary Fic Part 6

[Previous] [Next]

As previously said, a black car pulls up (all dramatic like) and Agent Schloder steps out. (I actually really like Agent Schloder. I think hes a good and fun character and I really want him to be a major character in S2 who interacts with the cast a lot more.) And says, in a cool tough guy voice, "You called?"

Dot gives him a tired look and simply tells him he's late.

Schloder gets shifty and admits he was held up in yet another (of many many) meetings trying to sort out the remainder of GHOST and trying to uncover everything that was hidden away by his (late) sister.

Alex asks if it was anything dangerous.

Schloder responds that, no, it wasn't anything dangerous. But still very very important.

Deciding on a new acronym. However they're not having a lot of luck.

Dot is unimpressed and gives Schloder an insanely brief summary of events and brings him up to speed on whats happening.

The second he hears that Optimus wants to send a human with bumblebee on a mission to trace after Breakdown Schloder begins a long speech as he attempts to volunteer.

Only for Alex to interrupt him and say that he'd be more than happy to go along. Bumblebee had masqueraded as his car for a long time anyway, and they've driven together plenty of times. It just feels natural for Alex to slide on over into the drivers seat to avoid discovery from humans. Especially after spending so long avoiding GHOST.

Before Schloder can argue, Bumblebee agrees. Besides Nightshade and Thrash are technically Alex's kids anyway, so its not like he can just say no.

Alex happily heads to the house to pack up some clothes and basic camping gear for the "trip" leaving Schloder disappointed.

Dot takes over again and tells him that while she initially invited him over to figure out what to do with the collected database of all the transformers on Earth (and they still plan to cover that), she thinks he and Hashtag can be useful in helping Jawbreaker identify the bot he saw Breakdown looking up.

Schloder takes to this new role immediately and asks Jawbreaker what he can recall about the "subject" in question.

Jawbreaker responds that he was red.

"Okay great start! What else?"

"Thats uh... kinda it?"

".... Oh this is going to take awhile."

Ratchet volunteers to stick around at the barn to help with the identification as well as maintain communications. He's seen more autobots and decepticons over the course of the war than he can count, and besides, he's not sure he can still keep up with Bumblebee and the other "young bots" on the road, and isn't confident he'd be much use if the encounter with the stunticons broke out into a fight. Beyond that hes been in contact with Wheeljack over some kind of new breakthrough he thinks will be useful.

Bumblebee thanks Megatron for backing up his idea, but Megatron only says that its whats necessary to settle the matter. He admits to having been previously unaware of his and Breakdowns history together. Breakdown evidently didn't advertise the fact when amongst the decepticon ranks. Though Megatron acknowledges that this was likely for the best.

Optimus tells bumblebee to gather some energon for the trip as well as some water for the Terrans. Theres no telling how far Breakdown may go before they manage to piece anything together. With bumblebee off getting energy, Optimus pulls ratchet aside and asks if he's had a chance to talk to bumblebee yet. Ratchet says he hasn't. Megatron tells him they can't possibly put it off forever to which Ratchet angrily responds he's "working on it" and that he'll have plenty of time to tell him when this is all over.

Robbie and Mo are left wondering which team they're going with. Dot tells them she wants them to stay at the house and help with communications. Robbies not happy about getting left out when the Terrans and their dad are going into potentially dangerous circumstances. However Dot points out that their teams can't be too large or else it could interfere with their ability to manuever. Its true she doesnt want the two of them in a dangerous situation, but she doesnt want any of them in a dangerous situation. She also tells them that she knows they're both incredibly smart kids and have more than proven that they're able to figure things out. Thats why shes trusting them at home with Schloder collecting and piecing together all of the information they get from the split teams.

If Breakdown is getting up to something with some other Decepticons, having a well manned home base that will keep everyone up to date with the latest information is crucial.

Robbie still isn't happy about it but accepts the logic.

Alex shouts at his family from the upstairs window and asks if they know where the charger to his tablet is as he needs to pack it so he can watch his "stories" on the road.

Smash cut back to Breakdown on the road with Hardtop and Swindle. Breakdown isn't happy with the very late start of their trip, but Hardtop points out that if the autobots really were after them, they'd likely have caught up by now. Breakdown quietly admits that thats true and that the Autobots must have believed him.

Swindle asks Breakdown what sort of story he cooked up to convince the Autobots to let him access the database. Breakdown simply says (without much enjoyment) that he didn't really lie. He just sort of misled. Regardless of how he got the information, they have their starting point to look for the doctor they need to safely attach Hardtops arm.

Hardtop asks how he plans to convince the doctor to do the procedure. After all he and Swindle dont exactly have a "clean" record.

Breakdown just tells him to leave that to him.

With that the three speed down the highway.