#use your critical thinking and see the similarities

[catboybiologist]

So you seriously think that any kink is okay? Even the ones that target marginalized groups, like white people doing raceplay or tme/afabs who talk about "femboys" and fetishize transfems? That's completely fine to you and they should just do whatever they want with no consequence? Think more deeply about the things you post. There's a difference between saying people shouldn't be harrassed for some kinks and saying that any kink is fine and we're not allowed to criticize them or else we're puritans.

Idk what I posted or reblogged that spawned this ask particularly but okay sure I'll entire the discourse

To be blunt: you're still thinking like a puritan. Not an extreme one, but there's still seeds of the mentality here.

Yeah, the kinks themselves are all "okay". Any kink on its own is morally neutral. The problems that you're getting at are distinct from kink itself, and are failures of individuals who may hold the kinks, not the kink itself.

When people have a problem with a kink, what they usually actually have a problem with is one of two things:

Non-consent or harm occuring during a kinky act. Obvious bad implications, and I think everyone is on the same page here. The problem is sexual assault and consent, not kink. It's also not what you're talking about primarily, so I'm pretty sure we're on the same page here.

How an individual treats people outside of the kink environment, notably bigotry. Thought crimes do not exist. People's material treatment of others does.

For your examples: consensual sexualization of trans woman does not hurt trans women. Refusing to see a trans women as anything beyond a sex object does. Sexualizing a trans women in an environment where she does not consent to being sexualized does.

This is exactly why forcefemme can be enjoyed by many, even within the trans community. Sexualizing trans women isn't an inherent evil that taints your brain. And oftentimes, trans women are treated as disgusting, and can even be desexualized- at least, desexualized in the ways we want. Sometimes, feeling hot and feeling sexy is a reminder that we can be beautiful in a society that tells us we're disgusting.

Do these kinks sometimes lead to transmisogyny? Do they sometimes lead to trans women being seen only as sex objects? Yeah. But the "bad act" being committed here occurs at the moment a trans woman is being mistreated, not inside the a person's head.

Someone can be transmisogynistic with a kink or attraction to trans women. Someone can also treat trans women as people and still have that same kink or attraction. The problem isn't the kink, it's the transmisogyny. If try to pin all of the problems on the kink, then it's easier for you to miss the real harm of the transmisogyny- and sometimes, people are trans misogynistic without those kinks, and you're more likely to miss that.

And that's precisely why I'm saying you're thinking like a puritan. You're not judging the mortality of kink based on material harm. You're imagining them as black marks that taint your brain and your behavior by necessity.

Not gonna comment on raceplay as a white woman, because anything I say will be in poor taste. But I invite others to give their thoughts. My own thoughts would be similar.

I've had people call my entire existence a fetish to devalue and use that against me. I don't even have a feminization kink or any particularly stronger attraction for trans women over cis women. Yes, it happens. I'm not denying it's a problem. But the way they tried to devalue my existence by making my ENTIRE existence sexual was the problem.

[merrybloomwrites]

Find Your Pleasing

Summary: As Harry’s girlfriend, you’re often asked to test Pleasing products before they hit the store. The newest product you’re asked to test is a bit different than the others.

CW: sex toys, vibrator, smut

Word Count: 1.8K

AN: Obviously had to write a story about the newest Pleasing drop. I’m sure there are others out there but I haven’t had a chance to read any yet, so if this is similar to another one I promise it isn’t on purpose

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Being Harry Styles’ girlfriend came with a fair number of responsibilities. There was plenty of traveling, supporting him at shows and movie premiers, helping behind the scenes when needed.

Ever since the start of Pleasing, you’d gained another role. Product tester.

Harry respected your feedback, and always asked your opinion on everything they were working on. He’d spend hours in meetings with the development team and still come home and talk about it more with you.

You might not have an official title in the business, but Pleasing wouldn’t be the same without you.

He never let you go easy on him either. He wanted honest feedback. If you didn’t like a nail color, if a perfume smelled off, if you thought a product wasn’t up to a high enough standard, he wanted to hear it. He asked you to be his harshest critic.

But for some reason, Harry is being quite secretive about the latest meeting. He won’t tell you what they talked about, or what products they’re hoping to drop next.

“You’ll see!” He’d said. “I promise the wait will be worth it.”

After that, he’d taken you to bed. The two of you spent the following hours having a very enjoyable evening, one in which Harry brought out the fun bag of toys hidden away in the closet. By the end, you’d completely forgotten about his earlier secrecy.

But you now realize that you should have put some clues together. Because it’s a couple of weeks later, and Harry just surprised you with a prototype of the newest Pleasing product.

A sex toy. Specifically a vibrator. More specifically, a double ended vibrator.

“Finally giving the people what they expected, huh?” You quip as you begin to look at it.

“I mean, we all knew this would happen eventually,” he replies.

“Yea, a former boy band member turned solo pop sensation was bound to release a sex toy sooner or later. It’s the logical progression.”

“Hey, if Gwyneth Paltrow can release these things so can I,” he defends.

“Oh of course. But I have to admit, her brand name really pulls the customers in.”

“Goop? You think Goop is more attractive to consumers than Pleasing?"

You can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the current conversation. Finally you both pull yourselves together again and Harry hands you the prototype.

“Judge it harshly, okay? This thing needs to be perfect,” he says.

“You want me to use this? Test this out?” You ask incredulously.

“I mean, you are our product tester. And I can’t exactly test it out myself so I could really use your feedback. More important now than ever,” he explains.

“Ah yes, the pleasure of your fans is now in my hands,” you joke.

“Literally,” he replies, smirking and pointing at the vibe.

“Are we doing this right now?”

He gives you a suggestive look but then says, "Only if you want to. Don’t feel pressured.”

It’s that, the fact that his top priority is your comfort, that has you wanting to help him.

“I want to,” you reply.

He smiles and leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips. He soon deepens it, his arms going to your waist to pull you flush against him. In doing so the box gets squished between you, reminding you both the true objective here.

“Let’s go get comfy,” he says, taking your hand and leading you to the bedroom.

You climb into your bed, laying back against the pillows. Harry lays on top of you, kissing along your neck, his hand teasing your thigh, slipping below the hem of your shorts.

He’s effectively warming you up. Getting you ready.

Soon you’re eager to test the new product, and you pick it up from where you’d left it on the bed. Getting the hint, Harry moves to help you slip out of your shorts.

“You’re excited huh?” He teases when he sees the unmistakable damp spot on your underwear.

“Let’s see what that can do,” you invite.

“It’s double sided,” he says.

“You thought of everything,” you reply.

“Ready?”

“Mhmm.”

He presses a button and you hear a telltale buzz. It’s a bit loud, and you make a mental note to ask him if that can be fixed.

And then it presses to your core. It’s nice. But not the best you’ve had. He presses the button a few more times, showing you the four different modes. The first two are okay. The third is better, and gets you close. The fourth is almost a little too much, and you know it would overstimulate you if you used it too long.

After giving you time to test out all of the modes, he switches back to the one you liked best. Now it’s no longer about product testing, it’s about getting you off. He leans in to meet your mouth in a messy kiss and uses the vibe the way he knows you’ll like. Soon, you’re falling apart, panting and moaning, your nails digging into Harry’s skin.

You catch your breath, and after a few minutes Harry says, “So, what did you think?”

“Well, I really liked that one setting,” you reply with a smile.

“What else?”

So you explain your thoughts, what you liked and what you would change if you could. He takes out his phone and writes down notes, promising to work on fixing the problems.

A few weeks later, Harry comes home with another version of the product. As always, the two of you test it out together. This is better than the first, and you even get to test the other end. Which ends up needing some adjusting. You once again give Harry your feedback, and he listens intently.

The pattern continues, two more versions are tried, and each time you enjoy it more and more.

Finally, he comes home one evening, a large grin on his face and a bag in his hands.

“It’s ready,” he says, causing you to look at him in confusion. That feeling only lasts a moment because a second later he pulls out a box. And right away you know what’s inside.

You excitedly open it, and gasp saying, “I love the color!”

“I know,” he replies, his voice smug. There had been many colors brought up, and you’d really loved the pink and burgundy combination. It’s another choice by Harry that makes you feel special. Like your opinion is what really matters to him.

“Wanna try?” He asks suggestively.

“Yeah,” you say, your voice coming out breathless. You lean in to kiss him, and unlike the fire and lust Harry was expecting, this kiss is full of love and admiration. When you pull back you say, “Thank you, for including me, for listening to me. You don’t have to do that, but it makes me feel like I matter.”

“Of course you matter baby! I could never do this without you. Your support and your feedback with this, with music, with everything, it means more to me than you could ever know.”

You kiss him again, and the two of you stand in the room making out. Things grow heated, and Harry leads you upstairs, making sure the box is still in your hand.

As always, the foreplay is amazing. Harry is attentive, worshipping your body. And then comes the toy. He turns on the top part and brings it down to your core, teasingly running it everywhere but where you need it the most. Finally, he places it against your clit, and your entire body arches off the bed at the jolt of pleasure it brings. He slowly works you up, and soon you’re coming, stars dancing in your vision and moans spilling out of your mouth.

He doesn’t pull away, but instead turns the toy up another notch. As he does that, he begins sliding his fingers inside of you, simultaneously adding to the pleasure while also opening you up. Just minutes later you’re tipping over that edge again, your nails digging into Harry’s arm as waves of your orgasm roll through you. He turns the toy off and pulls it away.

“Good?” he asks.

“Amazing,” you reply.

“Ready for another round?”

“Too sensitive,” you answer. You want more, but both you and Harry know that your clit gets over sensitive after a couple of orgasms.

“Well, I was thinking we use the other end,” he informs you.

Your head pops up to look at him, smiles spreading across both your faces. Because that puts you back in the game. You nod, and Harry brings the other end to your entrance.

“You sure?” He asks.

“Yes, please, want it!”

Harry slides the tip inside, watching your reactions, happy to see the way your eyes roll is pleasure. He pushes more inside, and can tell by your moan the exact second he finds the right place. Knowing the bulbed end is nestled against your g-spot, he turns on the vibration.

“Fuck!” You explain as your back once again arches off the bed. Harry places a hand on your lower stomach to press you back onto the bed, and the added weight makes it even more intense.

He can’t wait any longer, and turns the other end on as well, lining himself up to get some much needed friction on his now weeping cock. He thrusts gently, and his hips against the toy push it in and out of you, giving you the friction needed as well.

The angle adjusts slightly, and your orgasm hits you suddenly. You shout out, and your hips move instinctively to chase the pleasure. After you come down, you gently push Harry’s hand, letting him know to slide out.

He does, and his one hand moves to grip his shaft, quickly moving up and down to chase his own orgasm. His other hand holds the vibe to the crown, and you sit up to take it from him, holding it just right to help him reach his peak. When he comes, it’s with a series of quiet moans, and his cum landing in the wet spot you’d already created.

You turn the toy off, and the only sound in the room is the labored breathing from both of you. Harry pulls you into him, and you readjust to lay together, away from the wet spot.

“So, think people will like it?” He eventually asks, causing you to laugh.

“Oh for sure. It’ll sell out in minutes,” you reply.

The two of you then head to the bathroom to clean up, and Harry meticulously washes the toy, just as he always does. And when this new box joins the others in the closet, you know it will be taken out and used quite frequently.

Afterall, how many people have boyfriends who custom design a sex toy with their girlfriends in mind?

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AN: thanks for reading, hope you all have a lovely week!

[isnt-that-wizardd]

if you like langdon but hate santos or vice versa then i believe that you simply do not understand the characters

[toildead]

if i start to read a post but notice that it has like 10k + notes, im always at least slightly more skeptical about how funny/true/logically sound it is

[theheartmold]

I was reading this post over on the Ao3 subreddit this evening and I think it brings up a lot of good points about how fandom, as a community, has been shifting in its treatment towards fanfic writers.

Fanfic is more popular than ever, which means there are more works "competing" for the readers' attention, who take on a passive approach that treats fanworks not as a means to talk to people with similar interests, but as content, as products. [...] Gift cultures thrive not on monetary exchanges, but on the expectation that the gifts freely given will be returned in an unspecified future through emotional and relational means. This used to set fandom apart, but it's slowly being absorbed into the mainstream way capitalism operates. Where does that leave us?

And it's demotivating to see the responses authors get when expressing their grievances with this state of affairs, or how they feel underappreciated. Being called entitled, told to write for themselves, or to promote their work as if writing and posting isn't enough. I write for myself, I post for the community. There are things I want to say about the source material and characters, and I do through storytelling. And I'm grateful about each of the comments I got, no matter how short. It's just that it doesn't feel like there's a community out there when no one talks back. Writers aren't just expected to write, but to do it for the "right reasons", and to also be as pleasant about it as possible, lest they'll be criticized by more people than the amount that's offering them support.

I've seen posts going around on tumblr that have approached this topic as well--that fanworks (particularly fanfic) should be created from the perspective of a perfect vessel that can pour, pour, pour out and never needs to be poured into. You should do it for the "right reasons" and not complain because "no one owes you interaction". But what is fandom if not interaction?

Writing fanfic is one of the most time-consuming labors of love that makes up a fandom. (That's not to say other fanworks aren't labors, time-consuming, or made with love. We're talking about fanfic). Your 300k+ enemies to lovers slowburn porn-with-plot fic that has reshaped the entire way you approach a specific pairing or media has been made with time, effort, for free, with the intention to be shared with you.

And in the state of current fandom, it has been made with the expectation to receive nothing back. Is that fair? Maybe. Silent readers exist and a kudos on Ao3 is at least an acknowledgment that some people read and enjoyed. But does it hurt to leave a comment? Even a heart emoji or an "I loved this, thank you for sharing!" is enough to at least start a dialogue, a conversation, form a connection.

That's not even to mention the isolation of fandom interactions to private Discords; time after time I've heard from fanfic authors who found out that there have been discord servers or twitter groupchats where their fanfic has been discussed, loved, and lauded at length--but never once was the author told this! Ao3 has comments for a reason. Many authors link their tumblr profiles or emails in their bio for people to reach out to them.

It's just a sorry state to see it go.

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

[soupthief420]

I think I’ve officially outgrown tumblr fanfics, it’s hard to find decent new stuff that isn’t just another smau full of poorly written characters that are nothing like their original personalities. For fandoms like Jujutsu Kaisen all the men are written like Toji=mean+horny, Sukuna=mean+less horny, Gojo=teasing+horny with little to any more depth. Or like Tokyo Revengers where most of the guys are given the same personality depending on if they’re categorized as confident or quiet. Then they make all dom-leaning characters talk with a forced accent that they definitely do not have, sometimes it’s a blaccent other times it’s a lot of “gi’me” instead of give me or “ya” instead of you. Its gotten to a point where they straight up just won’t say full words and I cannot describe the visceral ick it gives me lol. Don’t get me wrong I’ve been able to find good stuff on here before and I don’t doubt that there are good writers in these fandoms, it’s just getting harder to come by. I stopped using Wattpad for similar poor writing and it’s sad to see it happening here now.

Edit: I don’t plan on replying to the ppl reblogging this bc most of them are not approaching the conversation with the same level of maturity as I have.

If you think that having a blank blog means that you’re not able to give criticism as a reader then you’re just wrong idk what to tell you. That’s the reality that comes with writing and posting your work, that by no means justifies stuff like harassment or bullying, but that’s clearly not what I’ve done. Sorry if you took my opinions personally bc you have a ���certain👀 taste in fanfic and smut tho lol

[rotagnus]

[🪷☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆] PAC.

the rest of 2025.

[sections]: personal messages; general messages; love messages; messages about people; themes/lessons. [🪷☆*: .｡. .｡.:*☆]

this one will be more of a lengthy one and i tried to choose images that weren't extremely similar so there'd be a stronger pull towards one, if that makes sense? i know i've been doing a lot of future-oriented pacs recently (partially bc im graduating hs myself and want a bit of reassurance for college 😔), so the next pacs will be more fun!! about like crushes, people, etc. if you have any suggestions feel free to drop 'em in the ask box as an anon or something!

p1.

personal messages; okay so you as a person are definitely on the darker side of personalities. you guys are very moon-like, and may view things through a more critical lens in fear of things being 'too good' or you being 'too hopeful'. you guys have good style. shorter hair, curly 3a-4a for a specific few of you. many dress in darker colors. skirts. gold jewelry. a lot of you may have a crush on one of your friends. you guys have great intuition and many of you have this effervescent quality about you that just pulls people in. magnetic, you emit this sense of nostalgia that keeps people stuck to you, which can be a good or bad thing. you guys are like cats, very specific with who you like, but once you get them? clingyyyy. many of you are genuine too, and have this mindset of 'don't be strategic w me when i'm being genuine w you' (i think i reblogged a post like that and it brings u to mind). a lot of you have a fear of the future and dying alone.

general messages; winter is definitely going to be a significant season for you, out of all of 2025. so that even means the earlier months that have already passed, but i think there'll be a stark difference between those and november, december. the summer and autumn may be more of passing periods for you; a lot of you will let your hair grow, things are going to be more of a constant than rapid changes. this can unsettle some of you who always need to be busy with something, but this is a time to nurture your talents. you'll need all the strength you can get for later parts of your life. many of you are going to be growing something; this can be as small as a literal plant, to a project, to a talent, to even a baby.

love messages; it seems like a lot of you lost hope with love. like reaching to a sky of stars, but your hands can never go far enough to actually grab one of the elusive solar bodies. 'no one noticed' by the marias may be significant. there's a lot of people that you'll meet who you'll think are attractive or interesting, but you won't necessarily feel a deeper pull to them, so you're kind of like 'mehhh maybe love doesn't exist for me'. i think many might end up falling in love with a friend or becoming friends with someone who you're like. really passionate about at first, platonically, then you realize 'oh shit i'm falling for them'. some of you are definitely already in that phase.

messages ab people; you'll have a lot of outings!! public places will be very significant, particularly bustling ones, such as malls, cities, etc. your friends will give you a very tender feeling that'll make you feel fulfilled. some might be younger than you or generally behind you in life lessons, and you'll be very motherly toward them. this will heal a part of you that always wished there'd be someone to guide YOU. you guys are very soft-hearted people but a lot of you doubt that quality of yours; i'm here to tell you, your friends see this! and they love it about you, even though they may not say it much. you guys are as sweet as cake <3 and ofc those who are worried you'll never find someone that'll actually like you?? honey i promise you will.

themes/lessons; mmm as for lessons you guys are going to learn how to not be so serious and uptight...this is a defense mechanism for a lot of you, and you guys are using this because you have trust issues and and lots of deep-rooted fears, but i think many of you will be able to heal and nurture this part of you, especially later on in the year. you'll learn how to rest and take care of yourself, and you'll build a 'fantastic life' for yourself. some of you will learn that sometimes there is no choice other than to leave an environment, or a bad person; you're going to realize that this shows your strength rather than defeat. many of you will learn how to be proud of yourself.

signs/confirmations; night owls. seashells. ceramic pots/tiles. sharp jaw. pink heels. chipped nails. labrador retrievers. 333. 2:00-3:00pm. bubblegum. ayesha erotica.

p2.

personal messages; a lot of you are closed-off at this current moment. many of you are rather deep people, similar to a maze; it's worth it, in the end though. many of you are lionhearted. many are deeply in tune with the universe. you guys are very loving people, and can come off as a bit loud or too bright; the truth is you're never ever going to be too much for the right people. many of u wanna give up a part of yourself in this current moment, DON'T. if you don't give up on yourself, you will be handed peace. eternal peace. you guys have a very drowsy kind of beauty. many of u are curvaceous or thick and this is a quality others find very beautiful about you. your eyes are particularly gorgeous, and others can get lost in them very easily. you guys relax others very easily and they see you as a source of comfort. your ambition to creating a good life for yourself is truly admirable, and many people see you getting exactly what you want because you deserve it, babycakes.

general messages; hmmm as for general messages, i'm hearing peace. i think a lot of you are going through a big transformation right now and everything that you've neatly built up for yourself is falling apart. but it's falling apart to reveal paradise behind it, honeydove. don't be afraid of the unknown. the rest of 2025 will bear plentiful fruit for you, fruit that you've grown and wanted from the beginning. i just heard 'a new kind of love'. yeahh platonically/romantically you'll be shown that you're not hard to love. a lot of you hold a lot of doubts about yourself, and trust me, this'll be the kind of love you've NEVER experienced before, from friends, family, all people in your life. you probably don't even believe it exists. this year will break apart your worldview and reinforce it into something much stronger than you thought it could ever be.

love messages; good fortune!! you'll succeed, proving the people who doubted you wrong. many of you will experience new things in the sphere of love, and right now, you have to stop setting mental limits for yourself. expecting that love will turn out a specific way for you is frowned upon. stop guessing and just let yourself feel. after all, that's what you're good at. you will learn that the sweetest thing you can be is yourself, and that you were never 'too much'. of course, some people won't be able to handle the love inside of you, but there will also be people who have yearned for someone who is as passionate and caring as they are. the rest of the year, ESPECIALLY in love, will serve to break the barriers that you've set up for yourself. you crave everything that's coming for you.

messages ab people; a lot of the people that come into your life (yes!! new people) will be a result of your boundaries being strong. you've resisted any attempts for people to get into your little world, knowing that some of them were just there to use you and wreck you. people will come into your life and you won't push them away, because you will know that they're the right ones for you. some of you may still experience social anxiety, but you will learn how to deal with it. a lot of core memories will be formed and you'll stop feeling that tension deep in your shoulders. your dream life is being carved out for you, bit by bit. i'm not saying that you'll get everything you ever wanted in a snapshot, babycakes. but the road to your desires is not as rocky as you think.

themes/lessons; so a big part of this year is learning how to be patient and how to not settle for things. i feel like a lot of you have this ability in you to recognize when you should give certain things up because they're not meant for you, and this comes to you relatively easy, but it leaves you mournful and empty. those holes will be filled up, and it'll heal certain parts of yourself too. you'll spend time with people who genuinely care for you and you'll be like...'oh. maybe i'm not as hard to love as i originally thought'. a lot of you will be healing your inner child; homecooked meals may be significant, and a lot of warmth will be coming to you guys, especially in the material sense. blankets, cuddles :) etc.

signs/confirmations; glasses. apples. black jeans. deep purple. stars. lamps. light. crabs. arachnids. watermelon. baby chicks. hoop earrings. cherry blossoms. strangers. jazz music. the internet.

p3.

personal messages; a lot of you are very playful people. ponytails and braids may be your style of hair. you guys can be considered clingy and are very verbally and/or physically affectionate, especially to your family n friends. you may be quiet at first but you end up being a rather bubbly person later. you enjoy nature and the small good things in life; many of you want to preserve everything you see, which can range from being a photographer, journaling things down, or hoarding stuff. you guys can get overstimulated very easily and this can come off to other people as excitement or nervousness. you guys are very clear to people and they can really see what you're feeling by your facial expression or tone of voice. many may have collections of certain things; particularly shoes or headwear or accessories. many of you prefer rain, cloudy weather, and the night to bright lighting. you guys have a knack for aesthetics and know where to look for beauty. microtrend baddie.

general messages; you guys will be getting lots of opportunities coming your way and you'll have to make a lot of decisions. 'wheel of fortune' popped out so i'm wagering that a lot of things that happen will be in the spur of the moment. new beginnings and endings will be significant, and a lot of things will be happening. you may be busy for the rest of the year, which will leave you with little time for the self; so i highly encourage you to find ways to nurture yourself even when you're hustling and bustling around. don't neglect yourself just because you want to take care of other people. some of you may get a gift such as a perfume or something expensive later on, particularly during birthdays/the holiday season.

love messages; a lot of the circumstances surrounding love will be a reflection of what you put in. those of you that were good-hearted people and hold yourself to a high-standard will have that returned to you; those who hurt others, especially on purpose, will have karma coming back. i get that a lot of you give compliments easily and you genuinely want people to win, so that can come back in the form of romantic offers and compliments back. most of you will have some sort of longevity in this; a situationship, staying w your current partner, or crushing on someone for a long part of the rest of the year. a lot of things won't be changing up this year, as it's meant to teach you something.

messages ab people; eeee as for people, you may feel that others are constantly attacking you because of the way that you changed. a lot of you underwent a metamorphosis and come out stronger, more beautiful, or with a stronger sense of self. other people have realized that it's harder to get you to react or to give parts of yourself away, now, and this can make them angry. you may feel as if a lot of connections are falling apart, but babycakes; it is all coming together. a lot of you will have a very solitary view on your life, thinking that you don't need anybody. at times this will be proven wrong, with strangers coming to assist you in a way that gives you more faith in the universe, and more faith that your goodness will eventually be returned back to you despite your current circumstances.

themes/lessons; a lot of you will be dealing with some bittersweet things. lots of lessons about sacrificing things for the greater good. a lot of this year's focus is going to be letting things go and trusting that they'll return to you. 2026 will be the result of your efforts, and you're going to have to grow a deeper strength in the spiritual, or your belief system. in order for you not to lose faith, you will be given tiny snapshots of belief; as i've said before, strangers, new friends, surprise gifts, or messages that you weren't even expecting will appear, and you'll feel a bit safer and more reassured when you see these things. many of you are like flowers; it takes time for them to bloom, and this year is going to be the year of the roots reaching deep into the rich soil. you will bear your petals next year, babycakes.

signs/confirmations; ichiko aoba. navy blue. monarch. border collies. blue wall color. moving away. returning back home. 0.5 pictures. lime. kiwi birds. spoiled food. round face. collar. lacey blouse.

[randomperson54321]

FIGHT BACK AGAINST KOSA (S.1748) and the SCREEN ACT (S.737) and YouTube ID AI system - SPREAD THE WORD

THE US IS TRYING TO PASS A CENSORSHIP LAW SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE UK ‼️

It allows the government to censor anything they want to online

This includes LGBT, adult content, etc

Speak up about this and call your local representatives / senators!!!

We cannot let this pass. it had failed to pasr back in 2022 and 2023 and 2024 due to strong public backlash, now it being reintroduce again in 2025 cause it got introduce back in may 2025.

The lie of “protecting kids” is an old political lie fed to parents and people who don't know how the internet work and use their fear and concern just try to pass bill to try to control the internet and put censorship mask as 'safety' to justify overreach. Real safety doesn’t come from control — it comes from education, critical thinking, and resilience.

“You don’t bubble-wrap a child’s mind — you teach them how to navigate the world with it.”

You can’t make the entire internet safe for a child. it never had and never will be, And the world/internet shouldn’t make adults live in a sanitized, censored internet just because some parents won’t supervise or guide their kids. It’s like banning cars because some parents don’t teach their kids to look both ways before crossing the streets.

It’s a parent’s job to guide and educate — not to demand the government lock down the internet, You can’t regulate away bad parenting, and Digital parenting requires effort. If you hand a child a device, you should understand what they’re being given access to.

what KOSA really is A lazy, authoritarian solution to a complex, human problem.

so instead of 'protecting kids', how about parents start 'preparing kids', teach the kids internet safety, what they can and cannot see and explain why: "the site say 18+, that for adults only, and you're still young, you should't be on there', etc.

https://www.change.org/p/youtube-say-no-to-flawed-age-verifications?signed=true

https://www.stopkosa.com/

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/s1748

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/s737

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🌟⭐️🌟

Credit goes to Tumblr @astroismypassion

This one has been sitting in my drafts for months.

🌟I don't care what y'all say about Venus in the 6th house loving order and organisation. I see these people love orderly chaos and aesthetic cluttercore. They embrace curated mess and love imperfectly organised spaces. They love having vintage things, trinkets, crystals on their desk.

⭐️Taurus Mercury is a sensory thinker. They often get flashes of knowing or information while cooking, walking, creating or just being. They also remember things in sensory flashes, like the smell of the room where the breakup happened, the tone someone used that made you trust them, what something felt like in your gut. They dislike being rushed into an opinion (lol Kanye West), but then casually drop a truth bomb.

🌟Venus in the 6th house has a secret love of miniatures, such as tiny animals, pocket-sized art, tiny plushies.

⭐️Gemini over the 7th house, you guys, attract people who bring out two sides of you. And you definitely are not the type who can make "opposites attract" work. You truly require someone who is similar to you and your temperament, identity, personality.

🌟Venus in the 6th house can be attracted to somewhat overlooked or humble people, they romanticize the unseen (opposite 12th house). They like a barista, the librarian, the lab tech, anyone quietly doing their work.

⭐️Sagittarius Risings attract significant others that play multiple roles (partner, friend, teacher, critic) or they are into multiple fields (engineer who is also an artist, teacher who is also a poet). In extreme cases, you can have someone who live a double life or just often reinvents themselves.

🌟Libra Mercury often thinks in opposite ways. When they say I'm confused, it's actually when they know too much.

⭐️Gemini over the 7th house are so cerebral in a connection, that they only know how they feel once they say it out loud or write it down. You might also end up with a partner who has a twin or a sibling who looks just like your partner. In some cases, the people you commit to will change dramatically over time. On a positive side, they can show you how to be flexible, youthful and curious in ways you forgot.

🌟Aries Moons grew up in an environment where they had to self-soothe fast, fight for attention or be emotionally independent way too early. They yearn for someone to be there for them without them needing to earn it.

⭐️Also, they are actually veryy vulnerable, but randomly and in bursts, they are vulnerable with you when you least expect it. And often end up regretting it right after. You might also test people with anger, distance or sarcasm BEFORE opening up. You often have the feeling that if you show you need something, you lose power. Also, I'm sad to say it, but you guys only heal when you are alone.

🌟Gemini Descendant, you guys have a partner that is mentally quick, but emotionally inconsistent. They might randomly emotionally detach or check out.

⭐️Sun in the 6th house give such "alpha behind the curtain" vibe. They are just quietly running things behind the scenes and hold everything together due to how consistent and competent they are. You guys might lead without anyone realizing you're leading.

🌟Sun at an Aries degree (1, 13, 25) are prone to have thin hair.

⭐️ I have to say it again, that Cancer Suns are not soft caretakers. They don’t give love freely, only when you actually earned it. They also often deal with mother’s sacrificed dreams or mother’s grief, because she didn’t fulfill her dreams.

🌟 Virgo Mars has a rage that always come across as calculated rage. They time well, when they will reveal their anger for you. Don’t get fooled that it’s random. They just withdraw their energy, stop fixing your mess and use their disorganization against them.

Credit goes to Tumblr @astroismypassion

[cooliofango]

SEBASTIAN SOLACE FLUFF you walk into his shop looking like death, at first he acts snarky as usual, but he feels bad. you were never flashing him with flash beacons or pissing him off. he gives you a med kit for free, and lets you stay to rest. he lets you sleep cradled against his tail, and doesnt want to admit it but he enjoys it.

Not So Expendable

Pairing: Sebastian Solace x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Synopsis: Reader has had a bad run and needs to catch a break.

A/N: NERVOUS!!! 😂 I want this to be a good start to the Pressure fandom so I hope I did well! Thank you for requesting to help me get started! (And so quickly too!) I hope I’ve portrayed Sebastian well! If anyone who reads this has any positive constructive criticism feel free to share!

TW: Mention of injury, slightly graphic but nothing incredibly gory!

The familiar sound of someone pulling themselves through the vents pulled Sebastian’s attention towards it, the soft light blue glow of his three eyes settling on the rather ragged figure of the expendable making their runs for today. They breathed heavily through parted lips, a bloodied hand returning to their side to return to applying pressure to the deep red soaked material of their suit-- the right side, he noted.

“Oh my!” A baiting tone left his lips, sharp, pearly white teeth visible as he smirked down at them. “Aren’t you a sight to see?” A deep chuckle filled the air that quickly began to fill with the thick smell of iron. He’s seen wounds similar to the ones this expendable had on numerous occasions. This early in the run, they usually stem from a very specific monster here in the Hadal Blacksite. “I thought you would be smart enough to avoid such simple trickery. They’re only Good People, after all.” The emphasis on the monster’s name was spoken condescendingly, humming in amusement at his own play of words.

There was no response from the expendable. Their hand only pressed more firmly on their wound, limping towards him without so much as a glance in his direction. They only seemed focused on the items draped along the length of his tail. Sebastian frowned in slight annoyance, an emotion that showed vibrantly in his tone, “Fine, fine! Straight to business are we? And here I thought we had something special.”

That line was said tauntingly, though his frown softened. The expendable before him was definitely different from the others he has come across- special is quite the stretch, though, no? The first time you came with a group was a memory that stood out to him in that moment of reminiscence. A large and rowdy group of eight came in to purchase what they wished, with a rather infuriating kid thinking it was a good idea to use the flash beacon right there in the room with him. The sudden bright light stung his eyes harshly. He was about to lash out at the kid, a hand raised to rub the stinging sensation away. But a certain expendable’s voice beat him to it.

“Come on! Is that really necessary? You’re wasting the uses on it anyways!”

While it wasn’t necessarily a direct defense for him, there have been many other occasions where you would put your little group in line whenever you went out as a team. Likewise, you would remain courteous when interacting with him when you would make runs alone as well- no matter how much he would try to tease and annoy you.

A slight tug against his tail brought him back to reality, watching as your face went from relief as you placed a hand on the medkit settled dead center of all of the wares he had up for offer, to a heavy sense of worry as your hand moved to grab the price tag set above it. “Something not to your liking?” Though his tone still held a bit of mockery, it waned into something a little softer.

The expendable quickly shrugged off their bag, struggling for a moment to pull the zipper open with their free hand before digging through its contents frantically. Their face grew paler as an empty flashlight and old keycards toppled out the sides of the open bag. A few files were tossed onto the ground, as well as a couple of DNA samples- but they weren’t even half of what the medkit cost.

Sebastian cringed at the sight, an unpleasant feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Sympathy? His jaw locked in place at the thought. No way. Sympathy for an expendable who will only be sent back once again when they’re on the brink of death, only to be healed to be good as new for the sole purpose of doing all again until the people of UrbanShade were satisfied? Absolutely not, was what he decided. It was nothing more than a slightly sick sense of pity.

The expendable in question dropped onto the ground, seemingly too weak to keep themselves up anymore. Their chest rose and fell with each heavy and shaken breath they took, leaning against an empty spot on his tail.

God, they looked pathetic..

Sebastian scoffed irritably, that same awful feeling that started within the pit of his stomach now crawling up his spine. They looked pathetic. He ripped the medkit off of its hook, tossing it in the expendable’s direction. It clattered loudly when the plastic box made contact with the stone floors, only stopping when it had hit the expendable’s leg and bounced off of it, landing it a few inches away from them.

Tired eyes moved quickly to the box and then to him, leaving only a second to wonder before it was hastily scooped up into their hands. Their hands shook from how weak their body was, and their hands slipped from how bloodied they were- but they managed to open it with an audible pop. The gauze wrap was in their hands in mere minutes, struggling to unzip the scuba suit they wore in order to make their most life threatening wound more accessible.

It was then that Sebastian was able to get a clearer view of the wound you so desperately were trying to keep from draining the expendable completely of their energy. He’s unable to tell if the wound was as deep as it looked, or if the wound was just large, causing the blood loss to make it appear deeper than it really was. It was definitely way worse than the smaller cuts littering their arms- most of which have already healed on their own- as well as the large bruise on the left side of their jaw.

Relief caused Sebastian’s shoulders to relax momentarily, his shoulders dropping with each second he watched the expendable patch themselves up to the best of their abilities. He scoffed at himself upon realization. He shouldn’t be feeling that way towards an expendable. He shouldn’t have helped them to begin with! He keeps telling himself this. And yet, here the both of you are.

The gentle pressure against his tail pulled him from his thoughts once more. The expendable rested against his tail again, eyes fallen shut and breathing more evened out than before. They looked far more relaxed than they were mere moments ago. They appeared almost too relaxed.

“Hey, now! Who said you could get some shut eye?” He initially began to tease, moving his tail to start wrapping around the expendable’s body with the intent on lifting them up to wake them. But he stops himself. His tail is wrapped completely around them, but it hadn’t tightened enough to safely lift them up without the risk of dropping them. The relaxed state, in comparison to moments earlier, eased his nerves. Much to his own dismay. A feeling of defeat washed over him, sighing to himself in slight annoyance as he crossed two of his three arms across his chest.

“Very well..” His voice was soft as to not awaken them, watching over them carefully as the room rumbled with the passing of an Angler just outside the room.

[wheneverfeasible]

Fake Dating au but this time it’s Eddie who needs a fake partner to some event.

Maybe something hosted by distant family on his mother’s side who are wealthy and look down on the Munsons, never forgiving Al for stealing Elizabeth away into a disreputable life. Especially not after Elizabeth died only a handful of years later without her family around.

This family thus always looked down on Eddie a bit, figuring he’d amount to nothing like his dad. So he’s uncomfortable going to the event (maybe it’s a wedding, a funeral/will reading, maybe just an annual family gathering, whatever) but Wayne makes him go.

Now this could go some different ways.

This could be canon adjacent and a lot of his mom’s family could believe the devil worship allegations, or maybe they’re just cautiously curious, not really knowing Eddie since the last time they heard anything from him was before Elizabeth passed away when he was five and she’d send letters and photographs of him, but then he’s in the news and people want to know what’s up. They say he can even bring a girlfriend if he has one.

Maybe Eddie doesn’t want to go so he figures he’ll make them not want him there so he says “a boyfriend actually” but turns out his mom’s family is actually super liberal and supportive of the cause so they just go “oh okay cool what’s he like” and Eddie is flustered about the easy acceptance and blurts out Steve’s description and now they all want to meet Steve so Eddie has to ask Steve to pretend to be his boyfriend like five seconds after coming out to the man.

OR

Modern non-UD au with a similar premise, just maybe Eddie semi-regularly sees the family at these annual gatherings but he’s constantly criticized and called a bitchless loser by his cousins so he blurts that he has a boyfriend and again uses Steve’s descriptions and has to get his friend to pretend to be his boyfriend for a week or whatever.

Or maybe 😂

Same as the above except Steve isn’t his friend, he’s just his old high school crush. And maybe a relative runs into Eddie somewhere and coincidentally Steve walks by (maybe they’re at a diner, or grocery store, or whatever) and the relative is like “oh you must Steve, Eddie’s boyfriend” and now Eddie has to tell former King Steve he said he was his boyfriend because he’s a bitchless loser but is tired of his family reminding him of that.

Steve thinks it’s hilarious and agrees to pretend.

Or go even more au and maybe Steve is an escort Eddie hires, very much like The Wedding Date (2005), or just some stranger Eddie pulls from the crowd like that tiktok joke where the dude goes to random guys and pretends he’s sending a video to his mom saying “here’s my boyfriend” and Steve just goes along with it…

Anyways. I always see the fake dating au using Steve using Eddie to get back at his parents or whatever but I thought about Eddie with a big family he’s not that comfortable with and being a bitchless loser who can’t behave like a normal person and comes up with the stupid idea to make up a fake boyfriend.

Because, your honor, he is a full dumbass.

If you know of any fics with Eddie needing a fake partner, tag them here! Or if you want to use one of these ideas to write your own.

I will say, I have read some The Proposal (2009) au fics and they’re great but I’m looking for more focus on Eddie needing it for his family to get them off his back and less about anything involving the legal system.

[yingdu-lover]

angry post

i have a personal problem with this kind of attitude. it's not a petty thing i am unreasonably angry about. there is a politics of translation and it affects one's understanding of art and popular culture/cultural geopolitics.

yes, tbhx has an unprecedented world wide release for a donghua/Chinese media and it's vital for its popularity, especially among transnational fandom spaces. Transcreated works are important for easier access. BUT, my gripe with the Japanese dub of a Chinese media WILL never be resolved. I am not talking about the quality, the issue lies in the very creation of the Japanese dub of a donghua itself. Let me give you an example.

Last year, we had an optional course called translation studies and one of the first things our professor asked was : who are the writers of A Doll's House and Waiting for Godot? He told those few of us who had read these texts closely to shut our mouth and let others take a guess. Most people answered : British writers. The texts are English texts. Because it's so famous among literature enthusiasts and when a piece of literature has a 'classic' tag attached to it, we tend to generalize and oversimplify it. So, a Norwegian playwright's original Norwegian play or an Irish playwright's play originally written in French- both get labelled as British literature. Get my point?

The anime industry is justifiably dominated by Japanese productions but when we forget to accommodate the nuances, the origin culture decays. It is, in many senses, a form of subtle cultural imperialism brought by ignorance.

People complain about Link Click's 'poor marketing' but I think Haolin was clever doing so. Even in the reviews by Indian anime bros™ I see them trying to pronounce 'donghua'. People RECOGNIZE that Link Click is a Chinese media, it's NOT an anime. You may laugh at those link click related youtube video titles saying stuff like : China is taking over anime, this Chinese anime is better than your favourite anime, PEAK Chinese anime, the best anime of 2021 is NOT Japanese?!, Link Click is taking over anime, China's hidden gem, China might have created the best anime of the year- CHINA IS IMPORTANT.

Whenever people talk about Chinese donghua- Link Click, Heaven Official's Blessing, Master of Diabolism etc are mentioned and people KNOW that it looks like anime but not really anime. It's... something... something else. This distinction is critical and essential.

Now, thanks to censorship (the Chinese version is not available on any official platform), many people think (not all people dig that deep while watching things, like come on) Spiritpact is a JAPANESE anime. Who the heck is Tanmouki or whatever. They are are Duanmu Xi and Yang Jinghua.

Reading up to this part if you think I am a Japanese anime hater then...*sighs*. Please read the whole thing again.

I like the Japanese dub of Link Click but there was a c*** in the comments who said "uwu it's not in japanese so I won't watch it" b**** doesn't even understand Japanese. B just wants an 'authentic Japanese anime experience.'

I feared that tbhx would face this issue.

And if you find those people who go : Ahhh, Japanese or Chinese- same thing, even their script look similar- fuck you, fuck you, you loser-fuckrr sinophobe i hope your phone battery dies your charger malfunctions your phone your laptop restarts with all data erased I hope you reek of wet socks and your taste sand all the time fuck you

[shanastoryteller]

okay now that i've had some coffee, let's chat

specifically, about how you act on the internet is a blueprint on how other people will treat you and how this intersects with the functionality of anon asks

if you've followed me for any significant amount of time, none of this will be anything i haven't said before, or i think be at all surprising to the rest of you, but i guess it bears repeating

so let's repeat: how you act on the internet is a guidebook on how other people will interact with you

like invites like. if you talk about a topic, you're going to get more commentary on that topic. this is because you're demonstrating that this topic is something you're comfortable talking about because you are talking about it

if you respond one way to something, people are going to reasonably assume you will respond the same way to them if they send you something similar. if someone asks for advice and you give it, people are going to think you're comfortable giving out advice and that asking for advice is an appropriate way to interact with you. if someone asks for information and resources and you provide them, people are going to think it's appropriate and acceptable to ask you for information and resources

i've seen this come up with other people before, where they do one thing and get frustrated and upset when that generates more of that thing. but people are just following your lead

now, anon asks

the function of anon asks is that the only way to reply to them is to respond to them publicly. you cannot privately reply to an anon

this means that every anon ask answered tells people how to interact with you. it is not and cannot be treated the same as a 1 on 1 conversation. it doesn't matter if that's not intention or what the anon wants. it's the reality of the situation

i don't answer non-anon asks publicly, with rare exceptions like it's funny or i think my answer to them would be interesting to others and non-upsetting for the askee for me to share (there are times i've given things like writing advice or commentary that i've thought might be interesting to the rest of you, but the askee had something in their original ask that i though they potentially wouldn't appreciate being immortalized on my blog)

if there's ever anything that someone doesn't want me to answer publicly no matter what, they can ensure this by just including it in their ask. even if i was inclined to be a hypocrite and ignore how people want to be interacted with (i am not) i am obviously not going to post it publicly if you ask me not to because then everyone would see me do that and think, rightfully, that i'm a huge jerk

when someone is rude or critical of me on anon, they're putting me in an unfair position. i can either not answer them or i have to turn their answer into a public performance, consumable by everyone. there is no other option

the vast majority of people use anon to say something kind or neutral where my public and private response would be basically identical and that's not what this is about. if i had an issue with anon asks in general, i wouldn't have them on

by sending criticism on anon, they're protecting themselves by not having any of their opinions or thoughts associated with them. nothing they say is connected to them and they're free of any consequences of their actions. in contrast, if i respond, my only option is to respond publicly. which means not only is my response attached to me and my name, but it has to be publicly consumable, i have to open myself up to the thoughts and commentary of everyone else if i'm going to reply

that means, before we get into anything the anon is saying, they're demonstrating both that they're a coward and they don't care about my comfort or my privacy - something they obviously highly prioritize for themselves

if that's the premise, why would i take kindly to anything they have to say after that, no matter what it is?

additionally, if i respond kindly and measured to these types of asks, that tells other people that it's an acceptable way to interact with me

it is not

if this ask had been sent off anon, my response would have been: "glad you enjoyed the story. feel free to toss any typos you notice into a comment (easiest way for me to keep track) and i'll correct them when i have a chance"

when it's just me talking to another person, i can choose to ignore or gloss over any awkwardness or mild rudeness because it's not going to come back to bite me. it's not a performance or a guidebook on how others will treat me. it's just you and me talking

but because it's anon, i have to keep in mind that i'm not just talking to them - i'm talking to everyone else too. so i have to establish that: i'm not interested in a beta, but am more than happy to correct typos; i don't care to hear about about how my typos personally upset you; and, in this case, that this is the type of message i don't want to receive on anon

because if i don't make it clear what i don't want, i'm going to receive more of it. that's simply a neutral fact of how people and the internet work

the more considerate you are of me, the more considerate of you i'm going to be in return

tldr: if you want a response meant just for you, you have to ask in a way that i can respond only to you. which isn't an anon ask. them's the breaks

[imsobadatnicknames2]

How can you consider yourself any sort of leftist when you defend AI art bullshit? You literally simp for AI techbros and have the gall to pretend you're against big corporations?? Get fucked

I don't "defend" AI art. I think a particular old post of mine that a lot of people tend to read in bad faith must be making the rounds again lmao.

Took me a good while to reply to this because you know what? I decided to make something positive out of this and use this as an opportunity to outline what I ACTUALLY believe about AI art. If anyone seeing this decides to read it in good or bad faith... Welp, your choice I guess.

I have several criticisms of the way the proliferation of AI art generators and LLMs is making a lot of things worse. Some of these are things I have voiced in the past, some of these are things I haven't until now:

Most image and text AI generators are fine-tuned to produce nothing but the most agreeable, generically pretty content slop, pretty much immediately squandering their potential to be used as genuinely interesting artistic tools with anything to offer in terms of a unique aesthetic experience (AI video still manages to look bizarre and interesting but it's getting there too)

In the entertainment industry and a lot of other fields, AI image generation is getting incorporated into production pipelines in ways that lead to the immiseration of working artists, being used to justify either lower wages or straight-up layoffs, and this is something that needs to be fought against. That's why I unconditionally supported the SAG-AFTRA strikes last year and will unconditionally support any collective action to address AI art as a concrete labor issue

In most fields where it's being integrated, AI art is vastly inferior to human artists in any use case where you need anything other than to make a superficially pretty picture really fast. If you need to do anything like ask for revisions or minor corrections, give very specific descriptions of how objects and people are interacting with each other, or just like. generate several pictures of the same thing and have them stay consistent with each other, you NEED human artists and it's preposterous to think they can be replaced by AI.

There is a lot of art on the internet that consists of the most generically pretty, cookie-cutter anime waifu-adjacent slop that has zero artistic or emotional value to either the people seeing it or the person churning it out, and while this certainly was A Thing before the advent of AI art generators, generative AI has made it extremely easy to become the kind of person who churns it out and floods online art spaces with it.

Similarly, LLMs make it extremely easy to generate massive volumes of texts, pages, articles, listicles and what have you that are generic vapid SEO-friendly pap at best and bizzarre nonsense misinformation at worst, drowning useful information in a sea of vapid noise and rendering internet searches increasingly useless.

The way LLMs are being incorporated into customer service and similar services not only, again, encourages further immiseration of customer service workers, but it's also completely useless for most customers.

A very annoyingly vocal part the population of AI art enthusiasts, fanatics and promoters do tend to talk about it in a way that directly or indirectly demeans the merit and skill of human artists and implies that they think of anyone who sees anything worthwile in the process of creation itself rather than the end product as stupid or deluded.

So you can probably tell by now that I don't hold AI art or writing in very high regard. However (and here's the part that'll get me called an AI techbro, or get people telling me that I'm just jealous of REAL artists because I lack the drive to create art of my own, or whatever else) I do have some criticisms of the way people have been responding to it, and have voiced such criticisms in the past.

I think a lot of the opposition to AI art has critstallized around unexamined gut reactions, whipping up a moral panic, and pressure to outwardly display an acceptable level of disdain for it. And in particular I think this climate has made a lot of people very prone to either uncritically entertain and adopt regressive ideas about Intellectual Propety, OR reveal previously held regressive ideas about Intellectual Property that are now suddenly more socially acceptable to express:

(I wanna preface this section by stating that I'm a staunch intellectual property abolitionist for the same reason I'm a private property abolitionist. If you think the existence of intellectual property is a good thing, a lot of my ideas about a lot of stuff are gonna be unpalatable to you. Not much I can do about it.)

A lot of people are suddenly throwing their support behind any proposal that promises stricter copyright regulations to combat AI art, when a lot of these also have the potential to severely udnermine fair use laws and fuck over a lot of independent artist for the benefit of big companies.

It was very worrying to see a lot of fanfic authors in particular clap for the George R R Martin OpenAI lawsuit because well... a lot of them don't realize that fanfic is a hobby that's in a position that's VERY legally precarious at best, that legally speaking using someone else's characters in your fanfic is as much of a violation of copyright law as straight up stealing entire passages, and that any regulation that can be used against the latter can be extended against the former.

Similarly, a lot of artists were cheering for the lawsuit against AI art models trained to mimic the style of specific artists. Which I agree is an extremely scummy thing to do (just like a human artist making a living from ripping off someone else's work is also extremely scummy), but I don't think every scummy act necessarily needs to be punishable by law, and some of them would in fact leave people worse off if they were. All this to say: If you are an artist, and ESPECIALLY a fan artist, trust me. You DON'T wanna live in a world where there's precedent for people's artstyles to be considered intellectual property in any legally enforceable way. I know you wanna hurt AI art people but this is one avenue that's not worth it.

Especially worrying to me as an indie musician has been to see people mention the strict copyright laws of the music industry as a positive thing that they wanna emulate. "this would never happen in the music industry because they value their artists copyright" idk maybe this is a the grass is greener type of situation but I'm telling you, you DON'T wanna live in a world where copyright law in the visual arts world works the way it does in the music industry. It's not worth it.

I've seen at least one person compare AI art model training to music sampling and say "there's a reason why they cracked down on sampling" as if the death of sampling due to stricter copyright laws was a good thing and not literally one of the worst things to happen in the history of music which nearly destroyed several primarily black music genres. Of course this is anecdotal because it's just One Guy I Saw Once, but you can see what I mean about how uncritical support for copyright law as a tool against AI can lead people to adopt increasingly regressive ideas about copyright.

Similarly, I've seen at least one person go "you know what? Collages should be considered art theft too, fuck you" over an argument where someone else compared AI art to collages. Again, same point as above.

Similarly, I take issue with the way a lot of people seem EXTREMELY personally invested in proving AI art is Not Real Art. I not only find this discussion unproductive, but also similarly dangerously prone to validating very reactionary ideas about The Nature Of Art that shouldn't really be entertained. Also it's a discussion rife with intellectual dishonesty and unevenly applied definition and standards.

When a lot of people present the argument of AI art not being art because the definition of art is this and that, they try to pretend that this is the definition of art the've always operated under and believed in, even when a lot of the time it's blatantly obvious that they're constructing their definition on the spot and deliberately trying to do so in such a way that it doesn't include AI art.

They never succeed at it, btw. I've seen several dozen different "AI art isn't art because art is [definition]". I've seen exactly zero of those where trying to seriously apply that definition in any context outside of trying to prove AI art isn't art doesn't end up in it accidentally excluding one or more non-AI artforms, usually reflecting the author's blindspots with regard to the different forms of artistic expression.

(However, this is moot because, again, these are rarely definitions that these people actually believe in or adhere to outside of trying to win "Is AI art real art?" discussions.)

Especially worrying when the definition they construct is built around stuff like Effort or Skill or Dedication or The Divine Human Spirit. You would not be happy about the kinds of art that have traditionally been excluded from Real Art using similar definitions.

Seriously when everyone was celebrating that the Catholic Church came out to say AI art isn't real art and sharing it as if it was validating and not Extremely Worrying that the arguments they'd been using against AI art sounded nearly identical to things TradCaths believe I was like. Well alright :T You can make all the "I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with a catholic" legolas and gimli memes you want, but it won't change the fact that the argument being made by the catholic church was a profoundly conservative one and nearly identical to arguments used to dismiss the artistic merit of certain forms of "degenerate" art and everyone was just uncritically sharing it, completely unconcerned with what kind of worldview they were lending validity to by sharing it.

Remember when the discourse about the Gay Sex cats pic was going on? One of the things I remember the most from that time was when someone went "Tell me a definition of art that excludes this picture without also excluding Fountain by Duchamp" and how just. Literally no one was able to do it. A LOT of people tried to argue some variation of "Well, Fountain is art and this image isn't because what turns fountain into art is Intent. Duchamp's choice to show a urinal at an art gallery as if it was art confers it an element of artistic intent that this image lacks" when like. Didn't by that same logic OP's choice to post the image on tumblr as if it was art also confer it artistic intent in the same way? Didn't that argument actually kinda end up accidentally validating the artistic status of every piece of AI art ever posted on social media? That moment it clicked for me that a lot of these definitions require applying certain concepts extremely selectively in order to make sense for the people using them.

A lot of people also try to argue it isn't Real Art based on the fact that most AI art is vapid but like. If being vapid definitionally excludes something from being art you're going to have to exclude a whooole lot of stuff along with it. AI art is vapid. A lot of art is too, I don't think this argument works either.

Like, look, I'm not really invested in trying to argue in favor of The Artistic Merits of AI art but I also find it extremely hard to ignore how trying to categorically define AI art as Not Real Art not only is unproductive but also requires either a) applying certain parts of your definition of art extremely selectively, b) constructing a definition of art so convoluted and full of weird caveats as to be functionally useless, or c) validating extremely reactionary conservative ideas about what Real Art is.

Some stray thoughts that don't fit any of the above sections.

I've occassionally seen people respond to AI art being used for shitposts like "A lot of people have affordable commissions, you could have paid someone like $30 to draw this for you instead of using the plagiarism algorithm and exploiting the work of real artists" and sorry but if you consider paying an artist a rate that amounts to like $5 for several hours of work a LESS exploitative alternative I think you've got something fucked up going on with your priorities.

Also it's kinda funny when people comment on the aforementioned shitposts with some variation of "see, the usage of AI art robs it of all humor because the thing that makes shitposts funny is when you consider the fact that someone would spend so much time and effort in something so stupid" because like. Yeah that is part of the humor SOMETIMES but also people share and laugh at low effort shitposts all the time. Again you're constructing a definition that you don't actually believe in anywhere outside of this type of conversations. Just say you don't like that it's AI art because you think it's morally wrong and stop being disingenuous.

So yeah, this is pretty much everything I believe about the topic.

I don't "defend" AI art, but my opposition to it is firmly rooted in my principles, and that means I refuse to uncritically accept any anti-AI art argument that goes against those same principles.

If you think not accepting and parroting every Anti-AI art argument I encounter because some of them are ideologically rooted in things I disagree with makes me indistinguishable from "AI techbros" you're working under a fucked up dichotomy.

[ducksido]

Can I please request the Housewardens (and Sebek because underated) with a Reader who has crystal hair (similar to Idia's fire hair) and can control crystals? They can control what type of crystal they're using (emerald, diamond, ruby, amythist, ECT) and have to eat a lot so they can use their crystal magic.

(SEBEK 💗💗💗💗)

-Riddle Rosehearts

Rules first, awe second. At first, he tries to lecture you about proper table manners when you pile food onto your plate.

But the moment he sees you summon a rose quartz lance midair and shatter it into a glittering mist with a snap, he shuts up.

“I see… your magic is more demanding than I realized. I apologize for assuming.”

He's both fascinated and a little intimidated by your hair. Crystals constantly shifting, humming with magic—he studies it like a rare potion.

Once he learns the logic behind your magic, he’ll nag you to eat before you faint.

“Here. I prepared a snack box for you—high protein and sugar. Do not skip meals again.”

-Leona Kingscholar

“Tch. So that’s why you eat like a beast.”

He teases, but he watches closely when you form a sapphire wall to block an incoming attack in a training match.

He’s very interested in your defensive capabilities—thinks it could be useful in battle.

Leona’s laidback, but if he catches you pushing yourself too far without eating, he gets snappy.

“Oi. Dumb herbivore. Eat something before you pass out and make me carry you.”

Secretly fascinated by your hair—when sunlight hits it, it scatters light like a prism, and he stares longer than he means to.

-Azul Ashengrotto

Business brain immediately turns on.

“Your unique magic could have tremendous commercial potential—enchanting jewelry? Defense applications? Custom gemstone architecture?”

He’s polite and respectful, but you can tell he’s calculating. That is, until you casually eat three full entrees in one sitting.

“...I may have underestimated your maintenance costs.”

If you let him, he’ll work with you to develop a magical nutrition plan that helps recharge your magic efficiently.

Thinks your crystal hair is elegant and rare—he stares a bit too long, then coughs and adjusts his glasses.

-Kalim Al-Asim

“WHOA! You’re like a walking treasure!”

Immediately obsessed. He thinks your hair is the coolest thing ever and constantly asks what type of crystal you’re using today.

He’s rich, so food? Never a problem. He’ll host full banquets just to make sure you’re well-fed.

“You need to eat? Say no more, friend! JAMIL!!”

You accidentally conjure a ruby chandelier once during a magic accident. He insists on keeping it.

Thinks your magic is beautiful, sparkly, and amazing—and his genuine admiration makes your heart flutter.

-Vil Schoenheit

He notices your hair before anything else. “Your look is… ethereal. Artificial beauty made natural.”

You thought he’d think your ever-shifting crystal hair was gaudy, but he loves the way it refracts light—wants to photograph you in golden hour lighting.

He’s critical of your eating habits if they're chaotic, but he understands the need to eat a lot.

“Fine. If you’re going to eat like that, at least eat right. I’ll have Rook prepare a crystal-magic-friendly diet plan.”

Surprisingly supportive of your magic—he views it as powerful and aesthetically stunning.

Secretly envious of your “natural accessories.”

-Idia Shroud

You both have weird hair. Instant bond.

He’s obsessed with your crystal magic—spends hours researching gemstone conductivity and magical resonance.

“W-wait, you can generate amethyst spikes? That’s so OP… Like, SR-level OP.”

You two have late-night snack binges in silence while gaming. He makes sure you don’t forget to eat during long sessions.

One time, you used diamond to shield his tablet when it fell. He’s been lowkey in love with you ever since.

“You sparkle like a Final Boss with a rare drop rate…”

-Malleus Draconia

Sees your magic as something ancient and sacred—he compares you to the old crystal dragons of fae folklore.

“You wield gemstones as if they were extensions of your will. Curious.”

Watches with open admiration as you grow an emerald forest around Ramshackle just to protect a friend.

Offers you glowing fruit from Briar Valley known to restore mana, trying to help with your magical upkeep.

Loves watching your hair shift colors depending on your crystal focus—it reminds him of the aurora.

He’s not threatened by your power—in fact, he wants to see it at its peak.

-Sebek Zigvolt

SHOOKETH. Loudly.

“YOU HAVE SUCH A STRONG AND SHINING MAGIC! AS EXPECTED OF ONE WHO STANDS BESIDE THE YOUNG MASTER!!”

Thinks your huge appetite is evidence of great magical prowess and respects it. Loudly. Again.

He considers your control over crystals as noble and warrior-like. He’s honored to train beside you.

Compliments your hair awkwardly. “IT—IT SHINES AS GLORIOUSLY AS MALLEUS-SAMA’S MAGNIFICENCE!!”

He’s a bit extra, but his admiration is genuine—and he will defend you to the ends of the Devildom.