#yeah this is partly about the twitter thing going on

[prettyboyvanto]

rereading scum villain to ease the pain

[florenceisfalling]

like idk. i miss seeing content from s.igne (though i respect gab wholeheartedly). i miss fanart from my favorite artists. i miss older eras of j.se at times (and yes, there were older eras, the way people pretended he Never Changed is just weird). i miss old anti designs. i miss the old fic trends. i miss having a very active fandom (though i am so happy to see the new arrivals) and i miss seeing him interact with fans the way he did on tumblr back in the day. i miss the way i used to interact with some of the blogs here before i decided to fuckin,,, wage holy war and make enemies out of them (joking, but i have seen sides to some of these people that i wish i could tear out of my memory). i miss feeling confident that i could trust the good intentions of people here and even the big man himself (not god. that makes sean sound like god. you know what i mean). i miss when some of you weren't so fucking bitter which is funny because i'm the bitterest bitch alive. idk. i don't think it's bad to miss any of these things because i'm not going to be an ass and act like it's anybody's fault. i'm not going to be bothered by gab for being happy because i'm glad she is happy, and i'm not going to get bothered by sean taking a reasonable step back from this hellsite when people were cruel to him, and i'm not going to get mad at trends for changing because that is how time works. but i do miss things and i know its cringe and parasocial and perhaps even problematic but i hate having to pretend like i never have Any feelings about the past lest i break a hypothetical rule of what is the Normal level of attachment to an online community. okay. i think i'm done now.

[thegettingbyp2]

I love drama and protective Austin so how about one where Vanessa is hating on musical theater actress & being jealous & shady & Austin sticks up for you & calls her out.

8 Times a Week

A/N: So sorry it's taken so long but it felt so GOOD to sit and write again!

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The moment you heard the front door close, you were quickly wiping your eyes and shoving your phone between the couch cushions. Jumping up, you checked in the mirror to make sure that there was no mascara running down your cheeks and you gave yourself a watery smile before turning to greet your boyfriend in the hallway.

‘You’re back!’ you exclaimed, running over to him and practically throwing yourself into his arms, partly because there was nothing you needed more right now than to be wrapped up in him but mostly due to the fact you hadn’t seen him for three weeks while he was away filming and you’d missed him more than anything.

‘I’m back,’ Austin sighed happily as he held you against him, burying his head in your neck and breathing in the smell of your shampoo, a smell he’d missed for the past three weeks. Pulling back slightly, Austin’s came up to cup your cheek as he pulled you in for a kiss that made up for all the kisses he’d missed whilst he’d been away. You let yourself relax into the kiss, focusing on nothing but the man in front of you and wanting nothing more than to order take-out and curl up on the sofa, watching movies with him. ‘You okay?’ he asked when he broke the kiss, noticing how your eyes were slightly red and puffy from where you’d been crying moments before he walked through the front door.

‘I’m fine,’ you replied quickly, not quite meeting his eyes. ‘I just missed you.’

‘Baby, what’s wrong?’ he asked, stepping even closer to you and running the back of his hand against your warm cheek, the cool sensation of his hand on your skin causing your eyes to flutter closed briefly. ‘You’ve been crying.’

‘No, I haven’t.’ You laughed, trying prove to him that nothing was wrong. But this was Austin and he knew you better than you knew yourself.

‘Please don’t lie to me, baby. Tell me what’s wrong and we can fix it.’

You sighed gently, knowing that Austin wasn’t going to let it go until you told him what was wrong. ‘It’s just some people on Instagram and Twitter posting some not too nice things about me.’

‘What do you mean “about you”?’ he asked, his tone growing dangerously calm as his eyes darkened slightly.

‘Just posting a video from the other night where I tripped onstage at work and making comments about how if I was actually good at my job, then things like that wouldn’t happen and that you deserve to be with someone who’s as talented as you.’ You spoke quickly and quietly, hoping that he wouldn’t hear, but he heard every single word.

‘That’s ridiculous!’ he exclaimed, pulling you into him and tilting your head up to make you look at him. ‘Baby, you don’t need to listen to any of that, okay? You’re incredible! I could never do what you do.’

‘You did do it,’ you said, laughter colouring your voice slightly.

‘No. I did a play. You do musicals, with all the singing and dancing, I could never do that over and over again,’ he insisted. ‘Show me the comments.’

‘No,’ you were quick to reply.

‘Why not?’

‘Because you made me feel better about the whole thing! I’m not even upset about it anymore!’ you tried to reason with him but the raised eyebrow you got in response only proved to you that it didn’t work.

‘I know that’s what you were looking at just now, show me and we can get rid of them yeah?’ he spoke gently, his thumb tracing back and forth over your cheekbone as you sighed, nodding gently before taking his hand in yours and pulling him with you into the living room.

‘Just…promise me you won’t get mad when you see who the comments are from, okay?’ Austin gave you a questioning look but nodded nonetheless, wanting nothing more than to make you feel better.

Once the two of you were seated on the sofa, you reached between the cushions to retrieve your phone before unlocking it and handing it to him. You knew the exact moment he’d seen who had wrote the comments because his entire body went still and you could’ve sworn that you felt the temperature in the room drop a couple of degrees.

‘You promised you wouldn’t get mad,’ you reminded him after a couple of moments of silence.

‘That was before you told me it was Vanessa making these comments about you. She has no right talking about you at all, it was fine when she was making comments when I was doing Elvis press because I’d not long broken up with her but to come for you?! I’m not putting up with it and you shouldn’t too.’ He gave you your phone back before pulling his own phone from his pocket and opening up twitter.

‘What are you doing?’ you asked warily when you saw him pull up a photo the two of you had taken on your opening night of your latest show.

‘Sticking up for my girl,’ he replied simply, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you in close while he began to type with his free hand:

The woman in this photo is the most talented woman I have ever met and I’m lucky enough that she saw something in me that made me want to give her a chance. She’s stuck by me through everything and I’ll be damned if I don’t do the same for her. This woman goes onstage in front of thousands of people 8 times a week and performs for them. So what if she trips over every now and then, the beauty of what she does is that it’s different every time and that she’s fucking amazing at it. And for anyone who has a different opinion, that’s fine but please, keep it to yourself. She has more talent in her little finger than most, Vanessa.

He clicked send and you couldn’t help the shocked gasp escape your lips when you saw that he’d actually called Vanessa out. ‘Austin, you can’t do that!’

‘I can! She needs to know that she’s not getting away with anything like this, (Y/N), I’m not going to come home to you crying over something that’s not true, know who it was that made you cry and not do anything about it. I love you so much and I hate seeing you upset, so I’m going to do something about it when it happens.’

You sat in a stunned silence for a couple of seconds, feeling like a weight had crashed into you as you realised just how much the man sitting next to you loved you. ‘I love you too,’ you whispered, your eyes tearing up again as you leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

A lopsided grin worked its way onto Austin’s lips as he looked at you. ‘How about I go get changed while you order food and we’ll spend the rest of the night on the sofa, how’s that sound?’

‘That sounds like something I’ve been waiting for for the past three weeks.’

[itwasthereaminuteago]

|| Lost and Found ||

Frank Castle x female reader

Tags/warnings: meetcute! With dogs!

Oral (f rec), beardburn, coming in pants (m) 😍, written for the @bernthirst-events #beardthalbash, thanks to @darlingshane and @anna-hawk for organising!

"Midge! Miiiidge!" Your voice echoes through the endless trees as you call out again and again, listening hopefully for the familiar thunder of paws on the leafy undergrowth coming back toward you, but there was nothing but the muted twitter of birds. "Midge, come!" You shout again, your voice starting to tremble with worry as you walk hurriedly along the forestry path. The light was beginning to fade earlier in these shortening autumn evenings, and it would soon be impossible to find your runaway pup. You take out your phone, dismayed to see the signal nonexistent out this deep in the woods.

"C'mon Midge! Midge, please come back!" The back of your throat is rough from yelling and your eyes are glistening with tears. You couldn't go home, you had to keep looking for her.

"Miiiidge?!" You tried again, and stopped in your tracks as you heard a rustling nearby, but it was just a blackbird rummaging in the leaf litter.

"Oh Midge…" you croak out more quietly, still holding her broken lead tightly in your fist. You cursed yourself for not replacing it sooner after she had been chewing it, for not buying a stronger one. You were so wrapped up in your own admonishment that you jumped out of your skin when someone walked up the track behind you.

"Ma'am, if you don't mind me askin', are you alright?"

You turned and were met with the figure of a large bearded man. He kept his distance when he realised he had given you a bit of a fright, giving you time to take in the fact that he was wearing a dark green shirt with the park ranger logo embroidered on it along with utility pants and sturdy walking boots. His eyes were dark and he was looking at you kindly.

"I'm Frank, I'm a ranger. I heard you yelling, can I help?" He asks, and you find yourself stuttering over your words, partly in relief that someone else was around, and someone who hopefully knew these woods a lot better than you.

"It's- it's my dog, she… oh, I've been searching and calling for her for hours, she broke her lead when she saw a squirrel and bolted after it! I couldn't catch her in time and she's just- she's just a pup!" You sniffle as your eyes keep flitting around to look through the trees. "I can't find her, she doesn't know this part of the woods that well, I can't leave her alone out there."

The ranger nods and steps a little bit closer. "Alright, I know that you're worried about her, but this sorta thing happens a lot. I'm gonna help you to find her best I can. Can you give me a description? An' I heard you callin' out 'Midge', s'that right?"

You wipe at your damp eyes, nodding. "She's a border collie, black and white. She's 8 months but she's small for her age."

"Okay ma'am, do you remember when and where you last saw her? I'll radio my team and we'll be able to have more eyes and ears lookin' out for Midge okay?" His voice is low and authoritative but soft with it, and your tears soon stop as you're distracted by the way he goes straight into action.

"Back over the ridge near the fire pass, I think it was about two hours ago…" you tell him.

Frank unclips his radio from his belt and relays all the information, getting confirmation from a variety of voices shortly after.

"Okay, let's take a walk back that way huh? You got some treats or somethin' with you?"

You fall into step beside him, grasping the bag of mini bone biscuits from your pocket. "Yeah."

He smiles. "That's good. Those her favourite, huh?"

"Yeah. But she just loves any food really."

You pick a few out hoping that Midge might be able to smell them from wherever she is and her greedy stomach might lead her back to you.

Frank nods. "Is she alright with guys? I know some dogs don't like a man with a beard, can scare em sometimes."

You soon dismiss Frank's concern. "No not at all, actually she'd likely love you. I mean, our postman is quite a big guy and she's always happy to see him at the house. Though I guess he does bring treats for a lot of the dogs."

Frank smiles again and starts calling out for Midge as you come near to the spot where she ran off and you join him, shaking the bag of treats. He takes out a flashlight and starts a sweep. "Which way did she head, do you remember?" He asks.

You point down the slope in front of you and he starts making his way through the trees with you following behind and both calling. After a little while walking down the hill he holds up his hand in a signal to stop and you stay quiet. He listens and you strain your ears too, eventually hearing a distant whimper.

"Oh! Oh it's Midge!" You're suddenly sick with fear that she's seriously hurt and start running towards the sound, the thick branches scraping against your face and arms. Frank catches up to you quickly and urges you to slow down.

"Hey, hey! Watch yourself now, there's a ton of burrows and shit you could break your ankle in if you're not careful. Just hold back with me. It's alright, we'll get to her."

You reluctantly slow your pace as he's right after all, he does know these woods better than you and very soon he's crouching down at the roots of a big tree. As you round it you see little Midge on the ground whining and wagging her tail as she sees you. Her back paw is caught between two roots and she's clearly in some pain.

"Hey, hey Midgey, shhh it's okay, just stay nice and still." You try to calm her, holding her collar as Frank is extremely gentle as he carefully moves the roots to work her paw free and lift her up.

"There we go," he says as he holds her.

Both of you look the pup over for any other injuries before he radios that you'd found her to his colleagues. As you feel her ankle joint there's a little bruising but she doesn't seem to be in any great distress and when you hold out one of her treats she's more than eager to gobble it up.

"Oh Midge, it's alright baby, you're gonna be alright!" You stroke her soft fur in comfort, more for you, lifting your head to look at the ranger, your eyes shining slightly with tears. Just then Midge tilts her head up and licks Frank's face so sweetly and he cracks a smile. "Heh, that's a good sign."

You're so relieved and the rich sound of his laugh as Midge keeps on lavishing him with licks is infectious, making you chuckle too. It makes you feel so much better after all the worry.

"I can't thank you enough, Frank. I was so scared it would be so much worse!" You tell him as you all walk back to the park entrance.

"Hey no worries, it's all just part of the job." He replies as you reach the gate. It was almost completely dark now and the rain was starting to come down in a drizzly mist. "You local? Do you need a ride home?" He asks.

You glance down the road. It was only about a mile and a half walk away but you didn't want to risk Midge getting away from you again as she might manage to wriggle out of your arms on the road.

"Um, actually that would be really great if it wouldn't be too much trouble? We're not far."

"Not at all ma'am, best make sure this lil lady doesn't have another chance to get into trouble again, I know what they can be like!" He jibes, booping Midge gently on her nose which she licks afterwards.

When you reach the outside of your little lodge house after the short ride, you thank Frank again. In the light from the porch his dark eyes are twinkling as he bids you both goodnight.

"I'm sure she'll be back out and about in no time, just keep an eye out for those darn squirrels yeah?"

You laugh a little now that your worry is mostly over, and you notice how handsome he is as well as the kindness and trust that seemed to just emanate from him effortlessly, putting you at ease. "I certainly will! I'm so glad you found us, thank you. Once she's rested and recovered from her ordeal maybe we'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I sure hope so." He replies giving you a gorgeous smile as he gets back into his truck.

-

Frank is just signing off an email when he hears a familiar bark from outside the office. Lady, his own dog, responds with her own short huff, excited to see her playmate again.

It's been a couple of months since Midge's incident and maybe him carrying treats in his pocket might have had something to do with it, but she always ran up to the ranger station and let her arrival be known every time you walk her. And Frank sure as hell doesn't mind as it means he gets to see you.

It had started with polite, friendly waves and a big pet for Midge whenever you happened upon each other in the park. Then, you would frequently stop to chat to him, ask him about his day and he about yours, and then you had started to drop by after his shift finished so you could all go on a walk together. There was nothing Frank loved more than being in the outdoors, except now he got to share that with someone, and he found himself increasingly glad that it was you.

Frank always made you laugh with the way he would run around playing with Midge and Lady, even after a long day's work. You showed him the tricks you had been teaching your pup, and on your regular hikes you also started to learn more about each other. Frank started looking forward to the times he would see you, your easy and generous smile lighting up his world and maybe even pushing to broaden the boundaries of it, maybe let someone like you to become something more. It had been a long while since he thought he felt something more than friendship blossoming, and gradually opening up to you felt right.

Still, right now he was so damn nervous. He had been trying to work up the courage to ask you out for days and then he'd inevitably chicken out, but he promised himself he'd do it tonight. And even if you turned him down, there'd be no regrets.

"Hey big bear!" You say as you greet him. "Which route do you wanna take this evening Frankie? It's your turn to pick." You ask him as Frank steps out with Lady and locks up the office. He almost loses his nerve when he turns and sees your pretty face and your sweet voice calling his nickname caresses his ears.

"Uh, I was thinkin' up by the creek," he suggests as the four of you start walking up the trailhead. Frank scratches at the back of his shirt collar. "Can't remember if I mentioned before but our place is up that way."

You turn to look at him wide eyed after you throw the ball for the dogs as they run ahead. "It is? Wow, it's so gorgeous up there. You're so damn lucky Frank, a perfect job and an amazing commute!"

He can't help beaming back, you seemed to see the positive in almost everything, he guessed he was pretty lucky.

Okay, he decides, now is the time to do it. Just put it out there. Just ask. What's the worst that could happen?

He clears his throat. "Was wonderin' actually, if you'd… uh, maybe you might wanna-" He couldn't believe he was stuttering over such a simple question. Fuck, was it supposed to be this hard? Thankfully, you stepped in and saved both of you from any more of his awkwardness.

"Frank, are you inviting me to your place?" You ask.

The light rain that's falling makes the longer strands of his hair lie in curls against his forehead. He runs a hand through it pushing it back, nodding. "Yeah, I mean, no pressure or anything. Just, if you wanna maybe have a drink with… me?"

You smile at him again. "Yeah, I'd love to."

By the time you reached his lodge you were both slightly soaked by the autumn drizzle. Frank stacks up the wood burner as soon as he lets you in, giving you and the dogs a towel to dry off with as he gets the fire going.

Once you dry off your hair and the dogs, you look around his home in awe. It's so beautiful, hewn from trees from this very forest, nothing too big and grand, just perfectly cosy. He had a neat but well stocked kitchen area, with a solid oak table and chairs by the window. A set of natural carved steps led up to a mezzanine with shelves stacked with all sorts of books and what you assumed was his bedroom.

There were glazed double doors that opened out the back onto a wooden porch and the mossy lawn behind bordered by the trees. And beside the wood burning stove was a tired but comfy looking sofa with a massive thick rug in front of it where Frank gestured to you to make yourself at home.

You kick off your shoes and hang your coat up on a hook near the door beside his next to the dog leads, and settle on the couch.

"This is magic, Frank," you tell him as he opens the fridge taking out a couple of beers.

He shakes his head, dipping his face a little like he's embarrassed or something as he walks over and hands you a bottle. "It's alright. You hungry?" He asks.

"I'm alright just now, just thirsty!" You smile, clinking your bottle against his as he sits down across from you after placing a couple of logs onto the now steadily blazing pile of kindling.

"Did it come with the job?"

He shrugs, fingers stroking his thick beard. "Uh, kinda." He takes a swig of beer and smiles as he notices Lady bringing out one of her favourite toys and letting Midge play with it without a gripe.

"Heh, look at that. S'good they're gettin' on so well." He remarks, and you hum in agreement as you watch them play.

"Yeah, I'm so glad," You say as you turn your gaze back to him. "It means we can spend more time together."

The corners of Frank's mouth pull up just a little. "S'that so? Cos I've been thinking I'd like that." He admits, the nerves rapidly melting away.

You move just a little bit closer to him on the couch, turning your body to face his. "I know I'd like that…" you confess. As you put your beer down on the side table, your hand brushes his knee and you decide to leave it there. He gazes directly at you and you feel your body temperature rise but it's not because of the fire that's burning nearby...

His fingers lightly stroke over yours and when you look back up he's so focused on you, the brown of his eyes seems so deep and dark and soft you could get lost in them. He's searching your expression for permission.

"Can I kiss you?"

His voice melts like thick honey in your ears and you're leaning in with a whispered yes instantly, almost before he can get all the words out. He raises a hand to cup your face stroking his thumb softly over your cheek and you close your eyes as he slowly leans in and gently captures your lips with his own. He's so very tender but you can feel the control he possesses as you eagerly kiss him back, the captivating strength and power held in check only by a hair trigger. Your fingers thread through his beard, guiding him to you and right now he'll go wherever you want him. He thinks maybe he should stop, a gentleman would stop and let you take the lead, dictate the pace, but you already are.

Under the light tang of beer you taste sweeter than he could imagine as your tongue slips in so softly, so teasingly between his parted lips against his own and he can't help the low moan he lets out as you surprise him by shifting to climb into his lap.

You gently pull away for a second, and your words are laced with a barely concealed urgency that has him struggling against that fucking gentlemanly conscience he had just a minute ago.

"Tell me if this is too fast?" You probe, looking down at him, your pupils already blown out. You'd been waiting for this. You'd given him all the signals for a little while now, hoping he'd maybe feel the same, waiting for him to be ready.

Frank's eyes dart from yours, down to your mouth and back up again. "Don't feel too fast to me," his words almost vibrate through you with his low tone. "Just feels right."

He moves to kiss you again and it's bliss. His lips are so soft, as is his beard although slightly tickly against your skin. You sigh and smile making a contented sound and he shows you some more of that control, his hands running up the sides of your thighs to rest on your waist, just lightly holding you. He still lets you set the speed, what you want and you let him know as your fingers slide up the shirt covering his broad chest weaving into his hair. His kiss goes deeper as you move in his lap, slowly shifting forward, pressing your hips against his and he makes his reaction to that known with the sexiest noise you've heard him make so far. You want so desperately to hear more.

"Been goin' crazy over you, you know that sweetheart?" He reveals, as you both pull away momentarily, still just inches away from each other's mouths. Your breaths are shallow, you've not felt this excited in a long while.

"You think I haven't felt the same?" You smirk.

In the days after Midge's rescue and recovery, you had found yourself thinking about Frank a lot. About his kindness, competency, and yeah maybe sometimes about how handsome he is… still you never thought he'd take a second look at you, but now you had both arrived here, feeling Frank's fingers twitch against you desperate to touch and you eager for him to do so.

You urge him to continue to explore as your lips meet again, the sensation of his fingertips so tentatively sliding up under your sweater and chasing the goosebumps away as they glide over your bare skin. You nip teasingly at his lower lip and he rewards you with a small grunt before his tongue delves back deeper into your mouth as you move your core over the now obvious bulge in his pants. He trails hot kisses down the side of your neck, pulling at the neckline of your top and you peel it off so his lips can access more of you.

"You're so gorgeous darlin'," he speaks into your skin as he places every kiss with care and attention, his eyes flicking up to meet yours as he mouths around the swell of your breasts still held captive by your bra. You tug at the hem of his shirt, leaning back for a moment so he can move to take it off. Your hands are back on him instantly, tracing over his muscular torso, fingers excitedly running over every dip and rise, appreciating every rough line of his varied scars now bared to you. You're both almost panting for breath, and he's struck dumb as you claw at his belt buckle but he gently puts his hands over yours, halting them.

You glance up. "Oh, if you don't want to-"

Frank chuckles, bumping his nose against yours. "I do. God, I really do… I just need to make sure it's what you want."

You can't believe this guy, he's almost perfect. Frustratingly so.

"Frank, I really want you." You tell him in all lucidity.

He licks across his lips at your confirmation, making the damp spot in your panties grow as he lets his eyes rove over you.

"Well, I'm gonna take you to bed then. C'mon." He says as he encourages you to your feet and guides you up the stairs.

You shimmy off your pants and socks in between more fervent kisses before he lays you down on his bed, leaving his own on as he lifts your foot and starts kissing his way up the inside of your ankle and calf. You part your legs wider to make space for him and his broad shoulders, your heart rate increasing by bounds as you anticipate his next move.

"Mm, s'this okay sweetheart?" He checks in as he nears the juncture of your thighs, his beard brushing the sensitive skin there, "Can I take these off?" He adds, and you hum in the affirmative as his dark eyes meet yours and he smiles. "Been just dyin' to taste you..." You flush with heat at his purred confession and lift your hips as he hooks his fingers around the waistband so he can pull your underwear down. He kisses your mound softly when he returns, taking his time.

"Anytime you want me to stop," he says before lightly kissing your clit and you let out a shuddered breath. "You just tell me baby, okay?" You nod and moan out loud when he begins to lap his tongue right between your glistening folds. You know you'll never want him to stop.

Your body writhes as he continues with wide slow licks between your thighs, relaxing as it's clear he more than knows what he's doing. You whimper, jolting unexpectedly as he begins flicking the hardened tip of his tongue over your clit before softening it again and repeating, swirling, sucking and worshiping your almost steadily dripping cunt like it's a fountain in the desert. When your thighs press in bracketing his head at a particularly sensitive touch, he wraps his big paws around you, fingers greedily switching between kneading the soft flesh of your legs and cupping around your ass as he devours you.

The hair of his beard rubs against your skin and the sensation is addictive. You move your hips against his rhythm and he reaches up to take one of your hands that is currently fisting in the sheets to position it on his head, to make you grab his hair and show him exactly what you want.

You gasp as he very quickly and easily hits a pressure and tempo that has you arching your back right off the mattress. Frank groans as you guide him, squeezing your legs around him almost rutting against his face, moaning so deep into your pussy you can feel the vibrations go through you. And just like that every focused movement he makes brings you further pleasure, taking you higher and higher, and seeing and feeling your reaction just keeps him going.

"Attagirl," he praises, briefly raising his head to look at you. Your juices shine on his lips, spread all around his mouth and wetting some of his beard. The sight just makes him look even hotter to you.

"Frank- mmn! God that's so good, please don't stop…"

He would never, diving right back between your quivering thighs and working you up to and over the edge like it's his only purpose. He can't help himself, you're so fucking sexy like this he's almost humping the bed trying to ease the throbbing need that's barely contained in his jeans. He might have thought about you like this before, how you'd sound, how you'd look, but nothing has prepared him for the reality.

He groans long and low as you clamp your legs hard to his head, you're trying not to but you can't stop your hips from rising, can't help fucking yourself hard against his face, but he wants it, encouraging you until your orgasm explodes from within. The intensity shakes you from your very core, rippling through your body in multiple waves as Frank still holds you firmly to him, licking you through it devotedly as he ruts his own hips into the mattress with another sexy moan. He slows down as he feels your tight grip in his hair easing off, his now near-black eyes meeting yours as he pants and licks his lips.

"You okay there darlin'?" His question is sincere but you almost snort with laughter with how fucking good he's made you feel. He can't be real.

"I'm-" you giggle and throw your arm up over your face as you feel nothing but euphoria.

"god, I'm… yeah, yeah I'm okay! Oh… shit. Wow!"

He grins and wipes his face on the sheets before crawling up the bed to lie next to you, and you turn on your side to face him, drawing him into a kiss as you reach for his pants for a second time.

He catches your hands yet again, shaking his head apologetically. "Uh, it was kinda 'oh shit wow' f'me too y'know? It's… been a while."

It takes you a brain-melted second to get his meaning and then a satisfied smile spreads across your lips. "Frankie, you know that's hot, right?"

He laughs falling back on the sheets, a slight blush dusting his cheekbones. "Hmm I dunno bout that, kinda feel like a teenager again, but as long as you're satisfied for now darlin'."

"I think that'll keep me going for a long while!"

"Not too long though, yeah?" Frank turns his head to look your way and try to gauge your meaning, the faintest hint of concern in his tone. This wasn't a one time thing right? It didn't feel like it was.

The corners of your mouth hook upward yet again. "Definitely not too long." you assure him.

Your eyes track up to the large skylight in the roof above the bed as you catch your breath back, watching the moody, inky clouds gently rolling past.

"Must be a fantastic view of the stars when it's clear." You muse, still gazing up as you feel the warmth of Frank's hand slide over your stomach to hold you close to him in the afterglow.

He follows the line of your sight. "Yeah, it was a pain in the ass to install but worth it for sure."

You turn in his arms to face him. "You put that in yourself? Wow, that's something."

He gives a shrug. "Well I always planned for it when I built the place."

You're incredulous. "What? You built this place?!"

Frank just chuckles, smoothing a couple of stray strands of hair out of your face.

"Yeah, haven't always been a ranger. Used to do logging, bit of carpentry. Just thought how hard can it be? Had the idea in my head for a good long while before I had the means and the land to make it happen."

"Frank Castle… I'm officially stunned. That's incredible!" He has the audacity to shrug again like it's nothing and then laughs out loud as he watches your brows draw together.

"Hey, I'm serious! That kinda skill, that's rare. And, I guess it explains this…" you run your fingers over his large biceps, giving them a quick squeeze before smoothing them over his chest.

He hums. "Yeah, only some of it, have to thank the gym for the rest."

You grin as he pushes up on an elbow, leaning his head on his hand as he traces slightly ticklish patterns over your skin as he regards you as if you're a goddess.

"And what about all this darlin'? What about you? You're somethin' special."

You shake your head but he's determined to make his feelings known to you.

"M'serious. Y'know I was totally shittin' it thinking about askin' you here, askin' you out? Was too damn scared you might not say yes."

You can't imagine Frank being scared of much, and you don't know how you could ever say no. Even before the sex.

"Well, I did say yes," you point out as you lean over to kiss him. He still tastes of you and the memory of the intimacy you'd shared is fresh in your mind. "...and I'm really glad that I did."

"Hm, well I better give the dogs their dinners," Frank muses as he strokes at your side, "and make ours too I guess..." he adds with a smile as your stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't think I was that hungry until you mentioned dinner!"

Frank grins as he pushes himself up, grabbing a couple of clean towels from the cupboard near the bed. "Alright, m'gonna clean up real quick and make us somethin'. If you wanna have a long shower while I cook you go right on ahead darlin', there's plenty of hot water."

You smile as you stretch out under his ridiculously comfortable covers, watching his gorgeous ass disappearing into the bathroom as you call after him. "I'm loving the sound of that idea!"

[meraki-yao]

Twitter is not the greatest place to be rn for many reasons, but I think people are missing out on some things that are basically common sense:

Taylor can promote (which, by the way, these promotions are part of the “For Your Consideration” campaigns for awards seasons, especially the awards the movie is nominated for) because he's in LA. These are not regular or fancy screenings, so it doesn't make sense to make Nick travel.

Nick's projects have close promotional periods. Like, they overlap at some point. And he's going to focus on it because it's his job. It doesn't mean he's moved on — it means his projects must also be promoted. I think people don't know or forget the strike was during the promotional period the movie premiered.

Some people are upset with Nick because he's not talking about the movie any more. And I think most of them are clinging to the super online Nick of a few years ago or even 💜 Nick who promoted. And, again, the strike got in the way. He has to be in the USA during March, so he can likely make it to screenings or the GLAAD Awards if his schedule lets him. But people need to remember that he's over there because of his other projects, not RWRB only.

I think people diminish what the boys are doing, and pit them against each other because neither is doing what they want. And forget what they've been saying about the movie, the characters, the book. They care about it deeply, and of course, they deserve to talk about it. I hope people calm down and stop being upset because things are moving forward, but that doesn't mean that RWRB is over.

I mean I pretty much agree with you here. Incredibly well analysed and well said.

And I want to highlight your final paragraph. This is the problem with parasocial relationships with any form of celebrity: delusional fans so easily start to feel like they have some say in the celebrity's actions.

About the promo, yeah, that's his job too, and I think the disparity in reaction is kind of partly because we missed our RWRB promo due to the strike, so it suddenly goes from "he's not talking about this" to "he's talking about this a lot". (I know he's most likely gonna be at the TIOY premiere but it just occurred to me that M&G is a UK-based production though?) RWRB is in a really unique and weir circumstance where we missed out on promo and press almost entirely.

And I get missing Nick being chronically online, it seemed really entertaining, but he's just growing up and entering a new phase on how he wants to manage his social media. His past six Instagram posts were all pretty formal "business" stuff. Which, people change. I've seen people call it a rebrand but really I just think it's him changing how he views social media. (personally, I did the same thing at 2022: went from chronically online and sharing everything to being relatively inactive and only posting when it's something memorial like a birthday or a festival)

I think at the end of day we should look to their direct actions: the primary source evidence, so to speak. Nick happily signs RWRB book, refers to Henry as himself, and teases Taylor playfully through book signing. It's clear he loves this project, and experiences/ love like this doesn't fade.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: Sonic Anniversary Broadcast

OMT!Mina: Is the equipment all ready?

OMT!Tails: Cameras live, microphone prepared, tracklist set...

Nine: And today's weather bulletin is set up. Seems like we're all good to go!

Mini Sonic: Excellent!

D-Sides Mighty: Okay. We're ready to start recording.

BK!Amy: We're going live in 5... 4... 3... 2...

OMT!Tails: Good morning, speedsters and music lovers, loud and proud from the Blur HQ, and you're listening to SEGAVerse Blur Bangers! I'm your host for today, Tails from Dimension MP-2021!

OMT!Mina: And I'm your co-host, Mina Mongoose from the same place!

OMT!Tails: And boy, have we got some exciting things lined up for today! Today is June 23rd, the official anniversary date for Sonic the Hedgehog, which kickstarted all of us, in a way.

OMT!Mina: A lot has happened in the past 33 years, and it's those 33 years that brought us as the Blur Gang together today. We've undergone a lot of adventures across different worlds in our image, and met tons of amazing friends in general!

OMT!Tails: Before we continue, I wanted to thank my fellow Blur Gang teammates in the recording studio today for helping set up the whole operation for us!

Nine: Heh, you got it, Tails! It's a pleasure to be doing this today with you all.

OMT!Tails: Now, you might be wondering; "Tails, why have you and your team started a radio station today?" Well, partly because of the anniversary, and also because of the radio venture the Sonic and Tails from Dimension GB-2024 have done. You guys, if you're hearing this, keep going strong with Spin Dash Radio!

Nine: That's why he came to me today. I set up the radio station since I finished preparing the Blur HQ for us, but it hasn't gone into use until today, in part thanks to all the craziness we endured in the last 8 months, and I'm happy to get it going! And so here we are, bringing you the music that keeps the SEGAVerse's heroes going strong over the years!

OMT!Mina: So, whether you're getting work or school assignments done, getting ready for a jog around your homeplace or just here to enjoy some fun music, we'll be sure to bring you on a fun journey of awesome beats together, all on SEGAVerse Blur Bangers.

EX!Alice: Okay. Let's get the song list ready while we wait for Sonic Prime to get here. This is our Retro Nostalgia Mix, right?

OMT!Tails: Yep! Now, before we get started, let's address the elephant in the room; Green Hill Zone won't be the first song you'll be hearing today. Just to subvert your expectations for once! Now, we're taking it back to the classics, but with some remixes from guys like Tee Lopes, Jahn Davis and Jun Senoue! You're listening to the one and only SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Go here for the Retro Nostalgia Mix!

OMT!Tails: Hey, everyone! Welcome back! Hope you all enjoyed that trip down memory lane so far.

Nine: Sonic's made it!

OMT!Tails: Brilliant! Come on up, Sonic!

Sonic Prime came onto the recording stage.

Sonic Prime: Hey, everyone! The original Sonic the Hedgehog here! Fastest thing alive, Blue Blur, speed demon, yeah, you get the idea. Thanks for inviting me onto this event, guys!

OMT!Tails: No problem, Sonic!

Sonic Prime: Heh, the popcorn on the way in was sweet! The chilli flavour's gotta be my favourite.

OMT!Mina: So, Sonic. We called you here for a small interview for the audience listening out there! Just a bit of a sum-up about how you've been doing as of late.

Sonic Prime: Ah, sweet! Not too different from the Sonic Takeovers on Twitter and TikTok, huh?

BK!Amy: C-Can we still call it that?

Sonic Prime: I'm definitely still calling it that.

OMT!Tails: Anyways! So, what's your latest outing been like?

Sonic Prime: Well, of all things, Eggy's been trying to stop me with these strange figurines of us and my friends and rivals. Not sure what he planned out about it, but it was quite the fun trip down memory lane, and I hope you guys out there will have fun checking it out on your mobile devices!

OMT!Mina: Sounds pretty interesting! How've your friends been doing back home?

Sonic Prime: Well, just the same as ever, of course. Tails, Knuckles and Amy have definitely grown a lot since I last saw them. Tails has been doing plenty of solo ventures, Knuckles has been seeing the world, and Amy's definitely been doing well in sharing her love to the world.

Mini Sonic: And I'm guessing Baldy McNosehair's barely changed much?

Sonic Prime: Eh, you could say that. Hey, didn't you say there was one region of Little Planet I somehow skipped out on entirely?

OMT!Tails: Dubious Depths, right?

Sonic Prime: Yeah, that's the one! Only thing I remember about it was avoiding a pit trap laid there, and I quickly got on my way after that. I'm sure the Time Stones quickly undid any meddling Eggman did there.

OMT!Mina: Mhm.

OMT!Tails: So, last question before we let you get back to your daily routine of running around; what kind of advice do you have to share to the audience out there?

Sonic Prime: Well, I say keep your will to achieve your aspirations high, fellow speedsters! The road to get there is a tough one, I'm not gonna lie, but if you believe in yourself and have the drive to overcome the hurdles in your way, you can do anything!

OMT!Tails: Excellently said, Sonic!

Sonic Prime: Well, guess that's my time to get back home!

Nine: I'll lead you back to the teleporter, Sonic.

Sonic Prime: Sweet! Thanks for the help, Nine! Stay cool, everyone!

They headed off.

OMT!Tails: Well, let's get started with more hearing from you guys and taking some calls. Whether you've got any questions, like we mentioned before, feedback or just wanna chat, now's your opportunity to dial in! You Tumblr/Tumblelogs users out there can use the ask system as usual, while anyone in the SEGAVerse can dial in using the communicator system. Our number is MP-211192. That's 2-1-1-1-9-2. And for anyone asking for donations to help over at Palestine in Earth-0, though we can't send anything over, rest assured that we've got you guys' back the whole way!

OMT!Mina: While we hold the line for some calls and asks, let's get going with some more music! For this next playlist, we're bringing in some alternate themes heard across the Floating Island, courtesy of Leliani Wilson and John Tay on two sides. Let's get right back to it on SBB; SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Go here for the Alt Angel Island Mix!

Nitro: You guys finished that mix of tracks?

OMT!Tails: You got it!

Nitro: Got our first caller for the day!

OMT!Tails: Sweet! Let's put them up on the TV!

BK!Amy: This one over here, right?

Mini Sonic: Yep, that's the one!

Amelia appeared on the screen.

Amelia: Hi!

Nitro: Heh, Amelia!

OMT!Tails: Great to see you, Amelia! How does it feel being on live radio?

Amelia: Feels pretty cool! You guys are doing well over there! I just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying the event so far!

BK!Amy: Thank you! I see that's Music Plant you're at right now.

Amelia: Heh, yeah. I've been looking after April and Feral for the day and thought it'd be sweet to say hi!

Nitro: Glad to hear it! Are they both doing okay?

Amelia: Of course!

OMT!Tails: So I heard you got a cat that accompanies you quite often, right?

Amelia: Mhm. Her name's Rose, and I've had her since I was a little girl!

BK!Amy: Aww, that's such a nice name!

Amelia: Thanks, Amy. I named her after my late grandmother, Rosemary Walten.

OMT!Tails: Rosemary, huh? I'm guessing you saw the tapes and files your mom had, right?

Amelia: Yeah. It's... really tragic how low the Bon's Burgers stuff fell when those who would've been my uncle and auntie got killed by accident.

Mini Sonic: Man, that sounds nasty. I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am.

Amelia: It's alright. I'm sure they would've wanted me to stay strong for their sakes, like how my mums did when they adopted me as a baby.

OMT!Tails: I'm glad to hear that, Amelia. Hope you enjoy the rest of the event today!

Amelia: Thank you! Bye, Chris! Love you~!

Nitro: Heh, love you too, Ami!

The call ended there.

OMT!Tails: Heh, that was such a sweet start. Well, time for a bit of a cool-off after all those exciting songs before. As fun as it is to have a blast from the past in our previous two mixes, it's only fitting that we shift gears into the here and now of music.

CR!Sonic: Yeah. I only just got here, but I felt it'd be fitting for us to start the next mix with my introduction. Running's great and all, but when I'm not doing that, I see myself on a beach or under a tree's shade chilling out and watching nature thrive. So this next mix will comprise of some more tranquil melodies, both from our games and from SEGA as a whole.

OMT!Tails: So sit back, relax and take a little break as we share the Relaxation Mix with you. And where can we do that, guys?

Nitro: Heh, only on SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Go here for the Relaxation Mix!

OMT!Tails had fallen asleep during the Mix, with OMT!Mina sitting next to him.

OMT!Mina: Heh, looks like those songs tired Tails out a little bit. I'd say we'll let him enjoy his nap while we continue the show from here.

BK!Amy: So, what's next on the agenda?

D-Sides Mighty: How about catching up on some of the newer Sonic and SEGA releases as of late?

Trip: Including the game based on the Starfall Islands?

OMT!Mina: Heh, yep!

CR!Sonic: Well, I'm sure many of you are no stranger to the upcoming port of Sonic Generations with that Shadow sidestory, right?

OMT!Mina: Mhm! With the Shadow costume Superstars Sonic got the other day, this is definitely the Year of Shadow at the moment.

Wacky: Too right. I'm proud of the guy for coming this far already!

Hog: What's so hype about Shadow, anyway? Well, aside from what I saw him pull off during EggOmega's madness.

CR!Sonic: Well, he's proven a match for any Sonic, sacrificed himself to stop the ARK destroying a world, and even pulled off attempting to redeem villains in different dimensions!

Hog: Now, that's pretty impressive stuff there.

Nitro: Isn't there also that new Super Monkey Ball game coming out on the Switch in a couple of days?

OMT!Mina: Ah, yeah! I really like how it's still respecting the roots of the stuff while not being a remaster of a prior game.

Wacky: Me too. The story's pretty neat as well, with all those cutscenes and dialogue to do with them. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes along!

OMT!Mina: Me too!

BK!Amy: You know, why don't we have some more calming songs to continue the relaxation period?

OMT!Mina: Good thought. This time, we're gonna be picking some lo-fi beats from the SEGAVerse for this next Mix. Don't touch that dial, folks! Keep it with us on SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Go here for the Lo-Fi Beats Mix!

OMT!Tails: Hey, guys! Hope you enjoyed both those mixes. Heh, sorry I nodded off before. Anything important I missed?

CR!Sonic: Aside from discussion on the latest SEGA releases, nothing much.

OMT!Tails: Ah, well. This is definitely a fun endeavour thus far! I'd say we're really hitting our stride!

EX!Alice: Yeah. I'm still getting used to audio mixing, but this is absolutely fun! Who knew working under some pressure would be a bit more exciting?

Mini Sonic: And thanks to the support of our listeners out there, there's no telling how far we can get to.

OMT!Tails: With that, where do we go next for our event today?

Punching is heard to the right with Mr. Needlemouse trying to smash the piñata apart.

Mr. NM: Hah! Take that! You want some of this, mister?

OMT!Tails: NM? You found your way in here?

Mr. NM: Yeah. I heard you were all up here doing this, so I thought... why not?

OMT!Mina: Fair enough.

Nine: Don't tell me you've gone and smashed that vase in the living room again.

Mr. NM: Er, hehe... Whoops.

Nine: Rats. This is, like, the seventh vase I'm gonna have to replace. Next time, I'm getting one that's nowhere near as fragile as the others.

Mr. NM: So, we're celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the guy that inspired my design? Awesome! What are we doing next? A rematch with the Ring Racers?

OMT!Mina: Ah, yeah. That reminds me about the game's release based on them. It wasn't received all too well upon launch, and even with its patches to fix issues, people have still been bashing it for how technically-complex the vehicles are compared to your run-of-the-mill kart racers.

OMT!Tails: It's a shame, really. The game's been in development for a whole five years, and I get the contentions people had with it, but it didn't deserve that much backlash.

Mr. NM: Not even with the cheating CPUs and the difficulty of the... you know.

Nitro: Those points aside, the art direction is really good, porting Genesis levels into 3D no problem, and downgrading the Dreamcast levels with little to no issue. If anything, the single-player content made it more than worth the wait.

OMT!Tails: And the music as well! Speaking of which, this is gonna be our next destination; original music from some of the big Sonic fan games out there. Hope you enjoy this next mix, only on SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Mr. NM: That's the name of this thing?

CR!Sonic: Just roll with it, man. The mix is starting.

Go here for the Fan Creations Mix!

OMT!Mina: Man... These guys really have a good hand in composing original music for their Sonic fan projects.

?????: Wholeheartedly agreed there, Mina!

OMT!Mina: Wha-? Oh, Lilac!

Lilac: Greetings, everyone!

OMT!Tails: Hey, Lilac! Glad you could come along too for the big anniversary!

Lilac: Considering my past discovery of me and Sonic having those connected ties, this is something I couldn't miss out on.

Trip: You're always welcome here, Lilac!

Lilac: Heh, thanks, Trip!

BK!Amy: So, I take it you've been hearing the past mixes we've been throwing out?

Lilac: Yep. And I recognised the last one in the previous mix as being composed in the past by the lady who had a hand in making my game's soundtracks. That's why I decided to come straight here!

OMT!Mina: We're honoured!

Trip: So if you're a dragon, and I've been meaning to ask this for a bit, but are you able to breath fire?

Lilac: Well, that's a bit different. I'm a water dragon, so I'm not really capable of it. I'm really good at swimming, though!

Trip: Cool! I can breathe little fireballs out! Watch this!

She puffed and blew one into the air that went out very shortly after.

OMT!Tails: Woah! I never knew you could do that! Great work, Trip!

Trip: Heh, thank you.

Lilac: Well, how about another set of songs? Sonic himself has definitely inspired other developers to make their own games based on the high-speed he's often involved with, so I thought this next mix could be dedicated to any indie games that have top speed as the aim of their game!

OMT!Mina: That can be arranged!

OMT!Tails: Well, you heard it, folks! It's time to fire up our indie game music mix. Stay tuned into SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Hog: Comin' through!

Hog charged up a spindash to hit the piñata, only to crash into Mr. NM and cause them both to tumble to the ground.

Hog: Ow... Sorry!

Mr. NM: Aw, come on! >:(

Go here for the Indie Grooves Mix!

Lilac: Heh, what a trip down memory lane that was.

Mr. NM: "Trip down"? I'm still all in a tangle thanks to the tenrec over here.

Hog: You know, honestly, man, you do enough bad stuff in your dimension that it's warranted.

OMT!Tails: You had a whole 25 minutes to get yourself sorted out. Plus, you're a cartoon. Can't you flip yourself back into shape easily?

Mr. NM: Oh, yeah! (does so) Why didn't I think of that before?

OMT!Mina: I mean, any cartoon with those physics is capable of doing that.

CR!Sonic: Alright. So, we're nearing the end of the event now, and there's only one more mix we've got lined up.

OMT!Tails: Before we do that, though, it's time to give today's Gallop Lotto numbers a spin! Mighty, could you fire up the machine?

D-Sides Mighty: You got it!

He leapt into the Gallop Lotto warper as the lotto machine dispersed the balls that rolled around. The winning numbers were deposited out one-by-one.

OMT!Mina: Alright, folks. Today's winning numbers are... 04, 05, 2X and 03! And the winnings are 24 rings to whoever got the numbers today!

OMT!Tails: To whoever got those numbers on their lotto ticket today, congratulations!

D-Mighty came back out of the warper, landing safely down afterwards.

D-Sides Mighty: That should do it!

BK!Amy: Great work, Mighty! Alright, that just leaves our last mix before we wrap this up today.

OMT!Tails: You got that right! And for this last mix before we go to our regular broadcast period, we're gonna be focusing on some modern-day beats for you all to enjoy! Our Modern-Day Mix is sure to get the groove going to wrap up our event for today! It's our longest one of all, reaching 11 different tracks from the modern and Adventure eras! Are you ready? Only on...

OMT!Tails and OMT!Mina: SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Lilac: Here we go!

Nitro: Let's rock!

Go here for the Modern-Day Mix!

CU!Sonic and CU!Sonia arrived during the last song.

CU!Sonia: Woo! That was awesome!

OMT!Tails: Heh, hey, guys! Just in time to see the station in person!

CU!Sonic: Heh, I'm honoured. Sorry we couldn't get here before the event came to a close, but we really enjoyed listening on the way here.

OMT!Mina: Glad you had fun, Sonic!

CU!Sonic: Where's the other me's kids, by the way?

CR!Sonic: They stayed at home to listen to the radio, but they've both been rootin' for me today.

OMT!Tails: Sweet! Well, I guess that wraps up the main event. I know not all of us could be here for the event itself, but it was definitely a great time all around!

EX!Alice: We should definitely find a way to make more room for our radio station. More comfy seats, a green room for guests, catering from across the multiverse...

Lilac: And we could definitely invite some of our friends from the Quill Society to have interviews from time-to-time. Heh, Carol would be geeking out just thinking about being on radio.

Mini Sonic: Well, I'll be the first to say that this radio station experiment turned out to be a success!

BK!Amy: Absolutely! Trip: Yeah!

OMT!Tails: Wholeheartedly agreed! Thank you guys for joining us today, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the day with an even mix of different music! This has been Tails from Dimension MP-2021, having come to you live on SEGAVerse Blur Bangers!

Everyone: Bye for now!

Mr. NM: Be sure to tune into the next one, folks!

OMT!Tails: After our ad break, BK Amy will take over with our next programming block; Amy's Cooking Tips. My Amy will be joining her, too, once she makes it down here. See you then, everyone!

"This is SEGAVerse Blur Bangers! On FM, online and on your smart speaker!"

Happy 33rd Anniversary, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Other Songs:

Main Programme

Sonic Prime Interview

Starcrossed Lover Call

Upcoming SEGA Games

Ring Racer Discussion

Lilac's Arrival

Goal Post Near

Gallop Lotto

Wrapping it Up

[youcouldmakealife]

LBTE: Jared (130-131)

In which Erin and Bryce go viral, and The Article is born.

If you'd like to follow along, series page is here.

130. Grapevine

Jared manages to get through training camp and one preseason game before Bryce’s reputation spectacularly implodes, along with his personal well-being, and Jared’s personal well-being, and the Marcus Mathesons well-being as a whole.

He was just trying to be NICE. Anyway, the First Twitter Thing. Which was needed for the Article, and The Blanket Duel, and The Other Twitter Thing. First domino falls down.

Jared shuts his eyes. “The Sun’s a right-wing rag,” he says. “Nobody with a brain believes the Sun.”

“Tons of people believe the Sun, Jared,” Bryce snaps. “A lot of Flames fans read the fucking Sun.”

Both of them are correct.

“What’s Summers say?” Jared asks.

Bryce mumbles something.

“Bryce,” Jared says.

“He left a voicemail,” Bryce mumbles. “I haven’t called him back.”

Bryce always regresses to a teenager with Dave. Dave treating him like he’s still a teenager doesn’t help that.

“Okay,” Bryce says a little more firmly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise for the media being fucking stupid,” Jared says.

“I’m really sorry,” Bryce says. “Jared.”

“Stop it,” Jared says. “I love you, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong. Stop apologising to me.”

It’s really important that nobody is mad at Bryce about this (I mean, other than Dave). He did a nice thing! He could not have anticipated these consequences! But man does this feel like deja vu in other ways to him, so Jared not being mad at him for even a second, and Don and Susan and Erin not blaming him, that’s honestly important.

Jared texts Greg to give him a call, ditto to Erin, who’s almost certainly still asleep, then tackles his mom first. Partly because his dad might be out on a job, more because he really, really doesn’t want to tell his dad. Hopefully his mom will do it for him.

Coward.

“Can you tell dad too?” Jared says.

“No,” mom says.

“Mom,” Jared says.

“No, you’re telling your father,” mom says.

“Please?” Jared says.

“Jared, my priority right now is to call my daughter and explain the situation to her, I don’t have the time to tell your father because you’re afraid he’s going to be mad at you,” she snaps. “Tell him yourself.”

Susan knows better than Jared that her eighteen year old daughter in a bikini hitting media is not going to lead to a good time, so her focus is pretty exclusively on letting Erin know at the moment, which I think is understandable.

“I’m not mad at you or Bryce, I’m mad at the situation,” she says, softening.

Nobody’s mad at Bryce!

“But I really do need to call Erin right now,” mom says. “And your father needs to know. And not from the Sun.”

“He doesn’t read the Sun,” Jared says.

Don has better taste than that, thank you.

His dad is like — dangerously quiet as Jared sums up the situation.

“If you haven’t called your mother yet, call her now,” he says finally, voice so even it cuts through Jared, and hangs up. Jared’s assuming the hanging up is so he doesn’t say something he regrets.

Nobody’s mad at Bryce! But Don is, you know, still currently furious.

Jared goes to make coffee, hovers over the machine until he can retrieve a cup, spends a solid ten minutes of pacing and debating whether or not he should check twitter — it’s hard not to, but he also knows it’d be a huge fucking mistake —

It would be such a huge mistake, Jared would be beside himself about the way people talk about Erin.

(His focus is pretty heavily on Bryce right now, and very tunnel-vision-y, but yeah: Erin’s half naked image is being shown without her consent, with the implication that Bryce is cheating on a spouse with her. There’s some vile shit getting said. There always is, on twitter)

Summers has an idea. It’s not a terrible one. Probably the best one available.

I mean, it probably is the best idea available, but it is also a terrible idea.

Stephen answers the door, looking concerned, which doesn’t suit his face, then even more concerned by whatever Jared’s own face is doing.

Stephen being concerned about Jared and Jared’s response is basically ‘ew what's wrong with him'.

“Hockey or Bryce?” Stephen asks.

“Bryce,” Jared says, and follows him in, sits heavily on the couch, Gabe coming in and sitting down on the other side, Stephen cramming himself in the middle. He has pointy elbows.

“I know,” Stephen says when Jared mumbles that. “I use them to get my way a lot.”

So concerned he gets right in there with the elbows. He’s about the same as Jared on the touch front (not a big hugger, will make some exceptions for loved ones, and a massive one person exception), so this is big from him.

“What particularly queer advice do you need?” Stephen says.

“Steve,” Gabe says.

“It is kind of particularly queer,” Jared says, hating the triumphant sound Stephen makes.

“Come to me with your gay problems, my child,” Stephen says.

But not so concerned he won’t crack a joke or three. (Levity is helpful, Gabriel.)

“How old is she?” Stephen asks.

“Eighteen,” Jared says.

“Oh, so older—” Stephen says.

“I am fully prepared to sleep in the guest room if you finish that sentence, Stephen,” Gabe says.

Stephen does not finish the sentence.

Not always the time for levity, STEPHEN.

“Well,” Stephen says. “This is not going to help his reputation. And it wasn’t great already.”

“Stephen,” Gabe says.

“I’m being honest!” Stephen says.

He’s not levitating this time, Gabe!

“Summers says ‘fuck’,” Jared says. “And apparently called Bryce an idiot a lot. And suggests we do a thing about how the Marcuses and Mathesons are long-time family friends, do some heartwarming feature about friendship across divisional lines or whatever, provide some pictures me and Bryce together and our families together for evidence our families have been close-knit for years. My family’s okay with it. Or like. They’re willing.”

Reminder that Gabe did a profile and REALLY didn’t hide the fact Stephen lived with him and the reporter said him and Stephen were ‘like brothers’. So they know it’ll work.

“Can I suggest something?”

Jared eyes him.

“Stop wearing your wedding ring before you do that article,” Stephen says. “And maybe for a while after.”

“No,” Jared says.

“Jared,” Stephen says.

“No,” Jared says.

Stephen blows out a breath. “You want to be stubborn and out? Because that’s how stubbornness gets you outed.”

Stephen on Jared’s shoulder, less an angel and just Jared making logical rather than emotional decisions.

“I don’t care,” Jared snaps. “I’m not going to pretend I’m not married to him.”

“You do it every day lying by omission, how is this any different in practice?” Stephen asks.

“You literally get to fucking live with your boyfriend full-time don’t you fucking dare—”

Stephen is saying things Jared objectively doesn’t disagree with but they’re landing a little too hard right now. And Jared misses his husband.

“I don’t get to live with him full-time,” Stephen says.

“Stephen,” Gabe says.

“Well, I don’t,” Stephen says, shoving off the couch and disappearing down the hall.

He IS away 41 games a year.

“I’m going to call Dave Summers,” Stephen says from the hall.

“Why?” Jared says.

“Know the business, know you both socially,” Stephen says, leaning on the door frame now. As dramatic sulks go that one didn’t last. “It’s a perspective he probably needs for the action plan.”

Stephen’s concern fights Stephen’s desire to dramatically flounce, and what wins is his shrewdness, which recognizes he can help in a way that doesn't involve antagonizing Jared into yelling at him.

“But I know you’re a stubborn ass who won’t listen,” Stephen says. “Which Summers should be aware of.”

Jared gives him the finger.

“I’m going to talk to Summers,” Stephen says, then disappears again.

“That’s Stephen for ‘sorry for being a dick, I will never actually apologise but I will try to make it up to you’,” Gabe says. “For the record.”

Accurate translation from Stephenese.

“And according to one of Stephen’s sisters you look like an angel, which doesn’t hurt with fans,” Gabe says. “You can imagine how much it pained Stephen to hear Beth say that.”

An angel is probably the most chill way Beth has described him.

“I didn’t mean that,” Gabe says. “You’re opening a door that you can’t close again. And if people start looking more closely — you guys don’t hide it well.”

~foreshadowing. Except not really because it’s just any logical person’s take after the witnessing the mess that was Jared and Bryce pretend not to be married (featuring extra eye-yearning).

“I do not offer these lightly,” Stephen says seriously. “And offering one right now does not mean this will become a trend. It will not.”

Jared blinks at him.

“Would you like a hug,” Stephen says flatly.

“Absolutely not,” Jared says, just as flat.

Stephen holds a mute arm out, and Jared sinks into it, because he kind of would, in fact, like a hug right now.

Steve hug!!!

“It’s going to work out,” Stephen tells him, the words tucked against Jared’s cheek. “It might be a bit before it is, and there might be a shitshow somewhere in there—”

“Stop helping,” Jared mumbles.

I love them both.

131. Verisimilitude

Well, they are a family, this is true. A family feeling varying degrees of unhappiness right now; dad and mom are pissed, Elaine concerned. Erin thinks it’s funny. Of course Erin thinks it’s fucking funny.

Erin having a sense of humour about this is very much for the best. Also, she's not reading the comments. Articles, yes — they’re hilarious. Comments, absolutely not.

I said the words ‘they instantly clicked’ today. Raf texts the group chat after his phone interview. I was honestly expecting God to smite me the spot.

Raf saying this while viscerally remembering Jared's tantrum about the temerity of Bryce having a whistle.

im up next in getting struck down by god Chaz says.

That’s true friendship — risking smiting for your bros.

By all accounts she’s treating it like a puff piece, not asking any leading questions, just basic ones and letting people fill in whatever, so it’s hard to tell if she honestly thinks she’s doing an article about a heart warming friendship, or if she’s figured out something’s up.

She honestly figures this is meant to get ahead of something, but her bet would have been something like Bryce IS cheating with Erin, or him being in the process of a divorce, since there’s no wife to be seen. She did not think ‘secretly married to one another’. They’re both acting weird, but she already thought something shifty was going on, and also hockey players are often awkward interviewees anyway, so.

“How’s school?” Jared says.

“Fine,” Erin says. “Only had one dude walk up and ask me if I’m Bryce Marcus’ girlfriend.”

She’s in her first month of her first year of university, this was not ideal timing. Only one dude approached her, but he's not the only one who's recognized her.

“Stephen said — you know, that there might be more attention,” Jared says. “After the article comes out. And that it might be a good idea for me to take it off for a bit.”

“I think you should do whatever you think you should do,” Bryce says.

“That’s really helpful, thanks,” Jared snaps.

“J,” Bryce says, sounding tired. “Just — it’s up to you.”

Jared twists his ring around his finger. Even from a distance you can see how similar it is to Bryce’s, and yeah, they’re traditional rings, plenty of people have the same ones, but —

“Can you help with my chain?” Jared asks, and he doesn’t know if it’s disappointment or relief on Bryce’s face, a blink and you miss it flash, before Bryce helps him undo the clasp. Jared strings his wedding ring on it, clinking against the engagement one, and ducks his head to let Bryce put it back on. Bryce presses a kiss against the nape of his neck, murmurs, “Done,” and Jared straightens up. In more ways than one, it feels like. That’s a bad joke even in his own head, all bitterness, no humour, so he doesn’t say it.

Like I said, Stephen was really only saying what Jared thought himself. This is also sort of screeching ahead out of their comfort zones right now, so a few backward shuffles are understandable.

Jared runs through the script in his head while they walk in, find the media room, wait for Weber to arrive, sitting a scrupulous two feet apart. It was more lines to take rather than an actual set script, ‘like family’ and ‘a lot in common’, ways to deflect a question without outright lying.

Andreas has worked a lot of overtime writing basically a choose your own adventure, in the form of ‘if they ask this, you may say this, this, or this, NOT this’, etc. It is exhaustive and he is exhausted.

“He’s my best friend,” Bryce says after a lot of other fluff, laying it on thick. There’s nothing but honesty in his voice as he says it, but then — he is being honest, Jared knows. It’s not the whole story, but it’s not like he isn’t Bryce’s best friend. Like Bryce isn’t his. “Some people you just know are supposed to be in your life.”

Bryce genuinely believes they were fated to be together. Jared doesn’t believe in fate, but he thinks that’s a nice thought.

“I don’t know about best,” Jared says quickly, because Bryce is getting like — too honest now, skirting towards something they shouldn’t be. “I have a lot of friends.”

“Jared,” Bryce complains.

If they’re such good friends why don’t you MARRY them, Jared.

Jared grins at his sullen face. “He’s my best friend too.”

Bryce goes pink

How. How does Bryce Marcus always do this to me. Just going about my day then boom, punched in the gut, having feelings about Bryce time.

Someone said Jared ‘gave OJ a personality’, like Julius doesn’t have one of his own, like anyone’s entitled to it. Julius has a personality. It’s a mean one: he’s been laughing his ass off about this article since Jared told him.

Love that Jared sounds super protective and supportive of Julius right before it switches to ‘yeah he has an identity, it's called being a DICK’.

“I just want my private life to stay private,” Bryce says, and this Jared thinks is actually scripted, that Summers gave him a real script, because Bryce is saying it like it’s been rehearsed. “Marriage is between two people, and it’s something that other people aren’t entitled to. I don’t really want to discuss it with the fans or the media, because it’s not really any of their business.”

So carefully factual without giving a single iota of information. Dave making sure this shit is as carefully worded as a contract.

“It’s cool,” Gabe says, shaking Jared’s shoulder. “You’re good, man.”

“Thanks,” Jared says.

“You’re good?” Gabe says, a question this time.

Jared shrugs.

“You’re good,” Gabe decides.

“Your vocabulary is extraordinary,” Jared says. “I am astonished by it.”

Jared absolutely does not get to throw stones. And I like the three goods of Gabe Markson.

Jared skates over when the Canucks start eyeing Chaz with vague suspicion.

“You good?” he asks.

“I’m good,” Jared says.

All good.

“Shrewd,” Gabe says. “Good verisimilitude. Stephen would be proud.”

Jared blinks at him.

How dare you insult Gabe's vocabulary.

“I don’t understand half the words he says,” Dmitry says consolingly.

“I understood it,” Jared says, tilting his chin up. He refuses to commiserate with Dmitry Kurmazov.

I love Jared’s petty ass.

“What’s verisimilitude mean?” Jared hisses at Gabe on the bench before the anthem.

Gabe tips back his head in a laugh and refuses to tell him.

Verisimilitude: the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real. The on ice stuff had a lot more of it than the article did.

The article drops. Jared doesn’t read it, but he’s assured it’s fine. He doesn’t read replies on twitter or forums or anything. It’s not his job. He can’t focus on it.

Probably for the best Jared didn’t.

Jared doesn’t know if it’s the Calgary media, or the storyline about their families, or just Bryce being the incredibly talented player he is, but the Canucks are mortified in a 6-1 loss, and Bryce has a hat trick and a four point game. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a preseason game and means nothing. In the smaller scheme of Jared’s life, he kind of wants to throttle Bryce. And only a little bit in a sexy way. They’ll see who’s laughing when Jared rides him within an inch of his life.

Yeah Jared, that’ll show him, he’ll definitely never try to do it again after that.

Riding him until he fucking begs is now in the cards.

Oh no whatever will Bryce do. Please have mercy, Jared Matheson, he’ll do anything.

[teasdays]

Hi hello I'm your friendly neighbourhood ghost, can I pretty please have the context about Wilbur abuse??? If you are ok with it of course , And thank you, I hope you are having a great day

hi hello ghost! Yeah no worries, I bet it's... difficult to wade through everything that's been going on

So last week, Shubble (streamer, she/they) hosted a stream about their experiences with an unnamed abuser. You can watch it here (if you prefer to read, turn on CC & read the transcript). It's a pretty hard-hitting video, and people pretty immediately guessed that it was, in fact, Wilbur Soot. He's since confirmed it himself in a statement/kind of apology (?) which u can find on his twitter... Shubble has, understandably, rejected it.

That's the short answer!

Uh for a longer one lol, there's more info here: this is an EXCELLENT conversation Shubble had (before W*lbur was officially named) with her friend lexiemariex. They both talk about the abuse and misogyny they've faced as women dating within the streaming community. Neither of them named anyone at this point either, and I actually haven't had time to watch the whole thing yet !! But about 45 minutes in so far they have both shared a lot of really important perspectives on domestic abuse, their experiences as victims (in their words) during & in recovery from those relationships, and about the really harmful norms within streaming.

Just to add a couple comments of my own: if a community is MAINLY dominated by white cis men, that's usually NOT a coincidence; it's usually (at least partly) because the environment is hostile to diversity. Several other people have also come forward about negative experiences with Shubble's ex in particular, but I REALLY think--personally--that it is a mistake to focus just on him. He is, for better or worse, Just Some Guy: it REALLY sounds like his behaviours reflect a deeply harmful culture within streaming. We can't and should not try to cancel all streamers, obviously! But... if we REALLY want to centre survivors? We need to hold the whole community accountable for the CULTURE they've gotten comfortable with.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that all white men in streaming are malicious people, who only want to hurt/abuse/have power over the weak & helpless women in their sphere. But there's been writing on the wall for a long time: there's a lot of casual misogyny that we HAVE seen streamers ignore, even if they wouldn't (necessarily...) make those jokes themselves. I do NOT have receipts on hand lol, but that's been my observation over the years. So I think it's... too simplistic to say that Shubble's ex, and lexie's, were just outliers. A couple of bad eggs.

We can cancel them, and exile them from streaming, sure--fine. We certainly don't owe anyone a platform. But we also NEED to look beyond the individual people & understand that every single one of them is a product of their culture and community.

tl;dr Shubble's ex is shitty, for sure, but he's not the whole problem! He's a symptom.

oh omg last thing actually: as people navigate how to respond to unfeminist/antifeminist content creators, I'd like to recommend Roxane Gay's perspective in Bad Feminist (excerpt here). As people who consume media, we have to understand that our consumption will always be imperfect, because (again) the problems are deeply embedded in like. the whole culture . We can & will continue to work for a better future, but in the meantime we've gotta forgive ourselves & our comrades for being imperfect <3

[noellevanious]

it's genuinely impossible how intentionally stupid people are being over twitter.

Even though I went through so much to make sure my twitter timeline was exclusively people I thought/think are cool and talented and not engaging in stupid arguments.

I'm not even exaggerating.

"Threads" as far as I know didn't exist two days ago. And then suddenly about 24 hours ago, even though for weeks people have bneen talking about alternatives like Mastodon or Bluesky (a lot of which are designed to be Decentralized), EVERYBODY is now going "Oh. Threads? You don't know about that? The website that is literally twitter? Created by Mark Zuckerburg? Yeah i'll go over there" without a second thought.

Of course there's also not even a MENTION about making dedicated websites via things like Neocities, where you'd have complete control.

It's beyond fucking absurd. I try my best not to just go "I'm smart why is everybody else so stupid" but. This is beyond reproach.

Tumblr as a website isn't good and I won't suggest people join back here (partly because I don't want those people here, partly because yeah, if this site gets a monopoly, that's objectively awful). But it's not nearly as bad as this shit. If you don't/didn't use twitter consider yourself insanely lucky.

[olderthannetfic]

/726066360417992704/besides-thinking-in-terms-of-clearing-your

I often block for reasons as simple as that someone left an annoying-ass comment on my post and since you can’t just delete replies or hide reblogs, the solution to hide that shit from other readers is for the OP to block them.

Or if someone is really determined to go to the mat with me on some issue — I have the kind of ADHD where if I’m not careful I can lose all day getting involved in some draining and pointless Internet argument. I’ve learned the solution in that case is just remove my ability to do so, and here that means blocking the other party.

I also think that while there certainly are people who define “safety” in the silly ways that are discussed in that anon, as “anyone who might say something that goes against my ideas about Y social justice issue” and then weaponize that to get people with more legit concerns to block them… I think it’s easy to dismiss the “legit concerns” people if you haven’t had certain unsavory internet experiences. Now I say this as someone who always always asks for explanations when I get an “OP is a Y” type thing in my inbox, partly because I’ve had people say that about longtime mutuals who I knew were very much NOT Y and if you’re smart you realize “oh they could be lying about all the people I don’t know too, so I should ask every time.” But what I mean about “legit concerns” is that I’ve been the target or had friends be the target of harassment campaigns (more on Twitter than here) and that changes your relationship to blocking for good. I have friends who’ve tried to be noble and suggest I be too about “I would never block someone just because they disagreed with me in an argument no matter what that opinion is!” and I just wanna be like yeah that’s nice and I generally agree when it comes to fandom stuff, but they apply it to everything and I have to explain that with something like right-wingers, it’s not because I can’t “handle” Republicans or go toe to toe with them in a decade — I’ve done this many times IRL and in more closed internet communities — it’s because every time I give one of them the benefit of the doubt they end up boosting my blog to people who just want to harass me and call me stuff like “ok groomer.”

--

[ohnoitstbskyen]

So I'm thinking about doing Business

I'm going to experimentally pay for Tumblr's "Blaze" on one of my posts to see what the effect is, if any. I don't plan to use it often, but if I'm using this site as part of my silly little content creator job, maybe it makes sense to advertise some things?

I don't even know what it would make sense to use that feature on, either... posts with my official video releases? Stuff like that article I wrote about the experience of going viral? ... posts about my merch store? (oh god I don't want to advertise the merch store, I haven't added anything to it in ages).

Anyway, if you see one of my posts with a "promoted" tag on it, that's why. Just figuring out if that's something that should be part of my job on here. There are some extended personal reflections on using Tumblr for My Job™ below the cut.

On the other hand, Twitter was never that much of a Business Platform for me, either. That site and app is insanely bad at driving traffic anywhere else, which is part of why its ad revenue was so low depite the huge user base. Getting people to click away from Twitter to anywhere else is like pulling teeth, even for people with million dollar marketing budgets, and so I just... kinda never tried, really. Partly because it never seemed worth the work, partly because it was my personal Twitter before it accidentally became my Business Twitter.

Tumblr in that regard is different though. Four years ago, someone posted an outtake from a shitpost video I did laughing myself half to death over an article about how millennials are killing mayonnaise. That outtake went some degree viral on Tumblr, and that virality did prompt a lot of people to go find the full video on YouTube, making it briefly the most successful video on my whole channel.

So I dunno. Maybe it makes sense to use Tumblr for Business™ in that way. Not that I think I can manufacture a viral hit, of course, but maybe paying to have my work shown to more people on here could be worth it? I guess I'll find out once that Blaze goes through the moderation.

It sorta ties in with a broader pre-post-Twitter reflection I've been having about how I use social media, though.

I don't want to be my job

My personal twitter became my business twitter entirely by accident, and while it was fun at first to have thousands of followers on my personal shitposting, it wasn't fun at all in the long run. At a certain point, usually somewhere past the 10k follower boundary (or if you had the misfortune of having a pre-Elon checkmark), people stop treating you like a person or a fellow poster, and start treating you like a brand, a celebrity (however minor), like a Public Figure. And on the one hand that's good, kinda, because if you have a larger platform, you do deserve more scrutiny. On the other hand, it means you can't be a person on your own social media.

Dark humor, in-jokes, dumb shitposts with friends, dunking on some random hot take, all of that starts to come with the danger that some stranger, who is determined to misunderstand what you post in the absolute worst possible faith, will see it and start yelling about it.

And if, as a person who has a bigger platform, you yell back at them, or dunk on their bullshit... yeah, there's a real risk that you're the one being the bigger asshole, actually. When you have a big Twitter audience, you have some responsibilty for what happens to the things you put in front of that audience. And if you have fans, they might want to defend you, and if you have a lot of fans, some percentage of them aren't going to know how to act or where the line is, and go way the fuck too far.

It's the reality of having a public profile. People will come at you in absolutely wild ways, accusing you of saying absolutely insane things that they have derived from truly deranged (often willful) misinterpretations, and you can't respond to that like a person responds, or you run the risk of being the one who does more harm.

And so you can't be a person on your social media anymore. You now have to be a Public Figure, and if you don't figure that out you're gonna get in trouble. I should have made a private friends-only account on Twitter far, far earlier than I did, I should have made an official brand account far, far earlier than I did. But the only way to know that is in hindsight.

... which leads me back to Tumblr. I've been thinking about Doing Business™ on Tumblr - Blazing my posts, doing SEO, promoting my brand and all that other shit that technically comes with the job I ostensibly have.

I fled back here when I saw Twitter start to torch itself, because I need to post somewhere, but do I need to post for myself, as a person?

Or do I need to post because I am TBSkyen the YouTuber and posting is part of my job, my brand and my online personality which I crafted as a layer of separation between myself and the audience but which has at this point become so entangled with my real self that I don't know the boundaries between them anymore?

Am I going to look back on this and realize, as I did on Twitter, that I should have made a private, friends-only Tumblr account right from the start, and not mixed the personal with the professional and with Posting? I have around 2000 followers right now and this is still fun and casual, but what happens if I manage to luck myself into a real following again? When am I going to dunk on something I think is dumb and cause the person who posted it to receive actionable threats because someone who likes my videos doesn't know how the fuck to act?

Anyway, this is the kind of shit that gets powerblasted through my brain when I pay $10 to make some more people see one of my posts on a website - how's your morning going?

[soyouareandrewdobson]

The hypocrisy of the theoretical bear

Dobson was a bully.

I kinda wanted to make that statement only later in regard of another comic I am already writing about, but when you really boil it down, that is what Dobson genuinely was towards other nerds. Under all the pretense of just trying to talk about feminism and hoping that nerd culture can do better and become more progressive, he was just trying to shame people for enjoying different stuff than him, not sharing his opinions, or being overzealous in ways that were different to him.

Among other things, he would e.g. post this picture in regard of a certain fantheory when it reared its ugly head in season 3 of Miraculous Ladybug…

mocking a specific person for misinterpreting an animation smear for a genuine clue and instead of trying to politely explain it to them, instead shame then on twitter…

And eventually make THIS shitty SYAC strip, shaming the person even more, by making them specifically the butt of a non existing “joke”.

I kinda want to talk about these two instances now, why I think the comics are not funny as well hypocritical and rather dumb in hindsight. But first, the obligatory digression

I unfortunately agree with Dobson partly, that fan theorizing can at times go WAY too far. I myself have no issues with theorizing a little or playing with ideas of how a certain story could play out in the end. But I think there is a difference between looking at some little things, trends and recurring themes in a story and making a throwaway assumption like “oh yeah, that could happen down the line” and making a 40+ minute rant video on perhaps one little background thing blown out of proportion.

I also genuinely despise “review” channels such as The Roundtable or Film Theory for making clickbait videos based on dumb fan theories that they try to exploit for views, while actually not contributing anything of substance or of their own to the debate or elaborate on the craft of animation and storytelling. Being more of trend chasers than anything else.

That said, I think fans theorizing about stuff is an integral part of fan culture and can be fun. It can e.g. inspire people to create their own stories/fanwork based on such theories. Such as this actually pretty decent piece of Miraculous Ladybug fanart, that Thomas Astruc even liked and shared on twitter and blows everything Dobson did for the show out of the water.

Plus, even as Dobson kinda admits, some shows and stories are deliberately made to “reward” fans for their theories.

However, already in the way Dobson formulates that, he is making a mistake.

See, these shows aren’t “rewarding” people per se for their theories. They simply confirm that the fans may have successfully cracked completely (or at least partly) an aspect of the story’s integral mystery/plot, at times left intentionally by the show creators themselves.

Just to give an example: Hunter’s nature as a Grimwalker in the Owl House.

Hunter aka “The golden Guard” was first introduced in the last episode of the first season of the Owl House, face still completely covered. Then later episodes not only revealed his face, but also his name and that he was supposedly Belos nephew. Something that already raised a few eyebrows for people, cause Belos was not only confirmed in the show to be at least over 50 years old, but some couldn’t image that a character falling into the classical evil overlord archetype, could really have a “nephew” as young as Hunter. And then in the episode Eclipse Lake, which starts off in Belos secret lab with a shot of some items on the ground, people saw this:

A page of a book, indicating to be an instruction on how to create an artificial human, with mentioning of a creature introduced and seen earlier in the season (in the proper debut episode of the Golden Guard nonetheless) and with the human creatures eyes in the book implied to have the same color as Hunters.

As such, the theory of Hunter being an artificial human was born and later on, got properly confirmed through dialogue and other visual revelations in the story.

Sometimes, storytellers (particularly once who want to craft a decent mystery or overarching narrative) will just leave little clues in their creation, for people to theorize about and to assure they are getting further invested in the story. The reason for that ranging from the author trying to tell a decent mystery without having to pull the revelations completely out of their ass (unlike Dobson in the story with Sam and his dead sister!) or revealing too much all at once, to just having fun with fans and sometimes also simply because they want to add something to the story, even if by that point in time they may not have yet entirely in mind what that something is going to be.

Such as Rebecca Sugar actually throwing the term “Cluster” around in Steven Universe, before even having an idea what it was supposed to mean in context of the story.

So in that regard, fan theories are just attempts to explain stuff the show runners may already have in mind to be important anyway and therefore different from lets say someone obsessing over background colours being symbolic of gay relationships for example

But now back to the two comics. The first one, showing us a weird expy of Bill Cipher with a card exclaiming “Adrien is a Sentimonster”, may be kinda confusing, so here is a bit of context: Dobson tries to poke fun at the “Adrien is a Sentimonster” theory of the Ladybug fandom, by having the “subject” of another, extremely niche fan theory claim it is baseless and wild. That “subject” is Tad Strange. Now if you are only familiar with the show Gravity Falls, you would know that Tad Strange is that guy…

the most average, boring person in all of Gravity Falls, part of an almost Family Guy level cutaway gag in one episode of Gravity Falls. But supposedly (I at least never saw it), when the name was first mentioned somewhere by Hirsch long before the episode introducing Tad properly aired, people came up with the theory that “Tad Strange” may be a secondary villain akin to Bill Cipher, if not even a relative to him. And that is what Dobson tries to mock here. I say “try” cause honestly, who would even get the idea of what sort of joke Dobson tries to tell, if they aren’t familiar with the theory. A theory that was so niche, Dobson would have to explain the intention of the comic somewhere down the line even.

And to quote the Joker…

Furthermore, while the theory of “Adrien is a sentimonster” was kinda wild after only introducing the fact that even humanoid, sentient creatures could be created by the power of the Peacock Miraculous (in the episode simply called “Ladybug”) recently to that comic being made, it wasn’t really that wild when people thought about it.

After all, Ladybug at its core was still a magical girl show. And them doing twists like that (such as Chibiusa being Sailor Moon’s daughter from the future, Galaxia being the original first Sailor Senshi, Witches being corrupted Magical Girls etc) was not necessarily unheard off.

Though Dobson, when told it could still be a possibility, not only would act rather condescending, but furthermore went on to also piss against Ladybug’s leg, by stating “the show’s writing is not good enough to pull that off”. Which okay, he is right, the show is one of the dumbest written magical girl shows I have ever seen, the man behind it is essentially Dobson with a career.

But, two seasons and a few years later….

YOU ARE A SENTIMONSTER

YOU ARE SENTIMONSTERS

WE ALL ARE SENTIMONSTERS!!!!!

At least Adrien is not alone?

Yeah, Dobson can eat a dick in that regard. I mean, I think the reveal and how they played out the mystery wasn’t all that good (in my opinion, Astruc and his team winged it in) but not only was his dismissive behavior insulting to begin with, it also shows that he has very little understanding of how to utilize common tropes in fiction and cartoons in particular, despite consuming them en masse. Plus you know, kinda insulting to Thomas Astruc, who by that token proved to still be at least more succesful than Dobby-dumb-dumb bear

Also, as much as I like Gravity Falls, neither it or Steven Universe had in my opinion quite from the get go an idea where to head with their mysteries. Alex Hirsch having confirmed, that Bill Cipher becoming a character and not just a symbol, was something he came up with only halfway working through the concept phase of season 1. And the Rose is Pink reveal? My memories regarding that show are a bit rusty, but when was that actually hinted on in the show? There were massive hints that Pink Diamond didn’t get killed by the rebellion or that things were more complicated. Not that Pink pulled essentially a Darth Sidious on everyone just to live on earth and have sex with humans. Especially in season 1 to 3.

But really, the picture is just something that to me has just aged poorly.

The comic on the other hand I genuinely want to smack Dobson over the head for.

Again, I myself think that yes, people can go too far at times with looking for clues or making up their theories. But personally, I think there is a difference between making a general statement about it and giving a specific example, like Dobson does here. Sure, he may not show the username of the person who made the video or the comment, but it is still pretty condescending and a dick move, made by a guy who may be 10+ years older than whoever made the video referenced here.

Dobson essentially punches down, instead of punching up. A at the time at least 35/36 year old man acting like a mean school girl online to mock some random person, who just made a dumb theory and then moved on with its life.

Though it isn’t just that one user specifically he is essentially punching down. Here is the text by the author coming with the comic

“You guys should all take a chill pill for getting angry and upset at the creator”

No. No they kinda don’t. I mean, yeah some people can take it way too far with how invested they are in the stuff, but people have every right to also call certain plot twists hack writing, if it is so. Like how the reveal of Rose having been Pink had essentially ruined Rose Quartz and as such also put in question any of the “morals” she supposedly lived by. And considering she was something of the “moral center” for the show and many characters as well as fans, that just immediately made fans feel betrayed about having believed in her in the first place. Don’t get me even started how it essentially confirmed that Pearl is the worst gem of them all, for having always been in love with a version of Space Hitler. Furthermore, Dobson is not really someone to talk about that sort of shit like he has a higher ground, considering how he at times demands of other creators to fall in line with his ideas

If anything, it just feels similar to other comcis he made in his last years about cartoons: Him trying to defend the shitty writing and work put into stuff he likes, because a) how dare people insult something he likes and b) he thinks he and Rebecca Sugar, Thomas Astruc and Alex Hirsch are kinda brothers in arms. Meaning if you insult them, you insult him and the great art he has created and is an expression of his “talents”.

But most importantly about the comic, it is just not funny.

It is simply Dobson “lecturing” in the green void and with emerging shit in the background for which he could be copyright striked into oblivion, how he thinks “x is bad”. And you know, personally I prefer being entertained over being lectured. Or try to do both, which you know, certain people can, cause they have one thing Dobson does not: Talent.

The sad thing about it being, Dobson could have actually managed to make the subject of “overanalyzing via fan theory” funny quite easily. All he had to do was just tell a small “story” about “fan theories” as a plot element, rather than a subject for a lecture.

Here is my idea for a small comic, and if you have input to give or want to adapt it, I would be glad:

Dobson watches some show only to pause when he sees something in the background.

Next thing we know, we have Pam visit Dobson one week later to see if he is doing okay, only to find him unhinged and covering over a bill board with strings regarding his fan theory why these characters are a couple. Insert him either going completely or partly into a “Pepe Silvia” like rant

And yeha, I know the “Charlie’s string board” thing is an overused meme by now in itself, but hot dang is it still funny…

Only for Pam to say “Andy, the next episode dropped yesterday and they are not a couple” Ending the comic with her showing him the episode and Dobson be like “oh… well, at least the resolution was decent”

A comic of that kind would also have the advantage of Dobson actually doing one thing, he certainly haven’t done in years by that point: Make fun of himself too.

See, that is likely another problem with Dobson: He was so preoccupied in using SYAC as a soap box for his opinion, he was completely blind to the fact that he could avoid being conceived as one of the internets biggest douchebags, if he poked genuine fun at himself via his work once in a while. Make the Dobbear the one living by example about what Dobson talks, instead of just ranting about it, you know?

But hey, I am not Dobson.

A guy who tells people to not overanalyze everything via fantheories…

But has absolutely no problem to fawn over some dumb Zelda theory -as long as it is by him- or whine about people not liking HIS theories on Steven Universe, without actually bothering to even explain what his theory is about.

Then again, I take Dobson making dumb theories about shitty cartoons and calart lesbians over him genuinely falling for real world related conspiracy theories, like how 9/11 was staged.

Yeah, that was a thing.

[kerrikins]

It's hard for me to tell at the moment whether I can't see anything in the Build tag because of the massive amounts of spam or if it's just that people aren't saying anything, but I guess that is neither here nor there, other than that if nobody is saying anything after the last week it leaves me a bit ??

I last posted about this whole topic back in July - if I remember it was right at the start of the July 17th leaks, though at this point I'll admit that it's all become a bit of a blur. We've had what, now, five leaks since May? Yeah.

I've thought a lot about whether or not to post again since then. I had a friend visiting from out of the country at the time, and between that and the insanity that is my workplace at the moment, I quite frankly did not have the time or the brain space to actually work through my thoughts and put them down on paper, so to speak. When I did have some more time things had quieted down again, and I thought - well, no use dredging it up again, since I'd already laid out a lot of my thoughts here and then on twitter, too. There was also the unspoken fact that I didn't know whether or not there would be another leak, of course.

So here we are a month later coming off of another round, and after the last week I feel the need to finally get some things off my chest.

First of all, I've done some poking around and I'm disappointed but unsurprised to see that as usual, there is very little discussion outside of pro-Build spaces about how disturbing and obsessive all this is. The campaign of hate, bullying, harassment, coercion and blackmail continues and by and large people are happy to participate in it because apparently those things become okay when they are dealing with someone they view as a bad person as long as they pay lip service to 'well they're both bad people', which does not even come close to being an actual criticism of what she's doing. As always, there's also little discussion of the clear fact that she obviously doesn't care who she hurts during this process, even if it's the faves of the same fans participating in the hate campaign.

None of this aligns with my moral code. It never will. I think it's disgusting and I think that the people participating in it should be ashamed of themselves, though I know that they never will be.

I've gone into detail on all of this before, however, so I don't see the point in going into it again. I will simply state that yes, I do still believe in second chances and opportunities for redemption for anyone, regardless of what they have done. So I will always say that people should give Build the chance to try and be a better person, and that they shouldn't try to dictate to others whether or not they support him.

However (you knew that was coming, right?) - what's in those messages doesn't align with my moral code either. And yeah, I do feel like I need to say it, partly because I feel like the bubble/byl fandom at large is being a bit too dismissive of it.

I get it. I laid out up above why I think what is being done to Build is wrong. I haven't changed my mind on that. People feel so strongly that what is being done to him is wrong that it makes them extremely defensive of him.

But this situation isn't black and white and never has been, and multiple things can be true.

Example A: Some people who hate Build are guilty of behaving extremely badly and contributing to the harassment and bullying and blackmail.

On the flip side: some people who support him are guilty of hating on the other cast members in spite of the fact that there's no evidence of them doing anything. Some are also guilty of willfully turning a blind eye to the fact that he has admitted the messages are his and has apologized for them - which means that as of today the current evidence we have says that they are his, they're not fake, and he is taking responsibility for them.

Example B: His ex is clearly mentally unwell, a narcissist who is obsessed with revenge and is conducting a hate campaign to turpedo his life and career while benefiting her own.

On the flip side: it seems clear that Build is guilty of awful behaviour, of saying horrible things about people who were seemingly nothing but kind to him, of being homophobic, racist and sexist. (I'm not going to touch on the abuse allegations here because I've discussed those previously.)

Again: yes, I do think he should be given the chance to start over and redeem himself and I like to think he's capable of it, but fans really should be acknowledging what he's redeeming himself FROM.

From what I've witnessed in a lot of spaces - that's not happening. I've seen a lot of denial, I've seen a lot of handwaving and glossing over the situation. I've seen some insane claims, too. Some fans are going so far as to say that they think that his show was never going to happen, that the messages are all doctored and this is all a plot between the company, his ex and his former co-stars. (Which is just - ??? I don't even know where to start.)

Some are simply refusing to read the messages (how can a person defend him if they don't know what they're defending? I don't quite understand) while others simultaneously claim that the translations out there are misleading - but refuse to share 'acceptable' translations because that's privacy invasion. Again - ???

It's insane and downright exhausting and I am just... done. I speak up for what I think is right and call out what I think is wrong, and I while I think the handling of this is horrendous and has been from the start, I also think it's wrong to minimize and downplay what he's done. In his apology he's holding himself accountable for what he did, why won't some of his fandom? How can people argue for him to get a second chance if they won't even admit what he did that he needs a second chance for? Technically this is a third chance, I might add, because some of those messages are from after his scandal last summer.

I want to reiterate here that I don't hate Build. It seems like so often any criticism of his behaviour at all means that suddenly you're an anti or that you hate him or you're against him. I'm not going to suddenly go on diatribes about how he's a horrible person. I think it's likely that there's a lot more going on here than what meets the eye, particularly since there are people who are still well liked by most of the fandom who have stood by him until July (a certain picture that was posted with a filter comes to mind, as does someone who liked every single one of his posts since his return until they were mentioned in one of the leaked messages).

What I mean here is simply this: I don't think Build is a cartoon villain, I think he's a whole person capable of a variety of things, both good and bad.

I also want to make it clear here that I'm not here to hate on people in the fandom. I mean - glass house, stones, all that. But also I think we've had enough of that. This fandom is one of the most polarized I've ever been in and the vitriol is off the charts, I'm not going to contribute to it.

I guess my hope is just that people will think about why and how they're choosing to come to his defense, if for no other reason than the fact that in my opinon and experience, the more extreme fan claims are making it worse for him, not better. I've said this on twitter and I'll say it here - when people are confronted with attempts to downplay things, it makes them more intent on proving the opposite. If you acknowledge them then you change the footing and the conversation can move on to other things.

As I said, this is a complex situation. It's okay to acknowledge that. Things don't have to be black and white. A lot of fans are in echo chambers right now on both sides of the aisle.

Anyway. I truly hope that this will be the last post that I ever have to make on this subject. For now, at least, I've said my piece and addressed what I need to in order to feel comfortable and not just like I'm avoiding talking about the topic.

In the meantime I've turned my attention to Bible and the rest of the cast because I always have and continue to adore them and I feel like I've neglected them over the last six months (as much as a fan can neglect celebrities, of course). For all my issues with the company, I've always loved the cast.

I'm more active on Twitter than here, but I do go back and forth between the two sites.

Take care. 💗

[reimenaashelyee]

how did you get your comics seen? it's one thing to make them and a whole other thing to get people to lay eyes on them and read them and I have no idea how to do the second part

I think you'll have to at least make friends with some of your peer group (artists who are at the same stage in their career as you) so you can both share your audiences and if nothing else, have each other as readers. If you're really new, it's kinda a fact that your work will be tiny for a few years: there's a lot of stuff online.

I am not a spring chicken anymore so all my current advice for promotion wouldn't apply as the majority of it required years of presence and establishment with the comics industry... now that my peer group has matured and become successful creators (I know that my peers are casually aware of what I put out, they may or may not read it or even comment). Additionally, my way of promoting is as avoidant of playing the algorithm and virality and tailoring to the most amount of possible audience. If you want the opposite of that, you can ask @secondlina - who has done a lot of experimentation with social media and gaming the internet attention economy.

I'm not all that interest in gaming anything: I only want to serve the audience I have and always had - thoughtful, chill readers who are ok with slow reading, in the sense they don't ask me for constant content since they get what my vibe is. They are here for my lush visuals, original material and approach to topics/characters. It's this audience, and the academics + people who tend to be older and are equivalent/less levels of "online" to me. I personally find that gaming for views on purpose steals time and energy away, since a lot of the tactics tend to ask you to behave or post or draw a certain way that might feel unnatural with no guarantee whether the effort is worth it. For example, making memes of your characters, doing funny reels with music. If you are cool with doing all that though, again, @secondlina is your expert. I can see why those tactics are popular: that's how Big Tech dictates you get access to their "discovery" algorithm.

For me, in the early days what got new eyes onto my narrative work was making one-off illustrations (not necessarily of the comic - just some original character concepts) that somehow got popular. This was during the peak eras of Twitter and Tumblr though. The other thing was mostly talking about my comics: I document so much of my process. People love this apparently. It's the only guaranteed way for myself that gets people hype and aware of the comic's existence - though this might partly be caused by the aforementioned audience I always had. It's very low effort cos I mostly post screenshots of WIPs or developmental sketches and include a comment.

But like, with webcomics, I always operated on the assumption that people don't read my work. I am just here vibing. If there are readers (and I know who you are because of comments made across social media / my websites over the years) I appreciate them, but I don't want to ask much of them either. I put out the work I like, and whoever comes across it and likes it can stay, maybe comment, maybe get the print edition.

Yeah, this is not such a satisfactory answer for marketing if you're not subscribed to my brand of being an online artist: which is slow-growth, sustained working. My established methods now are: talking about my work, documenting it, connecting with peer group + older generations of professionals (established critics, journalists, editors), running a newsletter, going on interviews/podcasts, submitting my art to whatever I think would help promote it - pitch to Shortbox Fair, apply to Knife Beetle or the Cartoonist Cooperative, join a Discord.

And advanced methods, like applying for artist residencies.

In the end I cannot emphasise enough to get to know your peers who are at the same level of career as you are. Find creators who started at the same time you did and read their work (your choice); talk to them directly if the style/vibe matches. This is long-term mutual commitment - you won't see the effects until years later when you each find success in the paths you chose. And just to give you an idea of who my original peer group is - choo, Ariel Ries, Kay O'Neill, Bree Paulsen, Toril/Eden Orlensky, Kaeti V, Kevin Jay Stanton, Victoria Grace Elliot, Britt Sabo - we were all obscure mutuals/friends at more or less the same time. Then we each found our own way. Over time the circle grew to include other peer groups - ones that started slightly earlier or later, and new contacts of the same level. And that's how one gets established. As this is happening you will get eyes to your work naturally.

[frumfrumfroo]

(Sorry if I am belabouring the point, so feel free to ignore this ask) no yeah I'm definitely the same way and you're never wrong for having personal reasons not getting into something immediately - I think some of the fandom anxiety comes from the fact that things get cancelled so quickly without sufficient viewership (or even with sufficient viewership, which is a whole other nut). It puts a weird amount of onus of a show's success on the fandom, which is even stranger in the time of broken trust and active resentment of audiences/audience engagement with a text/trying to 'outsmart' us. But ultimately there is something severely rotting at the root that I don't think we have any control over.

And yeah the popular perception of TD season 1 is that it's grimdark because its protagonist is deeply wounded and many a fanboy is butthurt about its celebration of redemption. It's an incredibly, incredibly dark show, and so that tragic beginning is hard for a lot of people to get past, I think, when it's not the final conclusive thematic remark*. I would say that Dark is similar to this if you want an idea of the tone. Somehow we have ended up where the children's modern day fairytale is grimdark and nihilistic and shows inured in tragedy are idealistic and redemptive.

Anyway, very thankful for your blog in keeping me sane in the time of psychedelic narrative rules, and being Principled, because sometimes I feel like a stick in the mud lol.

And the asterisk is there up above because I have heard this exact description of a popular book series (A Song of Ice and Fire) and I disagree with this conclusion, partly because the series is unfinished, partly because I think the fanbase on Tumblr is overly optimistic, and also because TD has an absolute conclusion which is idealistic. So I just want to note this so it doesn't seem like I'm misrepresenting or overstating the show lololol.

It's also extremely unsavoury the way big name fans and the former twitter cabal, wherever that hangs out now, will take advantage of this anxiety and use it as a bludgeon to make a captive audience feel like they have some 'duty' to support the financial success of giant evil corporations. Giving Disney more money and bullying people for not giving Disney more money is not a moral victory, I think we should all be able to agree. Abusing calls to support artists by co-opting them into the service of mindless consumption of branded refuse is fairly repugnant. Saying 'vote with your dollars' between a choice of Disney Extruded Movie Product A, B, or C is both hilarious and sad.

eg: that tie-in comic, I think it was the TLJ one? The one with the terrible art. It's a commissioned product, the artist was paid once and as little as possible to create it for solely marketing purposes. Applying fandom etiquette to it or saying it should not be criticised because of high turnover times is frankly fucking ridiculous. It's a professional commissioned product they were selling for profit. They had all the time and all the money in the world, there's no excuse for it to be awful and absolutely no one should have felt obligated to buy it or keep quiet about how bad it was. Maybe the artist could have done better under better working conditions, but that doesn't make the actual product we're being asked to purchase acceptable. Giving Disney your money is not going to improve those conditions and it's not going to help that artist.

The same with the tros defenders saying they tried therefore you can't criticise them. A) they did not try B) this was not a sincere piece of art and pretending otherwise is just insulting and C) it's a corporate product made by a near-monopoly who employed alleged professionals. Nothing could possibly be more fair game for harsh criticism.

Ultimately putting this onus on fandom of you must throw your money away on this thing or be a free shill for this brand or maybe they'll stop throwing us any crumbs... like it's debasement. Given all the many recent examples of how public support doesn't matter unless it's that first weekend a show drops on a streaming platform or the opening box office, how being the 'wrong' audience makes you irrelevant no matter how many of you there are, how even very successful shows are dropped after two seasons because producers don't want to pay actors, etc. etc. it's even more silly. We should be demanding better, not propping up this nonsense. Creative people are being profoundly fucked over by this system and are often still fucked even if they make something successful.

If people want to support artists, buy independent and small label media. Go see original, mid-budget movies at the cinema (if you live in a city where you have any chance of one playing, that is).

And see, I have no problem with darkness, angst, and tragedy if I know it's going somewhere positive. Having to really go through it can make the journey and the ultimate conclusion feel even more rewarding. As long as it's not angst for angst's sake, but is doing something meaningful and necessary, it only enriches the hope at the foundation of redemption or recovery stories.

Idealism is brave, challenging, and requires sincerity. When the modern fairy tales are being produced in cynicism and by committee to meet a quota for the shareholders...

Thank-you ❤️

[earlgreytea68]

Ruminations on Social Media Platforms

Since Tumblr has decided that it Needs to Make Money and the Only Way to Make Money is to turn all users into Mindless Servants of the Algorithm, I've been thinking a lot about social media platforms.

Tbh, I'm always thinking a lot about social media platforms, it's kind of part of my field of scholarly endeavor, if you will. But I think a lot about them not in the abstract but as an active user of many of them. And Tumblr is my faaaavorite. And of course so much of what makes Tumblr my favorite is what makes it "unprofitable" or whatever. I put these words in quotes because the definition of "unprofitable" is an extremely narrow one in our capitalist society. Could a website that has allowed many people to form communities / relationships / friendships / connections with people they would otherwise never have met in ways that have vastly improved their lives really be considered unprofitable, ever? Could a website that gives people any moments of pleasure or joy or delight be considered unprofitable? Could a website that sometimes makes you think or at least give you pause be considered unprofitable?

Yeah, it's also a website that's, you know, a hellsite, but, like, it's on the internet and it's made up of people, c'est la vie.

I left Twitter when the Elon Musk thing went down, partly because in those days he was actively taunting Twitter's userbase and it felt a little like I was just on this social media platform being bullied by its owner? Idk, I didn't like it, so I decided to take a break until things calmed down. I really thought he'd get bored and sell it, so kudos to Elon Musk for not doing that. But, anyway, sometimes I think about going back to Twitter. I miss my friends there, I miss knowing what they're up to. Twitter was actually, let's face it, terrible for keeping up with people but Tweetdeck, where you could put people in chronological order and better organize things, was great for it! (As usual, the only way to make the social media platform usable was to use it in a way it wished you wouldn't.)

But I've been going back to Twitter recently to find Tourdust content and I was reminded that Twitter is just...awful. Like, it is almost impossible to have an encounter with Twitter that doesn't drag you down a rabbit hole of terrible discourse of people being awful. I fully admit this is my own fault, for clicking on things I know are going to upset me, but this is why it's better for me just to be off Twitter entirely. Twitter's functionality makes it way too easy to trace and follow outrage, and then you end up just hate-clicking deeper and deeper into these spirals. My mental health is much happier for having given up Twitter, because I'm not a strong enough person not to get sucked into all the unhealthy snippiness of the place.

The reason I've been on Twitter looking for Tourdust updates is precisely because it's better-organized than Tumblr, easier to find the stuff you want to find (in among all the other stuff you wish you wouldn't find, of course). So Tumblr's poor searchability is why I was driven to Twitter, BUT I've come to the conclusion that in a lot of ways that is a feature and not a bug. I can see the ripples of a bunch of kerfuffles that have happened in bandom recently, they lap delicately up against my dash, but by the time they get to me they're the tiniest of waves instead of a tsunami, and if I wanted to figure out what went down, it would take me actual effort. I'm sure I could do it, of course -- it's not like it's utterly impossible -- but it's not as frictionless as figuring out on Twitter. I have to make more of an active effort to go in search of the drama, it's not just RIGHT THERE blinking at me to click on it, and that makes me better able to resist it. I am at heart a lazy person, after all.

So, like, in a way Tumblr doesn't function right, and in a way Tumblr functions beautifully. It all depends on what you're using Tumblr for. And Tumblr was always my escape platform, even when I was still active on Twitter. When I was feeling anxious or sad or upset, I would scroll my Tumblr dash and it would be mindless and soothing and endless (I follow a lot of people. This is for me the key to Tumblr, but see, it all depends on how you're using Tumblr! They don't all share my interests anymore, but I don't care. I just want to sometimes not be in the shouting match that Twitter seems to devolve into so often). And so this is why I feel like it does make sense that there should always be multiple social media platforms in the world. This idea that social media platforms seem to have that they should be the ULTIMATE ONLY ONE is so harmful. Different platforms are for different things. Chill out. (Of course, this is the conquer-the-world mentality formed by capitalism. I am really worried what's going to happen when Netflix realizes it can't keep growing subscribers indefinitely because the population of the planet is finite. Does it know this? I don't think it knows this...)

I was thinking of all this not just because of Tumblr's algorithm thing but because everyone's fussing about Threads, and like, in a way I get it. Clearly I still have a need for Twitter in my life even if I'm simultaneously aware how dysfunctional it is for me. I get that everyone's still trying to find a way to replace Twitter. But first of all, I dislike Facebook as a company so intensely, like, a lot. (I refuse to call it Meta. That's how much I dislike it lol). Second of all, the fact that people seem to think it's a good thing that Threads integrates with your Instagram, I'm just like, ......imagine behaving on Twitter exactly the same way you behave on Instagram? What??? This doesn't even computer to me lol. The same platform that wants you to post photos of your kids should be integrated with the one where people are constantly just yelling at each other over nothing???? Those seem like two completely different places to me?????

Facebook is obsessed with the idea that everyone needs to be Exactly The Same on every corner of the internet, and I just do not agree with that at all. Imagine me being the same on LinkedIn as I am on Tumblr. Like, God, what a boring world that would be!! What a boring life I would be leading!! I guess some people ARE that way, and either that is awesome that they are so fully themselves at work as to just post porn they've written, or it's that they never have any interests that aren't totally aligned with work, which just...is astonishing to me.

What I REALLY think Threads is doing -- and honestly what I think Facebook essentially wants -- is to turn all of us into some curated facsimile of ourselves. I mean, all social media does that, but if you only have one facsimile of yourself, then you never have any other aspects to explore. And if you only have one facsimile of yourself, it's probably going to be the one most designed to make yourself money. Like, isn't that what everyone wants to be doing these days? Using social media to make money? I saw people talking about Threads, and every single one of them was talking about building their brand.

So in a way I am totally sympathetic to Tumblr's problem. They're right. Social media is just a way to sell us stuff now, and if they're not selling us stuff, it's a "problem." Capitalism has finally succeeded in commodifying literally every relationship we have. Literally every single one. And we kind of just let it happen, like there was no other possible way the internet could ever have been designed but to create a handful of billionaires making money off of the fact that people want to feel connected to each other. And then taking that fact and making it all about "but what's the point of connection without making me some more billions?"

Anyway. I wish things weren't like that. Tumblr still is my favorite. Who knows what happens next. Sigh.