#you can do whatever you designed your specific space to be able to do

[bigothteddies]

nothing will ever disappoint me ever than “You can do ANYTHING!!” tagline video games. “The only limit is your imagination!” WRONG!!

Can I have sex in your game? Can I pay for things in game without having to grind or hook up a credit card? Are the cosmetics in your game locked to only your designs and your ingame store or can we design whatever we want to put on our characters? Can I customize the car however I want or is there a set of choices for each part you created that I cannot deviate from? Can I program interactions within the game? Can I make it so my car plays songs for everyone within a 50 foot radius or blinks its headlights whenever someone does a dancing emote in front of it? Can I move around within the car while it’s driving? Can I get into every building in the map? Can I load in a nintendo inspired character or look without getting copyright striked? Can I play other video games within your video game? I’m serious can I play Stardew Valley or Helldivers 2 on a screen in my living room in game? Can I play music ingame through my spotify account? Can I buy pizza in game and have it show up irl at my house? Can I skateboard in your game? Can I ride bikes? Rollerskate? Snowboard? Ski? Do tricks? Are the physics any good? Can I create my own tricks and animations or am I limited to whatever you predecided are the only possible options for a culture designed around doing whatever you want? Can I create art? Can I play music? Can I design my home? Can I design my town? My world? My government? Can my friends play with me? Can we curate our own space without other people? Can

[tgcg]

fond regards

… OKAY? AND WHO IS SAYING THAT? WHAT THE FUCK?

I -- ACTUALLY, WHO THE HELL JUST TOLD ME THIS INFORMATION? I'M COMPLETELY ALONE RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU SEEING THAT?

ARE YOU WATCHING ME RIGHT NOW? BASK IN THIS OVERWHELMING PRESENCE OF NEGATIVE SPACE. THE ABSOLUTE ABSENCE OF AIR SURROUNDING ME.

THERE IS FUCK ALL. NOT A THING.

NOT EVEN SOME KIND OF SEATING APPARATUS FOR ME TO STAGE THIS INTERVENTION FOR YOU ON. I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO "RAW DOG" IT OR WHATEVER THE FUCK DAVE WOULD DESCRIBE THIS AS.

I -- I MEAN… FIRST OF ALL. SHIT.

THANKS, I GUESS… FOR DOING THAT?

LOVING ME.

WHATEVER YOUR VERSION OF "LOVE" IS.

OKAY, ENOUGH BULLSHIT.

… LOOK. I DON'T KNOW WHO IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE. NOR THROUGH WHAT KIND OF TENTH-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE PROCESSING PLATFORM OR WHATEVER-THE-SHIT DEVICE IT IS BEING DELIVERED.

AND FRANKLY I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF A FUCKING WEEK ALREADY TO BE DEALING WITH SOME POSSIBLY HIGHER LEVEL OF BEING THAT JUST "LOVES ME".

I WAS FLYING WAY PAST THE THRESHOLD FOR BEING ABLE TO GIVE A FUCK ABOUT EXISTENTIALISM BY TUESDAY AT THE LATEST.

SO SURE, THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.

BUT IF YOU'RE STILL LISTENING TO ME RIGHT NOW: I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU'D CALL A "PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP", ASSUMING YOUR UNIVERSE HAS ANY CAPACITY FOR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS BEYOND BASELESS QUOTE-ENQUOTE "LOVE" OF THOROUGHLY UNLOVABLE INDIVIDUALS. HONESTLY, NOT A GOOD SIGN THAT YOU CHOSE ME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THIS, BY THE WAY! THIS IS NOT A GREAT LOOK FOR YOUR SUPPOSED NTH-DIMENSIONAL GODLINESS!

THE FIRST THING A TROLL WOULD FEEL TOWARDS YOU RIGHT NOW IS PITY. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT.

AND THERE'S NOTHING PARASOCIAL ABOUT THAT WHATSOEVER, BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE'RE NOW MUTUALLY AWARE OF EACH OTHER.

I LEARNED ALL ABOUT PARASOCIAL BULLSHIT FROM ROSE WHEN I WAS TELLING HER ABOUT TROLL WILL SMITH, SO I'VE BEGRUDGINGLY BECOME KIND OF A MASTER ON THE TOPIC.

WAIT, FUCK. DOES THAT MEAN YOU AREN'T BEING PARASOCIAL TOWARDS ME ANYMORE? HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU BEFORE IT STARTS JUST BEING A REGULAR RELATIONSHIP? WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES HERE.

DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA BY THE WAY. I DON'T HAVE A PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TROLL WILL SMITH OR ANYTHING. THAT WAS JUST A CLASSIC LALONDE "MASSIVE ILLOGICAL REACH IN CONJECTURE THAT IS COMPLETELY OFF-BASE AND GENERALLY ONLY DONE TO MAKE FUN OF YOU IN A SNIDE AND INSUFFERABLE WAY, INEVITABLY LEADING INTO AN HOUR-LONG DIATRIBE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO FUCK WITH YOU".

SHE JUST DOESN'T GET IT. HE'S COOL AS FUCK AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT! THE AMOUNT OF BULLSHIT THE DERSE HUMANS CAN EXTRAPOLATE FROM THE SIMPLEST OF SPONGEDEAD NOTIONS IS MIND-BOGGLING TO ME. IT'S AS INCREDIBLE AS IT IS MONUMENTALLY FUCKING AGGRAVATING.

ANYWAYS, SINCE WE'RE APPARENTLY IN THE REALM OF SHARING COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED SENTIMENTS WITH PEOPLE WHO POSSIBLY DON'T EVEN EXIST, I HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU: IMPROVE YOUR STANDARDS. MAYBE LOOKING INSIDE YOUR OWN DIMENSION WOULD BE A GOOD START. AND I'D SUGGEST SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WASTE HIS TIME TALKING TO THIN FUCKING AIR IN VAST WHITE EXPANSES LIKE THIS ONE.

JUST A THOUGHT.

JEGUS, TALKING TO NOTHING IS HARD. I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST SPUTTERING COMPLETE INANE GARBAGE IN CIRCLES LIKE A DELIRIOUS WRIGGLER HERE. IS THIS HOW DAVE FEELS ALL THE TIME? THIS IS HORRIBLE.

WHERE'S THE EXIT?

[yuurei20]

(This was originally an ask received through Twitter)

"Hello! Can you please elaborate on the time loop theory in book 2 that you mentioned in the tweet where you talked about your favourite theories?"

I am wary about discussing this theory as there are many others who have put much more thought into it than I have, but I can certainly try with what I was able to find :>

(The information in this thread was combined from here, here, here, and here)

The basic theory is that everything we know is repeating in a loop in an attempt to either stop something from happening or to make something happen.

The game’s tagline of “I will show you a true happy ending” (EN: “Let us show you the real happily-ever-after”) could be insinuating that there have already been less than happy endings, and we may have already seen one: while some theorize that the events of the prologue are showing us what is going to happen in the future, others say that it is both that and something that has already happened.

The theory goes that the battle with the chimera (who may or may not be an overblotted Grim) was lost and everyone (or just the prefect) is sent back to try again, thus the opening lines of the game narrated in Crowley’s voice.

(Note: I would have translated this as “I—they—you—only have a little time left. Whatever you do, don’t let go”, but the situation is so vague that anything is possible.)

(Here is a short comic insinuating that this time loop is Crowley’s unique magic (warning: blood, death, a Yuu design))

This theory seems to be largely inspired by Mickey’s comment that he has seen the same dream three times but he also says “your voice gets clearer and clearer every time.”

Since Mickey also shows up in Books 2 and 3 but we were not able to speak with him, it is possible that this is not actually hinting at two earlier loops, just earlier events within the same timeline. This does not dismiss the time loop theory and might mean that this is Mickey’s first time interacting with the loop, but there have been far more than just two or three timelines.

(This account pretends that Book 7 does not exist yet, so that is about as specific as I can get.)

The theory gets kind of wild with references to STYX’s simulation system, supposed inconsistencies with Ace and Epel, Crowley’s potential connection to STYX, etc, but one thing that everyone seems to agree on is: Leona knows.

Leona is extremely powerful and extremely private.

He has had a number of contracts with Azul who is also a powerful mage, and according to Idia he seems like “the kind of guy who always knows he’s dreaming.”

Yana has confirmed that Idia has a part in Book 7 and, with both him and Leona halfway out of their coffins in promotional art, people are wondering if Leona will be stepping up as well.

We know that Riddle’s current personality is a 180 degree change from original plans and that this change was made pretty far into development, after everything had already been approved.

There are also rumors that Leona’s Book 2 was the original Book 6, looking at older promotional information (Book 2 was originally listed between Ignihyde and Diasomnia on the official website).

It is possible that—much like Riddle’s situation—Yana came up with a better idea than what had originally been decided, and it required shoehorning Leona’s drama into an earlier Book in order to make it work.

This would mean that Book 7 used to have significant space for Leona (there is a pattern of the previous Overblotter having a role in the next Book).

That space may have been rewritten for Idia, but it is also possible that Idia’s role was added separately and a role for Leona remains to some extent, which is why they went out of their way to say that Leona knows when he is in a dream.

Theories vary from “Leona is 100% aware of what is going on, broke free from the loop and he is the only one getting older as he tries to save the world” to “Leona knows something isn’t right but not exactly what.”

The proof that people usually point to is his comment where he is unsurprised by Grim “always” eating black stones (which he shouldn’t know anything about), but the phrasing is so vague that he could just be making the connection between the stones and a potential blot-risk.

Another scene that is often referenced in the “Leona knows” conversation is an interaction with Jamil where he accurately predicts Jamil’s attack on Kalim despite how rarely they interact before Book 6.

There are also the three white chess pieces on the chessboard in Leona’s bedroom that seem to correspond to the only three characters in the game with light cosmic magic: a white rook for Rook, a white knight for Silver and a white pawn for Kalim, whom Leona literally refers to as a pawn piece in chess during Tamashima-Mina (these three chess pieces are also displayed prominently in Leona's first Birthday groovy).

Leona also seems suspicious of Crowley, suspects what really happened in Book 5 and is able to literally sniff out magic, which we have seen no other character capable of doing.

Leona is very perceptive in general: he is suspicious of Lilia in Spectral Soiree, calls him an old man when no other character outside of Diasomnia knows his true age, is the first to figure out that Malleus is pretending to be possessed and is able to tell when someone becomes injured and is trying to hide it in both Book 6 and an event.

This is not proof that Leona knows what is happening, but it may be an argument for why it is likely that he knows more than he is willing to let on.

Some versions of the time loop theory say that the same prefect is being sent back over and over again to try and save everyone (which ties into the game’s opening), while other versions say that this is the prefect’s first time being summoned into a loop that has been going on for a long time without them, in an effort by someone (Crowley?) to change the ending of the story.

While not technically part of the game, the Twst novelization supports the first pattern while the manga series supports the second, with new prefects showing up after the previous prefect presumably fails.

Knowing Yana it is possible that the game is actually a third, entirely different pattern with the novel and manga exploring alternatives that were considered for the game but not used.

[coelpts]

alright, guess we're complaining now.

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Friday, May 26th, 2023 changelog which reads, "On web, clicking anywhere in a post’s header now opens that post. Previously, you had to click specifically on the blog name."

Second image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 changelog which reads, "To clarify a point made in last Friday’s post: on web, clicking the reblogged-from blog name in a reblog’s post header now takes you to that blog, not their reblog. Clicking in the empty space in the post’s header, and in the header of each reblog trail item, now takes you to that specific post in the blog view popup. This is one of a series of updates we’re making to the reblog consumption experience across all platforms, to make it more intuitive and consistent, especially for new users." End ID.]

Tumblr, this change is bad. A lot of other people have already shared their own complaints for this new and awful system, but it's time for me to properly throw my hat in the ring instead of at-ing you directly due to user error. Whoops.

[UPDATE 6/11/2023] HORRIBLE NEWS, EVERYONE! This change has hit mobile. There is no longer any way to access the previous version of a post except through theme reblog chaining on desktop. I've added some extra fun comments both as an edit to this post and as a reblog so nobody misses out.

All my complaints are in the read more because this got LONG.

TL;DR- This change breaks a major signifier used across the site, removes post functionality only to replace it with redundant blog links, and completely destroys a primary mode of social interaction that's been used on Tumblr for over a decade. Here's the Tumblr Staff support link so you can give feedback on how bad this change is.

Part One: Signifiers and Consistency

This is my biggest point, so it will be a bit of a doozy. Strap in.

This change is about making Tumblr operation 'intuitive and consistent' by unifying behavior between like-designed parts of the site. Now on the face that's not a bad reason to do things, and making sure users are able to intuit what a button does based on its properties is good design. I'll give an example:

Hearts symbolize the 'Like' function on Tumblr. The heart button on a post adds it to your Likes, the Likes option on your account is accompanied by that same heart, and Likes show up in post notes with that heart. This heart, then, becomes a consistent and reliable signifier. If you see a heart button on Tumblr, then whatever it's attached to probably has something to do with Likes.

So, back to the change. This change relates to the signifier of the 'Tumblr blog url link'. The idea is thus- on other parts of the site, such as the Search tab on mobile and on a blog in the dashboard tray, you will see related or similar blog suggestions like these:

[Image ID: First image: A cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example blog with the 'Blogs like this one' tray visible, populated with four example blogs.

Second image: A second cropped screenshot of Tumblr's Getting Started help page. It shows an example of the Search page on mobile with the 'Check out these blogs' feature highlighted, where two example blog cards are shown. End ID.]

These suggestions are Tumblr blog urls paired with their icon and a little bit of their blog, either the title or some recent posts of theirs. If you click on that url title, the link follows through to that blog. So there's the signifier: click on the url, go to the blog.

But now we have a bit of a snag. What about these?

[Image ID: A cropped reblog screenshot. The crop shows the Tumblr urls of the reblogger @coelpts and reblogged @coelpts-artchives with the reblog symbol between them, the rebloggers icon, and the date that this reblog was posted. End ID.]

Well, these LOOK like Tumblr blog url links. They're styled in the same way. In fact, the reblogger even has a blog icon next to it! So all signs point to these url links pointing directly to a Tumblr blog if clicked on. After this change, that's exactly what they do- so, like, no problem, right?

But, hold on. There's another signifier here! These aren't JUST Tumblr blog url links! This is…

[Image ID: First image: The former image of a cropped reblog screenshot, focused on the urls and reblog icon.

Second image: The Tumblr reblog icon. End ID.]

Our good friend, the Reblog button! That's another classic Tumblr signifier, and it sits right next to the Like button I pontificated about. Reblogs are an integral part of Tumblr, and on top of every single reblogged post you will see that icon. And would you look at that- it's even the same color as the second url link!

Those url links that established the 'url link' signifier that we talked about before, in the search page and on the dashboard tray, aren't attached to any posts. But this url is, and the reblog symbol is right next to it. The reblog signifier modifies the url link signifier. This link should go to the reblog from this user. Right? Because it is a reblog FROM that url link- so that's where it should go! And that's where it used to go, before this update.

[EDIT] I came back to fix some typos I noticed but while I was away I tested mobile to see if this change hit the app yet. It has not, but what I saw instead confirmed the above point- on mobile, selecting the reblogged's url ALSO highlights the reblog icon next to it! These two signifiers are connected, and should be read together.

By changing the url links to be more 'consistent' with other url links across the site, a major signifier that keeps the site together has been broken entirely. What should lead to a reblog- something that is clearly shown through use of a recognizable, consistent symbol- no longer does.

Part Two: Redundant Redundancy

Okay, so that's not all this change does. It also adds a brand new functionality to the post header- the white space is now clickable and serves as a replacement for the original 'to this post' link on the reblogger's side of things. These headers also generate for anyone who adds to the post, and you can click through OP too.

[Image ID: The cropped reblog screenshot from before, but with the word 'Clickable!' written in purple in the blank space above the date. End ID.]

This is also part of that design unity thing; on mobile tapping anywhere on the post header takes you to the post, and you can only tap on the blog url of the person the reblogger reblogged from. That makes sense, since on mobile you're maneuvering your fingers on a small screen and tapping a tiny url next to another tiny url is bound to cause problems.

I don't necessarily have a problem with this on the base of it. I have opinions about mobile and desktop parity that aren't really important here, but it does nicely showcase an issue I DO have- most of the changes made to reblogged posts are completely redundant and unnecessary.

---

[UPDATE] This change has hit mobile now, and it's added a fun new complaint about desktop-mobile parity that is now very suddenly a problem; the headers generated from reblogs with content don't have any responsive feedback for tapping them on mobile. OPs does, but any old Joes doesn't. This is not true on desktop, where on-hover a post header will change color; on mobile they stay completely white and plain with no on-tap color change. On top of that, the new headers are actually harder to see on mobile! There's no clear way to actually see where the header starts and the post continues! Tapping a header was deeply confusing because I got no confirmation I did anything of value until I was wisked away to a post- there's no signifier on mobile that this is a thing you can press.

This is what I was talking about in regards to desktop and mobile parity that wasn't important at the time- what's good for mobile isn't always good for desktop and vice versa. Having a post header be tappable on mobile instead of op's url link, where you have less fine motor control and there's a lot of small buttons clustered together, makes sense; but making all post headers into buttons on desktop isn't a good idea because they aren't 'buttons' and it's very hard to make it clear they are. I mentioned signifiers above and that applies to this change- there just aren't enough signs that show these are all buttons now and where they go. The fact that they're completely unresponsive on mobile really is the cherry on top, because you do not KNOW it's a button unless you tap it accidentally or already know from desktop that all headers link to reblogged posts. The design has been made more confusing; what was a functional affordance on mobile has been applied to desktop without limits or concern, making the original mobile affordance more confusing and producing a poor signifier.

Alright, that's enough from future me. Let's get back to the original post, about how this change that introduces a bad signifier is also redundant.

---

First of all, it's not like clicking the link url just threw you into a post abyss when you clicked it. Clicking through to a reblog…still took you to that blog, both on mobile and on desktop. On mobile all you need to look through the blog proper is to pull down and refresh; on desktop it's even easier, because following a link pulls up the dashboard tray for that blog with the blogs url immediately below their icon.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now shown on the blog @coelpts. The post is on the left, and the user info card is on the right. End ID.]

This change then removes one step to get to the front of a blogs page, and puts the original longer path on the new clickable header. They go to the same place, the first is just exactly one click faster. You could do the exact same thing by clicking the user icon instead.

But wait! We can get even more redundant! You know what else is standard Tumblr functionality on desktop? The hover card!

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the card for @coelpts-artchives below the icon. It has the blog title and description alongside three popular posts. A purple arrow points to it from the url. End ID.]

If you hover over any url link for about a second, a card for that blog will pop up. This tray lets you follow a blog, send asks, report them, check their popular posts and do a bunch of stuff straight from the dashboard. It also takes you directly to their blog if you click the url link on the card itself! That's right, there was already a way to go directly to the blog the previous user reblogged from! And every single blog url link does this, too- not just on post headers, but even in the text of a post itself.

So before this change, you had five ways of interacting on a post:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's post.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's post.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

One of these is redundant, but that's fine- it's just how url links work, and it's better that all urls can do that. Signifiers, we talked about this. But every other link goes to a different place, including the previous version of the post.

After this change, there's six, with changes in bold:

Click the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Click the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the reblogger's icon > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogger's url > Reblogger's blog.

Hover on the reblogged's url > Reblogged's blog.

Click the white space header next to a user > User's post.

We now have three ways of getting to the blog of the person who reblogged this post, two ways to get to the blog of the person they reblogged from, ONE way to get to the post, and ONLY if someone added to it!

This change removes functionality and replaces it with needless redundancy. As I said near the top of this section, we could already get to the blog through a reblog link- so all this does is remove getting to previous post iterations.

Part Three: Broken Chains

And hey, let's talk about previous post iterations. Y'know, something that's super important on Tumblr? Different versions of a post float around the site for years- some have been around for a decade or more. And some are only available for one post.

As I'm sure everyone knows, unless a group of tags are peer reviewed and added to the body of the post itself or are appended to the next reblog in the chain, they only exist on that version of the post. This means every iteration of a post is functionally unique, and long before we were given the ability to check the tags on a reblog directly, the only way you could check the tags for a post was by checking every iteration. This practice still exists today with 'prev tags'- users still find it useful to gesture to a previous version of a post and show what other people were thinking or add their own thoughts.

Remember the new redundant links? All that means you can't get to a previous version of a post anymore. Those tags are functionally lost now, unless you dig through that persons blog or through all the notes of a specific post. Sure that may not be a problem for a post with 300 notes or so- but what about 27,000? What about a post that was reblogged three weeks ago? If you're trying to wrangle Tumblr's dodgy search function on the blog itself, what if the post has no text to search for, or if the blog has it's search function turned off? Any post tagged with prev tags now directs to literally nothing. Anyone arguing or conversing in the tags is now speaking at air to everyone else.

There is still one way to trace reblogs. You can access the blog itself- not the dashboard tray, but the actual url.tumblr.com blog- by using a hidden link in the meatball menu off the side of the post.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the previously cropped reblog, now showing the meatballs menu accessed. The first option, showing the date of the reblog, is highlighted. A purple arrow points to this option from the meatballs menu icon and a circle is drawn around it. End ID.]

From there, you can track a post backwards through proper blogs. The reblogged posts will have a 'via Blog' note on them, and you can follow that trail all the way up a chain.

…Unless someone doesn't have a theme enabled. Without a theme, a user won't have a url.tumblr.com domain and it will redirect to the dashboard tray, breaking the chain. And, as of an older update, blogs by default do not have themes enabled- so any and all new users suddenly roadblock this process. Oops.

All of this means that what was once a convenient social aspect of Tumblr has been completely severed with little to no alternative. Trying to wade through hundreds upon hundreds of notes to find the one you're looking for is tedious, time consuming, and potentially impossible if the post is large enough.

Finale: What Now?

Right, so- this sucks. I didn't even go into how this makes it tough to find and block cr/pt/t/rfs if a post passes into their hateful space, or how this makes it harder to copy post links without tracking shit because it's in a different menu now, or how it's now more difficult to access a previous post for reporting purposes. All that shit's also true, but they're side effects of the big three problems the changes introduce.

This change is ultimately user-hostile and seems to follow the worrying trend of 'other sites are doing it, so let's do it too!' Tumblr's been kicking about recently. Tumblr Live, the new change to images and videos, gating viewing posts behind making an account, and attempted algorithm feeds through 'Best Stuff First' and 'Based On Your Likes' are what immediately come to mind. Tumblr's defining, driving aspect for it's continued existence has and always will be its uniqueness. Pretending to be Instagram and TikTok and fucking Twitter will do it absolutely no favors- all it does is undermine what actually makes this site, as a social platform, interesting and vibrant.

But it's one thing to just complain and it's another entirely to provide feedback. Here's a link to the Tumblr Staff support page. They've walked back on new features before when we've made a ruckus- the Shop icon replacement is on the forefront of my mind right now- so it's time to make another.

TL;DR 2- This change makes browsing Tumblr more difficult than it needs to be. It breaks previously established signifiers and removes vital social functions only to add redundant and empty features to cater to a new userbase instead of actually improving the site for the users they already have. It's not a good change.

Thanks for reading ✌️

[aclassitag]

Announcing Krem Week!

#kremweek2024 — 22-28 July 2024

background art credit: @freischutz [link to original post]

*text prompt list under the readmore

This year will mark 10 years since the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition! In celebration of that anniversary and the game that gave us our first trans character, here is a prompt list - and dates - for any who would like to participate! All sorts of creative content is accepted so long as they are not A/I generated. (See examples below)

*If you want to portray Maevaris Tilani instead, that is also fine!

Please read the guidelines!

If you have any questions, reply to this post and I will do my best to answer :)

Prompt list:

1 — Anniversary 2 — Euphoria / Expression 3 — Casual / Formal 4 — Family / Love 5 — Respite / Fight 6 — Play / Satiate 7 — (Free space!)

Guidelines:

Use the tag: #kremweek2024 (@ this blog is fine too) — If you want to portray Maevaris Tilani instead of Krem, that is also welcome! Please @ me so I can rb :) For non-Tumblr folks that somehow got here: You may post submissions, please link your socials. You may choose one of two prompts in a day or do both. You may also combine as many prompts as you want from any or all of the days into a single work, just mention it somewhere.

Types of content allowed:

Illustration and writing are the most obvious forms of art allowed, but they're not the only ones! Literary arts fanfics, drabbles, poetry, plays, lengthy headcanon/meta posts (for headcanon and meta posts, minimum of 100 words+) Visual arts doodles, paintings, graphic design, photoshop memes, photography, animation, tiktok skits, abstract, fiber arts (embroidery, knitting, etc), ceramics Audio art fanmixes(curated playlists), original or cover songs Other crafts are also welcome! e.g. culinary, resin, woodworking, etc etc ..essentially, whatever type of art it is, I'll accept it so long as it falls within rules and is related to Krem or Maevaris :) For things that are more abstract, do include an explanation of your thought process on how it relates to Krem. E.g. you made Krem's Seheron Fish Wrap or Rice Pudding, take photos of your cooking, and post that (with the explanation that it is Krem's recipes) - that's an acceptable submission! You're allowed to explore different mediums everyday! You don't have to stick to one form of art for the whole week. I will be attempting to schedule reblogs in the 'prime time' for engagement, and in the interest of fairness, things like headcanon posts, fanmixes, and WIPs will not take priority in that time slot over fully rendered illustrations or complete fanfics. They will still be reblogged, but scheduled for other time slots.

Content Rules:

No A/I generated content. (Specifically GenAI content) As above, any and all forms of art is welcome. It must be human made, and by you. The whole point of working off a prompt is to explore a creative process, anyway - do yourself a favour and just enjoy making something! It doesn't have to be pretty! No reposting of other people's works. This must be your own creation. Obviously, no transphobic content. No harrassing others over their specific headcanons - be it in regards to any trait or quirks that come with being a person. People come in all sorts of wonderful variety, please respect that. In addition to above: No whitewashing, racism etc. Please note that Krem is not pale-skinned in canon, and I will not be reblogging content of him being portrayed as pale. 18+ works need to be labelled. On this blog, its tagged as "#adult art". Please add content warnings as appropriate. (E.g. portrayal of binding with bandages should have a warning label of "cw: unsafe binding", etc.) If your post/submission is lengthy, please insert a read more. This helps readability on the dashboard. Progress / WIPs are fine too!

General tips:

First and foremost, do what you are able to! Don't feel pressured to complete a full week if you need to take care of yourself first. Some people work on the prompts before the week even begins, and only post it day of. You are not required to do this, but if you really want to fill something for each day, this helps reduce stress day of.

Mod things:

The mod isn't from the Americas, so due to timezone differences, there may be a delay in reblogging people's works. Either way I will not reblog the moment that it's posted in order to screen properly. Posts will be queued between 30mins-1hr apart, if there are multiple entries being submitted at the same time. All submissions will also be requeued after a week for later perusal :)

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

hiya! so I was thinking about Peter Quill with an artistic reader (in the form of headcanons) bc omg i think that'd be absolutely adorable and ive been going in a spiral for him lately

Just a thought! You dont need to do it if youre busy, have a great week!

hii! omg yes I love it. and don’t worry me you and everyone else feels the same way😭 ive been defending him in comment sections for years so im glad he’s finally getting recognition he deserves. big up quill. I also did this first, as it was a fun sorta break in between other writing. thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌 have a great weekend also. xo

headcanons/ imagines (2)

Peter Quill x reader (gn)

warnings || none

masterlist + rules

taglist

- he doesn’t always have the best attention span, but when it comes to you he could watch you paint/ draw for hours. it’s something that keeps him entertained

- he likes to ask questions/ communicate while you work “that’s cool, what does that do?” or “how did you do that?” feel like he’d be mesmerised watching the canvas come to life

- you both listen to his music while you do anything artsy, the combination is the best of both worlds

- but if he’s not watching you/ hanging around at the same time, you like to listen to his music so it feels like he’s still there. he’s silently caught you a few times and it makes him feel special that his music means so much to you

- he definitely brags to the other guardians about how talented you are (like tony and thor talking about their girls in age of ultron)

- I feel like he can be a great helper- if you’re at the easel, he stands next to you holding the things you need so you don’t have to keep bending/ reaching etc. or if you need a brush cleaned, he’d do it for you

- if you wanted to do pottery, he’d get rocket to make you a pottery wheel, whatever you needed, rocket will make

- if you live with him in his apartment on knowhere, he’s moved his things about so that you could paint by the window/ designated a space/ area for you to work at (he remembers watching bob ross a couple times when he was a kid, so he used the tips he learned and put them into practice for you)

- if and when he sees any kind of art materials on other planets, he definitely brings them back for you. over a while you’ve acquired quite a diverse set of tools that’s broadened the quality of your art

- I feel like he’d kind of pimp you out- would put your name out there to get more people to commission work from you

- you’re now the go-to that people come to when they want new things for their houses. a majority of people on knowhere have probably bought work from you

- you’ve made pieces for every guardian, something specific and detailed that has meaning to each individual (kind of like the holiday special) you’d be very creative and intricate in tailoring the work to the person

- mantis absolutely adores what you made. nebula was apprehensive at first but you caught her smiling when she thought you weren’t paying attention. drax goes into great detail when he describes what he loves about it, always using crazy big adjectives. rocket said he doesn’t care for art, but the way it’s displayed in his apartment tells you otherwise. and groot was super happy to have something made by you

- quill has treasured everything you’ve ever made him, he can be very sentimental so all the work you made is something he deeply appreciates. something minuscule you made at the beginning of the relationship, is kept in one of his memory boxes (like a flower made of tissue)

- maybe you’ve made things to honour his parents, using stories he’s told you into creating something beautiful (two separate pieces- one of meredith and one of yondu) they are something he has hung up and displayed in his apartment. I feel like it’s helped him deal with his grief- and over time he’s been able to look at the artwork without feeling sad. now he can smile when he sees their faces

- its definitely made him fall harder for you

[thydungeongal]

Hey random question (cuz I see u talk a lot about ttrpg mechanics): One mechanic I once saw that I really loved was in the Firefly roleplaying game (based on that Joss Whedon show that FOX canceled after 1 season), I think they called it the Cortex System. Instead of Ability Scores with modifiers, Abilities and skills instead had die types, with d4 on the low end up to like d12, and most actions in the game boil down to (Ability Die) + (Skill Die) + modifiers vs. an opposed skill check. The thing I really liked about it is that skills weren't necessarily tied to a specific attribute. An example the book gives (based on a scene from the show) is when Simon, the ship's doctor, is fighting an Alliance soldier, who is prone. Simon's hands are bound by handcuffs and he's definitely not a strong fighter. However due to his background as a doctor he was able to use his INT die + (whatever the unarmed combat skill was called, I forget) instead of his much lower STR die. Thanks to his knowledge of human anatomy he was able to use a knee to apply pressure to an artery, rendering the soldier unconscious. If you can convince the DM/GM that an attribute/skill combination makes sense, anything goes. I wonder if you know of any other ttrpg with a similar mechanic that you'd recommend.

Oh, I'm also a fan of systems that allow you to combine different pairs of Ability/Attribute and Skill/Talent/whatever! Here's just a few that I think are interesting:

The World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness systems (formerly old World of Darkness and new World of Darkness): Both of these systems have your characters' Attributes and Abilities/Skills measured with their own dot values and the basic resolution mechanic is always dots from Attribute+dots from Ability/Skill (WoD calls its "skill-equivalents" Abilities confusingly, while CoD calls them Skills) to form a dice pool. WoD is more open to the idea of combining any Attribute with any Ability, while CoD has a bit more of a formalized system of Skills being Physical/Mental/Social, but theoretically both systems do allow for combining any Attribute with any Ability/Skill (although it's important to note that for certain subsystems certain pairs of stats are set in stone: firing a gun is always Firearms+Dexterity, but knowing about guns might allow for a Firearms+Intelligence check).

Space Kings: Space Kings is a playing-card based role-playing game where the number of flips you get to make for a check is equal to an Attribute+Skill. Now, I have neither read nor played Space Kings yet, but based on one of my favorite actual play podcasts (Three of Hearts, @threeheartscast) who use Space Kings in a custom setting, the system definitely allows for unorthodox combinations of Attribute+Skill.

Mothership: Mothership is an absolutely fantastic retro sci-fi horror RPG that not only has one of the best visual designs and layouts I've ever seen and a character sheet that actually acts as a flowchart for character creation!!! But anyway, Mothership has skills that are at three different levels of specialization, granting a +10 to +20% bonus on relevant ability checks. But none of the skills are explicitly tied to specific ability scores! You may be able to convince your GM that your Mechanical Repair skill could apply while using a hand welder or laser cutter as a weapon!

If anyone knows of any other systems like this, chime in in the notes. I know for sure there are plenty of these systems out there, but I simply can't remember all of them.

[h0neytalk]

Mango v. LingQ v. Anki

I’ve been using the above apps for a while now and I couldn’t find a ton of somewhat easy to understand comparisons/explanations of how to use these various cult favorites. I figured I would make one if anyone is wondering where to start or making a departure from Duolingo.

Standard langblr disclaimer: I am ultimately just a person on the internet, I’m not an expert in language learning or a world renowned polyglot. I’m not even an expert in any of these apps/programs. These are all just thoughts and opinions I have about the value of each app to myself as an average consumer trying to learn a language and intended to help other people decide where to spend their time.

Anki

Anki is an open source spaced repetition flashcard program. It has an incredibly loyal fan base of med students and people who just want to learn things. This is also the one I have the least experience with so I recommend diving into forums and other blogs who go in depth on all the ways you can use this program. The web version is completely free and there is an official paid mobile app. There are also unofficial paid apps, this is the source of great drama and discourse and I’m not touching that here. Spaced repetition essentially means that the program will present you with cards at intervals designed to maximize your retention. When you flip over a card, you have four options that boil down to: fail, hard, good, easy. This is how the program determines what to show you and when.

Key Features:

The main draw is obviously the spaced repetition system. It’s much easier and more effective than sorting manually.

Because it’s open source, there is a way to customize the settings and cards to do basically whatever you want. There are also tons of premade decks to import and either use as-is or use as a base.

The online web version is completely free.

You can add really any media type to the cards. You can add sound clips of pronunciations, images, even drawings and diagrams.

Having the four options is particularly useful for the nuances of learning a language. For example, for general vocabulary decks I’ll assign one “point” to general meaning, tense/part of speech, and pronunciation. Getting the general meaning but not the other two means I select “hard” when I flip the card.

Best uses:

Vocab or learning a new alphabet. Specifically for drilling any of those “slippery” words. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but there are some vocab words that just refuse to stick with me. I’ve found the Anki SRS does help pin them down.

Potential downsides:

While there are decks to import, there could always be errors that you won’t catch just seeing single vocab words with no context.

The available customization is labor intensive.

The UI for the official app and web version isn’t super slick and intuitive.

Even the best flashcards are ultimately just flashcards and have limits to their usefulness.

Mango

Mango is similar to Babbel or other programs that focus on speaking (and doing so quickly). I much prefer Mango to Babbel or any other similar app and find that it does what it says it will. Languages are split into units. Each unit has chapters and each chapter has lessons. A lesson will start with an optional pre quiz and a brief recording of a conversation that you will be able to follow by the end of the lesson. Each lesson concludes with a listening and reading quiz. It also utilizes spaced repetition and gives you daily flashcards to review.

You learn based on phrases rather than individual words. A long sentence will be presented in its entirety. The lesson will then go through each word individually before combining them into phrases and, finally, the full sentence from the start. Then you will learn vocabulary needed for variations. The activities are fairly standard for a language app: speaking, listening, multiple choice. You can also turn off the interactive feature and have the lesson run as a “speak and repeat” style podcast. It tracks the hours you’ve spent learning a language and there is an activity log, but no in depth stats.

Key features:

It is focused on speaking immediately.

Has a ton of languages and several dialects for those languages.

Focuses on phrases and patterns that are most useful if traveling or having brief, friendly interactions.

Presents information in a digestible way and isn’t overwhelming.

Includes culture and grammar notes.

$12.99 a month but most public libraries and schools give you free access. You can also set up a household account for multiple people and split the cost with friends/family.

The first lesson of any language is free, and some rare and indigenous languages are completely free to access.

Audio is native speakers. When you record yourself, your vocal wave pattern appears that you can compare with the native speaker.

Best uses:

If you are traveling soon and want to navigate basic, friendly interactions, this will get you there quick. Within 1-3 months easily, depending on the language and how often you practice.

I also recommend this as a starting place when you are totally new to a language or to learning a language in general. The structure is excellent for getting a feel for things.

This is also great if you studied a language previously and need to refresh your memory or get back into it.

Potential downsides:

The “record yourself” feature is fairly buggy and often freezes up. It can also be annoying to try and match the timing of the native speaker, but you don’t have to record audio to progress past those lesson points so it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.

It isn’t meant for total fluency. As stated, the lessons (at least that I have done) are focused on speaking while traveling and making small talk. Some of the early lessons teach you to say “sorry, I don’t speak [x]”. Which is very useful if going abroad soon, but less so if you would rather just be able to speak that language.

The regimented nature can make it feel slow/too easy if you are also using other methods.

The review flashcards only have a binary “yes/no” option which feels annoying for longer phrases or after using Anki-style cards.

With any course like this, you aren’t going to have much choice in the vocab you learn or prioritizing topics.

LingQ

I am honestly surprised I don’t see more about this. I think they have been making a bunch of updates recently so maybe the version I’m using is miles above previous ones, but it is shockingly powerful. It’s also the hardest to explain (which may be why I don’t see much written about it and why this is going to be a long section.) LingQ (pronounced “link”) operates on a hybrid comprehensible/massive input model. While Anki prioritizes memorization and Mango priorities speaking, LingQ focuses on comprehension and listening. LingQ is comprised of courses which are made up of lessons. There are pre-built courses made by LingQ but the real goal is to make your own (more on that later).

Each lesson within a course has an audio recording and a written transcript. Words you haven’t seen before are highlighted blue (when you start, that’s every word). You click the word to see the definition and assign it one of 5 statuses: ignore, new, recognized, familiar, learned, or known. “Ignore” is used for things like names or borrowed words, they won’t be counted in your stats. “Known” is for words you knew before seeing them. You likely won’t have any of these if you’re starting a new language with no prior experience. Levels 1-3 highlight the word yellow and it becomes a LingQ. You can create a LingQq using as many words as you want. You can manually change the status of a word when you see it. You can also do various review activities similar to Mango, and if you get a word right twice in a row it will automatically bump up a level. You can always adjust it back down if needed. LingQ is very focused on the value of listening to a language. You can add lessons to playlists and listen to them like a podcast.

My personal favorite part of LingQ is the ability to import lessons. Especially YouTube videos. The site has a browser extension that will import any content in your target language into a lesson as an embedded item. You can then read/listen to/watch that content right in the app and get “credit” for it. LingQ’s statistics are some of the coolest/most motivating I’ve seen. You get coins for completing tasks but those are really just to see a number get bigger. It also tracks the words you’ve read, how many words you know, the hours listened, and speaking/writing if you utilize their tutor marketplace or writing forum.

The free trial is very limited but it’s enough to poke around and get a feel for things before signing up, not necessarily to learn anything substantial. The monthly membership is $12.95 and there’s a $199 lifetime option as well. I definitely recommend spending some time playing around at the free level and then upping to monthly if you like it.

Key features:

The ability to import lessons. It will also create a simplified version of shorter content. This is an AI generated summary of whatever you’ve imported. I use this for videos where natural speaking cadence can make it hard to parse things sometimes. It’s easier/more productive if I know generally what’s going on.

The creation of LingQs. I just think it’s a really cool and useful way to approach comprehensible input. You can visually see the yellow fading as you understand more and more of a lesson.

You can export LingQs to Anki (theoretically). I’ve never done this myself and I’ve seen some forum posts saying it doesn’t work super well all the time but it is a built in feature.

In-depth stats tracking and the ability to consume all the content easily in app. The stats would be annoying if it wasn’t literally easier to watch a video via LingQ than on YouTube.

Community features. There are community challenges (like Duolingo) but also a forum to submit writing that will be corrected by native speakers and a marketplace of tutors to easily sign up for speaking lessons. The forum is free and volunteer based, but scrolling through I didn’t see anyone who didn’t have at least one reply. The tutors are paid at an hourly rate and you can also pay by the word to have them correct written work.

Super flexible. There really isn’t any one right way to use this app so you can structure it however you like and set your own goals/metrics.

Playlists and focus on listening. It really does help to constantly be immersed in what a language sounds like, and being able to read and listen to the same thing has been so nice.

Actually decently helpful emails and not just spam.

Best for:

Hardcore language learners. The app/site provides some guidance on how to get started and the basic idea, but you’ll need to play around with it and spend some time reading forum posts or the emails they send to find what works for you.

Getting to higher levels of fluency after maxing out other apps/self study methods.

People looking to spend a lot of time on language learning because they enjoy it. This isn’t snarky, but there’s a difference between wanting or needing to learn Spanish to communicate at work or on vacation and just really enjoying learning languages. This is an app for language nerds.

Potential downsides:

Very overwhelming. They technically say you can jump right in with 0 knowledge of a language and be good to go, but I think it would be hard to make a lot of progress unless you’ve learned other languages before. If you’re looking to learn a new language for the first time, I recommend starting with Mango to get your bearings.

Doesn’t teach new alphabets. This isn’t a huge issue for Mango since it’s speaking focused, but I wouldn’t jump into Arabic or Russian on LingQ without spending some time learning the alphabet with other methods.

User generated definitions. This is a double edged sword. The definitions being linked to sites like Globse can lead to wrong definitions, but because you’re seeing things in context it’s easier to catch. And looking into what a phrase means is a great way to learn if you are really into languages.

The import feature isn’t 100% perfect when it comes to videos. It will only create a transcript when the video has captions enabled or a transcript provided, otherwise it just shows up as an audio file. It will also sometimes randomly just not be able to import a video which can be annoying, but in the grand scheme of things these are very minor annoyances.

Time commitment. The method doesn’t require a ton of actively sitting down and reviewing vocab or reading new words, but it does assume that you’ll swap out listening to music or podcasts while going about your day with listening to content in your target language. This is all well and good unless you really enjoy listening to specific content while doing tasks or need help not getting distracted. It’s going to be a lot of incomprehensible noise for a while before you can parse it. This might not be a downside as much as something to keep in mind when considering how effective it’s going to be for you.

Not as active of a community. Maybe it’s just for my particular languages, but there definitely aren’t a ton of people actively doing things like challenges. This really doesn’t matter much to me but it could be a bummer if you’re looking for that.

tl;dr just tell me how to learn things

If you need to learn a new alphabet, start with that. Otherwise, Mango to get your bearings, Anki to add to your vocab as you get bored with Mango, and LingQ to realistically get “fluent”. Then start writing and speaking either using tutors or people you know or local language groups.

[birgittesilverbae]

“You look like hell." "I feel like it." meathshieldshotgun mayhaps 👀

spideytorch-but-not-this-spideytorch au again

//

Spider-Man's apartment is a piece of shit. It's a single main room, barely larger than the hospital room Ava finally got to call her own the year she turned thirteen, when Jillian's staff had moved Diego to the newly-emptied room next to Michael's. No, she can't get caught up on that now, on them, on the lab, on the burst of blue light that had– Spider-Man's apartment is a piece of shit, a sheet tacked up to separate what Ava assumes is a bed from the rest of the area, where a battered couch and coffee table and cloth-shrouded easel vie for space in the scant few feet between front door and fire escape.

Spider-Man watches her with a knowing glint in her eye. "It's not much," she agrees to Ava's unstated opinion, "but it's home. You have one of those to go back to, kid?"

Ava shrugs, tugging her knees up to her chest as she settles against the scratched-up couch arm. She wraps her arms about her legs, hugs them close, and it feels almost alien, the press of legs against arms and arms against legs and the pressure of the rough couch cover against her flesh. It makes her skin crawl, but she tamps herself down against the shudder that tries to break free, finds herself unable to speak.

"If you don't wanna tell me, that's fair enough. You have a name, at least?"

"Ava," she replies softly, rubbing her thumb against the weathered span of denim stretched across her knee. "I'm Ava."

"Nice to meet you, Ava. I'm–" Spider-Man pauses, eyes darting to the side, then shrugs. "In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess. My name's Shannon, and I'll be your waitress tonight." She produces a sheaf of glossy pamphlets from behind her back like a magic trick and leans down to fan them out across the coffee table, heedless of the open textbooks she disturbs with the motion. "Anything you want, just give me a head's up so I can call in the order."

"Anything I–" Ava sways forward, gaze caught by the bright shine of the pamphlets. She reaches out her hand, uses her palm to drag one of them halfway off the edge of the coffee table so she can pinch it between thumb and forefinger. 

"Oh, Ollie's is great, they always give me an extra serving of rice. Do you like Sichuan?"

"I don't know," she says quietly, stroking the smooth page with her thumb, awed by how easily her skin slides across the sheet.

"You don't know as in you have no preference, or you don't know as in–"

"As in I haven't eaten solid food in a decade," she admits, and her voice is almost steady. 

Shannon's grin is easy, as so much about her seems to be. "Let's remedy that, then," she says, and Ava could kiss her for not pushing the topic. "Anything there that looks interesting? Or I could get a selection of things, maybe help you figure out what you like?"

Ava looks from the takeout menu in her hand down toward the mess on the coffee table and back again, the options almost overwhelming in their vastness. "Whatever you want to do," she manages, tossing the pamphlet in the direction of the table and pulling her arm back around her knee.

The pamphlet skids across the table, off the far edge, plunges over towards the floor. A thwip, and it's in Shannon's hand, translucent strands connecting it to her wrist. 

She stares. She hadn't been able to make out the mechanism by which Shannon had pulled them from building to building in those long, floating arcs, but she's listened to enough of Diego's excited recountings of news stories to know the consensus was that the webbing came from a gauntlet, perhaps, or a canister. Ava suspects there must be an aspect of costume design built specifically to fuel those rumours, because a puncture in Shannon's skin itself extrudes the strands of web.

She doesn't mean to, but her eyes stay glued to Shannon's forearm long enough that she's caught in the act. Shannon watches Ava watching her and heat floods into Ava's cheeks. She knows better, should know better, can remember how every too long stare had made her feel small, inconsequential, other. "I'm sorry," she starts, but the cloud has already shifted from Shannon's eyes, leaving them bright and clear again.

"It's alright, it's just been a while since anyone new has seen that. I'd forgotten how it must look from the outside." 

"No," Ava repeats, because it's important, because she's waved off lingering eyes in just the same way for so long, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't stare."

"It's okay," and there's a hint of a laugh to it now. She gestures towards the second door, the one Ava figures hides a bathroom, with the takeout menu. "I'm gonna go call in the order and then we can talk about it, if you want?"

"Okay. Thank you." 

She watches Shannon until the door shuts behind her, then turns her attention back to the apartment. She knows she shouldn't pry, especially not here, not now, not with the kindness and grace Shannon has already shown her in rescuing her from– Don't, she chastises herself. Don't think about Jillian thrusting her arm into the device, don't think about the electric blue energy emanating throughout the room, don't–

A sweet, smoky scent drifts up into her nostrils and she snaps her gaze down to her hand, flat on the couch arm. What had been her hand. A mass of roiling flame attached to her arm, eating at the cuff of her sleeve, crisping the fabric of the couch. "What the fuck," she mutters reflexively, her stomach sinking. She pulls her hand back, waves it through the air, but the fire clings to her skin– Is her skin? "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop."

She focuses on her breathing as she had in that warehouse beneath Shannon's careful gaze, drags the sleeve up her arm with her other hand to protect what remains of it. The flames wax and wane as she glares at them, and she sets her mind towards her hand, towards what she thinks it's meant to feel like. 

"As if I know what it's meant to feel like," she says, hysterical. But she tries gamely to picture cool flesh, like all those hands on her forehead for years and years, caretakers too rushed to take a moment to scrub their palms together to imbue them with some fleeting kind of warmth. Cool skin, and whole, and definitely not on fire. 

The flames retreat back beneath her skin in the blink of an eye and she presses the back of her hand to her forehead, just to check. Cool against the fever flush of her face. Great. Outstanding. And all it took was torching half of Shannon's apartment.

The fabric covering the arm of the couch has turned black-beaded and stiff, and the sweater sleeve now ends halfway up her forearm, and there's nothing she'd like more right now than to vanish before Shannon slips back into the room with her easy smile and easy gait and easy wave of a hand in response to apologies. 

She's not given a chance to make an escape, though, because Shannon's emerging back into the room, shoving her phone into the side pocket of her tights and grinning at Ava before she can even begin to form an explanation. "I'm moving out at the end of the month anyway," she says with a laugh, "feel free to burn the rest of it so I don't have to figure out when our bulk item collection day is scheduled."

"I didn't mean–" Ava starts, stops. There's something painful in her chest, constricting her ribs, and she scrubs a shaking hand over her eyes, draws it away wet. "I don't know–"

"It's okay." Shannon drags the coffee table back from the couch, as far as she can in the cramped space, and takes a seat on it in front of Ava. There's a bare inch of space between her knees and Ava's booted feet, toes sticking over the edge of the couch cushion. The navy fabric plastered tight to Shannon's thighs is decorated with that same reflective web pattern as the boots, picked out in infinitesimally small stitches, and Ava's fingertips itch to brush across it, to feel every twist and turn and bump of the embroidery. "It's okay," Shannon repeats, and there's a barefaced truth in her voice that makes Ava lift her head to meet her gaze. 

"I don't know what happened, I don't know what I'm supposed to do–"

Shannon smiles softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling. "That's alright, Ava. It will come in time."

"How are you so calm about this?"

"Well, one of us has to be," she says, flat as anything. 

Ava's throat tightens around a sob. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just–"

Shannon cuts her off with a grimace, a touch to her foot. "I didn't mean it like that. No wonder everyone tells me I've an abhorrent sense of humour. Powers are a burden, especially newfound ones, but not one I'm going to make you bear alone. I'm calm about this because when I was in your shoes" – her eyes flick down to Ava's feet in her own costume boots and there's a quick twist to her mouth like she's biting back another joke – "when I was in your shoes I felt alone, was alone. But I managed to survive that, and I have complete faith that you will too."

"You don't even know me."

"I know you didn't blow me off when I tried to help you calm down. I know you internalised those instructions and used them to get your powers under control just now. I know you went an hour without setting anything on fire, and then only small patches." Her gaze finds the takeout menus wedged beneath her hip before working back up to Ava's face. "And I think it's fair to assume you've survived much more difficult trials than this."

Ava looks at her hand, splayed across light-washed denim, presses her fingertips into the fabric just to see the way it makes the tendons across the back of her hand press up hard against pale skin. A joy, to move them, to be moved by them. "That's… that's accurate," she allows, digging her thumbnail into the fold of the seam. 

Shannon reaches towards her, hand stalling between them, and then she's gone, a blur, sliding smoothly to the front door and opening it, bracing her hands over her head against the frame. Ava hadn't even heard the knock, if there'd been one, and she rocks to the side to try and get a glimpse past Shannon's outstretched shield of a body. 

"I didn't think you were coming over today," Shannon says, half on the edge of hearing. "Are you okay? You look like hell."

"I feel like it," a woman mutters. She's standing in Shannon's shadow, the light in the hallway buzzing and blinking and too near dead to properly illuminate her, but then she rocks onto her toes to dart a kiss to Shannon's cheek and there's something familiar in the movement, the careful trajectory of her mouth, the spark in her eyes. "Remind me to get you to vet my next employer," she continues, slipping around Shannon with ease, "so I can have a heads-up on the fledgling supervillain thing. 'Cause you'll never believe the bullshit Salv–"

She spots Ava at the same time as Ava clocks the all-too-familiar shade of scrub pants and stitches together a last few fragmentary memories of those last moments. Eyes widening, breath catching in two chests in unison before the release, the movement, Mary's hand reaching behind her back, a charged thrill shooting up Ava's fingers.

"Mary, this is Ava," Shannon says, sliding between them, a hand pressed to Mary's chest. Her voice is light, in sharp contrast to the tension in her shoulders. "She's not having a great day either."

That's all it takes to defuse Mary, pressing forward into Shannon's palm as though there's nothing else in the universe tethering to this room. "I'll say," she manages to choke out around a hitch in her throat, "seeing how she should be dead. The rest of them are," she continues, shifting to lock eyes with Ava over Shannon's shoulder, "and I saw the hole that you–"

"Jillian Salvius did this?" Shannon interrupts.

"She fucking did something, Shan. With Ava over there, with another kid, with her own son. They didn't tell us shit beyond that, other than 'here's another mess to sweep up, careful, it might be radioactive this time'." Mary pauses, reaches a hand up to touch Shannon's cheek. "How'd you stumble over her? On the way back from the library?" It's clumsy, even to the yawning sound of Ava's ears, you should be dead the rest of them are, like an actor stumbling over their lines. 

"She knows," Shannon says dryly.

"Why do I even bother," Mary sighs, "when you just keep dragging in strays and telling them everything and expecting me to help you rehome them. I only have the one couch, and it's already been spoken for."

"They're… They're dead?" Ava interjects, hard, soft, reaching. Diego's grin peeking around the doorframe, Michael's careful strength, Jillian– She doesn't want to think about Jillian. 

"They are," Mary says, something raw and aching in her expression, "I'm sorry."

"Okay," she says, "okay." The flame filters into her lungs her heart, ripples hot beneath her skin. She tugs the hoodie over her head in a rush, gasping for air, half-blind with panic.

"Ava–" Shannon starts, shifting towards her, but Mary takes her by the shoulder, holds her back.

"Let her make her choice, Shan." The words are barely audible over the inferno in Ava's chest. 

She rises from the couch, keeps rising, midair before them as her fingers turn to flame, her wrist, her forearm. The hospital gown clings tight even as the jeans scorch, burn, flake away in ashen clumps. "I'm sorry," she says, breath scalding in her mouth, and flings herself towards the window, through the rails of the fire escape, spins upwards into the night sky. "I'm so sorry."

[acourtofthought]

When Elucien shippers suggest Elain leave the Night Court and live somewhere else, Elriels act that means she'll never see her family ever again. It's like they think Eluciens want Elain to go no contact, to never visit or write letters or anything, and I don't understand.

What is so bad about finding your own place? What is so bad about fans liking the idea of Elain exploring a different court? We saw Spring and Night through Feyre's eyes, so why can't we maybe see Spring, Day or somewhere else through Elain's eyes?

They say we're forcing her to fit our own narrative and forcing her to leave everything/everyone she knows and loves, but Elain herself has expressed the desire to travel and it's not like she can never go back when or if she leaves.

I feel like some Elriels are so desperate to be right that they take things we say to extremes and then call us crazy because of it.

We say: we want Elain to leave Night

They hear: you want to rip her away from her family!

We say: we want Elain to have a slow burn relationship with Lucien and accept the bond

They hear: you want her to immediately accept the bond with a stranger and be stuck, miserable forever!

Even with Gwynriel, I've seen this.

We say: we want Gwyn to heal properly from her trauma and enter a loving and possibly kinky relationship with Azriel

They hear: you want to force an sa victim into a kinky relationship! That's sick!

It's like they willfully don't understand characters go through stuff, change, and have progress. They jump straight to the finish line without considering the entire journey.

They're right you know. We're terrible people for thinking Elain would ever leave her family because there's absolutely no way for her to visit them. A horse and buggy, the only means of transportation in this series means it would take her months to visit. And that's if she doesn't die of dysentery or get taken out during a river crossing. Wait. That's Oregon Trail. I agree with everything you said. People can maintain relationships with their loved ones regardless of where they live. And survivors of any and all trauma can go on to live the exact same life that someone without having experienced that specific trauma can. It's funny that in a fantasy world where Cassian destroyed BUILDINGS in the summer court, where he slaughtered an entire village of people in revenge (and did not end up in jail for either thing), where Nesta was forced into a Cauldron against her will, after being kidnapped against her will, after being thrown into the Rite against her will, where she was afraid of fire at the start of her book yet she was healed from it all by the end, where Feyre fell in love with her kidnapper in book 1, where she fell in love with the male who forced her into a bargain in book 2, where she was very afraid of enclosed spaces yet managed to conquer her fear of that in book 2, only Gwyn needs more time. Only Gwyn's trauma is so great that an entire book (which we don't even know when that book would actually take place on the timeline of events) would not be enough for her to heal. Gwyn suffered something that real women and men also suffer but guess what???? Real people are kidnapped! Real people have phobias of enclosed spaces! Sometimes in real life these things do take years and years to heal from and sometimes they never truly heal from them. But these are fantasy books and that means authors get to write messages of hope to their readers. Where in this particular story, the heroine was able to overcome her past in a time frame designated by the author. Does that mean it's going to be like that for everyone? No, of course not. But to act like that time frame might not match that which a real person experienced in their own lives is harmful to real survivors. "If you do not take x amount of years to heal, you're not truly healed." That's what they're saying. They're saying that it's unrealistic for Gwyn to engage in whatever kink Az might enjoy because they don't think it's a reasonable time frame for her. Say what? Would you honestly tell a real S/A victim that? That there are LIMITS as to what they're allowed to enjoy? That because last year they weren't comfortable with it that means they still can't be comfortable with it 6 months later? It's bullshit and I hope deep down they realize it.

[crazysodomite]

i see a ton of issues with 'creativity' in art online spaces on social media... not just the 'adoptables' community or whatever but it's REALLY bad in there. and i think i know why... man it's hard to structure my thoughts...

'originality' is actually extremely narrow in art spaces specifically on social media. people get extremely fixated on having an 'original art style' but at the same time all art is being funneled into 1 specific way of making it. and when someone DOES go outside of the norm it becomes their 'thing'. their 'brand'. read: what sells their art/gets them popular.

a few examples: so many posts on the internet complaining about hating drawing lineart, having to redo the line 100 times, etc.

lineart is immediately suggested for beginners and most art is based on lineart first, which makes some people hate art. and they end up thinking doing it any other way is 'wrong' or 'too difficult'. beginners feel like they must make their art like this. sketch > lineart > color fill > shading > detail. when in reality you really don't have to do any of this at all. your art can truly be anything and anything that you hate about creating art can just be removed from the process. am i making any sense? i think i went through this process too. i started out doing lineart and i fucking hated it. i couldn't initially realize that painting is the easiest and most fun way for me to do art. because most art advice on social media (how most people nowadays try to learn i think) is aimed at this specific way to do it.

we aren't giving advice on how to explore art and creativity but only how to make your art most appealing...

same thing with smaller stuff like not being able to do the second eye in art. you don't even HAVE to make your art symmetrical. you can obviously desire that result but i feel like some people aren't even considering the possibility. and this isn't just because people are just lacking in creativity. if your art is 'too weird' and 'not pretty' 'outside of the norm' you will get bullied and made fun of viciously. your art can only venture outside the norm if it's still appealing. and most people aren't up to taking that risk because a few horrible words about a persons art can end their desire to do it completely!!! am i making any sense. when you venture and see art outside of what's popular on social media it's like your eyes are wide open...

and then, when someone does venture out of the norm in a creative and appealing way, it suddenly becomes 'their brand' and if someone creates something remotely similar to it, it's considered 'plagiarism' and drama and harassment follows. it's MY THING to draw this in that way. you can't get inspired by it. it's MY BRAND.

so we come to the conclusion of people trying to claim ideas as their own only and try to make profit out of it. and attack anyone who threatens 'their thing'. the endless battles over adoptable markings and palettes. the 'style theft'.

the 'my artstyle is so inconsistent'. it's okay to want to feel like your art is truly your own but the reality often is that. 'i need a concrete style so people expect this one specific thing from me and will pay for it' which obviously there's no blame in people trying to make money but the way it affects artists is just horrible.

the 'artist branding' thing is really fucking bad in adoptable spaces. if you're an 'in demand' artist a lot of attention is paid to your art not because people really enjoy it but because it has trade value. and even really gorgeous designs from people are looked over and devalued because they're not a high trade value artist...

im tired of trying to make my art appealing and popular instead of what i like to do. and im also tired of people not being able to appreciate art outside of it's most appealing form and calling ANYTHING outside what appeals to them bad or boring or whatever the fuck. i can really say more but i have trouble structuring my thoughts...

Mommy needs cigarettes 🚬 i just ranted on facebook.

[ambassadorarlert]

Okay Kels, top 10 witchy tip and tricks… Go!

✨ yuhhh get into itttt ✨

warnings: talking about spirituality and witchcraft

if you’re brand new, haven’t done anything witchy ever in your life, first:

- don’t call yourself a “baby witch.” don’t infantilize yourself. you’re a bad bitch whether it’s your first day or 20384729483 day practicing. stand up. 🤨

- intentions are everything but don’t just jam shit into a cauldron and hope for the best. take the time to learn what things mean. colors, crystals, herbs. don’t overthink it, but acknowledging what your materials are used for will help you in the long run.

- your practice is your own. you can do whatever you want within reason. be careful not to appropriate.

- start a journal or document what you’ve learned. there’s no way you’re gonna be able to memorize everything, and you can easily look back for references.

- for the love of all the gods, practice fire safety. if your spell calls for you to burn something, do it outside in a fire safe container.

- start small. don’t start with jinxes/hexes/curses, you’ll hurt yourself and somebody else. start by doing mild shadow work, protection rituals, or some meditation.

- when you’re meditating, don’t try to silence your thoughts. listen to yourself.

here’s some personal things that i do:

- paying attention to the moon. track her phases and cycles. look at her when you can and say hi. i use apps to make widgets to keep up with the moon phases. knowing what phase the moon is in will explain a lot of weird shit.

- black salt in everything and everywhere. mix normal table salt and ashes from your incense, sprinkle it in every possible entrance/exit. doorframes, windows even under your doormat. Salt and smoke is very cleansing and purifying. it’ll protect your home/space from negative energies that may pass through.

- inexpensive doesn’t mean ‘cheap.’ you don’t need a whole bunch of fancy materials and herbs and oils and shit. you can go to any store and raid their herbs and spice section for a reasonable price. some things even come in bulk, like cinnamon sticks or bay leaves.

- using sigils. they can be time consuming but since it’s something you made, it can be more powerful. or, you can look up runes to correspond with your purpose.

- make a connection with your tarot/oracle cards. when you buy a new deck of tarot cards or oracle cards, bind them to you by carrying them on your person for about a week. or, you can put the pack under your pillow at night and sleep with it.

- don’t place items on the altar if they’re not being presented as an offering. it’s a simple rule and i find it rlly disrespectful bc my altar isn’t a side table to put things random things on. would you walk into a church and set your purse directly on top of their sacred textbook? probably not.

- keeping multiple brooms. use your inside broom to sweep your floors. use an outside broom to clear any porches, steps, and sidewalks from physical and spiritual debris. if you have a visitor that’s overstaying, or if you just want somebody to leave, turn your designated inside broom upside down so the bristles point to the ceiling and say nothing. they’ll leave within 10-15 minutes. (if you have a witchy friend, keep the broom out of your companies line of sight, they might peep that you’re kicking them out. 👀)

- another thing about tarot: the moon in reverse is never a good sign. it usually means that there’s someone within your circle that’s trying to cause you harm.

- hyper fixating on a particular crystals is a big indicator that a something is misaligned. look up the properties of whatever crystal you’re attracted to, because it usually is something you are needing the most. i had a phase where i was buying a LOT of carnelian— specifically red. what i really needed was a way to combat how sluggish and drained i was in that period of my life.

- understand your natal chart and know the signs of other people. I love astrology and i’m studying it a lot more and am learning just how important it is. right now i’m really trying to hone in on my Libra rising and Venus placements. ik ppl cringe at the “astrology girls” asking what ppls signs are or what times ppl were born. astrology plays a hand in all of our relationships. if you want to rlly get an understanding on why someone acts Like That, look up their Moon, Rising, and Mercury placements. If you want to see if someone is an ideal companion for you, look at their Venus placement.

lastly and most importantly remember that all the power you want and need already exists within you. reaching elbow deep and bringing the divine out of you is not an easy or clean journey but it’s worth it. I hope this helped 🖤✨

[zhou-enlai-fanclub]

Effective and mature communication, principled conflict and conflict resolution, accountability structures, and emotional regulation skills are revolutionary concerns. They are revolutionary concerns not even for any idealist reason such as “it is moral to be nice and mature” or “we should treat each other with respect because it is kind” (both of which are true in some meaningful ways but mostly contextually irrelevant) but for the sheer practical concern that any community, be it a political party, a friend group, a school, a neighborhood, or a commune, must be able to navigate conflict and communication in a healthy and sustainable way or else risk total structural collapse. If you cannot have a principled conflict with your comrade which moves productively through systems of accountability, clear and effective communication, and with emotional honesty, how can you be expected to maintain the integrity of a revolutionary party together? If you cannot navigate coexistence with someone because they, just as an example, cheated on you, or disagreed with you over a post, or even meaningfully hurt you, how can you hope to build a power base which can reasonably contest the beast-machine of capital? The movement needs all of us. To coexist, to share space, to be in a community with each other does not mean you have to “like” each other. It doesn’t even mean you have to “get along.” It does mean that you both must hold each other and yourselves to a certain standard of conduct and behavior. How many political organizations and parties have collapsed because people did not sufficiently contend with how to negotiate productive conflict, did not understand how to sustainably and seriously hold people accountable, did not understand how to strengthen a community through a conflict but rather chose the easy and undisciplined way out? Let it be clear that effective communication, principled conflict, and accountability do not mean “letting people do whatever they want” or “being nice.” It means approaching our social lives with the same degree of methodology and rigor and discipline as the rest of our political existences. One cannot be expected to be able to fight the capitalist beast as a united front if one is consumed by squabbles and infighting born out of an inability to navigate conflict and emotionally regulate. It is a revolutionary political concern. To destroy revolutionary parties through infighting and internal strife is an explicit and specific strategy of COINTELPRO for a reason. We must be able to hold ourselves and each other to account, and to do this, we must be able to communicate with each other clearly, honestly, maturely, and with rigor. I do not mean this in a “mental health liberalism” sense in which psychological-emotional hygiene is a moral concern. Politically speaking, the moral value of it, which is fundamentally subjective, is irrelevant. Rather is it that to be able to function as contributing members in a mass revolutionary movement requires us to maintain a level of psychological-emotional hygiene for the sake of each other, ourselves, and the long term success and sustainability of the movement. A revolution isn't measured by the moral value of its processes but by the material consequences it reaps.

In a specific example, dozens of revolutionary parties in the US collapse because they meaningfully fail to contend with rampant sexual violence. This is a failure of accountability structures and their design, it is a failure of a party’s ability to cultivate an environment where clear communication is a point of discipline, where transparency is paramount and where survivors can feel safe coming forward and where survivors are not isolated and silenced. It is a deeply practical concern with huge immediate material human costs. It is something which every community, but particularly those of a revolutionary character, must seriously and deeply contend with.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Hello to my favourite blog !! I hope you’re doing well and staying hydrated 🫶

Could I request Tim, Brian, and Liu/Sully with an S/O who creates art as a hobby? Specifically drawing and painting little cartoons, realism, and landscape from time to time.

I’ve been feeling pretty bummed about missing out on art because I’m focusing on my main career path atm :(

Thank you, and good luck with requests !!

Hello~! I'm doing pretty good, I hope you're also doing alright :) I hope you can get back to your art soon, but for now I hope you enjoy

Tim:

Tim isn't the most crafty or handy when it comes to things like art, so he's always admired everything you're able to do. You can impress him so easily with every piece of art you can make, regardless of if it's just little cartoon doodles or a fully painted landscape, he thinks all of it just looks so cool, and he always tells you as much. Tim is the type to take your pieces and hang them up around the house so that when he's going about his day he can look around and just admire the wonderful pieces of art you've made over the years. Tim really does love and admire every single piece you've created, and it just makes him feel so happy to have a partner that so freely expresses themselves through something like art, and maybe, just maybe, one day he might ask you to help him dabble in art as well. 

Brian:

Brian absolutely thinks that it's amazing, the various types of art that you can do. My Brian really enjoys woodworking as a hobby, and I can absolutely see him trying to get the two of you to combine forces on something, with him designing and carving something out of wood and you painting across the finished piece in whatever style you think fits it best. Honestly, I can see that as a recurring thing, the two of you working hard together, relaxing, and ridding yourselves of stress through your hobbies. Brian really admires your craftmanship and all the little things you do, and he gushes about them constantly, really excited to be able to witness you at work. Part of the reason why he loves when you paint over his woodworking is also that he feels so happy to be able to give you space and area to express yourself through your art right alongside him, it truly makes him so incredibly happy.

Liu/Sully:

Liu and Sully also both adore all of the art that you create. Liu himself has a knack for drawing and keeps sketchbooks and art supplies constantly stocked up in his bedroom. He enjoys drawing realism and landscapes, and it's absolutely something he'd love to do with you, especially for a date idea, the two of you sitting out in an open field drawing and painting your surroundings together, the thought just sounds so heavenly to him. Sully, on the other hand, is not as artistically inclined, and is amazed at what the two of you are able to do together, if not a bit jealous that he isn't as artistic as Liu. Sully really, really loves watching you at work, as he finds it so incredible the things you're able to do, and he could sit for hours curled up by your side amazed at every line and stroke you place. Both of them are incredibly fond of your artistic skills, and you'll never be short on praise from either of them.

[theresattrpgforthat]

I just learned there's games that use cootie catchers/fortune tellers as their primary mechanic! Any recommendations??

THEME: Cootie Catcher TTRPGs

Hello friend, I have a few options for you, as well as a way for you to make your own!

amimir, by vapordruid.

WHAT DO CATS DREAM ABOUT? ~

Discover it playing this solo story-game where you, as an indoor cat who shares a bond with a fellow cat. Dream alone or together, guided by a cootie catcher/paper fortune teller with evocative prompts and different ways to interact with the paper toy.

This looks like an abstract game that you have to put together yourself before you play it. From what I can tell, much of what is inside the cootie catcher is abstract, so it’s meant to be a tool to fuel your own imagination, rather than a way of providing narrative structure to your play. The concept is absolutely adorable!

Slender Threads of Freqs and Fortune, by satah.

Using a deck of cards & a cootie catcher paper fortune teller, you're going to generate a series of pieces of information, then act on them. Whether you're low on time, money, access, or some other resource, the circumstances of your mission mean you don't have the privilege of verifying most of it before you have to use it.

This is a cyberpunk game about someone who has modified their body to be able to open themselves up to radio waves. This someone is called a Freq. The issue is, that you can’t slow down to figure out whether the data you’re receiving is truthful or helpful or both - so you have to leave things to chance while you’re in the middle of a mission. You can play this game solo or with a group - what you’ll need is a deck of cards and a print-out of the game document, so that you can turn it into a cootie catcher.

Fire Sauce Fever Dream, by The Space Jamber.

Based on the feeling of being That One Guy™ enjoying themselves in Taco Bell in the year 2000, Fire Sauce Fever Dream guides players through creating and journaling their own Bell-inspired memories over four courses of play with a Cootie Catcher in place of dice. Players can choose to extend their fever dream as long or as short as they like -- after all, who's to say how long we should savor those flavors?

Taco Bell is off today, and your character will have to navigate whatever’s going on as they navigate their four-course meal. It’s also meant to immerse you in the memories of eating inside a Taco Bell. If you want a chance to stretch your imagination (or your memory), you should check out this game. If you bought the TTRGPS for Trans Rights in Florida Bundle - you already own this game!

The game is built off of the FOLDS SRD by Fleet Detrik, a game engine designed specifically around cootie catchers! If you have your own idea for a game that would run off of fortune tellers, you should check it out.

[senil888]

Don't want to hijack any posts about KOSA specifically, though please please please if you are a US Citizen resch out to your senators AND representatives because it WILL eventually go through there, because this is more of a general thing that KOSA happens to fall under.

The TL;DR: One should always, ALWAYS, treat any bill claiming to be for ”protecting the children” as bullshit. They never EVER do what they claim they will. They're always a way to lock down spaces even more than before, and companies will always go with the strictest law to apply to everyone to make things easier on themselves. Do not trust them, fight them every chance you possibly get.

Just about every time a law claiming to "protect the kids" passes - or even that argument is used in general - the vast majority of the time it's made up bullshit designed to appeal to a certain group of people who will hate you for not supporting something meant to protect children. My home state had a bill (that I think passed, thankfully) re: expanding sex ed down into grade school. A TON of people freaked out, thinking they were going to be teaching eight year olds about anal sex or whatever (it was similar claims to that idfk).

They were, of course, dead wrong. You could literally look up the proposed curricula and grade school? Was focused around consent, asking permission to do things like hugging, that of stuff. The kind of thing that will actually protect children should they find themselves in an abusive situation, because they'll hopefully ALREADY KNOW that this is a scary person who is not asking them to do these things and you aren't saying yes to any of this. Hell, even saying no and realizing the abuser isn't listening could ring that alarm of "this is somebody not listening to me or my boundaries. I am being Abused" or something like that.

The thing the nuts claimed wouldn't protect children because they thought sex ed for grade schoolers would be the same as sex ed for high schoolers would, in fact, actually help children by virtue of education. Of knowledge. Of knowing what boundaries are, how to set them, and how to ask to do things.

The same shit applies with bills such as KOSA. The goal is never to actually protect children. It's to indirectly harm them by making knowledge access harder. In a time where libraries are actively getting slammed and underfunded, online resources and communities are sometimes the only vaguely safe outlet someone has. It might be the only way a queer kid out in rural flyover country finds solace in being queer, is able to freely be queer. "Protecting the children" (from those filthy queers) means gating off those spaces from people. From letting people find those spaces where they can be free.

Let's not forget the way this can easily gut activism work too. Often these bills are ways to delete spaces for the "outcasts" of society, and once one group of "outcasts" is dealt with, they'll find another. We've seen this "protect the kids" line when it comes to trans people (especially trans women), when it comes to drag, or any form of queer expression. "Cis white men holding hands in public" is seen as damaging to children.

"Protect the children" is effectively (if not outright) a dog whistle for "this law or whatever is actually meant to target a specific group of people, set of actions, etc. without us saying it does that because saying what we actually want to do would mean nobody would like this thing." KOSA specifically can and likely will gut online activism organization, gut queer spaces, black spaces, whatever kind of minority or leftist space you can think up of. It has the power to do that.

And its effects will almost certainly be felt globally, because again. Companies will go with the strictest possible approach, if not outright blocking access from places stricter than they care to manage. Twitter being affected by a bill such as KOSA will affect people worldwide because they have to comply with a strict as fuck law, and it's infinitely easier to apply the basics to every user they legally can (IDK about how GDPR plays into this specific bill).

There's a reason companies cracked down on queer groups after SESTA/FOSTA became effective in 2018 (which, FYI, is likely a large part of why Tumblr moderation routinely cracks down on queer people, trans women in particular!). Because queer people are, by default, seen as more "sexual" and whatnot, that those groups are more likely to get a company in trouble legally speaking. So, they try to suppress those groups as best they can without making it blatantly obvious (usually failing the latter part but they don't care).

"Protect the children" will only be used, and continue to be used, as a way to mask the actual intent. Bills like KOSA do not protect children. If they do, it's purely a coincidence. Their real goal is to crack down on whatever "undesirable" they want to send into hiding next. That's what it's used for. Is the internet, in ways, shittier than it was 15, even 10 years ago? Oh absolutely, and it was still shitty then too. I definitely found myself in spaces I absolutely shouldn't have as a kid. But the solution to that isn't to lock everything up real tight. It's a good education about these things.

Nobody told me that, if I ended up a little too sensual towards an adult, it doesn't matter if they didn't know I was actually 15 and I'm making the advancement and they had no way of knowing my age. They're still the person in trouble here. Mind you, I was just smart enough to stick to the sidelines, maybe make comments in stuff, but that was it. Nobody told me what to watch for, why things were maybe Bad, etc.

I was punished for *gasp* having porn (furry porn) saved to a deviantArt account that I had an app for. This did absolutely nothing for me. Nobody said anything about why it was bad (or could cause problems to the artist). I was just yelled at and grounded. "Protect the children" just results in that happening. In kids and teens getting punished for not knowing things that nobody would ever teach them because "they're so delicate, they aren't old enough to know this yet."

Fuck this "protect the kids" bullshit. Fuck this bill. Fuck every bill like it. Fuck every legislator who supports it. Fuck every court that even dares to uphold it. Fuck whichever US president signs it off. You don't protect children by banning drag or outlawing any form of transition before 18 or whatever. You don't protect children by removing their spaces online. You don't protect children by indirectly empowering their abusers by making sure they never know what they're going through is Wrong and Bad.

I'm pissed off that this needs to be said, that this is even a topic worth bringing up. That this is even NECESSARY to say.